Note: This build guide is mediocre and outdated.
I felt that this build guide deserved an update. Especially since it went over $100 over the budget for it.
CPU - Intel Core i5 6600
"What?" You say aloud. "What sorcery is this?!" you exclaim. Well, it's a non-overclocking processor. But guess what? A recent BIOS update from ASRock (and possibly others, I don't know) will let you overclock locked processors through the BCLK. ASRock claimed to get a 30% OC, which would be about 4.3 GHz. Not too bad. While you can certainly get higher with a 6600k, I went with the 6600 to stay well in budget and give room for price changes. But feel free to switch to the 6600k if you really want that extra 400MHz or so. This is a quad-core processor of the newest Skylake architecture. cpu.userbenchmark shows an 8% improvement in performance over its predecessor. Games should run smoothly and shouldn't have any issues with this processor, even less when overclocked.
CPU Cooler - Cryorig H7
Arguably the best overall cooler under $35 USD. It excels in all areas when compared to similarly-priced coolers like the CM 212 EVO. Great RAM clearance, great cooling for the price, and nice looks.
You can read a review here.
Motherboard - ASRock Z170 Pro4
Look in the CPU part of the description involving overclocking the i5-6600. Support for DDR4, ability to overclock, plenty of VRM heatsinking, good amount of power phases, 6 USB 3.1 Gen1 (formerly called USB 3) ports, and also black and orange. A couple notable downsides to this motherboard are the lack of USB 3.1 Gen2, USB-C with 3.1 Gen2, and lack of SLI support. Feel free to get a more expensive motherboard, though.
RAM - G. Skill NT Series 16 GB
It's black, OK? There was no black and orange RAM to fit the motherboard and case. 16 GB is overkill for only gaming, yes. But with this high of a budget, I believe it made sense.
And you can easily use more than 8 GB. Let's do some quick math.
OS - About 1 GB
Web browser - 2-4 GB
Hardware monitoring, Skype, Steam, antivirus (depends) - Another 1-2 GB or so
Demanding game - About 5 GB
So, you can get around 12 GB of RAM use. Lots of it depends, but it's definitely possible. The extra RAM will also serve to be good for the future, especially since it's DDR4 and will likely be relevant for a while.
SSD and Hard Drive - Samsung 850 EVO 250GB/Toshiba P3300
This SSD is possibly the most popular one, and for good reason. Few standard SSDs can rival the 850 EVO in performance. Your operating system and commonly used programs can go here. The hard drive is a whopping 3 TB hard drive for storage. Things like your Steam library, movies, pictures, and whatever else your heart desires can go on it while still having extra space. The seek time sucks on this hard drive, however, so be wary.
Edit: Changed Crucial BX200 to 850 EVO because the BX200 apparently sucks.
Graphics Card - PowerColor R9 390
While a Sapphire R9 390 Nitro would have been the preferred choice, it's also a bit more expensive right now. Considering the low price this is the next best thing. The cooler is effective and reported temps are often only about 70C under load in reviews for this card. The noise comes in at around 38-42 dBA, which isn't that bad.
You can read a review for this particular card here.
Case - be quiet! SILENT BASE 600 Orange w/ Window
This case isn't very well know. I chose this for a color scheme of black and orange to fit the motherboard. A built in fan controller, some sound dampening, a good warranty, and two preinstalled pretty expensive case fans are some noticeable things you would get with this case. Designed in Germany. Germans always make good stuff.
Power Supply - Seasonic X Series 850W
I would've gone with the EVGA 850W G2, but that was more expensive and this was also a great choice. Great performance, excellent quality, efficient, and fully modular. In a hardwaresecrets review, they were able to pull 1000W from this unit. Impressive. Another bonus is the fact that it operates fairly quietly. This is definitely one of those power supplies that gives Seasonic its reputation. Should allow for crossfiring the R9 390.
You can read a review here and also here.
Operating System - Windows 10 Retail USB
It's Windows 10, the newest operating system from Microsoft. Has Directx12 support and many new features over Windows 8.1 and 7. It will be supported by Microsoft longer than either, too. I chose the retail version because it can be transferred from motherboard to motherboard. USB so you don't need an optical drive in this computer or any computer to install it. For whatever reason Windows 10 gets a lot of hate for... I have no idea.
Antimalware - Malwarebytes Premium and Anti-Exploit Premium
Great protection, no bad weaknesses from what I can tell. Anti exploit actually does its job, too.
Case Fans - Cougar Turbine 120 4-pack
User reviews, anyway, indicate that they're effective and fairly quiet. Having this many fans in total is probably overkill, but it will ensure good airflow.
Here's an article where they look into the effects of the amount of case fans and their positions on temperatures of the chipset, CPU, and GPU. There is a huge difference between no fans and a bunch of fans, so airflow is important.
Monitors - AOC i2267Fw and G2460PF
For a gaming monitor we have a 24 inch 1080p Freesync 144Hz monitor. I believe this describes itself well enough. The higher refresh rate will also be better taken advantage of if the GPU is crossfired, which will definitely be possible in the future as an upgrade. On the side there is two 1080p IPS monitors for multitasking and whatever else. The two monitors are not intended to be gamed on.
Keyboard - Logitech G710
A nice keyboard with MX Brown switches, backlighting, and programmable buttons.
Mouse - Logitech G300s
A nice optical mouse that doesn't look like a torn-up transformer. Optical for precision and for making sure you won't have tracking issues with certain surfaces. Also, programmable buttons, which is always welcome.
Headphones - JVC HA-RX900
I'll be honest: I'm wearing these right now. So far they've exceeded my expectations in build quality and durability. I'm not sure about the sound quality since I haven't heard anything better than these, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was better. The cord is very long - about 12 feet so I can walk halfway across a living room while still plugged in. They are generally comfortable, but can get warm when worn for long periods so take a two minute break every half hour or so. They are a big improvement over my previous JVC HA-RX300s in nearly every way. So if build quality and comfort are high priorities to you, then these are good headphones. I haven't noticed the sound leaking people complain about, though. Not sure what they're doing.
So, a summary:
This is a setup meant to offer high visual quality settings and good upgradeability.
Multitasking is also possible thanks to a couple extra monitors and extra RAM.
The user experience is a priority with peripherals that go an extra step with a FreeSync high refresh rate monitor and a mechanical keyboard.
This build is meant to be relatively quiet, topping out at about 43dBA on max load. This will also be lessened thanks to the case.
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