So I just filed my tax returns and got a fat pay day. Rather than be responsible and invest it, I'm going to blow (some of) it on a new computer to replace my aging 5 year old laptop. I'm looking to spend $1100. I popped over to PCPartpicker.com and realized I don't know any of this shit any more. Here's what I need

-Core i7: I do some scientific computing and virtualization. I'm pretty sure i7s have features to speed this up? I have 0 interest in overclocking so don't bother with k editions.
-Cooler: I'd be willing to buy a relatively cheap cooler if the stock ones are pretty loud. Otherwise, I don't care
-Mobo w/ built in wifi. I don't have easy access to ethernet
-GPU: I've got one 1080p monitor. I don't think I'll upgrade to 4k any time soon. I might get another monitor, but it'll be 1080p as well. Will be gaming. Prefer AMD over NVidia, but I not really a fanboy about it.
-RAM: 16GB in 2016. Is DDR4 worth it or can you get some savings with DDR3?
-Case: I really don't care. It just needs to be sturdy. No stupid LEDs all over the place.
-Storage: at least 128GB SSD and probably a 1TB HDD for storage
-Optical Drive: Just a simple DVD drive
-Windows: What's the best way to acqure it? I'm eligible for military and student discounts if those exist.

I think I covered all my requirements. What can I get?

I'd go for 256GB. While 128 is manageable 256 is more convenient in the long run.

Hence "at least".

More gaming:



Less gaming:

No response from Ex? I'm surprised.

He's not very active these days.

That's not true at all Nude. I'm usually around, and when I'm not I can usually be found actually *gasp* on SC playing and working on maps.

I didn't prioritize this because Roy usually does a pretty good job on his own. However I'll throw in my two cents for good measure because A. I'm me and B. ducky and deathawk helped get me started in this area of SEN.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor ($267.48 @ Micro Center)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($36.91 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97-HD3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($104.84 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Team Dark 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($58.83 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($73.56 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.99 @ Directron)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280 3GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($185.87 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT H230 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($45.49 @ NZXT)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 520W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($67.39 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.99 @ Directron)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link Archer T9E 802.11a/b/g/n/ac PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($80.23 @ B&H)
Total: $989.58
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-04-15 08:27 EDT-0400

My picks:
-Solid and fast i7, non-K.
-Quiet solid cooler for not much $. Stock intel coolers are just sort of meh.
-Mobo is solid and simple, you're not OCing or doing anything crazy. If you wanted you could get a more feature packed one but I'm not aware of any additional needs.
-16GB DDR3 1600 CL9 for cheaps. Cool.
-SSD and HDD are both solid. I own an 850 Pro vs the EVO, and about three of those EZEX drives. Very happy with all of them.
-You didn't mention what games you're looking to play unless I missed something, so I went with a nice midrange 280. Feel free to throw more money at this, I left room in the budget.
-Case is simple and solid, no windows or flashy LEDs. NZXT makes a good case.
-SeaSonic fully modular PSU, what more could you want?
-Simple SATA optical.
-Wireless is one I own, super fast, super good. Get it.

What do you get for the $50 price differential?

867mbps vs 1300mbps. I'd also argue/hope the 3x antennae on my card would give it better range/coverage than the 1 on the Gigabyte.

If I'm being picky? Maybe more than 480W on the 12V. Not that it's an issue with the GPU you picked, of course.

Also, as much as I like the H7, it seems like you could save money on the HSF, since there won't be any overclocking. You could leave Prime95 on the stock 4790 and any entry level cooler won't need to max out the fan.

Just to add to the discussion:

• If you need range, you're gonna be using the 2.4GHz band, so it'd be 867Mbps vs 600Mbps in favor of Gigabyte.
  
• If you don't need range, you're gonna be using the 5GHz band, so it'd be 867Mbps vs 1300Mbps in favor of TP-Link.
  
• The extra antennae would help against interference, which can be a particular concern on the 2.4GHz band, but less so on 5GHz.
  
• Extra antennae attached to the card aren't going to make the 5GHz band range extend further than a 2.4GHz band. You'd need a very specific range to see the benefit of the Archer's surplus antennae.
  
• 867Mbps is the bandwidth of my current laptop's wireless card, and I can stream games in 1080p from my desktop to my laptop without hitting the cap.
  

Personally, I'm always on 5GHz, so I'd benefit from the TP-Link Archer if I could find a use for all that bandwidth. I could make a more informed recommendation if I knew more about dumbducky's setup, like how much range he needs, what his internet speeds are, how much in-home streaming he does, and what his current wireless router is. Without knowing all that, though, I'm still going to recommend the Gigabyte card. Put that extra money into doubling the SSD capacity!

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Apr 16 2016, 5:08 pm by Roy. Reason: Grammar

@Roy
I'm finding more and more I'm only trusting SeaSonic for builds I put my name on, as EVGA although impressive has not been doing well long enough, and Corsair still has a nasty habit of cutting corners on SOME models. This unfortunately demands a price premium, but I'm willing to pay for the name in all but super-budget cases. So fair enough.

Yes I agree the H7 is probably unnecessary but I wanted to offer an alternative to what I consider a loud fan with a bad mounting system (stock hsf). I think ducky knows enough to decide if the part is right for him even if hes a bit out of the loop on current parts. The money can then be directed to other areas.

Although correct that 2.4GHz is naturally further reaching than 5GHz, I kind of meant in range on the 5GHz band. It would seem to me that the more antennae and the more powerful chip (in theory) used in the Archer would equal not only more throughput but also more range in that band. You are also correct that if ducky is using an older/non-AC/lower end AC router that this benefit is probably lost on him as it is. If he needs a recommendation on a router to take advantage of the Archer though, I'd be happy to help.

Since he's already got a router an access point would probably suffice.

Something else the Gigabyte wireless network card has is Bluetooth (looks like it requires plugging in a cord from the card to one of the motherboard's USB headers), so if you want Bluetooth on your computer, that makes it an even better bargain, since you won't need a separate Bluetooth adapter. (if you just want something cheaper and don't care about the extra speed you could get with the other wireless network card with a router/access point that supports the speed)

As far as the antennas go, they don't add range, but error correction and speed. They are used to add speed by using math on multiple spacial channels.

Oh and you can't improve your download speed by adding more antennas than your router / access point has.

Post has been edited 3 time(s), last time on Apr 21 2016, 6:31 pm by NudeRaider.

So I bought all the parts about two weeks ago on a Friday. A day later I got a phone call. The call disconnected instantly. Same thing happened on Monday. Wednesday I get another call, but I ignored it after seeing it was from that number. They leave a voicemail. It's microcenter telling me they need me to call them back. I call the number and spend 10 minutes on hold. The guy asks for the phone number on the back of my card, but isn't quite certain why they've been trying to call me. Thursday I get another call from them, but I'm in class and can't answer it. I get home to discover they've cancelled my order because of bad payment info. Then Friday rolls around and Newegg cancels my order for the same reason. They had sent me emails but I ignored them as spam/order confirmations. Reorder everything that afternoon. Today, the rest of the stuff arrives. I begin opening all the packages and taking everything out. And then I get to the Newegg one. It has 3 2x8GB packages of RAM and a power supply. Except I already have a power supply. And there's no graphics card anywhere. I go back and look at my order and sure enough, I somehow ordered another PSU and 3xRAM. So now I have to return that and I just ordered a graphics card. wtf.