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Gaming PC Help...

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tomatohater

Golden Sun 4?
Hey guys,

I was just wondering if you could help evaluate my planned build (won't actually be building it for quite some time yet). I am really sold on the GPU (graphics Card), and I want at least 8Gb of RAM, 1Tb storage and an OCable CPU (preferably Intel).

Here are the current specs:

Motherboard: Gigabyte Gaming 5 Z97X
CPU: Intel i5 4690k
RAM: Corsair Vengeance (2x4Gb)
Optical Drive: Samsung SATA DVD/CD Writer
HDD: Western Digital 1Tb Blue
SSD: Samsung 120Gb SSD
GPU: MSI GTX 970
PSU: Corsair 600-Watt Modular PSU
CPU Cooler: ?
Case: ?

If you can think of any cheaper or better alternatives, I am all ears!

Thanks!
 
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Yami Ron

Elite Member
Looks fine.

Maybe get the Radeon R9 270(X) and save about $200 on the graphics card.

Also the solid state drive may not be necessary.. you could get a second HD cheaper and maybe implement a RAID setup.
 

tomatohater

Golden Sun 4?
I thought that the Radeon was better with AMD set-ups? I'll look more into it! Also, do you think this is a fairly future-proof gaming PC, as I want it to still be pretty good in like 3-4 years time.

I also want it to be able to run BattleField 4 Ultra at over 60FPS, so is it capable?

Any suggestions for CPU cooler or case either? I have also updated the OP with some links to where I may purchase the components from.

EDIT: Just wondering if I could Crossfire (I mean use 2 at once, I think that's the right term...?) 2 of these to get an ever better performance than the GTX 770 4Gb. Also, would it be very future-proof or not?
 
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Djura

99% chance to hit
I would recommend against getting the GTX 770 or the R9 270X CrossFireX since a) the latter has been discontinued in the wake of the GTX 970/980 announcement, and b) they're about the same price, but you'd be getting more on a GTX 970 (higher performance than a 780 but slightly lower than a 780 Ti). VRAM typically does not matter unless you're doing multi-monitor setups, but the 970 ships with 4GB VRAM by default. CrossFireX setups are also a hit-and-miss, since AMD's notorious for poor driver support and really bad micro-stuttering compared to SLI (though it may have been fixed). I would recommend getting this 970.

Change the CPU to the i5-4690K and you should be fine with that.

What kind of CPU cooler are you looking for? Air? Liquid? If you're looking for an air cooler, get the NH-D15. It's massive, but it gets the job done and it rivals most AIO loops. If you're looking for an AIO loop, get a Corsair H100i, or, if your budget's larger, get an NZXT Kraken X61.

Don't get a WD Black. They're noisy compared to Blues. RAID setups are completely unnecessary for gaming, so you might want to keep the SSD, but I think you might want to bump that up to 250GB.

As for your case, I would recommend getting something like the Phanteks Enthoo Pro or the Corsair Carbide Air 540.
 
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tomatohater

Golden Sun 4?
Thanks a bunch. I was thinking about getting the 4690k, but I heard the 4670k was better for overclocking.

Regarding the CPU Cooler, I have heard the h100i is also hit and miss, with a fairly considerable number of reviews I have read saying it goes bust after about 5/6 months. I think I will go for an air cooler for the CPU, and then change it to a liquid cooler in the future if I so desire.

The SSD is also something I will upgrade in the future when I have more money.

Also, what is the difference between the WD Black and the WD Blue? All I can really see is that the Blue is like £15 cheaper, so it looks like I'll be getting that.

Thanks for the information regarding the case and GPU, I will look into those :D
 

Djura

99% chance to hit
Also, what is the difference between the WD Black and the WD Blue? All I can really see is that the Blue is like £15 cheaper, so it looks like I'll be getting that.

WD Blue hits the sweet spot between performance and power consumption. WD Blacks are the best performance-wise, but they're noisy and power-hungry. You will not notice a performance hit unless you're running benchmarking software.
 

tomatohater

Golden Sun 4?
Ah, I see. It therefore seems much wiser to get the Blue! Thanks!

Do you think my PSU is big enough, or would I need more power?
 

Djura

99% chance to hit
Ah, I see. It therefore seems much wiser to get the Blue! Thanks!

Do you think my PSU is big enough, or would I need more power?

A 600 watt PSU is adequate for your system. You should have at least 200W worth of overclocking headroom available. I would change the model to a SeaSonic 620W, because it's higher-quality and does better performance-wise (given that the CX600M uses low-quality Taiwanese caps, and Channel Well Technology is a relatively eh OEM compared to, say, SeaSonic, Flextronics or Super Flower). Always look out for the PSU's OEM and their build quality.
 

Ithanul

Member
Looks to be a good setup. Though, you wanting it to hold out for 3-4 years can depend on many things. The i5s tend to hold good for the many years or more especially if you get a good overclocking on the chip. I actually ran a i5 Sandybridge at 4.8GHz for over four to five years no problem *Note: It was fully water cooled though*. At most you may have to upgrade the GPU or buy a 2nd one of the same card, but then you get driver issues and issues with games supporting SLI/Crossfire when going two cards. For GPUs, depends what you want out for it, bang for buck or most power you can go plus how well the drivers are developed. Personally, AMD cards are nice cards plus great folders too. The Con: make a lot of heat and noisy, and eat electricity. The Nivida cards are expensive, but do deliver great power, less noisy, drivers tend to be developed better, and not as much a electricity hog *Unless, you do some crazy overclocking*. Plus, the EVGA Nivida cards have one of the most unbeatable warranties out there for GPUs. If you buy a used one off a person, if it still under its warrenty EVGA will still replace a bad one even if you not the orginial buyer.

On Western Digital Blacks, another difference is the warrenty. Blacks have a longer warranty than the Blues. Instead of the two years on Blues you get five years on Blacks. I really never noticed them being noisy than again I have like over 8+ fans at any given time running in my rig, plus the folding rig making its racket with its jet engine sounding fans to keep that 7970 cooled off.

On the RAM, whats the MHz and timings? I know Vegeance are great RAM, still got my 16GB set. Just curious what speeds the set you looking at are running at.

Also, one tip, pick a case first before anything else. Computer case is the foundation and will affect which mobos, cooling setup, the amount of HDDs/SSDs, amount of fans/cooling setup, and video cards that can fit. Plus, it usually the computer part that you keep for many, many years.

I will upvote on the SeaSonics. Best dang PSUs you can get, unless you know someone who has one of the older model Corsair PSUs. Those things are made like tanks too. Got a six year old TX750 that still running to this day. But overall, I have only heard good things about the SeaSonics.

On CPU cooling, depending on what case you get can affect what you can install. Aftermarket air coolers are best bang for buck, but then you get the noisy plus their HUGE! All in one water cooling units are very nice, a little more cost, but then you don't deal with noisy of a air cooler. Only thing, making sure you got space for radiator to mount in the case. Full blown water cooling, depending if you get a kit or buy all parts sperate can vary by cost. Some of the kits can run for around 250-300 or full blown custom water cooling can easily get into the thousands on cost. The pay off is you get the best cooling and its custom, so if something needs to be changed. You can just switch a part out. Only thing, is be careful with water cooling, even the all in ones can get leak if faulty. Best pratice if going that route is laying papertowels or small cloths underneath or wrapped around connectors for the first run of a loop then allowing it to run for a few hours without the computer parts energized.
 

SkittyOnWailord

☣ⓈⓀⒾⓉⓉⓎⓄⓃⓌⒶⒾⓁⓄⓇⒹ☣
Don't post in topics that haven't been posted in for over a month. Please re-read the forum rules.

*Closes*
 
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