Building Gaming/Streaming PC - $2000 Buget

[FlamingHawk]

Budget: $2,000 (can go a little higher if needed)
Resolution: 1920 x 1080
Games/Settings desired: Mainly for WoW, TERA, Starcraft, Other games. Would like High to Ultra settings with 60fps
Country: Australia
Do you need an OS: Yes
Do you need peripherals (e.g. monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers, etc)? Nope

I am currently looking into upgrading my current PC with one that will be able to handle most games at the max settings with good FPS, would also like it to be used for streaming and creating/rendering videos to upload on youtube.

What I currently have on the wishlist on PCCaseGear is:

CoolerMaster Storm Enforcer Case
ASRock Z77 Extreme4 Motherboard
Intel Core i7 3770K
Corsair Hydro Series H100i CPU Cooler
Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3
Gigabyte Radeon HD7970 Overclocked 3GB
Corsair Neutron Series 128GB SSD
CoolerMaster Silent Pro Gold 800W
Seagate Barracuda 1TB ST1000DM003
LG GH24NS95 24x SATA DVD-RW Drive OEM
Windows 8 64-bit

All of this added up to $1805.

(It doesn't have to be this build, this is just what I put down.)

Any help and suggestions would be great.

[Vynrael]

This build will eat those games alive, easy. Even while recording.

I only have one nitpick. The PSU is way overkill. OC the CPU, and crossfire and you'd still have a little wiggle room with a 750W.

I know Sea Sonic is a good brand when it comes to PSUs, so maybe http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...D=3938566&SID= would be a better choice imo.

Maybe use the $70 you saved to get a bigger HDD? Recording eats up drive space REALLY fast. :P

Edit: Also, Vengeance LP memory looks a lot cleaner in a build, if that matters at all to you. xD

[Klutzington]

This build looks SUPER solid. I'm too lazy to look, but make sure that PSU is modular. Non-modular is icky. With the money you save, I would try to get a bigger HDD as Vynrael said. You are looking to stream/fraps with this setup, so having a huge SSD provides no bonuses, as the bigger the SSD gets in size, the bigger the price tag (by a BIG amount). I would get either 2x 1TB HDDs or a 1x 2TB HDD.

Also: If you have extra money that you are willing to spend, get a new computer chair. Most people underestimate how replacing an old chair works wonders. You said you don't need peripherals, but check out new chairs if yours is aging.

Also x2: I prefer Western Digital HDDs, but get whatever you like.

[torterra275]

If streaming is a major focus of the build your best bet is to invest in a capture card like this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16815100100

[Vandexander]

I agree, that looks like a very solid build.

With SSD prices where there are now, I'd go for one in the 256GB range. Also, with an eye to a little bit of future expansion, I'd go with 2x8GB memory, rather than 4x4GB. Price should be about the same.

[Vynrael]

If streaming is a major focus of the build your best bet is to invest in a capture card like this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16815100100

YES. I also hear this card works fantastic with XSplit/TwitchTV.

And really an SSD is just a QoL thing. Faster boot times, and with that size can easily squeeze 2-3 games on there. Keeping WoW/GW2 and a few steam games on mine, keeps loading times really low. They really do make a difference, and I wouldn't ever go back to using a normal HDD for my OS/Games. But if the load times don't bother you, then multiple HDDs is def a good alternative. I myself want a separate one just for footage. Playing games + recording off the same drive = you're gonna have a bad time.

With SSD prices where there are now, I'd go for one in the 256GB range. Also, with an eye to a little bit of future expansion, I'd go with 2x8GB memory, rather than 4x4GB. Price should be about the same.

What's the performance difference with 2 vs 4 sticks? I know 2 is better, but is it really noticeable? I'm just curious myself, I wanted 4x4, but purchased 2x8 on accident. >.> I just like the way it looks more. xD

[chazus]

What's the performance difference with 2 vs 4 sticks? I know 2 is better, but is it really noticeable? I'm just curious myself, I wanted 4x4, but purchased 2x8 on accident. >.> I just like the way it looks more. xD

There isn't a performance difference, for all intents and purposes.

2x8 is usually cheaper than 4x4. People VERY rarely need to get more than 16gb for anything, outside of a specialized system (heavy vm, professional rendering, etc)

[FlamingHawk]

Thanks for all the replies guys, really helping. I made some changes to what has been suggested here and have this at the moment:

Corsair Vengeance CML16GX3M2A1600C10 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3
Western Digital WD Black 2TB WD2002FAEX 1 2TB was cheaper then 2 1TB's
Seasonic M12II 620W Power Supply
Microsoft Windows 8 64bit OEM
LG GH24NS95 24x SATA DVD-RW Drive OE
Corsair Neutron Series 128GB SSD
Gigabyte Radeon HD7970 Overclocked 3GB
Corsair Hydro Series H100i CPU Cooler
Intel Core i7 3770K -- Will Request OverClock (4.5Ghz?)
ASRock Z77 Extreme4 Motherboard
CoolerMaster Storm Enforcer

Which takes the total to: $1,829.00

Also Vynrael, whats the crossfire? (Sorry, noob question xD)

Will also look into a capture card as well in the near future when I start getting into it more.

[Vynrael]

Thanks for all the replies guys, really helping. I made some changes to what has been suggested here and have this at the moment:

Corsair Vengeance CML16GX3M2A1600C10 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3
Western Digital WD Black 2TB WD2002FAEX 1 2TB was cheaper then 2 1TB's
Seasonic M12II 620W Power Supply
Microsoft Windows 8 64bit OEM
LG GH24NS95 24x SATA DVD-RW Drive OE
Corsair Neutron Series 128GB SSD
Gigabyte Radeon HD7970 Overclocked 3GB
Corsair Hydro Series H100i CPU Cooler
Intel Core i7 3770K -- Will Request OverClock (4.5Ghz?)
ASRock Z77 Extreme4 Motherboard
CoolerMaster Storm Enforcer

Which takes the total to: $1,829.00

Also Vynrael, whats the crossfire? (Sorry, noob question xD)

Will also look into a capture card as well in the near future when I start getting into it more.

Crossfire is linking 2 (AMD) video cards together. SLI is the same thing, but for NVidia cards.

With the H100i, a 4.5Ghz clock shouldn't be to hard. I got mine to 4.3 no problem, I just live in a warmer area so I dare to go no higher. Every chip is different though.

Edit: I would still recommend getting a second HDD and/or SSD if you're recording. Playing and recording off the same drive will tank your FPS.

[FlamingHawk]

Crossfire is linking 2 (AMD) video cards together. SLI is the same thing, but for NVidia cards.

With the H100i, a 4.5Ghz clock shouldn't be to hard. I got mine to 4.3 no problem, I just live in a warmer area so I dare to go no higher. Every chip is different though.

Edit: I would still recommend getting a second HDD and/or SSD if you're recording. Playing and recording off the same drive will tank your FPS.

Ok, so it would be better to get the 2 1TB HDDs. Have one with the whole OS on it, one for the videos and use the SSD for the gaming?

[Vynrael]

Ok, so it would be better to get the 2 1TB HDDs. Have one with the whole OS on it, one for the videos and use the SSD for the gaming?

If budget allows, what I personally would do, is a 256gb for OS/Games you play most often, then a 2TB for storage/fraps. If 2 1TB were cheaper, I'd have 2, but they're not. So just get the 2TB. xD

[FlamingHawk]

If budget allows, what I personally would do, is a 256gb for OS/Games you play most often, then a 2TB for storage/fraps. If 2 1TB were cheaper, I'd have 2, but they're not. So just get the 2TB. xD

Awesome

Build is now

CoolerMaster Storm Enforcer
ASRock Z77 Extreme4 Motherboard
Intel Core i7 3770K -- To 4.5Ghz
Corsair Hydro Series H100i CPU Cooler
Gigabyte Radeon HD7970 Overclocked 3GB
LG GH24NS95 24x SATA DVD-RW Drive OEM
Microsoft Windows 8 64bit OEM
Seasonic M12II 620W Power Supply
Western Digital WD Black 2TB WD2002FAEX
Corsair Vengeance CML16GX3M2A1600C10 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3
Samsung 840 Pro Series 256GB SSD Retail Box

And that comes at $1929 which is a good area.

Thanks for the help Vynrael and everyone else! I will also look more into that capture card soon as well, and also getting a second card to Crossfire

[Vynrael]

No problem.

Bear in mind though, if you do get another one of those cards, you will need a bigger PSU. Probably around a 750W one.

[Klutzington]

No problem.

Bear in mind though, if you do get another one of those cards, you will need a bigger PSU. Probably around a 750W one.

Imo it is unnecessary to do an Xfire on two 7970's. They are SOOOO powerful and the only reason to Xfire them is to run a triple monitor setup of Metro 2033, lol.

[anyaka21]

build looks solid, I like the changes you made.

Only thing to add would be my personal prefs: On the case, any reason you went mid-tower? Have you built machines before? If not, it's probably a little easier to build in a full tower. Just my opinion there. Add that some mid-tower cases could have issues with the h100i on top. I'd check into that.

However, if you are set on a mid, consider the Fractal Design R4. I have an h100 series and I had to buy to Scythe Slimline fans, 12mm thick as opposed to the standard 25mm to make it fit. Love it this way. Those fans are great and super quiet. I run my h100 on high settings and with the Fractal Design, I don't even hear the fans at all.

Another thought also concerning h100i and cases, a lot of people use 4 fans in a push/pull set up, 2 on one side of the radiator and 2 on the other. If you choose to do that and it's a great way to cool, you'll need extra room on the case and I would highly recommend a full tower for this type of set up.

The mobo I currently use is the AsRock extreme6. Love it too. From the reviews I read, it was just a better built mobo in general, better heat sinks, better designed, etc... At least for me, it was worth the extra $30 especially since I also was spending close to $2k


edit: also note that with the R4, there are people that mount the h100 in the front of the case. One thing I'd consider checking in pcpartpicker. Not only for pricing, but look in the completed builds and look up the h100i in the search for completed builds. A lot of people post pictures on their rigs, and it can give you a better idea of which cases would be well suited to the parts you are planning to put in.

[Dhi]

My computer is somewhat similar to yours, using 16g ram 1600, 2600 i7, z77, 7970, from experience, in 25m experience, the fps average 20-30s, there was one occasion where i had computer lag@Elegon last phase. From personal experience if wow is ur main game, stick with 670/680, they are much better optimized for wow

[Vynrael]

My computer is somewhat similar to yours, using 16g ram 1600, 2600 i7, z77, 7970, from experience, in 25m experience, the fps average 20-30s, there was one occasion where i had computer lag@Elegon last phase. From personal experience if wow is ur main game, stick with 670/680, they are much better optimized for wow

A 7970 has 0 problems with WoW. I run flawlessly in 25m raids recording. (Hell, even AV) Sure, you don't have the stupid excess of FPS, but that means nothing. While Nvidia is optimized, at this level of card, it doesn't even matter. (At least coming from my Gigabyte Ghz Edition, which is the very same he is getting.)

[FlamingHawk]

anyaka21 - No I haven't built a machine before, that's why I came here searching for advice, but if a full tower would be better how about Thermaltake Black Chaser MK-I Full Tower?

Vynrael - Referring to what your saying about graphics cards - PCCase (where im buying this from) has 2 cards - Gigabyte Radeon HD7970 Overclocked 3GB and the other is just Gigabyte Radeon HD7970 GHz Edition 3GB (An extra $60). Only difference I really see is 100 more MHz of clock speed and 500 more MHz of memory on the GHz Edition, would it really be that much difference?

[Vynrael]

Vynrael - Referring to what your saying about graphics cards - PCCase (where im buying this from) has 2 cards - Gigabyte Radeon HD7970 Overclocked 3GB and the other is just Gigabyte Radeon HD7970 GHz Edition 3GB (An extra $60). Only difference I really see is 100 more MHz of clock speed and 500 more MHz of memory on the GHz Edition, would it really be that much difference?

I'm no expert in clock speeds, but with the games you're playing, I see no problems with the non Ghz edition. As someone said above, 7970 is a really powerful card. 1 is nearly overkill for any single monitor gaming.

[Ghâzh]

anyaka21 - No I haven't built a machine before, that's why I came here searching for advice, but if a full tower would be better how about Thermaltake Black Chaser MK-I Full Tower?

Stick to the mid-tower, in my opinion. If you were building in a mini-tower I'd tell you to maybe reconsider and choose your components accordingly but mid-tower is plenty of space for pretty much anything.

You don't really need full-tower for anything else than custom water cooling and/or multiple graphics/expansion cards(3+)/hard drives. It could potentially make the building a little bit easier fitting everything in a bigger case but I think it's more important that you choose a good case you can live with instead of possibly saving a couple of minutes building it faster.

If you check some pictures of full-towers you'll see that they are really massive. You're just going to have problems later down the road as the case takes up so much space when trying to place it, it's harder to move, and generally, just looks too big next to anything.. Unless that's what you're after.