Advice for building a gaming comp

[Jaxxs]

Ok so, I'm looking to invest in a new gaming machine that can play the majority of the games that are out currently as well as most of the games to come in the next few years (specifically EQ Next). I have looked at the latest builds suggested and tried to take from those builds and build on it from there.

My budget is set at no more than $1500, but obviously if I can spend less for what I need it would be optimal. I've put together a build here: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/hBcGnQ w/ recommendations I've received from a couple friends and websites. Any and all critiques and suggestions for different/better parts are welcome. All I ask if that you have a suggestion for anything above $1500 is to not suggest it, as it will just confuse me more. Thank you for your time and help!

[Arkuri]

$1500 can get you a fairly high-end machine in current gen hardware.
Each person who you request to make a build, will almost always build something different based on their own history of building system and reliability.

(Example myself would be to suggest as many ZALMAN, MSI, and ATI parts as possible, since their equipment has yet to fail me, and their warranty / phone support have always been more helpful than say ASUS, CoolerMaster, or nVidia.)

Details from your end, if possible, would be an excellent start. In terms of what you're looking for, not just future-proof for a certain game or two.

I mean, do you have an preferences that you would prefer for a system? What performance / benchmarks are you looking for?

AMD or Intel CPU's?
ATI or nVidia cards?
Brand of Motherboard?...
Think you'll catch what I mean by this point.

If not, well, I gave that a try, and I can build you pretty much anything from the Newegg store. xD

[Jaxxs]

Sorry, I put in a link w/ what I am looking for in the original post, but I guess it wasn't clear. Here is a link to what I have compiled currently: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/hBcGnQ. As for the performance/benchmarks or specific brands, I'm not really sure because I'm new to this, which is why I'm posting here

[Arkuri]

Ah. Apologies on my end as well. Got a little ahead of the curve on my post.

Though, are you >SURE< you want a FULL-Tower case? Those are HUGE cases for a standard home-PC."

A 2Gb Video Card is fairly standard anymore. A 4Gb would be future-proof. More and more games are trying to take advantage of GPU more so than CPU. (Most clients try to work with 32b operating systems anymore, which cap at 2 active cores for a single process. Few exceptions with games that have a 32b and 64b client.)

That board, though Future-proof, is a bit overkill for a single-stick of 8Gb RAM (Has 4 channels (2xDual channel) for support of 32Gb. (Most things will barely use more than 8Gb on full load. You could probably downsize that board to save some money.)

I'd need to math it out, but that PSU, I think, would be overkill as well.

1TB of HDD space will go fast. Varies from person to person on what they do on their systems, or install programs, but a 1TB is very small for alot of people / gamers seeing how much everyone wants to store. ( I alone use 4TB + 2TB backup, with a 64Gb Flashdrive. Just a thought, is all)

I'll reserve judgment on the AMD Processor. Never owned one, but I've heard plenty of things good with that processor compared to the Haswell line from Intel. As well as the bad.

[Blade and Soul]

Hi there,

This would be my suggestion: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/BG6pmG

Yes, the graphics card isn't as good (you can always update it later). But you will see MUCH more performance with the added SSD drive and the dual channel memory.

Oh, and I forgot to add: Make sure you purchase your parts from newegg.com, amazon.com certified, or tigerdirect.com. If you have any problems with your components, they are the best (especially newegg.com) to deal with.

[Remilia]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: NZXT HAVIK 120 75.8 CFM CPU Cooler ($49.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($143.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Kingston 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($134.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($399.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($88.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1419.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-14 04:40 EDT-0400

GPU can be changed with something like: EVGA GTX 780
However it does cost more.

Hi there,

This would be my suggestion: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/BG6pmG

No point in having a non overclockable CPU with a overclock MoBo and stock cooler is enough for it at stock clock / no overclock.

[Deleted]

Any and all critiques and suggestions for different/better parts are welcome.

A few things for the build you got.

- If you want gaming, cpu wise, you want intel. Forget amd, that debate died long ago when amd stopped being competitive. So i will not touch that anymore than that.

- You need 2 ram sticks (2x4gb) for dual channel and needs to be low profile to fit below the noctua.

- I would not reckon the hdd cause they got alot higher failure rate than the rest, i think it was seagate/toshiba were the worst of all or something along those lines.

- You can get a more powerful gpu to have at least 3GB Vram for newer titles. You can fit that 780 in there easy.

- You can get a better quality power supply for less money. Also 750W is alot for a single card, ok for 2-way sli/Xfire.


Here's, what i propose in a red/black theme, feel free to ask any questions:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock 3 113.8 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($118.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Kingston Fury Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($74.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($134.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 780 3GB DirectCU II Video Card ($478.80 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT H440 (Red/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($117.39 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1470.10
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-14 15:49 EDT-0400

[Deleted]

I'd go with Koistatto's build, but with the MX100 256GB from Crucial ($100+S&H from most retailers).

[Jaxxs]

Thank you for all of the responses! I will take these builds into account and hopefully come out w/ an awesome comp

[Blade and Soul]

<snip>
No point in having a non overclockable CPU with a overclock MoBo and stock cooler is enough for it at stock clock / no overclock.

Haha, I grabbed the wrong one and not the "k" version =(

[Jaxxs]

Ok, here's the "final" build I'm looking at. I still haven't changed out the power supply yet, but still a possibility.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($233.97 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($143.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($148.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($399.99 @ TigerDirect)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($85.87 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Rosewill Fortress 750W 80+ Platinum Certified ATX Power Supply ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1434.72
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-15 14:50 EDT-0400

[MMKing]

People need stop recommending way to powerful PSUs.
Guru3d Titan 3 way sli review: http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages..._review,4.html

Peak system wattage from wall socket.
1 card - 372W
2 cards - 598W
3 cards - 843W

R9290 : http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages...hmarks,10.html
Peak system wattage from wall socket: 396W

That said. The 40 dollars off on the Rosewill 750W platinum Jaxxs recommended is a steal for the price.

[Deleted]

So you say ppl reckon too much then you say 750w is awesome for the price? Also psu dont have 100% efficiency and we also dont want them running at 90% load all the time. You have to take into account some extra headroom for age degradation. Not all cards draw the same power...