€800 Gaming PC Build

[Deleted]

Hey everyone,

I'm looking to buy my first gaming PC in years, literally. I've been gaming on Mac for what seems forever, but obviously it does come short for a few games other than WoW than I'm willing to play. I'm not looking for Mac bashing :-)

Anyway, here's what I found, following the advice from MMO-C's setup of the month posts:

Cooler Master HAF 912

EVGA 600B

Intel i5 4590

Asus H97-PLUS

G.SKILL DDR3 1600

Asus GTX770

Is it any good?

Explanation for my choices:

I have a €800 budget (± €50). I am biased towards Intel but for no real reason: should I consider going AMD instead? I'd prefer an NVIDIA GPU as I'd like to take advantage from ShadowPlay and other goodies not found on the ATI cards: is this stupid? Is the power supply enough? I have no idea what kind of wattage this build would need. I took this case because it's recommended, but is there any better one in the same budget?

I'd like to play WoW, LoL, BF4, Skyrim, Bioshock Infinite, Tomb Raider, Dishonored, and other AAA titles that are to come, at the highest settings possible, 1080p. Would this build allow this? I'm used to very low settings so I imagine that even medium or high settings will be major improvements in the quality of the graphics, but still, maybe it's worth it to go all the way and aim for ultra or high with AA.

I have an other build with a 297 motherboard and a K processor but it's at least €100 more, not considering a good cooler. Also, I have no clue when it comes to overclocking, so I'm afraid to do anything harmful. Should I really put the money and get an overclockable build?

I already own the HDD, SSD, display, keyboard, mouse and other peripherals that I would use here.

Thank you very, very much for reading all this; and thank you even more if you give your recommendations!

[Cyrops]

Shadowplay is only for streaming, are you going to stream for money @1080p? You will want i7 then as well.
Didn't say the country you are from?

[Remilia]

Well, shadowplay can be used for recording, sure but recently I found out that it memory leaked and it took up 3GBs of RAM. Don't know if the new geforce thingy update fixed it.

[Deleted]

Oh, sorry about that. I'm in France. I've looked at specialized retailers here and nothing come close to Amazon France. Do you need the Amazon links?

My understanding of ShadowPlay is that it could record too, as Remilia said. But if it does take up so much memory, then maybe I'd be better off with OBS or similar software. Nothing professional though, definitely not streaming for money (which I guess I'd use a capture card and a second PC for this).

[Deleted]

How close are you to the German/Belgian borders? It might be worth it to look at prices over there first, if you're close enough.

[Cyrops]

Oh, sorry about that. I'm in France. I've looked at specialized retailers here and nothing come close to Amazon France. Do you need the Amazon links?

My understanding of ShadowPlay is that it could record too, as Remilia said. But if it does take up so much memory, then maybe I'd be better off with OBS or similar software. Nothing professional though, definitely not streaming for money (which I guess I'd use a capture card and a second PC for this).

Well, what you picked sounds ok, perhaps go with H87-PRO instead of PLUS, since plus is just bloated for price.

[Deleted]

AMD came out with a similar recording program ... accoring to Linus techtips it's pretty good and is a good competitor for intel's shadowplay !

[Shakadam]

Well, what you picked sounds ok, perhaps go with H87-PRO instead of PLUS, since plus is just bloated for price.

H87-Pro is a little more expensive on the sites I've checked Oo. Also, with H97 you do get out-of-the-box support for devil's canyon CPUs (4690k/4790k) and an added m.2 connector for fast SSD's, worth a few more € imo.

[Deleted]

How close are you to the German/Belgian borders? It might be worth it to look at prices over there first, if you're close enough.

Unfortunately, I'm very far from these borders. I'm closer to Italy but it isn't practical anyway.

Well, what you picked sounds ok, perhaps go with H87-PRO instead of PLUS, since plus is just bloated for price.

I don't know anything about motherboards except that they must have the right socket for the right CPU, and AMD's and Intel's are different. I don't have any particular requirement, except: two SATA 6 Gb/s ports (one HDD and one SSD), an integrated audio “card,” and, if possible, the capability to add a GPU for an SLI (or a CrossFire if I go the ATI way). WiFi and Ethernet are a given, I think.

AMD came out with a similar recording program ... accoring to Linus techtips it's pretty good and is a good competitor for intel's shadowplay !

Do you have any information about it? I figured, Nvidia having had ShadowPlay for longer would be more experienced. On the other hand, if someone has some experience with OBS or Fraps, and can guarantee that they do not hinder FPS and performance as much as they did before (sub-10 FPS impact), then I figure Nvidia isn't so much important.

[Nakotsu]

Hey everyone,

I'm looking to buy my first gaming PC in years, literally. I've been gaming on Mac for what seems forever, but obviously it does come short for a few games other than WoW than I'm willing to play. I'm not looking for Mac bashing :-)

Anyway, here's what I found, following the advice from MMO-C's setup of the month posts:

Cooler Master HAF 912

EVGA 600B

Intel i5 4590

Asus H97-PLUS

G.SKILL DDR3 1600

Asus GTX770

Is it any good?

Explanation for my choices:

I have a €800 budget (± €50). I am biased towards Intel but for no real reason: should I consider going AMD instead? I'd prefer an NVIDIA GPU as I'd like to take advantage from ShadowPlay and other goodies not found on the ATI cards: is this stupid? Is the power supply enough? I have no idea what kind of wattage this build would need. I took this case because it's recommended, but is there any better one in the same budget?

I'd like to play WoW, LoL, BF4, Skyrim, Bioshock Infinite, Tomb Raider, Dishonored, and other AAA titles that are to come, at the highest settings possible, 1080p. Would this build allow this? I'm used to very low settings so I imagine that even medium or high settings will be major improvements in the quality of the graphics, but still, maybe it's worth it to go all the way and aim for ultra or high with AA.

I have an other build with a 297 motherboard and a K processor but it's at least €100 more, not considering a good cooler. Also, I have no clue when it comes to overclocking, so I'm afraid to do anything harmful. Should I really put the money and get an overclockable build?

I already own the HDD, SSD, display, keyboard, mouse and other peripherals that I would use here.

Thank you very, very much for reading all this; and thank you even more if you give your recommendations!

Looks good just make sure ur cpu says something like quad core or higher 8 core is really nice. and for memory go at least 8gigs.
Im running a
intel extreme quad core 2.66mhz cpu
asus board
4gigs ram
win 7 ult 64bit
750 asus ti 2gig vid card
with a 7200 rpm hd
and I run all those games at ultra high minus tomb raider and dishonor never playd them

[Cyrops]

Derp, I ment H97-PRO, not H87.
I derped hard, brain still not working with haswell refresh D: Also I mixed the sides in my comparison list, it's actually H97-PLUS that is good enough.

[Deleted]

Well, shadowplay can be used for recording, sure but recently I found out that it memory leaked and it took up 3GBs of RAM. Don't know if the new geforce thingy update fixed it.

God yes, that bug was horrible. It has been fixed by now though. Shadowplay is a really nice program for recording gameplay but also just your destkop.

[Cyrops]

Looks good just make sure ur cpu says something like quad core or higher 8 core is really nice. and for memory go at least 8gigs.
Im running a
intel extreme quad core 2.66mhz cpu
asus board
4gigs ram
win 7 ult 64bit
750 asus ti 2gig vid card
with a 7200 rpm hd
and I run all those games at ultra high minus tomb raider and dishonor never playd them

Good effort, but you should refrain from giving advice when you don't know what kind of CPU he is talking about just from the CPU name.
i5 is 4 core with no HT, just so you know.

- - - Updated - - -

Do you have any information about it? I figured, Nvidia having had ShadowPlay for longer would be more experienced. On the other hand, if someone has some experience with OBS or Fraps, and can guarantee that they do not hinder FPS and performance as much as they did before (sub-10 FPS impact), then I figure Nvidia isn't so much important.

It's called "RadeonPro", here it is:
http://www.radeonpro.info/2013/08/get-ready-for-new-radeonpro-infinity/

[Deleted]

Derp, I ment H97-PRO, not H87.
I derped hard, brain still not working with haswell refresh D: Also I mixed the sides in my comparison list, it's actually H97-PLUS that is good enough.

So I'm good then? I don't know but I found a couple days back a table showing the differences between all Asus motherboards, and I made my choice based on this. No way to find it back though.

God yes, that bug was horrible. It has been fixed by now though. Shadowplay is a really nice program for recording gameplay but also just your destkop.

Good to know. Thanks!

It's called "RadeonPro", here it is:
http://www.radeonpro.info/2013/08/ge...npro-infinity/

Thanks, again!

---

Is the GTX 770 “enough” for these games? How will it run WoW? (I know it's far from the most demanding game in the list, but it's also one of the ugliest, dare I say, at low settings and I'm quite fed up with the low view distance, the ugly texturized water and the crappy shadows, so I'd prefer to run it on Ultra.)

[Deleted]

First off, the site i am using, i was bronwsing a few French websites and that was the one that cought my interest, also was easy to work with. So the prices are a ballpark, if you can get prices else cheaper do it.

Tried to fit an R9 290 to the following but went up to 900€, i will leave it for refference.

Cpu+cpu cooler: Core i5 4690K + be quiet! Dark Rock 3 250.98€
Mobo: Asus Z97-A 119.89€
Ram: G.Skill Kit Extreme3 2 x 4 Go PC17000 Ripjaws X CAS10 81.59€
Gpu: Sapphire Radeon R9 290 Tri-X OC (UEFI) - 4 Go 324.95€
Psu: Antec HCG - 620W 72.90€
Case: Corsair Carbide 200R 51.89€
---------------
Total: ~900€


There is an interesting kit offer on this site tho:

i5 4690k + MSI Z97 gaming5 + Ram 8GB vengeance + MSI gtx770 674.45€
Cpu cooler: Be Quiet Shadow Rock SLIM 39.49€
Psu: Antec HCG - 620W 72.90€
Case: Corsair Carbide 200R 51.89€
------------------------
Total: 838.73€


note: 620W might be more than plenty on second build but it was the cheapest/ more reliable choice.

[Deleted]

Thank you very, very much Kostattoo for this great answer!

I'm not sure I'll go the overclocking way just yet. Does it make a sensible difference in-game?

Anyway, your answer gave me precious information: Antec's PSU is way better than the EVGA I had in mind (semi-modular vs. fixed, better wattage), the Corsair case is less obnoxious to look at than the Cooler Master (believe it or not, I'm not into neons and stuff; what about ventilation though?), Be Quiet! are somehow a reference/are reliable in CPU cooling (I had no idea which company to put my money on), and if I don't overclock I don't really need to get the most recent Haswell chips as the non-K chips have just had a small speed bump, in contrast to the K chips which have had way better overclock ability than their last generation. Am I right?

I may use the money saved from not going the overclocking way to get a newer-gen SSD.

All in all, the new build I have in mind, thanks to you, checks in at €746:

Corsair Carbide 200R	51.38
Antec HCG - 620W	69.9
i5 4590	175.98
Asus H97-PLUS	94.99
G.SKILL DDR3 1600	83.27
Asus GTX770	270.66

[stormgust]

That Antec PSU isn't semi-modular, you'll need the (considerably) more expensive HCG-620M. If you want a (semi)modular one, I'd suggest you to get a be quiet! Straight Power E9-CM 480W , that wattage is plenty for even a (single) R9 290X (or GTI 780), though it definitely is more expensive than the 620W PSU you currently have planned.

Also, if you're willing to spent more on your case and want a not so bloated design try either the Cooltek Antiphon or the Fractal Design R4. There also are charcoal/grey versions for both of them.

[Deleted]

The setup above is ok as a setup, price wise you don't get the best for your money.

The ram for example is overpriced considering is @ 1600, if its was @ 2133 i would think its ok. If you check on my first setup the ram, its faster and cheaper.

The mobo ain'w worth its money. For the same price you can buy a low end Z97. Also Z97 will give you more options for next gen cpu's if you for whatever reason you go for an upgrade.

Cpu cooler on i5 you will buy it sooner or later due to stock one being crap one. It will do to start with but down the road it will start doing noise etc and during summer it won't keep your cpu temps down. If you were in a north EU country that would be less of a problem.

I would generally reckon that even you don't want to overclock you lock yourself with the above. You don't want to get into the overclock now but what if in 2-3 years you need that extra cpu boost? You will have the ability to do it instead of going for a new cpu.

To sum it up. If you look at my 2nd build and take 40euros off due to cooler that at some point you will buy anyway you are talking under 30euro difference between better board and unlocked cpu. Is it worth it? Hell yes.

- - - Updated - - -

That Antec PSU isn't semi-modular, you'll need the (considerably) more expensive HCG-620M. If you want a (semi)modular one, I'd suggest you to get a be quiet! Straight Power E9-CM 480W , that wattage is plenty for even a (single) R9 290X (or GTI 780), though it definitely is more expensive than the 620W PSU you currently have planned.

Also, if you're willing to spent more on your case and want a not so bloated design try either the Cooltek Antiphon or the Fractal Design R4. There also are charcoal/grey versions for both of them.

The antec is semi-modular. First time ever i see of cooltek cases so no comment there, Fractal design is a very good case, better than 200R but out of his budget.

[Deleted]

That Antec PSU isn't semi-modular, you'll need the (considerably) more expensive HCG-620M.

I just assumed it was semi-modular because of the first pic on Antec's website.

The setup above is ok as a setup, price wise you don't get the best for your money.

The ram for example is overpriced considering is @ 1600, if its was @ 2133 i would think its ok. If you check on my first setup the ram, its faster and cheaper.

The mobo ain'w worth its money. For the same price you can buy a low end Z97. Also Z97 will give you more options for next gen cpu's if you for whatever reason you go for an upgrade.

Cpu cooler on i5 you will buy it sooner or later due to stock one being crap one. It will do to start with but down the road it will start doing noise etc and during summer it won't keep your cpu temps down. If you were in a north EU country that would be less of a problem.

I would generally reckon that even you don't want to overclock you lock yourself with the above. You don't want to get into the overclock now but what if in 2-3 years you need that extra cpu boost? You will have the ability to do it instead of going for a new cpu.

To sum it up. If you look at my 2nd build and take 40euros off due to cooler that at some point you will buy anyway you are talking under 30euro difference between better board and unlocked cpu. Is it worth it? Hell yes.

Good points, again.

Would the Gigabyte Z97X Gaming 3 be any good? According to this table, it has all the things I need, but my untrained eyes could miss some important things.

OK, I have found the G.Skill PC 17000 on Amazon. They're more expensive but I'm not gonna nitpick over 5 euros if they're better.

I think I'm gonna skip the CPU cooler for now but get it ASAP on the next paycheck. Speaking of cooling and noise, is it worth it to max the number of fans attached to the case? All the options I've seen so far, at least at this price point, have lots of fan space but are not maxed out (e.g. 2 out of 5, 3 out of 5, etc.) Is there an area I should focus first? Like on the bottom, on the sides, at the top?

Thanks again Kostattoo, you are a great help!

The antec is semi-modular. First time ever i see of cooltek cases so no comment there, Fractal design is a very good case, better than 200R but out of his budget.

Ha! It did seem semi-modular! Thanks for clearing this up for us.

[Deleted]

Anything above the gigabyte Z97X-sli is good enough, thus the Gaming3 is good. The point tho is that the kit i linked saves you alot of money from trying to buy the individual parts. When i tried to do that it went over budget, thus why i linked it. Now if you can go through multiple websites and find deals etc to match that price then do it