1. #1
    I am Murloc! Terahertz's Avatar
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    €1.1k Gaming PC, need help with earlier suggested build.

    Hello, I got a suggestion for a build a few days ago on an earlier thread regarding my dad´s computer having broken down. However, plans have changed and I need some further help.

    Budget: ~€1100 The budget depends. If I can get a much better component )for example graphics card) in the build for 100-200 dollars more that'd be okay.
    Resolution: 1920x1080p
    Games / Settings Desired: Games like BF4, Shadows of Mordor on high+ settings. Basically best bang for the buck.
    Any other intensive software or special things you do (Frequent video encoding, 3D modeling, etc): No
    Country: Netherlands. I plan to buy the components and what not from www.alternate.nl, if there are similar/cheaper websites, please do recommend.
    Parts that can be reused: None.
    Do you need an OS? Nope.
    Do you need peripherals (e.g. monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers, etc)? Not necessarily. I do need some speakers, but they're not top priority.

    As for the build that was recommended to me:
    cpu: i5-4690K 223€
    cpu cooler: Cooler Master Hyper212 Evo 30€
    mobo: GIGABYTE GA-Z97X-SLI 103€
    ram: Crucial 8 GB DDR3-1600 Kit 70
    ssd: Crucial MX100 CT256MX100SSD1, 256 GB 99€
    hdd: Western Digital Blue, 1 TB harde schijf 55€
    gpu: MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G 364
    psu: XFX PRO550W Core Edition, 550 Watt 59€
    case: Corsair Carbide 200R 55

    This build is roughly €1050~, suggested by Kostattoo (thanks!)

    Are there any adjustments that could be made to the build for around €100 more?

    Also, as for second opinion and clarification, I had help with a previous build 1-2 years ago that cost me around the 1500. I also posted the build in my previous thread asking if it was worse than the build suggested up above. That's where I need a second opinion as it might influence the budget.

    My current set up:
    cpu: Intel Core i5 3570k
    cpu cooler: can't remember, but I do remember having bought separate fans.
    mobo: Gigabyte Z77X-D3H
    ram: can't remember, but 8gb
    SSD: 256GB
    HDD: 1TB
    gpu: EVGA GeForce GTX 680
    psu: 800W I believe

    I can't reuse any of these components besides maybe swap the psu with one I'd be buying with this build, since my current set up will be going to my father.

    Thank you for any help!

  2. #2
    Deleted
    Your second setup is obviously worse than the one i suggested in both cpu power (not huge difference) and gpu (big improvement). There is no dispute about it.

    What you can do with 100euro more thrown in the first build:

    1. Instead of i5 get the i7 4790k, if you are looking to do more than just gaming in the future (i know you said you don't) or if you don't want to bother or don't have the time to do a good overclock on the i5 (i7 turbo's to 4.4GHz on all cores, so its a little over +500Mhz gain).

    2. Get a better board, psu (modular) and better case or speakers or better cpu cooler (quieter mostly).
    - You can use all 100 on say a better board but aint worth it, i would use a little bit on all those 3 to get something a little better.

    3. Save the money, take your girl/boy out

    As you can see from the first two options you won't get performance boost out of it unless you don't overclock the i5. You will get more features, like a modular psu, or a better case maybe with a window, or a better board with double power phases for more stable overclocking potential.

  3. #3
    I am Murloc! Terahertz's Avatar
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    Hmm, well I don't really know how to overclock. I have looked into it, but quite frankly I'm also too impatient for it.

    As for a better board and such. I'm thinking of getting maybe a better psu. Isn't 600w a bit on the low end for a gaming PC? Idk, that's what I heard when I built my current desktop.

    I'm sorry, but would you maybe have some suggestions, or even better, a website where I can teach myself a bit more on computer parts and which are better? I'm totally clueless about which part is better than which as I mostly just look at the numbers of a component.

    The extra 100 bucks isn't really a must either. It was just something my father said that if I can get a much better part in the build for a 100 bucks more or so that I should do that since I'll be planning on having the desktop for a while as well as I want potentially upgrade it in the future.

  4. #4
    Hello,

    this is my first post in MMO Champion. I came by your post and wanted to help.

    I recently built 3 gaming systems that could easily run any game in ultra settings. I will try my best to give you some advices.

    The build which was suggested to you is perfect, however, I have few suggestion:

    1. Change the motherboard to any Asus branded mother board such as the Z97-A or the Z97-PRO or any edition of the Z97 class. These motherboards offer great performance for gaming and video rendering. But the biggest advantage of these boards is the "Dual Intelligent Processors 5" overclocking software which comes in the motherboard CD. This software allows you to easily overclock your CPU with a click of a button. I was low on budget when I built my gaming PC, which currently can run all games on 4K resolution, and I still use the i5 4690k CPU. Using the software I managed to overclock my CPU up to 4.4 GHZ on all 4 cores.

    2. Changing your Graphic card from "MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G" to "Gigabyte GTX 970 G1 Gaming 4GB GDDR5". They both use Nvidia GTX 970 as a base but Gigabyte did not only add an extra Display port but overclocked their card which could easily outperform other GTX 970 editions.

    3. Upgrading the power supply to 650W. This change is not a must but it will help in case in the future you wanted to install a 2nd GTX 970 for a better 4K resolution experience. Please note that a single GTX 970 can still run games in 4K resolution.

    If the Room temperature where the PC is going to be is going to be at around 24C0 or less, then the stock CPU cooling fan that comes with the CPU is enough. however, if you wanted a better overclocking experience then the suggested cpu cooler or going to a customised cpu liquid cooling system such as the corsair H80i or the corsair H100i will provide you with better results.

    My current Build is as follows:

    CPU: i5 4690k, Overclocked to 4.4 GHz
    CPU Cooling system: Corsair H80i
    Motherboard: Asus Z97-A
    Graphics Card: Gigabyte GTX970 G1 Gaming
    Memory: 16gb. (Kingstone 8 GB DDR3)x2
    Storage: Corsair 240 GB + 1 TB Black Western Digital.
    Power Supply: Corsair 650W

    If you had any questions please let me know.

    Sincerely,

    - - - Updated - - -

    Just wanted to add that the most important components for a normal consumer/gamer is the Graphics Card then the CPU. anything else would have very little effect on the quality of gaming. almost all new PC games require 2 cores of CPU and almost all kinds of new 4th generation CPUs have 2 or more Cores. i would gladly cut the budget of the RAMs, Motherboards, Hard Drives, Power supply, Case or even the CPU for a better graphic card.

    in my Build above I chose a GTX 970 over a GTX 980 because the GTX 980 outperforms the GTX 970 with almost 10 fps only in most games. and my main plan is to have dual GTX 970 which is way better than a single GTX 980.
    Last edited by il Buffalo; 2014-10-19 at 05:42 PM.

  5. #5
    I am Murloc! Terahertz's Avatar
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    Oh wow, that's an amazing post il Buffalo! I'll be looking into the parts you recommend and see if I can find them on the website I'll be buying my parts from.

    Ok, so apparently all parts can be bought except for the graphics card, which is unknown when it's delivered.

    So far I've found these: ASUS Z97-A, ASUS Z97-PRO and then the Gigabyte GTX 970

    Those were the ones mentioned, correct? What exactly are the differences between the Z97-A and the Z97-PRO besides price? Also, I won't be planning on buying a second graphics card, so will 550w PSU still suffice?
    Last edited by Terahertz; 2014-10-19 at 07:11 PM.

  6. #6
    The difference between the two motherboards is that the Z97-Pro have more slots to connect storage drives. The Z97-A is the entry level to the Z97 motherboard family. Which means that the Z97-A will have all the basic features while his brothers in the Z97 family will have extra slots driver slots or extra fan connections. But both the A and the Pro have 6 fan connections so you are good.

    For the specs posted I suggest going for Z97-A since you will be installing 2 drivers only.

    As for the power supply. With these specs I believe you will need 300w-400w power supply. So your 550w PSU will be enough even for future upgrades while still using one graphics card.

    Please note that while the PSU doesn't affect the quality of gaming at all, it affects greatly in the amount of heat and total noise generated in the PC case. Larger PSU would generate more heat and noise than smaller PSU.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Also, to lower the price of the build And make it easier on the budget you can drop the SSD and just use the 1 TB blue or Black western digital hard drive. The only thing an SSD will add to your gaming experience is faster loading screens and, in very rare games, slightly faster response.

  7. #7
    I am Murloc! Terahertz's Avatar
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    Ok, so I built the build in the PC editor on the website and my end price is roughly €1090~, the problem is that the gigabyte graphics card you suggested cannot yet be delivered, so I would have to potentially buy the graphics card from a different website. Just to test the build's price I simply included the MSI one.

    Also, for some reason I could not include the recommended PSU: XFX PRO550W Core Edition, 550 Watt voeding, so instead I included this one: Cooler Master B600, 600 Watt voeding. Should I buy the 550w one separately or just include the 600w one? From what I can see, the 600w one has a smaller fan which might be more troublesome? Efficiency wise it says 83-86% compared to 85%, so that shouldn't be a problem?

    So this is the build:

    CPU: Intel® Core™ i5-4690K, 3,5 GHz (3,9 GHz Turbo Boost) 1150 processor
    CPU cooler: Cooler Master Hyper212 Evo
    Mobo: ASUS Z97-A, socket 1150 moederbord
    Ram: Crucial 8 GB DDR3-1600 Kit
    SSD: Crucial MX100 CT256MX100SSD1, 256 GB SSD
    HDD:Western Digital Blue, 1 TB harde schijf
    GPU: GIGABYTE GV-N970G1 GAMING-4GD
    PSU: Cooler Master B600, 600 Watt voeding
    Case: Sharkoon T5 Economy
    Dvd drive: ASUS DRW-24F1ST

    So that's about it. I'm unsure if the case's size is proper though. The one suggested only had 2 USB 3 ports on the front, and I prefer USB 2 drives in the front as I have nothnig USB 3.

    There's the option for me to have the website prebuild the desktop for a small fee, but I think I'll have to do it myself with maybe the help of my father because the graphics card can't be delivered yet on that website, so I'll have to buy it from another website. Besides that, the PSU suggested by Kostattoo in my OP for some reason could not be included in the PC builder either. So unless the one I picked works just as well, or unless the website also builds "unfinished" PCs, I will have to build it myself.

    Any recommended changes about the build I posted in this post?
    Last edited by Terahertz; 2014-10-20 at 02:33 AM.

  8. #8
    it is all up to you to stick with MSI or go to Gigabyte GTX 970. as i said, they both are based on the GTX 970 from Nvidia.

    As for the power supply. any PSU will work just fine. copy this title to youtube "Choosing the Right PC Power Supply (PSU) as Fast As Possible".

    All USB 3.0 can run USB 2.0 as well .. so having USB 3.0 is an advantage.

    The case size dose not matter. what is more important is the amount of fans it can carry. and the case you chose is fine.

    building the PC yourself for the first time might be tricky. but it is easy. there are a lot of videos in Youtube that can take you step by step.

  9. #9
    I am Murloc! Terahertz's Avatar
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    Oh boy.. I feel extremely silly now that I didn't even realize I could put USB 2.0 in 3.0... wow...

    Anyways, I'll most likely be scrolling through some different cases now since I based my choice on decent air flow as well as USB 2.0 ports, heh.

    I'd also still like to buy the Gigabyte one if it comes stock OCed since I most likely wouldn't have been OCing it myself anyways, so if it's already stock OCed for the same price, that's free performance in my head :P

    Thanks for all the help, I'll most likely be buying the build posted above. Both you and Kostattoo have been of a lot of help, but I'd have to give you some more credit on also explaining all of this stuff a bit more in depth as well as explaining why certain parts might be a better choice. Thanks

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