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  1. #1

    New PC build - opinions?

    I'm replacing my current rig with something a bit more modern. Not looking to spend a whole lot unless there's a good reason to, usually I target the point at which diminishing returns appear to kick in. Here's what I've come up with so far:

    CPU: i5 4590 $265
    Motherboard: Gigabyte Z97-D3H $185
    RAM: G-Skill Ripjaws 2400 - 8Gb $105
    Video Card: R9 270X (Gigabyte) $239
    HDD: WD Green 3Tb $129
    SSD: Samsung 850 EVO 250Gb $165

    Total: AUD$1088

    Australian prices from here:
    http://cdn.msy.com.au/Parts/PARTS.pdf

    Any recommendations? I didn't do much research on the motherboard in particular...
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  2. #2
    Moderator chazus's Avatar
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    If it were me, I would either go with an i3-4160 and H97 board and save like $200, or spend the extra $60 and get the 4690K

    Also, moving this to the build/upgrade subforum.
    Gaming: Dual Intel Pentium III Coppermine @ 1400mhz + Blue Orb | Asus CUV266-D | GeForce 2 Ti + ZF700-Cu | 1024mb Crucial PC-133 | Whistler Build 2267
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  3. #3
    I think I went with the 4590 because the 4690 was so close in the benches it didn't seem worth it:

    http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i...l-Core-i5-4590

    That's just one bench though, I could be wrong.
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  4. #4
    Moderator chazus's Avatar
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    To be clear, I mean the 4690K, with the intent to overclock. That boost is worth it, but also costs more. (Personally I think the extra $60 would be worth it in the long run, ie 3-4 years)

    The performance between the i5-4590 @ 3.5ghz and the i3-4160 @3.6ghz is going to be about the same in most games. The i3 is $100 cheaper and the board is cheaper too.
    Gaming: Dual Intel Pentium III Coppermine @ 1400mhz + Blue Orb | Asus CUV266-D | GeForce 2 Ti + ZF700-Cu | 1024mb Crucial PC-133 | Whistler Build 2267
    Media: Dual Intel Drake Xeon @ 600mhz | Intel Marlinspike MS440GX | Matrox G440 | 1024mb Crucial PC-133 @ 166mhz | Windows 2000 Pro

    IT'S ALWAYS BEEN WANKERSHIM | Did you mean: Fhqwhgads
    "Three days on a tree. Hardly enough time for a prelude. When it came to visiting agony, the Romans were hobbyists." -Mab

  5. #5
    Deleted
    Dunno what the budget is exacly since you didn't mention but the following would be a decent build for the price to last you a few years:
    (in a blue/black theme too)

    PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

    CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($325.00 @ CPL Online)
    CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($45.00 @ CPL Online)
    Motherboard: ASRock Z97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($159.00 @ CPL Online)
    Memory: Kingston Fury Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($92.00 @ Centre Com)
    Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($154.00 @ Centre Com)
    Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($72.00 @ Centre Com)
    Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card ($298.00 @ IJK)
    Case: NZXT S340 (Black/Blue) ATX Mid Tower Case ($98.00 @ PLE Computers)
    Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 520W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($104.00 @ CPL Online)
    Total: $1347.00
    Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
    Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-24 21:32 EST+1100
    Last edited by mmoc73263b3bd5; 2015-03-24 at 10:33 AM.

  6. #6
    Deleted
    It depends what you want to do with it. Do you want to play high-end Games? then you should put more budget into the Videocard. Do you mostly play older Games, then I'd put more Budget into CPU/SSD.

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by chazus View Post
    To be clear, I mean the 4690K, with the intent to overclock. That boost is worth it, but also costs more. (Personally I think the extra $60 would be worth it in the long run, ie 3-4 years)

    The performance between the i5-4590 @ 3.5ghz and the i3-4160 @3.6ghz is going to be about the same in most games. The i3 is $100 cheaper and the board is cheaper too.
    I usually get the K, even though I've never bothered to overclock it. I replace PCs every 3-4 years or so, and by the time I replace them I'm generally still running things on max with no issues. But hey, maybe I'd want to overclock one day, and the Ks are about the same.

    It's true, I could go cheaper as well, I kind of picked an arbitrary point in the price scale. I'm currently using an i5-2500K, I usually buy in the i5 range. I'll think about the 4690.

    Quote Originally Posted by Kostattoo View Post
    Dunno what the budget is exacly since you didn't mention but the following would be a decent build for the price to last you a few years:
    (in a blue/black theme too)

    PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

    CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($325.00 @ CPL Online)
    CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($45.00 @ CPL Online)
    Motherboard: ASRock Z97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($159.00 @ CPL Online)
    Memory: Kingston Fury Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($92.00 @ Centre Com)
    Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($154.00 @ Centre Com)
    Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($72.00 @ Centre Com)
    Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card ($298.00 @ IJK)
    Case: NZXT S340 (Black/Blue) ATX Mid Tower Case ($98.00 @ PLE Computers)
    Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 520W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($104.00 @ CPL Online)
    Total: $1347.00
    Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
    Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-24 21:32 EST+1100
    Hmm, forgot to include a PSU. There is really no budget, I usually build in the 1-1.5k range simply because there's diminishing returns when you spend more than that.

    What's everyone's opinion on Geforce vs Radeon this gen? The GTX 960 only benches 11% ahead of the 270X according to this:

    http://gpuboss.com/gpus/Radeon-R9-27...eForce-GTX-960

    And since it was $60 more I figured it wasn't worth it.
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  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Mormolyce View Post
    What's everyone's opinion on Geforce vs Radeon this gen? The GTX 960 only benches 11% ahead of the 270X according to this:

    http://gpuboss.com/gpus/Radeon-R9-27...eForce-GTX-960

    And since it was $60 more I figured it wasn't worth it.
    gpuboss is not the best site for comparisons. It's decent to get some straight comparisons on specs but that's about it. There are not a lot of good benchmarks out there for the 960 yet because it's still pretty new and I think the benchmark sites are waiting on more stuff to release so they can release better comparisons. Since the 960 performs very similarly to the 770 I have been using it's benchmarks for a point of reference:

    http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1037?vs=1043

    Also, I don't see it being $60 more. The cheapest 270x's are around $160 but ones with good aftermarket coolers(which you really need on R9s 2xx's) are closer to $180. Meanwhile, you can still get a good 960 for $200-$210. I'd get a 960 as it not only performs better it does it while using far less power and therefore running cooler.

    That said, your PC is fine. Why wouldn't you just OC your 2500K. The 4690K is not going to perform a lot better then the 2500K. It will be very little increase in performance for the amount you are going to spend. Get a top of the line aftermarket cooler like the Noctua NH=D15 and OC your 2500K and you'll be within 10% od what a 4690K can do and will likely be performing better than a stock-clocked 4690. Spend the money on a GTX980 instead.

  9. #9
    Scarab Lord Master Guns's Avatar
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    Spend 50 more dollars and get a 4690K and then slap an h80i on it and OC it. It'll be WELL worth the extra dollars, trust me.

    Check out the directors cut of my project SCHISM, a festival winning short film
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiHNTS-vyHE

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Master Guns View Post
    Spend 50 more dollars and get a 4690K and then slap an h80i on it and OC it. It'll be WELL worth the extra dollars, trust me.
    If he OCed his 2500K he would see nearly the same performance. The 2500K performs very close to the 4690K:
    http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/288?vs=1261

    and that's without an OC, which the OP mentioned he was not going to do anyway. Were not talking any big gains here by moving from his current 2500K to a 4690K.

    Sure, the on-chip graphics on the 4690K are far superior as can be seen there, but that does not matter at all to someone with a dedicated graphics card. It would be a colossal waste of money, not well worth it.

  11. #11
    Scarab Lord Master Guns's Avatar
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    What he considers worth is not what you consider worth. You can't put words in someones mouth. Most people will pay money to see an upgrade in performance, and if you think the 2500k performs as good as a 4690K, then hell, why don't we all have 2500k's? Right, that's because it IS better, in every regard.

    Check out the directors cut of my project SCHISM, a festival winning short film
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiHNTS-vyHE

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Master Guns View Post
    What he considers worth is not what you consider worth. You can't put words in someones mouth. Most people will pay money to see an upgrade in performance, and if you think the 2500k performs as good as a 4690K, then hell, why don't we all have 2500k's? Right, that's because it IS better, in every regard.
    Because not all of us were upgrading when the 2500K was out. If you were doing you upgrade after the 3570 came out, then yeah, you buy a 3570 because the 2500K are no longer being made and went up in price. Same with a 4690K. If upgrading today, and you do not already have a 2500K, why buy a 2500K when it costs more?

    Also, they are not better in every regard. Look at the benchmark I linked before making stupid comments maybe? the 2500K actually outperformed the 4670K in Agisoft PhotoScan Benchmark Stages 1 through 5 and in WinRAR. So not every regard.

    Sure, you'd see maybe 10% increase in performance in games and most settings, but is a 10% gain with $1000+? I guess if you wipe your ass with $100 bills maybe.

  13. #13
    Scarab Lord Master Guns's Avatar
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    If your 4690k cost 1000 dollars I think you need to find a new place to shop considering it cost like 300. LOL. And an h80i is what, 50? So 350 = 1000? Interesting.

    Check out the directors cut of my project SCHISM, a festival winning short film
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiHNTS-vyHE

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Master Guns View Post
    If your 4690k cost 1000 dollars I think you need to find a new place to shop considering it cost like 300. LOL. And an h80i is what, 50? So 350 = 1000? Interesting.
    Yes, but in the context of the thread we are talking about an entire build for around $1000. Even still, even if he only bought a 4690K($225) plus a motherboard since his old one is old socket($100) and a that Corsair H80i(which is $85 not 50) then adjust for Australian prices, that's probably around $500, for very little gain.

    It's also funny how you ignored everything else I said and just picked that, out of context with the rest of the thread, to say something about. You are wrong. Just shut up already.

  15. #15
    I probably won't OC, haven't in the last two PCs I built, I just get the K series in case I change my mind later.

    On price: I don't mind going up higher, but only if there's a strong performance reason to do so. Price isn't a major issue, I just don't want to pay a lot more for something that only increases my real world performance by a marginal amount.

    Quote Originally Posted by Lathais View Post
    gpuboss is not the best site for comparisons. It's decent to get some straight comparisons on specs but that's about it. There are not a lot of good benchmarks out there for the 960 yet because it's still pretty new and I think the benchmark sites are waiting on more stuff to release so they can release better comparisons. Since the 960 performs very similarly to the 770 I have been using it's benchmarks for a point of reference:

    http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1037?vs=1043

    Also, I don't see it being $60 more. The cheapest 270x's are around $160 but ones with good aftermarket coolers(which you really need on R9s 2xx's) are closer to $180. Meanwhile, you can still get a good 960 for $200-$210. I'd get a 960 as it not only performs better it does it while using far less power and therefore running cooler.

    That said, your PC is fine. Why wouldn't you just OC your 2500K. The 4690K is not going to perform a lot better then the 2500K. It will be very little increase in performance for the amount you are going to spend. Get a top of the line aftermarket cooler like the Noctua NH=D15 and OC your 2500K and you'll be within 10% od what a 4690K can do and will likely be performing better than a stock-clocked 4690. Spend the money on a GTX980 instead.
    Well I'm not really upgrading for that purpose - my current PC has no real performance issues. I'm actually upgrading so I can replace my other old PC (I run 2 PCs, my current one and my old one) and let my wife use this one. On the prices - this is AUD$, I was using MSY as a comparison because they're generally the lowest price in Melb.

    Thanks for the benches, that's informative - will consider upgrading the graphics card.

    Opinions on the 280X vs the GTX770? I've used both NVidia and AMD in the past so I could go either way.

    http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1037?vs=1041

    Quote Originally Posted by Master Guns View Post
    Spend 50 more dollars and get a 4690K and then slap an h80i on it and OC it. It'll be WELL worth the extra dollars, trust me.
    I have been considering liquid cooling.

    What's everyone's opinion on liquid cooling? Worth it even if I don't OC? That model is about AUD$150.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hooked View Post
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  16. #16
    Scarab Lord Master Guns's Avatar
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    If you don't OC, I wouldn't worry about liquid cooling. But if you do plan on OC'ing, watercooling is mandatory.

    Check out the directors cut of my project SCHISM, a festival winning short film
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiHNTS-vyHE

  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by Master Guns View Post
    If you don't OC, I wouldn't worry about liquid cooling. But if you do plan on OC'ing, watercooling is mandatory.
    Since when lol? More and more ppl move away from water cooling unless custom. A decent aftermarket air cooler does the job fine. A mild 4.2Ghz overclock is fine handled by a CM evo - Pure/shadow rock...

  18. #18
    Moderator chazus's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mormolyce View Post
    I'm actually upgrading so I can replace my other old PC (I run 2 PCs, my current one and my old one) and let my wife use this one.
    If that were the case, I would just buy her a newer budget gaming system (4160 setup) and OC your current 2500K.

    As others said earlier, an OC'd 2500k is about as good as a 4590 or un-OC'd 4690K. So save a fair bit of money overall and still achieve the same goals.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote Originally Posted by Master Guns View Post
    But if you do plan on OC'ing, watercooling is mandatory.
    No, it definitely isn't.
    Gaming: Dual Intel Pentium III Coppermine @ 1400mhz + Blue Orb | Asus CUV266-D | GeForce 2 Ti + ZF700-Cu | 1024mb Crucial PC-133 | Whistler Build 2267
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    IT'S ALWAYS BEEN WANKERSHIM | Did you mean: Fhqwhgads
    "Three days on a tree. Hardly enough time for a prelude. When it came to visiting agony, the Romans were hobbyists." -Mab

  19. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by Master Guns View Post
    If you don't OC, I wouldn't worry about liquid cooling. But if you do plan on OC'ing, watercooling is mandatory.
    Lolwut?

    I can (and have) overclocked my 4790K to the point where it's unstable because of voltage on air without temps being remotely an issue. You can easily do the same with a 4690K. The Devil's Canyon chips dont exactly have a lot of OC headroom. They dont hit 5Ghz even on watercooling (unless you get supremely lucky on the silicon lottery) - because of voltage, not heat. I run it stable at 4.5 Ghz and the temps are identical to if i leave it stock (4Ghz). It goes unstable at 4.7 or so due to voltage, and the temps are still the same, +/- 1C.

    You DONT need a water rig to overclock. You just need a good cooler and good airflow.

    - - - Updated - - -

    On topic:

    If you're building a new rig to give the current one to your wife (hey, that's how computer upgrades work in my house too..), then i'd stick with the recommendations so far:

    if you're just going to be gaming on it (and dont have need for extra cores/hyperthreading) - stick with the i5. Get the 4690K if it isn't too much more expensive simply for the option to overclock later, if you feel like it. Its easier than ever (you could OC it to 4Ghz on a 40$ (US$) air cooler).

    Depending on the costs (i know i just did a build for a guy in AUS$ and holy crap does the VAT screw you guys) - consider a GTX 970 even if you play largely at 1080p - the larger VRAM pool will lend it longevity vs the 960.

    8GB of RAM is likely fine if you dont do much more than gaming and light background tasks.

    I consider (at least in US$) the sweet spot to be around 900-1100 for a "bottom of the high end" rig. Here, at least, you can get a GTX 970, i5 4690K, and 8GB of RAM and that will generally crush gaming at 1080p and last several years.

  20. #20
    Scarab Lord Master Guns's Avatar
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    You guys have no idea what you're talking about LOL. GG OCing and burning out your cpu before it should, no sweat off my back.

    I swear I've never seen a group more pompous and stuck up than this. It's honestly sickening.
    Last edited by Master Guns; 2015-03-27 at 01:09 AM.

    Check out the directors cut of my project SCHISM, a festival winning short film
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiHNTS-vyHE

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