65 replies to this topic

[DustySkunk]

Hi all,

My laptop died this fall (R.I.P. Sony Vaio... you served me well) and ever since then I've been gaming on whatever I could get my hands on. To make a long story short, I've been saving up for a new desktop ever since and now I'm ready to pull the trigger on a new rig. My budget is about $1000~1300 USD and I've theory-crafted a build. I would like some feedback on my choices before I dive in and build it.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/YqskmG

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/6HNG6h

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/nf8PLk

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/vDdMK8

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/VD3sBm

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker....Bm/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($222.75 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($28.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($125.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($72.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($119.95 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda ES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($44.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card ($333.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Storm Enforcer ATX Mid Tower Case ($98.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12G 550W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($74.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($17.88 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($87.75 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1228.23
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-06 21:47 EST-0500

*Items marked with (?) are under review at the moment*

A few notes/concerns...

I would like to stick with Intel/Nvidia if at all possible. No offense to AMD guys; I've just had very good luck with them in the past and feel more comfortable with their products.

I don't plan on moving to 4k any time soon. That said, I am looking for a rig that will run games for a few years at about 60FPS before upgrading,

I would like to build a good foundation for upgrades in the future. I will consider OC when necessary and will eventually be looking into water cooling.

I know there has been some controversy over the GTX-970 these days. The extra performance for the $$ for the 980 at 1080p doesn't seem worth it (unless there is something I'm missing)... So the 780Ti seems like the next logical choice. Thoughts?

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks in advance for any replies! I really appreciate any insights

UPDATE 1:
Changed the Mobo to a MSI Z97-GAMING 5 ATX LGA1150 and updated the partpicker link based on feedback.

UPDATE 2:
Changed the drives to an SSD with HDD backup, changed the video card, removed the monitor, updated partpicker link

UPDATE 3:
New mobo, new RAM, new OS, new HDD... nearly new build!

UPDATE 4:
Updated RAM, new CPU cooler

Edited by DustySkunk, 06 March 2015 - 06:49 PM.

[Vassago Rain]

I'd hold off until march-april. Allegedly, that's when green and red will talk about their new products. Red, especially, might have some good stuff for once.

[Flapdrol]

If you buy a K cpu I'd match it with a Z board. H boards may allow overclocks often, but not always, and you can't run memory over 1600 on them.

[xWiredx]

Yeah, definitely grab a Z97 board instead.

Also, regarding new products coming out in the next couple of months: the only rumors aim at either the super high-end or the lower mid-range. At the price point of the GTX 970, you won't find anything new coming out from Nvidia for sure, and AMD is sketchy at best as far as new products go (but the only thing rumored is their new 390X or whatever it will be called).

[DustySkunk]

Thanks for the feedback everyone! I started scoping out new Z series mobos. Any thoughts on the MSI Z97 GAMING 5? It seems to have high reviews and is within my pricing bracket.

http://www.pcgamewar...erboard-review/

[Summon3r]

absolutely switch out the h97 for a z97, the MSI board is nice also you cannot go wrong with ASUS mobo's. also if your considering a 780ti then why not go 980?

[DustySkunk]

Alrighty~ I've switched out the Mobo for the Z97 and updated the OP

Summon3r, on 25 February 2015 - 08:29 AM, said:

absolutely switch out the h97 for a z97, the MSI board is nice also you cannot go wrong with ASUS mobo's. also if your considering a 780ti then why not go 980?

You're absolutely right, I might as well just go the 980 route if I was thinking 780Ti. I was under the false impression that the 780Ti had dropped in price but that isn't the case.

The mobo has stretched the price up to about $1300 USD and I'd like to keep it at about 1200 if possible. I have a 450W PSU laying around (I actually use it as a ghetto benchtop power supply) I could use instead of the 650W I have listed in this build and save $70. However I'm concerned that it might starve under the right conditions. What do you guys think? Can I get away with it?

edit: spelling

Edited by DustySkunk, 25 February 2015 - 09:31 AM.

[Flapdrol]

Depends on the age and type of psu. Though I'd recommend getting rid of the velociraptor instead.

[DustySkunk]

Flapdrol, on 25 February 2015 - 09:31 AM, said:

Depends on the age and type of psu. Though I'd recommend getting rid of the velociraptor instead.

Yeah, it's been around for a few years and certainly has some wear and tear. Probably a bad idea to use it.

I'm interested about hearing more of your thoughts on the VelociRaptor. I originally was looking at a 128GB SSD with a 500GB to 1TB HDD for longer term non-priority data storage. I came across the VelociRaptor and although it's nowhere near as fast as an SSD, it seemed like a nice compromise. It also seems to be reviewed highly. You think it's a bad idea?

I do have a few external HDs I could use for long term data storage. I could just go with a 128GB SSD instead of the VelociRaptor and and shave 70-ish dollars off the price... Although I think that might get really cramped really quickly.

[MercJ]

240GB SSDs are somewhat of a sweet spot right now (only about $15-30 more than the 128). If possible, spring for one of those. The velociraptor wouldn't give near as much of a performance boost as an SSD (the real benefit to SSDs is their near-instant access times - .03ms vs 4-12ms of most hard drives) - while it'd be fun to have a 10K drive, you'll be glad you went with an SSD instead

If you don't plan to do any overclocking, you should be fine with a 450W power supply (depending on the brand/quality of course, but I ran a heavily overclocked i5-4670K and GTX 970 off of a Silverstone SFX 450W PSU, for what it's worth).

EDIT (to address questions in OP ): the GTX970 "controversy" - there's nothing wrong with the card itself. Still a great value for the $, and no one seems to have complained until they found out they could start getting refunds/etc. Still have mine, don't feel cheated. NOW, whether or not you think NVIDIA intended to mislead anyone (and may or may not have benefit from doing so) might be another story - that's more of a moral issue I guess, and another topic entirely Vote with your wallet I guess I get about the same experience in-game with my R9 290 (watercooled/overclocked) as my GTX970 (when not overclocked) on a 60fps monitor.

Thoughts on the Velociraptor - why not? If you can get it for a good price, go for it - but it still won't come close to the performance boost from an SSD Get an SSD first, if you can. The outright speeds won't matter near as much as the access times (which an SSD has both).

Edited by MercJ, 25 February 2015 - 10:13 AM.

[DustySkunk]

MercJ, on 25 February 2015 - 10:01 AM, said:

240GB SSDs are somewhat of a sweet spot right now (only about $15-30 more than the 128). If possible, spring for one of those. The velociraptor wouldn't give near as much of a performance boost as an SSD (the real benefit to SSDs is their near-instant access times - .03ms vs 4-12ms of most hard drives) - while it'd be fun to have a 10K drive, you'll be glad you went with an SSD instead

If you don't plan to do any overclocking, you should be fine with a 450W power supply (depending on the brand/quality of course, but I ran a heavily overclocked i5-4670K and GTX 970 off of a Silverstone SFX 450W PSU, for what it's worth).

EDIT (to address questions in OP ): the GTX970 "controversy" - there's nothing wrong with the card itself. Still a great value for the $, and no one seems to have complained until they found out they could start getting refunds/etc. Still have mine, don't feel cheated. NOW, whether or not you think NVIDIA intended to mislead anyone (and may or may not have benefit from doing so) might be another story - that's more of a moral issue I guess, and another topic entirely Vote with your wallet I guess I get about the same experience in-game with my R9 290 (watercooled/overclocked) as my GTX970 (when not overclocked) on a 60fps monitor.

Thoughts on the Velociraptor - why not? If you can get it for a good price, go for it - but it still won't come close to the performance boost from an SSD Get an SSD first, if you can. The outright speeds won't matter near as much as the access times (which an SSD has both).

Thanks for the info, MercJ! I'll have to look up the make and model of my existing 450W PSU before making a final call on it (I'm out of town at the moment so it will have to wait until I get home). I do not plan on OCing any time soon so it may be an option to use it.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with the 970 The performance seems to be there at 1080p (I'm definitely not in the market for 4k any time soon) and it's good to hear you're happy with it.

In terms of the 240GB SSD, do you have a particular make/model that you recommend? Looking at the pricing/performance now it seems like a no brainer to pick one up!

[xWiredx]

DustySkunk, on 25 February 2015 - 10:35 AM, said:

In terms of the 240GB SSD, do you have a particular make/model that you recommend? Looking at the pricing/performance now it seems like a no brainer to pick one up!

The Samsung 840 and 850 series SSDs are awesome. My desktop has a 256GB 840 Pro and my laptop has 2x 250GB 850 EVO in RAID0. My buddy has an 850 EVO, too. They're fast and reliable, considered the best in class right now without breaking the bank.

[Goose]

Right

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.75 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright TS-140 73.6 CFM CPU Cooler ($39.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97-HD3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($82.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: GeIL EVO POTENZA 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2666 Memory ($86.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: A-Data Premier Pro SP600 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($87.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Toshiba 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($83.30 @ Newegg)
Video Card: PNY GeForce GTX 780 3GB XLR8 Enthusiast Edition Video Card ($286.50 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec Eleven Hundred V2 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0 DVD/CD Writer ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Case Fan: Antec 75024 79.0 CFM 120mm Fan ($-0.02 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: Antec 75024 79.0 CFM 120mm Fan ($-0.02 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: Antec 75024 79.0 CFM 120mm Fan ($-0.02 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: Antec 75024 79.0 CFM 120mm Fan ($-0.02 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: AOC G2460PQU 144Hz 24.0" Monitor ($249.99 @ Best Buy)
Other: BitFenix BFA-MSC-3F33F60KK-RP 23.62" (60cm) Fan Adapter Cable M-F ($10.99)
Other: Silverstone CPF01 3.94" PWM Fan Splitter Cable ($3.99)
Other: Silverstone CPF01 3.94" PWM Fan Splitter Cable http://www.newegg.co...N82E16812162026 ($3.99)
Total: $1274.35
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-25 15:05 EST-0500

Base Total: $1438.54
Promo Discounts: -$21.69
Mail-in Rebates: -$152.00
Shipping: $9.50
Total: $1274.35

48.5A out'a 53 on the 12V rail(s), and an overclock is assumed; The cables will sort out the door and front fans, one way or another; I think I got'a price on the 780; MercJ was right about SSD prices; I went with the cheapest monitor Tom's likes.

Win10 is still free, man …

[Flapdrol]

I wouldn't downgrade the 970 to 780 just to save $50.

[Goose]

Speak of the Devil: http://www.tomshardw...build,4056.html

[DustySkunk]

Thank you all so much for your help so far! I'm doing some research on specific components right now and will be back to update this thread before too long.

[Goose]

Be advised: Prices move …

[DustySkunk]

Goose, on 25 February 2015 - 02:13 PM, said:

Be advised: Prices move …

Roger that!

[MavRCK]

Don't bother with a 10k HDD. Get a 256 gig or 512 gig ssd and be done. Add an external if you need the room. There is no comparison between a HHD and SSD.

[TacoTurtle]

SSD with a mid range hard drive.
Best thing i ever did.
i can get that i5k to 4.5 over clock