11 replies to this topic

[Jake Devlin]

Ok. So I just got the new job today (Almost a month unemployed. Sucked) and I am ready to pull the trigger on getting these parts. I'm going for 60FPS on at least high settings with NO overclocking, but I can live on medium settings.

The feedback I'm looking for is: Can this rig do it? If not, where would I have to upgrade, and suggestions for alternatives. If it can do it, can I cut some corners? Suggestions on LAN cards. I would like to avoid USB WiFi antennae if possible. And finally, cases. I'm pretty sure I can pick up a cheap one at a local PC parts store, but if there is a specific case you have in mind for whatever reason, I'd love to hear it. With no further ado:

Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor-$224.99
MSI Z97-GAMING 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard-$139.99
G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory-$67.98
Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive-$104.98
Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive-$69.98
EVGA GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card-$204.99
EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply-$78.99
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler-$29.98

Some notes: I went with both SSD and regular hard drive because I plan on playing more than MWO on this, so with the reading on SSD being good for your computer on startup if you've got some stuff on the HD, I figured having 2 storage areas would be good.

I will be buying these parts bit by bit, starting with most expensive, parts on sale receive priority.

I chose the 960 GPU because with the 980 over 2x the price, and i haven't seen anything saying that the 970 is such a huge improvement, the extra ~$120 didn't seem too justifiable. I may be wrong. But I can always upgrade if/when the price drops.

Sorry for the long post, I'm just trying to get the most informed decision together before I start buying all these parts. Any questions and feedback are welcome!

Edited by Jake Devlin, 20 March 2015 - 04:14 PM.

[Goose]

Probably not: Your goal is too lofty.

Seriously: Any claim of "steady 60" without log files should be blown off, unless they also talk about an overclock of 4.2GHz-plus.

Conversely, I think a minimum of 42 is what the above claims are really telling us, and so that might be good enough.

But, for all the builds I post, it's not like know for shore 3.3~3.5GHz will cut the mustard. It just seems the way to bet …

I will say you should look harder for faster RAM *coughs*, and that I don't think I'd pay for the "Black Series" name ever again, but that build should be OK.

So: You have a case that'll accept that cooler? How'd you pick the PSU?

Edited by Goose, 21 March 2015 - 12:27 PM.

[Lord Letto]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Micro Center)
Motherboard: Asus GRYPHON Z87 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($91.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($70.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($149.98 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.49 @ Directron)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280X 3GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($199.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($54.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Micro Center)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $991.37
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-20 18:13 EDT-0400

Edited by Lord Letto, 20 March 2015 - 02:13 PM.

[Jake Devlin]

Goose, on 20 March 2015 - 01:52 PM, said:

So: You have a case that'll accept that cooler? How'd you pick the PSU?

I picked the PSU because it seemed right in the middle of the price spectrum, so if there was an 80+ Bronze for ~$69, and an 80+ Gold for ~$75, but the only other 80+ Golds were ~$100, the price seemed right. As for the case? I have no idea. I could look around the local PC shop and size compare, that's kind of how I figured I'd have to proceed. Tough to tell if something is gonna fit, just by looking at pretty pictures.

So if you're suggesting OC, what would you suggest on hardware? I could swallow a processor upgrade, though I haven't seem but I will probably up the GPU to a 970 if I'm going to go that route, just would take longer.

Note: The site says that the GSkill Trident memory operates at a higher voltage than the processor max voltage. Is this a prompt to up the processor?

Edited by Jake Devlin, 20 March 2015 - 02:23 PM.

[xWiredx]

The 4690K is a fine chip, no need to go any higher (the only things higher are i7s). I would recommend a different cooler (a nice Noctua air cooler or Corsair AIO water cooler) and a Seasonic PSU rated for 500W. The RAM will be fine.

[Rascally Jack]

Remember 1600 is plenty for RAM but 1866 cost the same. No need to go faster the tests prove it is not worth the cost.
The only thing I see is the PSU needing to be larger. You need to add the Power consumption of all the items together then give yourself a margin.

I have the same processor *non-OC* it definitely gets warm if you OC
~ same mobo *ASUS ROG*
I went with the Crucial M500 256GB SSD
HDD is great... 5 yr warranty ftw
Memory: I went with 16GB 12800 1600Mhz *because I already had it*
GPU I run the R9-290X 4GB Ram Double Dissapation.
Same CPU cooler
I use Gelid GC Extreme thermal compound

On Medium settings with Environment very High FPS: 60+ - 80+ avg with spikes to 100+ and occasional low spikes to 50+
1280x720
Full Window
DX11
Motion Blur High
3DVision off
V-Sync off
Damage Glow ON

Just remember on the PCPARTPICKER quote by Letto you have to be close enough to walk into Micro Center or know someone as you will not get that cpu price otherwise.

[Goose]

Rascally Jack, on 20 March 2015 - 02:36 PM, said:

No need to go faster the tests prove it is not worth the cost.

Wat tests?

Memory is only expensive if you rebuy it once or twice: Pick something worthwhile the first time …

Edited by Goose, 21 March 2015 - 12:29 PM.

[Lord Letto]

Rascally Jack, on 20 March 2015 - 02:36 PM, said:

Remember 1600 is plenty for RAM but 1866 cost the same. No need to go faster the tests prove it is not worth the cost.
The only thing I see is the PSU needing to be larger. You need to add the Power consumption of all the items together then give yourself a margin.

I have the same processor *non-OC* it definitely gets warm if you OC
~ same mobo *ASUS ROG*
I went with the Crucial M500 256GB SSD
HDD is great... 5 yr warranty ftw
Memory: I went with 16GB 12800 1600Mhz *because I already had it*
GPU I run the R9-290X 4GB Ram Double Dissapation.
Same CPU cooler
I use Gelid GC Extreme thermal compound

On Medium settings with Environment very High FPS: 60+ - 80+ avg with spikes to 100+ and occasional low spikes to 50+
1280x720
Full Window
DX11
Motion Blur High
3DVision off
V-Sync off
Damage Glow ON

Just remember on the PCPARTPICKER quote by Letto you have to be close enough to walk into Micro Center or know someone as you will not get that cpu price otherwise.

but IIRC you can't Get CAS 7 @ 1866, 1600 is Max:
1866 CAS 7: http://pcpartpicker....=301866&L=30,70
1600 CAS 7: http://pcpartpicker....=30,70&sort=a10

Cheapest 8GB Kit of 1600 CAS 7: PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($70.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $70.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-20 20:02 EDT-0400

1600 CAS 8: PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Memory: Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $64.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-20 20:12 EDT-0400

CAS 8 can be had in 1866 for same price as 1600 CAS 7:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($70.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $70.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-20 20:04 EDT-0400

CAS 9 Goes up to 2133:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Memory: Apotop 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($65.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $65.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-20 20:07 EDT-0400

Vs CAS 9 1600 & 1866: PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Memory: Pareema 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Apotop 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($65.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $120.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-20 20:10 EDT-0400

[Jake Devlin]

So is the CAS number really important when considering memory?

[Catamount]

Not really. Memory latency has a modest effect on memory performance, far less than clock speed. Neither matters a whole lot past a point. Faster RAM is something that makes a modest difference, at most, it's just that it's a modest difference you don't pay much of anything for.

Also keep in mind that latency is in clock cycles, so DDR3-1866 with a CAS latency of 8 actually has a lower CAS latency than DDR3-1600 with 7 (because 1866 RAM can get through 8 clock cycles faster than 1600mhz RAM can get through 7).

[Smokeyjedi]

the same speed ram with lower CAS timing or CL7 vs 9, the lower CL number @ highest speeds will always be fastest.

[Goose]

Look: Memory doesn't get much press, and when it does, the prices are bad, thus the "f@sk it" convention wisdom that keep cropping up. It also doesn't help the basic tech articles on the subject come in two flavors: "Moar is betta'," and Cure for Insomnia.

Go with this and that for sake of argument, but recheck the prices every five minutes, as sales come'n go.

There is something the "confusing and disappointing" commentary about RAM: There are plenty of apps (and games!) to which faster and/ or tighter RAM is no more important then being installed on a SSD: "Faster" means faster load times, "tighter" means snappier responses to mouse clicks and keyboard presses.

But there are things, often misidentified as "CPU bound," that are calling out to main memory all the time, that will directly benefit.

It's just RAM already has a rep as a waste of both time and money, so no one capable of checking ever seems to bother …

Yes: I've seen improvements when I switched from DDR3-1333-7-7-7-21-t1 to DDR3-1866-9-9-9-27-t1.

No: I don't think and extra $20~40 out'a my total system price is bad contingency planing …

Edited by Goose, 23 March 2015 - 03:02 PM.