Advice needed on Gaming PC ~2000€

piemenneeddis

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Mar 18, 2014
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Hello there fellows,

This is another thread seeking advice for a gaming pc build.I am gonna post my thoughts and comments on each component of the gaming PC I am thinking of building.Your advice will be much appreciated.

I did some research and I have found the most popular components in builds around, their price, their perfomance and the comments about them. So this is what I ended up with:



CPU : Intel Core I7-4770K 3.50GHZ LGA1150

- I chose this because its the most common and powerful CPU around, its the best choice and its kinda the only component im completely sure about buying. (Even if many people claim that i5 is enough for gaming.)


Motherboard : Either ASUS Z87 or Gigabyte Z87

Im thinking of going with ASUS Z87 either Sabertooth or Deluxe(+Wireless+Bluetooth mainly) or GIGABYTE GA-Z87X-UD4H which is a bit cheaper.
Its so hard to find the best motherboard, its so easy to choose an overkill or a low perfomance one, advice needed.


Case : Cooler Master Stryker White/Black

- Its just stunning visually and reviews are pretty good about it. Has the usb 3.0 most cases have, fan control, handle for carrying, did i mention its freaking beautiful? I could go with the classic HAF X but its too damn popular, maybe there are better ones out now.(Its been out like 4 years now, isnt it ?). Im open to suggestions for the case also, Im hearing very good words for NZXT & Lian Li.


SSD: SAMSUNG 840 PRO SERIES SSD 256GB 2.5'' SATA3

-Also one of the most popular choices, Cant go wrong with this one, right ?


HDD: WESTERN DIGITAL 2TB CAVIAR BLACK SATA3

- Heard WD is pretty popular when talking HDD. I could go with Green caviar which is a bit cheaper but I think Black will be better. "Green" always reminds me of power saving, i dont need power saving, i need perfomance. What's their difference anyway?


RAM: 2 x G.SKILL 8GB DDR3 PC3-14900 1866MHZ RIPJAWSX

-Two chips of 8GB resulting in 16GB, leaving two empty slots for upgrading at the future. Buying 32gb right now i think would be an overkill. I chose 1866mhz version cause I read some posts saying that i should go for at least 1600mhz, thought 1866mhz was the best choice. I dont know if the latency is good with these ones, it seems pretty high..(or not?)


GPU: GTX 780 or GTX 780ti

-Its the main part im writing for advice. I want a High-end gaming desktop which will last be for some years, I must mention that I already have a Nvidia 3D vision kit ,a 120hz monitor, so the GPU must have nvidia chipset and also outstanding perfomance because 3D mode demands better hardware for smooth gameplay, and having low frame rates dont benefit the 120hz refresh rate.
I am thinking to buy the BEST, literally. Nvidia GTX 780ti is the best single-gpu at the moment, and oh god isnt it pricey... On second thought I had the idea of buying 2 x GTX 760 for an SLI setup, turned out although it is a cheaper choice with the same perfomance (might be a bit better, almost the same anyway), its not adviced by people on Tom's hardware. The reason being SLI compatibility issues and heating problems. Single GTX 780ti is also future proof since I could buy another in one in ,like, 2 years to do an awesome SLI setup then.
Having all that in mind, i checked GTX 780 and saw it has a much better perfomance/price ratio than 780ti. Its more than 250euros cheaper in my country, and not so much worse at perfomance than 780ti. The latest having a price of 749euros in my country, its a lot for a GPU.An SLI future setup would be viable as well with the 780, my last decision being to buy GTX 780, probably ASUS or EVGA.
This is the MOST important part of my build, i simply cant decide. Nvidia is preparing to launch 800 series also in some months. What should i do? Wait or buy GTX 780 ?


PSU: CORSAIR AX860I DIGITAL ATX POWER SUPPLY - 860 WATT 80 PLUS PLATINUM CERTIFIED FULLY-MODULAR PSU

- This should be good enough to support the rest of my build. Also hearing XFX and Silverstone being better than Corsair, is this true? Should i go with one of the latest?


DVD player: I doesnt matter too me much. I ll just go with a typical LG.


CPU cooler : CORSAIR HYDRO SERIES H100I EXTREME PERFORMANCE CPU COOLER

- If this is too big for my case I ll just find and buy a smaller from the Corsair hydro series. A question I wanna ask if those hydro coolers are overrated and I should simply go with an old-fashioned airflow cooler.


Fans: Havent decided yet. Open to suggestions.


Sound : Onboard.

-Is it significantly worse than a Sound Blaster or other sound cards?


Headset : Plantronics GameCom 780

- Seems to support surround and has many good reviews. Is also affordable.


Monitor : Currently have an LG W2363D 120hz 3D ready

- Dont get me wrong, This monitor is very good. But the things I've heard about ASUS VG248QE are truly exciting. I checked the specifications of my LG and seems like its not all 120hz, its somehow divided between vertical and horizontal. Also has some power saving mode issues (damn you LG). Should i buy the ASUS monitor ? It seems the best choice with my build. 144hz and 1ms response time with high frame rates would be awesome.


Operating system : Currenlty Windows 7 Home premium 64bit.

-Should i upgrade to Windows 8.1 ?



Thats all folks. I did write a lot, thanks to those who read this. Thanks for your support.

TLDR; Just read and give me advice on GPU. 😉

 
If you can swing the cost of the GTX 780ti, go for it. But if you can't, SLI does work. You can add a second card later on. And if heating is an issue, you can always install a GPU cooler. They make a waterblock for pretty much any GPU out there.

That's a very nice looking build, by the way. You're gonna have a lot of fun with that!
 


Thanks for your answer dustinhunt78,

Thats a plus one for 780ti , I will take your advice into consideration and maybe start saving some more money if i decide to buy this one.

 
The AX series from Corsair is built by SeaSonic, and it's a great PSU, but overpriced in my opinion. 80+ efficiency doesn't really mean much unless you're mining. You can save a lot of money there.

At this budget, 4770k definitely. Will last longer, and be less susceptible to fps dips in CPU-heavy games.

The 840 EVO is the popular choice, you can save probably 30-40 Euros by getting the EVO over the Pro; the Pro isn't worth the minimally better speeds (again, my opinion lol)

1866 RAM is great, but make sure it is CAS9 instead of CAS10.

It's up to you on water-cooling, but you can get similar cooling and much quieter with something like the Noctua NH-D14 air cooler. I like water-coolers, cause they look awesome lol

Onboard sound is fine unless you get noticeably nicer and expensive sound equipment.

With all this money saved, the 780 Ti should be more than doable up front lol And since you'll be doing 3D a lot, the more GPU power the better; definitely get the 780 Ti if possible.
 


Thats really really helpful for me mate. Thanks for taking the time to post your opinion on my build.

I have heard some of your advices from other people too across this forum, I will actually make them happen, I will change PSU for a slightly cheaper , i will choose the Samsung EVO SSD and keep the onboard sound card to save some money from there too. Will also try to find a CAS9 RAM cause the one i chose is CAS10.
Lastly, thats plus two for 780ti, i think im getting the message here.

Great answer. 😉