Building my first Gaming PC - Help Please

[MisterLenz]

Hi all,

I'm new to configuring/building my own gaming rig and would appreciate it you could take the time to look this over.

Here is the list of components:

GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Superclocked Video Card - 3GB GDDR5, PCI-Express 3.0 (x16), 1x Dual-Link DVI-D, 1x Dual-Link DVI-I, 1x DisplayPort, 1x HDMI, DirectX 11.1, Dual-Slot, ACX Cooler, - 03G-P4-2784-KR

Motherboard: Gigabyte Intel LGA1150 Motherboard - ATX, Socket LGA1150, Intel Z87 Express Chipset, 3000MHz DDR3 (O.C.), SATA 6.0Gb/s, RAID, 7.1 Channel Audio, Gigabit LAN, USB 3.0, - GA-Z87X-UD4H

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K Processor - Quad Core, 8MB L3 Cache, 3.5GHz, 84W, Fan, Unlocked Multiplier, 1250 MHz Graphics Core Speed - BX80646I74770K

PSU: Corsair CS Series™ CS750M 750W Modular PSU - 80 PLUS® Gold (CP-9020077-NA)

Memory Module: Kingston HyperX Beast KHX24C11T3K2/16X 16GB Memory Module Kit - 2400MHz, 2 x 8GB, DDR3, DIMM, CL11, XMP

HDD: Seagate 4TB Barracuda Internal Desktop Hard Drive - 3.5" Form Factor, SATA III 6 Gb/s, 64 MB Cache - ST4000DM000

SSD: OCZ Vertex 450 128GB Solid State Drive - 2.5" Form Factor, SATA III 6 Gb/s, 7mm, Up To 540 MB/s Read Speed, Up To 530 MB/s Write Speed, Low Latency - VTX450-25SAT3-128G

Case: Aerocool XPredator X3 White Edition Case

CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock Advanced C1

I’ve done a lot of research, but because I’m still new to this, I’d appreciate it if the experts out there could shed some light on my current configuration. Basically, I just want a good gaming rig which is relatively future-proof. I’d also like it to be silent, run swift and smoothly without overheating, allow me to play practically any game at high settings (I don’t think I need overclocking). I usually play League of Legends which isn’t a demanding game, but eventually I’d like to play other games which are more high-end (GTA5 when its released for PC).

Now to my questions: Are there any bottlenecks I’ve missed? Is this configuration an overkill for my demands? Can I save money by downgrading particular components that aren’t necessarily going to get me significantly better performance? Are my components compatible with each other? Should I be building around my mobo, gpu or cpu? Am I missing anything else?

My friend insists I get i7-4770k CPU, but I’ve been hearing that i5-4xxx would “easily” satisfy my demands while also being far more cost-efficient. Some people have reported significant differences between the two, and others say there is no significant difference in performance. To quote my friend: “the i5 does not compare to the i7.”

Current this build will cost me about 1600 euros. If I can downgrade for comparable specs while saving a significant amount, that would be ideal.

It’s quite a task.

Thank you for your time and effort,

MisterLenz

 

[clarkjd]

First off 16 gb is overkill for gaming, as is an I7. The I7 has hyperthreading, which games do not take advantage of. go with an I5 and 8GB of ram.

 

[Tradesman1]

For primarily gaming can drop to the 4670K w/ no problem, I myself like 16GB, 8GB is sufficient for gaming, but if you do much of anything else with it, you'll prob appreciate having 16GB

 

[MisterLenz]

Ok thanks, that'll surely cut down some costs. Should I also then downgrade the GPU? I've read that I won't be able to use my GPU to its fullest extent if I don't have a CPU that can match it. Do you know any great alternative GPUs at a lower cost or is this GPU just fine with the i5?

Also, I read somewhere that hyperthreading did play a role in online multiplayer games such as Battlefield 3/4 and Starcraft. The article I read reported showing a 20fps discrepancy between the i5 and i7.

 

[Rationale]

Ok thanks, that'll surely cut down some costs. Should I also then downgrade the GPU? I've read that I won't be able to use my GPU to its fullest extent if I don't have a CPU that can match it. Do you know any great alternative GPUs at a lower cost or is this GPU just fine with the i5?

Also, I read somewhere that hyperthreading did play a role in online multiplayer games such as Battlefield 3/4 and Starcraft. The article I read reported showing a 20fps discrepancy between the i5 and i7.

That GPU is fine with the i5-4670. The only reason people told you to "downgrade" to the i5 is because neither of them holds any graphics card back at all. They're both extremely strong CPUs, so the i7 is just pointless overkill for gaming.

Hyperthreading does vary a bit in games. The few that use it won't matter though, because an i5 will still keep well above 60 fps regardless.

 

[Tradesman1]

The 4670K can handle any GPU, there won't be any bottlenecks

 

[MisterLenz]

That's great to hear, I'll get my hands on an i5-4670 without overclocking. I'll have to consider whether I go with the same GPU because it is still rather pricey. Do you know of any more cost-effective alternatives? Or will this GPU definitely be worth it?

EVGA 02G-P4-2660-KR
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-video-card-02gp42660kr

Asus GTX660-DC2O-2GD5
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-video-card-gtx660dc2o2gd5

 

[Rationale]

That's great to hear, I'll get my hands on an i5-4670 without overclocking. I'll have to consider whether I go with the same GPU because it is still rather pricey. Do you know of any more cost-effective alternatives? Or will this GPU definitely be worth it?

EVGA 02G-P4-2660-KR
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-video-card-02gp42660kr

Asus GTX660-DC2O-2GD5
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-video-card-gtx660dc2o2gd5

I wouldn't go to a 660 if you can afford better. They're great for the price, but still a huge step down from a 780.
In short: If you can afford it, yes, a Superclocked 780 is a great video card and you should get it.

If you really can't afford a GTX 780, GTX 770 would be the next best option and would still run everything maxed so far.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127741
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125463

It's not like the i5 vs the i7. There's actually a huge difference in real world performance from a 660 to a 780.

As for other costs, you may not need a 4TB HDD. Most people are content with 1TB or 2TB. A 4TB HDD won't increase performance, it will just let you store more. So if you never end up storing more than 1TB or 2TB worth of data, the extra space is just wasted money.

 

[MisterLenz]

Thanks for your advice. I will definitely do that. The GTX770 will reduce the costs by another 205 euros while still delivering high-end graphics.

I have three more questions .
Is the current motherboard good or should I consider another one?
Is the current PSU too strong for my PC?
Is the complete PC configuration compatible (with current mobo, i5-4670 and GTX770)?

 

[Rationale]

Your motherboard is overkill, but very good. Boards like that are generally meant for people running water cooling systems and 2 or more overclocked video cards (so $2000+ PCs). The cost could be reduced without a noticeable drop in quality.

The PSU is stronger than it needs to be, but how much are you paying for it? If it's less than $90 it's still worthwhile since we couldn't cut the cost much.

So far, yes. It's compatible.

 

[Rationale]

I'm just going to suggest a couple builds with high performance. Of course, you can reject them and decide on your own if you want.

This would leave overclocking open and would run any game on ultra at 60 fps. I didn't include a case since I assume you like how the case you chose looks and want to keep it.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($227.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($30.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($119.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($67.50 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Vertex 450 Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($329.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Rosewill Hive 650W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.98 @ OutletPC)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1026.38
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-31 05:01 EDT-0400)


This has otherwise the exact same performance as the other build, but it doesn't allow overclocking so it saves about $75.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.97 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85-HD3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($84.97 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($67.50 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Vertex 450 Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($329.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Rosewill Hive 650W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.98 @ OutletPC)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $952.36
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-31 05:03 EDT-0400)

 

[MisterLenz]

Wow, thank you very much. I'm going to configure it according to your recommendations.