This is the PC Gaming build I have planned to be able to play games at 4K maxed. I am new to the PC gaming scene and have decided since I've been playing on PCs and consoles all my life, but have enjoyed and played on PCs more, to fully delve into PC gaming since it is where I've been spending all my time.
This is the "flagship" build I have planned to make, the total cost is around $2000 - 2200$, I've chosen AMD not only for budget purposes but also because of their performance with the up and coming DirectX12 API (refer to Ashes of the Singularity benchmarks).
Here is the full list of parts copied from pcpartpicker.
AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor
Cooler Master V8 GTS 82.0 CFM CPU Cooler
MSI 970 GAMING ATX AM3+ Motherboard
Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Corsair Air 540 ATX Mid Tower Case
EVGA SuperNOVA G2 1600W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply
Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)
(4 x) Cooler Master SickleFlow 69.7 CFM 120mm Fan
G.Skill Ripjaws Z Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
(2 x) PowerColor Radeon R9 390X2 16GB Devil 13 Video Card
My first concern with this build was the weight of each R9 390X2, since each weighs in at about 5lbs. each, they include a jack to help keep the GPU raised without snapping off the motherboard. In order to run two of these in Crossfire, I've decided to have the Air 540 case lay so the PCIe express slots face downwards instead of sideways to prevent snapping the PCIe express slots and damaging the motherboard and hold the GPUs in place without need of both jacks.
Another solution to this issue was to use the jack and a SLI or Crossfire bridge at the same time (or maybe come up with something DIY/makeshift).
My second concern was overall power for the cards and all the other hardware. The estimated wattage on pcpartpicker says 1441W so I went with a 1600W PSU (made sure it was 80+ Gold).
My only issue with the 1600W PSU is because I've read that the minimum wattage for one 390X2 was 1000W alone. Not to mention the need for 8 8-pin connectors to run both.
My third issue was cooling, both of these cards, unlike the 295x2, will be aircooled and since the two will be running at the same time across the MSI 970 gaming motherboard and are already known to be hot (to the point to where it's said that you'll be able to feel it's heat form outside of the case or even around the entire room it's in with only one) and the inclusion of the FX-8320 makes me think I will have to throw air cooling out of the window and col everything with water to even manage stable temps.
Other issue & concerns:
Game compatibility for 4-way Crossfire.
Does the MSI 970 board have enough space for both of these massive cards.
Mobility - I'm used to moving my desktop around from house to house every now and then, with all of this hardware (possible fragile water-cooling and two fragile and potentially motherboard snapping cards) will moving this thing from one house to another even be possible?
Reasons for this build:
Gaming in 4K at Max and utilizing the newest in graphical qaulity and rendering in games while keeping a low budget.
A massive 32GB of VRAM in one system. (who knows this may be the most I've ever heard of)
4-way Crossfire's potential power and compatibility in the future.
32 GB of VRAM (GDDR5) potential power and compatibility in the future.
AMD DirectX12 API performace.
Roy Taylor, Corporate Vice President of AMD's signature. (love this!)
Other builds I am considering for 4K gaming:
980 Ti SLI - More compatible, less quirks.
295x2 Crossfire - Similar power, less quirks.
This is the "flagship" build I have planned to make, the total cost is around $2000 - 2200$, I've chosen AMD not only for budget purposes but also because of their performance with the up and coming DirectX12 API (refer to Ashes of the Singularity benchmarks).
Here is the full list of parts copied from pcpartpicker.
AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor
Cooler Master V8 GTS 82.0 CFM CPU Cooler
MSI 970 GAMING ATX AM3+ Motherboard
Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Corsair Air 540 ATX Mid Tower Case
EVGA SuperNOVA G2 1600W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply
Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)
(4 x) Cooler Master SickleFlow 69.7 CFM 120mm Fan
G.Skill Ripjaws Z Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
(2 x) PowerColor Radeon R9 390X2 16GB Devil 13 Video Card
My first concern with this build was the weight of each R9 390X2, since each weighs in at about 5lbs. each, they include a jack to help keep the GPU raised without snapping off the motherboard. In order to run two of these in Crossfire, I've decided to have the Air 540 case lay so the PCIe express slots face downwards instead of sideways to prevent snapping the PCIe express slots and damaging the motherboard and hold the GPUs in place without need of both jacks.
Another solution to this issue was to use the jack and a SLI or Crossfire bridge at the same time (or maybe come up with something DIY/makeshift).
My second concern was overall power for the cards and all the other hardware. The estimated wattage on pcpartpicker says 1441W so I went with a 1600W PSU (made sure it was 80+ Gold).
My only issue with the 1600W PSU is because I've read that the minimum wattage for one 390X2 was 1000W alone. Not to mention the need for 8 8-pin connectors to run both.
My third issue was cooling, both of these cards, unlike the 295x2, will be aircooled and since the two will be running at the same time across the MSI 970 gaming motherboard and are already known to be hot (to the point to where it's said that you'll be able to feel it's heat form outside of the case or even around the entire room it's in with only one) and the inclusion of the FX-8320 makes me think I will have to throw air cooling out of the window and col everything with water to even manage stable temps.
Other issue & concerns:
Game compatibility for 4-way Crossfire.
Does the MSI 970 board have enough space for both of these massive cards.
Mobility - I'm used to moving my desktop around from house to house every now and then, with all of this hardware (possible fragile water-cooling and two fragile and potentially motherboard snapping cards) will moving this thing from one house to another even be possible?
Reasons for this build:
Gaming in 4K at Max and utilizing the newest in graphical qaulity and rendering in games while keeping a low budget.
A massive 32GB of VRAM in one system. (who knows this may be the most I've ever heard of)
4-way Crossfire's potential power and compatibility in the future.
32 GB of VRAM (GDDR5) potential power and compatibility in the future.
AMD DirectX12 API performace.
Roy Taylor, Corporate Vice President of AMD's signature. (love this!)
Other builds I am considering for 4K gaming:
980 Ti SLI - More compatible, less quirks.
295x2 Crossfire - Similar power, less quirks.