CK2 + EU4 Gaming Build

[pocketdog]

Hi, I am about to build a new gaming rig designed to play Paradox's Crusader Kings II and Europa Universalis IV. My current build (i5-3570k) lags pretty hard in the later stages of both games.

My budget range is $1500 - $2000. I buy from Newegg and Amazon. Here's the proposed build. What are your thoughts?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($416.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.44 @ Amazon)
Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver 3.5g Thermal Paste ($4.59 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z170 Pro4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($90.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 Pro Series 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($220.25 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card ($183.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($74.88 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($20.42 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($95.88 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Corsair Air Series AF140 Quiet Edition 67.8 CFM 140mm Fan ($17.63 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Corsair Air Series AF140 Quiet Edition 67.8 CFM 140mm Fan ($17.63 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Asus VE247H 23.6" Monitor ($126.98 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Logitech K120 Wired Standard Keyboard ($14.79 @ Amazon)
Mouse: Logitech G400s Wired Optical Mouse ($93.98 @ Amazon)
Total: $1548.40
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-16 07:44 EST-0500

Thanks!

 

[Victorion]

Those games depend on CPU power more than general games. So you want a really fast core and overclocking doesn´t hurt. You want a good quality motherboard and PSU to get OC potential high. They support max 4 cores though, so going i7 is just gonna be waste of money.
Solution: i5-6600K + Evo 212 + Krait Z170 + Antec Made PSU

GPU is also important, and 970 GTX is to be preferred. It is even good enough for 2K which will improve your gaming experience even further.

You don´t need more than 8 GB ram, as adding more ram will only add benefits to workstation pc or compressing files.

I took the liberty of removing the optical drive (you don´t need it, not for windows installation either) and Evo 212 comes with its own thermal paste. I picked a better cabinet which doesn´t need more fans and a better and bigger monitor that runs QHD (2K resolution) and better mouse with a better keyboard that has macro keys for gaming.
You even save a little money

Here is what you want:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($254.88 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI Z170A KRAIT GAMING ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($127.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill NT Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Trion 100 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($65.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($45.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($308.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($53.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts Green 650W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($89.88 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: AOC Q2778VQE 60Hz 27.0" Monitor ($287.58 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Logitech G105 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Mouse: Razer DeathAdder Wired Optical Mouse ($52.69 @ Amazon)
Total: $1457.11
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-16 08:12 EST-0500

 

[pocketdog]

Victorion, thanks for giving feedback! I agree with you that these 2 titles primarily depend on CPU power. That's why I'm surprised you recommend the i5-6600K over the i7-6700K: the i5 has a lower base clock speed (3.5 GHz vs 4.0 GHz) and according to this cpuboss comparison (http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i7-6700K-vs-Intel-Core-i5-6600K), it's single core PassMark score is about 10% lower (2,118 vs 2,318). I understand that I won't be using all the features of the i7-6700K, and that it is way more expensive, but it seems I'll get better performance out of it. Am I missing something?

 

[Victorion]

Victorion, thanks for giving feedback! I agree with you that these 2 titles primarily depend on CPU power. That's why I'm surprised you recommend the i5-6600K over the i7-6700K: the i5 has a lower base clock speed (3.5 GHz vs 4.0 GHz) and according to this cpuboss comparison (http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i7-6700K-vs-Intel-Core-i5-6600K), it's single core PassMark score is about 10% lower (2,118 vs 2,318). I understand that I won't be using all the features of the i7-6700K, and that it is way more expensive, but it seems I'll get better performance out of it. Am I missing something?

Overclock the i5-6600K and you´ll be running much higher than 4.0 Ghz. 4.7 Ghz isn´t unusual. Since the titles cant take advantage of more than 4 cores, it´s the core speed is the most important parameter and there´s less headroom for overclocking on the i7-6700K which is hugely more expensive.
4.5-4.7 Ghz is about what you can expect of the i7-6700K which is similar to i5-6600K