First gaming PC build, questions

[Mizo_]

Hello everyone!

After years of (not so ideal) notebook gaming I am going to build my first very own gaming PC. Sadly, I have no experience in this area and that is why I'm asking you guys for some help. My system parts are:

Motherboard: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-z97progamer
CPU: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646i54690k
CPU cooler: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-cpu-cooler-rr212e20pkr2
RAM: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/kingston-memory-hx318c10frk216
SSD: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/samsung-internal-hard-drive-mz75e250bam
Video card: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-video-card-gtx970gaming4g
Power supply: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/seasonic-power-supply-m12ii620bronze
Case: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-case-200r

Of course I am planning to add a HDD later on. I am buying the SSD first so I won't have to reinstall windows. I hope I did not forget anything. So my questions are:

Is this a good build and are the components well balanced in this price range?
Would 8GB of RAM be sufficient, or should I rather go with 16GB?
How many fans should a PC like this have? Should I buy some extra fans?
Will I be able to build this PC alone? With some videos and tutorials? Building PC looks quite doable I would say, but I really don't want to miss anything important since I never did this before.

Thank you very much for reading this!
Mizo_

 

[datguy20]

If you plan to do more (streaming, video editing, etc) then I recommend 16GB+ RAM (of course an i7 would then be in order), otherwise 8GB is good for gaming. Here's a build to consider http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/jyRs7P Mostly the same, but faster/cheaper RAM, beastly air cooler, and a faster/cheaper GPU.

The case does have 2 fans included, but if you added a few more (think 4+ total) then you'd probably get better results.

Here's a great video series on building your own PC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIF43-0mDk4

 

[turbopiki]

If you want to record/stream gameplay change the CPU for XEON E3 1231 v3 and motherboard for H97 chipset because you cant OC XEON, and because yo ucant OC XEON you dont need Such powerfull CPU cooler stock will be enough but if you want your system to be quieter get cheap aftermarket CPU cooler


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£167.79 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler (£55.71 @ Ebuyer)
Motherboard: Asus Z97 PRO GAMER ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£99.99 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Kingston Savage 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£39.07 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£71.94 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 390 8GB Double Dissipation Video Card (£241.68 @ More Computers)
Case: NZXT S340 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case (£52.79 @ Aria PC)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£56.70 @ More Computers)
Total: £785.67
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-19 01:08 BST+0100

 

[Karadjgne]

Absolutely nothing wrong with your build as is, other than 2 things. 1, as stated, you'll get a hdd later, no worries, 2 being the cpu cooler. The Corsair 200R is an awesome little case with plenty of options usually found only on larger units. One of its limitations due to size however, its it's ability to accommodate cpu coolers upto 160mm. The almost same size as the 159mm hyper212. That's not a lot of space. 1mm. One small flex on either case side, and you pressure the cooler on the cpu and socket. Not good.

My advice: ditch the hyper212, and instead use a Cryorig H7. It's roughly the same price, outperforms the hyper212 handily in every department including ease of mount (the hyper212 can and often is a pain to get seated right) and is only 145mm tall, giving case sides plenty of clearance.

Other than that, just spend some time, have patience (it's hard but worth it) and make yourself a nice, neat, quality build that'll do justice to the quality of your chosen parts.

Very nice build. Do it proud.

 

[Mizo_]

Thank you very much for answers.

I will not record, stream or edit videos on this PC, I will only game and do usual computer stuff (school, movies, internet). For that reason I am going to stick with Intel Core i5-4690K.

I did some research on Radeon R9 390, and it seems to be a great card, but I'm gonna go with GTX 970 anyway. It may not be the 100% logical decision but I always had Radeons in my two notebooks and I'm really looking forward to have nvidia card. It's just the thing I've always wanted if that makes any sense.

I am also going for 8GB RAM instead of 16GB, hope it will be enough for this build. The thing is I'm not gonna shop from pcpartpicker since I live in Slovakia and I would be awkward to have all the parts shipped, the warranty would be very troublesome. I will shop from a local shop. This shop has many parts to choose from but not all the brands that pcpartpicker has. For the RAM the final two would be:

ADATA 8GB KIT DDR3 2133MHz CL10 XPG Series 1.0

and

Corsair 8GB KIT DDR3 2133MHz CL11 Vengeance Pre

I guess there's not much of a difference, will probably go with Corsair.


As for the cooler, thank you Karadjgne for pointing out that the cooler dimensions might be a problem. Sadly, shop I'm going to buy from doesn't sell Cryorig. Could you recommend cooler from some other brand in the same price range? (It can be a bit more expensive but not too much)

I'm not sure if this is going to help since it's in Slovak, but this is the cooler list from the shop in my country (perhaps some browser translator could help)

https://www.alza.sk/chladenie-pre-procesory-intel/18853591.htm#f&stock=ok&b=-1&cst=1&pg=1&par1127=1127-10740&sc=666


The second option would be to keep the cooler but change the case but I would rather not do this, the Corsair R200 case looks really nice and it has all the things I want in a case (black, dust filters, no glass on side panel, sleek look).

Thanks again for reading this and for helping me!
Mizo_

 

[turbopiki]

R9 390 is better in gaming than GTX 970, but if you really want GTX 970 het it.

What is your budget in € ? Tell me and i will reccomend you the parts

 

[Mizo_]

My budget would be somewhere around 1100€ but the prices differ, some parts less some more. As I mentioned I will buy parts from a local shop, not pcpartpicker or any big shop on the internet.

 

[Karadjgne]

Ugh lol, that was rough. Definitely a challenge. I found 2 that fit requirements, equal or better than the hyper212 EVO. That's not easy in a budget cooler. The first, and most expensive, would be the Noctua NH-C12P. Blows the socks off the hyper212 in every department, but is priced accordingly, almost double. The second is the SilentiumPC Fortis2 XE1226, which retails at @ the same price as the hyper212, performs extremely well on a good OC 4690k, easily equal to the hyper212 and comes in at 155mm. Being slightly shorter than the hyper212, having a 120mm Fan, and a standard upright/non offset design, this can have an impact on tall ram heatsinks in slot #1, but many boards, especially Asus, recommend using slots #2/4 for optimal dual channel performance, so this isn't usually a problem unless using all 4 slots.

From all the reviews I've read, the Fortis2 should be more than equal to the task, but filling the very large boots of a CM Hyper212 EVO is no easy task at this price point. On the upside, its a standard 120mm Fan, so if you decide later that it's just not enough, or dies, or is too loud etc, it can always be swapped out for one better.

At 1080p 60Hz, a normal decent gaming monitor, the gtx970 is a better buy than the factory OC, reused, tweaked version of the older r9 290. It won't be until gen. 2 HBM memory replaces GDDR5 on these gpus that the r9 series will come into its own. It's only in the higher resolutions like 2k/4k that the 390 has room to stretch it's legs, and the higher ram has any true affect.
Simple fact is that currently, nvidia owns 1080p, and AMD owns 4k, but that may change in a year or so when nvidia finishes it's own testing of HBM, or maybe not, as by then, Gen. 2 HBM will allow AMD full access to the full 8Gb of ram.

Stick with the 970.

 

[bsod1]

Benchmarks show that the 390 >> 970 at 1080p

 

[Karadjgne]

The 970 costs about the same as a 390, but runs cooler, requires a smaller psu, has less overall issues, is generally physically smaller and can max ultra almost every single game made, so while benchmarks put the 390 barely above the 970 in some games and the 970 above the 390 in others, its kinda a moot point to a 1080p 60Hz monitor to have a gpu on 1 game have over 100fps, or a different gpu on the same game have over 105fps. With all the actual advantages the 970 has over the 390, and thats not even including nvidia cards will have full hardware accelerated dx12.1, vrs amd software accelerated dx12.0 (1 of 3 tiers depending on gpu). So, while a few games will show 390 advantage today, overall in today's games, and tomorrow's, the r9 390 comes in 2nd behind the gtx970 for standard 1080p gaming. But thats at 1080p. At 4k, its the 390 hands down as the 3.5 high speed GDDR5 and nvidia optimization at 1080p on the 970 just don't cut it, you'll need to move upto a 980/980ti/titan to get the job done there.

http://www.gamersnexus.net/hwreviews/1984-amd-r9-390-380-benchmark-review/Page-2

 

[Mizo_]

I'm sure Noctua NH-C12P would be awesome but it is too expensive. The SilentiumPC Fortis2 XE1226 looks very interesting. I am going to use only 2 RAM slots for now but I would not like to cover one with cooler. The option to use all 4 (maybe in the future) would be nice, without havnig to buy a new CPU cooler as well. Another CPU cooler that caught my eye is GELID Solutions Tranquillo.

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gelid-solutions-cpu-cooler-cctranq01a?ref=mrob

The reviews were kinda nice, what are your thoughts?

As for the RAM, I am plannig to buy http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-memory-cmy8gx3m2a2133c11r
Hope there will not be problems with height of this RAM.

 

[Mizo_]

After doing lots of searching for other CPU cooler options I came with a different approach. Hyper212 EVO is a good cooler so I can keep it and look for another case. A case I found is Fractal Design CORE 3300, it's only 10€ more expensive than the Corsair R200 and it can hold CPU coolers up to 185mm. It is a little bigger but I don't really mind extra 2-3cm. I think this would be a pretty good solution.
What are your thoughts?

Thanks for answers

 

[Karadjgne]

I'm a fan of fractal design cases. I like the designs, the looks, they have good fans an plenty of options. Doesn't hurt that they are above average in quality either. Worth the money.