Gaming Build/Help (Future SLI Possible?)

DeathXI

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Mar 15, 2014
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I'm hoping to build a new computer soon. Primarily for gaming. (FF14 Heavensward is around the corner for me.)

This is my build that I'm thinking of buying/building shortly: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/t7sDyc

As long as I buy the same 970, I can SLI at a later date (say 6 months) down the road, right? The Power supply/cooling system should be capable of that?

is there any way I can get similiar/better stats with a lower price? Do any of my parts look substandard? I sorted by reviews, so hopefully that shouldn't be a problem.

The 1800 is higher than I'd like, ideally I would've wanted it to be closer to 1500, but I'm not willing to drop below the 970, or an i7 6 core, so my options are extremely limited in that case.

Also has anybody had dealings/issues with Superbiiz or OutletPC? I've heard of OutletPC but never used them, but superbiiz is a new one to me.
 
Solution
I agree with sizzling. Get a 4790K and overclock it. Since you're only going to be gaming and maybe some light video editing if you are. Then the 4790K will suffice. Unless you are doing heavy video editing and other stuff that require more cores, a quad core with hyper-threading will suffice your use as a gamer. Plus the money you save from going to a 4th gen board will allow you to get a 980 instead of a 970. In which your gaming will outperform the 970 by quite abit. Also you can SLI it to gain more performance than you will get out of a SLI 970. IMO the x99 board aint worth it's price unless you are not only doing gaming with your pc.
CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor ($372.95 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H55 57.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI X99S Gaming 7 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($218.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($238.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($71.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB FTW+ ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($373.98 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom (White/Red) ATX Full Tower Case ($96.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($117.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: LG WH16NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($54.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1786.62

FF14 Heavensward - http://www.game-debate.com/games/index.php?g_id=20789&game=Final%20Fantasy%20XIV:%20Heavensward

An i5 and a R9 280X with 4gb ram would be enough.

I think you'd be better off with a Z97 build
 
In my opinion get a Z97 board and 4790k. With the money saved get a 980. The 970 can only really utilise 3.5gb vram and the 980 can use all 4gb. With games even at 1080p starting to use 3gb plus the 980 seems a far more future proof option given you seem to gave the budget

This would also be a far stronger gaming build than yours
 
I agree with sizzling. Get a 4790K and overclock it. Since you're only going to be gaming and maybe some light video editing if you are. Then the 4790K will suffice. Unless you are doing heavy video editing and other stuff that require more cores, a quad core with hyper-threading will suffice your use as a gamer. Plus the money you save from going to a 4th gen board will allow you to get a 980 instead of a 970. In which your gaming will outperform the 970 by quite abit. Also you can SLI it to gain more performance than you will get out of a SLI 970. IMO the x99 board aint worth it's price unless you are not only doing gaming with your pc.
 
Solution
You only need a $1000 build eg

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($26.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 EXTREME4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($93.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($60.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive ($90.75 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card ($319.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair Graphite Series 230T Black ATX Mid Tower Case ($54.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($58.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($19.69 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($86.88 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1043.25
 
I wouldnt just go for a $1000 gaming build if im going to do a full new build. Just saying 😀 For me, Im going to do a crazily overkill build with the 4th gen board just for the sake of it being able to through the next few years with the exception of upgrading the graphics card when i see fit.

My build:

CPU: I7 4790K
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100I
MotherBoard: Asus Maximus 7 Hero
Memory: HyperX Fury 16GB 1866MHz
Storage: Samsung EVO 850 120GB (OS)
Storage: Samsung EVO 850 500GB (Games and what not)
Video Card: Gigabyte Gaming G1 GTX 980
Case: NZXT H440
PSU: CM V850
OS: Microsoft Windows 8,1 (OEM) 64-bit
 
You could even SLI right now and stay under your $1500 budget:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core OEM/Tray Processor ($218.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($31.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z97-GAMING 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($136.75 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($60.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($71.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($341.99 @ Best Buy)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($341.99 @ Best Buy)
Case: NZXT S340 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($67.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Antec TruePower Classic 750W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1452.55
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-18 06:41 EDT-0400

Or if you really want an X99 build, here's one for just under $1500:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor ($372.95 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper T4 70.0 CFM Rifle Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus X99-A ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($239.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($71.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB SSC ACX 2.0 Video Card ($339.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: NZXT Phantom (White/Red) ATX Full Tower Case ($111.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec TruePower Classic 750W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($49.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1486.73
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-18 06:51 EDT-0400
 
Well with so many people saying it, I guess I'll go try and build one with the z97 and 980. Though I know nothing about overclocking so, either I'm going to have to learn or hopefully it won't sandbag me to much if I don't do that on the processor. Thanks!
 
Overclocking is just to squeeze out more performance from the cpu. You dont have to if you dont want to. Plus if youre doing mainly gaming, then the 4790K will outperform the 5820K. I think one of LinusTechTips video on cpu affecting gaming they showed the difference of how cpu affected game-play. You can go check that video out if you're still unsure of going for a z97 board or x99 😀
 



Yea I'd go with that build 😀 True that you don't need to spend all these extra cash. But with a build like that you'd have some headroom to play some other graphic intensive game if you so wish to do so in the future 😀 Have fun building and gaming 😀
 
My current computer would be enough to run the game. i7 2880 & dual 460's. That's not the point. And it's not the only game I'd play. While i appreciate the effort to save me money, I prefer to future proof as much as possible, and I dislike the thought of dropping from an i7 to an i5, even if the i5 is technically superior due to the age of my current i7.
 

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