Gaming PC question.

[Zodiacwolf]

I'm building my first Gaming PC and have been looking around for the best parts that'll do the job. Here's my current build before I get into questions:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($321.75 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X61 106.1 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($123.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 EXTREME4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($110.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($63.98 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($63.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($108.24 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($91.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 290 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($238.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 290 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($238.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 750D ATX Full Tower Case ($129.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($47.95 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: BenQ GW2760HS 60Hz 27.0" Monitor (Purchased For $199.98)
Wireless Network Adapter: Asus PCE-N15 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($26.98 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: Corsair Air Series AF140 Quiet Edition 67.8 CFM 140mm Fan ($16.98 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: Corsair Air Series AF140 Quiet Edition 67.8 CFM 140mm Fan ($16.98 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: Corsair Air Series AF140 Quiet Edition 67.8 CFM 140mm Fan ($16.98 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: Aerocool DS 120mm Blue 81.5 CFM 120mm Fan ($13.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case Fan: Aerocool DS 120mm Blue 81.5 CFM 120mm Fan ($13.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Fan Controller: NZXT Sentry LX Fan Controller ($41.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Keyboard: Rosewill RGB80 Wired Gaming Keyboard (Purchased For $99.99)
Mouse: Razer Razer Naga 2014 Wired Laser Mouse (Purchased For $60.00)
Headphones: Sennheiser PC 363D 7.1 Channel Headset (Purchased For $229.95)
Other: Logitech C310 USB 2.0 WebCam ($42.99)
Other: CP-8920046 - Professional Individually sleeved DC Cable Kit, Type 3 (Generation 2), BLUE ($85.19)
Total: $2476.75
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-08 14:22 EST-0500


Quite a lovely build, if I do say so myself.

However, here's where I'm thinking of saving a few, and a question I'm having.

Would an i5 4690k work just as well for top end gaming than the i7 that I have? I've read that the i7 doesn't really increase gaming FPS all that much, if any. I don't mind getting the i7, but if it's just slightly more future proof, than I wouldn't mind saving the extra 100$. Just looking for thoughts/opinions from some i5/i7 owners.

As for my second question: Is that power supply going to be enough? Originally I had a 1000w in there, but PCPP is telling me the estimated wattage is around 741. Am I cutting it too close with a 750w? The reason I downgraded is because the 750w is almost half the price... so that was hard to pass up if I could manage it.

Thank you for reading, and in advance for any advice/comments I might receive.

 

[GRUxTSAR]

Get a 4690K. Get 8gb RAM (16gb is overkill). 750w will absolutely NOT power this system. You'll need 1000w for sure.

I'd also recommend getting a better brand of 290s

 

[Zodiacwolf]

these are the cheapest 290s, and I've seen good reviews of them. Also, keep in mind that I'm slightly going for overkill. this price isn't an issue, so if you're trying to save money vs the best performance, I appreciate it, but I have performance in mind. As for the 16gb of ram, you're right. That's probably a bit unneeded, but I also do streaming and graphic design work, so I figured I'd rather be save, and 60$ more isn't that terribly much. Thank you for reassuring me about the 750w, I've already changed it back as per your suggestion.

Is there a specific reason you tell me to go with the 4690k over the 4790? I'm a reasons guy, so I'd like to know WHY you're telling me to make the switch. Thanks again, and I await your reply.

 

[jmonarch]

You're correct about the i5 over i7 for gaming. the 4690k will be fine for gaming. I have the 4790k in my system and it is a beast but the 4690k would work just fine. If I can make a recommendation on where you purchase it though. Micro Center is always the best for CPU pricing somehow. They have the 4790k for $279.99 and the 4690k for $199.99. The problem is that not everyone has access to them but if you can get your case there then I would get the CPU there as well. Also, great choice on the case. I just got that for Christmas and love it. I agree on the GPU's and power supply. First, 750 won't cut it and even if it would you don't want to be that close to the max. I would always recommend at least 100 over what you should need as you never want to run it at max and put extra strain on the PSU. I found an EVGA 1000 G1 on Newegg for $149.99 with a $35 rebate. Newegg has the MSI 290 Gaming 4 for the same price as the XFX right now with the same rebate. I have two of the MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4's and other than the memory issue and lying to us I love MSI and the cards are beast. I would get the MSI 290's over the XFX any day.

 

[Zodiacwolf]

Would I see any performance drop with the 4690 over the 4790? I don't really want "This will suffice" in almost anything for this build, but if it would only be like... a 2fps difference than I'll make the switch. As for getting it directly at a micro center store, that's not really going to work for me. The closest one is an hour away, and for the price of the gas to get there I could just order it from the next cheapest, but thank you for the suggestion. I love this case I just recently switched it from a thermaltake Core V71. I like the more minimalist design on the front, and it has the 3 drive bays I need to accommodate my NZXT Sentry. About the PSU, I already switched back to a 1000W. I had an inkling that the 750 wouldn't cut it.

And here's where I get REALLY silly. About the GPUs, here's why I'm reluctant to switch to the MSI: It has red on it. I know, it's absolutely silly, but I am going for color coordination. Unless it would make a world of difference, I do believe that I'm good on my XFX. As I said, I've read good reviews, and I love the look with the white LEDs. If I WERE to switch to another 290 I think I'd go with the PowerColor AXR9 290.

I don't really have any brand loyalty or anything, but I don't see why the XFX is being shunned here. Am I missing something?

 

[jmonarch]

For gaming you won't see any difference between the 2 CPU's. As far as the GPU being red i understand but you won't really see it as the red is facing down and unless you are on the ground looking up at the GPU you won't be able to see the red. If you look at my profile pic that has 2 MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G's in it and you can't see any of the red on the cards. I do have the black and red theme with the MSI Gaming board and the red power cables but the card itself doesn't show.

 

[jmonarch]

XFX will "suffice" as you put it. They are ok cards but they aren't the best performers and they cost as much as better cards. For GPU's I would stick with MSI and Gigabyte for the best two in my opinion. If you go with AMD then Sapphire is great also as they are the exclusive distribution partner for AMD.

 

[jmonarch]

Another thing is that you don't need crossfire for 1080p gaming. With the two XFX cards you are looking at $480 for your GPU and you could be doing one 970 for $350-380.

 

[Zodiacwolf]

Alright, I changed the i7 to the i5. That's a nice chunk of savings right there, so if I won't see any performance loss, that's a change I'm willing to make. As for the GPUs, I'm leaning towards the MSI now, but I'm still not 100%. To be quite honest, I'll probably make the switch eventually when it sinks in that it's better for the same price.

 

[GRUxTSAR]

Alright, I changed the i7 to the i5. That's a nice chunk of savings right there, so if I won't see any performance loss, that's a change I'm willing to make. As for the GPUs, I'm leaning towards the MSI now, but I'm still not 100%. To be quite honest, I'll probably make the switch eventually when it sinks in that it's better for the same price.

Don't get the MSI 290s. They aren't very good performers. The best 290s are the Sapphire Tri-X, Sapphire Vapor-X, and Powercolor PCS+. Would you ever be interested in watercooling your rig?

 

[Zodiacwolf]

I'm not in the market for a custom loop, if that's what you're asking. The most I'm looking to do is the NZXT Kraken that I have. That'll work for me. Maybe in the future I would like to learn how to make a custom loop, as I think they're pretty and add a nice feel. But right now, I'm not willing to spend that much money on it. As for the MSI's, now I'm really confused as to which to get. lol. I guess with the money I saved from the i7 to i5 conversion, I could splurge on the Vapor-X, but that's still a good bit more than what I was originally spending. I like that it's blue and all, but that's a combined total of slightly over 100$ more just for a better version of the same card. I'd be more willing to go with the Powercolor PCS+. Again though, I'm a reasons guy. Why are these cards better than the other 290s?

 

[jmonarch]

Sapphire is your best bet if you are going with AMD GPU's but I would go with MSI or Gigabyte for Nvidia.

 

[Zodiacwolf]

I read up on a few things, and realized that I missed an earlier statement of yours, Monarch. Seeing as how I'm getting a 1080p monitor, I decided to dial back my build a bit for now. For the initial purchase I'm taking out the crossfire, and going with the Sapphire 290 Vapor-X, and a lower PSU to match. Later on, when I get a second monitor I'll upgrade with another GPU, a better PSU, and most likely the i7 at that point. But now is not that time. I should still be able to max everything on ultra settings at 1080 with this build. I've "Finalized" this build about fifteen times now, but I believe this is the actual final build I'm going with, unless you have further suggestions.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($214.95 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X61 106.1 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($123.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 EXTREME4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($110.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($63.98 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($63.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($108.24 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($91.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 290 4GB Vapor-X Video Card ($296.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair 750D ATX Full Tower Case ($129.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($47.95 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: BenQ GW2760HS 60Hz 27.0" Monitor (Purchased For $199.98)
Wireless Network Adapter: Asus PCE-N15 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($26.98 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: Corsair Air Series AF140 Quiet Edition 67.8 CFM 140mm Fan ($16.98 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: Corsair Air Series AF140 Quiet Edition 67.8 CFM 140mm Fan ($16.98 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: Corsair Air Series AF140 Quiet Edition 67.8 CFM 140mm Fan ($16.98 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: Aerocool DS 120mm Blue 81.5 CFM 120mm Fan ($13.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case Fan: Aerocool DS 120mm Blue 81.5 CFM 120mm Fan ($13.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Fan Controller: NZXT Sentry LX Fan Controller ($41.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Keyboard: Rosewill RGB80 Wired Gaming Keyboard (Purchased For $99.99)
Mouse: Razer Razer Naga 2014 Wired Laser Mouse (Purchased For $60.00)
Headphones: Sennheiser PC 363D 7.1 Channel Headset (Purchased For $229.95)
Other: Logitech C310 USB 2.0 WebCam ($42.99)
Other: CP-8920046 - Professional Individually sleeved DC Cable Kit, Type 3 (Generation 2), BLUE ($85.19)
Total: $2173.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-08 22:07 EST-0500

 

[jmonarch]

I think that looks great but I have a trivial question. What is the plan for all of the fans? Don't get me wrong I have the 3 that came with the 750D plus the two that came with my H100i plus 2 SP120's added to the H100i for push pull and then another 2 AF120's on the bottom where the HDD cages were but I don't know where you plan on putting all of them and at 14-17 a piece you should think of that before you purchase them. The case comes with 2 AF140's for the from and another AF140 for the rear. The top can handle 3 fans but you are taking up 2 with the X61 and I don't know if you can fill the last spot since that is a 280 rad. I know I can but I have a 240 rad so I have a little extra clearance. I also have 2 120's on the bottom but that is because I mounted all 3 of my SSD's on the back of the motherboard and removed the HDD cages as I don't use them. You will need at least one of them for the 3TB HDD so that only leaves 1 slot on the bottom for a fan. By my calculations once you remove one HDD cage and mount the rad for the X61 you should only be able to add one case fan on the bottom and 2 more on the rad if you wanted to but the AF series isn't good for that you would want the SP series.

 

[jmonarch]

The bottom can take 2 120mm fans so you could use one there between the PSU and the HDD cage. I would recommend the AF120 as that is what I have and I love them. If you wanted to add 2 more to the X61 for a push pull then I would use the SP140's as they are also great. I have the SP120's on mine but it is unnecessary unless you are overclocking. If you just get one additional fan then that would save you $62 that you don't need to spend unless you plan on replacing the fans it comes with but it comes with the Corsair fans you picked out.

 

[Zodiacwolf]

I'm not planning on using the stock fans in the case. I'm using 2 of the 140s in front, the two 120s on the bottom, and the third 140 for rear exhaust. I'm using the 140s that the case came with to mount on the radiator in addition to the radiators stock fans in a push/pull config to mount on top. So in all I'll have 7 140's and 2 120's. Granted, I did see that the HDD cages kind of wrenched that, so I figured I'd go ahead and get them and figure it out when I was putting it together. I also wanted to make sure they were all 3 pin, as that's what my fan controller supports. So that kind of went into the process of me buying them as well.

 

[Zodiacwolf]

I'm also debating on going with a fan controller that only takes up 1 drive bay so I can have the NZXT LED controller as well, just for some added ambiance. But I'm still debating. It'd be a cool add-on for only 40$