Help to evaluate my gaming rig build around 1300 Euros

[Ulfgar85]

Hi all, I am in need to buy a new gaming pc since my old one does not keep up anymore with recent games at decent settings. So I've surfed around the net and I've made a build I want some feedback on, just to make sure to make the best choice given the budget I have at my disposal and the intention of not upgrading the machine anytime soon.

Approximate Purchase Date: within the next month
Budget Range: around 1200-1400 Euros
Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS)
Reference Website for Parts: pixmania.it
Country: Italy
Overclocking: No
SLI or Crossfire: Maybe

This is the setup I had in mind:

CPU: INTEL Core i7-4790 - socket 1150 309,99 Euros
Motherboard: MSI H97 GAMING 3 - Socket 1150 - Chipset H97 - ATX 99,90 Euros
RAM: CORSAIR PC Vengeance Pro Blue 2 x 8 GB DDR3-1600 PC3-12800 CL9 158,99 Euros
SSD: SAMSUNG 840 EVO MZ-7TE250 - 250 GB 112,06 Euros
HDD: WD WD Black WD2003FZEX - 2 TB 128,08 Euros
GPU: MSI GeForce GTX 970 Gaming 4G - 4 GB GDDR5 379,00 Euros
Power supply: CORSAIR CS650M - 650 W - 80 PLUS Gold 88,00 Euros
Heatsink: Noctua NH-U12S 59,90 (Amazon)

Total price: 1335,92 Euros

Case (already owned): COOLER MASTER Cabinet PC HAF X

The only thing i'd rather not change is the CPU, as for the rest I'm open for suggestions and opinions.

Thank you for your time and I hope everything was clear enough!

 

[g-unit1111]

That looks pretty good, but on that kind of budget I would downgrade the CPU to an i5-4690K and then upgrade the motherboard to an MSI Z97A-G45 Gaming 5. If you're not going to overclock then an aftermarket cooler is a wasted purchase. But if you are going to spend that kind of money on a PC you definitely should as it will provide a huge boost in gaming. I have an i5-4690K running very stably at 4.00 GHz right now and it's great. I would also switch out the PSU to a Seasonic G series, XFX Pro Series, or EVGA G2. All of this can be done without altering the budget. I would also get 8GB of RAM instead of 16GB and get faster speeds for overclocking.

Here is what I would suggest:

- CPU: http://www.pixmania.it/processori/intel-core-i5-4690k-3-5-ghz-socket-1150-processore-bx80646i54690k/22177726-a.html
- Motherboard: http://www.pixmania.it/schede-madre/msi-z97-gd65-gaming-socket-1150-chipset-z97-atx-scheda-madre/22274482-a.html
- RAM: http://www.pixmania.it/memorie-per-pc/corsair-vengeance-pro-series-red-2-x-4-gb-ddr3-2400-pc3-19200-cl11-memoria-per-pc-cmy8gx3m2a2400c11r/21793317-a.html
- Power Supply: http://www.hrw.it/componenti-e-networking/xfx-alimentatore-core-edition-pro-650w-uw-0-1605-299075.aspx

 

[Ulfgar85]

That looks pretty good, but on that kind of budget I would downgrade the CPU to an i5-4690K and then upgrade the motherboard to an MSI Z97A-G45 Gaming 5. If you're not going to overclock then an aftermarket cooler is a wasted purchase. But if you are going to spend that kind of money on a PC you definitely should as it will provide a huge boost in gaming. I have an i5-4690K running very stably at 4.00 GHz right now and it's great. I would also switch out the PSU to a Seasonic G series, XFX Pro Series, or EVGA G2. All of this can be done without altering the budget. I would also get 8GB of RAM instead of 16GB and get faster speeds for overclocking.

Here is what I would suggest:

- CPU: http://www.pixmania.it/processori/intel-core-i5-4690k-3-5-ghz-socket-1150-processore-bx80646i54690k/22177726-a.html
- Motherboard: http://www.pixmania.it/schede-madre/msi-z97-gd65-gaming-socket-1150-chipset-z97-atx-scheda-madre/22274482-a.html
- RAM: http://www.pixmania.it/memorie-per-pc/corsair-vengeance-pro-series-red-2-x-4-gb-ddr3-2400-pc3-19200-cl11-memoria-per-pc-cmy8gx3m2a2400c11r/21793317-a.html
- Power Supply: http://www.hrw.it/componenti-e-networking/xfx-alimentatore-core-edition-pro-650w-uw-0-1605-299075.aspx

Thanks for the reply g-unit but since i would not venture into overclocking, i guess that for what concerns motherboard and CPU they are both for overclocking right? If yes then other options you have in mind?

Taking advantage of your kindness I'd like to make a couple of more questions:

- do you know any sites you would reccommend for the purchase?
- is the PSU wattage enough for this build?

Thanks again.

 

[-Lone-]

Amazon uk would be best, from what I heard from "where is the best to buy parts from for UK" anyways. I use Amazon Prime these days and they're great, especially with customer service, except for I'm in the US.

 

[g-unit1111]

Thanks for the reply g-unit but since i would not venture into overclocking, i guess that for what concerns motherboard and CPU they are both for overclocking right? If yes then other options you have in mind?

Taking advantage of your kindness I'd like to make a couple of more questions:

- do you know any sites you would reccommend for the purchase?
- is the PSU wattage enough for this build?

Thanks again.

Sure. As far as overclocking goes that MSI board makes it really easy. I have my 4690K OC'd to 4.00GHz and all it takes is the enabling of the MSI OC Genie, which is just clicking one button in the BIOS.

To answer your questions:

1. I can't really help you there since I don't live in Italy (I live in Southern California) but check this thread - it should have plenty of stores for Italy: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-1643019/guide-international-users-links-part-stores.html

2. Yes for a single GTX 970 550W will be plenty sufficient. If you plan on going SLI in the future you want one around the 750W - 850W range.

 

[sora]

Amazon uk would be best, from what I heard from "where is the best to buy parts from for UK" anyways. I use Amazon Prime these days and they're great, especially with customer service, except for I'm in the US.

Amazon UK and eBuyer are two great retailers.

 

[Ulfgar85]

Thanks to all of you for your time and contribution, if noone else has anything to add, I'd consider the discussion closed.