High End Gaming PC Build

[jameswilby5]

Hi all,

I'm looking at building my own gaming PC to be able to max out current games such as Battlefield 4 and future games. I will be using a 144hz monitor and ideally would like to be able to max out the framerate, as much as possible. Up until now I have been gaming using a laptop which, even though it is relatively powerful, struggles with the likes of Battlefield. I've put together a list of components and just wanted some advice as to if its the best I can get.

i7 4790k (when released)
EVGA GTX 780ti Superclocked ACX Cooler
Asus Z97 - Deluxe
Corsair Vengeance Pro 8gb (2x4gb)
Crucial M500 240gb
Seagate Barracuda 2tb
Corsair RM1000 PSU
Corsair H100i
Cooler Master Cosmos 2

I do have a couple of questions as well which would be great to get cleared up. I have read that a 6gb version of the 780ti is due to be released soon. Would this be worth getting? Furthermore I am confused as to which motherboard is the best to get. I need one that will enable all the Cosmos 2 USB ports to be used, as well as having enough 6gb/s SATA ports. Is the Asus selected good or is there better? I've heard the Gigabyte boards are also meant to be great but really don't know where to start

I've priced this build up to be just under £1700 which is okay by me as long as it will provide a top gaming experience for years to come. I am planning on adding another 780ti in a couple of years to keep it running the latest games. Is that a good idea? This is also the reason why I added a 1000W power supply now to ensure that it can handle any future upgrades. Also I know the Cosmos 2 may seem a bit overkill for this build but it seems to be well above anything else I have seen in terms of build quality and cooling. I would stick with that case for a long time and upgrade around it so would be a good investment getting a good quality one.

Any help would be greatly appreciated,

James

 

[SethJPC]

It all looks good, I'd change the PSU though. Tom's recently did a review on the z97 boards and they liked the ASRock and the MSI ones so you could try them if you wanted, I've made a list of what I'd do with yours (CPU not out yet so thats why its a 4770k). For a single monitor 3GB of VRAM is sufficient. An 1000W PSU can handle two 780ti's and yeah its up to you whether to add a second one or not.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£233.99 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (£83.88 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 EXTREME4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£103.43 @ Dabs)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2666 Memory (£102.96 @ Scan.co.uk)
Storage: Crucial M500 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£78.10 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£52.79 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Superclocked ACX Video Card (£510.98 @ Dabs)
Case: Cooler Master Cosmos II (Black) ATX Full Tower Case (£279.98 @ Novatech)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 P2 1000W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (£142.51 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £1588.62
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-02 17:18 BST+0100)

Edit it however you like.

 

[jameswilby5]

Hi thanks very much for the response! Good to know I wasn't too far off

I've seen a lot of people mention the EVGA PSUs recently and so will switch to that one instead. Thanks for the heads up on the motherboards. I liked the look of the ASUS Maximum VII Hero as well. I'll have a look at the MSI and ASRock ones as well. I read that the 6gb 780ti would be released soon so provided it's of a similar price I would get it otherwise I can save some money there and not bother.

Also on a side note I see everyone on the forum uses PCPartPicker to share builds. Are all the companies used on the price comparisons reliable? The cost of my build on there is around £100 cheaper so would be a welcome saving!

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated,

James

 

[Timball760]

Just a comparison between the 780 and the 780 ti there is like a 200$ difference between the two. A regular EVGA ASUS or MSI 780 would be more than enough and for 200$ less. However if you really want High end look for some more RAM (12-16gb) as BF4 is a RAM hogger and so will this year's games. Ram would be the only this that I would change considering this high level budget.

 

[jameswilby5]

Thanks for the reply! The 780ti was meant to be a future proofing measure. My plan was for eventually 2 780tis to keep it running at the top level. With the RAM would 16gb be ideal for gaming? I always thought 8gb was enough but I suppose games like battlefield would use it up.

Many thanks,
James

 

[Tradesman1]

Go with the Hero, I picked the Z97 at release and have a spare 4770K in it while waiting for the DC CPUs to be released (have been running the Z87 Hero since last year (in sig)). Great mobo, runs cooler OCs better than the Z87 (with same CPU I use in the Z87, I easily run 4.7 with less voltage than the Z87 required for 4.6), and can handle faster DRAM....Even for 780TIs in SLI a good 850 PSU will be fine and you can save some there. Since you mention 'future proofing' might consider 16GB in 2x8GB instead of 8GB and look to 1866 or 2133/9 as the low point....Have run numerous sets of GSkill Tridents and Snipers on both my Heros with no problem from 8 to 32GB, along with a few other assorted sets.

 

[jameswilby5]

Thanks for the reply! It's good to know you are liking the Hero and I'll definitely go for that one. I'm hoping to be able to over clock the 4790k to at least 4.7Ghz stably so looks to be a good option. I think I was going a bit OCD with the 1000W PSU so good to know the 850W will be sufficient and have settled on the EVGA 850W G2.

As for RAM I have read many different conflicting comments that would be great to get cleared up. Firstly does the RAM speed actually make any difference? I've read some people say it has very minimal effect for a hefty price tag an others saying it is worth it. Also I have read that running as many ram modules as possible results in the best performance but that running the fewest modules provides the best stability for over clocking. Is this true? If so which is more important? I think your right about getting 16gb and that will probably even benefit current games such as Battlefield.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated,
James

 

[Tradesman1]

Sweet spot DRAM is around 1866/2133, Haswell scales well to DRAM. If simply gaming then even 1600/9 (which is basic entry level will work fine for most games (most simply use DRAM as a data conduit), though newer games that utilize DRAM will perform better w/ faster and even with games that don't really 'use' the DRAM so much you can still see gains of 2-4 FPS from 1600-1866 or maybe 4-8 from 1600-2133. Generally with DRAM, best to go the less sticks the better while maintaining at least 2, i.e. don't get a single 8GB stick for *GB total - go with 2x4GB which allows for dual channel which can provide a 10-15% performance boost over single channel - of if starting with 16 GB get a 2x8GB (2 sticks is less stress on the MC (memory controller). 4 sticks here would only be if you were going to max out the mobo at 32GB, (may have some tell you to get 4 for quad channel (idiots) because this is strictly a dual channel mobo - the only real current mobos running true quad are the X79 mobos and then the upcoming X99 mobos, both of which are socket 2011

 

[jameswilby5]

Thanks for clearing that up! 4-8fps is probably worthwhile considering the cost difference isn't too much. I'll go with a 2x8gb set up then for the z97 board. When you talk about 1866/2133 being the sweet spot do you mean in terms of cost/benefit or overall performance. Would I benefit even more from going to 2400 which I have found for the same price as the 2133 on Overclockers?

Once again thanks for the amazing help,
James

 

[Tradesman1]

Performance wise, 2400 is even better, though many of the 2400 sets are still on the higher side pricewise - GSkill has had a number of sets out for a couple years now and tend to have lower prices

 

[jameswilby5]

Ok perfect I'll opt for the 2400Mhz options. I've found the Corsair Vengeance C11 for £125 on Scan. Does that seem reasonable? The GSkill seems to go for slightly more at £140 isn. Or I could go for the 2666 Trident at £145. I see thats what you've got do you find its worth the extra?

Many thanks,
James

 

[Tradesman1]

OOOOhhhhh, love the Tridents, since around the end of 2012 those have been my sticks of choice for high end builds...low CL, across the board in the line of sticks, haven't had a set yet that didn't have OC headroom, they do do run a bit more, but to me (and through the last couple of years, to my clients, they have loved them)

 

[jameswilby5]

Thanks for all the help! I've decided on the GSkill and hopefully I'll benefit from the speed! My build currently looks like this:
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/KvtVD3

It is currently at £1650 which is okay but I have been thinking that the case really is overkill. The problem is I can't find anything else that seems to perform as well. Can anyone suggest what are considered the to be the best cases for cooling, that have good build quality and are at least full tower. I have looked at the Corsair range which is often mentioned but there seems to be a lack of quality control as well as a few cooling issues. For example the 750d has a cover over the front fans which would surely bottleneck them?

Any help would be greatly appreciated,
James

 

[Tradesman1]

I like the HAF cases, have my main rig in a HAF 912 mid tower, plenty of room and good cooling

 

[jameswilby5]

Thanks! What about the Phanteks Enthoo Primo? I've found that for £180 and it seems to look like a rival to the likes of the 900d and Cosmos 2. I'll take a look at the HAF series again but was really looking for at least a full tower.

Many thanks,
James

 

[Tradesman1]

They have a number of HAF full towers

 

[jameswilby5]

Thanks! I'll take a look into the cases more. It's currently between the 750d, enthoo primo and maybe one of the HAF cases.

Also on another note I've noticed that Corsair have released the M550. What's everyones thoughts on this? Is this the SSD to go with or should I be considering something else such as the Samsung 840 EVO? Also what is everyones thoughts on a RAID 0 set up for my mechanical hard drives? I planned on getting 1x2tb hard drive but could put 2x1tb hard drives in raid 0. I know drive failure becomes more likely but I regularly back up so thats fine. What I was wondering was is it more hassle to set up and maintain than it's actually worth and are what sort of speeds could I get?

 

[Tradesman1]

I haven't gone hands on with the Corsair so can't offer much other than on paper looks pretty good, for the hard drive a single would prob be fine, platter drives offer an increase speed wise with RAID but not all that much

 

[jameswilby5]

Thanks for the reply! I've decided on the Samsung 480 EVO and will hold off on the RAID for the moment. I want to thank everyone for the help! My build is now complete. I will purchase the items within the next couple of weeks when the i7490k starts to become available. Here is the final spec for anyone interested:

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/HB2QGX

I will get the black case but its not on PCPartPicker for some reason. I'm sure I will be posting some more topics when I get building to ask for advice and to get some feedback.

Many thanks,
James

 

[Tradesman1]

No worries, will be looking forward to hearing how it all comes out