Is this build alright? Thanks!

[suaveplatypus]

Hi, I want to build a PC to play Fallout 4 and Star Wars Battlefront at 60FPS+ and Very High+. Please look over this build and see if anything should be fixed or improved upon for a similar or cheaper price.

***I already have an operating system and 1080p 60hz monitor.

Thanks!

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($188.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($31.24 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B85 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($56.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Dark 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($42.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($97.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($358.89 @ Amazon)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($20.99 @ Amazon)
Keyboard: Logitech K120 Wired Standard Keyboard ($14.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1046.03
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-18 18:03 EDT-0400

 

[datguy20]

Any reason for the 750W power supply, planning on SLI? I'd say go with an R9 390 over the GTX 970. It's cheaper and arguably better. You don't need a 212 Evo with a non-k processor (unless you want extra silence?). Is the disc drive and 1TB HDD necessary?

Here's a faster build for less http://pcpartpicker.com/p/KPhPkL I would still recommend removing the HDD & disc drive unless you need them.

 

[suaveplatypus]

Any reason for the 750W power supply, planning on SLI? I'd say go with an R9 390 over the GTX 970. It's cheaper and arguably better. You don't need a 212 Evo with a non-k processor (unless you want extra silence?). Is the disc drive and 1TB HDD necessary?

Here's a faster build for less http://pcpartpicker.com/p/KPhPkL I would still recommend removing the HDD & disc drive unless you need them.

First of all, thanks for the help.

Oh, I had the 750W leftover when I included a GTX 980 Ti in my build. I decided to get the 970 instead, but I forgot to take off the 750W. I'm not interested in SLI or overclocking. I guess it's better to get the higher quality 650W PSU instead of the one I originally had, right?

Would the stock CPU cooler be good enough for cooling? I just thought an aftermarket one would be healthier, even for a non-k.

Yeah, I'd like to get an HDD for the extra space. I thought I would need a disc drive for installing stuff like Windows, but if you think I'll never need one then I could take it off the list.

Is there an advantage to upgrading the CPU to a 4690? I see you found cheaper 8gb RAM.

 

[datguy20]

Yeah the 650W is a tier 1 ranked PSU (EVGA in general make good PSU's). It is ranked higher quality that the 750W anyways (I think that one is tier 3). EDIT: Here's a tier list if you're interested http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html

The stock cooler is good if you aren't overclocking, [strike]but I put that one on there because you had the k CPU listed (aka thought you'd be overclocking).[/strike] And yes, it's cheaper & faster RAM. Also an arguably better quality brand.

A disc drive isn't needed to install Windows, unless you don't have a USB (which costs less than a disc drive anyways). Just find a Windows ISO for your appropriate OS (on Microsoft's website), use an imaging software (multiple free options. Ex: isotousb.com) to make the USB a boot-drive so to speak, and then insert it before booting. Then go into the BIOS, set the USB as the first device in the boot order, and save settings. It will boot into the install process like a normal Windows disc. Once installed you then set the boot order back to your SSD, and use the USB for whatever you want.

I upgraded the CPU just because it's the newest i5.[strike] Truthfully, if you aren't overclocking and would like to save money,[/strike] you won't see much difference if you chose an i5-4460. [strike]The main difference would be when you overclock, which you would get great results with that cooler & motherboard. If you aren't overclocking than a few things need to be changed anyways (would maybe save ~€100).[/strike]

EDIT 2: Well I feel dumb. I thought I was responding to a different post. This build isn't even overclockable

 

[CTurbo]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper TX3 54.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: MSI H97 PC MATE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($76.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($45.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($97.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($319.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($20.99 @ Amazon)
Keyboard: Logitech K120 Wired Standard Keyboard ($14.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $999.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-18 19:10 EDT-0400

 

[suaveplatypus]

Yeah the 650W is a tier 1 ranked PSU (EVGA in general make good PSU's). It is ranked higher quality that the 750W anyways (I think that one is tier 3). EDIT: Here's a tier list if you're interested http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html

The stock cooler is good if you aren't overclocking, but I put that one on there because you had the k CPU listed (aka thought you'd be overclocking). And yes, it's cheaper & faster RAM. Also an arguably better quality brand.

A disc drive isn't needed to install Windows, unless you don't have a USB (which costs less than a disc drive anyways). Just find a Windows ISO for your appropriate OS (on Microsoft's website), use an imaging software (multiple free options. Ex: isotousb.com) to make the USB a boot-drive so to speak, and then insert it before booting. Then go into the BIOS, set the USB as the first device in the boot order, and save settings. It will boot into the install process like a normal Windows disc. Once installed you then set the boot order back to your SSD, and use the USB for whatever you want.

I upgraded the CPU just because it's the newest i5. Truthfully, if you aren't overclocking and would like to save money, you won't see much difference if you chose an i5-4460. The main difference would be when you overclock, which you would get great results with that cooler & motherboard. If you aren't overclocking than a few things need to be changed anyways (would maybe save ~€100).

Awesome, thank you. Can the motherboard be changed back to the cheaper B85 with little difference since I'm not overclocking? With the B85, my concern is in the compatibility notes, as PCPartPicker says"Some Intel B85 chipset motherboards may need a BIOS update prior to using Haswell Refresh CPUs". I heard this is alright since most motherboards are already updated for it, but I'd like your opinion on that.

If you believe in the R9 390, I'll heavily consider it. I'm not very familiar with Radeon cards.

As for the EVGA PSU, do you have any experience with mail-in rebates? It would be $30 cheaper than Amazon, but I thought it might be unreliable or super slow. I've never done rebates before.

 

[suaveplatypus]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper TX3 54.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: MSI H97 PC MATE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($76.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($45.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($97.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($319.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($20.99 @ Amazon)
Keyboard: Logitech K120 Wired Standard Keyboard ($14.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $999.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-18 19:10 EDT-0400

Oh thanks for the suggested build. I'm gonna look into this.

 

[datguy20]

I'd recommend the R9 390 over a GTX 970 for sure. And you might want to go back to my second post, I didn't realize I was responding to a different thread (lol). Edited it a little.

As for the motherboard, there's no real reason to change to a B85, unless you find one that ships with BIOS support for that CPU. Some might, but it'd be annoying to sift through them all when you can just grab an H97.

Rebates are different on every site. Some will let you submit it online and recieve a pre-paid Visa card with that value, some might give store credit, etc.

 

[suaveplatypus]

Haha no problem.

Ah okay, I'll just go for an H97 then. I just figured the B85 was cheaper, but it sounds like more trouble than it's worth.

 

[CTurbo]

I would still take the 970 over the 390 for 1080p gaming especially with a 60hz monitor.

 

[datguy20]

I would still take the 970 over the 390 for 1080p gaming especially with a 60hz monitor.

When they are this close in benchmarks (looks to be about 1-3 fps difference between them on every game), I'd say the R9 390 wins because of 4 extra GB of VRAM & the same/lower price. That simple.

Here's more if you want to drown in data http://www.gamersnexus.net/hwreviews/1984-amd-r9-390-380-benchmark-review/Page-2

 

[CTurbo]

When they are this close in benchmarks (looks to be about 1-3 fps difference between them on every game), I'd say the GTX970 wins because it consumes less than half the power and has better driver support at the same/lower price. That simple.

Extra 4GB vram means NOTHING at 1080p

 

[datguy20]

When they are this close in benchmarks (looks to be about 1-3 fps difference between them on every game), I'd say the GTX970 wins because it consumes less than half the power and has better driver support at the same/lower price. That simple.

Extra 4GB vram means NOTHING at 1080p

Couldn't find the 390 specifically, but a 390x is close.

Yes it consumes more power, but it would only matter if you're using a sub-400W PSU (realistically most gamers have 550W+). Even if we pretend that a 1080p monitor will only ever be used, games are starting to use more than 4GB of RAM. Sure you can turn down settings, but then why even bother with a good GPU if you are fine with low settings? I won't even go into the whole 3.5GB thing.

Games that already use ~4GB+ at 1080p: Shadow of Mordor, Dying Light, Skyrim (with graphical mods) http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/2vcepp/discussion_4gb_vram_being_used_at_1080p_in_2/

The only unknown is DX12.