Looking for a 1080 system

[Sherylinrm1]

I want to get a computer that works with windows 7 [which I have now].
I basically need info on what CPU, Graphics card and motherboard to get that will play at 1080 [I do not want a 4 k monitor] at high levels.

Anyhow, I have the other hardware needed. I just would like someone with experience to suggest a good
MB,
CPU and
video card that will play high end games.
I do not want to get windows 10.

Budget is not a problem but I do not want overkill either [as in a dual ti 980].

I hope this is clear.

Thanks.

 

[rollgg]

One of the recommended gaming builds on PCPartPicker will max settings on most games in 1080p.
Win 7 seems to be more expensive than 10 right now, you might want to shop around a bit to see if you can get a better deal as it's $100 out of the $900 below.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/7nc46h
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/7nc46h/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($169.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($78.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: *Crucial 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($26.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: *Sandisk Z400s 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($64.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: *Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($43.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 390 8GB Video Card ($299.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 88R MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: *SeaSonic G 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 OEM (64-bit) ($99.96 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $904.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-04-29 04:03 EDT-0400

 

[El-Terrible]

GPU - regarding the R9 390 recommended above, for exclusively 1080p I'd get the GTX-970. The 390 has more VRam and performance is slightly better but at 1080p you will max out most games with the 970 anyway. Add to the fact the 970 has better drivers, runs at much lower temps and is more efficient. I'd only get the 390 is budget was very limited and I was delving into 1440p and prepared to mess with the settings. Where squeezing the extra power is important, I'd choose the 390. For the OP's very specific 1080p requirements I would choose the GTX 970...

Monitor choice is also important here - if your chosen montor has G-sync go for the Nvidia, if FreeSync get the AMD

AS budget isn't as important I'd also go better than a 4th gen i5...the i7-6700K would be overkill and you don't want overkill so a nice compromise would be the i5-6600K instead

 

[riccardan-humiliato]

GTX 970 doesn't have "better drivers". AMD's newest drivers are just as good as Nvidia's latest ones. In fact, it's probably Nvidia that's having the problems with their latest drivers. As long as temperatures are below 85 degrees, how much cooler it is doesn't matter in the slightest. The 390 isn't going to throttle. I would go with Intel i7 if you can afford it. No reason why not if it's in the budget and there's nothing else you could spend the spare funds on.

 

[El-Terrible]

There have been driver issues in the past with the R9 390 - that's for sure. However, if these are all resolved now then great. It certainly does perform a bit better than the GTX 970. It also uses up a lot more power - twice as much. So if you're going to recommend an R9-390 a 550W PSU won't be enough and you'll probably need a 650W. This isn't supposition, a quick look on any PSU calculator and the specs of each card will tell you that.



Agree regarding the i7 - missed the OP specified no overkill but mentioned SLI as an example rather than the CPU

 

[rollgg]

The build I suggested are, as already mentioned, one of the PCPartPicker recommended gaming builds - it's the guys running the site that made it, it's not my own creation.They have a page and a video guide where they build the machine:

http://pcpartpicker.com/guide/7MMnTW/i5-4460-radeon-r9-390-gaming-pc

It's perfectly fine to swap the GPU for a Nvidia, but the matter of fact is the R9 390 is simply better bang for the buck.
I own both Nvidia and AMD GPUs and regularly swap them in the same system. AMD drivers work just as good as Nvidia ones now.
In fact a recent Nvidia driver was causing BSOD for a lot of people (myself included).

With regards to the 550W PSU they included, pcpartpicker staff have actually replied to this question since it came up on the comments:

http://pcpartpicker.com/guide/7MMnTW/i5-4460-radeon-r9-390-gaming-pc#cx1341073

In summary,

1. You can swap the card if you fancy Nvidia more (and yes they do run cooler and are more energy efficient, you'll notice the heat but not the electricity bill difference)
2. No probs with 550W psu,
3. You can get a better system if you add more expensive parts, but you won't get better 1080p gaming.

 

[El-Terrible]

Fair enough on your 2nd point - I'm sure the PSU is fine - I entered everything on the eXtreme PSU calculator adding in a couple of USB devices, it usually recommends close to a 100W above it's estimate.

 

[rollgg]

I know - I would have been suspicious myself, I didn't notice they were using 550W until you pointed it out. I felt sure someone would have asked the question and I checked in the comments.

 

[Sherylinrm1]

Ok so what I got from all of this is either the R9-390 or the GTX 970 for a video card.
The Intel Core i5-4460 or the i5-6600K. The K being the possible better choice for it's over clocking abilities.
As for a motherboard. I would prefer a standard ATX [as opposed to miniATX] or even a larger one.
Any ideas?

My main concern for a mother board would be the number of sata ports as well as hopefully having external sata. Although not a deal breaker if there is no external sata.

Thanks.


I already have a few cases and in fact will be building my own case from scratch [a custom build].
I also have windows 7 Ultimate and a decent 750 watt bronze power supply.
I have 6 terabytes of storage currently and will get an SSD for the OS later.

So truly just needing help with the three things as I no longer follow all the trends as I use when I ran a computer website etc.

Thanks for everyone's input so far.

So MB ideas?

Thanks again everyone

 

[El-Terrible]

Motherboards is very much "what vendor do you trust". I assume you want to stay under $200?

Asus, MSI and Gigabyte being the main 3. I've heard bad things from MSI MBs, I'd go for one of the other vendors.

I'm quite familiar with the Asus ones off the top of my head so I'll give you a quick rundown of those.The Asus Z170-A is their budget one (135$) and by all accounts it's a good board.

Up from there you have the Asus Pro-Gaming which has a couple of extra USB 3.0 ports but has suffered from some complaints early on from some.

Then you have the Asus Maximus VIII Hero, which has a couple more SATA ports and an extra USB 3.0 port as well as excellent onboard sound if that's important to you.

Additionally the Gigabyte Z170 Gaming 3, Gaming 5 and Gaming 7(competes with the Asus Hero) are also very good motherboards. You really can't go wrong with any of these.

If you have the cash and want good onboard sound and a couple of extra SATAs the Hero VIII is a good choice and highly though of for a gaming set-up.

Note that these are based on the Z170 chipset which is compatibly with the i5-6600K and i7-6700K if you decide on the top i7 CPU.
If you decide on the i5-4460 you need to look at the H97 (Z97 if you want to overclock)

 

[Sherylinrm1]

I have used gigbyte boards for a while but did not want to prejudice peoples opinions is all.

Thanks for the advice on the motherboards El-terrible.

Although not sure where you got the under $200 assumption from. Thanks again though

 

[Sherylinrm1]

To El-terrible

I didn't say I have a budget simply because in Canada now we pay an extra 30 to 65% more on everything than most other countries do is all.

So not much sense saying I have a budget lol

 

[Bearmann]

The i5 6600K is better than the i5 4660 even if not overclocked. Here is a comparison of the i5 6500 versus the i5 4660 (and the i5 6600K is better than the i5 6500.) I couldn't find a comparison of the 6600K versus the 4660.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYWIOTujR1g

The more I learn about the R9 390 versus the GTX 970, it seems like the less I know.

 

[superninja12]

hey sherry, welcome to the forums.

You said you've got a decent power supply, may i know which brand and model and (wattage u said 750w).
Have you got a retail version of windows 7? if its an oem version you need to buy a new license since it was attached to your previous motherboard.
Also i asumme u use an mechanical hard drive if yes which one and how old is it?

I know you said a budget doesn't matter but it matters a lot for us to give you a personal advice.
therefore i would like to ask you the following ->
1, Would you like to lifestream video edit with the system?
2 at what type of resolution do you plan on playing?
3 since budget doesn't matter what kind of theme of you want for your build ( full black/ black and white/ red ?).

4 where are you from?

 

[El-Terrible]

To El-terrible

I didn't say I have a budget simply because in Canada now we pay an extra 30 to 65% more on everything than most other countries do is all.

So not much sense saying I have a budget lol

Ahh, I understand
So Canada is like rip-off Britain then? We seem to pay a lot more here than other countries too
I stated the "under $200" not because you mentioned it but it's a good ball park figure for a good motherboard as most people won't want to spend loads on a motherboard unless they have some very techie or specific features in mind. For instance, the Hero VIII (which I have), one of the better Asus boards is under $200, as is the Gigabyte Gaming 7, and some would even consider those overkill...so that's where the figure came from

 

[Sherylinrm1]

El terrible.
The gigabyte gaming 7 you mentioned can be had for a low $259 ON SALE here in Canada.
http://www.ncix.com/detail/gigabyte-z170x-gaming-7-lga-43-113385-1130.htm

That is a cheap gaming 7 as well lol.

So yeah I say no budget because the price differences are crazy here.

To superninja12
I know you said a budget doesn't matter but it matters a lot for us to give you a personal advice.
therefore i would like to ask you the following ->
1, Would you like to lifestream video edit with the system? No clue what life stream is sorry.

2 at what type of resolution do you plan on playing? I ALREADY SAID PLUS the title mentions the resolution. 1080.

3 since budget doesn't matter what kind of theme of you want for your build ( full black/ black and white/ red ?). I have absolutely NO clue why a theme matters one whit as to what kind of cpu or video card or motherboard I want to use.

4 where are you from? I ALREADY SAID. Canada. Although not sure why that matters As the same cpu etc can be bought in most [I did not say ALL] countries in the world.

 

[Sherylinrm1]

To superninja12

I forgot. I am using a 750 watt as mention. It is a bronze rating by thermaltake.
Name is: smart750w

 

[superninja12]

alright sorry u had to repeat yourself so many times, ill take in account what you want and keep the price as low as possible(but not giving in on quality).

Also: your powersupply is AWFUL it needs an upgrade for those components.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($250.25 @ shopRBC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($37.95 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: ASRock H170 Pro4S ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($139.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($40.84 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($115.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($372.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Case: Phanteks ECLIPSE P400 ATX Mid Tower Case ($94.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($107.98 @ DirectCanada)
Total: $1160.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-05-03 12:29 EDT-0400

 

[Sherylinrm1]

Ok thanks everyone. I now have a much better idea of what to shoot for. Thanks for all of your help