Opinions Needed New Build

[josegovi]

Hello everyone,

Im thinking about building a gaming computer. Im undecided and I also got some questions. I wanted to see if everyone can help me out. Please be very objective about your opinions and if you could try not to stir the conversation away from the topic would be greatly appreciated. With all the being said, i have already made a choice to stick with Intel and nvidia so keep these in mind when giving suggestions (don't try to convince me to change to AMD or ATI). I got 2 builds:


1st Build (My Brother has).
Intel i7 2600k Processor
ASUS P8Z68-v pro gen 3 Mobo
16GB DDR 3 at 1600Mhz RAM
800W PSU
EVGA GTX 680 GPU (just one)

Now he can run every game maxed out at 1080p perfect, including Crysis 3. I was playing NFS Shift and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game and I could see some micro stuttering (not in crysis 3 though) and he only has 1 GTX 680.

2nd Build (It was a gaming recommended build in a forum I cant remember):
Intel i7 4770k Processor
MSI Z87-G45 Gaming Mobo
16GB DDR 3 at 1600MHZ RAM
850W PSU
EVGA GTX 780 SuperClocked (just one)

Im undecided between these two. I dont know if the second its worth paying more for. My concern is if Im going to spent around 1300 dollars (without monitor) for a gaming computer, i wanna make sure that for that limit of money I could buy one thats gonna last me a good time. Is the second one going to last longer than the first one enough to justify the difference in price? also, is the second build going to allow me better upgrades in the future than the first build? if yes, is it going to be worth the difference in price?

NOTE: Keep in mind that I dont pla to run 3 monitors or anything crazy, I just plan to do one monitor at 180p max. Also Im avoiding builds with 2 GPUS in SLI because from what I know and the research Ive done they suffer micro stutter more than 1 GPU, now thats not say in the future I might buy a second GTX 680 or 780 (depending on the build I pick) if needed to keep with new games which is why I have that 850W PSU in the second build. In that light is 850W PSU would be enough for 2 GTX 680's or 780's in SLI??

Thanks everyone in advanced for your opinions I hope I didn't missed or leave anything out and that I didnt say anything n00b, after all Im still learning so any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

 

[josegovi]

I dont doubt thats a good psu but its more expensive than the one i though of. Does the one I though has enough connectors though?

Black friday for pc hardware better than cyber monday? i though by the name cyber monday would be better for pc hardware.

Thanks for the website ill keep checking it.

 

[realchaos]

Yes the one you listed has the connections to SLI, but if you can dish out the extra $15 then I would go with the XFX because it is 80+ GOLD for better efficiency and fully modular for better cable management.

Black Friday usually has the better deals since it comes first. Cyber Monday would have decent deals, maybe as good as Black Friday, but generally they aren't as great. Cyber Monday is a way for companies to get rid of the things they didn't sell during Black Friday.

 

[josegovi]

I see....now do you think there would be deals in pc parts?

Thanks.

 

[realchaos]

Of course there would be. How good of deals? I can not say. I suspect that the deals will be in the older parts (NVIDIA GTX 600 series, AMD Radeon HD 7000 series, etc.) as they are last gen and the companies want to get rid of them to make way for the newer gen.

 

[josegovi]

Hey guys can i fit a gtx 780 or 2 gtx 780 in SLI in a mid ATX?? Im thinking about this case Cooler Master Elite 430 Mid Tower ATX Case. Anyways how would I know if it fits it or not?? this is going to sound very dumb but on the dimension how would I know how much space do I need?

Thanks.

 

[realchaos]

I believe any ATX Mid Tower should do the job. However, the CM Elite 430 is a very low quality budget case. If you want to SLI GTX 780, you should go for a NZXT Phantom/Fractal Design Define R4/Corsair 500R.

 

[josegovi]

whats the difference??? i mean i understand it might be better ventilated and bigger, but is it really worth the extra money and also, does it makes that much of difference, I just find it hard to believe if I add fans to the other case on the way to the sli its not going to be good enough.

Thanks

 

[realchaos]

The CM Elite 430 is made of thinner metal so it won't last as long. Also, it has horrible cable management options so there will be a lot of cables blocking the airflow. What's the point of fans if the cables are blocking the air from reaching the core components?

But IMHO, the main reason would have to be the quality. If you have a higher quality case like the ones I mentioned above, it will last much long than the CM Elite 430 so you will not need to upgrade your case for a very long time.

To put it in a more understandable way, a case can be thought of like a house. What's the point of buying a more expensive house if a cheaper one can shelter you? It's all about the quality and how well it does what it does. Not the best analogy, but that's the best I can think of.

 

[josegovi]

Ok but I guess my question is: Am I really going to see such noticeable difference in performance between case to case due to air flow or is it going to melt or damage the GPUS or any component due to heat?

Thanks.

 

[realchaos]

A single GTX 780 is a very high end gpu that exhausts a lot of heat. It may not overheat, but it will run at very high temps due to the poor airflow in the CM Elite 430 and with the cables blocking it. You won't be able to overclock it as well since the airflow is horrible, so I guess that could be a performance difference.
If you were to SLI those GTX 780s in that case, there could be a reasonable chance that one of the cards will overheat as there is more heat being produced and the same, poor airflow in the case.

 

[josegovi]

Also you metioned the cable are going to be on the way of the airflow, how is that going to change in the phanton case? I mean is it that much bigger?? or how is it going to be managed better? I tried to look for like cable rails and I did not see any, I dont know if thats what you meant for cable management

Thanks.

 

[realchaos]

There is more space behind the motherboard tray in the phantom, so you can hide more cables there. That way, if you spend some time with cable management, you can easily route your cables and only have the ends of the cable out in the open. That will make your build much cleaner and provide better airflow for your case.

The CM Elite 430 has barely any, if any, space behind the motherboard tray to tuck the cables behind.

 

[jschavo]

realchaos is coolmax a bad choice for psu???
Im thinking about this one.
http://www.amazon.com/Coolmax-ZU-800B-CrossFire-Certified-Modular/dp/B008LA6CI0/ref=sr_1_7?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1385691329&sr=1-7

 

[realchaos]

Yes coolmax is a bad choice. They are low quality. Stick with Corsair (No CX series), Seasonic, PC Power and Cooling MK III, Antec, and XFX.

 

[josegovi]

OK so I already bought the build, just waiting for it to come in the mail. I should have by Tuesday or Wednesday. Here are the final specs:

i7 4770K Processor
MSI Z87 G45 MOBO
PNY XLR8 8GB DDR3 1600 CAS 9 Memory Module MD16384KD3-1600-X9 2 pack for a total of 16GB.
WD Blue 1 TB Desktop Hard Drive: 3.5 Inch, 7200 RPM, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64 MB Cache - WD10EZEX
XFX PRO 850W Black Edition Single Rail Power Supply with Full Modular Cables ATX 850 Energy Star Certified Power Supply, P1850BBEFX
EVGA GeForce GTX780 SuperClocked w/EVGA ACX Cooler 3GB GDDR5 384bit, DVI-I, DVI-D, HDMI,DP, SLI Ready (03G-P4-2784-KR)
Samsung UN32EH5300 32-Inch 1080p 60 Hz Smart LED HDTV (Black)
NZXT Guardian 921 RB ATX Mid Tower Case, Black 921RB-001-BL

I wanted to thank everyone for their opinions. Realchaos you were very helpful and made research some content that I didn't know and despite the fact that I didn't follow all you recommendations I still respect your opinion. I try to select a decent case but I couldn't get anything better than that one to fit my budget. I hope this is good enough.

Thanks again.