PC building advice

[Delhu]

Hey guys,

I am thinking about building my first gaming computer.
Basically, I am mainly playing BF4. However, I am playing a lot of other games (CSGO, payday. borderlands, titanfall, dayz, skyrim (with mods !), rising storm ...). My goal is to have a computer that will be able to run all my games maxed out with a high framerate and that will perform few years before replacing some of its components. I am in particular waiting for the witcher 3 and gta 5.
I am starting from scratch: no monitor, no case, nothing at all. What price range should I expect and which configuration do you advise ?

Thanks in advance,
Delhu

 

[ssddx]

you can build an intel i5-4690k, 8gb ram, gtx970 system for about $1000 (case only with os, no peripherals) which would be what i would shoot for if you can. you pay for it but the system runs cool, quiet and efficient with good performance.

if that amount of money is too much of a stretch and you just do not have the funds then you can get a fx8320, 8gb, r9-290x system for about $100-200 less. it will run hot and the cpu can bog down a bit but otherwise should do well.

 

[Delhu]

Ok thanks for your quick answer !
I have actually the funds for more than 1000. I should be able to put +/- 2000.
What do you advise ?

 

[ssddx]

you may want to state if you have any other requirements of the pc besides gaming because the above specs are perfectly fine for gaming.

also, you might want o remember that price is without peripherals. a good monitor can cost $200-300, a good keyboard and mouse combo can cost $150-200, good speakers can easily run over $100 or more, headphones/headsets the same.

you need to advise on what you would like out of the system not just performance wise but also in terms of peripherals. it may also benefit you to read the work in progress monitor buying guide stickied at the top of the peripherals forum subsection.

generally spending more than $1000-1200 on just the pc (without peripherals) is going overboard for gaming and unless you have certain other requirements or needs then it needs to be discussed in greater detail. remember peripherals can cost $500-600+ depending on what you end up getting.

 

[Delhu]

I see
I am currently playing on a laptop (I know, not the best setup to play at all) so my idea is to buy an ultrabook to still be mobile and to buy a gaming computer. Thus, the station would be mainly used to play (+ some internet and movies), but yeah, almost exclusively to play games.
I do not need to buy an os. As for the peripherals, I'll need a mouse (was thinking of a Deathadder), a keyboard, speakers and a monitor.

 

[ssddx]

well if by portable you mean that you can travel with it by car to places where you can set up and plug in then you can always just build a mini system http://img.hexus.net/v2/chassis/Corsair/250D/250D-14.jpg

if by portable you mean travel by plane or using it on trains, automobiles or on-the-go then sure a laptop seperate from your gaming pc works better.

--

i think an i5 will be sufficient for your needs then (no need for i7) unless of course you intend to do a whole lot of recording.

i personally like the deathadder myself (look into the kone too) but i like the old 3.5g version which has a nonslip top coating. i dont care as much for the smooth top and rubber sides of the new version but hey, you might.

as far as keyboards go... you need to pick: mechanical or membrane. mechanicals are very accurate, clicky and responsive but make noise and not everyone likes how switches feel. membranes are very quiet, can be very soft touch however sometimes can feel spongy. there are many options depending on what kind you want.

for monitor you need to figure out what kind of size you like (personally i dont use a monitor is use a tv.. pictures in signature link and it works out GREAT for movies and gaming) and then figure out if you value response time and refresh rate or image quality more .

what kind of speakers were you thinking... normal pc speakers or something hifi?

 

[Delhu]

For the keyboard, I don't really know: I've never tried a mechanical one so I don't know if I'll like it or not. For the monitor, I was thinking about a 24 inches one. As for the speakers, since I think I'll mainly use my headset with the computer, I'll just go with normal pc one.

 

[Delhu]

In the end, what rig do you advise ?

 

[ssddx]

i'd look at an i5-4690k, z97 motherboard, 2x4gb ram 1600/9 minimum 1866/9 suggested speed, a 1tb hdd ssd is optional with a gtx970 motherboard.

at least that is where i would start and work UP or DOWN depending on budget restraints. the above would cost about $1000 without peripherals.

 

[Delhu]

Thank you for the advices
Here is my draft: draft
What do you think of it ?

Thanks !

 

[ssddx]

technically the parts are compatible but there are a few things i'd like to note:

-you could get by on a cheaper cooler if you do not plan on heavy overclocking.
-you may want to look into the samsung 840evo or 850evo ssd's
-the gtx980 is only about 10-15% better performing at most for almost double the price of a 970. unless you're running at 4k or need 4gb vram not 3.5gb it makes more sense to go with a gtx970. also, a sli-gtx970 system is only a bit more than one 980 yet will have at least 30-40% more performance (in games where sli helps). i'd go with another brand myself, but thats me.
-it would be preferred to use a psu from seasonic, xfx or superflower in the 600-650w range for one card or 750w range for two cards. (rosewill capstone are also good. basically anything tier 1 or 2 on the psu tier list we have.
-if you did not ever want to sli you could get away with a z97-p motherboard (doesnt support sli) if you do want sli what you have now is fine.

....just a few things i wanted to note.

 

[Delhu]

Thanks a lot for your answer !
- Ok, I'll check that.
- I've seen quite great reviews of the sandisk but I'll look at the samsungs.
- I'd rather go with one card to have the option to go sli later. Is the 980 still a lesser choice ? Regarding your issue with the brand, is it with msi or with nvidia ? May I ask you why ?
- Ok so if I'm planning to go sli later, I should take a 750w psu ?
- Ok

I was also hesitating between i5 and i7. What do you think ?

 

[ssddx]

the gtx980 is the better card for sure, it is just very expensive for what you get. basically a gtx970 is the same card as the gtx980 except part of it was disabled due to manufacturing defects. this means that it has slightly less graphics processing ability and the last .5gb of vram is not useable in the same manner as normal vram. for a $250 difference in price theres only 10-15% difference in performance generally. your choice, the 980 is a great card but expensive for the performance level you get.

generally other brands such as xfx, evga, gigabyte and asus are favored over msi. at least in the usa msi has a bad rep for being of inferior build quality compared to other brands.

i'd get a 750w psu since you plan on sli. if you're in the usa. either xfx or seasonic are good brands. if you can score an evga "g2" on sale for a reasonable price that is good as well. the rosewill capstone 750 and 750m are also good. i've seen 750 units of the above brands as low as $65 on sale though $80-90 is more typical (the g2's tend to be over 100 but drop to 70-80 once in awhile). a solid good quality 750w unit is good enough for two gtx970/gtx980

i5 is perfectly fine for gaming, though if you want to multitask such as recording while gaming the i7 will be of benefit. also the i7 is of benefit if you use programs that take advantage of hyper threading (3d modeling, video editing, other cpu intensive tasks). you'll get just a bit more performance out of an i7 generally than an i5 even in games but unless you have another reason to go i7 its not worth the price.

 

[Delhu]

Then I'll go with a gigabyte gtx 980 I think. Less expensive than 2 gtx 970 sli.
What are your thoughts on the Samsung 850 Pro ?
I'm leaving in Switzerland and I haven't found a retailer for the EVGA PSU. I can buy it in France for 133€ which is in line (in terms of price) with the Seasonic PSU I can find in Switzerland so I'll go with that I think.
As for the cooler, I don't really know what to take, I'm currently looking at the Cooler Master Hyper TX3 Evo and the beQuiet Pure Rock. Will they suit for the rig ?

 

[ssddx]

the difference between samsungs evo and pro models is that the pro models are rated for more read write cycles before failure. honestly unless you're constantly filling the drive up, wiping it, filling it up, repeat its a non issue. i have one of the 840 pro's myself (850 is the new lineup) and its really a nice drive.

what cpu cooler depends on how much you want to overclock. if its relatively mild or no overclocking for now you could very well go with something small like a hyper 212. if you get hot temps or want more extreme overclocks then get a bigger cooler. not sure what your plans are. remember to check your case's cpu cooler height maximums and the cpu cooler height listed on the cooler specifications to make sure you have room in your case also.

 

[Delhu]

Ok thanks for the heads up on ssds.
Regarding the cooler, the hyper 212 costs only chf10 than the beQuiet shadow rock slim so it's not that cheaper in the end. I don't really know how to look for cpu coolers. Are there some kind of categories/classes or some kind of "key number" (like the vram for gpu or the frequency for cpu) to class them and differentiate them ?

 

[ssddx]

generally look at the fan size.

120mm coolers like the hyper 212 are suggested over anything smaller.
140mm coolers are even better but can be overly large and do not fit in all cases.

look at the depth, generally the thicker coolers perform better.

ultimately though thermal performance is what matters and there are various benchmarks comparing the cooling capacity of various coolers vs each other on the net. pick what fits in your case (total height vs what your case spec says) and which gives the best cooling for your money (and is available in your region)

--

fyi... you cant go by just vram for video cards.

there are some 2gb cards for instance which can blow the doors off some 4gb cards. first be comparing apples to apples (cards which perform at about the same level.. such as two 970s vs eachother, or a 970 vs a 290x) before comparing vram. where vram matters most is when running above 1080p resolutions. you can make do on a 2gb card for 1080p (the 3.5gb on the 970 is nice for some future proofing) but the 4gb (or greater) are what you would want for 4k and multimonitor.

also, frequency (ghz) rating on cpus is not the only go by to use and should be used only when comparing one version of the same line of processors with one of the same line. for example, a 5ghz overclocked amd cpu is not going to be the same as a lower clocked intel chip. the strength of the actual cores in the cpu plays a huge part (in this case intel has much stronger cores which is why they are superior even when clocked slower). now, in two equal strength processors with the same core strengths (such as comparing a 4790, with a 4790k with oc) yes, core clock does matter.

 

[Delhu]

I'm sorry I kinda forced to write that amount of text. I actually hesitate over writing this because eventhough you have to take it into account, I know the number does not everything (same for horsepower with cars) and that this could lead to an explanation post. What I meant (and I apologize, I should have clarified), is what kind of numbers/statistics/caracteristics should you look at when looking for a cooler. But you've answered anyway. Thanks for the explanation and sorry for "forcing" you to clarify through a long post.

 

[ssddx]

basically looking at things like http://www.anandtech.com/bench/CPUCooling/772 and others

 

[Delhu]

Ok thanks a lot.
I was wondering. Are 8go of RAM enough ?

 

[ssddx]

8gb is the standard recommended amount of ram for current systems. for just gaming 8gb is sufficient. however, if you plan on doing some video editing or other demanding tasks which are known to use up large quantities of ram then perhaps more would be ideal.

 

[Delhu]

Thanks again ssddx for all your advice (is there a way to endorse you ?)
Here is my current build : Build
However, I still have a few questions
I am wondering if instead of a 850 pro 256gb, I should not pay a few extra bucks and get a 850 evo 500go.
Also, on the hdd, I am not really sure about my choice: I've seen quite some complaints about failures on the Seagate that I am considering buying a WD black instead (maybe not 2To since they're quite expensive ...)

What are your thoughts on that ?
Thank you,
Delhu

 

[ssddx]

you could trim off $200 of fat from that build pretty easily if budget was an issue. or you could spend that getting some new gaming headphones and mic (or speakers). just my own thoughts though. you could get away with a cheaper motherboard and cheaper power supply among other things which would maximize performance per dollar but what you have would work technically.

i'd suggest going with lower profile ram though what you have should not clash with a small cooler.

the pro is better than an evo (longer lasting) although the average user should not have trouble with either. i used a 256 (samsung 830) in the laptop and a 512gb (samsung 840 pro) in the desktop and i would have to say the ~500gb size drives are great if you're in need of that much fast storage space. not required (256 would work) though helpful if you have lots of stuff. i'd say an evo drive should be fine unless you plan on excessive writing/rewriting of data (literally rewriting the whole drive daily.. that kind of data writing). otherwise, it should last you over 10 years theoretically.

wd blacks fail too. i've had 5 wd black 1.5 and 2tb drives fail in 2 years. one rma died in 5 days, some died in 6 months. in general anything over 1tb can be rather flaky in my experience if you intend to use it daily. seagate barracuda, samsung spinpoint and wd black/blue are all good drives though i'd personally stay with 1tb (unless you do backups). keep in mind though that ANY drive can fail so its always best to do backups regardless.

 

[Delhu]

you could trim off $200 of fat from that build pretty easily if budget was an issue. or you could spend that getting some new gaming headphones and mic (or speakers). just my own thoughts though. you could get away with a cheaper motherboard and cheaper power supply among other things which would maximize performance per dollar but what you have would work technically.

Well actually, the maximus is cheaper than the mobo I initially intended to buy (158 vs 165 chf for the z97a). As for the psu, I went for it because you recommended it and the reviews are great.

i'd suggest going with lower profile ram though what you have should not clash with a small cooler.

Maybe this one ? G.Skill Sniper

the pro is better than an evo (longer lasting) although the average user should not have trouble with either. i used a 256 (samsung 830) in the laptop and a 512gb (samsung 840 pro) in the desktop and i would have to say the ~500gb size drives are great if you're in need of that much fast storage space. not required (256 would work) though helpful if you have lots of stuff. i'd say an evo drive should be fine unless you plan on excessive writing/rewriting of data (literally rewriting the whole drive daily.. that kind of data writing). otherwise, it should last you over 10 years theoretically.

OK, I'll stay with the 256go pro

wd blacks fail too. i've had 5 wd black 1.5 and 2tb drives fail in 2 years. one rma died in 5 days, some died in 6 months. in general anything over 1tb can be rather flaky in my experience if you intend to use it daily. seagate barracuda, samsung spinpoint and wd black/blue are all good drives though i'd personally stay with 1tb (unless you do backups). keep in mind though that ANY drive can fail so its always best to do backups regardless.

Yeah, I had a WD black on my laptop that failed me after three and a half years; I was thinking that maybe wd hard drives failed less than seagate ones (hence the premium on the price)

 

[ssddx]

if the maximus is cheaper then go for it. the maximus lineup is better than the z97a anyways so you'd only be getting a better product. the g2 evga is a solid unit worth buying if you have the cash for it.

the gskill sniper is low profile which means it would not interfere with any heatsinks. since the heatsink you picked before is not too large i would say that either ram would work though my preference is to always suggest low profile to avoid any issues. your choice.