Planning my next major gaming PC (Last one was in 2010!)

[itgl72]

Its time again, and I have some budget to work with. I have some thoughts on what I want to do. I have some parts loosely selected and would appreciate any feedback, or just help me remember what I don't already know or forgot.

This will be a PC used as a gamer, but I'll also do some playing around with VMware as I load up windows server OSs in a lab environment. Here goes...

For CPU, I prefer Intel and I've researched the Intel Core i7-4790K Devil’s Canyon Quad-Core 4.0GHz LGA 1150. I'll pick up an aftermarket heat sink as well.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117369

It seems I can go higher but I'm not sure its worth it.

For the video card, I've eyeballed the Nvidia GTX 970, but something tells me I need to go more along the lines of the 980. However, my goodness, the price difference from the 970 to the 980 might not seem worth it. Here is the one I have saved to look at.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125682

I also plan on this finally being my first true 3 monitor setup. I'm looking forward to using it in flight and race simulations/gamesI have to ensure the card will work well with Nvidia surround.

I plan on starting with 16GB of memory, of which I have not settled on yet because I have not settled on what I need for a MOTHERBOARD.

Power supply I'll be sure to find something modular and, powerful.

I'll go some flavor of SSD as well.

The last build was inside of a Cooler Master HAF 922 and to be honest I felt that's all I needed this time too. I really liked it. This time around I'm leaning towards the Cooler Master HAF 932 but the extra expense on it is gnawing at me.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160

What do you guys think? Comments, suggestions, pitfalls, questions?

Thanks in advance for the help everyone!

 

[Proofy]

Here's what I would suggest you

I would stick with i7 4790K because it's an awesome cpu and will last you for good 5-6 years... or if you want to wait Intel will release their new processor line this year under a name of "Skylake"

For GPU I would wait for new AMD GPUs that are coming out because AMD has really good multimonitor support and R9 390/380 will have 8GB vRAM while GTX 980 has only 4GB....

For cpu cooler you can buy something cheaper

Motherboard is really good quality, I have it myself and would reccommend it to everyone. It will automatically overclock your i7 till it hit the stable voltage and GHz using 5way optimization

I didn't include your HAF case here coz I couldn't find it on the pcpartpicker but yea.. it's a good, cool looking case

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($328.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X61 106.1 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($125.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($139.99 @ B&H)
Memory: Kingston Fury Black Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($104.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($97.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 980 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($499.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX PRO Black Edition 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($139.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $1482.82
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-17 20:00 EDT-0400

To conclude if you want the computer immediatelly, I would buy the one I suggested you here. If you're not in a rush I would seriously wait for new AMD GPU and new Intel CPU release

PS: AMD GPUs will come out anyday now, and Intel will release their new line of CPU in August/September

 

[Jeff Baffalo]

What's your budget again?

 

[itgl72]

Over $1000, for sure, it can vary. I can spend much more, but my being wont allow me to live with building a computer that cost 2K. I don't know, 1500 seems good, on the high side. I dont build often and it usually lasts me with a few upgrades along the way. End of the day I want a good bang for the buck. Keep it as low as possible but get the best I can. I'm not one for needing the absolute best.

 

[Jeff Baffalo]

Not the best build but it fits everything you want right?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($328.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($74.99 @ Mwave)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Z97 Killer ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($90.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston Fury Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ ARC 100 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($316.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 932 Advanced ATX Full Tower Case ($169.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1261.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-17 20:27 EDT-0400

 

[itgl72]

Not sure about Asrock for MB. Although I have one from years ago on a budget system I Built as a mild gamer for my son and its still going. Thanks for the feedback so far guys.

Another thing that interests me, I'm planning on that Intel Core i7-4790K @ 4.00GHz listed, however the Intel Core i7-5820K @ 3.30GHz scores higher on https://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html

I guess because one has six cores, and the other has 4 cores it affects their scoring result. Its just that the 4790 is a 4.00GHz CPU, and in gaming, how many games utilize more than one core? (I'm not sure thats why Im asking)

 

[Proofy]

5820k is better only for software usage, also if you want 5820K cpu you would have to buy X99 motherboard and DDR4 memory which is really expensive. Right now you can expect to pay $500 or more for those two components.

Comparing 4790K with 5820K only in gaming, 4790K is performing better. You can see the benchmarks here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQNFr3-PUrk

4790K has much stronger single core peformance...

 

[itgl72]

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-z97a

and

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-gaz97xgaming5

So far the reading up on this, I really like it...

 

[Proofy]

I use ASUS z97-a and it's pretty awesome Good quality, reliable and has awesome overclock, this is what I can tell you from my experience with ASUS motherboards

 

[Archaic59]

Not the best build but it fits everything you want right?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($328.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($74.99 @ Mwave)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Z97 Killer ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($90.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston Fury Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ ARC 100 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($316.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 932 Advanced ATX Full Tower Case ($169.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1261.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-17 20:27 EDT-0400

- The board you picked has crossfire support but not SLI and you are using an Nvidia card in your build.
- Samsung is the better SSD and cost is usually affordable.
- The supernova NEX PSU is a tier 3 made by FSP. The Supernova GS is tier 1 made by Seasonic. Same price.

 

[itgl72]

I've got a rough draft here. Based on several recommendations, feedback from you folks, and my own reading, researching, etc. Yes, there is a Ti on this list, I am going a little crazy and exploring that possibility.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/LVjKVn

 

[itgl72]

Made a few edits, here is where I am at as of this post time. My mind... is getting foggy so I'm about to head out to garage for a bit to do some needed work on this and that.


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($349.98 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($26.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A/USB 3.1 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($148.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Gaming Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($102.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($142.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($122.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Superclocked ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($669.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($74.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Antec TruePower Classic 750W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $1739.69
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-20 18:19 EDT-0400


As a side, a few have muddied the waters on the MB pick although I think I'm 90% good where I am at with the one selected above. Their suggestions were to look at (the more expensive in some cases)

ASUS MAXIMUS VII HERO LGA 1150 Intel Z97 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...=ASUS_MAXIMUS_VII_HERO-_-13-132-125-_-Product

and

ASUS SABERTOOTH Z87 LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...cm_sp=Homepage_FDD-_-P1_13-131-976-_-06202015

 

[itgl72]

Greetings all, here is where my current build stands so far. its a holiday weekend here in the states so I held off on all purchases till i get back home from holiday. I did have a few items below already purchased from sales, researching, and plenty of recommendations to filter through.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor (Purchased For $298.00)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($26.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A/USB 3.1 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (Purchased For $144.99)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (Purchased For $89.99)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (Purchased For $110.00)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive (Purchased For $341.00)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Superclocked ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($669.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Directron)
Power Supply: Antec TruePower Classic 750W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $1870.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-03 11:05 EDT-0400

I'm now toying around with the idea of a CPU water cooler. I've been leaning towards the H100ic but not settled yet, still reading up on that. I've never run a CPU water cooler and it looks like it can be a fun part of my build. I'm satisfied with the memory and speeds for that price too. Hope to get this finalized in the next few days.

 

[itgl72]

After looking into it, I think I prefer a quality HSF.