The minimum for awesome graphics?

[MercilessSuggy]

Hi There

I'm trying to figure out the best build to go for with a new machine.

The reality is I play Counter Strike GO and want to play that on a 144hz with it looking beautiful and no lag. I'd also like to play things like the new COD multiplayer online without any fps lag looking beautiful as well.

The problem I've got is I don't really know where to start and whether to buy some form of pre built circa £600 machine trusting the components or build it myself (which I have done in the past and am fine to do).

I'm happy spending more than £600 if it makes a big difference though trying to reserve a couple of hundred for a 24" 144hz monitor so was thinking £800 in total inc monitor. I have some basic enough peripherals to use for now (gaming keyboard/mouse/headset) so don't need to worry about including that in the cost.

I would appreciate some help! I know the new Skylake processors don't seem to provide much benefit over the Haswell but even that might be overkill - Advice appreciated

Thanks!

 

[sadams04]

A CPU upgrade to the i5-4590 would be nice for its higher base and turbo speeds, but the 4460 will be just fine if you can't stretch the budget...

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor (£133.85 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£67.91 @ CCL Computers)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£34.98 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£29.99 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 380 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card (£159.98 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Thermaltake Versa H23 ATX Mid Tower Case (£27.54 @ Aria PC)
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply (£55.56 @ CCL Computers)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer (£9.00 @ CCL Computers)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) (£72.30 @ CCL Computers)
Monitor: Asus VG248QE 144Hz 24.0" Monitor (£217.45 @ Aria PC)
Total: £808.56

 

[MercilessSuggy]

Thanks for that! I don't need the OS so could reinvest that in either an SSD for the HDD or potentially upgrading to the 970 which I've heard is much better than the 380? Everything else there seems spot on and I could most likely fork out the extra bit for the 4590 if the difference is worth it.

 

[cosmoji]

i would put that money in to a better gpu before cpu.

 

[MercilessSuggy]

P.S it sounds like while this setup would work perfectly for CS GO, i'm hearing I may get bad screen tear in other games if the FPS doesn't sustain a high enough average number....? Is the only resolution for this a freesync monitor if AMD (or gsync if going with nvidia)

 

[cosmoji]

you could also just turn on vsync.

 

[MercilessSuggy]

Well I just impulse bought a 1GB SSD in Amazons Black friday deal for £150:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00M8ABHVQ/ref=gb1h_img_m-4_7227_05a1cbbb?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-4&pf_rd_r=0QYA0NMNKC5NRSRRSFHS&pf_rd_i=161428031&pf_rd_p=762977227

Remove the operating system as I dont need that so it's still a similar budget.

So next is whether I upgrade the GFX to the Nvida 970 although if it really is same performance for cheaper I'm happy to go the AMD route.

Would a better fan be needed btw or is the default CPU Heatsink good enough with the i5?

In terms of upgrade routes, this build looks like it would be easy to stick in a Fury X one day if I wanted and instantly get a huge uplift in performance without modifying CPU or Ram etc... Any other bits of advice or tips? Thanks!

I'm planning on watching Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals to complete the build.

 

[cosmoji]

the stock cooler will suffice as long as the case has airflow. you usually do not need an aftermarket cooler for a cpu until you are overclocking.

 

[MercilessSuggy]

Hmm very tempted to swap this in for the CPU due to the £15 discount bringing it closer to the price of the originally scoped one.

 

[MercilessSuggy]

Ok so I messed up and bought this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00K7807IK/?tag=pcp0f-21
Simply because tbe price was too good and I play a lot Football Manager so can't hurt (plus improved clock speed)

Problem is the Mobo linked doesn't support it - any suggestions on a better Mobo? Thanks!

 

[MercilessSuggy]

I've found this - Any good?
https://www.epsilonpc.co.uk/asus-z97-k-atx-motherboard-lga1150-socket-intel-z97.html?gclid=CIu7y8XxsskCFVW7Gwod8r0CeQ