Which build looks better?

[Riley1544]

One build is mine, and one was recommended to me. Which would you guys go with and why? Also 1 980 or SLI 970s??

Build oneProcessor 1 x Intel® Core™ i7-4790 Processor (4x 3.60GHz/8MB L3 Cache)
Processor Cooling 1 x Corsair Hydro Series H55 Liquid CPU Cooling System (Copper plate for best cooling performance) - Standard 120mm Fan
Memory 1 x 16 GB [8 GB x2] DDR3-1600 Memory Module - Corsair Vengeance
Video Card 1 x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 - 4GB - Single Card
Motherboard 1 x MSI Z97S SLI Krait Edition -- 2x PCIe x16, 4x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0
Power Supply 1 x 750 Watt - Corsair RM750 - 80 PLUS Gold
Primary Hard Drive 1 x 512GB ADATA SP900 SSD + 1TB 7200RPM HARD DRIVE

Build two:
Processor 1 x Intel® Core™ i5-4690K Processor (4x 3.50GHz/6MB L3 Cache) - Intel Core™ i5-4690K w/ Intel Performance Tuning Protection
Processor Cooling 1 x Corsair Hydro Series H60 Liquid CPU Cooling System (Copper plate for best cooling performance)*Intel - ARC Dual Silent High Performance Fan Upgrade (Push-Pull Airflow)
Memory 1 x 8 GB [4 GB x2] DDR3-1600 Memory Module - Corsair Vengeance
Video Card 1 x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 - 4GB - Single Card
Motherboard 1 x ASUS Z97-A -- 3x PCIe x16, 4x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0
Power Supply 1 x 1200 Watt - Corsair AX1200i - 80 PLUS Platinum Full Modular
Primary Hard Drive 1 x 250 GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD -- Read: 550MB/s, Write: 470MB/s - Single Drive
Data Hard Drive 1 x 2 TB HARD DRIVE -- 64M Cache, 7200rpm, 6.0Gb/s - Single Drive

 

[atomicWAR]

i would not do two gtx 970 in sli....usually nvidia is goodish with sli but they dropped the ball on the gtx 970 with the frame buffer issues at 3.5gb and .5 gb to add up to four. If you never plan on gaming above 1080p it may be ok but i hear a lot of horror stories about hitting the 3.5 threshold and performance dropping into the floor. see below
http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graphics-Cards/Frame-Rating-GTX-970-Memory-Issued-Tested-SLI

 

[Riley1544]

i would not do two gtx 970 in sli....usually nvidia is goodish with sli but they dropped the ball on the gtx 970 with the frame buffer issues at 3.5gb and .5 gb to add up to four. If you never plan on gaming above 1080p it may be ok but i hear a lot of horror stories about hitting the 3.5 threshold and performance dropping into the floor. see below
http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graphics-Cards/Frame-Rating-GTX-970-Memory-Issued-Tested-SLI

Well thanks for that! I really hope for 1080 to be my lowest if possible. I will stick with the 980 then.

 

[Swordkd]

The answer wholly depends on what the pc is going to be used for. The first build would be better for video editing and graphics programs due to the i7 and 16gb's of Ram.

For gaming, both would perform similarly with a slight not to the first build due to the i7 and any games that take advantage of multi-threading. However, for the vast majority of games you wouldn't see much of a difference, and only then in benchmarks, not actual gameplay. Of course, the second build has an unlocked i5 "k" series Cpu so you could overclock it and might actually pull out ahead in most games.

 

[atomicWAR]

i would go with the first build BTW...its a better all around machine

 

[Riley1544]

The answer wholly depends on what the pc is going to be used for. The first build would be better for video editing and graphics programs due to the i7 and 16gb's of Ram.

For gaming, both would perform similarly with a slight not to the first build due to the i7 and any games that take advantage of multi-threading. However, for the vast majority of games you wouldn't see much of a difference, and only then in benchmarks, not actual gameplay. Of course, the second build has an unlocked i5 "k" series Cpu so you could overclock it and might actually pull out ahead in most games.

It will be for almost always gaming such as MMOS, and RTS although am open for any games. Just depends on what grabs my interest. What about the power supply on build 2, do you think that should come down? I do plain for overclocking and sometime adding another 980. Any changes you would make?? Thanks!

 

[Riley1544]

i would go with the first build BTW...its a better all around machine

16gb ram isn't over kill? Ive also heard hybrid drives can mess up easy.. Untrue? THanks BTW

 

[atomicWAR]

I run 16 myself. 8GB is he absolute bare minimum for gaming. Personally i always like my rig to have a little more upmph. partly cause parts get past on to the wife and also being a gamer it gives the rig some future proofing. two years from now 16gb will be the bare minimum and ram modules run best in sets. I also find running in the minimum channels to populate the processors full bandwidth (ie 4 channels in a socket 2011 or 2 in 1155) for overclocking and general performance issues you avoid when using the full channel (ie 2011 running 8 sticks). But thats just me. you could choose to save cash and add ram later.

As for the SSHD....i have zero experience personally but from what i have read they are decent. you don't get the full performance of SSD but you do get more capacity with faster access the a traditional HDD. its all about trade offs. Personally i would try to do an SSD with an HDD if you can afford it. the performance will be more reliable and the if one drive dies it doesn't take the other with it being separate entities as apposed to an SSHD solution.

 

[atomicWAR]

quick not on the SLI issue. I was bummed by the GTX 970 debacle as one of the wife's gpu's died which meant upgrade time. i was already running GTX 780s in SLI (the wife has GTX 670's) and was trying to wait for Pascal to hit before upgrading. I am a fan of nvidia's GTX X70 series on a price to performance ratio. But this Gen nvidia REALLY disappointed me. So i was forced to up my budget and go with the GTX 980. That said if you can add one later you will not be disappointed. Beyond the typical SLI issues (FC4 i am looking at you) once you get it working its great. with some work arounds on FC4 its gorgeous at 60FPS ultra everything and TXAA 4X 1080P. My GTX 780's fell short of a full 60FPS everywhere on the map...many places they could but not all. Anyways if you like SLI two 980's will not disappoint. They overclock very nicely, mine hit 1350mhz from stock oc 1165... zotac amp! edition's. I actually run them at 1300mhz boost 1401, which they pretty much hang out at during game play, because i like to keep a warm house and that gives them more thermal headroom to maintain that boost.

 

[Vici0us]

Second build definitely looks better to me.

First build:
it's a non K CPU so you can not overclock it.
H55 performs a little worse then H60.
MSI Z97 Krait is not a very good mobo.
Corsair RM series PSU's aren't really good.
ADATA is not a brand you want to go with as far as SSD.

Second build:
i5 4690K is overclockable and is perfect for gaming.
H60 performs a little better then H55.
1X8GB is the only negative thing in this build. It'd be much better to go with 2X4GB.
Asus Z97-A is a very solid mobo for its price.
Corsair AX1200i is a nice PSU but it's a HUGE overkill.
Samsung EVO is one of the best SSD out there.

If you want more horse power then SLI GTX 970's is the way to go.
If you're afraid about few games here and there not supporting SLI then go for GTX 980.

 

[Riley1544]

quick not on the SLI issue. I was bummed by the GTX 970 debacle as one of the wife's gpu's died which meant upgrade time. i was already running GTX 780s in SLI (the wife has GTX 670's) and was trying to wait for Pascal to hit before upgrading. I am a fan of nvidia's GTX X70 series on a price to performance ratio. But this Gen nvidia REALLY disappointed me. So i was forced to up my budget and go with the GTX 980. That said if you can add one later you will not be disappointed. Beyond the typical SLI issues (FC4 i am looking at you) once you get it working its great. with some work arounds on FC4 its gorgeous at 60FPS ultra everything and TXAA 4X 1080P. My GTX 780's fell short of a full 60FPS everywhere on the map...many places they could but not all. Anyways if you like SLI two 980's will not disappoint. They overclock very nicely, mine hit 1350mhz from stock oc 1165... zotac amp! edition's. I actually run them at 1300mhz just because i like to keep a warm house and that gives them more thermal headroom during boost.

Alright ill keep the 16 and one 980 for now, switch the SSD and HDD. One last thing, hows the power on build one? Will it handle 2 980s? But other wise build one looks good?

 

[atomicWAR]

nah you will need more beefy PSU....something 900watt or better. and i missed the non K sorry....thx Visci0us. the second build is better for OC and PSU wise for SLI. The CPU thread wise(8 threads versus the 2nd builds 4) is better on the first build and my reason for choice of platform. Your second build has a better PSU and mother board for overclocking and SLI. if you don't plan on an overclock your first build is fine. I would take an i7 over an i5 any-day (clock for clock). those extra threads are proving useful more and more in gaming now devs are regularly coding for 8 threads on the new consoles. Again some future proofing. regardless you will need to tweak your build a little.

 

[Vici0us]

quick not on the SLI issue. I was bummed by the GTX 970 debacle as one of the wife's gpu's died which meant upgrade time. i was already running GTX 780s in SLI (the wife has GTX 670's) and was trying to wait for Pascal to hit before upgrading. I am a fan of nvidia's GTX X70 series on a price to performance ratio. But this Gen nvidia REALLY disappointed me. So i was forced to up my budget and go with the GTX 980. That said if you can add one later you will not be disappointed. Beyond the typical SLI issues (FC4 i am looking at you) once you get it working its great. with some work arounds on FC4 its gorgeous at 60FPS ultra everything and TXAA 4X 1080P. My GTX 780's fell short of a full 60FPS everywhere on the map...many places they could but not all. Anyways if you like SLI two 980's will not disappoint. They overclock very nicely, mine hit 1350mhz from stock oc 1165... zotac amp! edition's. I actually run them at 1300mhz just because i like to keep a warm house and that gives them more thermal headroom during boost.

Alright ill keep the 16 and one 980 for now, switch the SSD and HDD. One last thing, hows the power on build one? Will it handle 2 980s? But other wise build one looks good?

Both i7 4790 & i5 4690K will handle two GTX 980's without a problem.

 

[atomicWAR]

quick not on the SLI issue. I was bummed by the GTX 970 debacle as one of the wife's gpu's died which meant upgrade time. i was already running GTX 780s in SLI (the wife has GTX 670's) and was trying to wait for Pascal to hit before upgrading. I am a fan of nvidia's GTX X70 series on a price to performance ratio. But this Gen nvidia REALLY disappointed me. So i was forced to up my budget and go with the GTX 980. That said if you can add one later you will not be disappointed. Beyond the typical SLI issues (FC4 i am looking at you) once you get it working its great. with some work arounds on FC4 its gorgeous at 60FPS ultra everything and TXAA 4X 1080P. My GTX 780's fell short of a full 60FPS everywhere on the map...many places they could but not all. Anyways if you like SLI two 980's will not disappoint. They overclock very nicely, mine hit 1350mhz from stock oc 1165... zotac amp! edition's. I actually run them at 1300mhz just because i like to keep a warm house and that gives them more thermal headroom during boost.

Alright ill keep the 16 and one 980 for now, switch the SSD and HDD. One last thing, hows the power on build one? Will it handle 2 980s? But other wise build one looks good?

Both i7 4790 & i5 4690K will handle two GTX 980's without a problem.

absolutely true i am just saying their is something to be said for having some extra threads in gaming now a days. Especially with Devs getting better at using said threads with the advent of the xbone and ps4. not saying a 4690k is a bad CPU it is very nice...and if he plans on an OC its the only choice unless he wants to go with a i7 4790k instead of the non K version he chose.

 

[Riley1544]

quick not on the SLI issue. I was bummed by the GTX 970 debacle as one of the wife's gpu's died which meant upgrade time. i was already running GTX 780s in SLI (the wife has GTX 670's) and was trying to wait for Pascal to hit before upgrading. I am a fan of nvidia's GTX X70 series on a price to performance ratio. But this Gen nvidia REALLY disappointed me. So i was forced to up my budget and go with the GTX 980. That said if you can add one later you will not be disappointed. Beyond the typical SLI issues (FC4 i am looking at you) once you get it working its great. with some work arounds on FC4 its gorgeous at 60FPS ultra everything and TXAA 4X 1080P. My GTX 780's fell short of a full 60FPS everywhere on the map...many places they could but not all. Anyways if you like SLI two 980's will not disappoint. They overclock very nicely, mine hit 1350mhz from stock oc 1165... zotac amp! edition's. I actually run them at 1300mhz just because i like to keep a warm house and that gives them more thermal headroom during boost.

Alright ill keep the 16 and one 980 for now, switch the SSD and HDD. One last thing, hows the power on build one? Will it handle 2 980s? But other wise build one looks good?

Both i7 4790 & i5 4690K will handle two GTX 980's without a problem.

Ah Thanks! So you two are saying 16gb ram, im going 980 (afraid of all the problems) Maybe lower the PSU to say 850 or so? and if I do that I maybe able to get the 4790k if needed. But as said it will be for pure games, I want the best graphics and frames possible.. I will overclock if Picking the i5. Sorry for the dumb questions maybe if you two could Recommend what you think from both builds? or what you would do? I have a 2,200 budget.

 

[atomicWAR]

I run a 4670k in a game stream/ file server with a GTX 760....4 threads is enough right now for gaming...I just like to have more for little future proofing not to mention if you like to run extra programs (ie chat voice/vid, music etc) besides your games those threads are useful.

 

[atomicWAR]

the i7 is a better all around CPU....has some future proofing in gaming in regards to threads. As i said 8 threads is becoming common place in game code though hardly required, yet. The i5 good gaming CPU for right now. If you can get a i7 4790k i would. i run a i7 3960k and have it @4.6ghz. I can now see 30-40 percent utilization of 4-8 threads in most new games. granted i went overkill with 12 threads but i wanted a rig for vid encode/decode as well which uses everything i can through at it. Anyways point being if you want a gaming only rig and plan on a new rig in a year or two the i5 is fine...if you want it to last 3 or 4...or you want to run some extra programs along side gaming the i7 is a better choice...IMO

 

[Riley1544]

I run a 4670k in a game stream/ file server with a GTX 760....4 threads is enough right now for gaming...I just like to have more for little future proofing not to mention if you like to run extra programs (ie chat voice/vid, music etc) besides your games those threads are useful.

Alrighty I think I got it figured out. Im going to go with the 4790 or the 4790k if affordable the 980 lower the PSU a bit, and run 16gb ram. Thanks for the help! I will leave this open till the morning just to see other opinions. Thank you so much!

 

[atomicWAR]

awesome glad we could help good luck with your build i hope you enjoy it!

 

[Riley1544]

awesome glad we could help good luck with your build i hope you enjoy it!

One last thing Promise Hows this looking? Any problems you see or anyone else sees?
Processor 1 x Intel® Core™ i7-4790K Processor (4x 4.0GHz/8MB L3 Cache) -
Processor Cooling 1 x Corsair Hydro Series H55 Liquid CPU Cooling System
Memory 1 x 16 GB [8 GB x2] DDR3-1600 Memory Module - Corsair or Major Brand
Video Card 1 x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 - 4GB - EVGA Superclocked - Single Card
Motherboard 1 x ASUS Z97-A -- 3x PCIe x16, 4x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0
Power Supply 1 x 1050 Watt - Thermaltake TPG DPS-G - 80 PLUS Gold, Full Modular - Digitally-controlled for intelligent energy management
Primary Hard Drive 1 x 250 GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD -- Read: 550MB/s, Write: 470MB/s - Single Drive
Data Hard Drive 1 x 2 TB HARD DRIVE -- 64M Cache, 7200rpm, 6.0Gb/s - Single Drive

 

[Vici0us]

awesome glad we could help good luck with your build i hope you enjoy it!

One last thing Promise Hows this looking? Any problems you see or anyone else sees?
Processor 1 x Intel® Core™ i7-4790K Processor (4x 4.0GHz/8MB L3 Cache) -
Processor Cooling 1 x Corsair Hydro Series H55 Liquid CPU Cooling System
Memory 1 x 16 GB [8 GB x2] DDR3-1600 Memory Module - Corsair or Major Brand
Video Card 1 x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 - 4GB - EVGA Superclocked - Single Card
Motherboard 1 x ASUS Z97-A -- 3x PCIe x16, 4x USB 3.0, 2x USB 2.0
Power Supply 1 x 1050 Watt - Thermaltake TPG DPS-G - 80 PLUS Gold, Full Modular - Digitally-controlled for intelligent energy management
Primary Hard Drive 1 x 250 GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD -- Read: 550MB/s, Write: 470MB/s - Single Drive
Data Hard Drive 1 x 2 TB HARD DRIVE -- 64M Cache, 7200rpm, 6.0Gb/s - Single Drive

Looks good but you could use a better closed loop cooler for the same money.
Cooler Master Seidon 120M
I've used CM Seidon 120M and it's quiet a bit better then H60 and H55.
Also, HX1050 is still an overkill. Even for SLI GTX 980's you don't need more then 750W.