First build and would appreciate input

[semperneoeon]

1. Budget & Location
Would like to keep this as close to $800 (USD) as possible (excluding monitor and peripherals). Building in the US. 

2. Aim
Primarily I will be using this for serious gaming, such as the latest BF, Crysis, Fallout, etc. Also, I wold like the ability to do some very basic video editing: capturing and uploading gameplay. Finally, not sure this makes a difference but obviously the typical internets stuffs, eg, downloading, streaming, etc. 

3. Monitors
It looks like I'll have to grab a new monitor, I can handle picking that out: Single monitor. What I would like to know is, can I use my Samsung 46" 240hz LED LCD (UN46C7000WF) to stream and is gaming even possible? I have read that you can't get past 60hz, which results in mad refresh delay (99 ms!). 

4. Peripherals
Don't need tips on keyboard and mouse. However, I thought I should mention I'm looking into what it would take to run my home theater speakers with this rig. If this doesn't seem practical, then I will just stick with my Sharkoon X-Tatic True 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound Gaming Headset for now. As for the case, I'm more of a sleeper type, ie I don't care about looking cool. I guess the case just needs to be big enough to fit every thing and I am contemplating on dabbling in Crossfire/SLI in the future. So if I can downgrade to something less flashy and cheaper, I'm all for it.

5. Why are you upgrading?
I'm upgrading because the PC I have now is an IBM from 2003... so yeah, upgrading is an understatement.

In short, I'm trying to build a pretty decent gaming rig that will maintain the ability to be upgraded over the next 4+ years. The more I read about mobo's though, it appears that the socket is the primary constraint, in reference to compatibility to the graphics card. (Not to mention all the talk about DDR4) So if that means that I can't just buy a really good mobo and upgrade to a far superior gpu in a few years then never mind.

I think that's about it for now. I'm building on pcpartpicker and here is my permalink.

 

Please take a look and share with me your thoughts (preferably here on LTT), thanks! 

[mosin40]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($194.98 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($74.78 @ Newegg) 

Memory: Apotop 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($65.70 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($53.99 @ Amazon) 

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB ACX 2.0 Video Card  ($329.99 @ Amazon) 

Case: NZXT S340 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($69.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($54.99 @ Amazon) 

Total: $844.42

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-24 12:38 EDT-0400

[Megazero]

1. Budget & Location

Would like to keep this as close to $800 (USD) as possible (excluding monitor and peripherals). Building in the US. 

2. Aim

Primarily I will be using this for serious gaming, such as the latest BF, Crysis, Fallout, etc. Also, I wold like the ability to do some very basic video editing: capturing and uploading gameplay. Finally, not sure this makes a difference but obviously the typical internets stuffs, eg, downloading, streaming, etc. 

3. Monitors

It looks like I'll have to grab a new monitor, I can handle picking that out: Single monitor. What I would like to know is, can I use my Samsung 46" 240hz LED LCD (UN46C7000WF) to stream and is gaming even possible? I have read that you can't get past 60hz, which results in mad refresh delay (99 ms!). 

4. Peripherals

Don't need tips on keyboard and mouse. However, I thought I should mention I'm looking into what it would take to run my home theater speakers with this rig. If this doesn't seem practical, then I will just stick with my Sharkoon X-Tatic True 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound Gaming Headset for now. As for the case, I'm more of a sleeper type, ie I don't care about looking cool. I guess the case just needs to be big enough to fit every thing and I am contemplating on dabbling in Crossfire/SLI in the future. So if I can downgrade to something less flashy and cheaper, I'm all for it.

5. Why are you upgrading?

I'm upgrading because the PC I have now is an IBM from 2003... so yeah, upgrading is an understatement.

In short, I'm trying to build a pretty decent gaming rig that will maintain the ability to be upgraded over the next 4+ years. The more I read about mobo's though, it appears that the socket is the primary constraint, in reference to compatibility to the graphics card. (Not to mention all the talk about DDR4) So if that means that I can't just buy a really good mobo and upgrade to a far superior gpu in a few years then never mind.

I think that's about it for now. I'm building on pcpartpicker and here is my permalink.

 

Please take a look and share with me your thoughts (preferably here on LTT), thanks!

ASRock is generally not trusted, and Team Elite Plus is not a name I have heard of, and you shouldnt get 1x8GB ram anyway, unless you plan to go 16GB soon.

R9 280x is fine, but compare to R9 280 the gain is not really enough for the price increase, so I choose a R9 280 instead

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.97 @ SuperBiiz)

Motherboard: MSI Z97 PC MATE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($89.94 @ OutletPC)

Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: A-Data Premier SP610 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($65.03 @ NCIX US)

Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 280 3GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($169.99 @ Newegg)

Case: NZXT S340 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Newegg)

Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)

Total: $754.90

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-24 12:39 EDT-0400

As for monitor... where did you heard the stuff about not getting past 60Hz? Why do we have 144Hz Gaming monitor then ?

Also, why no HDD?

[H4X3R]

1.

Here you go, won't find a better one (that's a guarantee from me):

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($187.93 @ OutletPC) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper TX3 54.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($19.98 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte G1.SNIPER H6 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($99.99 @ Amazon) 

Memory: Apotop 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($65.70 @ Newegg) 

Storage: A-Data Premier Pro SP600 64GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($44.98 @ OutletPC) 

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($54.99 @ Amazon) 

Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card  ($254.99 @ Amazon) 

Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($34.99 @ Micro Center) 

Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($59.98 @ OutletPC) 

Total: $823.53

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-24 12:41 EDT-0400

 

Without the SSD it's 790US$.

 

2. All can be done with the build. Note however that streaming + gaming is very taxing so the i5 is an entry level CPU in that regard (no hyperthreading).

 

3. You can look at your stream and stream chat on your TV an game on your monitor. Gaming on a TV is crap.

 

4. The case supports 2 cards however you will need to upgrade your mobo. I suggest getting 1 high end card over 2 lower end cards anyway. The 290 will keep you running for quite a long time. By then, you just need to add 1 GPU to keep up with the titles.

 

5. The motherboard is very good for gaming and can support 2 AMD cards or 1 nvidia cards, however i suggest you just run 1 card (the case doesn't have enought airflow for 2 cards and they'll get very loud and hot. As previously mentioned, the 290 will be great for 3-ish years. Just pop in another card (r9 590? gtx 1170/80?). The first slot is where you have to plug in your GPU as that is the one with a full gen 3.0 x16 slot.

[semperneoeon]

ASRock is generally not trusted, and Team Elite Plus is not a name I have heard of, and you shouldnt get 1x8GB ram anyway, unless you plan to go 16GB soon.

R9 280x is fine, but compare to R9 280 the gain is not really enough for the price increase, so I choose a R9 280 instead

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.97 @ SuperBiiz)

Motherboard: MSI Z97 PC MATE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($89.94 @ OutletPC)

Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: A-Data Premier SP610 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($65.03 @ NCIX US)

Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 280 3GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($169.99 @ Newegg)

Case: NZXT S340 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Newegg)

Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)

Total: $754.90

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-24 12:39 EDT-0400

As for monitor... where did you heard the stuff about not getting past 60Hz? Why do we have 144Hz Gaming monitor then ?

Also, why no HDD?

Thanks for the input! I have a few questions, though. Why or what about ASRock is not trustworthy? I am contemplating on upgrading to 16gb (relatively soon) however, is there a performance benefit to splitting the ram into two slots or is it primarily for cost?

 

My comment about the monitor was directed towards LED LCD's. They may have a 240hz rating (whether that is accurate or not is a whole other debate) regardless, the LED LCD can't process a signal from a PC any faster than 60hz. Hence, one of the reasons why they aren't good for gaming.

 

Finally, I have couple 1TB SSD 3.0 externals for storing and backing up everything else. If you don't think this is a practical setup, please let me know.

 

Thanks again!

[semperneoeon]

Storage: A-Data Premier Pro SP600 64GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($44.98 @ OutletPC) 

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($54.99 @ Amazon)

 

4. The case supports 2 cards however you will need to upgrade your mobo. I suggest getting 1 high end card over 2 lower end cards anyway. The 290 will keep you running for quite a long time. By then, you just need to add 1 GPU to keep up with the titles.

 

5. The motherboard is very good for gaming and can support 2 AMD cards or 1 nvidia cards, however i suggest you just run 1 card (the case doesn't have enought airflow for 2 cards and they'll get very loud and hot. As previously mentioned, the 290 will be great for 3-ish years. Just pop in another card (r9 590? gtx 1170/80?). The first slot is where you have to plug in your GPU as that is the one with a full gen 3.0 x16 slot.

 

 

Thanks for the detailed response @H4X3R! Just to clarify on a few points. First, if I have two 1TB external SSD's (3.0 USB), is it necessary for me to include the WD HD? This way I could spend the cash I save on the WD to get a slightly larger dedicated SSD. Next, I know I'm stepping onto a slippery slope when asking this question but is there a significant difference in performance (worth the cost) between these two Video Cards? Next, in (5) you are saying that the mobo' will likely support whatever the next iteration of Radeon R9 video card is? Finally, excuse my ignorance, in your last sentence it seems that you are speaking about multiple slots, one being 3.0x16 where I need to place the GPU; is the GPU not included? Furthermore, won't the video card handle the graphics processing?

 

Thanks again for the all the advice, I look forward to your response.

[H4X3R]

Thanks for the detailed response @H4X3R! Just to clarify on a few points. First, if I have two 1TB external SSD's (3.0 USB), is it necessary for me to include the WD HD? This way I could spend the cash I save on the WD to get a slightly larger dedicated SSD. Next, I know I'm stepping onto a slippery slope when asking this question but is there a significant difference in performance (worth the cost) between these two Video Cards? Next, in (5) you are saying that the mobo' will likely support whatever the next iteration of Radeon R9 video card is? Finally, excuse my ignorance, in your last sentence it seems that you are speaking about multiple slots, one being 3.0x16 where I need to place the GPU; is the GPU not included? Furthermore, won't the video card handle the graphics processing?

 

Thanks again for the all the advice, I look forward to your response.

No, you do not need an itnernal HDD. A bigger SSD would definitely be more of a benefit. Those 2 are basically the same card, one being clocked slightly higher than the other. For 250-270 you can't get a better card than the gigabyte r9 290 (i suggested).

Yes, every motherboard nowadays can support coming up GPU as they use the same PCI e gen 3.0 interface.

Perhaps i confused you a little in my last sentence, i meant that you have to buy the GPU then buy the motherboard and you MUST put the GPU in the FIRST slot on the motherboard as all the others will bottleneck your GPU.

You cannot place more than 1 GPU on the motherboard as you would be bottlenecking (that means not using the 2nd GPUs' full potential) the 2nd GPU. This is because the second biggest slot is electrically wired pci e gen 2.0 x4 which in terms of pci e gen 3.0 is x2. I sugested that you just used one GPU, multiple is just a hassle (more heat, more noise, not all games support 2 GPUs, etc...).

Yes, the GPU can handle the graphics processing, i don't quite know what you are referring to. With the r9 290 you can stream and the GPU can help to offload the work from the CPU a little (using AMD gaming evolved software). It can also help you capture video with gameDVR (once again, not taxing the CPU much).

 

Feel free to ask further questions if you do not understand something

[Megazero]

Thanks for the input! I have a few questions, though. Why or what about ASRock is not trustworthy? I am contemplating on upgrading to 16gb (relatively soon) however, is there a performance benefit to splitting the ram into two slots or is it primarily for cost?

 

My comment about the monitor was directed towards LED LCD's. They may have a 240hz rating (whether that is accurate or not is a whole other debate) regardless, the LED LCD can't process a signal from a PC any faster than 60hz. Hence, one of the reasons why they aren't good for gaming.

 

Finally, I have couple 1TB SSD 3.0 externals for storing and backing up everything else. If you don't think this is a practical setup, please let me know.

 

Thanks again!

Hmm... I'm not sure how a external SSD compare to a internal HDD in term of speed, but do noted that as you will be keeping most of your game in that, anything that shaken your external SSD might cause games to crash or save file broken etc.

ASRock has never been a good Mobo in my book, I dont particularly have any problem with them but if I can stay away from them I will, I trusted MSI or ASUS or Gigabyte much more than ASRock And yes, there's benefit in getting 2x4GB Ram running in dual channel vs 1X8GB ram in single channel.

[semperneoeon]

No, you do not need an itnernal HDD. A bigger SSD would definitely be more of a benefit. Those 2 are basically the same card, one being clocked slightly higher than the other. For 250-270 you can't get a better card than the gigabyte r9 290 (i suggested).

Yes, every motherboard nowadays can support coming up GPU as they use the same PCI e gen 3.0 interface.

Perhaps i confused you a little in my last sentence, i meant that you have to buy the GPU then buy the motherboard and you MUST put the GPU in the FIRST slot on the motherboard as all the others will bottleneck your GPU.

You cannot place more than 1 GPU on the motherboard as you would be bottlenecking (that means not using the 2nd GPUs' full potential) the 2nd GPU. This is because the second biggest slot is electrically wired pci e gen 2.0 x4 which in terms of pci e gen 3.0 is x2. I sugested that you just used one GPU, multiple is just a hassle (more heat, more noise, not all games support 2 GPUs, etc...).

Yes, the GPU can handle the graphics processing, i don't quite know what you are referring to. With the r9 290 you can stream and the GPU can help to offload the work from the CPU a little (using AMD gaming evolved software). It can also help you capture video with gameDVR (once again, not taxing the CPU much).

 

Feel free to ask further questions if you do not understand something

 

First, thanks for the expedient response @H4X3R! On the video cards and mobo, noted, I'm liking the r9 290. As for the GPU... now I get it! There was a break down in communication on my side. I've been reading so much literature on the subject of building a PC that I've gotten caught up in the technicalities of the nomenclature. When I read GPU, I was thinking of the basic GPU that is integrated into most CPU's (for processing Excel level graphics and so on), not the dedicated graphics card, such as the r9 290 you recommended. Thanks for the patience, I'm feeling pretty solid about this build now. I can't think of anything else off the top of my head but if I do, I'll be sure to ask.