Project Jäger

[DeathIsOverRated2]

Project Jager is going to be an awesome one.

 

I'm currently upgrading from a laptop because I decided I wanted more.  I wanted a more powerful CPU, I wanted more powerful GPUs, I wanted a smoother experience.  So, I set out into the frontier of building a PC.

 

The budget that I decided on was <2500 USD.

 

I made a list of parts found here.

 

As you can see from that list, the price tops out at just over 2500 USD, with everything on it, including my monitor of choice and peripherals.  You can also pick up that this build is geared toward gaming, specifically newer and upcoming games like AC Unity and The Witcher 3.

 

Here is also the full list, right here on this post:

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K Quad-Core @ 4.0GHz stock - I originally went with the i5-4670K, but I decided on the i7-4790K specifically because of its hyperthreading, which upcoming games will most likely utilize, giving the i7-4790K a significant advantage over the i5-4670K in the future.

 

CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken x61 - I will be overclocking the i7-4790K to at least 4.5GHz, so I wanted a kick ass cooling system to keep the CPU within reasonable temperatures, hence the Kraken.  My other options were Corsair's H100i or a custom water loop.  I will get to the second option down below as it still is very interesting to me.

 

Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 - This is a pretty straightforward decision.  It's simply a better thermal compound to use on your CPU and cooling system than a stock paste.

 

Motherboard: Asus Maximus VII Hero - This motherboard is pretty beastly looking and performs really good. Well, according to the multiple reviews I've read and watched.  The BIOS on it also looks very professional and easy to use.

 

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) - 16 gigs of RAM with seemingly good customer reviews.

 

SSD: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB SSD - I had a tough time choosing a SSD because I'm not all that familiar with them, so I looked around the internet and decided to go for this one because of its good reputation and price.

 

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive - I don't need a large internal hard drive because I bought an external one that holds 1TB of data and I still haven't used it.

 

Video Cards: 2 Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIXs - I looked around the vast internet for benchmarks for a single and SLI set up for these cards and I found that they perform really dang good, for their price and power consumption.

 

Case: Corsair 750D ATX Full Tower Case - My original case that I was going to go for was the NZXT H440, but then I came to my senses and realized that my setup probably would feel very cramped and constricted in that case, so I went for the Corsair 750D.  I also read up that this case is very good for custom water cooling, which I am interested in.  For the time being, I will use the Kraken x61, but probably by Fall of 2015 I want to start to upgrade my cooling system to a custom loop, which is why I chose this case.

 

Power Supply:  Corsair 760W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-modular ATX Power Supply - After I completed my list of the PC, PCPartPicker calculated that my estimated wattage would be at around 500W.  However, this is assuming that I'll run the CPU and GPUs stock and with minimal USB devices hooked up, so I went to multiple online wattage calculators and found that my wattage from that would be much higher than the initial 500W.  From there, I decided to up the wattage of my power supply from 600W to 760W.  I'm still unsure about this, so I would like to know your guys' input.

 

OS: Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) -  I decided to budget myself on this and choose the standard OEM version because I generally don't have problems with Windows that require me to give Microsoft a call.

 

Monitor: Asus VG248QE 144Hz 24.0" Monitor - I didn't have enough spending money to go for a 1440p monitor, so I went with this one.  Based on its reviews and price, it seems like a good option for a gaming monitor.

 

Keyboard: Razer BlackWidow Chroma - It was either this or the Corsair K70.  I opted for the Chroma because of its easy to use software and sound.  I know it's not a reasonable selling point, but I just like the sound of the Chroma much better.  

 

Mouse: Razer DeathAdder Chroma - I wanted an ergonomic and customizable mouse that would fit with my build's theme and aesthetic, so I chose the Razer DeathAdder Chroma.

 

 

There you have it.  A full list of my build and why I chose the products I chose.  Note:  I HAVE NOT PURCHASED ANY OF THESE ITEMS

 

I just made a list of potential items that would go into my PC, which again has a budget of 2500 USD.

 

I would love to hear your input and what you like about it, dislike about it, and what you would change in it.

[HippY]

my Project Jager usually ends with several shots, some girls, blurry night and a massive hangover.

 

But your build seems decent!

[Sauron]

 

 

Welcome to the forum! Please remember to follow your topics so you're notified when someone answers

 

It's a very nice build, I dig it. Personally I would exchange that mouse for a logitech g502 (possibly the best mouse currently on the market), but that's up to your personal preference. And yeah, the K70 would have made more sense, but if you really like the chroma I guess why not...

[Delusional Phil]

- snip -

Hmm ... Why not go with a single or 2 980s ? You have $2500 .. Might as well spend $100-$200 more on that for the best performance 

[DeathIsOverRated2]

Hmm ... Why not go with a single or 2 980s ? You have $2500 .. Might as well spend $100-$200 more on that for the best performance 

I was considering that, but I figured that an SLI setup of two Strix 970s would be slightly better than 1 Strix 980, but in 1080p.  For higher resolutions, I saw that there was a larger gap between the framerates that two 970s produced and the framerates that came out of the 980.  The monitor that I will buy for this project will eventually become the second monitor in my setup, when I can actually afford a 144hz 1440p monitor, or better yet, a 4K monitor.

 

EDIT:

I also have a question; I found this custom water cooling kit that is about 44 dollars more than the Kraken: http://www.aquatuning.us/water-cooling/kits-und-systems/internal-kits/13669/alphacool-nexxxos-cool-answer-240-lt/st-kit?c=6459

Would this be a more effective CPU cooler than the Kraken?  I remember watching a JayzTwoCents video about the kit and from what it looked like, the results were pretty dang good.  I have another question; what if I have 2 separate loops in my system, one for my CPU and one for my GPUs?  Would it just be too pricey and inefficient than a single loop?

[Delusional Phil]

- snip -

 

+ Well , I guess you have a valid point , you just use for gaming correct ? Then 2 970 would be cheaper and more effective then a single 980 . But remember , you are comparing 2vs1 Graphics card and If the gap is not more then 25% . Then I would say the 980 holds its ground pretty well ... 

 

+ I'm not a water cooling expert since I don't have my dream computer yet so ... I would post this to get your post on top so that people can answer your question .