3440x1440 gaming build - Need review :)

[fruitsalsa]

Hi guys! I'm looking forward to build my first gaming pc ever, and I was wondering if you could review my plan so far !

 

This PC will be oriented mainly towards gaming (at 3440x1440p). It will be use for work as well, but no image rendering or video editing.

 

I'm aiming for smooth gameplay (60 fps) at 3400x1440 and at high settings. The most demanding game I'll play on it will be Star Citizen I guess, but since it is not released, it is hard to forecast the hardware required. I guess Crysis 3 is the benchmark at the moment since Star Citizen will run on Cry Engine 3.

 

I'm not looking for a budget PC, high end is the way to go for this build. Of course I'm not burning money like a madman (so no 4-way sli titan X suggestion please:p ). I'm estimating 3000$ will be good (without the screen).

 

I'm living in Canada, so I'll get my parts mainly on NCIX, Newsegg, Amazon.

 

The part selection for the moment: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/86XvQ7

 

I'm looking for 3440x1440P because I really love working with 2 screens, but I hate the bezel at the center. So I can see this resolution really fixing my problem! Also, in gaming, it will be quite immersive

 

Processor: the i7-4790K seems like the way to go for a good gaming processor with hyperthreading, so I took it without many other reasons than hyperthreading (which i guess will be helpfull in upcoming games). I could wait a bit for Broadwell, but I don't think it will worth it (not much improvements over this generation).

 

Motherboard: I honestly don't have much clues over which mobo to choose. It looked like a good one with good reviews on PCPP, so I took this one. I don't know if there is much difference between a mobo with 2 sli 16x PCI-E lanes, and one with 1 16x and 8x (since both card will run at 8x). Is there any real performance difference?

 

RAM: Not so expensive, 16 gigs seems like a reasonable amount to run games and other apps at the same time. Apparently the brand is good, 2400 mhz wiill improve speed, but otherwise I don't have other argument to choose on type of RAM over the other...

 

Storage: I leaning toward all SSD storage into this build. I don't have much music, or pictures/video, so I don't need a HDD with 4G to store that, but I want my OS and all my games on SSD for a lightning fast boot of everything! 2 512G SSD RAID 0 or 1 1TB SSD is the question at the moment...

 

GPU: I'm waiting for the next generation of GPUs (it will be either the 980ti or the 390x), so I have put 2 GTX 780 ti for the moment only to figure out the required wattage (250 W each, which will probably be the wattage required on the upcoming cards) on PCPP for the build, but it will be 1 of those 2 card at first, and the I will move on to sli. Apparently the 390x will comes with only 4gig of memory on it, si I guess I will lean toward the 980ti (at 6gig) to sustain good performance at that resolution. The upcoming weeks in GPUland will make me decide which one to get. I'll wait for good reviews as well to compare the 2 cards!

 

Case: I like minimalistic design (I'm not looking for a window or lights in the case), so fractal design R5 looks like the way to go. Plus, it is a mid-tower case, which I prefer, and it is supposed to be really quiet

 

PSU: The PCPP calculator gives me a reading of 714W, so a 860W should do the trick (plus a safety margin!). It is also a platinium certified psu, which is great!

 

I intend to overclock a bit, but not that much. I will go all in air cooling, and I'm aiming for quiet and performance, so I grabbed 3 Noctua 140mm fan (2 front, 1 back) for the case , and a noctua NH-U12 for cpu cooling, which I think will be cool and quiet (as the noctua reputation implies).

 

The screen will be the magnificient LG 34UC97-S which I really love, even if it doesn't have freesync or g-sync on it.

 

Still undecided for the keyboard, so I pick up this Thermaltake Poseidon for the moment, but I will review it later.

 

Thanks in advance for the help guys ! I looking for your approval, so I can lock-up my choices and be ready for the upcoming GPU releases in the upcoming weeks !!

[Goodman2265]

Go with 2 980's or with a R9 290X 8GB or crossfire two R9 290X 8GB

 

Edit* Just read you're say on GPU's

 

The new AMD 390X will have its 4GB of VRAM in HBM which is 9x faster than GDDR5 which basically all GPU's have

http://wccftech.com/amd-20nm-r9-390x-feautres-20nm-hbm-9x-faster-than-gddr5/

[HashtagFTW]

Go with 2 980's or with a R9 290X 8GB or crossfire two R9 290X 8GB

Read before posting...?

[Goodman2265]

Read before posting...?

I edited so maybe look at it

[fruitsalsa]

I agree with you, the HBM seems to be quite fast indeed! I'll wait for the GPU review before buying anything. 

[FairladyZ]

I'd switch to a single 980 or two 970's. You'll be getting the latest Nvidia technologies, and a 970 performs about the same as the 780 did, while consuming MUCH less juice.

[fruitsalsa]

I'd switch to a single 980 or two 970's. You'll be getting the latest Nvidia technologies, and a 970 performs about the same as the 780 did, while consuming MUCH less juice.

As I said, the 780ti are only there to test the compatibility of the rig (250w cards). I'll put a 980ti or a 390x when they will get release (hopefully in the upcoming weeks), and I'll sli/crossfire them later on