Can this be done for cheaper?

[Iamjackspc]

Hey there

 

I'm a newbie keen on building a gaming PC, and have a list of components. What I'd like to know from the veterans is whether any of the components can be swapped out for cheaper substitutes, without sacrificing gaming quality.

 

1. Budget & Location

 

Budget is difficult to nail down. I'm in South Africa, using Rands. Whilst we have pretty wide access to different brands/makes, it's obviously not as wide as anyone in the USA or Europe. Basically, can these parts work well together? If yes, then I'll find the cheapest price per component and build. If a part or two can be swapped out for something cheaper, please let me know and I'll see if we have access to it here in SA. The current price for these components (including Windows 10 OS) is R20 644 - currently converts to US$ 1451.79

 

2. Aim

 

As I said, it's a gaming PC. I'm a grad student interested in writing papers on ethical elements in games such as GTA, Far Cry, Fallout, etc. At the same time, I love the gaming experience and would love to be running these games on the highest specs.

 

3. Monitors

 

One monitor.

 

4. Peripherals

 

Will need a keyboard, Microsoft 10 OS, and mouse, but right now I'm only concerned about the PC itself.

 

5. Why are you upgrading?

 

Currently using the laptop (Samsung NP350V5C-S0GAE) with a CPU and GPU that hit 75 degrees Celsius (and above) when I play GTA IV on medium specs. Obviously that's a problem, and cooling is a big part of this for me.

 

6. Components

 

Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor

Asus Z97M-PLUS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard

EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB SSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card

Cooler Master VSM 750W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply

Cooler Master Storm Stryker ATX Full Tower Case

Kingston Savage 8GB DDR3-1866 Memory

WD Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive

Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler

Asus BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer

 

Would really appreciate any help.

[Bazilias]

-snip-

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($299.99 @ Newegg) 

CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X61 106.1 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($108.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Motherboard: MSI Z97S SLI Krait Edition ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($89.99 @ Newegg) 

Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($68.42 @ SuperBiiz) 

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($77.99 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($58.65 @ SuperBiiz) 

Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Video Card  ($639.99 @ Newegg) 

Case: NZXT S340 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($56.10 @ SuperBiiz) 

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($59.99 @ Newegg) 

Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm Devastator Gaming Bundle Wired Gaming Keyboard w/Optical Mouse  ($19.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $1480.10

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-26 08:56 EST-0500

[brob]

cpu: i5-4590

motherboard: Gigabyte or Asus H97, consider mATX format

memory: 2x4GB DDR3-1600 CL 9 or better

gpu: GTX 970

case: Cooler Master N200 (mATX) or what ever strikes your fancy

psu: decent 550W, CM RS-550-AMAA-G1 or RS-550-AFBA-G1 would be ok.

ssd: any 240+GB model, although I don't particularly like Kingston V300 series

hdd: 1TB WD Blue or Seagate Barracuda

cpu cooler: CM Hyper 212X or 212 EVO

[vSyNd1c4t3]

-snip-

 

Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor

Asus Z97M-PLUS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard

EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB SSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card

Cooler Master VSM 750W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply

Cooler Master Storm Stryker ATX Full Tower Case

Kingston Savage 8GB DDR3-1866 Memory

WD Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive

Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler

Asus BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer

 

Would really appreciate any help.

 

This looks like a pretty good build.

 

It will probably be difficult to make a build that fits your budget due to conversion.

 

If I had to say what needs to be changed on ti.

 

1. Motherboard - Try to find a better one. You want better heatspreaders, and you probably want Optical Audio jack in the back. The better heatspreaders are going to help with your overclock.

 

2. You need to add an SSD to the build.

 

3. You might look into a cheaper PSU, not sure the price in your location, but if you can find a cheaper (but still reliable) PSU in your area, you should be fine with 600W+ You might even still be able to go lower than 600w.

 

4. You're buying a full tower case with a micro atx board, which is compatible, but the case will dwarf your internals. you should be fine getting a cheaper case in the Mid Tower size.

 

Some motherboard recommendations.

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-z97extreme4

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-gaz97xgaming3

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-gaz97mxgaming5

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-fatal1tyz97mkiller

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-z97mocformula

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-gaz97xgaming5

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-gaz97xud3h

[Iamjackspc]

4. You're buying a full tower case with a micro atx board, which is compatible, but the case will dwarf your internals. you should be fine getting a cheaper case in the Mid Tower size.

Thanks for the help. Forgive my ignorance, but won't the extra space within the case help with cooling?

[brob]

Thanks for the help. Forgive my ignorance, but won't the extra space within the case help with cooling?

 

The key to good cooling is air flow. Larger case volume simply means more air has to be moved.