Need Help Picking GPU and CPU for Major Build

CommodoreAxis · August 29, 2014

Alright guys, I'm building a dream PC and I was looking at a few different GPU and CPU solutions.

My CPU's that I'm considering: 4930K, or going all-in and buying a 4960X (don't know if they're actually worth the money). I'm not super up-to-date on the CPU market , it seems to be in a bit of a flux with Haswell and all the other -wells Intel is working on

My GPU's that I'm considering: two R9 290x's, two 780ti's, one R9 295x2 (pushing it a bit, I'd prefer not to go with this one), or a single Titan Black. As you can tell, my budget is right around $1200 for the GPU (though it's a bit flexible).

I primarily play Dota 2, Minecraft, CS:GO, Planetside 2, and whatever else I pick up on Steam, and am going to be using it to run programs such as Autodesk Inventor, AutoCAD, Maya, 3DSMax, and a few others. I'm majoring in Motorsports Engineering, so there will be a lot of simulation programs and such added to the list.

So, thanks for reading, and let me know what you guys think. I want the CPU and GPU to be somewhat in balance, to avoid bottlenecks.

PS: I know having such a powerful PC is unnecessary, so I'm open to other suggestions. I just want something that will run anything and everything I will throw at it for at least (hopefully) the next 5 years, while I'm in college.

LIGISTX · August 29, 2014

Im sure a lot of people will say go red, but I really like nvidia cards for their slightly quieter and more efficient design. Plus, not like SLI 780ti's are slow, so can't really complain about that.

Plus, if you still play planetside 2 a bunch, nvidia will give you PhysX support which is cool. And.... even one 780ti would destroy all of those games.

The issue with trying to futureproof your rig is, it will inevitably be too slow. Those components should last a pretty long while, but you could always consider buying a R9 280x or 780 non ti for now and saving the extra cash for a GPU upgrade in the future (new technology, like Direct X 12 will be coming soon).

Also, socket 2011 is pointless for gaming, and will not help all that much for cad programs either, unless you really use them a lot. It just might not be worth it. Motherboards cost a lot more, RAM costs more, and cpu is a bit more as well. Not sure its strictly worth it (coming from a guy who used to have a X58 i7 920 setup, lol).

I'm all about big fast rigs, so I can't say don't do it. Just saying, cutting back and saving a few bucks might not make any noticeable change in performance for you.

techjunkie867 · August 29, 2014

I would say wait it out a little bit. Haswell-e should be coming out any day now, as well as the new line of graphics cards. If your budget allows you can upgrade to those if its worth it, or at the very least the new hardware should drop the prices of existing top of the line hardware.

BaSkA · August 29, 2014

I would say wait it out a little bit. Haswell-e should be coming out any day now, as well as the new line of graphics cards. If your budget allows you can upgrade to those if its worth it, or at the very least the new hardware should drop the prices of existing top of the line hardware.

I agree. I would wait a little bit as well.

However, if you can't wait till Q2/Q3 2015, I would save some money from the CPU, get a 4790k, a z97 motherboard and, with the money you saved, use it for a big PSU to be able to handle a 780 SLI or 780Ti SLI. Or maybe get just one video card and a good monitor.

brob · August 29, 2014

@CommodoreAxis, if you are seriously considering a six or more core Intel cpu then wait a week or so for the details of Haswell-E to shake out. I would only suggest giving that platform serious consideration if you expect to be doing some really heavy duty processing. Most likely though Haswell will be more than enough. An i7 with 32GB of memory to be precise. Start with a single R9 290X but build to allow for a second one if it ever proves necessary. A 1TB ssd and a decent cpu cooler to round things out.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($329.98 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X61 106.1 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($136.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($314.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($437.37 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 290X 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($513.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic X Series 1050W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($187.04 @ Newegg)
Total: $2160.33
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-29 16:02 EDT-0400