First Gaming Build Plan

[bredfern97]

For the last month I've been doing research and picking components for my first gaming pc.  I think I have come up with a decent parts list, but it would be very helpful if someone who knows more than I do looked it over.

 

CPU: Intel i7 4790k                                                                                               $279.99

 

CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i                                                                                     $97.16

 

Motherboard:  Gigabyte GA-Z97X Gaming 7                                                        $173.98

 

Memory: G. Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866                               $82.98

 

Storage: SSD: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" SSD                                                      $72.99

              HDD: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM                              $79.28

 

Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V                                          $355.91

 

Case: Corsair 450D                                                                                               $119.99

 

Power Supply: Corsair HX750 80+ Gold Semi Modular                                            $99.99

 

Optical Drive: Pioneer BDC-207DGK Blue-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer                 $42.93

 

                                                                                                                  Total:  $1405.20

 

I am also considering swapping out the 4790k for a 4690k and the Gigabyte GA-Z97X Gaming 7 for the Gaming 5 version in order to be able to buy a 980 instead of a 970 without going over budget and I was wondering if this would be an improvement over my current list. 

 

 

[CowsGoRoar]

Give us the permalink from www.pcpartpicker.com .

[thekeemo]

How's this also please read the topic in my signature http://pcpartpicker.com/p/nLbm23

[bredfern97]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/8CrHnQ Here is the permalink, sorry I forgot it.

[Electronics Wizardy]

I would consider 16gb ram if you do more than just game or want to run chrome and games. it just nice to have.

970 to 980 is not a huge jump in preformance. You would not notice the jump in games with out a frame rate monitor.

the i7 is useless for gaming. 

mobo makes no(or very limited) overclocking or performance difference. go for the cheaper one if you want

[Phllips]

What games do you play? if you play FPS then i would go down to a 4690k and a msi gaming 5 and maybe squeeze in a 980 also unless you plan on sli get a 600w psu

[bredfern97]

What games do you play? if you play FPS then i would go down to a 4690k and a msi gaming 5 and maybe squeeze in a 980 also unless you plan on sli get a 600w psu

I play a wide variety of games and I do eventually plan on having a dual graphics card setup so I am sticking with my power supply choice for now.  When it comes to the processor, I've heard mixed views on the benefits, or lack thereof, of an i7 for gaming, I have heard some people say that they regret not buying one while others claim its just a waist of money so I'm still rather unsure of what I will ultimately use.

[Captain_WD]

For the last month I've been doing research and picking components for my first gaming pc.  I think I have come up with a decent parts list, but it would be very helpful if someone who knows more than I do looked it over.

 

CPU: Intel i7 4790k                                                                                               $279.99

 

CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i                                                                                     $97.16

 

Motherboard:  Gigabyte GA-Z97X Gaming 7                                                        $173.98

 

Memory: G. Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866                               $82.98

 

Storage: SSD: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" SSD                                                      $72.99

              HDD: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM                              $79.28

 

Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V                                          $355.91

 

Case: Corsair 450D                                                                                               $119.99

 

Power Supply: Corsair HX750 80+ Gold Semi Modular                                            $99.99

 

Optical Drive: Pioneer BDC-207DGK Blue-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer                 $42.93

 

                                                                                                                  Total:  $1405.20

 

I am also considering swapping out the 4790k for a 4690k and the Gigabyte GA-Z97X Gaming 7 for the Gaming 5 version in order to be able to buy a 980 instead of a 970 without going over budget and I was wondering if this would be an improvement over my current list. 

 

Hey there bredfern97 and welcome to LinusTechTips forum

 

Since this would be just a gaming build, I would suggest focusing first on the GPU and RAM, then on CPU and MOBO and out of that (also considering any future upgrades and Overclocking plans) get a reasonable PSU. 

As the guys pointed out, the improvement from 970 to 980 is not considered significant for the money that you will be spending. Moreover, 970 in SLI works amazingly good and you should not have a problem running games in the future even in full graphics at 4k resolution. 

The memory that you have chosen is good, has high frequency and low latency. have in mind that in the future you might need to stick in another 2x8GB to keep that build up to date with current games.

You should not see any difference between 4790k and 4690k in gaming. Furthermore, i7 is a bit overkill when it comes to games as the main processing is done by the GPU. Most heavy games do not use up a lot of the cores - i.e. the difference between 4-core and a 6-core CPU in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 at max settings would be 2 to 4 FPS. I would back up @Electronics Wizardy and also suggest dropping to a i5 k CPU (again with the CPU Cooler for the OCing). Same goes with the Motherboard - wouldn't make a significant difference when it comes to gaming and go for the less expensive, saving money for future upgrades or good peripherals.

With 16GB of RAM and 2 GPUs (before OCing) your system would be consuming around 510W. Depending on what and how much are you OCing, this could go up quite a lot. But I believe the 750W Gold-certified PSU that you have chosen would do the job.

 

I could suggest, if your budget allows it and you decide to step down with the CPU and the MOBO, considering a larger SSD (maybe a 250GB-256GB one). These fill up pretty fast and you'd need around 15% free for optimal performance.

 

Hope this helps! Keep us posted on how the build is going

 

Captain_WD.

[bredfern97]

 

Hey there bredfern97 and welcome to LinusTechTips forum

 

Since this would be just a gaming build, I would suggest focusing first on the GPU and RAM, then on CPU and MOBO and out of that (also considering any future upgrades and Overclocking plans) get a reasonable PSU. 

As the guys pointed out, the improvement from 970 to 980 is not considered significant for the money that you will be spending. Moreover, 970 in SLI works amazingly good and you should not have a problem running games in the future even in full graphics at 4k resolution. 

The memory that you have chosen is good, has high frequency and low latency. have in mind that in the future you might need to stick in another 2x8GB to keep that build up to date with current games.

You should not see any difference between 4790k and 4690k in gaming. Furthermore, i7 is a bit overkill when it comes to games as the main processing is done by the GPU. Most heavy games do not use up a lot of the cores - i.e. the difference between 4-core and a 6-core CPU in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 at max settings would be 2 to 4 FPS. I would back up @Electronics Wizardy and also suggest dropping to a i5 k CPU (again with the CPU Cooler for the OCing). Same goes with the Motherboard - wouldn't make a significant difference when it comes to gaming and go for the less expensive, saving money for future upgrades or good peripherals.

With 16GB of RAM and 2 GPUs (before OCing) your system would be consuming around 510W. Depending on what and how much are you OCing, this could go up quite a lot. But I believe the 750W Gold-certified PSU that you have chosen would do the job.

 

I could suggest, if your budget allows it and you decide to step down with the CPU and the MOBO, considering a larger SSD (maybe a 250GB-256GB one). These fill up pretty fast and you'd need around 15% free for optimal performance.

 

Hope this helps! Keep us posted on how the build is going

 

Captain_WD.

 

Besides my stubborn reluctance to swap out the 4790k or the 4690k, all of your tips have helped me to save a little money even with the inclusion of the larger SSD.  Thank you for your advice.

[Captain_WD]

Besides my stubborn reluctance to swap out the 4790k or the 4690k, all of your tips have helped me to save a little money even with the inclusion of the larger SSD.  Thank you for your advice.

 

Hey,

You are welcome Feel free to ask me any questions that you might have.

 

Good luck!

 

Captain_WD.