$2000 4K Builds

[Zambonie]

Hello, I'm pretty set on my $2000 4K build. I needed a new computer capable of light 4K Gaming (with downscaling res to 1080p for more intense gaming), a decent amount of multitasking, and a reliable SSD. I'm a very aesthetic person, and I want my build to also look nice and have a red-black theme with a large window slapped on the side of the case.

Though, I'm interested with what other people can come up with on their builds, and see if I may be able to make my build better in anyway.

 

Heres my build for those interested:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($299.98 @ NCIX US) 

CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($79.99 @ Newegg) 

Thermal Compound: Noctua NT-H1 3.5g Thermal Paste  ($5.56 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: Asus Maximus VI Hero ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($140.98 @ SuperBiiz) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($82.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Samsung 850 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($169.99 @ Amazon) 

Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 290X 4GB TWIN FROZR Video Card  ($299.99 @ Newegg) 

Case: Corsair 750D ATX Full Tower Case  ($109.99 @ Newegg) 

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

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($86.43 @ SuperBiiz) 

Monitor: Asus PB287Q 60Hz 28.0" Monitor  ($547.88 @ SuperBiiz) 

Wireless Network Adapter: Asus PCE-N10 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter  ($11.40 @ SuperBiiz) 

Case Fan: Corsair Air Series AF120 Performance Edition 63.5 CFM 120mm  Fan  ($14.03 @ OutletPC) 

Other: Corsair K70 Cherry MX Brown 

Total: $1892.20

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-26 15:17 EST-0500

 

A wireless adapter is needed, also.

The only peripheral that is needed in the list is a monitor, in which is the 4K monitor.

Windows 8.1 is also wanted, please include that.

 

Either please leave opinions on my build, or see if you can create a possibly better $2000 build for me with the features that was included in the thread.

Thanks, Zambonie.

 

Note: Location is on the right, Florida USA, where it never snows and is always around 80% humidity.

[Gung Pow Chicken]

Seems good, If anyone says get windows 7 instead ignore there comment lol, 8.1 gets free upgrade to 10 "atleast that is what microsoft is saying". Other than that it looks liek agood build, if you can push the budget a little a 970 will out preform that 29 290x.

[HeathCliff]

Beefed it up somewhat with the cooler, psu, gpu and the wifi card:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

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

CPU Cooler: Corsair H105 73.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($94.99 @ NCIX US) 

Thermal Compound: Noctua NT-H1 3.5g Thermal Paste  ($5.56 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: Asus Maximus VI Hero ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($140.98 @ SuperBiiz) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($82.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Samsung 850 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($169.99 @ Amazon) 

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card  ($334.97 @ NCIX US) 

Case: Corsair 750D ATX Full Tower Case  ($109.99 @ Newegg) 

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

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($86.43 @ SuperBiiz) 

Monitor: Asus PB287Q 60Hz 28.0" Monitor  ($547.88 @ SuperBiiz) 

Wireless Network Adapter: Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I 802.11a/b/g/n/ac PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter  ($30.60 @ SuperBiiz) 

Case Fan: Corsair Air Series AF120 Performance Edition (2-Pack) 63.5 CFM 120mm  Fans  ($29.98 @ OutletPC) 

Other: Corsair K70 Cherry MX Brown 

Total: $1984.34

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-26 13:13 EST-0500

[Zambonie]

 

Beefed it up somewhat with the cooler, psu, gpu and the wifi card:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

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

CPU Cooler: Corsair H105 73.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($94.99 @ NCIX US) 

Thermal Compound: Noctua NT-H1 3.5g Thermal Paste  ($5.56 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: Asus Maximus VI Hero ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($140.98 @ SuperBiiz) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($82.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Samsung 850 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($169.99 @ Amazon) 

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card  ($334.97 @ NCIX US) 

Case: Corsair 750D ATX Full Tower Case  ($109.99 @ Newegg) 

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

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($86.43 @ SuperBiiz) 

Monitor: Asus PB287Q 60Hz 28.0" Monitor  ($547.88 @ SuperBiiz) 

Wireless Network Adapter: Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I 802.11a/b/g/n/ac PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter  ($30.60 @ SuperBiiz) 

Case Fan: Corsair Air Series AF120 Performance Edition (2-Pack) 63.5 CFM 120mm  Fans  ($29.98 @ OutletPC) 

Other: Corsair K70 Cherry MX Brown 

Total: $1984.34

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-26 13:13 EST-0500

 

I honestly prefer Radeon over Nvidea, and for the wifi card I won't ever need anything higher than a 10MB/ps card, I only sadly have a 3MB/ps speed and will probably stay like that for a long time. I might keep the the wireless card but maybe downgrade it a little.

The PSU I will most likely keep.

And for the cooler.. I know I don't know why I never have upgraded it to a 105 or something. I'll keep that.

[Zambonie]

Seems good, If anyone says get windows 7 instead ignore there comment lol, 8.1 gets free upgrade to 10 "atleast that is what microsoft is saying". Other than that it looks liek agood build, if you can push the budget a little a 970 will out preform that 29 290x.

And true, I honestly actually use 8.1 Metro apps from time to time (mostly weather and the xbox app, my friends are console gamers and not PC gamers.), and the start button doesn't bother me at all, the side bar thing (idk what its called..) when you move your mouse to a right-side corner is all I'll ever need over the start bar.

[HeathCliff]

I honestly prefer Radeon over Nvidea, and for the wifi card I won't ever need anything higher than a 10MB/ps card, I only sadly have a 3MB/ps speed and will probably stay like that for a long time. I might keep the the wireless card but maybe downgrade it a little.

The PSU I will most likely keep.

And for the cooler.. I know I don't know why I never have upgraded it to a 105 or something. I'll keep that.

 

The reason I went with an improved wifi card is due to the fact of wireless ac. Might not be much useful as of right now, but when more and more devices implement it, it could be useful in future scenarios. Also, the 970 will win hands down over the 290X in both features and performance, however that is up to you to decide.

[Gung Pow Chicken]

And true, I honestly actually use 8.1 Metro apps from time to time, and the start button doesn't bother me at all, the side bar thing (idk what its called..) when you move your mouse to a right-side corner is all I'll ever need over the start bar.

That would be the charms bar, if you like all those features you will love 10. Played alot with the beta and it's pretty darn good for being a beta lol not many things that I don't like, I hate the giant search icon...and the failure to load after sleep mode.

[CJPowell27]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/GpMpNG 

[Zambonie]

That would be the charms bar, if you like all those features you will love 10. Played alot with the beta and it's pretty darn good for being a beta lol not many things that I don't like, I hate the giant search icon...and the failure to load after sleep mode.

Ah, k.

I tried to load an ISO of windows 10 in a VM.. Doesn't work out so well. I get a BSOD on startup

The search button doesn't look so nice, either imo. And mostly I don't like the new windows explorer icon

[Zambonie]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/GpMpNG 

Link is broken.

[CJPowell27]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($209.99 @ Newegg) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($26.92 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD3H-BK ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($99.99 @ Newegg) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory  ($57.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: PNY Optima 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($74.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($76.72 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 295X2 8GB Core Edition Video Card  ($656.50 @ Newegg) 

Case: NZXT H440 (Black/Red) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($99.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 1000G2 1000W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($119.99 @ Newegg) 

Monitor: Samsung U28D590D 60Hz 28.0" Monitor  ($499.99 @ Newegg) 

Wireless Network Adapter: Asus PCE-N10 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter  ($11.40 @ SuperBiiz) 

Total: $1922.47

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-26 13:51 EST-0500

[Zambonie]

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($209.99 @ Newegg) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($26.92 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD3H-BK ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($99.99 @ Newegg) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory  ($57.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: PNY Optima 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($74.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($76.72 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 295X2 8GB Core Edition Video Card  ($656.50 @ Newegg) 

Case: NZXT H440 (Black/Red) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($99.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 1000G2 1000W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($119.99 @ Newegg) 

Monitor: Samsung U28D590D 60Hz 28.0" Monitor  ($499.99 @ Newegg) 

Wireless Network Adapter: Asus PCE-N10 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter  ($11.40 @ SuperBiiz) 

Total: $1922.47

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-26 13:51 EST-0500

 

Ok thanks.

Also, doing some research, the 290X and 970 are pretty much on the same level when it comes to performance, and the 290X seems to do better in higher resolutions. It also does depend on what work and game you are doing/playing.

The features that Nvidea gives don't appeal me to much, I don't really need them.

As though I am looking to get some 1080p monitors as a alt to my 4K monitor to run in Eyefinity, and I'm also looking to using the mantle API on BF4 and to use it in my WIP Game once I may be able to get hands on it.

[bomerr]

You are going to spend $2000 on an i5 build, egh. 

 

First how close to GA are you? If you can take a trip to Atlanta I would high recommend bundling a 5820k/x99-ud4 from micro center. You can also purchase most of your other parts from Microcenter as well because they price match. 

 

http://www.microcenter.com/site/brands/intel-processor-bundles.aspx

 

Second for 4K you really want a card with 8GB of VRAM so your options on GPUs are pretty limited. That 295x2 is a very good deal for the price. 

[Zambonie]

You are going to spend $2000 on an i5 build, egh. 

 

First how close to GA are you? If you can take a trip to Atlanta I would high recommend bundling a 5820k/x99-ud4 from micro center. You can also purchase most of your other parts from Microcenter as well because they price match. 

 

http://www.microcenter.com/site/brands/intel-processor-bundles.aspx

 

Second for 4K you really want a card with 8GB of VRAM so your options on GPUs are pretty limited. That 295x2 is a very good deal for the price. 

I live about 6 hours on car away for Atlanta, also I never said that I was going to use CJ's part list, I'm still with my i7 build, I did change some stuff in.

Also, 4GB is good enough for 4K, unless your going to be doing extreme gaming and multitasking with like 100 chrome tabs open.

I'm not really also looking into a x99 system yet, there isn't much of a advantage over the Intel i7 4790K, until you get to work station loads like heavy photoshoping and video rendering, in which both I won't be doing soon.

[bomerr]

I live about 6 hours on car away for Atlanta, also I never said that I was going to use CJ's part list, I'm still with my i7 build, I did change some stuff in.

Also, 4GB is good enough for 4K, unless your going to be doing extreme gaming and multitasking with like 100 chrome tabs open.

I'm not really also looking into a x99 system yet, there isn't much of a advantage over the Intel i7 4790K, until you get to work station loads like heavy photoshoping and video rendering, in which both I won't be doing soon.

I think you need to figure out if you are trying to go with a budget build or not. Because you are mix and matching parts from different tiers and in the end you have a budget PC for a top-tier price. 

 

Also 4GB for 4k is retarded and more importantly a single gpu, any single gpu like a 290x or a 970 or a 980 will not perform well at 4k.

 

brb playing 4k games are low settings. 

[Zambonie]

I think you need to figure out if you are trying to go with a budget build or not. Because you are mix and matching parts from different tiers and in the end you have a budget PC for a top-tier price. 

 

Also 4GB for 4k is retarded and more importantly a single gpu, any single gpu like a 290x or a 970 or a 980 will not perform well at 4k.

 

brb playing 4k games are low settings. 

capable of light 4K Gaming (with downscaling res to 1080p for more intense gaming)

Also, the Intel 4790K isn't consumer top tier?

The R9 290 is also good, it's only a step behind the 980 and R9 295x2, which are one of the strongest consumer cards out there.

The Samsung 850 Evo is also a very good SSD, fast, and reliable.

Oh, also don't forget the Asus Motherboard.

[bomerr]

Also, the Intel 4790K isn't consumer top tier?

The R9 290 is also good, it's only a step behind the 980 and R9 295x2, which are one of the strongest consumer cards out there.

The Samsung 850 Evo is also a very good SSD, fast, and reliable.

4790k isn't consumer top tier, it's upper-mid tier. 

5820k would be lower-top tier. 

 

the 290 and 980 are single GPUs.

The 295x2 is a dual GPU on a single PCB. 

 

Samsung 850 is good. 

 

Personally I would recommend 1440p right now over 4k because it doesn't make sense IMO to spend this much money and get a so-so gaming experience at 4k, especially considering it's a TN panel. But if you are going to go 4k then you gotta get your moneys worth. 

[Zambonie]

The 4790k still works as a very good CPU, being able to handle a lot.

And also please don't forget that theres a 4K monitor in this build, taking up $550 of the $2000 max price, as a regular 1080p monitor would be around $200 or so, leaving more room for better hardware.

[bomerr]

The 4790k still works as a very good CPU, being able to handle a lot.

And also please don't forget that theres a 4K monitor in this build, taking up $550 of the $2000 max price, as a regular 1080p monitor would be around $200 or so, leaving more room for better hardware.

That's why I wouldn't recommend a 4k monitor.

It's a TN panel so the quality will be bad regardless and at 27"-28" you'll probably even get color shift looking directly at the screen. 

So you'll be spending a lot of money on a so-so display

[Zambonie]

That's why I wouldn't recommend a 4k monitor.

It's a TN panel so the quality will be bad regardless and at 27"-28" you'll probably even get color shift looking directly at the screen. 

So you'll be spending a lot of money on a so-so display

There's a honest reason why I'm going to a 4K monitor, not only for the reason that the quality is amazing or anything.

Also, I'm not an heavy gamer as much as others, as so the hardware I have right now will do fine for me at 4K, and If I ever do need anything more intense, I can simply downscale to 1440p or 1080p, and after all have over 60 FPS on my games on high, in which is good enough since my monitor is a 60Hz monitor.

[bomerr]

There's a honest reason why I'm going to a 4K monitor, not only for the reason that the quality is amazing or anything.

Also, I'm not an heavy gamer as much as others, as so the hardware I have right now will do fine for me at 4K, and If I ever do need anything more intense, I can simply downscale to 1440p or 1080p, and after all have over 60 FPS on my games on high, in which is good enough since my monitor is a 60Hz monitor.

 

That is even more reason to not go 4K IMO. For general computer usage IPS is so much better than TN. 

 

FYI for 4K TN panel you can find some good black friday deals such as :

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?sdtid=7412358&SID=7315428d5ea046699d181e386ce6037f&AID=10440897&PID=1225267&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-cables-_-na-_-na&Item=N82E16824009659&cm_sp=

 

or

 

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&cs=19&sku=210-ACHO

 

But like I said those are TN panels. 

 

There is only 1 'affordable' 4k IPS display right and it's this: 

 

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=210-ADOF

[Zambonie]

That is even more reason to not go 4K IMO. For general computer usage IPS is so much better than TN. 

 

FYI for 4K TN panel you can find some good black friday deals such as :

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?sdtid=7412358&SID=7315428d5ea046699d181e386ce6037f&AID=10440897&PID=1225267&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-cables-_-na-_-na&Item=N82E16824009659&cm_sp=

 

or

 

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&cs=19&sku=210-ACHO

 

But like I said those are TN panels. 

 

There is only 1 'affordable' 4k IPS display right and it's this: 

 

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=210-ADOF

Tbh, TN Panels don't bother me, as I don't watch my monitor from an angle or don't shift my head a lot to where the color washes away.

And color accuracy is no where near important to me. As long as the colors are what they are supposed to be (red is red and not blue) than I'm fine.

Also, for the Acer monitor, it has a 2 times more pixel pitch compared to the Asus monitor, 2ms response time, not to important but I'd still like a 1ms response time, and seems to have terrible ghosting issues compared to other TN 4K monitors. Yet also, even though color isn't the biggest problem but its still nice, the Acer has 16.7m colors, while the Asus monitor has 1.07 Billion colors.

[bomerr]

I don't understand your logic.

 

The Acer is 4K at 27" while the Asus is 4k at 28" so if anything the Acer should have a tighter pixel pitch. Regardless it probably does suffer from ghosting which is why it's soo cheap. Which is also why the manufacturer rated response time means nothing. a 2ms monitor can perform worse than a 8ms monitor or vice-versa. The only real way to tell is to look up actual response time tests on the internet. Same goes fore the colors. Until it's tested and compared to actual RGB standards it's not possible to know how good the monitor looks. (altho if it's TN I can tell you right now that it'll look bad)

 

Good website for LCD reviews: 

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/