Intel Build

[EarthboundHero]

So I want to switch to Intel. Here is the build I've come up with. The thing is, by the time I have all the money for this, the new Intel platform will probably be out. So, swap those for whatever the new equivalents will be. Also I'll switch the 970 for a 960 when it comes out. I already have the headset, and case. I'll be buying the monitor on monday. I'll buy the keyboard and cooler before the new build to use them in my current one. I'm aware 16GB of RAM is useless right now, but I want to have a bit of space just in case. So, what do you guys think? If you have a question ask, thanks guys!

[Rodneyg87]

You know you can save a lot of money on that SSD since there is no real point in getting one over 250gb since you can setup a 30-60gb cache on your 2tb drive and make it almost as fast as your SSD in loading frequently used applications and games. And also the CPU cooler you could easily get away with a corsair H105 and save $70 there as well. Other than that it looks solid as long as your planning to setup an SLI configuration in the future if not that power supply is a bit overkill, since you can easily get away with a 650w for dual SLI the only thing a 750w would be for is 3 way SLI configuration. Your estimated power usage with a single card is only 361 watts then you add a second card and that goes up to 506 watts and that mobo cant support no more than 2 cards in SLI so your definitely in overkill id say step it down to a 650w and youll be good while saving a little cash.

[EarthboundHero]

You know you can save a lot of money on that SSD since there is no real point in getting one over 250gb since you can setup a 30-60gb cache on your 2tb drive and make it almost as fast as your SSD in loading frequently used applications and games. And also the CPU cooler you could easily get away with a corsair H105 and save $70 there as well. Other than that it looks solid as long as your planning to setup an SLI configuration in the future if not that power supply is a bit overkill, since you can easily get away with a 650w for dual SLI the only thing a 750w would be for is 3 way SLI configuration.

Or I can setup a 130GB cache on the HDD and have a lot more stuff load faster. I just want the CPU cooler because it's top of the line and I want to do a lot of overclocking. Same with the PSU, it's a great PSU. But what would you recommend that can power this with possible SLI in the future, fully modular, at least 80+ gold and with nice cables?

[Shadow Gamer]

Nice choice of monitor. And keep that 970, that's a Star Citizen class rig right there

[EarthboundHero]

Nice choice of monitor. And keep that 970, that's a Star Citizen class rig right there

We'll see the price difference between a 960 and a 970. I'd love to keep it though 

[Rodneyg87]

Or I can setup a 130GB cache on the HDD and have a lot more stuff load faster. I just want the CPU cooler because it's top of the line and I want to do a lot of overclocking. Same with the PSU, it's a great PSU. But what would you recommend that can power this with possible SLI in the future, fully modular, at least 80+ gold and with nice cables?

EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply- base price is $79.99 vs the base price on your original power supply was $94.99 though at this moment they are right in line with each other but like you said your not planning to have this build purchased anytime in the next month so I would set the smaller one in as a place holder then when you have the money in hand you can search and see if any of the top brands are having sales that beat what you have in place. And yes I know some people rag on the supernova nex power supplies but ive done a crazy amount of research and i honestly cant find anything bad about them. 

[EarthboundHero]

EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply- base price is $79.99 vs the base price on your original power supply was $94.99 though at this moment they are right in line with each other but like you said your not planning to have this build purchased anytime in the next month so I would set the smaller one in as a place holder then when you have the money in hand you can search and see if any of the top brands are having sales that beat what you have in place. And yes I know some people rag on the supernova nex power supplies but ive done a crazy amount of research and i honestly cant find anything bad about them. 

Yeah, I'll do that. I've seen that PSU around, but didn't really want it due to the 4 12V rails.

[Rodneyg87]

We'll see the price difference between a 960 and a 970. I'd love to keep it though 

The 960 will more than likely come in around $200-250 range and have about 15-20% overall less performance than the 970. I honestly believe the 960 will come in as the go to 1080p card when its launched. More than likely with all the resolutions that we currently have i think here is how we will see it played out.

 

GTX 960- badass 1080p card- $200-250 range

GTX 970- amazing mid range card with 1440p capability- $300-350 range

GTX 980- big daddy of them all 4k capability- $450-500 range

 

If you look at the market and how it is now that seems to be where they will settle at and will be the go to for those resolutions as a single card solution. But for those like me who are dead set on running 3-1080p panels I still believe that SLI 970s will be the go to solution there unless Nvidia surprises us with better performance on the 960.

[EarthboundHero]

The 960 will more than likely come in around $250-280 range 

I'll just see how much I have at the time. Thanks by the way.

[bomerr]

2000 dollars and you are getting a i5, 970 with a 24" 1080p monitor, wtf you are doing something wrong!

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/bomerr/saved/fBnNnQ

 

my build. CPU + Mobo from Microcenter, everything else price matched at Microcenter except for TigerDirect RAM and eBay monitor. 

[Shadow Gamer]

2000 dollars and you are getting a i5, 970 with a 24" 1080p monitor, wtf you are doing something wrong!

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/bomerr/saved/mTkH99

 

my build. CPU + Mobo from Microcenter, everything else price matched at Microcenter except for TigerDirect RAM and eBay monitor. 

Wat did I just see

[bomerr]

Wat did I just see

fixed

[Shadow Gamer]

fixed

Nope, not fixed. 

[brob]

Cooler is at the high-end. But it will do an excellent job and will look really good.

 

2x4GB is generally considered enough for a good gaming build. It will leave room for a future upgrade to 16GB or 24GB.

 

I would put a bit of the savings into a slightly better psu. Perhaps SeaSonic SSR-650RM, EVGA 220-G2-0750-XR, or SeaSonic SS-660XP2.

[EarthboundHero]

Cooler is at the high-end. But it will do an excellent job and will look really good.

 

2x4GB is generally considered enough for a good gaming build. It will leave room for a future upgrade to 16GB or 24GB.

 

I would put a bit of the savings into a slightly better psu. Perhaps SeaSonic SSR-650RM, EVGA 220-G2-0750-XR, or SeaSonic SS-660XP2.

I went 2X8 because I like a lot of tabs, and have noticed high RAM usage. Then in the future I can up to 32. I'll probably get a Rosewill or EVGA G2 when the time comes.

 

Well in my opinion the large SSD is worth it. Nothing compares to having games and programs on an SSD. I have a 840 evo 500gb and I filled that thing up pretty fast. Depending on the games library it  sometimes makes sense to drop the hard drive completely and get a 1 tb SSD, although if you have a lot of games that would not work. 

 

Next the 1866 memory seems to me like a waste of money, you are not likely to gain more than 1 fps from it. Not worth the extra price. 

 

The cooler also seems completely overkill for an i5, on a gaming rig. H100i or a smaller nzxt kraken would do the job just as well for less money. Put that money into a higher efficiency PSU, which will save your energy bill in the long run. 

 

Other than that the build is fine, you could go and buy that right now and be very pleased with performance. 

1600 isn't that much cheaper only a few bucks. I'd rather have a bit more speed. I want the cooler because it's expandable if I want to in the future, plus I'm planning on heavy overclocking. Electricity is really cheap here, we have a lot of electric dams, so a gold PSU is more than enough. 

[Rodneyg87]

I went 2X8 because I like a lot of tabs, and have noticed high RAM usage. Then in the future I can up to 32. I'll probably get a Rosewill or EVGA G2 when the time comes.

 

 

Just to let you know 8 gigs of ram will work fine with a lot of tabs open i use google chrome on my macbook pro which has 16 gigs of ram and on average i have around 10 tabs open and am only using around 5 gigs of my 16 and google chrome is the most ram intensive web browser. if you use something else like internet explorer or firefox you shouldnt have any issues with 10-15 tabs open. The only way you should have to worry about 8 gigs not being enough is if you go over 15 tabs open at one time.

[EarthboundHero]

Just to let you know 8 gigs of ram will work fine with a lot of tabs open i use google chrome on my macbook pro which has 16 gigs of ram and on average i have around 10 tabs open and am only using around 5 gigs of my 16 and google chrome is the most ram intensive web browser. if you use something else like internet explorer or firefox you shouldnt have any issues with 10-15 tabs open. The only way you should have to worry about 8 gigs not being enough is if you go over 15 tabs open at one time.

I have 8GB right now and when playing some games it can get pretty high RAM usage. Just for the future.

[Rodneyg87]

I have 8GB right now and when playing some games it can get pretty high RAM usage. Just for the future.

Here is an idea for you to save some money what are you planning to do with the system that you currently have? Because what you could do is post the specs on your ram such as manufacture, speed, and size and we can try to find you an 8 gig kit that matches it and you can just pull that kit out of your current rig and put it into your new one and save $70-90. Hell if you plan to tear it down you could probably salvage a lot more parts to which could potentially open you up for even more money to sink in somewhere else in your new build. If you can save enough money you could potentially get a 2nd 970 or even step up to a i7-4790k instead of the i5-4690k. If you want to go that route just post what parts are currently in your pc you are using now that are in good working condition and we can see where we can save you some cash, who knows you might be able to afford something even more badass than what your currently looking at getting.

[EarthboundHero]

Here is an idea for you to save some money what are you planning to do with the system that you currently have? Because what you could do is post the specs on your ram such as manufacture, speed, and size and we can try to find you an 8 gig kit that matches it and you can just pull that kit out of your current rig and put it into your new one and save $70-90. Hell if you plan to tear it down you could probably salvage a lot more parts to which could potentially open you up for even more money to sink in somewhere else in your new build.

I'd rather just go with a 16GB kit, that way I can upgrade easier in the future. Also I'm going to be re-using my system.

[Rodneyg87]

I'd rather just go with a 16GB kit, that way I can upgrade easier in the future. Also I'm going to be re-using my system.

Alright no prob it was just an idea.

[brob]

I went 2X8 because I like a lot of tabs, and have noticed high RAM usage. Then in the future I can up to 32. I'll probably get a Rosewill or EVGA G2 when the time comes.

 

...

 

The Windows memory manager tries to maximize memory usage. (Besides, the numbers one sees concerning memory utilization are dated approximations and should not be taken as exact depictions of current status.) Virtual memory means that it is very difficult to run out of memory. With an ssd in the picture memory swapping would not be noticeable when browsing.