Reasonably Ultimate Gaming Machine

[R3NDO4G]

Hey Guys, I am wanting to build my own gaming PC for the first time. But am not sure what components would be suitable. Would anyone be able to help me.

Cheers

[Octavialicious]

Where do you live, budget, what are you using the pc for, do you care about size

[Guest]

What is your budget? what do you intend to do with the PC? Please provide more information.

[Nup]

"Reasonably ultimate" brilliant haha!

Sure, what's your budget and location?

Also welcome to the forums!

[Dabombinable]

A baseline machine for me as an ultimate gaming machine is:
i5 4440

8GB of RAM (I went with 16GB becuase I prefer to have my computers maxed out in every way)
ASUS H87M-Pro (now the H97 - and both ASUS motherboards overclock)

1TB Western Digital Blue

Corsair Force LS 128GB (60GB for me as it was all I could afford)
GTX 970 (All brands are the same, only a few small things here and there set them apart).

 

If you tell me what country your in I'll get the prices (some parts have better and cheaper equivalents though, so I will swap them out). Your budget will be just as useful as well.

[Archangel1994]

@R3NDO4G

 

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/3061-build-plan-thread-recommendations-please-read-before-posting/

 

Read this and format accordingly

[R3NDO4G]

1. Budget & Location

 

I live in Australia, looking to spend about $3000 AUD.

 

2. Aim

Gaming at 1080p resolution with ultra settings on most recent games. I do play a bit of all sorts whether it be Battlefield, Skyrim, Minecraft, etc. So looking at performance at high and low end of spectrum. Also will be doing some video editing. So performance in that regard is also key

3. Monitors
2 27" monitors, plus with one large on (not sure what size) for movies, anime and stuff. 1080p resolution as before.

4. Peripherals
Mechanical Keyboard (well in need of an upgrade from previous). Will be needing an OS (Windows). Gaming Headset (wireless preferably), I have a Razor DeathAdder (not 2013 model which still works fine, not sure if I should upgrade it). Nice large mousepad, antistatic ankle strap and mat (do not have these). Gaming chair (my current office chair lacks breath-ability and gets quite warm quickly and isn't too comfy either).  

 

Prefer Intel CPU and Nvidia cards (2 as I wish to place them in SLI). And also prefer air cooling rather than water, and a after market heatsink for CPU.

Otherwise pretty easy on other components. 

Other things I am looking at getting/need: SSD, 2 HDD (Raid 1), Optical Disk Drive. etc

 

Cheers

[Dabombinable]

1. Budget & Location

 

I live in Australia, looking to spend about $3000 AUD.

 

2. Aim

Gaming at 1080p resolution with ultra settings on most recent games. I do play a bit of all sorts whether it be Battlefield, Skyrim, Minecraft, etc. So looking at performance at high and low end of spectrum. Also will be doing some video editing. So performance in that regard is also key

3. Monitors

2 27" monitors, plus with one large on (not sure what size) for movies, anime and stuff. 1080p resolution as before.

4. Peripherals

Mechanical Keyboard (well in need of an upgrade from previous). Will be needing an OS (Windows). Gaming Headset (wireless preferably), I have a Razor DeathAdder (not 2013 model which still works fine, not sure if I should upgrade it). Nice large mousepad, antistatic ankle strap and mat (do not have these). Gaming chair (my current office chair lacks breath-ability and gets quite warm quickly and isn't too comfy either).  

 

Prefer Intel CPU and Nvidia cards (2 as I wish to place them in SLI). And also prefer air cooling rather than water, and a after market heatsink for CPU.

Otherwise pretty easy on other components.

 

Cheers

Ok, I'm in a good position to help then since I'm in Australia too, and my rig cost under $2000. (A single GTX 970 handles any game at Ultra settings 1080p, a 980 is better for dual displays and 2k gaming)

[R3NDO4G]

Ok, I'm in a good position to help then since I'm in Australia too, and my rig cost under $2000. (A single GTX 970 handles any game at Ultra settings 1080p, a 980 is better for dual displays and 2k gaming)

I won't be gaming across both screens as I don't like the stretching that happens on certain games. The extra screen is more for doing like a google search or having something open to refer to etc.

[Dabombinable]

I won't be gaming across both screens as I don't like the stretching that happens on certain games. The extra screen is more for doing like a google search or having something open to refer to etc.

Its going to be a stretch by the looks of things, with the best i5 (an i7 will blow the budget out big time), 2 gtx 970 windforce, an sli capable motherboard, case, psu, ram, windows 8.1 pro, ssd, hdd, keyboard (cherry MX Blue) and mouse pad its at $2687.

 

[R3NDO4G]

Its going to be a stretch by the looks of things, with the best i5 (an i7 will blow the budget out big time), 2 gtx 970 windforce, an sli capable motherboard, case, psu, ram, windows 8.1 pro, ssd, hdd, keyboard (cherry MX Blue) and mouse pad its at $2687.

 

temp build.JPG

Do you think I will need two 970's in SLI for both screens if I will only will be literally gaming on one with the other being a spare for web searching and stuff while gaming?

[GarnetDevil]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($289.00 @ Centre Com) 

CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($149.00 @ CPL Online) 

Motherboard: Asus SABERTOOTH Z97 MARK S ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($399.00 @ PLE Computers) 

Memory: Kingston Fury White Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($98.00 @ CPL Online) 

Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($89.00 @ CPL Online) 

Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($166.00 @ IJK) 

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card  ($545.00 @ CPL Online) 

Case: NZXT S340 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($84.00 @ PLE Computers) 

Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($145.00 @ CPL Online) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($119.00 @ Mwave Australia) 

Keyboard: Corsair Vengeance K70 Wired Gaming Keyboard  ($175.00 @ CPL Online) 

Headphones: Kingston HyperX Cloud Headset  ($112.00 @ CPL Online) 

Other: DXRACER F SERIES OFFICE/GAMING CHAIR - BLACK/WHITE INSERTS PU LEATHER ($379.00)

Total: $2749.00

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-19 22:11 EST+1100

 

If you want to games at 1080p you don't need to go SLI, a single 970 will destroy all 1080p games even in ultra

Since you use a screen for game and a screen for game, I suggest hooking the gaming monitor to the 970 and the other to the motherboard's 

[Dabombinable]

Do you think I will need two 970's in SLI for both screens if I will only will be literally gaming on one with the other being a spare for web searching and stuff while gaming?

Well no, but you did specify 2 in SLI so I was going from that. Removing a GTX 970 will take $499 off the price.

[R3NDO4G]

Also based in WA if it helps at all. I was told that would be better if I changed my mind in future lol.

[MoDtEc]

you can run games on 1080p ultra with decent fps WITH two other monitors doing nothing/almost nothing to your 970 without problems

im doing that currently

and you dont need to sli them for 1080p

[Dabombinable]

Also based in WA if it helps at all. I was told that would be better if I changed my mind in future lol.

I'm still going through components, but it will be a good idea to find the lowest price on them as it will different all over the country, especially with postage and handling taken into consideration.

[R3NDO4G]

I'm still going through components, but it will be a good idea to find the lowest price on them as it will different all over the country, especially with postage and handling taken into consideration.

Ok. No worries. I was going to source it locally from places like PLE, MSY and Austin Computers here. I know from a friend that do price match with some other stores so would be able to get some good deals hopefully. 

[dfsdfgfkjsefoiqzemnd]

No need for a second graphics card to feed that extra monitor.  As long as you're not doing anything 3D-intensive on it, it won't affect the card's performance. 

Even when I was running a single 770 I often had a web page or a movie on one screen while gaming on the other. 

[KemoKa]

Do you think I will need two 970's in SLI for both screens if I will only will be literally gaming on one with the other being a spare for web searching and stuff while gaming?

No, a single 970 will trash any game at 1080p, but if you ever decided to go 4K, you could go that with the SLI'd 970s. It's the reasonably-ultimate graphics setup, at least at the moment.

[R3NDO4G]

What would be a good z97 motherboard for following known parts (going for gunmetal grey and blue color scheme, also might do future 2/3 way SLI):

Intel Core i5 4690K

Gigabyte G1 GTX 970

NZXT Phantom 820 (Gunmetal Grey)

Also would it be necessary to get an aftermarket heatsink (for air cooling) for my CPU? Not sure if I should OC as I am a bit hesitant having never done it before and worried about the possible repercussions.

Also what would be a good airflow setup for air cooling? Positive air pressure?