Custom Gaming Machine Build

[eXg. p1nghax]

Hello,

 

First time to the forums.  Avid FPS Gamer here and building a new rig to compete in some online tournaments etc. Essentially here is what I have so far and am looking for advice on a few things hardware wise. 

 

So, here is the deal I have a few products I am a little partial to as I am friends with the person who has created / helped to introduce them, so from there I can understand if there are some biased opinions.  But here goes anyway.

 

I started with the case.

 

Found a really good deal as someone was getting rid of a Zalman Fatal1ty FC-Ze1 Case for like $30 on Craigslist.  Cleaned it up and have that.  Not a bad price for a case that retailed around more of the $360 range.

 

Motherboard is the following: http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Fatal1ty%20Z97%20Professional/

Fatal1ty Z97 Professional

 

CPU: Intel 4770 k

 

The GPU I'm looking to purchase is the EVGA Classified 980. 

 

I am looking to now piece together the following:  I need to buy RAM, and PSU.  What would you guys recommend?  Something that will be baddass and fast, with also following the black and red color scheme, while also not breaking the bank. 

 

PSU, I am looking at one of the Fatal1ty 1000 w psu's that are out there, that is a fully modular design, but not completely sold on that yet.  Again trying to keep to the color scheme.

 

Most likely going with a Large SSD Main drive, as well as regular HDD 3 TB Backup.

 

Any suggestions would be great, but I would like to know what RAM would function best, with the Motherboard / GPU combination possible.

 

 

 

 

[FlighterLuid]

Everything you just listed is 300% overkill. Replace the 4770K with a 4690K, get a cheaper 980 if you want, the classifieds are meant for heavy overclocking, and 1000w is total overkill, something like 600w is good for up to 2-way or even 3-way SLI 980s.

[Trik'Stari]

Kingston hyper X fury ram. at least 8gigs

 

Seasonic or corsair PSU

 

Everything you just listed is 300% overkill. Replace the 4770K with a 4690K, get a cheaper 980 if you want, the classifieds are meant for heavy overclocking, and 1000w is total overkill, something like 600w is good for up to 2-way SLI 980s.

 

Nothing really wrong with the 4770k, will just last him longer.

 

1000w is overkill. Then again I use a 750w when a 600 would probably work fine.

[SimpleG]

We need to know what budget you have, you need monitors, pheriphials, os?

[AlwaysFSX]

I am looking to now piece together the following:  I need to buy RAM, and PSU.  What would you guys recommend?  Something that will be baddass and fast, with also following the black and red color scheme, while also not breaking the bank. 

 

PSU, I am looking at one of the Fatal1ty 1000 w psu's that are out there, that is a fully modular design, but not completely sold on that yet.  Again trying to keep to the color scheme.

You will rarely EVER notice a difference between faster and slower RAM. You do not need a kilowatt power supply, you aren't running a couple of 480s in that system.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Memory: Kingston Fury Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($74.99 @ Amazon)

Storage: Sandisk Ultra II 480GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($176.17 @ NCIX US)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($96.95 @ SuperBiiz)

Power Supply: Corsair Professional 850W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($122.62 @ TigerDirect)

Total: $470.73

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-27 14:43 EST-0500

[FlighterLuid]

Nothing really wrong with the 4770k, will just last him longer.

A 4690K will probably overclock more due to the better TIM though, hyperthreading will not help in games, and with DX12 only requiring a driver update and game support at this point i7's will become less of a necessity for gaming.

[Trik'Stari]

A 4690K will probably overclock more due to the better TIM though, hyperthreading will not help in games, and with DX12 only requiring a driver update and game support at this point i7's will become less of a necessity for gaming.

Meh, remains to be seen if hyperthreading will be used in games or not. If I remember there's one or two that currently do, and supposedly more on the way (like star citizen if I remember correctly, due to all the physics calculations)

[FlighterLuid]

Meh, remains to be seen if hyperthreading will be used in games or not. If I remember there's one or two that currently do, and supposedly more on the way (like star citizen if I remember correctly, due to all the physics calculations)

Star Citizen will support Mantle, no? I would imagine if Mantle gives a big benefit then they would upgrade to DX12.

[Trik'Stari]

Star Citizen will support Mantle, no? I would imagine if Mantle gives a big benefit then they would upgrade to DX12.

Perhaps, but who knows what will come out over the next 5+ years. Hyperthreading doesn't make a game run worse does it?

[FlighterLuid]

Perhaps, but who knows what will come out over the next 5+ years. Hyperthreading doesn't make a game run worse does it?

Battlefield 4 (beta + launch until the first patch) would throw a fit on some systems with hyperthreading. I remember seeing a benchmark of HT vs no HT and some games performed marginally worse (1-2%).

[i_build_nanosuits]

A 4690K will probably overclock more due to the better TIM though, hyperthreading will not help in games, and with DX12 only requiring a driver update and game support at this point i7's will become less of a necessity for gaming.

 

Meh, remains to be seen if hyperthreading will be used in games or not. If I remember there's one or two that currently do, and supposedly more on the way (like star citizen if I remember correctly, due to all the physics calculations)

hyper-threading already helps a lot in many games...only miss-informed person in the i5 bandwagon havnt realised that because they have no means to know.

I can disable HT on my CPU with one click and when i do so, some of the most demanding games arent as smooth anymore and i swear to god the entire machine isnt as snappy and fast even in windows day to day tasks.

Many games on the market now take advantage of 6 or 8 cpu threads if you happen to have them and it helps achieving better frame time variance and smooter gaming experience overall in games.

The i7 also has more cache which also help with smootness of gameplay.

[zappian]

hyper-threading already helps a lot in many games...only miss-informed person in the i5 bandwagon havnt realised that because they have no means to know.

 

Yes.

 

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2014-core-i5-4690k-core-i7-4790k-review

[eXg. p1nghax]

Hey.. wow I wasn't expecting a response that fast I definitely appreciate the input.  Well I will tell all of you this.  I have an Alienware MX 17 Laptop with dual 260m cards, and when I wanted to try and run a game example: The New Wolfenstien and it wouldn't even boot on my system, it just infuriated me.  I remember the days when you could configure a system to run a game with lesser components, however certain software is rendering certain setups useless.  In that case it was a Vid Card update that Dell decided wasn't worthy of updated drivers to be able to play games it should. 

 

Maybe I am wrong on this, but made me want to take this big alien paperweight and chuck it out the window and watch it skip down the street.  Phew now that I got that off my chest, I basically wanted to be able to do a little with everything, I wanted to game at max res and get max fps I could.  Which is funny because as you know in competitive Quake fps for example, it was always turn everything down as low as possible to get the most fps Kinda deal,

 

but like for reflex that has come out, I cannot play that on my laptop.   

 

So I went Overkill with the components.  I was also looking into streaming: Twitch etc.. so that was another reason for some of my choices with components.  To be able to game out, and also stream same time.  I dunno if that would matter soo much. 

 

I definitely appreciate the input on the PSU, due to the fact that the price difference is huge comparing a 850W or 750W to a 1000W PSU.  Also the Memory was a tricky one as well, also the website you listed with the priced out components I never have seen before so that is a new discovery. 

 

Regarding the GPU now... The 980 Card I listed is right around $699.  There are others that aren't clocked as high for like $400 - $480.  Realistically would this be fine to run all games that are out now at max settings.. I know that SLI really isn't that big yet with this card and the games that are out yet, so not necessary due to the fact that Single GPU's are just better right now than SLI.  Would you still recommend a lower level 980 then?

 

Thanks again

[i_build_nanosuits]

Yes.

 

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2014-core-i5-4690k-core-i7-4790k-review

and those does not even render the i7 justice...you have to look extensively at minimum framerates and frame time variance to really realise that it's in fact noticeably smooter and faster in games...sitting in front of my monitor any experienced gamer would be able to tell if HT is on or off while playing DA: INquisition, ACU, crysis 3, watchdogs or even BF4...i swear.

[zappian]

and those does not even render the i7 justice...you have to look extensively at minimum framerates and frame time variance to really realise that it's in fact noticeably smooter and faster in games...sitting in front of my monitor any experienced gamer would be able to tell if HT is on or off while playing DA: INquisition, ACU, crysis 3, watchdogs or even BF4...i swear.

 

I believe you bro.

 

I find funny when people say the HT on my i3 is useless in games.

 

Always cracks me up , that's why a locked i3 keeps up with a 4.7 ghz pentium.

 

Its the magic powder they put on the i3 that gives it magical abilities.

[eXg. p1nghax]

Regarding peripherals, I have mouse, keyboard, etc taken care of although now this might be a really hard one.. They don't make Fat Pads anymore, but I would love to buy like 6 fatal1ty mousepads or get my hands on them... Especially the silver ones..

 

I also have been trying to figure out what Monitor I would like to use.  I wanted something with the best Htz available. over 120 - 144 hz I believe most are up to now a days.. As Crt's are a thing of the past.. Shame really I miss those 500 lb things. hehe, plus the resolutions they could push was crazy. 

 

Is there one out there for close to $100 ???

 

Prolly not.. huh. You guys asked for a budget.. well Even if I had tons of money which I don't,, I just buy a piece here and there till I have it all, I want to find the absolute BEST of the BEST... meaning I want to buy a LAmborghini at a Ford Fiesta Price tag.

 

Or find somewhere in the middle room like the PSU, I wouldn't need a 1000 until later when I start staking more 980's in my case

 

Thanks very much for all your help so far.

[Losty]

You will not be able to afford that quick of a monitor with 100 bucks.

 

Get a nice 750w and a lower priced 980 and use that money for the monitor.

[KC_Toronto]

eXg,

I can tell that you're on a higher budget than most gamers, and your rig will need to be more competitive than most gamers ask for.

You need to post your question at the AnandTech.com forums before you make your first large purchases.

The AnandTech.com forums have a lot of tech engineers and tech professionals that post frequently.

They can give you precise building advice that will satisfy your competitive demands.

And since your rig will be expensive compared to the typical gaming rig, it will be worth some expert advice.