Building a Haswell Gaming PC

[babyspark]

Hello!

 

This August I will be building a new computer for my budget. I've done most of the planning already, but now I'd like to tweak/fine tune my options so that I know I'm getting the best performance and experience for my money.

 

My max budget for everything is $3,400 and I live in Canada. My aim for this build is primarily for gaming, video editing and creating music. Games I would be playing are Skyrim, Tomb Raider, Crysis 3, WoW, Minecraft, Bioshock Infinite and more.  

 

Most of my parts will be purchased through Memory Express as they are close to me and I'd rather be able to pick up my parts, rather than have them shipped. But I am open to other options (Newegg, etc)

 

Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/ Window

Processor: i7-4770K

Motherboard: Asus Z87 Deluxe

RAM/Memory: Corsair Dominator Platinum 16GB (2x8GB) 1866MHz

1st Drive: Samsung 840 series 250GB SSD (for OS, games and other programs)

2nd Drive: WD 3TB Caviar Green (media)

PSU: Cooler Master M2 850W Modular 

GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 SuperClocked 3GB 

CPU Cooler: Corsair Hydro Series H80i

 

Keyboard: Corsair Vengence K70

Mouse: Logitech G300

 

Monitor: Asus PB278Q 27"

 

OS: Windows 8 Pro 64-Bit

 

Now, here are some things I'm still tossing up in the air that I would specifically like help on:

 

1. The Monitor: The ASUS I've chosen is a hi-res 2560X1440. I am wondering if I should go with this one 27" Monitor or if I should do a triple monitor set up. If I go with a triple monitor set up, I would downsize the monitors to 23" or 24", but I would also have to downsize the resolution to a standard 1080, as higher resolutions will result in a higher cost that might break my budget.

 

2. The Memory: I'm mainly choosing the Dominator Platinums because of the LED lights. This might seem like a stupid reason, but I purposely chose a case with a window to showcase my build, and I though these were a nice touch. Is the performance of these worth it over other brands? Like the Corsair Vengence LP 16GB kit? 

 

3. The GPU: Does it really matter what brand/manufacturer I choose? I'm going between the EVGA brand listed above, and the ASUS GTX 780 3GB. Are there any real performance differences between these? If so, which one would be a better choice?

 

 

I think that about sums it up, I welcome any and all comments/recommendations. I am really really looking forward to doing this build and would appreciated all the advice/suggestions of the community. 

 

Thanks!

- V

 

 

[jonasa97]

Hi,

I've got the ASUS PB278Q and it's a great monitor.

I highly recommend you to not use dominator platinums as they are a huge waste of money. Go with some cheaper RAM and invest somewhere else. The brand does matter a little. According to what brand you choose, you get different software. The cooler also matters because the better the cooling the higher GPU boost 2.0 will boost your card. :)

[Vitalius]

Overall, it's a great build. I wouldn't change anything about it as it is very open to future upgrades (more RAM, another GPU, etc).

I would only get multi-monitor if you know you like it. Some people prefer single monitor because they don't like the bezels getting in the way. If you don't know, stick to what you do know and just get the 27" 1440p.

RAM "performance" means just about nothing. You could get 2x8GB of 1333MHz Kingston ValueRAM and get almost exactly the same performance. The things that matter for RAM are capacity and appearance. That's it. 

Not really. They both have reference PCB's and coolers, so there shouldn't be any difference between them. Either one is fine. I'd go with EVGA because I prefer their brand for GPU's.

I have no other advice to give. Great build overall.

 

[WildTurtle]

I would get an H100i with the 4770k, it is well know that Haswell is built with molten lava.

[babyspark]

Thanks guys for the quick replies. I'll stick with the one 27" monitor for now. I think a triple monitor set up looks bad ass, but I've never personally experienced it and I do wonder if the monitor bezels would ruin my experience. I've updated the cooler to an H100i as that was the original CPU cooler I was looking at, and there's not a huge cost difference between the two. I'll also change the RAM. Haven't decided what brand yet, but if it doesn't make such a big difference, I don't see any point in paying more.

 

Still undecided on the graphics card. Although it's nice to know that the brand doesn't make a huge difference. The other thing I've considered is a GTX Titan, but I've seen benchmarks and the GTX 780 seems to perform fairly close for less money. Is there any real world performance increase that would make it worthwhile for me to buy a Titan? Or should I stick with a 780?

[Masfiras]

Consumer Haswell i7 have overheating, if the h100i is not capable of overclocking that CPU well (90ºC Load @ Stock speed) imagine the h80i..
 
I would go with a Water 2.0 Extreme, a Swiftech H220, or a custom watercooling.

 

 

 

[Vitalius]

Thanks guys for the quick replies. I'll stick with the one 27" monitor for now. I think a triple monitor set up looks bad ass, but I've never personally experienced it and I do wonder if the monitor bezels would ruin my experience. I've updated the cooler to an H100i as that was the original CPU cooler I was looking at, and there's not a huge cost difference between the two. I'll also change the RAM. Haven't decided what brand yet, but if it doesn't make such a big difference, I don't see any point in paying more.

 

Still undecided on the graphics card. Although it's nice to know that the brand doesn't make a huge difference. The other thing I've considered is a GTX Titan, but I've seen benchmarks and the GTX 780 seems to perform fairly close for less money. Is there any real world performance increase that would make it worthwhile for me to buy a Titan? Or should I stick with a 780?

You would only need a GTX Titan for the 3GB of extra VRAM. But you'd only need that if you were going with Eyefinity/multi-monitor display, which you aren't.

Don't bother. 780's will be more than enough.

[WoodenMarker]

You could do this: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/1b7WQ

The 2 23"s are Asus IPS panels with adjustable Height, Pivot and Swivel.

 

This is my more budget aware (sensible and recommended) alternative: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/1b81o

I would personally get a 27" 1080p monitor in the center as a primary to review video when editing. http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-monitor-vg27ah

[greenroost1445]

Consumer Haswell i7 have overheating, if the h100i is not capable of overclocking that CPU well (90ºC Load @ Stock speed) imagine the h80i..

 

I would go with a Water 2.0 Extreme, a Swiftech H220, or a custom watercooling.

 

 

 

Actually the guy got ripped... the cpu lottery is even more diverse now for hasewell