New PC thoughts

Arem · March 17, 2015

I have never built a computer before, but I really want a new gaming desktop so I don't have to play games on my aging 4 year old laptop. My friend built his and he is happy with it. So he helped me put together a list of parts to build. Any thoughts or mistakes that I have made with the build? I have not included a monitor or other peripherals yet. Also, is it worth getting a G-Sync monitor for the card? I have the money for this build, but whatever I don't spend goes towards paying collage so I don't want to be too flamboyant. Here is the link. http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ZzVhxr

Any help would be much appreciated.

March 17, 2015

I have never built a computer before, but I really want a new gaming desktop so I don't have to play games on my aging 4 year old laptop. My friend built his and he is happy with it. So he helped me put together a list of parts to build. Any thoughts or mistakes that I have made with the build? I have not included a monitor or other peripherals yet. Also, is it worth getting a G-Sync monitor for the card? I have the money for this build, but whatever I don't spend goes towards paying collage so I don't want to be too flamboyant. Here is the link. http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ZzVhxr

Any help would be much appreciated.

Do you plan on adding a 2nd GTX 970 in the future ?

That cpu cooler might not fit in the case. The CM 212 is 159mm tall and the Spec-01 would struggle to fit a 160mm tall cooler according to the link below.

http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/corsair_carbide_spec_01_review,8.html

You can see the dimensions of the cooler if you click on specs:

http://www.coolermaster.com/cooling/cpu-air-cooler/hyper-212-evo/

Slayer1443 · March 17, 2015

Build looks good only thing i would recommend is a cpu cooler so you can overclock otherwise i wouldnt go with the 4690k and get if you can a 240 gb ssd.

SeanAngelo · March 17, 2015

Solid build to me. If you have the money, go for a G-Sync monitor if you want, but I would add another GTX 970 if you get a 1440p monitor. For a G-Sync 1080p monitor, one GTX 970 is enough.

EDIT: change the cooler if you want to overclock the CPU.

Arem · March 17, 2015

Do you plan on adding a 2nd GTX 970 in the future ?

That cpu cooler might not fit in the case. The CM 212 is 159mm tall and the Spec-01 would struggle to fit a 160mm tall cooler according to the link below.

http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/corsair_carbide_spec_01_review,8.html

You can see the dimensions of the cooler if you click on specs:

http://www.coolermaster.com/cooling/cpu-air-cooler/hyper-212-evo/

I may plan on getting another 970 a bit down the line, but not now. Are you saying that a second card would not fit then? Would the best solution to both the tight squeeze cooler and a possible second GPU be a full size case? Or will a bigger mid size be fine?

Arem · March 17, 2015

Solid build to me. If you have the money, go for a G-Sync monitor if you want, but I would add another GTX 970 if you get a 1440p monitor. For a G-Sync 1080p monitor, one GTX 970 is enough.

EDIT: change the cooler if you want to overclock the CPU.

I really want a 1440p monitor, and I also want G-sync. Of course that means that the monitor will be around $600 to $700, witch I am not willing to spend. So a 1080p will have to do. If the monitor is 144hz, do I even need G-Sync? And I am assuming that Nvidia will never add Free-sync to cards, so I don't think I should buy a Free-sync monitor, is that correct?

bloodstrike11 · March 17, 2015

as Linus says, a good picture today is a good picture tomorrow (aside from resolution). get a gsync and it should outlast your pc.

March 17, 2015

I may plan on getting another 970 a bit down the line, but not now. Are you saying that a second card would not fit then? Would the best solution to both the tight squeeze cooler and a possible second GPU be a full size case? Or will a bigger mid size be fine?

The wattage is fine if you plan to add a 2nd GTX 970 in the future. I would go for a different PSU though, as the NEX isn't brilliant by any means.

The Spec-01 isn't ideal for an SLI setup as it doesn't have lots of room internally. You might have to remove the drive cages if it is in the way of a 2nd card. A single card wouldn't have any problems.

Here is a similar spec with a better psu, and the Corsair 230T.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($285.75 @ shopRBC)

Motherboard: MSI Z97-G45 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($172.98 @ DirectCanada)

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($84.99 @ Memory Express)

Storage: Corsair Force LS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($74.99 @ Memory Express)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.75 @ Vuugo)

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($419.99 @ Amazon Canada)

Case: Corsair Graphite Series 230T Black ATX Mid Tower Case ($87.38 @ DirectCanada)

Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ NCIX)

Wireless Network Adapter: Asus PCE-AC56 802.11a/b/g/n/ac PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($72.50 @ DirectCanada)

Other: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO

Total: $1363.32

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-17 10:51 EDT-0400

Demons Wrath · March 17, 2015

@lee32uk those are Canadian links, but his profile says United States. Something's gone wrong! :blink:

March 17, 2015

@lee32uk those are Canadian links, but his profile says United States. Something's gone wrong! :blink:

I never even noticed He was in the USA to be honest, as I just edited the link from the opening post.

It is strange how the 'ca' part is missing from his link.

Arem · March 17, 2015

I never even noticed He was in the USA to be honest, as I just edited the link from the opening post.

It is strange how the 'ca' part is missing from his link.

I noticed this too. I am in the US. PC partpicker insists I'm in Canada. Could be the culprit of a VPN at some point.

Arem · March 17, 2015

The wattage is fine if you plan to add a 2nd GTX 970 in the future. I would go for a different PSU though, as the NEX isn't brilliant by any means.

The Spec-01 isn't ideal for an SLI setup as it doesn't have lots of room internally. You might have to remove the drive cages if it is in the way of a 2nd card. A single card wouldn't have any problems.

Here is a similar spec with a better psu, and the Corsair 230T.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($285.75 @ shopRBC)

Motherboard: MSI Z97-G45 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($172.98 @ DirectCanada)

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($84.99 @ Memory Express)

Storage: Corsair Force LS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($74.99 @ Memory Express)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.75 @ Vuugo)

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($419.99 @ Amazon Canada)

Case: Corsair Graphite Series 230T Black ATX Mid Tower Case ($87.38 @ DirectCanada)

Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ NCIX)

Wireless Network Adapter: Asus PCE-AC56 802.11a/b/g/n/ac PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($72.50 @ DirectCanada)

Other: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO

Total: $1363.32

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-17 10:51 EDT-0400

Thanks for the advice, Looks good to me. I will look into this more, and soon I'll have a new computer!

March 17, 2015

Thanks for the advice, Looks good to me. I will look into this more, and soon I'll have a new computer!

What is your budget in US Dollars ? As the Canadian prices are higher than the US.

March 17, 2015

Here is a build using US stores/prices.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Micro Center)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Motherboard: MSI Z97-GAMING 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Amazon)

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($60.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($104.99 @ Amazon)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.49 @ Directron)

Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($329.00 @ NCIX US)

Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($99.99 @ Amazon)

Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($105.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Wireless Network Adapter: Asus PCE-AC56 802.11a/b/g/n/ac PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($67.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Total: $1182.41

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-17 12:58 EDT-0400

Arem · March 17, 2015

What is your budget in US Dollars ? As the Canadian prices are higher than the US.

I would not want to spend more than $1500 US, and that's including my monitor and peripherals. In my opinion the computer itself is what you should spend your money on, and I'm not a stickler for Mice and Keyboards, so cheaper items will do for me. It just the monitor that I am struggling with. I have to compromise to fit it into my preferred budget.

March 17, 2015

I would not want to spend more than $1500 US, and that's including my monitor and peripherals. In my opinion the computer itself is what you should spend your money on, and I'm not a stickler for Mice and Keyboards, so cheaper items will do for me. It just the monitor that I am struggling with. I have to compromise to fit it into my preferred budget.

This has a 24" 1080p 144Hz Screen, and a Keyboard/Mouse bundle, and comes in under budget (Assuming you don't need a copy of Windows and a DVD drive).

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Micro Center)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Motherboard: MSI Z97-GAMING 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Amazon)

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($60.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($104.98 @ NCIX US)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.49 @ Directron)

Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($329.00 @ NCIX US)

Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($99.99 @ Amazon)

Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($105.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Wireless Network Adapter: Asus PCE-AC56 802.11a/b/g/n/ac PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($67.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Monitor: Asus VG248QE 144Hz 24.0" Monitor ($264.99 @ B&H)