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Questions as a First Time Builder

krnonthak0b
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First off, hello everyone. New to the forums though I have watched a lot of linustechtips videos on youtube. Name's David and currently living in South Korea.

 

I have always been interested in building a PC and getting to learn more about computer builds/parts in general and now I've finally decided to nut up and buy the parts.

 

My question is, for a gaming build, I've actively selected "gaming" components, but I'm starting to wonder how much of that nomenclature is simply for marking up prices? Most of the features these "gaming" components have, are things that I have no understanding of.

 

Well then the answer should be simple and just go for less "enthusiast" grade components right? But the thing is, I would like to eventually learn and in a way "upgrade" myself to become an enthusiast. So my question is this, Is it okay to just dive in head first into this world of PC enthusiasm or should I start smaller and buy regular consumer components rather than prosumer?

 

for example getting a i5-4690 rather than an i5 4690k or sticking with a H97 mobo rather than a Z97? What are your experiences?

 

For now, I'm planning on going the prosumer route, but I do feel a little overwhelmed, so I guess I'm looking for emotional support ha! ^_^ But anyways any input is appreciated.

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Well, definitely go for 4690k over the 4690, the 4690k is much more overclock friendly and is definitely worth the extra bucks over the 4690.

The Z97 mobo I've heard many great things about, not sure on the H97.

And as for the "gaming" advertising, as with most things, it really just depends. Sometimes it may actually be better suited for gaming versus a different product and othertimes you can get Alienware'd and get sold stuff marked up.

 

It'd probably just be best to post the list of items your looking to buy and have people give advice and recommendations to get the best bang for your buck.

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Choose your parts for the maximum livelihood, value, and upgrades.  For example, I bought an i7 4790k recently.  My reasoning is:  "This'll need to last for 5+ years"

What is $100 in 3 years if you have a slow PC?

I'd recommend not worrying about "GAMING" stuff.  It is pure marketing.

 

I'd suggest going a little higher on the motherboard so that it supports SLI and having a unlocked CPU.  maybe in 5 years you could buy a i7 for $50... 

If you want to have your PC last, get a good solid base.  Focus on the CPU, RAM(as in 1 stick 8GB or 2 stick 16GB), motherboard and Power Supply.

 

You may want to consider a bit older stuff too.

Z87 is being phased out and ASUS has some good deals out now.

 

But last of all,  PCpartpicker.com will save your life.

For the Best builds and Price lists here is a world where many points of the price have been predefined already for your convenience!

The Xeon E3 1231 V3 IS BETTER Than the Core i5 4690K and a Significantly better value for the non-overclockers or value shoppers.

The OS is like a kind food, Try it before saying if you like it or don't.

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Welcome to the forums!

 

I've used an i5 4690 with an H97 motherboard in the past and part of me regrets going with that over something like the i5 4590 for slightly cheaper or a Xeon E3-1231 V3 for slightly more (it was a workstation build). It definitely does its job though.

 

But if you're planning on gaming, you can't get much better (right now, of course) than the i5 4690k.

 

There's been questions about where the "sweet spot" is for gaming PCs, and if going with more expensive parts will pay off in the long-run. I personally was thinking about the the $700-800 USD range for the whole build, but many others will point to something like Z97, i5 4690k, and a GTX 970, which would probably be around the $1000 range for the whole build.

 

If you have the money to spend, I say go for it! But if money is tight, you can go with a locked i5 and something around an R9 280x or better. It depends on a lot of things, but I'm sure when you're ready to go, you can find some excellent build advice here.

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Yeah I'm really thinking of getting parts that will last me for awhile that's why I've been looking at components that have great reviews.

 

But the overwhelming part is most of these reviews point out features that, I do not think I am ready for just yet, as I am only now deciding to build. Things like overclocking, I wouldn't even know where to begin. However, I would eventually like to dabble in overclocking and trying to optimize my system, however I feel like that is something further down the road.

 

But I'm getting the vibe that buying now in preparation for tomorrow is better than just buying for today?

 

Also how do you guys feel about MSI Z97 Gaming 7 VS ASUS Z97-A?

 

components are little bit more pricier here in Korea than in the States (at least for higher end products, you can find much cheaper products for budget level comps)

 

EDIT// Thanks for the warm welcome!

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A working gsync/freesync build is the best you can do today.

 

Overclocking the CPU is a waste of time.

 

The intel i5 is the best you can have for gaming. Anything higher is a waste of money.

gsync/freesync monitors are too expensive here in Korea. We're looking at $1200+

 

so if I rule that out, would the gains i get from either overclocking the cpu and/or upgrading to an i7 be a complete waste of time? what about maybe future proofing? or should i just let tomorrow worry about itself and just go for what i need now? cause honestly, this is the biggest dilemma. I want to be as future proof as possible but an i7-4790k is about $100 dollars more expensive then in America. But if it's worth it for AAA gaming, then I don't mind. But still, it is a dilemma lol.

 

i5-4690k is about $230 USD here in korea while a i7-4790k is about $350. There is always the Xeon 1231-v3 which is about $260-280 here in Korea.

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gsync/freesync monitors are too expensive here in Korea. We're looking at $1200+

 

so if I rule that out, would the gains i get from either overclocking the cpu and/or upgrading to an i7 be a complete waste of time? what about maybe future proofing? or should i just let tomorrow worry about itself and just go for what i need now? cause honestly, this is the biggest dilemma. I want to be as future proof as possible but an i7-4790k is about $100 dollars more expensive then in America. But if it's worth it for AAA gaming, then I don't mind. But still, it is a dilemma lol.

 

i5-4690k is about $230 USD here in korea while a i7-4790k is about $350. There is always the Xeon 1231-v3 which is about $260-280 here in Korea.

 

 

The hyperthreading with its virtual cores gives absolutely nothing for gaming. Its all bullshit. i7 really is a waste of time and money.

Overclocking MIGHT give you some benefits, depending what you play. It benefits single-core supporting games, which are becoming more rare.

The i5-4690k is the max you can possibly need for gaming. A i5-4590 is 2% slower, at worst, for example, but will save a lot of money, as you can skip the Z series board and just take something to hold the components together.

 

There is no such thing as future proofing in the PC parts world.

 

And i suggest you find out how much does LG 29um67 cost. Thats one of the cheapest gsync/freesync monitors, and is also a widescreen,  75hz, IPS panel, which makes it a very good deal. A IPS variable refresh rate monitor is the closest to future proofing you can do.

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The hyperthreading with its virtual cores gives absolutely nothing for gaming. Its all bullshit. i7 really is a waste of time and money.

Overclocking MIGHT give you some benefits, depending what you play. It benefits single-core supporting games, which are becoming more rare.

The i5-4690k is the max you can possibly need for gaming. A i5-4590 is 2% slower, at worst, for example, but will save a lot of money, as you can skip the Z series board and just take something to hold the components together.

 

There is no such thing as future proofing in the PC parts world.

 

And i suggest you find out how much does LG 29um67 cost. Thats one of the cheapest gsync/freesync monitors, and is also a widescreen,  75hz, IPS panel, which makes it a very good deal. A IPS variable refresh rate monitor is the closest to future proofing you can do.

Thanks for all the suggestions, but monitors is a whole another thing that gets tough. Funny thing is, LG is a korean company and yet most of their product hits American and European markets before Korea, even though Korea is pretty tech crazy (also game crazy).

 

the LG 29UM67 isn't out here yet. All options of buying one would be international shipping. 

 

The monitor I settled on was a BenQ XL2720Z which was last years model. This years refresh has Freesync and higher resolution but wayyy out of my price range. Like I said earlier, any Freesync/Gsync monitor in korea is going to cost in the $1000+ area.

 

Anyways thanks for all the suggestions. I've decided to go for the i5 since I don't really need the hyperthreading the Xeon provides. And I guess I'll be saving up for the next time I upgrade then. ^_^

 

If anyone is curious I've done a prelim build on pcpartpicker, but untill I actually buy the parts nothing is final.

without further ado ::

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/krnonthak0b/saved/#view=jP42FT

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Thanks for all the suggestions, but monitors is a whole another thing that gets tough. Funny thing is, LG is a korean company and yet most of their product hits American and European markets before Korea, even though Korea is pretty tech crazy (also game crazy).

 

the LG 29UM67 isn't out here yet. All options of buying one would be international shipping. 

 

The monitor I settled on was a BenQ XL2720Z which was last years model. This years refresh has Freesync and higher resolution but wayyy out of my price range. Like I said earlier, any Freesync/Gsync monitor in korea is going to cost in the $1000+ area.

 

Anyways thanks for all the suggestions. I've decided to go for the i5 since I don't really need the hyperthreading the Xeon provides. And I guess I'll be saving up for the next time I upgrade then. ^_^

 

If anyone is curious I've done a prelim build on pcpartpicker, but untill I actually buy the parts nothing is final.

without further ado ::

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/krnonthak0b/saved/#view=jP42FT

 

Oh, ye a 144hz monitor will also be very enjoyable ^^

 

My whole point was that monitor is THE most important part of a gaming build and most people have this backwards.

If gsync/freesync really is that overpriced there, then fuck it. A 144hz BENQ is gonna be really fun too!

 

Good choice on it being a 27" by the way. Thats another thing i dont get - why are people using these puny tiny monitors for their powerful builds... its a disgrace.

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Oh, ye a 144hz monitor will also be very enjoyable ^^

 

My whole point was that monitor is THE most important part of a gaming build and most people have this backwards.

If gsync/freesync really is that overpriced there, then fuck it. A 144hz BENQ is gonna be really fun too!

 

Good choice on it being a 27" by the way. Thats another thing i dont get - why are people using these puny tiny monitors for their powerful builds... its a disgrace.

Haha yeah I agree with the monitor being the most important part. Originally was looking for a QHD IPS panel with good response time, but when I saw the price of them O_O!!!

 

I didn't realize that they weren't exactly widespread just yet. Just cause you read about them in tech sites doesn't mean they are readily available to the average consumer.

 

So I made a compromise and went with the BenQ, which is still the most expensive part of my computer har har.

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Haha yeah I agree with the monitor being the most important part. Originally was looking for a QHD IPS panel with good response time, but when I saw the price of them O_O!!!

 

I didn't realize that they weren't exactly widespread just yet. Just cause you read about them in tech sites doesn't mean they are readily available to the average consumer.

 

So I made a compromise and went with the BenQ, which is still the most expensive part of my computer har har.

 

Good choice! A big144hz montior!

 

Ye, i dunno whats the deal with LG. We have that 29um67 available in Europe for almost a month now or something.

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Thanks for all the suggestions, but monitors is a whole another thing that gets tough. Funny thing is, LG is a korean company and yet most of their product hits American and European markets before Korea, even though Korea is pretty tech crazy (also game crazy).

 

the LG 29UM67 isn't out here yet. All options of buying one would be international shipping. 

 

The monitor I settled on was a BenQ XL2720Z which was last years model. This years refresh has Freesync and higher resolution but wayyy out of my price range. Like I said earlier, any Freesync/Gsync monitor in korea is going to cost in the $1000+ area.

 

Anyways thanks for all the suggestions. I've decided to go for the i5 since I don't really need the hyperthreading the Xeon provides. And I guess I'll be saving up for the next time I upgrade then. ^_^

 

If anyone is curious I've done a prelim build on pcpartpicker, but untill I actually buy the parts nothing is final.

without further ado ::

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/krnonthak0b/saved/#view=jP42FT

Do you have access to other psu brands ? I would suggest an XFX XTR, EVGA G2/GS, SuperFlower Leadex or something Seasonic over the Corsair RM.

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Do you have access to other psu brands ? I would suggest an XFX XTR, EVGA G2/GS, SuperFlower Leadex or something Seasonic over the Corsair RM.

Any particular reason why? There are a lot of local PSU brands here which are the ones that are usually highlighted at the stores both online and on the street. But they are all semi-modular at best, and usually not even that.

 

The corsair RM was the best value I could find for a fully modular PSU at 750 Watts with that Gold rating.

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Do you have access to other psu brands ? I would suggest an XFX XTR, EVGA G2/GS, SuperFlower Leadex or something Seasonic over the Corsair RM.

actually I was able to find an XFX XTR 750W 80Plus Gold. But is there any particular reason why?

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