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Help from someone with extensive knowledge please?

UndeadGamer95
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Hey, how's it going? I'm trying to set up the parts for my very first build that is going to eat away at a chunk of my financial aid. Doing this for two reasons,

 

1: my current computer is a laptop that I've had for two years now. It's not a very good laptop but it has served me well. Recently showing signs of failure and I think it's time for an upgrade and 

 

2: I might be switching my major from computer science to IT and I wanted to try and check out the hardware side of things. REALLY loving it so far, and Linus has been a huge help. 

 

So, this is my concern. I want a rig that can run most games at at least 1080p 60fps, max settings. Big game I have my eye on right now is Witcher 3, and Arkham Knight once I get my hands on my GTX card. Friends have this idea of using my rig as a streaming PC as well (though not sure if it will come to fruition). My dilema is I have no idea if I'm overkilling my PC. Here are my two builds that I have so far. 

 

An i7 build with MSI GTX 980:http://pcpartpicker.com/user/UndeadGamer95/saved/9xPH99

 

And an i5 with MSI GTX 980 Ti (help from /r/buildapc): http://pcpartpicker.com/user/UndeadGamer95/saved/9LrCmG

 

I'm not sure how much I'll be getting from my FA, but I assume around $1800USD. I would greatly appreciate if I could msg someone here and discuss which build would suit my needs better and why, so that I can learn a little bit out of all this. 

 

If it helps, I usually have about 5-8 tabs open on chrome, Steam, Sticky Notes, Mumble, and Murmur all running in the background. Not sure if that would make me need more than 8gb of RAM or not. Again, new to this whole thing. Thanks for all the help!

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If you really wanna stream get the i7 with the 980 since you only play at 1080p, i5 with 980ti would IMO be a bit unbalanced but it would play ALL 1080p games you throw at it at best settings, 980 also crushing 1080p

CPU: Xeon 1230v3 - GPU: GTX 770  - SSD: 120GB 840 Evo - HDD: WD Blue 1TB - RAM: Ballistix 8GB - Case: CM N400 - PSU: CX 600M - Cooling: Cooler Master 212 Evo

Update Plans: Mini ITX this bitch

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For those prices, the second build is definitely supetior; however it is too powerful to limit yourself to 1080p 60hz. You should consider stepping up your monitor. If you're happy enough with 1080p on the other hand you should go for a 970 instead. The 980, simply put, makes no sense for the price. Avoid it. The i7 would be nice but not strictly necessary (you could also go for a xeon 1231 v3, a locked 17 for the price of an i5).

Don't ask to ask, just ask... please 🤨

sudo chmod -R 000 /*

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I personally would recommend the i5 and 980 ti build, because the CPU wont be a bottle neck in either system, so you are going to want to go for the best GPU. Personally I don't think you are over killing. If you don't want to be upgrading every couple years than you will want to go for a powerful system. However, you might want to consider getting slightly slower ram, and getting 16 gigs of it. The ram will be running at a slower speed than its rated speed, because 

 

 

  • The Corsair Vengeance Pro 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2400 Memory operating voltage of 1.65V exceeds the Intel Haswell Refresh CPU recommended maximum of 1.5V+5% (1.575V). This memory module may run at a reduced clock rate to meet the 1.5V voltage recommendation, or may require running at a voltage greater than the Intel recommended maximum.

So you might want to get more slower speed ram

 

Of course you might want to run at a higher resolution, because that rig is a bit much for 1080p

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For those prices, the second build is definitely supetior; however it is too powerful to limit yourself to 1080p 60hz. You should consider stepping up your monitor. If you're happy enough with 1080p on the other hand you should go for a 970 instead. The 980, simply put, makes no sense for the price. Avoid it. The i7 would be nice but not strictly necessary (you could also go for a xeon 1231 v3, a locked 17 for the price of an i5).

What do you mean the 980 doens't make sense for the price? Isn't it better than the 970? And I would love to use 1440p, but I can't afford any of the monitors at the moment. Or at least none of the good monitors I've seen go for less than $300. Maybe in the future. Would you then recommend an i7, with a GTX 970? Since I get a price reduction from the 980-970. Or is an i5 still better?

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why not both with this setup? the hyperthreading of the i7 with the price of an i5, only thing is you cant overclock.

 

 
CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($242.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($113.99 @ B&H) 
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($99.89 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB ACX 2.0+ Video Card  ($649.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: NZXT S340 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($62.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit)  ($89.99 @ NCIX US) 
Monitor: Acer G257HU smidpx 60Hz 25.0" Monitor  ($273.99 @ Mac Mall) 
Total: $1788.69
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-27 19:37 EDT-0400
 
not only does this include a better cpu than an i5, but a better monitor and the 980 ti can run 1440p easily 60fps ultra with plenty of room to spare. if your a tab fiend, 16 gb is a must alongside a larger and better ssd. you can also throw in another 980 ti when you upgrade to 8k (cause 1 980 ti is great for 4k)

Rigs I've Built

The Striker i5 4590 @ 3.7 ||  MSI GTX 980 Armor X2 || Corsair RMX 750 || Team Elite Plus 8 GB || Define S || MSI Z97S SLI Krait

The Office PC i3 4160 @ 3.6 || Intel 4600 || EVGA 500B || G.Skill 8 GB || Cooler Master N200 || ASRock H97M Pro4

The Friend PC G3258 @ 4.3 || Sapphire R9 280X Tri-X || EVGA 600B || 8 GB Dell Ram || Cooler Master N200 || ASRock H97M- iTX/ac

The Mom Gaming PC A10-7890K @ 4.4 || iGPU + ASUS R7 250 ||  8 GB Klevv DDR3-2800 Mhz

 

 

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I personally would recommend the i5 and 980 ti build, because the CPU wont be a bottle neck in either system, so you are going to want to go for the best GPU. Personally I don't think you are over killing. If you don't want to be upgrading every couple years than you will want to go for a powerful system. However, you might want to consider getting slightly slower ram, and getting 16 gigs of it. The ram will be running at a slower speed than its rated speed, because 

So you might want to get more slower speed ram

 

Of course you might want to run at a higher resolution, because that rig is a bit much for 1080p

Thanks for the heads up. Just got that build like 15 minutes ago, didn't really see that. Fixed it. Is it worth running a higher resolution with a 1080p monitor? I personally can't afford a 1440p monitor right now, but maybe in the future, I'll get one and keep this 1080p as a second monitor for consoles at my PC desk.

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What do you mean the 980 doens't make sense for the price? Isn't it better than the 970? And I would love to use 1440p, but I can't afford any of the monitors at the moment. Or at least none of the good monitors I've seen go for less than $300. Maybe in the future. Would you then recommend an i7, with a GTX 970? Since I get a price reduction from the 980-970. Or is an i5 still better?

 

The 980 is 10%- faster than the 970 for 80% more money. And a 980ti performs 70% better for 20% more money. See what I mean? It makes a lot more sense to get a 970 or a 980ti depending on what you need. And for 1080p a 970 is plenty. The i5 is not better than the i7, but it performs basically the same in games for a lower price. If you plan on streaming it may be a LITTLE slow though.

Don't ask to ask, just ask... please 🤨

sudo chmod -R 000 /*

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why not both with this setup? the hyperthreading of the i7 with the price of an i5, only thing is you cant overclock.

 

 
CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($242.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($113.99 @ B&H) 
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($99.89 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB ACX 2.0+ Video Card  ($649.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: NZXT S340 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($62.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit)  ($89.99 @ NCIX US) 
Monitor: Acer G257HU smidpx 60Hz 25.0" Monitor  ($273.99 @ Mac Mall) 
Total: $1788.69
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-27 19:37 EDT-0400
 
not only does this include a better cpu than an i5, but a better monitor and the 980 ti can run 1440p easily 60fps ultra with plenty of room to spare. if your a tab fiend, 16 gb is a must alongside a larger and better ssd. you can also throw in another 980 ti when you upgrade to 8k (cause 1 980 ti is great for 4k)

 

This is actually really solid. I'll keep this in mind once I get my refund and see what kind of budget I have. I'll keep you updated. Also, that CPU... Is it worth not being able to overclock? I get that it's strong, just how strong?

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The 980 is 10%- faster than the 970 for 80% more money. And a 980ti performs 70% better for 20% more money. See what I mean? It makes a lot more sense to get a 970 or a 980ti depending on what you need. And for 1080p a 970 is plenty. The i5 is not better than the i7, but it performs basically the same in games for a lower price. If you plan on streaming it may be a LITTLE slow though.

I see. That's kind of dumb, why would they charge so much then? I think I'll just go for the 980ti then, and upgrade my monitor in the future, rather than upgrading both the monitor and the gpu later. Thanks!

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why not both with this setup? the hyperthreading of the i7 with the price of an i5, only thing is you cant overclock.

 

 
CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($242.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($113.99 @ B&H) 
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($99.89 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB ACX 2.0+ Video Card  ($649.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: NZXT S340 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($62.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit)  ($89.99 @ NCIX US) 
Monitor: Acer G257HU smidpx 60Hz 25.0" Monitor  ($273.99 @ Mac Mall) 
Total: $1788.69
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-27 19:37 EDT-0400
 
not only does this include a better cpu than an i5, but a better monitor and the 980 ti can run 1440p easily 60fps ultra with plenty of room to spare. if your a tab fiend, 16 gb is a must alongside a larger and better ssd. you can also throw in another 980 ti when you upgrade to 8k (cause 1 980 ti is great for 4k)

 

would it be okay to swap out the EVGA 980ti for an MSI 980ti to keep the red/black look of the build? or would you not recommend it?

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I see. That's kind of dumb, why would they charge so much then?

 

Because they can mostly :P unfortunately most people assume stuff is worth what it costs, and that a higher price reflects how much more stuff you're getting. With the 980ti out I expect its price to get lowered pretty soon though.

Don't ask to ask, just ask... please 🤨

sudo chmod -R 000 /*

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Thanks for the heads up. Just got that build like 15 minutes ago, didn't really see that. Fixed it. Is it worth running a higher resolution with a 1080p monitor? I personally can't afford a 1440p monitor right now, but maybe in the future, I'll get one and keep this 1080p as a second monitor for consoles at my PC desk.

If you want to have a better productivity and gaming experience, then yes you will. That rig also has quite enough power to run at 1440p

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This is actually really solid. I'll keep this in mind once I get my refund and see what kind of budget I have. I'll keep you updated. Also, that CPU... Is it worth not being able to overclock? I get that it's strong, just how strong?

That cpu is very strong and can handle gaming for 5 years cause it has 8 theoretical cores. overclocking really just makes them stronger  cores, but you really dont need to. not overclocking is fine. i still have a build with an i7 2600k  (4 years old) and i havent needed to overclock it just yet, its still kicking so the xeon should do similar.

 

would it be okay to swap out the EVGA 980ti for an MSI 980ti to keep the red/black look of the build? or would you not recommend it?

go ahead and do it. if you want, go for it. it makes no difference.

Rigs I've Built

The Striker i5 4590 @ 3.7 ||  MSI GTX 980 Armor X2 || Corsair RMX 750 || Team Elite Plus 8 GB || Define S || MSI Z97S SLI Krait

The Office PC i3 4160 @ 3.6 || Intel 4600 || EVGA 500B || G.Skill 8 GB || Cooler Master N200 || ASRock H97M Pro4

The Friend PC G3258 @ 4.3 || Sapphire R9 280X Tri-X || EVGA 600B || 8 GB Dell Ram || Cooler Master N200 || ASRock H97M- iTX/ac

The Mom Gaming PC A10-7890K @ 4.4 || iGPU + ASUS R7 250 ||  8 GB Klevv DDR3-2800 Mhz

 

 

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That cpu is very strong and can handle gaming for 5 years cause it has 8 theoretical cores. overclocking really just makes them stronger  cores, but you really dont need to. not overclocking is fine. i still have a build with an i7 2600k  (4 years old) and i havent needed to overclock it just yet, its still kicking so the xeon should do similar.

 

go ahead and do it. if you want, go for it. it makes no difference.

Thanks for the help. Love you <3

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