Final Decision Between Two Builds

[Codsworth]

    Hey guys! To start, I'm coming here from the Tek Syndicate forums just so I can get more opinions on what build I should go with (not because I dont trust them, but simply because it's not every day that I shell out $1700). They all seemed to unanimously leaning towards build B, although I originally wanted to go with nVidia, so I figured I should just see what you guys have to say. I've been looking to build a PC for Fallout 4/other games at 1440p lately, and after quite a bit of research, I've come up with these two builds. Like I said, I'm a little leaning towards Build A, as it has a 980 ti, and I've always liked nVidia/EVGA, but if Build B is better, then I'll certainly go with it. Build B on the other hand, has an R9 Fury, a step down from the 980 ti, but has an awesome freesync 27" monitor (never have been one for huge monitors) that is also 1440p. The tradeoff with build A is that it doesn't take advantage of G-Sync, as I can't squeeze a 1440p G-Sync monitor into it as it is. That's where you help me decide; GTX 980 ti or Fury/Freesync? Thanks!

 

Build A:

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/8Y6XD31

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/8Y6XD3/by_merchant/

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.99 @ Newegg) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($26.99 @ Amazon) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($89.99 @ Amazon)  

Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($36.97 @ SuperBiiz) 

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($44.99 @ Newegg) 

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($619.99 @ Amazon) 

Case: Corsair 350D Window MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Amazon) 

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ Amazon) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($85.00 @ SuperBiiz) 

Monitor: Asus PB258Q 60Hz 25.0" Monitor ($279.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: ~$1573.85

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-25 18:10 EST-0500

 

Build B:

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2VfHCJ1

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2VfHCJ/by_merchant/

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.99 @ Newegg) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($26.99 @ Amazon) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($89.99 @ Amazon) 

Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($36.97 @ SuperBiiz) 

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($44.99 @ Newegg) 

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 Fury 4GB Tri-X Video Card ($499.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Case: Corsair 350D Window MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Amazon) 

Power Supply: NZXT HALE82 V2 700W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ Newegg) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($85.00 @ SuperBiiz) 

Monitor: Asus MG278Q 144Hz 27.0" Monitor ($509.99 @ Amazon) 

Total: $1673.89

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-25 20:07 EST-0500

[GalacticRuler]

Why would you get a H97 with a K series processor?

[Altecice]

From my experience I would go for build A for the exact reason you state "I'm a little leaning towards Build A, as it has a 980 ti, and I've always liked nVidia/EVGA"... AMD is fine but its lack of day one driver support and general support is lacking to say the least. I have swapped between Nvidia and AMD and every time I go to AMD I have issues. Im not fanboying over Nvidia its just simple facts that you get a better overall experience (hardware and software) from Nvidia than AMD for now.

 

The extra 2Gb of VRAM on the 980ti wont hurt with 1440p either.

[Codsworth]

Why would you get a H97 with a K series processor?

Oops, forgot to swap that out like I did on build B; fixed. Which build would you think now?

 

From my experience I would go for build A for the exact reason you state "I'm a little leaning towards Build A, as it has a 980 ti, and I've always liked nVidia/EVGA"... AMD is fine but its lack of day one driver support and general support is lacking to say the least. I have swapped between Nvidia and AMD and every time I go to AMD I have issues. Im not fanboying over Nvidia its just simple facts that you get a better overall experience (hardware and software) from Nvidia than AMD for now.

 

The extra 2Gb of VRAM on the 980ti wont hurt with 1440p either.

What about Freesync, wouldn't that make gameplay much smoother than it would be on the nVidia side? I hate to sound so contradictory, but people over there seemed so sure AMD was the way to go for my build.

[Altecice]

Oops, forgot to swap that out like I did on build B; fixed. Which build would you think now?

 

What about Freesync, wouldn't that make gameplay much smoother than it would be on the nVidia side? I hate to sound so contradictory, but people over there seemed so sure AMD was the way to go for my build.

 

You could always go for a G-Sync monitor?

[Codsworth]

You could always go for a G-Sync monitor?

I wish I could; 1440p G-sync monitors are ridiculously expensive .

[GalacticRuler]

Yep, now Build A seems better.

[Codsworth]

Yep, now Build A seems better.

Really? I mean, everyone over at TS was siding with with AMD, as it had Freesync capabilities. Is Freesync really not that worth it? Keep in mind that with build A, there's no way I could utilize G-sync.

[brob]

Build A, but add a 240+GB ssd.

 

If you need to trim a bit consider a few substitutions. Corsair Carbide Series 88R MicroATX Mid Tower Case, SeaSonic G 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply instead of the 650W EVGA.