980 or R9 390x

[Skittleslovers02]

I am starting a build for my friend and he plays on one single 1080p monitor. His computer right now is not up to date (Pentium 4) so he has asked me to build him a computer in the $1600CAD range. build so far with out gpu:

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/7ryd4D

if anyone has a idea to make the build better aswell i would like to know. (It is my 4th time build a computer so i am not the best with component choice)

 

[RAAL4]

9 minutes ago, Skittleslovers02 said:

I am starting a build for my friend and he plays on one single 1080p monitor. His computer right now is not up to date (Pentium 4) so he has asked me to build him a computer in the $1600CAD range. build so far with out gpu:

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/7ryd4D

if anyone has a idea to make the build better aswell i would like to know. (It is my 4th time build a computer so i am not the best with component choice)

 

your liquid cpu cooler works just as good as a noctua, unless your getting a dual 120 rad, go with a noctua air cooler.

and since its an mini case i would go with a low thermal GPU.

 

i would also wait for the pascal series gpus to come out if your going for higher end gpus

[Castdeath97]

Overall the 980 is faster, but in terms of value to price the R9 390X stomps it. Since you already can afford the 980 might as well get it, unless your friend can afford to pay more to get a 980Ti or a cheaper R9 fury (non-x)

[SeanAngelo]

12 minutes ago, Skittleslovers02 said:

I am starting a build for my friend and he plays on one single 1080p monitor. His computer right now is not up to date (Pentium 4) so he has asked me to build him a computer in the $1600CAD range. build so far with out gpu:

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/7ryd4D

if anyone has a idea to make the build better aswell i would like to know. (It is my 4th time build a computer so i am not the best with component choice)

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($324.95 @ shopRBC) 
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler  ($99.00 @ Vuugo) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170XP-SLI ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($155.50 @ Vuugo) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($59.89 @ DirectCanada) 
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($117.45 @ Vuugo) 
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($155.94 @ shopRBC) 
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 390 8GB Video Card  ($455.89 @ Newegg Canada) 
Case: NZXT S340 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($98.05 @ Vuugo) 
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($130.01 @ DirectCanada) 
Total: $1596.68
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-24 08:41 EDT-0400

[Skittleslovers02]

OK

 

 

[HKZeroFive]

Generally 120mm AIOs aren't worth it, an air cooler is usually a better solution.

 

Just refined the build a bit with a better PSU and cooler. Added a R9 Nano because I think it suits a compact build like this quite well:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($324.95 @ shopRBC) 
CPU Cooler: be quiet! PURE ROCK 51.7 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($49.99 @ BestDirect) 
Motherboard: ASRock Z170M Extreme4 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($163.50 @ Vuugo) 
Memory: Kingston FURY 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($46.30 @ DirectCanada) 
Storage: A-Data Premier SP550 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($77.99 @ NCIX) 
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($89.45 @ Vuugo) 
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 Nano 4GB Video Card  ($649.99 @ NCIX) 
Case: Thermaltake Core V21 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($80.72 @ DirectCanada) 
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($108.98 @ Amazon Canada) 
Total: $1591.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-24 08:42 EDT-0400

[Blatcher2]

I think you could get a better CPU cooler for the money and don't get two 1 TB drives unless he really needs RAID..... Otherwise build seems strong. The 980 (with ecen a factory OC) outperforms the 390x by 10 - 15 %. However, you said your friend wants a CAD computer, please elaborate because it makes more sense to get a Quadro (or FirePro) if he is mostly CADing.

[Skydiver]

Well looking at your ssd, I would recommend a smaller but faster one if you only plan to use it for the OS :). The Adata is pretty slow in my opinion.

As for the gpu, all really depends on if you can manage the heat (as you have a small case) of the R9 390x and the price difference in your country. Also if your friend wishes to have the nvidia functions that come with the Geforce program like screen recording than the gtx 980 would be a safe bet. Another difference between the two cards is the amount of vram: the gtx 980 has 4gb but the 390x has 8gb, so depending on how future games will be coded, the r9 390x might be an advantage in the future. Both cards have around the same performance, so it really comes down to the heat and price.

 

Note: the 390x consumes more power

[Skittleslovers02]

1 minute ago, HKZeroFive said:

Generally 120mm AIOs aren't worth it, an air cooler is usually a better solution.

 

Just refined the build a bit with a better PSU and cooler. Added a R9 Nano because I think it suits a compact build like this quite well:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($324.95 @ shopRBC) 
CPU Cooler: be quiet! PURE ROCK 51.7 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($49.99 @ BestDirect) 
Motherboard: ASRock Z170M Extreme4 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($163.50 @ Vuugo) 
Memory: Kingston FURY 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($46.30 @ DirectCanada) 
Storage: A-Data Premier SP550 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($77.99 @ NCIX) 
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($89.45 @ Vuugo) 
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 Nano 4GB Video Card  ($649.99 @ NCIX) 
Case: Thermaltake Core V21 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($80.72 @ DirectCanada) 
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($108.98 @ Amazon Canada) 
Total: $1591.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-24 08:42 EDT-0400

 

 

is there anyway to add a second hard drive for a raid 1?

[Skittleslovers02]

2 minutes ago, Blatcher2 said:

I think you could get a better CPU cooler for the money and don't get two 1 TB drives unless he really needs RAID..... Otherwise build seems strong. The 980 (with ecen a factory OC) outperforms the 390x by 10 - 15 %. However, you said your friend wants a CAD computer, please elaborate because it makes more sense to get a Quadro (or FirePro) if he is mostly CADing.

CAD means Canadian dollars btw

[Skittleslovers02]

2 minutes ago, Skydiver said:

Well looking at your ssd, I would recommend a smaller but faster one if you only plan to use it for the OS :). The Adata is pretty slow in my opinion.

As for the gpu, all really depends on if you can manage the heat (as you have a small case) of the R9 390x and the price difference in your country. Also if your friend wishes to have the nvidia functions that come with the Geforce program like screen recording than the gtx 980 would be a safe bet. Another difference between the two cards is the amount of vram: the gtx 980 has 4gb but the 390x has 8gb, so depending on how future games will be coded, the r9 390x might be an advantage in the future. Both cards have around the same performance, so it really comes down to the heat and price.

 

Note: the 390x consumes more power

he runs a small youtube channel and is looking to start computer games on the channel (he is on the ps4 right now)

[HKZeroFive]

5 minutes ago, Skittleslovers02 said:

is there anyway to add a second hard drive for a raid 1?

For what reason? You won't see any added benefits. The redundancy is kinda negligible.

 

It'll also drive up the cost of the build as well. A single 2TB is the better choice.

[SoloDolo]

The 390x is probably the best price to performance card for 144hz 1080p monitors or 60hz 1440p monitors. The GTX 980 is priced still at a bit less than $500 but really offers nothing better for gaming. The R9 Fury really shines at the $500 price range as its great at 1440p and does well at even 4k. All for the price of the weaker GTX 980. If you want Nvidia have him save up and get a 980 Ti.