New Gaming PC

[cmc]

I've been needing to upgrade my setup for a while now; it's been four years since I built my last one and she's starting to slow down a good bit. I've been looking forward to getting to use an SSD for at least my OS to pick the pace up. I don't really have a budget for a new system, though I'd definitely like to keep it under $2000, and close $1500 if possible, but it's lenient. My main issue is I don't know which components go well with others with minimal bottlenecking; I'm more concerned with getting a well-balanced system than an over-the-top setup. That said I want to base the rig around the ASUS DirectCU II R9 280X. I have a sort-of fit together idea of what I might like, but I don't know if some of the parts area really higher up or pulled back for what I'm going for. So far I have:

 

Motherboard     ASUS Maximus VI Formula ($300)

 

CPU     Intel i7-4771 ($320)

 

GPU     AMD (ASUS) 280X DIRECTCU II ($330)

 

RAM     Corsair Vengeance (2x8GB) ($120)

 

Basic Storage     Intel 520 Series 120GB SSD ($175)

 

Mass Storage     Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB Hard Drive ($120)

 

Case     ?   (~$120)

 

Power Supply     Corsair AX860i ($215)

 

Cooling     ?   (~$120?)

 

Sum     (~$1820)

 

 

As shown above, I really don't know what case or cooling would work best. I have a pretty bad dust problem in terms of the case, and I don't know what size or style would work best for cooling. For cooling I'd like to try basic CPU water cooling but I'm not sure how the rest should be set up, and I'm really not sure how much that cooling costs.

 

Thanks for the help!

[lachyman]

Way too bad for gaming. Wrongly spent money on things that don't increase performance.

[lachyman]

Here is my suggestion, much faster for much less:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

 

CPU:  Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($200.49 @ SuperBiiz) 

CPU Cooler:  Swiftech H220 55.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($129.99 @ NCIX US) 

Motherboard:  Asus Maximus VI Hero ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($189.99 @ NCIX US) 

Memory:  Corsair Vengeance Pro 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($92.04 @ NCIX US) 

Storage:  Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  ($172.99 @ Amazon) 

Storage:  Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($82.98 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card:  Asus GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card  ($518.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Case:  Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($117.98 @ Newegg) 

Case Fan:  Corsair Air Series AF120 Performance Edition 63.5 CFM 120mm  Fan  ($14.99 @ Newegg) 

Case Fan:  Corsair Air Series AF120 Performance Edition (2-Pack) 63.5 CFM 120mm  Fans  ($27.98 @ OutletPC) 

Case Fan:  Corsair Air Series SP120 High Performance Edition (2-Pack) 62.7 CFM 120mm  Fans  ($27.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply:  XFX ProSeries 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($99.99 @ NCIX US) 

Total: $1676.40

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-26 11:23 EST-0500)

 

You can even add a second 780.

[chicksoup]

don't get a 280x....you're also overspending on the motherboard and in my eyes SSD. for that price you can get a 250gb ssd from samsung

[cmc]

Thanks all for the suggestions.  Glad I ran this through a forum before wasting a good few hundred.

[cjeffcoatjr]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

 

CPU:  Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($200.49 @ SuperBiiz) 

CPU Cooler:  Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($99.93 @ Amazon) 

Motherboard:  Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD4H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($159.99 @ Microcenter) 

Memory:  A-Data XPG V2 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2400 Memory  ($139.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage:  Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  ($89.99 @ Amazon) 

Storage:  Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($61.25 @ Amazon) 

Video Card:  Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 4GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire)  ($405.91 @ Newegg) 

Video Card:  Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 4GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire)  ($405.91 @ Newegg) 

Case:  Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($117.98 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply:  Corsair 760W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($144.99 @ NCIX US) 

Other: Corsair sleeved cabeing ($100.00)

Total: $1926.43

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-26 11:44 EST-0500)

 

Run the GPU's in quiet mode. Quiet, epic, and sexy as hell. 

[oliverthegeekuk]

Here is a great rig:

 

CPU: Core i5 4670K-Best bange for buck cpu out there, no need for i7 as games do even need the hyper threading

MoBo: Asus Maximus IV Gene- If an awesome board

RAM: 16Gb of Corasir 1600mhz- 16GB, yes you only need 8GB for games but might as well get 16GB     becouse it will give you a bit of leway if you do any video editing .ect in the future.

GPU: Asus Radeon R9 290X- It's in budget so step up in performance, but if want to save go woth the 280X
SSD:180GB Intel 335 series ssd- Fast and reliable
HDD: 2TB WD Red- Again fast and reliable, go with 2 if you want redundancy if you put it in RAID 1

PSU: 750W Corsair RM750-Full modular and more than enough power.

Case: Corsair Obsidian 350D- Great matx case

Cooler: Corsair H80i or H100i- Very reliable and cool.

 

This just by chance is the same rig I’m purchasing for my self al the moment.

[lachyman]

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

 

CPU:  Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($200.49 @ SuperBiiz) 

CPU Cooler:  Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($99.93 @ Amazon) 

Motherboard:  Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD4H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($159.99 @ Microcenter) 

Memory:  A-Data XPG V2 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2400 Memory  ($139.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage:  Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  ($89.99 @ Amazon) 

Storage:  Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($61.25 @ Amazon) 

Video Card:  Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 4GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire)  ($405.91 @ Newegg) 

Video Card:  Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 4GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire)  ($405.91 @ Newegg) 

Case:  Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($117.98 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply:  Corsair 760W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($144.99 @ NCIX US) 

Other: Corsair sleeved cabeing ($100.00)

Total: $1926.43

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-26 11:44 EST-0500)

 

Run the GPU's in quiet mode. Quiet, epic, and sexy as hell. 

 

Not even close to quiet. 290 doesn't have quiet and uber mode and at 50% it's loud as f*ck.

[cjeffcoatjr]

Not even close to quiet. 290 doesn't have quiet and uber mode and at 50% it's loud as f*ck.

Then he can set it to a low fan target at around 30%. It will still beast everything. 

[lachyman]

Then he can set it to a low fan target at around 30%. It will still beast everything. 

If you set it below 50% the card will throttle in games = FPS drops = bad experience.

[brob]

An i7 build with the Asus 280X DirectCU II gpu and 16GB memory. More than needed today but should provide staying power.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU:  Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($299.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler:  Corsair H80i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($83.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard:  Asus Maximus VI Hero ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($189.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory:  G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Storage:  Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  ($172.99 @ Amazon)
Storage:  Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($61.25 @ Amazon)
Video Card:  Asus Radeon R9 280X 3GB Video Card  ($315.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case:  Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($99.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply:  SeaSonic 660W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($113.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1488.16
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-26 13:06 EST-0500)

[cmc]

So at this point I'm planning a similar build to lachyman's suggestion. I made a few changes based on some shopping I did today to look at in-store prices and my own personal preferences:

 

Motherboard: Asus Maximus VI Hero ATX ($199.99 @ Microcenter)

CPU: Intel i5-4670K ( >$200 @ Microcenter)

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 2X8GB (prices varied, more expensive in-store, but it was also for the Pro version or for 4X4GB) 

Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB ($99 @ Microcenter)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200 RPM ($85 in-store)

Case: Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 (Personal Preference)

Power Supply: Corsair GS800W ($85 in-store, I'm not sure how much wattage I'll really need, but it was only about $10 more than the 650W)

 

I'm still deciding on which GPU I'll choose, though. And again, thanks for all the help and suggestions.

[WoodenMarker]

don't get a 280x....you're also overspending on the motherboard and in my eyes SSD. for that price you can get a 250gb ssd from samsung

What's bad about the 280x..?

 

@cmc What are your current specs?

You need to quote a post or tag a member or else they won't get a notification you replied to them.

[chicksoup]

What's bad about the 280x..?

 

@cmc What are your current specs?

You need to quote a post or tag a member or else they won't get a notification you replied to them.

sry I guess it's not that bad, but when you've got the chance to get a after market 290 you're better off and I at first thought of the normal 280

[WoodenMarker]

sry I guess it's not that bad, but when you've got the chance to get a after market 290 you're better off and I at first thought of the normal 280

The 280 isn't out yet..

[cmc]

@WoodenMarker My previous system included a Radeon HD6790 and an Intel i5-2400, 8GB Ripjaws RAM from 2007, and a P8P67LE Motherboard. It's been a few days, and I have to say I've gone out and splurged and bought the majority of my new system (the most recent stated above) save the video card. At this point I'm planning on getting an R9 290 with an after-market cooler once they (hopefully) come out in mid-December.

[WoodenMarker]

@WoodenMarker My previous system included a Radeon HD6790 and an Intel i5-2400, 8GB Ripjaws RAM from 2007, and a P8P67LE Motherboard. It's been a few days, and I have to say I've gone out and splurged and bought the majority of my new system (the most recent stated above) save the video card. At this point I'm planning on getting an R9 290 with an after-market cooler once they (hopefully) come out in mid-December.

Full specs please?