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Looking at building a new Rig

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UnknownSpectre

UnknownSpectre

Registered
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Joined
Oct 1, 2014
Location
Central PA
Okay, so I am going to look at building a new rig...I have a rather simple question: What should I expect to pay for a gaming rig that can keep up with all of todays games and hopefully last into the next 2 years or so? And what specs should I be looking at building to?

I've started reading the hardware reviews on here, but I figured rather than wading through everything, hopefully I can get a quick and dirty answer this way. Thanks in advance for any input!
 
i7 4790k, asorck z97 extreme4, corsair cx600m, 2x4GB ddr3 1866cl9, ssd samsung 840 evo 250GB, gtx 970, a $100 case and a 212 evo.

That's roughly 1200 bucks.
 
Socket 1150 motherboard with series 9x chipset and 8+2 or better power phase components.

4790k Haswell CPU

8 gb of 1600 mhz or faster RAM

Good aftermarket air cooler or good AIO close loop water cooler

R9 290 or 290x or Nvidia GTX 770 video card

Full tower case with good ventilation (lots of places to mount fans

850 watt or better PSU made by Seasonic, Corsair EVGA or Antec

Hard drive or SSD

OS

Estimated $1000-$1200
 
Okay, so far the two replies both agree on the 4790k and 8GB RAM.

Do I really need an 850 watt power supply or could I get by with a smaller supply (550 - 750?)

And as for cooling, I never got into water cooling in my previous computers, and I guess I should probably read the forums here on cooling...Is water cooling worth it rather versus an after market air cooler?

Thanks for the feedback!
 
I would stick with air cooling if I were you unless you want to get into building custom water loops. The better AIO ("All in One") closed loop kits offer only minor improvements in cooling power over the best air coolers (think, Noctua NH D15) and are more expensive. Water kits also have higher risks associated with pump failure and are more trouble to install.

If you only use one video card you can get away with a less powerful PSU (550-600 watts in a quality PSU would be plenty) but if you ever want to put in a second video card (crossfire or SLI) you would probably have to upgrade to a bigger PSU.

Don't cut corners with the motherboard, the PSU or the case. They are foundational components. If you need to shave some bucks, look at a less expensive CPU or video card and then upgrade those as you can afford to.
 
One place to save some bucks would be to go with an i5 instead of an i7 CPU. Currently, i7 CPUs offer no real advantage over i5 CPUs for gaming. The HT technology which distinguishes the i7 from the i5 is not utilized much in games but in two years that could change.
 
Okay, so that makes sense. I will stick with air cooling in that case.

With video cards getting as powerful as they are, is there any real advantage and gain to using a dual video card set up (if all I plan on doing is gaming and maybe watching videos). Also, you've both suggested the intel chipsets, what about AMD instead of Intel? Or is Intel the go-to chip set these days?
 
Unknown, do you know what screen resolution you plan on playing at?
What games and also do you need all the eye candy turned up?
Do you have a budget in mind?
 
Dual video cards can make a big difference in frame rates with some games but not help at all in others. It really depends on the individual game. It also depends on how big your monitor is (or if you use multiple monitors) and the detail you employ in your gaming. I'm not much of a gamer so I can't address this with regard to specific games you may play but you can research that issue.

AMD has fallen woefully behind Intel in their enthusiast sector CPUs. That may change but it may not. AMD just doesn't have the bucks to invest in R&D that Intel does. The AMD FX-8350 overclocked is not far behind Intel for gaming but in order to run an over-clocked FX-8350 you have to buy a very expensive heavy duty motherboard to handle the heat and power draw and probably add a water cooling kit as well to keep it cool.
 
I don't have a budget in mind, kind of flexible on that. I guess I was looking 1500 and under. As for resolution, not sure on that either, the higher the better. I don't need max settings (looking at playing fps games mainly) but higher settings would be a plus.

Okay, thats what I though with AMD. I remember back in the day they were the preferred chip.

I plan on running a dual monitor setup, I will have to research games, really I want to play the modern fps games (ie battlefield)
 
I will give you this piece of advice: One high end video card will give you better performance and less headaches across the spectrum of games out there than two cheap cards in Crossfire or SLI.
 
You might look at going with say a R9 280x now and then adding a second one in a year or so. It's a higher end card but not their biggest gun. Reasonably priced. Radeon cards tend to give a little more bang for the buck (IMO) but there are more reports of buggy drivers. I am running one in my rig now. Earlier I had two R9 270Xs which gave considerably higher benchmarks but blocked off a PCI slot I needed for something else.
 
:chair:

CPU- Intel i7 4790K.
Intel's 4 core i7 is a little stronger than AMD's 8XXX/9XXX CPUs in games. Why i7 over i5? Hyperthreading. Does it matter right now? No. Will it matter in 2 years, when you still plan to have this PC? Probably. Already there are games out there that can take advantage of (but do not require to run well) more than 4 threads. The i7 may be $100 more than the i5, but I think it is worth while to future proof your system a little bit. Witchdoctor would be my strongest backer on the subject on these forums. Hopefully he will see this and post.

MOBO- ASRock Z97 Extreme6
Good power delivery area, excellent connectivity (TWO M.2 ports. One is ultra M.2) and a great feature set for the price. IMO you can't beat this board for the money. ASRock used to be a bargain bin board maker but they have come a long way and now deliver high quality and high value.

RAM- 2x4GB 2133Mhz Cas11 DDR3
Haswell scales well with faster RAM in games. People have reported gaining a couple of frames per second from going from 1333mhz to 2133mhz RAM. Is it a big difference? No. Quite tiny. But it's there. 2133 kits cost only peanuts more than 1600 kits these days if you shop around. Worth it IMO.

Cooler- Noctua NHD15
It'll fit on this board, due to the first expansion slot being a X1. Best performing air cooler out there. Others have steered you clear of AIO and I won't argue with them. The D15 is ugly, but it gets the job done.

GPU- Nvidia GTX 970
Gtx 780 performance for just over $300. Can't argue with that. Great value for the money and really sips power which will reduce your electric bill

Case- Personal preference
Pick a case that you like the look of, firstly. Look at the airflow it provides. Is it going to provide enough air flow for your overclocked CPU and (probably also overclocked) GPU(s)?
Are there dust filters on all the air intakes? Are they easy to clean? Does the case offer good cable management and routing options? Do you like the mounting system for the HDD/ODD bays? Are the HDD bays removable? Etc.

PSU-
Look at a Seasonic gold rated 600-650W for single 970 and 850W if you plan to add a second 970. Evga Supernova is also very good. If you want to save some $$, and are going single card, get a Corsair CX600. They are rock bottom cheap and pretty reliable.

Storage- Samsung EVO/WD Caviar Blue
I say pick up a 1TB Samsung 840 EVO and be done with it but that'll be outside your budget. Instead grab a 128GB EVO for your OS and important programs, and a 1TB WD Caviar blue for game installs and files.
 
Okay, so consensus says an i7 will do me well. For the price difference from an i5 to an i7, I think I'm agreeing that that is my best option for the processor. I need to look more into that board, but initial reviews I've read are really good for it, but I still will look at some similar boards.

Why 2x4 and not 4x2 for RAM? Just curious on that one...

Looking at the R9 280x vs the GTX 970, it looks like the GTX 970 is the option I am leaning toward. The low power consumption on that is a nice feature, and the price for it is very reasonable

I think, seeing as for now I plan a single card (but will likely upgrade to 2 video cards eventually...probably sooner than later) I will go for an 850w PSU. The price difference from a 650 to an 850 (in my mind) is not a big deal since this will extend the useful life of the PC.

Storage looks to be pretty much exactly what I was originally thinking, an SSD for the OS and a 1TB SATA drive.

Thanks for the input!
 
Six of one half dozen of the other on the ram, but going 2x4GB allows you to drop in another 2x4GB down the road versus having to scrap all 4 sticks in a 4x2 config. If you want a one time ram purchase, go 2x8GB (THIS for example)

Evga Supernova G2 for 850W is the arguably best out there and most reasonably priced (I own the 750). Here is the review... not many PSU's get 10's and none are priced this well - http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story6&reid=377
 
So, you're suggesting the EVGA Supernova G2 for my power supply instead of the previously suggested Seasonic Gold? I'll take a look at that review, and I'll look up reviews of the Seasonic.
 
Theocnoob said:
:chair:

CPU- Intel i7 4790K.
Intel's 4 core i7 is a little stronger than AMD's 8XXX/9XXX CPUs in games. Why i7 over i5? Hyperthreading. Does it matter right now? No. Will it matter in 2 years, when you still plan to have this PC? Probably. Already there are games out there that can take advantage of (but do not require to run well) more than 4 threads. The i7 may be $100 more than the i5, but I think it is worth while to future proof your system a little bit. Witchdoctor would be my strongest backer on the subject on these forums. Hopefully he will see this and post.

MOBO- ASRock Z97 Extreme6
Good power delivery area, excellent connectivity (TWO M.2 ports. One is ultra M.2) and a great feature set for the price. IMO you can't beat this board for the money. ASRock used to be a bargain bin board maker but they have come a long way and now deliver high quality and high value.

RAM- 2x4GB 2133Mhz Cas11 DDR3
Haswell scales well with faster RAM in games. People have reported gaining a couple of frames per second from going from 1333mhz to 2133mhz RAM. Is it a big difference? No. Quite tiny. But it's there. 2133 kits cost only peanuts more than 1600 kits these days if you shop around. Worth it IMO.

Cooler- Noctua NHD15
It'll fit on this board, due to the first expansion slot being a X1. Best performing air cooler out there. Others have steered you clear of AIO and I won't argue with them. The D15 is ugly, but it gets the job done.

GPU- Nvidia GTX 970
Gtx 780 performance for just over $300. Can't argue with that. Great value for the money and really sips power which will reduce your electric bill

Case- Personal preference
Pick a case that you like the look of, firstly. Look at the airflow it provides. Is it going to provide enough air flow for your overclocked CPU and (probably also overclocked) GPU(s)?
Are there dust filters on all the air intakes? Are they easy to clean? Does the case offer good cable management and routing options? Do you like the mounting system for the HDD/ODD bays? Are the HDD bays removable? Etc.

PSU-
Look at a Seasonic gold rated 600-650W for single 970 and 850W if you plan to add a second 970. Evga Supernova is also very good. If you want to save some $$, and are going single card, get a Corsair CX600. They are rock bottom cheap and pretty reliable.

Storage- Samsung EVO/WD Caviar Blue
I say pick up a 1TB Samsung 840 EVO and be done with it but that'll be outside your budget. Instead grab a 128GB EVO for your OS and important programs, and a 1TB WD Caviar blue for game installs and files.
Click to expand...

To add to this post...

Why the heck would you buy CAS 11 RAM??? I'd take 1600 CL9 over 2133 CL11.
That said, get this kit: G.SKILL Ares 2133MHz CL9 2x4GB

If the NH-D15 is too tall for your case of choice look at the NH-D14 or the Xigmatek Dark Knight.

GPU, get an EVGA GTX 970 with the ACX 2.0 cooler.
The FTW version catches my eye ;)

I would look at the following cases:
- Corsair 450D
- Corsair Air 540 (or in white)
- NZXT Phantom Series

PSU, grab an EVGA SuperNova G2 750W or 850W. The price/quality/warranty ratio can't be beaten.

I'd say to get AT A MINIMUM a 250GB SSD. I would suggest an 840 EVO 500GB though, as they've been on sale for ~$240 a lot lately.
 
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