Help a noob out

So here is my deal. It all started with this monitor LG Electronics WQHD IPS Curved 34-Inch LED-Lit Monitor (34UC97-S). I am planning on getting this monitor, and I looking for PC to drive this. I can't say I'm hardcore gamer, but I do take it seriously. Play maybe about 2 hour a day(xbox). I'm looking for a PC to run my office stuff. Quickbooks, MS words, stuff like that. I know, nothing big here, but I would like to be able to play games on it over the weekend. I'm looking a PC that will run this monitor to the MAX. I would like to run games at their max setting. I know this monitor isn't the best for gaming, but I would like a PC to match it. I DON'T do any type of vidoe or photo editing, if this will help with the build. Can some one point me into the right direction, either turn key or custom build. Any idea on cost turn key vs custom build.

THANKS

Dennis

Go custom.
What's your budget?

ATMINSIDE said:

Go custom.
What's your budget?

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I don't really have one, but at the same time, I don't want anything that will over kill that monitor. Its not like Im planning on gaming on a triple 4k monitor. Just something that will push that monitor to the limit. I guess the best way I can explain it is, I dont really need a ps4 with HDMI out put, when I have a 480p RCA connector TV. One thing I know I would like is SSD harddrive. I love the way how fast that stuff boots up.

If your willing to spend that kind of money on a monitor, you should be able to afford a GTX 980 video card. That should drive that monitor just fine.

1440p @ 980 isn't going to be enough to "max" everything with 60fps. Not even close on some titles.

380/390x are around the corner, OP would be wise to wait.

bob4933 said:

1440p @ 980 isn't going to be enough to "max" everything with 60fps. Not even close on some titles.

380/390x are around the corner, OP would be wise to wait.

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It should be, I can max everything at 4k with SLI 980s, and scaling isn't exact.

Mathmatically speaking, 4k's pixel count is 8,294,400, where as 1440p's is less than half of that at 3,686,400. So, if two can handle 4k, one should be able to handle 1440p.

To be clear, I do have to turn AA down or off at 4k on titles like BF4, but you hardly need it at high resolutions.

That is not a regular 1440p monitor (2560x1440), but a 3440x1440 pixel ultrawide monitor. This has 4,953,600 pixels. I believe a GTX 980 is required.

AnimeMania said:

That is not a regular 1440p monitor (2560x1440), but a 3440x1440 pixel ultrawide monitor. This has 4,953,600 pixels. I believe a GTX 980 is required.

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Indeed, I missed that.

Regardless, I stand by my statement. A single 980 should be able to max that monitor out, at least right now.

However, it would be wise with such little time left for the new video cards' release, to wait. If that isn't an option right now, the 980 should serve you well. And there's always SLI down the road if you need it, but you aren't going to get a better single card solution for anything near that price.

647chang said:

Any idea on cost turn key vs custom build

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Do you mean purchasing pre-build vs building it yourself?
Pre-build will cost 1.5-2x as much for the same parts, plus Dell/HP/etc will pre-install a bunch of crap on your computer that will immediately bog it down. You get a warranty with turn-key, sure, but you'll probably be dealing with a call center if you use it...
If you take your time and carefully build your own, you're probably not going to have any problems, and this forum is fantastic at troubleshooting!

647chang said:

Its not like Im planning on gaming on a triple 4k monitor.

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One can dream!!

647chang said:

One thing I know I would like is SSD harddrive. I love the way how fast that stuff boots up.

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YAS.

Dlaw said:

It should be, I can max everything at 4k with SLI 980s, and scaling isn't exact.

Mathmatically speaking, 4k's pixel count is 8,294,400, where as 1440p's is less than half of that at 3,686,400. So, if two can handle 4k, one should be able to handle 1440p.

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Mathematically, correct. Less than half the pixels, more than half the GPU output due to imperfect scaling.
However, I'll make a note that that particular monitor is a 21:9 aspect ratio 1440p monitor, not a 16:9 one, so it actually has 4,953,600 pixels. That's 60% of 4k, and a single 980 will spit out about 55-60% of the performance of 980 SLI (quickly looking at a few benchmarks), so it should be a good ballpark estimate to say that a single 980 would be able to max that monitor out if Dlaw can max 4k with 980 SLI.

Now parts!
Here is a list I put together real quick: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/gBCzdC

It's missing:
A case (lots of choices, personal preference)
Case fans (I recommend Noctuas)
Optical drive (if you need one)
Peripherals (completely personal preference)

Notes:
You may want to wait for the 390x or 980ti around the corner as far as the graphics card goes.
You may want more or less SSD storage, and you may also want to add a hard drive also if you want a ton of inexpensive storage.

Hope this helps!!

Dlaw said:

It should be, I can max everything at 4k with SLI 980s, and scaling isn't exact.

Mathmatically speaking, 4k's pixel count is 8,294,400, where as 1440p's is less than half of that at 3,686,400. So, if two can handle 4k, one should be able to handle 1440p.

To be clear, I do have to turn AA down or off at 4k on titles like BF4, but you hardly need it at high resolutions.

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"max" isn't a misnomer. If you need a caveat to include it under "max" its not "max".

A single 980 doesn't "max" 1440p (much less this beast) on many titles. Also, I specified an FPS marker as well. If you can get 35fps playing crysis 3, go nuts. I don't consider that "acceptable", but to each their own.

Also -> ton's of benchmarks of gtx 980's and 1440p and 2k. I frequently see ~40fps. Games aren't exactly getting less demanding either.

On 4k though, you don't need AA due to it's pixel density. Though you are sacrificing IQ by lowering or disabling AA, again, it's tough to see any improvements because of the extreme pixels density. This, to me, is an acceptable sacrifice.

I would imagine a single 980 would be fine on most titles now and moving forward. I ran a 980 at 2560x1440 and it barely flinched for what I threw at it. I'm not a FPS watcher but can tell you it was buttery smooth. Also, xx fps in a FPS is a lot different in a MMO or RPG.

I'd go single 980 out of the gate. If that isn't enough, then get another. If you can wait about 3 weeks for AMD'S new cards, sit tight and see what it has to offer and at what pricepoint then go from there.

I run a single 980 for 5760x1080.
That's 6,220,800 and I can max or nearly max everything I've played.

A single 980 is plenty, but plan for an upgrade or SLI within a year or two

Thanks everyone for the fast reply back.

I'm probably going to do a build months from now. So I'll wait for the new video card to come out and see what it has to offer. It'll probably going to be pricey, since its the newest and greatest right?

GearingMass :
Any reason to go with a i5 and not an i7. Is an i7 an overkill for this set up/gaming.

Is it cheaper to do 500 GB SSD and 1TB HD or just go with a 1 TB SSD? I have a 2 TB HD in my work computer right now, is there a way to reformat this thing and put it into the gaming PC? (Like I said I a total noob at this)

yes the I7 will be overkill.
yes you can reformat the hdd and go with a 500 gig ssd even a 250 will do fine.

I'd go with a 500GB SSD then reuse the 2TB

"Months" from nkw, this thread is kind of pointless with everything new coming out...

Everything will change very quickly this year. New api, (speculative) amazing graphics cards, new chips from intel and amd....

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caddi daddi said:

yes the I7 will be overkill.
yes you can reformat the hdd and go with a 500 gig ssd even a 250 will do fine.

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Eh, games are now starting to use more and more cores/threads. An i7 isn't overkill for gaming anymore...

but for a weekend gamer he can save a few bucks with the I5
if the games that come out are unlike the software I use, my programs can't use virtual cores, then the I7 is in.

For sure, don't disagree with that at all. Just saying an i7 is no longer "overkill" any more. Take gta 5 for example. That game loves it's cores.

caddi daddi said:

yes the I7 will be overkill.
yes you can reformat the hdd and go with a 500 gig ssd even a 250 will do fine.

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ATMINSIDE said:

I'd go with a 500GB SSD then reuse the 2TB

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Definitely cheaper to reuse your HDD, and also grab a 250/500 GB SSD. You just need enough SSD space to store your OS, programs, and whatever games you're currently playing. Everything else can go on the HDD. 250 would probably be plenty of space for this, especially if you're playing stock games. If you're modding Skyrim and adding 50GB of mods and playing other games concurrently, you might want to shoot for a 500GB SSD. Totally up to you.

caddi daddi said:

but for a weekend gamer he can save a few bucks with the I5
if the games that come out are unlike the software I use, my programs can't use virtual cores, then the I7 is in.

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Very true. Take a quick look through this. You'll be plenty fine with the i5.
Two cases where you'd choose the i7 instead:
1) As bob said above, you're banking on games starting to utilize the extra threads the i7 offers and feel it's worth the extra money.
2) You're willing to pay the premium to go with the i7 in order to squeeze out an extra little bit of performance with current games and possibly have a slightly better overclocking experience.

Or you're like me and both cases apply!

As said though, if you're waiting to build anyway, then good on you, because a lot of this is probably going to change over the next few months.