Gaming Build: System Check

ClockworkOJ

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Jul 21, 2013
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Hey all! After getting some great advice the other day from you guys (and gals) I did a good bit more research on components, builds etc. in the price range I'm aiming for. If you could critique my build to make sure I don't have any issues (clearance, bottlenecks, and so forth) I would be greatly appreciative. Btw I'm trying to keep the system around $1,000 (+/- 100) since I need to buy an OS, and peripherals.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1k1as

Some specific questions I have:
1. Will a mid-size tower be sufficient? Especially considering I would like to eventually run a dual video card set-up later this year.
2. Does my PSU provide ample power for such a setup?
3. Will this rig be able to support dual monitors?
4. With the GTX 760 and Radeon HD 7950 so close in price, does one have a significant advantage over the other?
5. I've gotten so much help from you guys, I feel I should give back to the community. What's a good way to start (given my lack of expertise..)?
 
Solution
For a dual card configuration you will want to upgrade your powersupply, I suggest at least a 650 watt powersupply. Everything else looks fantastic, personally I would've chosen a different case but the shinobi is still a great option.

EDIT: In a rig for my friend I put in a 120gb ssd and now realize that it was a mistake, especially for gamers. The 120gb will fill up extremely quick. The OS and a few big applications will be 30gb, leaving 90gb for games which fills up much quicker than you would think. Most AAA games are around 10-15 gb, such as bioshock is 15gb, tomb raider is 10 gb.

bob hays

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Nov 21, 2012
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For a dual card configuration you will want to upgrade your powersupply, I suggest at least a 650 watt powersupply. Everything else looks fantastic, personally I would've chosen a different case but the shinobi is still a great option.

EDIT: In a rig for my friend I put in a 120gb ssd and now realize that it was a mistake, especially for gamers. The 120gb will fill up extremely quick. The OS and a few big applications will be 30gb, leaving 90gb for games which fills up much quicker than you would think. Most AAA games are around 10-15 gb, such as bioshock is 15gb, tomb raider is 10 gb.
 
Solution
Good build.

1. case is fine
2. PSU is fine for one card. If you want to run dual cards, you need 700W.
Here is my canned rant against cf/sli:
-----------------------------Start of rant----------------------------------------------------
Dual graphics cards vs. a good single card.

a) How good do you really need to be?
A single GTX650/ti or 7770 can give you good performance at 1920 x 1200 in most games.

A single GTX660 or 7850 will give you excellent performance at 1920 x 1200 in most games.
Even 2560 x 1600 will be good with lowered detail.
A single gtx690 is about as good as it gets.

Only if you are looking at triple monitor gaming, then sli/cf will be needed.
Even that is now changing with triple monitor support on top end cards.

b) The costs for a single card are lower.
You require a less expensive motherboard; no need for sli/cf or multiple pci-e slots.
Even a ITX motherboard will do.

Your psu costs are less.
A GTX660 needs a 430w psu, even a GTX680 only needs a 600w psu.
When you add another card to the mix, plan on adding 150-200w to your psu requirements.

Even the strongest GTX690 only needs 620w.

Case cooling becomes more of an issue with dual cards.
That means a more expensive case with more and stronger fans.
You will also look at more noise.

c) Dual cards do not always render their half of the display in sync, causing microstuttering. It is an annoying effect.
The benefit of higher benchmark fps can be offset, particularly with lower tier cards.
Read this: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-geforce-stutter-crossfire,2995.html

d) dual card support is dependent on the driver. Not all games can benefit from dual cards.

e) cf/sli up front reduces your option to get another card for an upgrade. Not that I suggest you plan for that.
It will often be the case that replacing your current card with a newer gen card will offer a better upgrade path.
The Maxwell and amd 8000 series are due next year.
-------------------------------End of rant-----------------------------------------------------------
and... cf has not done well in amd drivers, causing more stuttering than nvidia
3. No problem with dual monitors.
4. Experience is what you get when things do not go as planned.
Enjoy the hobby and don't get too much experience.
 

ClockworkOJ

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Jul 21, 2013
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@geo: That article was very enlightening, that's the first time I've heard of microstuttering before. Thanks for the heads-up :) So, it seems like when I wish to up my graphics performance, I'd be better off simply investing in a better card than buying a cheaper, identical one.

@bob: Thanks for pointing out the size issue. Are there any remedies that you can think of aside from simply buying a larger SSD? (out of my budget unfortunately) And out of curiosity, what do you like in a case (I'm not entirely sold on the shinobi, I just know I want something white with a good window :p)?
 

bob hays

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Nov 21, 2012
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Often a much better solution is simply to get a high quality single harddrive. An ssd is VERY nice to have but it's uses are limited. It can give you faster boot up times and load times. It is also good when working with large files for video editing etc. If you just want fast boot up times you can get a 60 gb ssd, put your os, and some programs on there and be fine. If you want all your games on the ssd, you must either get a larger one or only have a few games on the ssd.
 

bob hays

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Nov 21, 2012
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I prefer the clean look of this antec case as to the shinobi, but of course it depends on your preference.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129188
the link was just for the pictures I am sure you can purchase it at another site.
 

ClockworkOJ

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Jul 21, 2013
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Yeah my goal is to improve boot times on my primary OS and response times for my most-used programs. I plan on running using the second hard-disk for a linux distro/general storage.
 

bob hays

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Nov 21, 2012
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Often you can fit quite a few programs on low storage ssd because the programs themselves don't take as much space. As long as you don't want to put any games on the ssd, the 120gb should be just fine.
 

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