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Building A PS4/Xbox One Equivalent Steam Box

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  • Video Games
  • Games
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  • Intel
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September 25, 2013 10:23:41 AM

Hello All,

First of all, I just want to say that I’m relatively new to the whole forum thing, as well as the whole PC building thing. I have a bit of experience assembling PCs because 6 or 7 years ago I assisted and learned a bit as my friend helped me assemble my now very out of date and broken gaming PC. I have been doing some research lately on what my new computer might look like and I think I have some good ideas for what will get me to where I want to be. That being said, I have a number of very specific needs that this computer is aimed to meet. Since however this is my first PC that I’m really venturing to build on my own, I was hoping that anybody and everybody with a better understanding than me might have some insights as to if the hardware configuration I've picked out is a good choice, if I should be able to meet all of my needs with these hardware options, if there are any more efficient ways of meeting those needs that I am unaware of, and if there are just things that I might be totally forgetting about. I would hate to spend a huge chunk of money only to find that hardware pieces aren't compatible or able to do what I want or something.

I have basically been a PS3 gamer for years now and I love getting to sit on my couch and kick back and play games as my wife hangs out and watches movies/TV/etc. on her laptop next to me. I also love being able to have the flexibility that a PC offers. I found out about the Steam Box and Big Picture Mode and I loved the idea of having a console like experience with the flexibility offered by a PC. That is my ultimate goal, except that I want to build a PC that will outperform the PS4/Xbox One for the lifespan of those consoles, but in such a manner that my PC isn't completely hosed by the time more next gen games come out in a few years. I also want my wife to be happy with an aesthetically pleasing computer case sitting in the living room for the next 3 to 5 years that is also portable enough to take over to a friend’s house or something. It needs to have Bluetooth capabilities since I want to have a chord free experience via my PS3 controller and MotioninJoy paired with Xpadder and obviously Wi-Fi as well. The other thing that I want to have options for is desktop streaming to a tablet, that way I can have my cordless Bluetooth controller playing games through my PC but displaying on my tablet as it sits in my lap. I think that would be amazing. The setup for this desktop to tablet streaming that I am looking into uses Splashtop, which requires an NVidia GPU as well as a tablet with a Tegra 3 processor (I’m thinking Google Nexus 7). The other aspect that I would like to have is for this box to be able to rip DVDs/Blu-rays onto my hard drive and play directly on the TV. First of all, does this all seem feasible? Does anyone have any ideas about different or more efficient ways to do all of this? It’s not that I don’t have a budget that I need to keep in mind, but it is more important that I find the hardware that will meet all of the requirements and be adequate for at least a few years than it is to save a few bucks now. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks in advance for your input.

My working hardware profile is as so. A lot of the inspiration for this setup was provided by Tom’s Hardware’s performance mini ITX article here http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/high-end-mini-itx-o...:

- BitFenix Prodigy Midnight Black / Black Steel / Plastic Mini-ITX Tower Computer Case
(Small, my wife thinks it’s cute, seems big enough to offer a lot of hardware flexibility)

- GIGABYTE GA-H77N-WIFI LGA 1155 Intel H77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Mini ITX Intel Motherboard
(Has Bluetooth and Wi-Fi already built in. Unfortunately not enough fan plugs, hence the splitter cable listed below)

- Intel Core i7-3770K Ivy Bridge 3.5GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I73770K
(Seems like a good value for the money)

- ASUS GTX780-3GD5 GeForce GTX 780 3GB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
(Seemed like a good value for the money but was also an Nvidia GPU to support the Splashtop desktop streaming)

- Seasonic SS-660XP2 ATX 12V/EPS 12V, 660W, 80 PLUS PLATINUM Full Modular certified Active PFC Power Supply
(Seems to be a workable size with the small PSU compartment of the Prodigy)

- Western Digital WD Blue WD10EZEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive
(Plenty of space for tons of media that won’t interfere with the games installed on the SSD)

- CORSAIR Vengeance LP 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CML16GX3M2A1600C10

- SAMSUNG 840 EVO MZ-7TE500BW 2.5" 500GB SATA III TLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
(For installing OS and current/next-gen games)

- NZXT Kraken X40 RL-KRX40-01 140mm Ultra Performance Liquid CPU Cooler

- ASUS Black Blu-ray Drive SATA Model BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS
(For ripping DVD/Blu-ray media to HDD, no need to burn Blu-rays)

- BitFenix Spectre LED Blue 140mm Case Fan
(It looks cool and matches the blue LED lights on the Prodigy)

- StarTech Model TX3SPLITTER 6" TX3 Fan Power Splitter Cable F-M
(See above issue with motherboard)

- BitFenix BFC-PRO-300-KRFNA-RP Prodigy Custom Front Panels Black SofTouch Front, Red Frame
(Extra airflow?)

Also, with this setup, I was planning on doing a front intake fan with the NZXT Kraken (I would switch out the default 140mm fan with the 140mm Spectre), one of the stock BitFenix 120mm fans blowing in from the top (just behind the disc drive), and another 140mm fan (NZXT Kraken’s stock fan) blowing out the back. I don’t plan on doing any overclocking because 1) I don’t feel comfortable with my lack of knowledge on the matter, 2) I want to preserve the lifespan of the components, and 3) I want to be conscious of heat since I am working in a smaller space. Should this fan setup work fine? Thanks everyone.

Excessive tags removed. - G

More about : building ps4 xbox equivalent steam box

a b å Intel
September 25, 2013 10:44:59 AM

Quote:
The setup for this desktop to tablet streaming that I am looking into uses Splashtop, which requires an NVidia GPU as well as a tablet with a Tegra 3 processor (I’m thinking Google Nexus 7).


EVGA and PNY are both marketing gamer-specific tablets based on NVIDIA's Tegra 3 ( http://www.evga.com/articles/00784/ )platform and those should be available in the next couple of months. Both of those will make use of games designed specifically for Tegra 3 as well as apps built specifically for those models. I'm looking at picking up a EVGA Tegra Note myself for $199 that's a steal.

Here's the thing - your proposed rig will completely destroy a PS3 or XBOne in terms of sheer graphics and processing power. But your funds are a bit mismanaged. You don't need an i7 for gaming, and the splitter cable, case fan, and BD-R drive are all not necessary. If you want to rip BD-Rs that is one thing. On a Prodigy build having a modular PSU and two slot GPU will be far better due to the space restrictions, which is why I hardly recommend gigantic cards like the Asus or Gigabyte models for these types of builds.

I would do something like this if you're wanting a Prodigy build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X40 98.3 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87E-ITX Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($164.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($86.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($135.12 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($153.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($399.99 @ Newegg)
Case: BitFenix Prodigy (Black) Mini ITX Tower Case ($109.58 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($156.66 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1587.28
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-25 13:44 EDT-0400)

I added a bigger hard drive, less expensive RAM and ditched the i7 for the newer i5-4670K. I also ditched the 500GB SSD for a 128GB Pro and a 2TB hard drive, better cost per GB ratio.
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September 25, 2013 12:11:17 PM

g-unit1111 said:
Quote:
The setup for this desktop to tablet streaming that I am looking into uses Splashtop, which requires an NVidia GPU as well as a tablet with a Tegra 3 processor (I’m thinking Google Nexus 7).


EVGA and PNY are both marketing gamer-specific tablets based on NVIDIA's Tegra 3 ( http://www.evga.com/articles/00784/ )platform and those should be available in the next couple of months. Both of those will make use of games designed specifically for Tegra 3 as well as apps built specifically for those models. I'm looking at picking up a EVGA Tegra Note myself for $199 that's a steal.

Here's the thing - your proposed rig will completely destroy a PS3 or XBOne in terms of sheer graphics and processing power. But your funds are a bit mismanaged. You don't need an i7 for gaming, and the splitter cable, case fan, and BD-R drive are all not necessary. If you want to rip BD-Rs that is one thing. On a Prodigy build having a modular PSU and two slot GPU will be far better due to the space restrictions, which is why I hardly recommend gigantic cards like the Asus or Gigabyte models for these types of builds.

I would do something like this if you're wanting a Prodigy build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X40 98.3 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87E-ITX Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($164.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($86.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($135.12 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($153.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($399.99 @ Newegg)
Case: BitFenix Prodigy (Black) Mini ITX Tower Case ($109.58 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($156.66 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1587.28
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-25 13:44 EDT-0400)

I added a bigger hard drive, less expensive RAM and ditched the i7 for the newer i5-4670K. I also ditched the 500GB SSD for a 128GB Pro and a 2TB hard drive, better cost per GB ratio.


Thanks for your help. I think I will make some adjustments to my build. I do have a few questions though:

1.) You mentioned that my setup should destroy a PS3/Xbox One. If the PS4 is supposedly a bit more powerful than the Xbox One, Do you think this build will still hold up to it?

2.) Why wouldn’t an i7 processor work for gaming? I guess I’m not too familiar with the architecture of the i5 or the i7 and the benefits of either.

3.) What did you mean when you mentioned a “two slot GPU”? And, is the GPU you suggested a two slot GPU?

4.) Won’t the extra fans allow the case to stay cooler since it is a smaller space or is what I had a bit overkill?

5.) Will the extra 8GB make a difference, especially if I do plan on running my rig pretty hard for extended periods of time?

6.) Won’t only having a 128GB SSD limit the amount of games I can have installed at once?

Thanks again for your help.
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September 25, 2013 12:17:02 PM

would go for hd7970, but its amd...

not every game benefit from a ssd, depending on which game loading times are far less, textures load faster, for example in WoW i guess.



PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($194.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Arctic Cooling Alpine 11 Pro Rev. 2 36.7 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler ($15.97 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H87N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($114.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($78.98 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($405.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced (Black) Mini ITX Tower Case ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($76.50 @ Newegg)
Total: $1107.39
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-25 15:32 EDT-0400)


the cases from fractal design are also good.

corsair 350d also good, but bigger
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September 25, 2013 12:19:58 PM

Thanks for your help. I think I will make some adjustments to my build. I do have a few questions though:

1.) You mentioned that my setup should destroy a PS3/Xbox One. If the PS4 is supposedly a bit more powerful than the Xbox One, Do you think this build will still hold up to it?

2.) Why wouldn’t an i7 processor work for gaming? I guess I’m not too familiar with the architecture of the i5 or the i7 and the benefits of either.

3.) What did you mean when you mentioned a “two slot GPU”? And, is the GPU you suggested a two slot GPU?

4.) Won’t the extra fans allow the case to stay cooler since it is a smaller space or is what I had a bit overkill?

5.) Will the extra 8GB make a difference, especially if I do plan on running my rig pretty hard for extended periods of time?

6.) Won’t only having a 128GB SSD limit the amount of games I can have installed at once?

Thanks again for your help.[/quotemsg]

1. He meant PS4, and yes this is way beyond either of those systems.
2. You arent going to benefit from the i7 hyperthreading in game environments, so there is no need for it. If you do other tasks, it might be worthwhile.
3. If you look at the back of the case, you see multiple slots. A dual slot gpu will occupy 2.
4. The fans will help with the cooling just be prepared for any acoustic changes that might come with them.
5. Once again, if just for gaming you wont see the benefit of jumping to 16gb. You still can though, because its your computer!
6. Yes it will. The idea is that you have the OS and commonly run programs on the ssd and use the seperate HDD for data storage. i.e. Windows, office, 1 or 2 games, whatever else on the ssd and all other games on the HDD.
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September 25, 2013 12:40:10 PM

the PS4 and XBone are basiclly bare-bones systems compared to what you are using

it has 8 X86 cores, but they are 8 netbook cores. total computing power is probably similar to a 4 core Trinity, maybe even a 4 core Llano, but we aren't really sure

the GPU has capabilities between an HD7850 and 7870 in terms of power.

Basically a rough match to a XBone/PS4 would be about $400-450 system
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September 25, 2013 1:06:10 PM

here's my suggested match to a PS4/XBone:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 750K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI FM2-A75MA-P33 Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard ($49.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: Kingston Predator Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($58.61 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Toshiba Product Series:D T01ACA 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($155.66 @ Newegg)
Case: Sentey CS1-1420 PLUS ATX Mid Tower Case ($19.00 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($22.50 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG UH12NS30 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($40.00 @ Newegg)
Total: $465.74
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-25 16:05 EDT-0400)
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September 25, 2013 1:17:48 PM

ScrewySqrl said:
here's my suggested match to a PS4/XBone:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 750K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI FM2-A75MA-P33 Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard ($49.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: Kingston Predator Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($58.61 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Toshiba Product Series:D T01ACA 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($155.66 @ Newegg)
Case: Sentey CS1-1420 PLUS ATX Mid Tower Case ($19.00 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($22.50 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG UH12NS30 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($40.00 @ Newegg)
Total: $465.74
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-25 16:05 EDT-0400)


awesome build ! cheaper then xbox one and way faster then ps4/x-box. hahahaha
you just pwned the consoles
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September 25, 2013 1:20:26 PM

Don't know what your budget is but here's my mini ITX gaming rig that I just built over a week ago. Prices are Canadian and I'm planning to add a 1TB HDD very soon.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor (Purchased For $207.99)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H87N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard (Purchased For $119.99)
Memory: Kingston Black 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (Purchased For $72.99)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (Purchased For $99.99)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card (Purchased For $169.99)
Case: Fractal Design Node 304 Mini ITX Tower Case (Purchased For $69.99)
Power Supply: Cooler Master GX 650W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply (Purchased For $58.99)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) (Purchased For $97.99)
Total: $897.92
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-25 16:14 EDT-0400)

This will smoke the next gen consoles and that's exactly what I built it to do. If you're not planning to OC the CPU, then don't bother with a K-processor, Z87 chip set or aftermarket CPU cooler. Save that money and spend it on the GPU, where it really counts in gaming. ;) 
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a b å Intel
September 25, 2013 1:23:25 PM

jimono123 said:

Thanks for your help. I think I will make some adjustments to my build. I do have a few questions though:

1.) You mentioned that my setup should destroy a PS3/Xbox One. If the PS4 is supposedly a bit more powerful than the Xbox One, Do you think this build will still hold up to it?

2.) Why wouldn’t an i7 processor work for gaming? I guess I’m not too familiar with the architecture of the i5 or the i7 and the benefits of either.

3.) What did you mean when you mentioned a “two slot GPU”? And, is the GPU you suggested a two slot GPU?

4.) Won’t the extra fans allow the case to stay cooler since it is a smaller space or is what I had a bit overkill?

5.) Will the extra 8GB make a difference, especially if I do plan on running my rig pretty hard for extended periods of time?

6.) Won’t only having a 128GB SSD limit the amount of games I can have installed at once?

Thanks again for your help.


1. No. Any console just flat out will not compare to a dedicated PC with a dedicated GPU and CPU. The consoles are using what's essentially a glorified AMD APU, it's not really that big of a game changer. The fanboys who know nothing about gaming PCs are essentially overhyping this thing like it's the second coming. :ange: 

But those of us who know enough about PCs to care know that they're really getting screwed on the deal as they can have a better PC experience for the same money with largely improved graphics. As ScrewySqrl said the performance in a PS4 or XBone is more compared to a higher end laptop.

2. It will work but it's not necessary to spend the extra money. You will see no noticeable performance difference. The i7 has extra threads which come in handy for multimedia editing, the i5 does not.

3. Depending on the size of the cooler, some cards use 2 x PCI slots, while others use three. Gigabyte and Asus make such gigantic coolers.

4. Getting into your system's air flow is a whole other topic. I generally don't recommend spending tons of money on fans until you have your case because you can only have as many fans as your case has the mounts for.

5. Not for gaming, and neither will increased speed.

6. That's what the mass storage drive is for. Loading games on an SSD will do really nothing but decrease the load times. With the mass storage drive, install your Steam folder onto it, you can load as many games as you want.
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September 25, 2013 1:23:53 PM

Marcopolo123 said:
ScrewySqrl said:
here's my suggested match to a PS4/XBone:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 750K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI FM2-A75MA-P33 Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard ($49.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: Kingston Predator Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($58.61 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Toshiba Product Series:D T01ACA 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($155.66 @ Newegg)
Case: Sentey CS1-1420 PLUS ATX Mid Tower Case ($19.00 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($22.50 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG UH12NS30 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($40.00 @ Newegg)
Total: $465.74
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-25 16:05 EDT-0400)


awesome build ! cheaper then xbox one and way faster then ps4/x-box. hahahaha
you just pwned the consoles


+1.

That is a very good build for the price, especially comparing to the next gen consoles. :D 
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a b å Intel
September 25, 2013 1:30:22 PM

Marcopolo123 said:
ScrewySqrl said:
here's my suggested match to a PS4/XBone:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 750K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI FM2-A75MA-P33 Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard ($49.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: Kingston Predator Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($58.61 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Toshiba Product Series:D T01ACA 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($155.66 @ Newegg)
Case: Sentey CS1-1420 PLUS ATX Mid Tower Case ($19.00 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($22.50 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG UH12NS30 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($40.00 @ Newegg)
Total: $465.74
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-25 16:05 EDT-0400)


awesome build ! cheaper then xbox one and way faster then ps4/x-box. hahahaha
you just pwned the consoles


How is this awesome? Crappy case, crappy power supply, ridiculously fast RAM you don't need and an APU from last year. It will still beat a PS4 in terms of performance though. :lol: 
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September 25, 2013 1:51:54 PM

g-unit1111 said:
11600462,0,1424233 said:

4. Getting into your system's air flow is a whole other topic. I generally don't recommend spending tons of money on fans until you have your case because you can only have as many fans as your case has the mounts for.

6. That's what the mass storage drive is for. Loading games on an SSD will do really nothing but decrease the load times. With the mass storage drive, install your Steam folder onto it, you can load as many games as you want.
said:


So if I was pretty confident I was going to go with the BitFenix Prodigy for the case, an i5-4670 for the CPU, and the EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB for the GPU, what kind of cooling would I need? Would stock coolers suffice? Is the NZXT Kraken X40 overkill? What about an extra 140mm fan and a top 120mm fan? Also, what flow direction should I do? I won't be OC at all but I do plan to run the thing pretty hard and likely for long periods of time.

As far as the SSD is concerned, I planned on keeping only the OS and current/next gen games on my SSD while I keep media, MMO's, and old school games on my HDD. I guess I'm just thinking that since current/next-gen games are probably going to be ridiculously large, I will need to have a comfortable amount of space unless I want to be uninstalling and re-installing games a bunch. I know that there are plenty of current games that require 10+ GB of space so if I have the OS and say 3 games, that's already using around 1/3 of a 128GB SSD. Am I just missing something or am I crazy for leaning towards the SAMSUNG 840 EVO 500GB?
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September 25, 2013 2:44:56 PM

g-unit1111 said:
Marcopolo123 said:
ScrewySqrl said:
here's my suggested match to a PS4/XBone:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 750K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI FM2-A75MA-P33 Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard ($49.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: Kingston Predator Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($58.61 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Toshiba Product Series:D T01ACA 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($155.66 @ Newegg)
Case: Sentey CS1-1420 PLUS ATX Mid Tower Case ($19.00 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($22.50 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG UH12NS30 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($40.00 @ Newegg)
Total: $465.74
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-25 16:05 EDT-0400)


awesome build ! cheaper then xbox one and way faster then ps4/x-box. hahahaha
you just pwned the consoles


How is this awesome? Crappy case, crappy power supply, ridiculously fast RAM you don't need and an APU from last year. It will still beat a PS4 in terms of performance though. :lol: 


I'll admit the case is crappy, but it does have a USB 3.0 front port and a 120MM rear fan. The RAM is actually cheaper than a similar 2-pack of ddr3-1600, and only about $6 more expensive than 1333, so why not go with the 2133? and the Corsair CX 430 is a Johnnyguru recommended platform, 80+ bronze and semi-modular, what's sucky about it? And the CPU is a trinity-based 4-core (2 module) CPU, just without the built-in GPU of an APU

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a b å Intel
September 25, 2013 3:56:49 PM

ScrewySqrl said:
I'll admit the case is crappy, but it does have a USB 3.0 front port and a 120MM rear fan. The RAM is actually cheaper than a similar 2-pack of ddr3-1600, and only about $6 more expensive than 1333, so why not go with the 2133? and the Corsair CX 430 is a Johnnyguru recommended platform, 80+ bronze and semi-modular, what's sucky about it? And the CPU is a trinity-based 4-core (2 module) CPU, just without the built-in GPU of an APU


I've had two CX430s fail on me and a third one did not have the voltage required and failed to boot. I ditched the PSU for a Seasonic and it's been problem free ever since.

Quote:

So if I was pretty confident I was going to go with the BitFenix Prodigy for the case, an i5-4670 for the CPU, and the EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB for the GPU, what kind of cooling would I need? Would stock coolers suffice? Is the NZXT Kraken X40 overkill? What about an extra 140mm fan and a top 120mm fan? Also, what flow direction should I do? I won't be OC at all but I do plan to run the thing pretty hard and likely for long periods of time.


Make sure you get the unlocked version. You don't need any extra cooling if you'renot overclocking. This guide will explain how to set up your system's air flow: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/cooling-airflow-hea...

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As far as the SSD is concerned, I planned on keeping only the OS and current/next gen games on my SSD while I keep media, MMO's, and old school games on my HDD. I guess I'm just thinking that since current/next-gen games are probably going to be ridiculously large, I will need to have a comfortable amount of space unless I want to be uninstalling and re-installing games a bunch. I know that there are plenty of current games that require 10+ GB of space so if I have the OS and say 3 games, that's already using around 1/3 of a 128GB SSD. Am I just missing something or am I crazy for leaning towards the SAMSUNG 840 EVO 500GB?


But the thing about SSDs is that they slow down after you load them above a certain capacity, and they have a far more limited number of read - write cycles than traditional mechanical hard drives do. That's why I recommend storing everything that's not the OS and main programs on the SSD. Install your Steam folder on your mechanical HD and everything else installs with it.
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September 27, 2013 9:50:44 AM

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Make sure you get the unlocked version. You don't need any extra cooling if you're not overclocking. This guide will explain how to set up your system's air flow: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/cooling-airflow-hea...


Thanks for the advice on the SSD. That makes a lot of sense. I did take a look at the airflow article and it gave me some good ideas about my setup. I guess though I am still unsure about what level of cooling is necessary. The main thing I want to prioritize is that the parts I buy last as long as they can. Secondly, I want to ensure that the system is going to run as smoothly as possible when I’m doing heavy gaming. I guess my questions are 1.) do systems with non-top-of-the-line parts that are not being overclocked benefit from a more heavy duty cooling system in lifespan or performance? and 2.) is there such a thing as too much cooling that can negatively affect a PC? Thanks in advance.
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September 27, 2013 10:16:01 AM

jimono123 said:
Quote:
Make sure you get the unlocked version. You don't need any extra cooling if you're not overclocking. This guide will explain how to set up your system's air flow: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/cooling-airflow-hea...


Thanks for the advice on the SSD. That makes a lot of sense. I did take a look at the airflow article and it gave me some good ideas about my setup. I guess though I am still unsure about what level of cooling is necessary. The main thing I want to prioritize is that the parts I buy last as long as they can. Secondly, I want to ensure that the system is going to run as smoothly as possible when I’m doing heavy gaming. I guess my questions are 1.) do systems with non-top-of-the-line parts that are not being overclocked benefit from a more heavy duty cooling system in lifespan or performance? and 2.) is there such a thing as too much cooling that can negatively affect a PC? Thanks in advance.


1.) I have such a system (i5-4570) running the factory Node 304 case fans (on lowest setting) and the stock Intel CPU cooler. Temps are totally fine under heavy gaming. Basically, as long as your temps are within the normal operating range of that part, then there is really no need to add additional cooling measures and the life of the part will not be extended by doing so. It is only when the part is actually overheated that shortens the life span or kills the part.

2.) No, there is no such thing as too much cooling having a negative effect. However, there is such a thing as overkill, where that money could be better spent elsewhere (on the GPU).
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September 27, 2013 10:28:47 AM

MEC-777 said:

1.) I have such a system (i5-4570) running the factory Node 304 case fans (on lowest setting) and the stock Intel CPU cooler. Temps are totally fine under heavy gaming. Basically, as long as your temps are within the normal operating range of that part, then there is really no need to add additional cooling measures and the life of the part will not be extended by doing so. It is only when the part is actually overheated that shortens the life span or kills the part.

2.) No, there is no such thing as too much cooling having a negative effect. However, there is such a thing as overkill, where that money could be better spent elsewhere (on the GPU).


I agree with that but at the same time you can only have as many fans as your case has the mounts for. If your case has 2 x 120mm top fans, 1 x 120mm rear exhaust fan, 1 x 200 mm side fan, and 2 x 140mm front fans, that's all you can purchase. A good majority of high end cases include those fans (like my Carbide 500R for instance) so there isn't a need to purchase anything extra unless you're going for custom liquid cooling or something of that nature.
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September 27, 2013 3:40:52 PM

So I think after taking into consideration a number of things, I have mostly settled on a build. I will definitely be flexible when it comes time to actually make the purchase since there could be deals/price drops/etc. that could give me a much greater value than what’s listed here, but I think this seems like a solid build. The original price of the parts that I was looking at came out to around $2200 give or take, to this build which is about $1700 to $1800, saves me a lot of money and is probably more realistic to buy sooner. Thanks for everyone’s input. Any feedback?

CPU Intel Core i5-4670 3.4GHz Quad-Core
$204.99
CPU Cooler Cooler Master Hyper TX3 54.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing
$19.97
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-Z87N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150
$122.99
Memory Corsair Vengeance LP 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600
$144.99
Storage Samsung 840 EVO 500GB 2.5" SSD
$346.99
Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM
$84.98
Video Card EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB
$399.99
Case BitFenix Prodigy (Black) Mini ITX Tower
$69.99
Case Fan Xigmatek XLF-F1454 63.5 CFM 140mm
$7.99
Xigmatek XLF-F1454 63.5 CFM 140mm
$7.99
Power Supply SeaSonic 750W ATX12V / EPS12V
$156.66
Optical Drive Asus BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer
$56.23
Custom StarTech Model TX3SPLITTER 6" TX3 Fan Power Splitter Cable F-M $4.48
Total: $1628.24
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September 27, 2013 5:13:49 PM

jimono123 said:
So I think after taking into consideration a number of things, I have mostly settled on a build. I will definitely be flexible when it comes time to actually make the purchase since there could be deals/price drops/etc. that could give me a much greater value than what’s listed here, but I think this seems like a solid build. The original price of the parts that I was looking at came out to around $2200 give or take, to this build which is about $1700 to $1800, saves me a lot of money and is probably more realistic to buy sooner. Thanks for everyone’s input. Any feedback?

CPU Intel Core i5-4670 3.4GHz Quad-Core
$204.99
CPU Cooler Cooler Master Hyper TX3 54.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing
$19.97
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-Z87N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150
$122.99
Memory Corsair Vengeance LP 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600
$144.99
Storage Samsung 840 EVO 500GB 2.5" SSD
$346.99
Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM
$84.98
Video Card EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB
$399.99
Case BitFenix Prodigy (Black) Mini ITX Tower
$69.99
Case Fan Xigmatek XLF-F1454 63.5 CFM 140mm
$7.99
Xigmatek XLF-F1454 63.5 CFM 140mm
$7.99
Power Supply SeaSonic 750W ATX12V / EPS12V
$156.66
Optical Drive Asus BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer
$56.23
Custom StarTech Model TX3SPLITTER 6" TX3 Fan Power Splitter Cable F-M $4.48
Total: $1628.24


Don't buy the 4670 without getting the unlocked version, which is only $10 more. You could probably do without the BD-R drive (you won't need it for games) and all the extra fans and cables are a waste of money. I also don't see why the 500GB SSD is necessary - get a 256GB SSD and a 1 - 2 TB mass storage drive. That will be a better cost per GB.
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