Good Gaming Build under $1500?

Why is your MOBO so expensive? What do you need it to do? Here http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-z87plus
And use the money for ur GPU.

You linked an LGA1150 mobo.
He has an LGA2011 CPU....

If your goal is strictly gaming with one or two video cards, I'd be inclined to look at the Haswell i7-4770 or i5-4670k on an Z87 motherboard as a better value. Get a Radeon HD7970 with the $$ difference or a GTX 770.
Just what I would do personally

You have WAY too much CPU for a "gaming" build.

Drop to an i5-4570K (and suitable motherboard for this CPU) and you should be able to get a 770 for the same $.

As the others have said, way too much CPU for just a gaming build. Go with a good i5, a nice little overclockable motherboard, as you don't need one that's in the $300 price range. And if you don't plan on going SLI/Crossfire, then you probably only need a 600-650w PSU.

Back again.
for $1500 was asame not to use an o/c'ed GTX780 with Titan-like performance.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($224.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G55 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($134.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($68.46 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card ($669.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 922 ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($18.49 @ Amazon)
Total: $1496.86
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-10-04 10:28 EDT-0400)

This rig would provide 50% more performance than i7 4770K with GTX760...

edit: Galaxy GeForce GTX 780 HOF 3GB GDDR5 Is also a sexy card with 1,01Ghz clock at $20 more.

Try some configurations here http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/partlist/ see what you can do.

I was thinking OP did have really good parts in his build.

Maybe we can make it bit better like with cheaper MoBo and bit cheaper GTX 760. Or adjusting memory better for X-79 board.

But there was much good things too. Like 250GB SSD and really good PSU.

I think it is maybe better go to SLI 760 than buy 670$ 780.
Still you can find 4GB 760 under 300 $ price and that set is sure faster than one 780 and cheaper too. 4820 is really good CPU it OC really well.
4.8-5.0GHz is really easy.

If I was OP Id do it like this.. My version of what I think is good gaming build..

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4820K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor ($329.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC12DX_BK 68.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-X79-UD3 ATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($214.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra Plus 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($164.95 @ Adorama)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($116.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 760 4GB Video Card ($271.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: Corsair RM 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1493.83
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-10-04 11:27 EDT-0400)

I have this same MoBo. It is really good. Really good sound card. Good intel lan driver.
Good to have lots sata ports. I like dual bios.Works with my 3930 well.

Id like more memory slots but if there is no need for more then four is enough.

Cheaper MoBo is asrock That can be good too? No personal experience so it is hard to tell.

For even better build Id take + 100w bigger PSU. Maybe there is no need for that.
I just like bigger PSU.

Id like to know how much faster 780 is than SLI 760's or single 760. I do not think it is 50% faster. Maybe I'm wrong here.
And how much GPU really need if OP plays game in 108p resolution?

Hope this helps OP make better build Good luck!

MoBo is good. Cooler is not. You can not use high memory with that cooler.
If really want that X-79 build then take it. It looks lot better to me.
SSD is good. PSU is good.

3570k is old. Gigabyte video card is good.

First it is old model. New one is this. http://pcpartpicker.com/part/noctua-cpu-cooler-nhu14s

I have that D14 and I think it is damn loud With two fans anyway.
That new one is better. Better with high memory and so on.. Silent too.

Hello AxlFone.
As you can see here, the GTX780 at 980Mhz (The link is for MSI's which has the same clocks) which I suggest is 50% faster than GTX 760 at 1080p. Now if you look at 1440p the difference is bigger.
Now for a GTX780 vs GTX760SLI. They have more or less the same performance except, the GTX780 has all the advantages of one cards setup. Which are:

1. Better power consumption
2. Less noise
3. Less heat
4. More room at your case
5. Upgradeable
6. No compability issues

So if I would give $1500 for a build I would love to have a mosnter performance Single GPU than an SLI which also stops there cause 760 can't go 3-way SLI.

No. The D14 has nothing to do with U*s series.
I personally have NH-U12S And I didn't took the NH-U14S for 1 reason. Memory clearance. The NH-U14S hits the 1st slot of taller memories, so I should suggest to go with the U12S for 100% memory clearance.

Edit: Take a look on the memory clearance of NH-U14S:

Hello AxlFone.
As you can see here, the GTX780 at 980Mhz (The link is for MSI's which has the same clocks) which I suggest is 50% faster than GTX 760 at 1080p. Now if you look at 1440p the difference is bigger.
Now for a GTX780 vs GTX760SLI. They have more or less the same performance except, the GTX780 has all the advantages of one cards setup. Which are:

1. Better power consumption
2. Less noise
3. Less heat
4. More room at your case
5. Upgradeable
6. No compability issues

So if I would give $1500 for a build I would love to have a mosnter performance Single GPU than an SLI which also stops there cause 760 can't go 3-way SLI.

Click to expand...

Hello Memnarchon
I did not see any links in your post.
1 Power consumption.
Here is what one GTX 760 takes.
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/geforce_gtx_760_review,5.html
Here is what sli 760 takes.
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/geforce_gtx_760_sli_review,4.html
Here is what SLI 780 takes.
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/geforce_gtx_780_sli_review,4.html

3.Noise.
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/geforce_gtx_760_sli_review,6.html
Seems lot same to me. I think in this review the 760 SLI is still winner.

4.Heat.
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/geforce_gtx_760_sli_review,5.html
Still looks same to me.

Now where do you need more room in case? Are we hiding cats or kids there?

5. Upgradeable

Well if OP buy one GTX 760 and upgrades it with one. He still gets better build with cheaper price. Than one GTX 780.

6. No compability issues.

What issues? Where are they?

No. The D14 has nothing to do with U*s series.
I personally have NH-U12S And I didn't took the NH-U14S for 1 reason. Memory clearance. The NH-U14S hits the 1st slot of taller memories, so I should suggest to go with the U12S for 100% memory clearance.

Click to expand...

With what MoBo? 1155 or 1150?
It is bit hard tell what are you building here.
But here is X-79 2011 build with NH-U14S

click on "here" at my post and at "1440p".

Why for the love of the god, you are comparing GTX760SLI and non versus GTX780 SLI. I was pretty clear.

Now for a GTX780 vs GTX760SLI.

Click to expand...

In this link I see 1 db louder at idle for GTX780 and on full load 1db louder for GTX760SLI. Now we are not building a gaming machine were the GPUs will be at idle (although lower is nice), we want to know how it will perform in gaming. In my opinion...
Also. I linked EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Which as you can clearly see is superior in noise than GTX760SLI.

Still the EVGA GTX780 has better cooling


More room to your case means two things. First you have better air cooling. Second You have more room for other parts (like a sound card)/

Building a $1500 gaming build and placing only a GTX760 is waste of money. Check tom's hardware $1300 gaming build to get the idea .

You are joking, right? Unless you fall from planet Mars, you should know the problems that dual GPU graphics have.



Well if he buys an LGA2011 he will have no problems. But with LGA 115x will have. This is str8 from Noctua's site:

Full RAM compatibility on LGA2011
With its 52mm slim design tailor-made for LGA2011, the NH-U14S will not overhang the RAM slots on this platform, thus guaranteeing full compatibility with tall memory modules. On some LGA115x and AMD motherboards, the front fan may overhang the first RAM slot, so standard height RAM (up to 32mm) should be chosen when using the first slot.*

Click to expand...

[In this link I see 1 db louder at idle for GTX780 and on full load 1db louder for GTX760SLI. Now we are not building a gaming machine were the GPUs will be at idle (although lower is nice), we want to know how it will perform in gaming. In my opinion...
Also. I linked EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Which as you can clearly see is superior in noise than GTX760SLI./quote]

Are you saying that you can hear 1db noise difference between the two?
I cant see that EVGA is superior. Only way Id buy any EVGA is for water cool build.

Still the EVGA GTX780 has better cooling

Click to expand...

Better than what? I did post that link like buy this card on this test.
I know lots cards that do have better coolers than EVGA.

Building a $1500 gaming build and placing only a GTX760 is waste of money. Check tom's hardware $1300 gaming build to get the idea .

Click to expand...

Why dont you look some gaming builds with bigger SSD's ? Are you saying that it is nice to play games when in your SSD do have room for 3 max 4 games?
Nice. That SSD that you think is good? How about if we look that for second?
That is not so good drive now is it?

[quoteMore room to your case means two things. First you have better air cooling. Second You have more room for other parts (like a sound card)/]

Click to expand...

No case size do matter much for cooling. Fans do the cooling. Not case.
Was my suggestion case too small? Or maybe MoBo did have enough good soud ?
Or was there room for sound card if you need one?

You are joking, right? Unless you fall from planet Mars, you should know the problems that dual GPU graphics have.

Click to expand...

I do not know where did you drop from. I dropped really near ass. You know the drill?

[quoteWell if he buys an LGA2011 he will have no problems. But with LGA 115x will have. This is str8 from Noctua's site: [/quote]

So you can read what OP wants? If he wants X-79 2011 build You have to make him get 1150 build? Right? If you have personal issue with 2011 builds. I think you can call some help me line You are really in wrong place. IMO. Have a nice day *******

I will not quote this time, cause we are making massive spam.

First, I probably can't hear the difference of 1db. But you said that GTX760SLI is quiter when its not. EVGA GTX780 that I linked is superior than reference GTX760 and GTX760SLI. (Tell me if you can't see the links cause it's more than obvious.) Surely some other companies might have quiter cooling but when you are making a couple of these card then you have more noise undoubtly.

Second. I think you don't know anything about gaming or you just trolling. Posting Sequential Write? You are talking only about the install of the game? Is this the so important part of gaming that you want to give $100 more while removing them from the GPU?

Third, who said about case size? We were talking about more free room inside your case (whatever case this is). By placing a 2nd GPU its obvious that you are somewhat blocking the air coming to the second... The 2nd GPU might cover the chipset. etc etc..

Forth, the OP in his last post was talking about a core i5 build:

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($77.99 @ Amazon)

Click to expand...

That's why you personally said to him not to buy the NH-D14.
Last time I checked, Core i5 wasn't in LGA2011.
So I don't have any issues with LGA2011, you should read more carefully.
And generally you need to calm down. Here in Tom's Hardware, we are trying to help people who want to buy with their hard earned money, pc parts. So please focus to the posts and stop trolling.

Maybe I said it wrong. Tried to tell it is not louder.

No I can not see your links. Maybe my browser do have issue or something.
Sure I can look what is inside the link by using..

I think same thing abut you. You try to tell that you can not play games with GTX 760 and still lots of use 7870 or GTX 650 Ti boost for gaming.
780 is really overkill card for 1080p resolution. He do not need 2 GTX 760 do work fine with 1080p So why in hell he need's 780?
Sure if he buy 2560 1600 monitor then it is good buy. Not for gaming with 1080p monitor.

Posting sequential write results ? Why not Id like to know how my future SSD is working. If I can find cheaper and better. Id like to know what it is.
I did not knw here was rule what you can post or not. Sorry I must remember that.

I think case was good enough for SLI It did have 3 Fans and he can add 3 or 4 more if he need more airflow. That case will work just fine if he drops there one fan to floor to blow cool air to video cards. It still do have 2 front fans. Too to top of that case to suck warm air. It works.

I did say that. I think NH-D 14 is loud. With original two fan set anyway.

You tooo focus on helping people to get what they want. Not what you think is good. Hes (Op) needs is not your needs.

I still think that GTX 780 is wayyyyy overkill card that you really do not if you plat with 1080p monitor. And I really do not care what you think. So you can stop trolling too. If he wants X-79 2011 build help OP get better one.
Do not then tell him to buy 1150 build If this is too hard?
Well hope OP gets good build. Good luck

That's how I place it from the begining. If I was spamming with pictures my post would be 3x times bigger and we don't want that, do we?

Oh, god. where did I say that? You can even play games with good visuals with a GTX460 1GB.

Well the OP asked for any suggestions the best gaming build for $1500. I also linked the $1300 tom's hardware marathon build. If you take it and add $200 for GPU you will have the GTX780 (the $1300 build has a GTX770).
Now if he will use the power of a GTX780? Battlefield 4 now and watchdogs (later) will probably use it. Take a look in what battlefield 4 needs at ultra settings @1080p
Clicky Clicky

Well noone tells you what to post and what not to post. But posting things unrelated to the subject of the topic, usually called trolling. You could post SSD reading results but you wanted to make an impression by typing writing results. Anyway, what people need in games is Frames. Also posting something else is more dangerous cause it can be misleading and make people that they don't know and they are asking for our help to buy things that they are not responding to the money they gave. This is something we are trying to avoid...


Your case is nice, I didn't said anything about the case . please read my posts again.


The OP wants: A gaming build. Also wanted it around $1500. He posted this. Do you disagree with the OP?

GTX780 can make games able to play @1080p with max sttings.
pe:
And the games that will follow of the new generation will need this power.
Well I never said that you need to agree with everything that I type. When you disagree with someone you are telling him where you disagree and you are posting the reasons (you disagree with).
And if I am trolling? Well I always trying to stay ontopic and always support my argument.

What kind of logic is this again? Now you see, this is the real meaing of pure trolling.

That's what we at the Tom's Hardware community trying to do without the need of luck. The OP wants from us to share our experience and knowledge and help him buy something that he asked.

And that's it. I am not feeding anymore.

Have fun Andrew Lopez with whatever build you choose. And I apologise for this nonsense. Tom's hardware forums are not like this.

What kind of logic is this again? Now you see, this is the real meaing of pure trolling.

Click to expand...

No I'm not trolling. We have ended with different opinions. That is all.
I was telling OP what I did think was good in build.
I do not see how it is bad thing to buy intel "flagship" best platform.
I have it too. And I'm really pleased how it works.
GPU is one thing that will go first "old" and needs to upgrade.
I think GTX 760 SLI is faster than one GTX 780 and you sure can OC 760's to mach really near to mach GTX 770 performance.
Nvidia have done really good job with drivers and they do work in SLI.
Or if they do not. How can he do later GTX 780 sli build?

So maybe troll is new name if someone do not have same opinion that you have.

I saw some good things in OP's build. And I was trying to give him advise to make it better. Really it is not end of world if he takes 760 or 780.
I just hope build is good and what he wants.