Need opinions and advice on this gaming computer, $1200 budget! [New to DIY, very enthusiastic]

noSnip · Nov 22, 2013

Hello everyone,

I am very new to this scene, but am very interested and enthusiastic about getting started! Have been wanting a proper gaming rig for a looong time now and decided to get on with the project now.

The computer will be used primarily for gaming while running Skype or another VOIP in the background. The main reason for building a gaming is, that I am playing my games on a bootcamp windows 7 MacBook Pro 15' from 2011 (i7 2.66 GHz) and just can't be arsed to play games on low to medium setting. I want max FPS and max graphics.

I primarily play MOBAs (Heroes of Newerth) and MMORPGS (Rift, Wow). I will also be playing D3 Reaper of Souls when that is to be released and want all of these games to run flawlessly.

Here is a list of components I have been looking at:

Motherboard: ASUS Maximus VI Hero OR MSI Z87-G65D
CPU: i5-4670K
Memory: G.SKILL Ripwjaws X Series 8GB (2x4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800).
GPU: Geforce GTX 770
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO Basic SSID 128 GB + 500 GB random (what do I need to be aware of here?)
Case: Still looking
Cooling: Hyper 212 EVO
Power: Corsair CX750M
Optical drive: Asus 24x DVD-RW SATA DRW-24B1ST

I hope you guys can help me out and point out anything missing/something to change w.e.

Thanks a lot!

Vernonia1 · Nov 22, 2013

This looks like a very solid build. But there are only 2 things I would recommend changing.
1.) Upgrade your RAM from 8GB to 16GB. Games are utilizing more and more resources, so it will be good to stay ahead of the curve so you don't have to worry.
2.) Change that 500GB Hard Drive to a 1TB Drive. 500GB may seem like a lot right now, but once you start downloading, installing, and playing more and more games, that 500GB will run out pretty quickly. The SSD is just fine though. Good choice.
If there are anymore questions, feel free to ask!
Enjoy the gaming!

Rammy · Nov 22, 2013

Its all fairly sensible, but there's a few places you might want to consider your options.

Motherboard - Personally, I think those are a bit overpriced. You aren't going to be doing any crazy overclocking with a Hyper 212 EVO so stick with something like an ASRock Z87 Extreme 4, Asus Z87-PLUS or Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD3H. Got everything you need, plenty of stuff you probably don't, and a lot cheaper.

Graphics - not all GTX770s are equal. Based on the current US pricing, I reckon the Gigabyte GV-N770OC-2GD is the one to get, but prices will go up and down.

HDD - Not a lot to think about really. 1TB is usually better than 500GB, as they are so close in price it just makes more sense. The WD Caviar Blue 1TB and Seagate Barracuda 1TB both have 64Mb caches (if you pick the right versions) and are both quick and versatile.

Case is a pretty subjective thing, so I'll leave that up to you. Obviously there are pretty flashy cases, more restrained ones, ones with windows, ones with a focus on airflow, others that focus on silence. There's a fair amount to consider, but honestly most people pick cases based on aesthetics.

PSU - I'm not sure how much sense a 750W PSU makes. You can run comfortably on 600W with that system. I'd be tempted to downgrade the wattage and upgrade the quality.

noSnip · Nov 22, 2013

Thanks for the two very useful and thorough answers, truely appreciate it! Will be looking forward play around with the setup

Any other help is welcome!

noSnip · Nov 22, 2013

Rammy :

And a question to this: Would you think a 2 GB or 4 GB card would be more suitable for my situation?

Rammy · Nov 22, 2013

In short - 2GB.

There are a number of potential applications where you can feasibly use more than 2GB Vram, but not a lot where only having 2GB really holds you back. Generally, these apply to very high resolutions or very high texture detail. For running a single display at 1920x1080 (which most of us still are) or even 2560x1600, it makes near to zero difference at the moment.
There is an argument which circulates that having more somehow protects you against future development. While it is true that sooner or later, 3GB, 4GB or more will become near essential, I remain unconvinced by this argument. If you take a modern card like a HD7850 which is available in 1GB and 2GB versions, and push it to its limits, you will find that in general the limitation is not the Vram, but the GPU (at least for 1080P). It stands to reason that by the time games are really exploiting 3-4GB of Vram, the chips they are attached to will be their limiting factor.

Right now, the difference in price between the cheapest GTX770 2Gb and 4GB is well over $50, and the gain is approximately zero. To me, that's poor value. For people who do have legitimate concerns about Vram, there R9 280X and R9 290 come as standard with 3 and 4Gb respectively. The 4GB GTX770 is priced dangerously close to the 290 for my liking.

noSnip · Nov 22, 2013

Rammy :

In short - 2GB.

There are a number of potential applications where you can feasibly use more than 2GB Vram, but not a lot where only having 2GB really holds you back. Generally, these apply to very high resolutions or very high texture detail. For running a single display at 1920x1080 (which most of us still are) or even 2560x1600, it makes near to zero difference at the moment.
There is an argument which circulates that having more somehow protects you against future development. While it is true that sooner or later, 3GB, 4GB or more will become near essential, I remain unconvinced by this argument. If you take a modern card like a HD7850 which is available in 1GB and 2GB versions, and push it to its limits, you will find that in general the limitation is not the Vram, but the GPU (at least for 1080P). It stands to reason that by the time games are really exploiting 3-4GB of Vram, the chips they are attached to will be their limiting factor.

Right now, the difference in price between the cheapest GTX770 2Gb and 4GB is well over $50, and the gain is approximately zero. To me, that's poor value. For people who do have legitimate concerns about Vram, there R9 280X and R9 290 come as standard with 3 and 4Gb respectively. The 4GB GTX770 is priced dangerously close to the 290 for my liking.

Thank you so much!

noSnip · Nov 22, 2013

Another question:

How big a difference will there be in performance in these two systems (mine and another users $1000 build):

Mine:

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD3H $145
CPU: i5-4670K $240
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2x4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600( PC3 12800). $79
GPU: Gigabyte GV-N770OC-2GD 2GB $299
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO Basic SSID 128 GB $99 + Western Digital WD Blue WD10EZEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive $67
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 Blue Edition - High Air Flow Mid Tower Computer Case - $60
Cooling: Hyper 212 EVO $35
Power: Corsair CX600M $80
Optical drive: Asus 24x DVD-RW SATA DRW-24B1ST $25

$1050 total

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core ProcessorP ($229.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G43 ATX LGA1150 MotherboardP ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 MemoryP ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Intel X25-M 80GB 2.5" Solid State DiskP
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard DriveP ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard DriveP ($62.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 760 4GB Video CardP ($305.66 @ Newegg)
Case: Thermaltake Commander MS/I Snow Edition (White/Black) ATX Mid Tower CaseP ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 750W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power SupplyP ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD WriterP ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $933.58

Thank you

Rammy · Nov 23, 2013

Well the second build doesn't make a lot of sense, that's pretty clear. It spends more on a graphics card that's obviously worse than a GTX770 and for some reason has 3 storage devices.

Having said that, I think you can get more for your money, though I'm not 100% sure where your prices are coming from. It's worth mentioning that if you live near a Microcenter you can get this CPU+motherboard combo for cheaper in store (shame this is a US only thing).
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($225.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($117.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($58.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($329.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($25.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $995.89
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-23 04:29 EST-0500)
The PSU is slightly marginal, but its fantastic value (usually $60) and with a Hyper212 EVO you aren't going to be doing any crazy overclocking, I reckon it's pretty safe. Right now the Antec True Power Classic 550 ($50) and Rosewill Capstone 550M ($65) are great picks if you want to go for better quality and modular cables. If you do want to stick with something like the CX600M then I'd go for the Antec HCG 620M, same price right now ($55) little bit more power and better warranty. Often the CX range are a good buy as they are so well priced, but today they are better deals.

noSnip · Nov 23, 2013

Rammy :

Thanks a lot again! I really appreciate your help, please let me pick your brain a little more hehe

I have my prices primarily from new egg and found the GPU at amazon for $300, but I see it is actually $330 now.

And really like the case you chose, I have actually been looking for that, but didn't know the name, thank you!

About the motherboard, do you think performance wise the ASRock Z87 Extreme4 willl do as good as the Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD3H? I have this weird idea, that if I go with a motherboard and GPU from the same manufacturer, it will have better compatibility and longer lifespan, is this wrong?

Regarding the PSU, my main concern is to not have a cable-hell. So it must be modular and have long and easy-to-use cables. I read some reviews about the Rosewill Capstone, all is great about it except that some say the cables are tight and a bit short. Do you know if the Antec HCG-620M has nice and easy cable management?

Thank you very much

Rammy · Nov 23, 2013

The Corsair 200R is surprisingly nice for that price. It has decent cable management under the motherboard, this image shows this quite nicely http://cwsmgmt.corsair.com/media/catalog/product/2/0/200r_side_open_built.png
so I wouldn't have any major concerns about using a non modular PSU.

I cant really comment on cable lengths/fitting as its going to be different for everyone and their components but the 200R isn't a huge case, it doesn't seem likely it would present many issues.
For reference, here are the cable lengths for both the Capstone and the HCG pulled from Hardwaresecrets
Capstone - http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Rosewill-CAPSTONE-550M-Power-Supply-Review/1584/1
HCG - http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Antec-High-Current-Gamer-M-620-W-Power-Supply-Review/1495
You can see when compared side by side they are pretty comparable, though on average the Antecs are a little longer.

I picked the ASRock as its better priced, and pushed my total neatly under $1000. The Gigabyte is a very nice board but I doubt it really justifies the extra $25-30. There is no reason to brand-match components, with the possible exception of colour coordination, it has no tangible benefit in compatibility or longevity. The ASRock, Gigabyte and Asus Z87 boards are all well reviewed, in fact the Tomshardware review decided they were all winners. There isn't a bad choice.

noSnip · Nov 23, 2013

I see your point about the motherboard, but I think I will stick with a modular PSU as this is my first homebuilt and I don't want too much hassle with the cables

I am still looking at a monitor and I've been looking at this one: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-monitor-vs239hp .

For me the colour accuracy is important as I will be mostly playing RPGS, MMORPGS and MOBAs. When I am going to play FPS games it won't be on competitive level, so I think this is sufficient.

What are your thoughts?

Rammy · Nov 23, 2013

When it comes to monitors there are a few things to look for, like a low response time and appropriate digital inputs, but honestly a lot of monitors is subjective stuff. I have a monitor I really like that my girlfriend despises. She loves hers but I can't use it at all as it doesn't adjust enough for me to sit comfortably (I actually ghetto fixed that issue with a book under it). If there is a good shop near you that has monitors on display, it might be worth going and having a look to get a feel for things like adjustability, build quality and the general brihgtness/contrast.

I wouldn't listen to a word I say about monitors though, I've broken 2 in 3 years, I'm pretty bad at buying them.

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Need opinions and advice on this gaming computer, $1200 budget! [New to DIY, very enthusiastic]

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