Review my build for gaming and advise on cutting some of the cost

kakscy · Jan 10, 2014

Hello People and happy new year to all

Last time i posted i got very helpful responses and once again i need your wisdom

I am building a new gaming system for my brother and we need replace some parts to cut cost

[PCPartPicker part list](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/2zc1P) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/2zc1P/by_merchant/) / [Benchmarks](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/2zc1P/benchmarks/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646i54670k) | £167.99 @ Amazon UK
**CPU Cooler** | [Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-cpu-cooler-rr212e20pkr2) | £23.90 @ Ebuyer
**Motherboard** | [ASRock Z87 Extreme4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-z87extreme4) | £111.03 @ Amazon UK
**Memory** | [G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f317000cl11d8gbxl) | £68.96 @ CCL Computers
**Storage** | [Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/samsung-internal-hard-drive-mz7te250bw) | £126.99 @ Amazon UK
**Storage** | [Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/seagate-internal-hard-drive-st2000dm001) | £60.00 @ Aria PC
**Video Card** | [Asus GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-video-card-gtx770dc2oc2gd5) | £239.90 @ Amazon UK
**Case** | [Cooler Master Storm Scout 2 ATX Mid Tower Case](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-case-sgc2100wwn1) | £85.13 @ Dabs
**Power Supply** | [XFX ProSeries 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-power-supply-p1750bbefx) | £106.50 @ Scan.co.uk
**Optical Drive** | [Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/samsung-optical-drive-sh224dbbebe) | £11.98 @ Ebuyer
**Operating System** | [Microsoft Windows 8.1 - OEM (64-bit)](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/microsoft-os-wn700615) | £81.50 @ Amazon UK
**Keyboard** | [Cooler Master Storm Quick Fire Pro Wired Gaming Keyboard](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-keyboard-sgk4010gkcm1us) | £109.44 @ Amazon UK
**Mouse** | [SteelSeries Sensei RAW Wired Laser Mouse](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/steelseries-mouse-62155) | £43.98 @ Dabs
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available. | £1237.30
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-11 00:58 GMT+0000 |

the cost comes to 1500 euro with a combination of shipping from 3 countries (mostly amazon UK)

I also have few questions - Please keep in mind that we might SLI and OC in the future hence the mobo and PSU choise / also i will need more choices because some parts are too expensive to ship here

1) is the system compatible?
2) were can we cut cost for similar quality components?
3) what monitor should we get to utilize the build?

geofelt · Jan 10, 2014

1. Yes, compatible.
2. You have a very nice build; do not change anything. I might defer on the hard drive until you know you need space. It is easy to add one later.
Intel ram controllers are very good. If 1600 or 1866 speeds saves you enough, you can do that.
Faster ram does not help that much. Read this: http://www.anandtech.com/show/7364/memory-scaling-on-haswell

Here is my canned rant on planning for dual cards:
-----------------------------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 gtx690,7990, GTX780ti or R9-290X is about as good as it gets for a single card.

Only if you are looking at triple monitor gaming, or a 4k monitor, might sli/cf will be needed.
Even that is now changing with triple monitor support on top end cards and stronger single card solutions.

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 GTX780 only needs a 575w psu.
When you add another card to the mix, plan on adding 200w to your psu requirements.

Even the most power hungry GTX690 only needs 620w, or a 7990 needs 700w.

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 gpu's 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 gpu support is dependent on the driver. Not all games can benefit from dual cards.

e) dual cards 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 or 9000 series are due next year.
-------------------------------End of rant-----------------------------------------------------------

3. I am a fan of larger ips monitors with higher resolutions.
Look for a 1440P(2560 x 1440) IPS monitor.
The ebay Korean QNIX monitors have had some good reviews on newegg http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-QNIX-QX2710-LED-Evolution-27-2560x1440-WQHD-PLS-Computer-Monitor-Matte-/121117252582?pt=Computer_Monitors&hash=item1c33269be6

kakscy · Jan 10, 2014

i got the 2400 ram because they were at the same price as the 1600 (same brand and model)

so basically if i am not planning for triple monitor setup or 4k gaming i should change PSU and mobo to cut some cost + cheaper ram -TB on the disc

any suggestions for PSU and mobo?

no 3 is clear i should get a 1440p ips monitor

thanks for fast reply btw!

charmer · Jan 10, 2014

I made some changes, the question is how lower you need the cost to be.. note that you'll might need to go lower on the performance if a lower budget is needed.
Look if this suits you:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£167.99 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£23.90 @ Ebuyer)
Motherboard: Gigabyte G1.Sniper Z87 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£111.28 @ Ebuyer)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory (£68.96 @ CCL Computers)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£126.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£60.00 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card (£239.90 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Cooler Master Storm Scout 2 ATX Mid Tower Case (£85.13 @ Dabs)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 850W 80+ Silver Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£95.82 @ Scan.co.uk)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer (£11.98 @ Ebuyer)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - OEM (64-bit) (£81.50 @ Amazon UK)
Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm QuickFire TK Wired Gaming Keyboard (£76.50 @ Aria PC)
Mouse: Cooler Master SGM-4000-KLLN1-GP Wired Laser Mouse (£23.94 @ Scan.co.uk)
Total: £1173.89
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-11 01:33 GMT+0000)

Here's a lower budget build with the lowest performance downgrade i could manage:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£167.99 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£23.90 @ Ebuyer)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£86.33 @ Ebuyer)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory (£62.32 @ Dabs)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra Plus 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£109.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£42.00 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card (£239.90 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Cooler Master Storm Scout 2 ATX Mid Tower Case (£85.13 @ Dabs)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 850W 80+ Silver Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£95.82 @ Scan.co.uk)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer (£11.98 @ Ebuyer)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - OEM (64-bit) (£81.50 @ Amazon UK)
Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm QuickFire TK Wired Gaming Keyboard (£76.50 @ Aria PC)
Mouse: Cooler Master SGM-4000-KLLN1-GP Wired Laser Mouse (£23.94 @ Scan.co.uk)
Total: £1107.30
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-11 01:47 GMT+0000)

Enjoy! Remember you can always get a Non mechanical keyboard and spare ~40£

kakscy · Jan 11, 2014

need more inputs please i want to order on Monday

thanks for the reply charmer!

the mouse and keyboard are already on the way

Gigabyte G1.Sniper Z87 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard is better than the extreme4?

charmer · Jan 11, 2014

kakscy :

To be honest i just like it more, i do trust Gigabyte motherboards much much more then ASRock's.
It's more because it's features and build quality, for example the "Gold Plated Audio Hardware" or even more important for MultiPlayer gamers it's the "Killer E2200" - its actually prioritizes all network traffic to ensure your game to be prioritized over other (or less important) traffic.

Read it here:
* http://www.overclockers.com/gigabyte-g1-sniper-z87-motherboard-review
* http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/mainboards/display/20131113210437_Gigabyte_Reveals_World_s_First_Mainboard_with_Creative_Sound_Core3D_Audio.html

Now the Extreme4 is a great motherboard for the money bot he with Z77 it had a few issues with voltage, don't know if its fixed on the Z87 version.
If you'll really want to dig in then read this: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/mainboards/display/asrock-z87-extreme4.html

This is a personal decision due to the great experience i had with Gigabyte mobos and for the fact that the G1.Sniper Z87 is sort of the "little brother" of the G1.Sniper 5 Z87: http://www.eteknix.com/gigabyte-g1-sniper-5-z87-motherboard-review/

kakscy · Jan 12, 2014

i will go with the extreme4 amazon uk says usually dispatched within 1-2 months and if i get it from other sellers i will have to pay more than 140 with the extra delivery

I think i m going with my initial builds - no discounts

Still need a suggestion for monitor i cant find QNIX from amazon uk
About the case you think i should go for a full tower?

charmer · Jan 12, 2014

For the case I don't see any real reason to go for a full tower unless its for looks or you're gonna fill it with something, for example liquid cooling with pipes and everything and etc'.

As for monitor I see you want a 1440p monitor so what is your budget for it?
PS: For a 1440p I might suggest getting a 4gb GPU instead of the 2gb - more resolution needs more ram, mostly

kakscy · Jan 12, 2014

ok so i will stay with the same case

is not that i want 1440p monitor, i just want a monitor to utilize my current build as good as possible

sora · Jan 13, 2014

charmer :

this, if u have a 1440p monitor with 1gb vram it will perform much much slower.

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Review my build for gaming and advise on cutting some of the cost

kakscy

Honorable

geofelt

Titan

kakscy

Honorable

charmer

Honorable

kakscy

Honorable

charmer

Honorable

kakscy

Honorable

charmer

Honorable

kakscy

Honorable

sora

Splendid

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