First time gaming build, €900-1200

sean_kelly · Feb 8, 2014

Okay, so I'm trying to build a gaming PC for my first time. I want it to play BF4, Skyrim, SimCity on high-ultra settings, and Star Citizen, Battlefront when they come out. I also want it to be fairly future proof. I don't need a monitor, as I have one with 1366 x 768 resolution, although I may add a 1080p second monitor in future. Also don't need Windows 8 as I can get it for free. I'm not interested in overclocking, although I may want to implement crossfire/SLI later down the line.

This is my part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/user/sean_kelly001/saved/3GOZ

I'm wondering if this is a good build for my budget, and also for my requirements. I live in Ireland, but can get the parts delivered to the UK if it's easier. Looking to build in the next 2 months.

Also, I have a pair of Triton Ax Pros which use optical audio, and Dolby Surround Sound 5.1, along with DTS. Will I need a sound card to make use of this? Also, will I need a network adapter to connect to the internet? Cheers.

TheMohammadmo · Feb 8, 2014

Better gpu
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£166.79 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: Asus Z87-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£101.98 @ Dabs)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£64.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£65.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£42.43 @ CCL Computers)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card (£269.99 @ Novatech)
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 300R Windowed ATX Mid Tower Case (£64.66 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: SeaSonic M12II 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£81.84 @ Scan.co.uk)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer (£12.50 @ Scan.co.uk)
Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm QuickFire TK Wired Gaming Keyboard (£76.03 @ Aria PC)
Mouse: Razer ABYSSUS Wired Optical Mouse (£48.99 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £996.19
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-08 18:27 GMT+0000)

sean_kelly · Feb 8, 2014

Hmm, do I really need 750W PSU? Also, was kind of hoping for 3GB of VRAM. Would it just be better to use SLI if i ever do need more?

g-unit1111 · Feb 8, 2014

sean_kelly :

Not for a single card setup. For a dual card you do. But for a single card you can get away with a ~600W.

The above build is pretty good but I'd change a few things around:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£166.79 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U9B SE2 37.9 CFM CPU Cooler (£42.94 @ Ebuyer)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme6 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£127.91 @ Dabs)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory (£69.98 @ Novatech)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£93.00 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£41.94 @ Scan.co.uk)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card (£269.99 @ Novatech)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Titanium Grey) ATX Mid Tower Case (£86.62 @ Aria PC)
Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts Platinum 650W 80+ Platinum Certified ATX Power Supply (£85.31 @ Amazon UK)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer (£12.50 @ Scan.co.uk)
Total: £996.98
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-08 19:07 GMT+0000)

- Dropped the expensive peripherals for better components
- Added a strong air cooler
- Platinum rated full modular PSU

sean_kelly · Feb 8, 2014

Was there any particular reason why you changed the case and SSD?

TheMohammadmo · Feb 8, 2014

He included the perphriphals in his orginal buil so I thought it was mandatory for this build. The psu is really nice but I would prefer corsair xfx or silverstone or rosewill instead I like the noctua but hate the look, it is so [removed] ugly

Again, watch the language, I warned you once. - G

g-unit1111 · Feb 8, 2014

sean_kelly :

The Evo is the value line, the Pro is more performance oriented and gets better read - write times. The Noctua fans may be ugly but they have the best heat sinks on the market for overclocking.

He included the perphriphals in his orginal buil so I thought it was mandatory for this build. The psu is really nice but I would prefer corsair xfx or silverstone or rosewill instead I like the noctua but hate the look, it is so [removed] ugly

Silverstone is a tier 3 or 4 vendor when it comes to PSUs. Rosewill power supplies aren't available in the UK.

Saga Lout · Feb 8, 2014

The word itself isn't bad but it's masked swearing. When you post in Tom's just act as you should if you were talking in a room with children as well as adults and keep the language clean.

sean_kelly · Feb 8, 2014

Ok, looking better now.. I do need some peripherals, maybe not ones so expensive though! And any advice on the sound/network cards?

TheMohammadmo · Feb 8, 2014

Oh ok. For sound cads the xonar dx from asus is pefect, and for wireless card allot of network cards are great i prefer tp link. For the preferals, the ones that re in my build are still good. Though for the keyboard, I would get the steelseries apex instead

sora · Feb 9, 2014

Any network card should work great

g-unit1111 · Feb 9, 2014

There is zero need for a sound card or a network card, you're just throwing money away there. What's built into your motherboard will work just fine. As for the peripherals you can always get cheap ones now and get a nice mechanical keyboard and weighted mouse when you get the money to upgrade.

TheMohammadmo · Feb 9, 2014

There is nice deal and its the cooler master devastator package. Has a nice blue led keyboard and a gaming mouse

vmN · Feb 9, 2014

g-unit1111 :

First, why do you think he would need a platinum rated PSU? Those are made for enterprise servers.
My build brings the following:
-evo instead of pro. The performance increase is so low, that I wont recommend pro for anything else than professional use.
-Gaming rely more on a lower CAS latency than a higher frequency. I added some 2133MHz frequency with a CAS latency on 9.
-WD > Seagate
-better CPu cooler
-Better MOBO
-Better PSU for his usage.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£166.79 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler (£64.90 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD4H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£134.00 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory (£72.66 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£65.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£42.43 @ CCL Computers)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card (£269.99 @ Novatech)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Titanium Grey) ATX Mid Tower Case (£86.62 @ Aria PC)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£70.56 @ CCL Computers)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer (£12.50 @ Scan.co.uk)
Total: £986.44
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-09 14:35 GMT+0000)

TheMohammadmo · Feb 9, 2014

Not a bad build, I would switch the xfx psu to a 750w xfx psu so later on he can do sli

sean_kelly · Feb 9, 2014

Ok, so I switched the SSD from Pro to Evo, the PSU to a bronze rated 600W one, and the cooler to a bit louder but higher spped and much cheaper one. I don't think I'll be doing SLI anytime soon so 600W should be more than enough. I also got in the peripherals but only going a bit over budget.

I also changed some of the places I'm buying from so that it's only Amazon, Scan and Novatech. This is just so things don't get too messy, and it only adds on a few extra pounds.

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/user/sean_kelly001/saved/3GV6

TheMohammadmo · Feb 9, 2014

Go with this motherboard instead http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-gaz87xud3h http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-z87plus ASRock makes better motherboards when it comes to higher budget builds in my opinion

g-unit1111 · Feb 9, 2014

First, why do you think he would need a platinum rated PSU? Those are made for enterprise servers.
My build brings the following:
-evo instead of pro. The performance increase is so low, that I wont recommend pro for anything else than professional use.
-Gaming rely more on a lower CAS latency than a higher frequency. I added some 2133MHz frequency with a CAS latency on 9.

1. The PSUs I typically recommend aren't available where the OP lives so I chose one that I felt best met the requirements, yeah there's almost zero discernible difference between gold - silver - platinum rated but Antec makes some pretty solid power supplies.
2. Yeah you can save some money by going with the Evo, that's fine.
3. The RAM is fine.

-WD > Seagate

Well since there has been lots of mergers and acquisitions among hard drive manufacturers (WD bought Hitachi, Seagate bought Samsung's HD division), that's been up for debate - some say WD is better, others say they're prone to failure. It's kind of one of those "pick your poison" kind of deals.

-Better PSU for his usage.

How is that better? The one I picked is platinum rated and full modular, where the XFX is only partial modular. It's cheaper, I'll give you that.

vmN · Feb 10, 2014

g-unit1111 :

-Better PSU for his usage

I bolded it.
If you still dont get it, it's the same way an i3 would be better for facebook games than an i7.

sean_kelly · Feb 10, 2014

Is a platinum rated PSU worth it for the extra £30?

sean_kelly · Feb 10, 2014

Oh, one more thing. If I had to, could I add another 4GB RAM stick on (or even 2 sticks)?

vmN · Feb 10, 2014

No platinum is not worth the extra £30, and you dont need more than 8GB of ram.

g-unit1111 · Feb 10, 2014

sean_kelly :

It has nothing to do with the 80+ ratings, it has to do with full modular vs. partial modular. I'm personally not a fan of partial modular power supplies, go full or nothing. Maybe something like this: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/650w-seasonic-g-650-modular-80-plus-gold-120mm-silent-fan-eps-12v-quiet-fan-atx-psu

vmN · Feb 10, 2014

Loool.
Semi-modular is almost the same as full-modular, really it almost as easy setting up a PC with semi-modular as with full modular.
"go full or nothing", really?

TheMohammadmo · Feb 10, 2014

True what vmn is saying but I would prefer to go fully modular so you wont have to wrry about pre built in wires. With semi-modular, all the main starting wires are permanently in their. If you do the cables managment correctly, then you shouldnt worry.

First time gaming build, €900-1200

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