First of all do you think I should get the i5 4670k or the i7 4770k. I would be mainly using this pc for games like arma and bf4. Also if I opt for the i7 I would only have enough money for either a nicer motherboard or a 16gb ram instead of 8 and also 4gb gpu gtx 770 instead of the 2. What should I choose????? So many options!!!! Thanks
Advise on my pc build
- Thread starter maleek31
- Start date
pcuser1045
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- Nov 23, 2013
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If your going to be primarily gaming on your computer than the I5 is your best bet. This would allow you to put more into your most important components. If however, you plan on using CPU intensive programs like 3D modeling software or editing software than the I7 is the way to go.
someguynamedmatt
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- Feb 7, 2010
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^Agreed with the above, especially Turbo. IF you ask me, the tiny percentage of performance gain you get from OCing isn't proportional to the price and/or decrease in component lifespan from added stress... pick up an i5 or Xeon e3-1230 (essentially an i7 without iGPU) and either one of those will serve you well - the i5 for strictly gaming, the Xeon for production and/or heavier workloads. Do you really need the whole 16GB of memory? I have 16 myself, and the ONLY times I've ever ran it out have been with Adobe CS5 (which basically uses everything you've got regardless) and Blender physics/fluid simulation processing. If you're only going to be gaming, the extra money could be used a lot better elsewhere.
someguynamedmatt
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- Feb 7, 2010
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Yes - 8GB is more than enough for a game and any background processes.
I'd personally steer clear of ADATA, though they're probably perfectly good drives. I like Crucial drives myself - I have an M4 256Gb, and it's working wonderfully, and their newer M550 series is also excellent. The Samsung 840 line is also a good option.
As for a GPU, the GTX 780 is essentially one of the biggest cards you can pick up these days, which is one route you could go, but on a single monitor at 1920x1080, it's a little bit overkill. I game on a GeForce GTX 660M (mobile GPU) and can max out just about everything at 1080p, so I think you'd be happy with a 770. I'd personally put the money into either a larger SSD, as the speed bonus is REALLY nice, especially when coming from a mechanical drive, and a larger SSD means less worrying about what gets installed where. If you plan on using multiple monitors in the future, a GTX 780 may be a decent option, but it certainly isn't cheap. Maybe consider a decent audio setup? A lot of people seem to neglect this after dumping a thousand dollars into their video cards...
I'd personally steer clear of ADATA, though they're probably perfectly good drives. I like Crucial drives myself - I have an M4 256Gb, and it's working wonderfully, and their newer M550 series is also excellent. The Samsung 840 line is also a good option.
As for a GPU, the GTX 780 is essentially one of the biggest cards you can pick up these days, which is one route you could go, but on a single monitor at 1920x1080, it's a little bit overkill. I game on a GeForce GTX 660M (mobile GPU) and can max out just about everything at 1080p, so I think you'd be happy with a 770. I'd personally put the money into either a larger SSD, as the speed bonus is REALLY nice, especially when coming from a mechanical drive, and a larger SSD means less worrying about what gets installed where. If you plan on using multiple monitors in the future, a GTX 780 may be a decent option, but it certainly isn't cheap. Maybe consider a decent audio setup? A lot of people seem to neglect this after dumping a thousand dollars into their video cards...
Got a couple builds here for you to look at. These are custom builds for around $1,600 that will get you much more performance than anything you'll find on ibuypower or anywhere else pre-built. This one is with an i7-4770k and a GTX 770 4GB: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3qOia - $1,611
This build here is with an i5-4670k and a GTX 780: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3qOp6 - $1,594
The rest of the build is identical between the two, and both leave plenty of room for upgrading later, like adding more RAM, or getting a second GPU for SLI, etc. I personally recommend running the second build. Even though the i7-4770k is technically better, it's a bit overkill for just gaming, and you'll get more out of the much better video card than a slight upgrade for the i7 over the i5. Emphasis on "slight".
This will also be a bit controversial, but I left out a SSD, and instead went with a SSHD. A SSD is something you can always add later if you really want, but a Hybrid drive is reportedly only 10% slower than a SSD, and you get a lot more space, for a LOT less money. That SSHD is about $0.05/GB whereas a typical SSD is about $.50 a GB, so 10 times as much cost. I personally would rather spend money on more performance, than an SSD, but that's just me, so take that how you will. If you decide you must have an SSD, I can reconfigure the builds to keep the price range the same, but you'll have to sacrifice performance somewhere else. Likely the GPU.
This build here is with an i5-4670k and a GTX 780: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3qOp6 - $1,594
The rest of the build is identical between the two, and both leave plenty of room for upgrading later, like adding more RAM, or getting a second GPU for SLI, etc. I personally recommend running the second build. Even though the i7-4770k is technically better, it's a bit overkill for just gaming, and you'll get more out of the much better video card than a slight upgrade for the i7 over the i5. Emphasis on "slight".
This will also be a bit controversial, but I left out a SSD, and instead went with a SSHD. A SSD is something you can always add later if you really want, but a Hybrid drive is reportedly only 10% slower than a SSD, and you get a lot more space, for a LOT less money. That SSHD is about $0.05/GB whereas a typical SSD is about $.50 a GB, so 10 times as much cost. I personally would rather spend money on more performance, than an SSD, but that's just me, so take that how you will. If you decide you must have an SSD, I can reconfigure the builds to keep the price range the same, but you'll have to sacrifice performance somewhere else. Likely the GPU.
It is most definitely worth building one on your own. If you would have asked me a year ago, I would've said "Nah, it's no big deal" but after having built my own just this last November, it almost physically pains me (okay maybe that's an exaggeration) to read when people decide to pay the premium of having one built for them. Also, building your own computer is very easy, even if you've never done it. There are tons of tutorials all over the web on how to do it, this one here is a very in-depth one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_56kyib-Ls
Edit: Oh, and static isn't usually a problem unless you're building it in a very cold/dry area, or rubbing your feet along the carpet while doing so. That said, it's no laughing matter, either. Most computer building tutorials will have info on how to make sure you don't create a static discharge and fry any components. One of the easier things to do to avoid static discharge is to touch the metal parts of your computer case (as in the outer shell, not any components inside the case) every now and then.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3qPcX - The i7/GTX 770 build with a Samsung 120 GB SSD - $1,701
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3qPcX - The i5/GTX 780 w/ Samsung 120 GB SSD - $1,684
Just a heads up, the only thing the SSD will really effect is loading times. Like loading a new area into memory, or loading screens, etc. It won't effect your in-game frames per second or anything tangible gameplay wise.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3qPcX - The i5/GTX 780 w/ Samsung 120 GB SSD - $1,684
Just a heads up, the only thing the SSD will really effect is loading times. Like loading a new area into memory, or loading screens, etc. It won't effect your in-game frames per second or anything tangible gameplay wise.
- Aug 27, 2013
- 22,424
- 14
- 84,965
Xeon, GTX780 ti, 240GB ssd, 2TB hard drive and a 80+ platinum psu
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3qPCb
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3qPCb/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3qPCb/benchmarks/
CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V3 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($244.48 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI H87-G43 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($84.79 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial M500 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($114.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.63 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Video Card ($687.27 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($84.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts Platinum 650W 80+ Platinum Certified ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1541.10
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-13 01:32 EDT-0400)
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3qPCb
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3qPCb/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3qPCb/benchmarks/
CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V3 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($244.48 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI H87-G43 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($84.79 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial M500 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($114.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.63 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Video Card ($687.27 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($84.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts Platinum 650W 80+ Platinum Certified ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1541.10
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-13 01:32 EDT-0400)
Honestly unless it's just for personal reasons, there's no reason to pay for a motherboard that expensive. It's not going to give you any performance increase over any other standard 1150 socket mobo, only reason to get a real expensive one is for aesthetic reasons (if that's important to you) or if it has some features that are a must-have for you, such as more USB/PCI-e slots, etc. The build CTurbo just posted is actually very solid. That GPU is the best gaming GPU on the market right now, bar none, so if you really want a set up that's going to demolish any game on the market, that's probably the way to go.
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