Feedback on gaming build(s)!

jakomocha · May 5, 2014

Hello everyone, I probably went really overboard but what do you guys think of my first build? Space is not a limitation for me, but I still made an mATX and mid-tower version of it, which do you guys like more? The motherboard on the mid-tower is better, right? Sorry, I have to make a decision on that soon as they are only on sale until the seventh.

Here's the Micro ATX build:

Here's the mid-tower build:

I'm definitely leaning towards the mid-tower one unless there is some amazing non-size related reason to get the microATX one. I'm a little conflicted on the tower though. Should I get the Fractal Design Define R4 or the Rosewell R5 Black Gaming ATX? I have to make a decision on that soon, as its sale ends on the 8th. I'm leaning towards the Fractal Design. Is the extra 140mm case fan worth it, and is liquid cooling worth it? I mostly chose it because of how cheap it was for liquid cooling. Is the motherboard overkill? The only things I plan on overclocking are the GPU (do I have a high enough PSU for that to run well), monitor, and perhaps the processor. And speaking of the PSU, how is it? Is semi-modular okay, and is 750 watts enough if I want to overclock my graphics card? I know that neither of the cases could fit a second GTX 780 Lightning should I ever want dual-graphics cards, but is it possible to do a non-lightning GTX 780 card in combination with the Lightning? Finally, I think 8gigs of RAM is enough for now and I can update RAM later if I must. What do you guys think?

Thanks! Sorry if I sound clueless, I'm really new to this.
EDIT:
Also, in case I didn't make it clear, I'm willing to change basically anything (nothing is set in stone). What do you guys think of the Lightning?

Huge Edit:
I've changed my build quite a lot, including the GPU. Here's an updated version (I've gone with a mid-tower build):
PCPartPicker part list

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($339.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Seidon 120V 86.2 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z87 MPOWER ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($150.00 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($68.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: PNY XLR8 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB Dual Classified ACX Video Card ($563.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec HCG M 850W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($15.00)
Monitor: QNIX QX2710 Perfect Pixel 60Hz 27.0" Monitor ($359.90)
Wireless Network Adapter: TRENDnet TEW-805UB 802.11a/b/g/n/ac USB 3.0 Wi-Fi Adapter ($32.05 @ Amazon)
Total: $1931.85
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-06 19:04 EDT-0400)

coastie65 · May 5, 2014

jakomocha :

Hello everyone, I probably went really overboard but what do you guys think of my first build? Space is not a limitation for me, but I still made an mATX and mid-tower version of it, which do you guys like more? The motherboard on the mid-tower is better, right? Sorry, I have to make a decision on that soon as they are only on sale until the seventh.

Here's the Micro ATX build:

Here's the mid-tower build:

I'm definitely leaning towards the mid-tower one unless there is some amazing non-size related reason to get the microATX one. I'm a little conflicted on the tower though. Should I get the Fractal Design Define R4 or the Rosewell R5 Black Gaming ATX? I have to make a decision on that soon, as its sale ends on the 8th. I'm leaning towards the Fractal Design. Is the extra 140mm case fan worth it, and is liquid cooling worth it? I mostly chose it because of how cheap it was for liquid cooling. Is the motherboard overkill? The only things I plan on overclocking are the GPU (do I have a high enough PSU for that to run well), monitor, and perhaps the processor. And speaking of the PSU, how is it? Is semi-modular okay, and is 750 watts enough if I want to overclock my graphics card? I know that neither of the cases could fit a second GTX 780 Lightning should I ever want dual-graphics cards, but is it possible to do a non-lightning GTX 780 card in combination with the Lightning? Finally, I think 8gigs of RAM is enough for now and I can update RAM later if I must. What do you guys think?

Thanks! Sorry if I sound clueless, I'm really new to this.
EDIT:
Also, in case I didn't make it clear, I'm willing to change basically anything (nothing is set in stone). What do you guys think of the Lightning?

Hi. Case selection is a personal taste thing, as long as you have good airflow. For that reason, I would go with the Mid Tower with the ATX motherboard.

schau314 · May 5, 2014

Why such a high budget. Also whats the preferred use. We can help keep your budget down if need. Just a note, a bigger tower is easier to work with, especially for a 1st time builder.

jakomocha · May 5, 2014

schau314 :

Well, I'm not really sure how I can keep the budget down and still run 1440p at reasonable framerates. What would you guys recommend? Also a reason it is so high is because I have someone who is willing to pay for 1/3rd of it, so the cost for me is about $1325. Still, if I can get it lower that would be better especially considering that I'm planning on getting a Nvidia Shield for it. The Windows 8.1 price is placeholder, I'll probably get it for much cheaper.

Also, I'm almost 100% definitely getting the mid-tower build, not the Micro ATX one.

schau314 · May 5, 2014

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3EFgF
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3EFgF/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3EFgF/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V3 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($244.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty H87 Performance ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($107.86 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($139.99 @ Micro Center)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($56.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 780 3GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($499.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($57.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: QNIX QX2710 Matte 60Hz 27.0" Monitor ($369.49 @ Newegg)
Total: $1714.23
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-05 21:00 EDT-0400)

jakomocha · May 5, 2014

schau314 :

Wow, that was fast. Thanks. I'll consider many of the things you added. How much worse performance would that have from my current build with the Lightning and 4770k? I think I'd still keep the 4770k. Also, is that Samsung SSD space worth the extra cost from my current one? How's the case you chose? Will my extra case fan not be necessary with that?

schau314 · May 5, 2014

The xeon is a 4770k without graphics on board . You;re paying 100 dollars more for overclocking and integrated graphics that are not used with the discrete lightning card.
The ssd space is not the most worth wild, but don;t get a hybrid drive and an ssd. That defeats the purpose. Get a standard 1 tb drive and an ssd like yours.
Thirdly if not overclocking then that eliminates a lot of cost.

coastie65 · May 6, 2014

The Xeon is fine I suppose, but generally used in Workstation computers and servers. I am running a 4770k in here, but the truth is, the i5 4670k is fine and pretty much equal to it performance wise. The difference between the two is HT ( Hyperthreading ) which the i5 doesn't have. As for a Motherboard, this would be a good choice: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-z87extreme6 It is made by ASUS and a good quality board. I am not a big fan of MSI as I have seen far too many issues with those things. You can get a a 250gb -256gb SSD and a 1 or 2 TB Seagate Barracuda for storage. For the Video card, cut back to the GTX 770. You will not be disappointed with that card and it is cheaper. I am running a GTX 680 in here and it does fine. It will run everything I have thrown at it on Ultra at 1080 with good frame rates. The 770 is essentially a 680 on steroids with a faster turbo among other things.

jakomocha · May 8, 2014

coastie65 :

Sorry for the delayed response, I had written it up and thought I had submitted it but I just checked today and I guess I hadn't.

I would definitely go with the GTX 770 if I were getting a 1080p monitor, but alas mine is 1440p and the 770 is simply not powerful enough to run most games at a reasonable framerate at 1440p on the highest settings (if I took it down a notch to medium it'd run pretty well, but that's not really what I'm aiming for). I'm probably going to go with the Gigabyte GHZ GTX 780 edition after much debate, as it performs best out of the box (overclocked, the Lightning, Twin Frozr, and Classified basically all perform the same with the Classified having a small advantage). I think I'll still go with the 4770k or maybe the i5, I don't really like the Xeon. I already bought the board (last day on sale) so it's too late to change that, I guess I'll just have to hope for the best. Is there any advantage of storing stuff on an SSHD, or would it just be boot times that would be improved by it? If the latter is true then I'll just get a HDD because I already have a SSD for the OS.

coastie65 · May 8, 2014

jakomocha :

coastie65 :

Sorry for the delayed response, I had written it up and thought I had submitted it but I just checked today and I guess I hadn't.

I would definitely go with the GTX 770 if I were getting a 1080p monitor, but alas mine is 1440p and the 770 is simply not powerful enough to run most games at a reasonable framerate at 1440p on the highest settings (if I took it down a notch to medium it'd run pretty well, but that's not really what I'm aiming for). I'm probably going to go with the Gigabyte GHZ GTX 780 edition after much debate, as it performs best out of the box (overclocked, the Lightning, Twin Frozr, and Classified basically all perform the same with the Classified having a small advantage). I think I'll still go with the 4770k or maybe the i5, I don't really like the Xeon. I already bought the board (last day on sale) so it's too late to change that, I guess I'll just have to hope for the best. Is there any advantage of storing stuff on an SSHD, or would it just be boot times that would be improved by it? If the latter is true then I'll just get a HDD because I already have a SSD for the OS.

This is at Very High ( Ultra ? ) settings, you be the judge: http://www.how-to-diy.org/c0OmlFiXUeD76Y/Crysis-3-GeForce-GTX-770-1080p-vs-1440p-Gameplay-Frame-Rate-Tests.html

schau314 · May 8, 2014

Why do you hate the xeon?

jakomocha · May 10, 2014

coastie65 :

That would be amazing at the very high settings, but as you can see from this article it's actually running at high, not very high. Still quite impressive, but not exactly what I'm aiming for.

schau314 :

Don't hate it, but I do want to at least experiment with overclocking and there is no way to do that with the Xeon.

My biggest dilemma right now is whether to get a 780 Ti or GTX 780 GHZ edition as my GPU. What do you guys recommend? If you do recommend a 780 Ti, then which model of it is really good (but still not too expensive). I'd probably overclock the GHz edition should I get that.

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