Building My First Gaming Computer (3500$ Budget)

MrStingerr

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So here is what I am looking for in this computer. First of all I would like it to have 2-3 Monitors for multitasking and recording/streaming. I prefer Intel and Nvidia over most other things, but I am open to other options. I would like at least 2TB of hard-drive space. It doesn't have to be the best stuff, just reliable would do. I'm hoping for this to last a couple of years or just until I feel like updating it. I would like it to be able to play the more graphic intense games with very good fps (SLI/Crossfire) is good. Water cooled CPU and silent fans are preferred but no necessary. I would like everything to be in one budget. I already have a mouse and keyboard so no need to worry about them. THANK YOU FOR THE HELPING ME FIND MY FIRST GAMING PC. Any and all Builds welcome. Obove is just my most preferred stuff. THANK YOU!
 
Solution
Here is what i came up with youd have to wait a few more weeks for cpu and water cooler to come out as they are not released yet.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($339.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X61 106.1 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($139.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus SABERTOOTH Z97 MARK 1 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($249.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: Corsair Dominator Platinum 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($229.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($134.99 @ Best Buy)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($104.67 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB TWIN FROZR Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($669.99 @ Micro Center)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB TWIN FROZR Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($669.99 @ Micro Center)
Case: Corsair 760T Black ATX Full Tower Case ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 1300 G2 1300W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($164.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Asus VE248H 24.0" Monitor ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VE248H 24.0" Monitor ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VG248QE 144Hz 24.0" Monitor ($256.99 @ Best Buy)
Total: $3551.51
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-18 05:32 EDT-0400
 

MrStingerr

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Thank you for the build, I like the look of it.

 

mapesdhs

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Is this to be a build based on all-new parts? Or are you happy to make best use of 2nd-hand items where
it's sensible/practical to do so? (or, as I do in reality, a blend of both, eg. I buy new fans, but go after
bargains on PSUs, HDDs, SSDs, GPUs, etc.) I specialise in exploiting what's available on the used market
& can advise as such. If it's to be all-new though then I'll let others comment. Also, some idea of your
budget would be wise to mention. Any thoughts on your preferred case size/style? I err toward the plain
look (such an '80s guy, hehe), but I know some prefer bells & whistles.

Re noise, I've had excellent results with Nanoxia Deep Silence fans. They work just as well as Noctua
fans but cost half as much. I built a 4.7GHz 3930K system recently for a friend, using a HAF 932 case,
Corsair H100i cooler, Quadro K5000, two GTX 580s, etc. I replaced all the stock fans with Nanoxias
(4x120mm on the H100i) and replaced the front fan with a Bitfenix Spectre Pro 32cm (3X faster airflow).
I was amazed at the results, really good low noise levels under load (NB: the only normal-new items in
this build were the fans, though several were obtained as new via normal auction, saving hundreds).

Ian.

 

MrStingerr

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Yeah, well most of the money I will be getting in like a month anyway. I'm just getting ideas of what I would like to have as a pc.

 

ANother consideration would be to ditch 3 monitor setup and get this http://www.asus.com/us/News/xXtX0FNhXQWPrry7 it should cost around $800 once it comes out 120hz and 1440p would provide the extra space for multitasking and would not have to deal with hassles of multiple monitors in games. Oh and as far as fans go Noctua is the way to go look at their to be released industrial ppc fans that will come in black color.
 
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MrStingerr

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Hey, Ian.

Well, I would like new items for this build, not really into the whole used thing. After market is welcome for the case fans. Actually prefer compare to my last build. Forget what I had in it. It was extremely loud, that's back when I was not into gaming or computers as much. Right now I'm on a 3 year old laptop that is starting to be outdated by today's game, so I am decided to go all out on my first build with 3500$. A large case would be nice. Bells and whistle are nice in some case but I don't need anything to extreme because it will just be sitting on or under a desk, the thing I really want to be good is the monitors. Anything is good from 1080-4k, just whatever works with the build, 2 monitors will work. I'm just looking for an overall great gaming pc that runs silent, that can play top notch games at great frame rates. Thank you for helping me!

Matt.

 

MrStingerr

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Yeah, now that I think of it I'm mainly looking for a 3rd monitor for look. Just a waste now that I think of it. I only use one for the game. But I'll keep this in mind. Thanks again!
 

mapesdhs

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In that case, esco_sid's example spec isn't that different to what I'd suggest in many ways. Don't be surprised
though if the X61's stock fans are a bit loud under load. It's a funny thing, the fans supplied with Corsair's
water coolers obviously work ok, but they're too noisy when running at high speed. Since the H100i comes
with just two fans, replacing them with four Nanoxias removed the noise completely and gave better temps.

Oh, one obvious point: if you're not going to oc the CPU then there's no need to buy a K-series part (spend
the surplus on something else), though you could always restrict your oc to whatever is possible without
increasing vcore, which means minimal additional power consumption & heat.

Btw, re reliability, one thing I do suggest is have a look round to see if you can find any new Enterprise SATA
drives going for a snip. Unsold servers being disbanded often result in such drives being dumped on eBay.
I've bought several 2TB drives recently for good prices - cheaper than consumer drives at the same capacity
but far more reliable, eg. Hitachi HUS series, Seagate Constellation ES2, or the Barracuda models that
end with NS in the model name.

As for SSDs, there are quite a few new/unused units on eBay these days (I've won many), though it doesn't
look as though the price crash from the MX100 has fed through to what people are happy to bid on them.

Hmm, only other thing that occurs to me, you might be happier with 1200-height displays than just 1080.
Every time I use a 1080 screen, I get irritated at the lack of vertical height for tasks other than gaming.

Good luck with the build!! :)

Ian.

 

MrStingerr

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Since I'm new to this whole pc building thing I do have a couple questions if you wouldn't mind helping. You mentioned some fans to change out on the CPU cooler. How can to tell how much fans your case can handle for cooling. And what would be the best fans to keep your case cool with good air flow? Any recommendations on cases themselves( Full Size ). Also, I would prefer good cable management for the case, If possible. Do you have any recommended screens for gaming and another for multitasking. They don't need to be the same size, just what ever you think is best. I would prefer the best low noise fans for a case that I can change out with the old loud ones. So any help again would be nice, Thank you!

Matt.
 

mapesdhs

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MrStingerr writes:
> ... How can to tell how much fans your case can handle for cooling. ...

Read site reviews of the case in question and of course check the manufacturer specs. Also worth
seeing if there are dedicated forums threads for the case, eg. I think overclock.net has a thread about
the HAF 932 which I found very useful.

When you look at pictures of a case, check the rear view images, see how high up the mbd backplate
hole is compared to the top of the case. If it's too high up, a water cooler might not fit. The HAF 932
is one model which does have plenty of room for a 240mm water kit with four fans, but alas it doesn't
have enough rear expansion slots to support 4-way CF/SLI. I moved my own 3930K setup into an
Aerocool XPredator case to have 4-way GPU support, but alas the I/O shield hole is too high up to
allow for an internally positioned water cooler. Thus, I set up the H110 so that two of the Nanoxia 140mm
fans were inside the case, while the radiator unit and two upper fans were outside the case. Looks a
bit weird, but it works ok.

I'm still trying to find a case that has at least 8 rear slots but also could hold an internal water
cooler with 4 fans.


> ... And what would be the best fans to keep your case cool with good air flow? ...

People will argue back & forth about this. Many will mention Noctua fans, but please note:
although they do work well, they're expensive and (IMO) look horrible (brown & biege? Really??).


> Any recommendations on cases themselves( Full Size ). Also, I would prefer good cable management
> for the case, If possible. ...

It'll vary depending on the case of course, but here's an example of what I did (you can extrapolate
to other cases).

I used a Cooler Master HAF 932 for a 3930K setup as follows:

- Replaced the built-in top 23cm fan with a Corsair H100i for the CPU, configured as an intake.
This is because, with 3 internal GPUs, I didn't think using internal air for cooling the H100i
would work so well.

- Replaced the 2 fans that come with the H100i with four Nanoxia Deep Silence 120mm PWM.
Note that the two connections to the pump are grouped vertically, ie. each PWM pair is one fan
above, the other below (one should avoid two fans next to each other running at different speeds).

- Replaced the front intake Cooler Master 23cm fan with a Bitfenix Spectre Pro 23cm for 3X
better airflow but still very little noise. Direction reversed so it acts as an exhaust (this is
because the case was to include two GTX 580s inside, which vent heat backwards; the primary
GPU was a Quadro K5000, the two 580s were for CUDA).

- Replaced the built-in side panel 23cm fan with four Nanoxia Deep Silence 120mm PWM.
Note though that if you're only going to have one or two GPUs, then a single Bitfenix 23cm
as above would probably be ok.

- Replaced the rear Cooler Master 14cm exhaust fan with a Nanoxia Deep Silence 140mm PWM.

Note that I've done a build like this before using a Noctua fan for the rear exhaust and Gelid Wing
Blue for everything else; this Nanoxia-based setup was worked out much better. The end user was
amazed how quiet it was (and quite frankly, so was I).


> Do you have any recommended screens for gaming and another for multitasking. ...

Alas I'm not that knowledgeable about gaming screens, plus I'm terribly biased towards
IPS models because most of my time is spent doing work stuff, not gaming. Many gamers
will recommend TN panels because they have a faster refresh, or support very high frequencies
for smoother screen updates (assuming one has the GPU power to drive such speeds). I was
happy with a 1920x1200 IPS, though I did buy a 2560x1440 IPS so I can well understand why
someone might wish for something better than 1080p.

Cheers! :)

Ian.

 

MrStingerr

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OK, So I was checking out and looking at some different components and I think I found my build. What I'm going to do is take the fans off the water cpu cooler and use the 4 Nonoxia fans. For silence but lots of airflow. I will replace the back fan with the 140mm fan. Im going to switch the place of the existing top fan and move it to the panel close to the front but still on the top. I will leave the front fan and side panel fan the way they are. I'm using this case for cable management. I'm going all out on the monitor and having a 1080p for extra use. What do you think. Anything I should change or does it look fine?

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/JfKxbv
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/JfKxbv/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($339.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus Sabertooth Z87 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($229.29 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Dominator Platinum 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($219.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($134.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($104.67 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Superclocked ACX Video Card ($699.99 @ Micro Center)
Case: Cooler Master HAF X Blue ATX Full Tower Case ($216.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair RM 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($109.00 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($139.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Asus VE278H 27.0" Monitor ($214.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus PB287Q 60Hz 28.0" Monitor ($648.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case Fan: Nanoxia NDS120PWM-1500 67.3 CFM 120mm Fan ($23.99 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Nanoxia NDS120PWM-1500 67.3 CFM 120mm Fan ($23.99 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Nanoxia NDS120PWM-1500 67.3 CFM 120mm Fan ($23.99 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Nanoxia NDS120PWM-1500 67.3 CFM 120mm Fan ($23.99 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Nanoxia NDS140PWM-1400 67.3 CFM 140mm Fan ($24.99 @ Amazon)
Keyboard: Razer Blackwidow 2014 Stealth Edition Wired Gaming Keyboard ($93.40 @ NCIX US)
Total: $3383.18
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-18 13:07 EDT-0400

Matt.
 

mapesdhs

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Blimey, those Nanoxia fans are a bit pricey; I thought US pricing would be better. They're normally for
sale in the UK for the equivalent of about $16 each, though some sellers here do charge a lot more.
Shop around though, you ought to be able to find a better price for them elsewhere.

Must confess the PSU underwhelmes me. ;) I just keep trawling eBay for used/new Thermaltake
Toughpower units, 1000W to 1475W. :D I've saved over $900 doing this in the last few months, hehe.
Overkill for a single/dual GPU setup of course, but I wanted the headroom to test up to 4-way SLI/CF
with 6-core CPU options.

Hey, why not the SABERTOOTH Z97 MARK 2 instead? Or the Maximus VII Ranger?

Lastly, it's usually easy to find a totally new/unused & fully legit Win7/Pro/64 OEM pack on
eBay for about $80 or less (ie. unused COA key included). I bought ten packs last year for
45 UKP each. They typically come from hardware brokers who are disbanding unsold
low-spec Win7 business Dell/HP desktops, ie. the OEM lics have never been used. With
the release of Win8, they've become even cheaper, eg. see item 131219093279 on
www.ebay.co.uk, a typical example (and that seller does ship to the US).

Ian.

 

MrStingerr

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I'm planing on adding more gpu's in the near future to this build, like sometime in late September. I can only get one right now. Honestly, I could save money doing some of the things you recommend, but it really doesn't matter to me all that much. But I guess I can keep looking. I'm just looking for ease and not ordering from 20 different shops. If I can get everything on Amazon for a 20-50$ flux in the price, it doesn't bother me that much. And I will take a look at those motherboards.
 

mapesdhs

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True indeed, sometimes it's just less hassle to order from fewer sources even if it means the total
is a tad higher. Dunno, maybe I just get a bit of a kick out of finding a cheaper but reliable source
whenever I can for fully new items. :D Pricing variance can certainly be considerable.

Btw, if you don't plan on having more than two GPUs, one nice thing about a couple of the Z97
boards is the triple slot spacing. Makes for much better cooling... ah, I see after a quick check
the Sabertooth Z87 does have that though, which is good.

Not sure if ASUS's comparison tables are including all relevant specs, but some differences I
see are that the Z97 Deluxe has SATA Express, faster RAM support, and better audio by the
looks of it. No idea what the prices differences might be though.

Actually if I was buying a Z97 board for this, I'd get the Z97-WS because it also offers 4-way
SLI/CF with better PCIe allocation; obviously overkill if you don't intend to have more than
two GPUs, but it would mean you could run two GPUs each at x16, whereas all the other
boards would use x8/x8 for a dual-GPU config. OTOH, the WS versions do tend to cost
more (they have all the same oc options though).

Ian.

 
I made a few adjustments to your build dont get the dominator 2133 ram because it has high cas latency the 1600 one will actually be faster at cas 7 and 1600 is what the cpu was designed for also changed power supply that has 850 watts that could actually support 780 Tis in SLI once you want to upgrade and has 10 year warranty best rated PSU currently as far as fans ? well Noctua are actually better and cheaper here in USA if you dont like the color dont buy any fans because noctua will be releasing those same fans in black color. Another thing I would HIGHLY advise against getting a 4k monitor they are just not ready yet they are essentially 2 monitors meshed meshed together and not true 4k wait a few more years to get on that bandwagon currently 1440p is the best option. Changed to z97 motherboard as 4790k does not officially support z87.

Also no onboard audio on any motherboard provides good audio quality even if they say its upgraded its usually gimmicks you will want actual sound card i am not sure what you budget would be for that but i personally use http://schiit.com/products/bifrost with http://audioengineusa.com/Store/Powered-Speaker-Systems/A5-plus-N-Powered-Speakers

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($339.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus SABERTOOTH Z97 MARK 1 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($249.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: Corsair Dominator Platinum 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($229.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($134.99 @ Best Buy)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($104.67 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Superclocked ACX Video Card ($699.99 @ Micro Center)
Case: Cooler Master HAF X Blue ATX Full Tower Case ($216.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($109.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($139.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Asus VE278H 27.0" Monitor ($214.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus PB287Q 60Hz 28.0" Monitor ($648.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-S12A FLX 120mm Fan ($14.99 @ NCIX US)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-S12A FLX 120mm Fan ($14.99 @ NCIX US)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-S12A FLX 120mm Fan ($14.99 @ NCIX US)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-S12A FLX 120mm Fan ($14.99 @ NCIX US)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-A14 PWM 82.5 CFM 140mm Fan ($16.99 @ NCIX US)
Keyboard: Razer Blackwidow 2014 Stealth Edition Wired Gaming Keyboard ($93.40 @ NCIX US)
Total: $3370.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-18 17:57 EDT-0400
 

mapesdhs

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No idea what you mean about the CPU being 'designed' for 1600 RAM, these mbds will handle much faster RAM with
ease, and note that in many cases the XMP profiles for fast RAM involve lower latencies than generic modes as slow
as 1600. I reckon the sweetspot is 2133.

As for Noctua, sorry but the idea that their fans are somehow inherantly better than anything else is just plain wrong.
There are numerous models which are just as good and in some cases, such as the Nanoxia models I mentioned, better.
I have several Noctua fans (including the A14 PWM), they definitely make more noise than the Nanoxia units I've obtained.
The Nanoxia 14cm is better than the A14, of that I am certain. I use them to replace the stock top fan in Antec 300 cases,
works very well indeed.

You're right about 4K stuff, will be a while before one GPU can handle it that well, and best wait for newer revision of DP
anyway. Don't agree about the audio though, most users will be perfectly happy with onboard audio, especially the mbd
models which have higher quality chips by default (Z97 Deluxe? Forget offhand). Few people can really tell the difference,
despite what they may claim. Blind tests have proved this again and again.

Ian.

 
I dont mean to be rude but before saying things about ram i would read more about technical aspects of ram and how the current processors are designed towards the ram specifications just because something has higher mhz does not mean it is faster there are a lot of other factors invloved. As far as fans well i guess most reviews putting them at the top of the list are wrong according to you. Audio personally changed a lot from my perspective in quality i guess it depends on each individual persons hearing.
 

mapesdhs

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Yes, I know how RAM works, my point was that often an XMP profile (which one can set up manually) uses lower
latencies than the generic modes down at the 1600 level. Tell me about MHz is rather amusing... I was
moaning about MHz-boasters more than 20 years ago. :D

Ian.

 


XMP profile merely sets ram to its mhz and timings guaranteed by the manufacturer the 1600 ram i have in there has cas latency of 7 which is way lower than most generic 1600 ram which of course could be further overclocked. But the most honest answer is there literally is no need to go above 1600 as it provides almost no noticeable benefit even if it was CAS 9.
Look at this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWgzA2C61z4#t=132

 

mapesdhs

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Feel free to believe that slower memory is 'better' if you like, but it's not true, not when the clock difference is that
huge. One is far better off with 2133 RAM than 1600, even if it means the latency is higher. Besides, the cost
difference is tiny, and some games do benefit, as do a range of general tasks.

Ian.

 


Ok whatever man i guess there is no point arguing with you even after posting facts with video links.