Upgrading my pc: are these good options?

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Dulpini

Dulpini

Reputable
Aug 11, 2014
12
0
4,510
Hello everyone,

I'm going to upgrade my pc and want to double check if there aren't any better options for the same/less money out there, so I would appreciate any input from you more experienced guys.

I'm thinking to buy the following things:
-i7 4790k
-scythe mugen max
-r9 290 tri-x sapphire
-asus rog m7 ranger
-crucial ballistix tactical 8gb (cl 8)

I'm going to build them in an antec 900 case which I already own. I also already have a seasonic m12ii 850, a HD and a soundcard. I'm playing on 1920x1200 and especially want to get the most out of games. This rig should be future-proof for another ~5 years. Possibly later, when the price of 4k monitors will drop, I want to put in a second GPU, so my motherboard should be able to support that.

Would this be a fine setup, or are there cheaper parts out there that perform the same/better? I really can't afford to spend any more on this upgrade than the stuff listed above.

Thanks in advance!

Dulp

PS: I live in the Netherlands.
PS2: I plan to overclock CPU/GPU.
 
Solution
Rapajez
I think all 3 are even in terms of multi-GPU support, with the Z97 chipset, you get one at x16 or dual at x8/x8 mode (which doesn't slow down modern GPU's much anyway).

I'd go with the Gigabyte for overall performance, OC-ability, and reliability.

Sort by date Sort by votes
Rapajez

Rapajez

Distinguished
Jul 17, 2014
1,087
2
19,665
If I had this budget, I'd probably skimp in some areas to squeeze in a Solid State Drive. They're just too awesome of an upgrade to skip out on these days. Both for game loading, startup, and overall responsiveness.

I've heard mixed reviews about the ASUS M7. Most put it behind the cheaper MSI Z97 Gaming 7 and Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD5H, in performance, cost, and reliability. It does have some of the nicest software though.

You could also drop the i7 to an i5-4690k, as most modern games don't take advantage of the Hyper threading, especially considering the cost difference. It is possible that future games will take better advantage of it of course.

What sound card are you using? Just curious.
 
Upvote 1 Downvote
Dulpini

Dulpini

Reputable
Aug 11, 2014
12
0
4,510


Thanks for the quick response.

Yes I've considered the MSI Z97 Gaming board. Though I read some people were complaining about it being a lower quality build than the Asus boards. Would two GPU's perform faster in the MSI setup? The MSI has 4x PCI-e 2.0 x1, 3x PCI-e 3.0 x16 while the Asus has 3x PCI-e 2.0 x1, 1x PCI-e 2.0 x16, 2x PCI-e 3.0 x16 I believe.
The Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 5 was also on my list of potential mobo's.

And yes, I definitely should add a SSD to my setup.

Thanks for the tip about that 4690k, I'm going to carefully compare those two as the price is quite better than his bigger brother (~90 euros).

PS: I'm planning to overclock GPU/CPU later on.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Rapajez

Rapajez

Distinguished
Jul 17, 2014
1,087
2
19,665
I think all 3 are even in terms of multi-GPU support, with the Z97 chipset, you get one at x16 or dual at x8/x8 mode (which doesn't slow down modern GPU's much anyway).

I'd go with the Gigabyte for overall performance, OC-ability, and reliability.

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
Dulpini

Dulpini

Reputable
Aug 11, 2014
12
0
4,510


Ah great. I also read somewhere that people are experiencing the real time frozen clock issue with the Asus m7 boards. I'd best stick with Gigabyte then, I read that their build quality is really solid. Also ~20 euros cheaper than the m7 ranger.

Do you happen to know the difference between these two boards? (GA-Z97X-UD3H and GA-Z97X-Gaming 5)
http://www.overclockers.ua/news/motherboard/113425-giga-z97-new-1.jpg
http://img.hexus.net/v2/motherboards/intel/Gigabyte/Z97X-G5/Z97X-G5-2b.png

PS: My sound card is a cheap Audigy SE at the moment, but I plan to upgrade to sth like a Titanium HD next year.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Rapajez

Rapajez

Distinguished
Jul 17, 2014
1,087
2
19,665
Comparison linked below. In short, the Gaming 5 has less expansion slots, ports, etc, and doesn't get tested as heavily as the UD3H before leaving the factory. There's also a "Black Edition" of the UD3H that gets even more testing, has a longer warranty...and is black.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=-1&IsNodeId=1&Description=GA-Z97X-UD5H&bop=And&CompareItemList=-1|13-128-707^13-128-707-TS%2C13-128-709^13-128-709-TS%2C13-128-722^13-128-722-TS&percm=13-128-707%3A%24%24%24%24%24%24%24%3B13-128-722%3A%24%24%24%24%24%24%24
 
Upvote 1 Downvote
Dulpini

Dulpini

Reputable
Aug 11, 2014
12
0
4,510




Thanks for your answer.

The UD3H black edition is 26 euros more expensive than the yellow one, so it would be either the Gaming 5 or UD3H yellow. Yet I can only find 3 small differences between them. The specifications that I found showed 3 year warranty for both. 1) The Gaming 5 supports DDR3-3200, while the UD3H doesn't (although I don't use 3200). 2) They appear to have a different network controller. 3) The Gaming 5 offers support for Sound Blaster X-Fi MB3, whatever that may be.

Both boards are priced the same where I live. Does that make the UD3H a better option because of the increased durability trademark, or the Gaming 5 because of those 2 different features? I also read somewhere that the UD3H is mostly based on server usage, while the Gaming 5 focuses on gaming. Is this a marketing trick, or does it actually make sense?

Appreciate your input!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Rapajez

Rapajez

Distinguished
Jul 17, 2014
1,087
2
19,665
There's some truth to that. Servers would prioritize reliability over performance. In this particular case, I doubt you're getting any performance improvements with the Gaming version, but you are loosing some reliability .

I'd personally go with the Yellow, as the 3 reasons you list above don't outweigh the extra reliability you'll get. If you went with the Gaming 5 because it looks cooler, I wouldn't fault you either...
 
Upvote 1 Downvote
Dulpini

Dulpini

Reputable
Aug 11, 2014
12
0
4,510


I haven't bought it yet. Would be in ~4 weeks. The UD3H yellow is currently 5€ cheaper than the Gaming 5 and I´m all about performance. Don´t care if my components are pink or anything ;)

A lot of people on the forums and other sites are rooting for the Asus Hero 7, simply because it would give better OC results and is a really sturdy board. It's a big 40€ more expensive than the Gigabyte UD3H (and 20€ more than the Asus Ranger 7), so I'm not sure if it's really worth the money for someone looking to optimize the price/performance ratio.


    Gigabyte UD3H yellow z97
    Asus Ranger 7
    Asus Hero 7


Thx for sticking around!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Rapajez

Rapajez

Distinguished
Jul 17, 2014
1,087
2
19,665
Not sure if you're still in the market. I read a review in Maximum PC where they pitted all 3 boards together, and ran a suite of benchmarks, (Valve Particle, Resident Evil 6, Hitman Absolution, 3D Mark/PC Mark), on all 3, using identical components of course. The Gigabyte beat the ASUS Hero by 5-10% in most tests. Granted, this was without an OC on the i7-4770k--stock settings. Both boards featured auto-overclock (not that most people here would use that) and the Gigabyte also topped out at 4.6GHz, vs the ASUS at 4.4Ghz.

Again, all 3 are solid boards, and the ASUS probably have the best software and interfaces out there. I'd personally stick with the Gigabyte.
 
Upvote 1 Downvote
Dulpini

Dulpini

Reputable
Aug 11, 2014
12
0
4,510


Hey, thanks for your reply.

That's great to hear. I only bought a r9 290 tri-x so far, no motherboard yet, but the Gigabyte seems like the best option. Especially because it's the cheapest of those listed.

I'm pretty confident I'll get that board now. Thank you :D
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom