High End PC build for triple 4k monitor gaming setup 4000$

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Aakash Narang

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Hi all

I am interested in making a high end pc and need your expert suggestions about the same. My budget is around 4,000 USD all inclusive (plus or minus 500 USD). I am located in India so the prices could be on the higher side then what is available in the US. Few points that I would like to mention are:

- I can get the CPU now and use it with my BenQ XL2411T or Dell U2414H monitor for the time being. I say this because Asus PB287Q still isn't available in India and even when it does, I doubt that the prices would be around 650$ (the US price). I am guessing it should be around 800-900$. Other good and reliable 4k gaming monitors, I don't know about that so please suggest.

- I read that maybe GTX 880 with 4gb vram would launch by the end of September. I am thinking of waiting for the same because I don't want to buy a GTX Titan or twin 780ti's right now and upgrade them few months later.

- I know that one graphic card cannot support 3 4k monitors and I am ready to do SLI/Crossfire. I want to know whether I will be better off with 2 or 3 graphic cards. My brand preference for Graphic cards would be ASUS (based on friends' suggestions). Never done it before, so detailed help would be more than welcome.

- Currently, I use an Alienware x51 (purchased this year itself) with GTX 670 2gb vram, i7 4770 and 16gb ram. I also use an Alienware 17 (purchased a couple of months ago) with GTX 880m, i7 and 16gb ram with 256 gb ssd+2tb hdd. I have always been a fan of Alienware and I have till today always preferred to purchase ready to buy systems. I normally stay busy with work so have always considered building a rig a tiresome job. But not now. Now, I am ready to build a super high end pc which will last me for years to come.

- Therefore, as you would now understand, I can build a CPU right now keeping in mind that main purpose is to game on a Triple 4k monitor setup. Graphic cards and the monitors I will buy as and when they become available here.

From what I have read on the internet, I have roughly made a list of parts that I wish to purchase:
Intel Core i7 4820k or 4770k
Asus Maximus vii (don't know the difference between Formula, Gene, etc. please explain)

For RAM, SSD, HDD, PSU, etc. and other parts, I am open to all suggestions. Also, it might sound stupid but I don't know how to overclock and have never done it before. But with this build, I would like to experience the same. That is why I chose Asus Maximus vii.

Expected purchase of :

CPU (excluding Graphic cards) : end-september

Graphic cards (inclined towards gtx 880 which is yet to launch) : end october

4k Monitors for gaming (no designing, PS, etc.) : November or December (whenever they get available)

I would appreciate any feedback from you guys. Thanks in advance!

 
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Hi Bro

Ok, I think I have mentioned before (I suppose) that I am not going to purchase 3x4k monitors right now or heck, even one at the moment. Simply because I am going to invest my savings in a better PC first of all. You are right that they won't cost cheap at all as right now, the Asus 32" 4k monitor in India retails for about 3700$ lol! I can use my BenQ XL2411T and buy 2 more monitors to have a perfect 3 monitor setup @ 144hz till 4k monitors become more affordable.
-- I think you should not be upgrading in such short time. This monitor was released only this year right? Or at least you should have bought it this year. Just get 2 more. That should set u back around 1K.

Btw would you recommend a better 144hz monitor than BenQ...
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Max2316

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i will be running a 3 monitor setup also, i asked the question on the graphics cards. Everybody thinks r9 290x's would do a better job at those high resolutions. it has 4gb vram and is cheaper than sli 780ti's. unless they come out with a 6gb version i will be buying r9 290x's (note im buying my hardware in october so i might change my mind and buy 880's, we will see. but for now 290x's is the choice for me atleast
 
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Neil Dangat

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while it is true that 3-4 way crossfire or sli doesnt scale well at 1080, a person has done a 3 4k moniter build for gaming at max, but it would be more expensive as he used 4 titan blacks (basically 780 ti with 6 gb vram)
 
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Aakash Narang

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Thanks for your reply & I understand your point. I checked that a Titan Z is around 4000$ in India so no point talking about that. But with AMD options, would you not recommend a R9 295x2 over a 290x Crossfire? With Nvidia options, wouldn't I be better off with a GTX Titan Black for now and later on would add another Titan Black when I can afford it? Just curious to know the difference as around the web, I see most people advising to go with SLI/Crossfire but not a dual GPU card like the 295x2. Sure it's more expensive. But any other difference in your view? Thanks.
 
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Aakash Narang

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Thanks for your reply. I don't want to start a war but just generally want to know is it true that AMD cards produce more heat and noise when compared to similar spec Nvidia cards? I myself am ok with either of the companies because of their repertoire globally but would not mind spending few extra bucks to avoid heat and noise as much as I can. What's your take on this?
 
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Aakash Narang

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If you are referring to the Benq or Dell that I have mentioned, I will rephrase it. I said I will use those monitors for the time being because Asus 28" 4k isn't yet available in my country and 32" 4k is around 4000$ approximately so I would stay away from a 32" for now and see if their prices drop and they become more affordable. But for the CPU, I would like to have it future proof because that is my aim later on.
 
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Aakash Narang

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Guys I appreciate your input. Also, I have come across various videos on YouTube claiming to do triple 4k monitor setups. Here are a few links:

Dirt 3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR1Cy75DOXE

Titan Z https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5nKRcd_bm4

etc.

There are more of such videos but I don't want to blindly trust them.

Tiny voices, I understand your point. On a side note, would you recommend a triple 1440p monitor setup for now and upgrade to triple 4k setup after maybe 15-18 months? If yes, then which gaming monitor would you suggest? And which graphic card that can run on these 3 monitors for gaming with great fps? Much thanks.

Bro, do the 780ti's in SLI have the required vram to support gaming in 4k? Quick search says that it has 3gb vram so I shouldn't buy them for 4k gaming rather wait for GTX 880's which might come with 4gb vram. What say?

Neil, thanks for your input. Is it true that Titan Blacks are mainly for work setups and not primarily for gaming? I have read people not recommending them so much as the 780ti's (sure 780ti's are much cheaper and have excellent reviews all over).


UPDATE: Guys I read about the x99 motherboards and haswell-e processors. I don't want to do audio or video decoding, rendering, creating or editing videos, etc with my build. Also the same products have no current availability in india. Would I be safe with an intel core i7 4790k with asus maximus vii hero/asus z97 deluxe?

Also I really like the cooler master cosmos ii. Any good? Or any alternatives that you'd suggest. I really want my rig to look awesome. Budget at or around the cosmos ii price range. Much thanks for your suggestions.
 
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Neil Dangat

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quatros are for work, titan/ titan blacks are marketed as gaming cards, but they have a few, but not all of the fetures as quatros, but in essence, a titan black is a 780ti with 6 gb vram, at a very high cost, but 780tis just dont have the vram for 4 k moniters, I saw a FUNCTIONAL MAX SETTING TRIPPLE 4k setup, but that was with a $ way titan black sli, another alternative would be a 4 way 290x 8 gb (theres one model with 8 gb) but you need the vram, also for platform, you need a x99 board with a i7 5930k, or better becuase you need the 40 pci e lanes for a 4 way sli/ crossfire, a 4790k only has 16, and a 5820k only has 28, not enough for 4 way sli
 
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Aakash Narang

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Much thanks for your input Neil. I only want to use this build for gaming. So I have shortlisted a few components, please have a look and advise me:

- Intel i7 4790k
- Asus Maximus vii Formula / Asus Z97 Deluxe
- Corsair H100i
- Samsung Evo 1TB SSD
- Corsair 750T/900D/Cooler Master Cosmos II (Not sure as I don't really like the looks of 900D but like it's flexibility in terms of watercooling for future for both CPU ans GPUs'. Cosmos II is not a great case for watercooling, is it true?)
- Corsair AX1200i SMPS
- G Skill 16gb ram ddr3 @ 2400 MHz OR Corsairs' version of the same is better?
- For Graphic cards, I would like to wait for GTX 880

About the last part of your post where you mention the PCIe lanes, I am ignorant about that. Do you mean that I can't run 4 Graphic cards in SLI or CFX? Or 2 x GTX Titan Black? Or 2 x R9 295x2's? I know this would sound stupid to everyone reading this post but guys, I have never built a pc before in my life. Usually I have gone with an iMac or Alienwares etc for desktops. So please enlighten me if you can about the importance of PCIe's in my system once again please with more details. As of now, I had thought that I would get 2-3 GTX 880's when they release, adding one at a time (being not too harsh on the wallet ;) ). Second option in my mind was to get 2-3 GTX Titan Blacks, again one at a time. How many PCIe's do I need for this setup?

I want this build to be future proof for 4k by adding more GPU's slowly. But at the same time, like I said before, I don't wish to do any content creation, video editing, rendering, etc. I have a different business and most of my time is spent at work or travel. I plan to use this pc on just Sundays and not on a regular basis. I asked a local dealer about the price estimate of 5930k as well as x99 mobo with 16gb ddr4 ram 2400 Mhz in my local currency. He told me about 2400 US$ for these 3 components when they release, and I should only expect a price drop by March onwards next year. As of now, even if I make up my mind on this new platform, I would be spending most of money on PC components itself EXCLUDING the cost of GPU's and MONITORS'. So I want to balance out a little.

Why I am building this is because my Alienware x51's GTX 670 2gb runs watchdog at only 50-60 fps on High settings and sometimes lags/hangs as well. So that annoys me a lot.

Therefore, if I have about 5000$ budget with me, and I wish to keep about 2400$ aside from this for 3 decent 4k monitors (buying them only when they get cheaper locally; probably end 2015), I am left with 2600$ for the PC including the GPU/s. Keeping in mind that GTX 880 is yet to launch shortly, I would prefer to wait for it and then take the plunge. So I can build the PC now excluding the GPU and Monitors.

- What / Which capacity of PCIe is required to run the following:
GTX 780ti 3gb
GTX 780ti's 3gb 2 way SLI
GTX 780ti's 3gb 3 way SLI
GTX Titan Black 6gb
GTX Titan Black 6gb in 2 way SLI
GTX Titan Black 6gb in 3 way SLI

Or if I choose AMD (which is less likely), then:

AMD R9 290x 4gb
AMD R9 290x 4gb in 2 way CFX
AMD R9 290x 4gb in 3 way CFX
AMD R9 295x2
AMD R9 295x2 in 2 way CFX

I see that both Asus maximus vii formula as well as z97 deluxe support QUAD SLI OR 3WAY CFX. Any help would be more than appreciated. Good day fellas!
 
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Neil Dangat

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PCI E EXPLANATION

the gpus, need to contact the cpu, they use pci-e lanes. a card can have 16x, 8x, or 4x pci e link. the z97 boards, they have 16 lanes to the cpus, and those must be divied up to the graphic card, they can be run in a 16x (1 card), 8x,8x (2 cards), or (8x,4x,4x) , with 3 carsds, but not four cards, where it says quad sli, they mean using titan Zs, and one titan z is 30% WEAKER than 2 titan balcks and it COSTS 50% MORE,the x99 cpu 5820k has 28 lanes for x16, (1 card), x16, 8x (2 cards) or x16,x8,x4 (3 cards) and the 3rd card would be a waste. ANY OTHER X99 CPU would allow you to run 4 card in x16,x8,x8,x8, and for triple moniter gaiming you NEED 4 GPUS

GPU CHOICE

You can still use 4 gpus on your selected mobo, but you would need to take 2 dual gpu cards (a titan z is 2 titan blacks on one card, but they run 30% slower, and the R9 295X2 is 2 290Xs on one card with a (insignificant)overclock, so 2x titan z or 2x r9 295X2 is ACTUALLY 4 WAY CF / SLI)

A titan BLACK and a 290x are about the same, and 2 R9 295X2 (4 way cf) can be had for $3000, while ONLY ONE TITAN Z is $3000,

SO GET 2 R9 295X2s FOR THE SAME PRICE AS 1 TITAN Z, AND IT WILL DESTROY EVERYTHING


 
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Aakash Narang

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Hey Neil, thank you so much for the detailed explanations. I have kind of preferred Nvidia always but this recommendation has great reviews. So I can take the plunge in favour of AMD this time. But the 500$ discount is only available elsewhere and not in India at the moment. Normally such high end cards have almost negligible sales in the Indian market. Anyhow, I am currently checking out with the distributor for its' availability and final pricing. Btw, to run quad r9 295x2's, would corsair ax1500i be sufficient?

Lastly, do you suggest any changes in my setup atm? Like quad 295x2's can run in CM Cosmos II? Any quieter alternate to Corsair H100i?

QUOTE

- Intel i7 4790k
- Asus Maximus vii Formula / Asus Z97 Deluxe
- Corsair H100i
- Samsung Evo 1TB SSD
- Corsair 750T/900D/Cooler Master Cosmos II (Not sure as I don't really like the looks of 900D but like it's flexibility in terms of watercooling for future for both CPU ans GPUs'. Cosmos II is not a great case for watercooling, is it true?)
- Corsair AX1200i SMPS
- G Skill 16gb ram ddr3 @ 2400 MHz OR Corsairs' version of the same is better?

UNQUOTE

Thanks and good day! :)
 
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Neil Dangat

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the corisar h100i is a reallly cood cooler, and only custom loop coolers beat it,

the ax1500i has trouble running 2 of these beasts, it has enough wattage, but youd have to do some thinkering with apmerage, as it is multi rail, toms did a test with 2x 295x2s, with this psu and it worked perfectly:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182063


as for cases, you need 2 120mm fan/radiator mounts (one for each card, they come stock liquid cooled, but you already knew that) AND
1 240mm mount for the h100i radiator
 
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Neil Dangat

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Cooling is not my greatest ares of knolage so i will defer to you if you can provide examples
 
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Aakash Narang

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Thanks for your replies guys, I am in touch with the national distributor and he has assured me that the x99 platform motherboards, 5930k and DDR4 ram would be available by October 10 locally. Also, GTX 980 will also launch (I am guessing) on 18/19th september so that should also be available in October in India. So I think I would wait and then take a final call when x99 availability isn't a problem because for a Z97 platform, with my chosen components, the PC would cost me around 4600$ and with X99, it'll cost me around 5,200$ as per my local currency. I will update this thread later now.

Thanks and cheers!
 
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