~1200-1300 USD Gaming Build Opinions (need good case options)

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Ganz

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Jan 17, 2014
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Alright I will be building this within a few weeks so I want some opinions on my current setup:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/GMH8P6

I will be using this exclusively for gaming so performance is key. I plan to mildly OC the system in the future. I don't need monitors or other peripherals. I also already have purchased the OS I will be putting on this machine. I will buy from any reputable dealer to find the lowest price.

I also WILL be waiting until the GTX 900 series gets released(September 19th) because speculation is that the 970 will be at a price point of $399 which would replace the 780 in the current build.

I also would very much appreciate if you guys could point to some good gaming cases that are:
Relatively large (I've got big hands :p)
Performs well/Good Airflow
Looks good(important) keep with my black/red color scheme
~$100 or less

Thanks for your help!


EDIT: I will be gaming on 1080p with games like:
League of Legends
Guild Wars 2
HEAVILY modified Skyrim
Borderlands series
 
Solution
nikoli707
i disagree with such a high wattage power supply. any quality 600w unit will power an overclocked i7 extreme along with an overclocked 780ti/290x. that said.... since your going with the 970 which will come in at likely 35-70w more conservative than the 780, with your setup, i would rather have the xfx gold or even the corsair rm series gold 650w at $90 than the evga. unless of course your planning on sli later on, then i would skip 750w and go for an 850w, which right now sucks because the seasonic 1000w platinum is on sale for $140, making it a no brainer over any $100 psu.

i dont really understand why you have 16gb in there as your not rocking an i7 for highly threaded non gaming apps, but by all means, if you want 16gb, throw...
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zeyuanfu

zeyuanfu

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I would say get the Asus Z97-A which is 30-40$ more but WELL worth it. Its quality is better than those of MSI. You also don't need Corsair Vengeance Pro, G.SKILL Ripjaws X is fine. SSds with a lower $/GB can be found (cough cough Crucial). if you can, get the 780 Ti as it'll last you longer than the 780. I don't think you need a Phantom Case? The Cooler Master HAF 912 would be a good choice. Last of all, CX PSUs are made with low quality caps, better get the EVGA SuperNOVA 750 B2 or something along the lines of that.
Otherwise, your build is good to go!
 
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numanator

numanator

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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.97 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($28.66 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($122.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($164.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($109.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($56.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 780 3GB DirectCU II Video Card ($398.00 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom ATX Full Tower Case ($115.64 @ TigerDirect)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1281.21
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-12 17:46 EDT-0400

The Corsair CX are not great quality units, shouldn't be in a system with a 780, changed to a Seasonic M12II fully modular.

The NZXT Phantom is a good case but it doesn't have a window so you wouldn't be able to see the color scheme inside.

Changed the RAM to some lower profile ram to avoid any potential conflicts with the cooler.

The only good reason (IMO) to keep the Samsung Pro over a Samsung EVO SSD is the warranty on the pro. Otherwise you could drop that down to save $25. Also, if you are gaming you won't be using 16 gb ram, 8 gb is sufficient and easily upgraded in the future.
 
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swiftleeo

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Honestly the only thing I will comment on is the case. Cooler Master HAF X all the way. It looks great, has a window, has plenty of space. 150 for the last case you'll ever need.

Also @numanator: Why are CX-series PSU's not quality? I mean it's not very energy efficient but honestly I've been running a CX 600 for a year and a half with no issues, and upgraded to a CX 750 and running an R9 290 with no issues.
 
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swiftleeo

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Why not go for a Sapphire R9 290 4GB for less than the 780?

Update: Well not less but you get another GB of video memory and the tri-x OC runs at 1040 mhz.
 
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zeyuanfu

zeyuanfu

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I would still say the Asus Z97-A, and the Crucial MX100 256GB SSD.
The CX PSU you have might have been made before they used low quality caps. You might also have not been putting too much of a load on the 750 watt unit you bought...

Otherwise, you're good to go!
BTW the Gaming 3 is still a good board, but the Z97-A would be better if ever you wish to purchase it.
 
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numanator

numanator

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Looks good but if you want the EVGA supernova go for the G2 version, it is much better quality compared to the Supernova NEX version.

Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($104.99 @ NCIX US)

Not on sale right now but you can sometimes find it for around $70.

Personally I would grab the seasonic I linked above, can't go wrong with it (I have the older version in my PC)
 
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numanator

numanator

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The main reasons are:
1) They are rated for 30 degrees C whereas most good PSUs are rated at 40C. It is much easier to get good readings at a lower temp.
2) They use low quality capacitors that are know to fail at high temperatures. Many people don't have problems because of this but in the past year I have seen multiple threads about CX failures. Some ppl will argue that this is irrelevant because the warranty has you covered. Personally, I don't like to wait for an RMA while not being able to use my computer. Also, Corsair's competitors use good quality Japanese capacitors and their PSUs only cost a few $$ more, not worth the risk for me since I keep my computers far longer than the typical parts warranty and definitely longer than Corsair's 3 yr warranty.
3) I don't have trust/faith in the OEM who manufactures the CX series.

Edit: The corsair cx's sell very well due to Corsairs marketing and the reputation that previous generation PSUs built for them. Many of the older PSUs had very good OEMs like seasonic so people expect similar quality from their recent models.
 
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nikoli707

nikoli707

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i disagree with such a high wattage power supply. any quality 600w unit will power an overclocked i7 extreme along with an overclocked 780ti/290x. that said.... since your going with the 970 which will come in at likely 35-70w more conservative than the 780, with your setup, i would rather have the xfx gold or even the corsair rm series gold 650w at $90 than the evga. unless of course your planning on sli later on, then i would skip 750w and go for an 850w, which right now sucks because the seasonic 1000w platinum is on sale for $140, making it a no brainer over any $100 psu.

i dont really understand why you have 16gb in there as your not rocking an i7 for highly threaded non gaming apps, but by all means, if you want 16gb, throw out another $70.

the crucial mx100 is equal to +/- the 840 evo, but at a better price point with newer tech.

took out the hyper 212 and threw in a better performing phanteks that is RED!!!!!!.... and the 4690k can make use of the better cooling so you can get couple points higher on your overclock since others are struggling with the hyper 212 on these devils canyon cpus.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.97 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC12DX_RD 68.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($122.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($72.00 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($56.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 780 3GB DirectCU II Video Card ($398.00 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom ATX Full Tower Case ($115.64 @ TigerDirect)
Power Supply: XFX XTR 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1170.55
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-12 18:27 EDT-0400
 
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zeyuanfu

zeyuanfu

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Even if the PSU efficiency is 80+ Titanium, 600 watts won't cut it for an OCed i7 and a 780 Ti, let alone an 290X.
 
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nikoli707

nikoli707

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yes it will, ive had my 2500k@1.40v 4.7ghz and my classified 780@1.285v 1385mhz core benching 3dmark and haven't hit the ocp on my 3 year old tier 2b 600w bronze power supply. thats equal to or slighly more than your average medium overclock on an ivy-e i7 extreme with and tier 1 gpu.

but i agree i would want a little more headroom, ive just never got around to it :p
 
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G

Ganz

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My goodness thank you! Very in depth explanations! I'll have to look into the CPU cooler too (I'm very picky with those) Also, what Wattage should you shoot for in an SLI configuration? And if anyone has more recommended cases please throw them out I want to choose from about 5 of them.
 
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nikoli707

nikoli707

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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC14PE_RD 78.1 CFM CPU Cooler ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $64.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-12 18:51 EDT-0400

you could go with this former king of the air coolers(now the noctua nh-d15 that is not red and about $100). its a beast, so you would have to make sure the case you get fits it and the motherboard ram slots would clear it, meaning very likely low profile ram. its also heavy, so moving your rig around isn't a very good idea since it basically weighs more than any motherboard recommends as the max grams to mount. but it cools just as good as most boxed water coolers and is roughly on par with an h100i.
 
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nikoli707

nikoli707

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many are struggling with the heat of devils canyon cpus on the cm212evo. since the op likes red anyways, and only $20 more, it kinda kills two birds with one stone.... RED and a little extra cooling headroom for the modest overclock.
 
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RazerZ

RazerZ

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Price to performance the 212 EVO would win, but the Phanteks is a better cooler. Better aesthetics, quieter, superior build quality, and cools better as well.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Phanteks/PH-TC14PE/7.html
 
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