Looking for Advice: £2000-ish Gaming PC

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Hi!

Please scroll down a bit for the actual questions.

I'm about to start purchasing the hardware for my first ever build (WOOT! :D) and I want to make sure I haven't 'dun goofed' anything.

My aim here is to be able to run Watch_Dogs, Battlefield 4 and Crysis 3 at maximum settings in 1440p on a single monitor. This may seem a little far-fetched, but the rig must be as future-proof as possible because I plan on keeping it for up to seven years. I also play a ton of TF2, and I will use the rig for 3D animation, video editing, and emulating.

I have been researching for three years, but I still consider myself as a noob. Additionally, I have never used this forum before, so please correct me if I have made any mistakes.

I am only able to respond to your generous advice on weekends.

OK, here are the specs:
__________________________________________________
Codename: Apex

System

Case
Fractal Design Define R4 Black Pearl - Window
Motherboard
ASUS MAXIMUS VII RANGER
CPU
Intel Core i7-4790K
CPU Cooler
Scythe Ashura Shadow (Limited Edition)
GPU#1
ASUS Strix GeForce GTX 970
GPU#2
ASUS Strix GeForce GTX 970
RAM
Corsair Vengeance Pro Series CMY16GX3M2A1866C9R
SSD
Samsung 850 Pro 256GB
HDD
Seagate Barracuda 2TB STBD2000201
ODD
ASUS BW-12B1ST
Storage Drawer
Evercool BOX-MK-BK
PSU
Corsair AX860

Peripherals

Monitor
ASUS ROG SWIFT PG278Q
Speakers
Logitech Speaker System Z553
Mouse
Razer DeathAdder 2013 Edition
Mouse Mat
Razer Megasoma 2
Keyboard
Razer BlackWidow Stealth

OS

OS
Windows 8.1 64-Bit OEM
__________________________________________________
For six years I have had the same PC, and though I love him, I know it's time to change :(. Eduard (named after Eduard Khil) has a 2.8GHz CPU (which I have not overclocked, due to Eduard's fragile age) 2GB of RAM and no GPU. It's a miracle it even runs TF2 at 25 FPS. I realise that the 'step up' from Eduard to Apex is HUGE, and I am super hyped.

Notes:


  • The case will be air-cooled with three fans hooked up to the fan controller on the case, rather than the mobo. My tactic for fan positioning involves leaving the two stock fans in place and installing the free case fan that comes with the CPU Cooler in the bottom position of the case, to cool my two GPUs. The air from the bottom and front collide, and move to the exhaust fan at the top-back.

    I will attempt to do a moderate overclock (which I will now refer to as an 'ogreclock', due to my love of Shrek) on my CPU (possibly 4.5GHz), but I have little knowledge of this and I am fearful of damaging my hardware. I trust my CPU Cooler and I am pretty sure it can handle the ogreclock. I will not ogreclock my GPUs or my RAM.

    I have searched the interwebs for the lowest prices on all the components, but I will not list them here, as all the components are being ordered from different websites and it's really, really messy.

I Am Looking For Advice Regarding:


  • Will all my hardware be compatible with each other?

    Will my CPU ogreheat after ogreclocking?

    Are three case fans enough to keep everything cool?

    Is the voltage of my PSU high enough for two GPUs?

    I am about £200 - £300 ogrebudget. Can you suggest ways I can save more money?

    On the topic of money, why, for crud's sake, is my monitor so goshdarn expensive?

    I have doubts that my mobo is a high enough 'tier' to match the rest of my PC. It is advertised as "entry-level ROG gaming". Maybe I should get Hero instead.

Your help will be appreciated.
Thanks!



 
Solution
MeteorsRaining
I've not seen such a clean, witty and precise but elaborative post from days, you may now know why my sig says what is says! You got a great budget, a good amount of research to put up a great build and make our life easier :)

The build looks solid, nothing much to add or remove, I'd just change the SSD to EVO 250GB, which's excellent quality, not much less from Pro while being cheaper. The PSU is actually a bit overkill quality wise for the build, EVGA B2 750W can take the SLI setup quite easily and is 65 Quids on amazon, around half the AX's price. Higher efficieny (like Plat. or Gold) won't make much difference unless you operate the rig 24/7.

For cooling, I'd put the spare fan which'll come, on the top for exhaust, which'll give...
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MeteorsRaining

MeteorsRaining

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Jul 27, 2014
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I've not seen such a clean, witty and precise but elaborative post from days, you may now know why my sig says what is says! You got a great budget, a good amount of research to put up a great build and make our life easier :)

The build looks solid, nothing much to add or remove, I'd just change the SSD to EVO 250GB, which's excellent quality, not much less from Pro while being cheaper. The PSU is actually a bit overkill quality wise for the build, EVGA B2 750W can take the SLI setup quite easily and is 65 Quids on amazon, around half the AX's price. Higher efficieny (like Plat. or Gold) won't make much difference unless you operate the rig 24/7.

For cooling, I'd put the spare fan which'll come, on the top for exhaust, which'll give out the hot air coming from GPU, and you can get a fan for side to blow air directly on the GPUs, Noctua AFs and Corsair quiet edition are quite good.

Your CPU cooler is more than fine for the Ogreclock (lol), no temp issues there.

Now your questions:

1. Yep everything fits nice and easy.

2. Nope, the heat is under control thanks to good CPU cooler.

3. More than fine, as mentioned earlier, feel free to move down a bit. A great tier list for PSUs can be found here:
http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1804779/power-supply-unit-tier-list.html
Anything above Tier 3 (which is NOT included) is recommended, ie, Tier 2 A or B or Tier 1.

A great list for PSU requirements wattage wise can be found here:
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm

4. Several changes to reduce price while keeping the performance:

RAM: Mushkin Blackline 16GB, around 15 quids cheaper.
SSD: Samsung EVO 250GB
You won't need storage drawer, the case comes with the bays.
PSU: EVGA B2 750W

The peripherals look tempting, I'm unwilling to change them.

5. 144Hz, 1ms response and its ROG!

6. ROG is the one of the highest tiers of OCing MoBo, people all over the world are dying to get Ranger, take it with both hands! Its great for some serious OCing.

Felt good reading the post :D
 
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G

Guest

Guest


Thank you so much for your very extremely helpful yet speedy reply: a wise rodent once said "Gotta go fast.".

I will look up the hardware you mentioned when I get the chance, although I was told by a professional PC builder that I should ALWAYS buy Corsair products over anything else.

Even with my dream PC build, the thing I am most excited about is in fact the storage drawer, not the CPU, GPUs or RAM. I mean... think about this... it's a DRAWER... INSIDE your 'puter. A DRAWER! Wow, I really live for the little things.

Anyway, I'm glad I had some affect on making you feel a little happier. I've actually been feeling quite depressed lately and it's nice to know that I cheered you up a little. :D (Holy crud, did anyone ever notice that that face looks JUST like Fawful?)

Again, thank you very much.
 
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MeteorsRaining

MeteorsRaining

Champion
Jul 27, 2014
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50,565
Corsair is not a compulsion, atleast not in RAM/ PSU/ SSD and basically anything else, you'll find a better value product from a reliable manufacturer in almost any of them at any said price. That said, it doesn't mean Corsair is bad, its just a bit pricy, I'd just critise their PSUs here, the CX/ CS/ VS/ builder lines are crap. Veng series (non-Pro or LP) have really high heatspreaders which often obstruct in cooler installation, so avoid that too. The current and suggested choices are however fine.

Lol fine keep the drawer its nothing bad!

That face really is depressing hey...

Glad to help :)

 
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I've just spent some time researching some parts you've recommended and I'd like to confirm some stuffs if that's OK.

Are you CERTAIN that 750 watt PSU will work? Please consider the 'puter being under full load, the ODD and the HDD/SDD. I know how devastating it can be to not have enough wattage.

Secondly, my version of the Define R4 has a window, so there is no side fan. Can you please recommend a different fan setup?

Again, thanks a bunch.

Oh, I mentioned the character Fawful because I thought he looked like the :D face. Here is an image: http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120715172415/mario/images/5/55/Fawful_Artwork_-_Superstar_Saga.png
 
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