Future-proof silent gaming PC for around $1300

Giltintur · Oct 20, 2014

Dear Forumers,

I'd like to ask you for some help in building my sort of first PC.
As life goes, I'm in the lucky position that I have quite a big budget at the moment to buy a new pc, but in the next 2-4 years I won't be able to spend more than around $300 a year to keep it updated. So I want to spend my money of future updates and reliability now, so I can survive by minor upgrades for a.. well.. 5 year period?

I have four main goals in the following order:
1) Creating a future proof pc.
2) Creating a silent, or at least quite silent PC (it's in the bedroom... you know)
3) Being able to play most games on good quality
4) Being able to use the pc for graphical design.

These aren't fully independent problems, but it might be best to emphasise.

I have a fairly new OCZ Agility 3 128 GB SSD and a nice 500GB HDD, so I'll keep those, and that's about all the bits I plan on using.
After some reading I arrived at the following build, I think most of it is quite good, however I have no idea whether cooling, fans and airflow are any good:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor ($383.95 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($33.03 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock X99 Extreme4 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($239.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($57.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card ($349.99 @ B&H)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 Blackout ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair 860W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($186.99 @ NCIX US)
Monitor: Eizo FS2333-BK 60Hz 23.0" Monitor ($405.89 @ Adorama)
Total: $1737.82

As you can see I decided for DDR4, thus I had to choose a X99 Motherboard and a i7 CPU.
The Display is not part of the budget, and I plan to buy more RAM and a gaming SSD ASAP (the current one will be for the OS).

In the long run I'll be able to SLI the GPU, maybe swap the CPU, buy a bit more HDD while still using most of this PC.

I'd be honoured should you be able to offer me advice on the parts, maybe better price/value or more future proof components.

Thank you for your help!

Changes based on replies:
Memory: will be at least 8GB, and a further 8GB within a year.

matt1-0-1 · Oct 20, 2014

When you say a 'gaming ssd' do you mean an ssd with a larger capacity, or a specifically branded 'gaming' one. I wouldn't recommend the latter, as it is likely to be overpriced for what it is. I would recommend an ssd like the Samsung 840 evo, or the Crucial MX100

Shamar Holtz · Oct 20, 2014

That monitor is way over priced!

I'd advise this monitor or 2: http://www.microcenter.com/product/438305/22_1080p_LED_HD_Monitor

Use this RAM, High freqeuncy is good, but low latency is better: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211902&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

Everything looks fine. If you aren't going to use the RAM then at least buy 8gigs of whatever you want

prit87 · Oct 20, 2014

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.98 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($28.99 @ Micro Center)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($135.96 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($92.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial M500 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($349.99 @ B&H)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($349.99 @ B&H)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 Blackout ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1462.85
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-20 07:31 EDT-0400

Shamar Holtz · Oct 20, 2014

Thiw this in there too http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0088PUEPK/?tag=pcpapi-20

vrumor · Oct 20, 2014

Could spend $10k, and never future proof your PC. There is no such thing cause in 3 years if you want continued performance, maybe even 2, youll upgrade it all anyhow.

Giltintur · Oct 20, 2014

matt1-0-1 :

Right you are, I mean a larger capacity ssd

Thank you for the input!

Giltintur · Oct 20, 2014

Shamar Holtz :

I'm planing on using an IPS panel for perfect colour reproduction, thus the expensive display.

Giltintur · Oct 20, 2014

Shamar Holtz :

I'm not really looking at HDDs right now, I'm not planning on buying one in the next year or so.

Giltintur · Oct 20, 2014

vrumor :

It's more about spending more now, and saving more a bit later.

nick779 · Oct 20, 2014

Giltintur :

Dear Forumers,

I'd like to ask you for some help in building my sort of first PC.
As life goes, I'm in the lucky position that I have quite a big budget at the moment to buy a new pc, but in the next 2-4 years I won't be able to spend more than around $300 a year to keep it updated. So I want to spend my money of future updates and reliability now, so I can survive by minor upgrades for a.. well.. 5 year period?

I have four main goals in the following order:
1) Creating a future proof pc.
2) Creating a silent, or at least quite silent PC (it's in the bedroom... you know)
3) Being able to play most games on good quality
4) Being able to use the pc for graphical design.

These aren't fully independent problems, but it might be best to emphasise.

I have a fairly new OCZ Agility 3 128 GB SSD and a nice 500GB HDD, so I'll keep those, and that's about all the bits I plan on using.
After some reading I arrived at the following build, I think most of it is quite good, however I have no idea whether cooling, fans and airflow are any good:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor ($383.95 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($33.03 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock X99 Extreme4 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($239.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($57.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card ($349.99 @ B&H)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 Blackout ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair 860W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($186.99 @ NCIX US)
Monitor: Eizo FS2333-BK 60Hz 23.0" Monitor ($405.89 @ Adorama)
Total: $1737.82

As you can see I decided for DDR4, thus I had to choose a X99 Motherboard and a i7 CPU.
The Display is not part of the budget, and I plan to buy more RAM and a gaming SSD ASAP (the current one will be for the OS).

In the long run I'll be able to SLI the GPU, maybe swap the CPU, buy a bit more HDD while still using most of this PC.

I'd be honoured should you be able to offer me advice on the parts, maybe better price/value or more future proof components.

Thank you for your help!

Socket 2011 isnt really worth it unless you have tri SLI and up or absolutely require the extra cores.

Id personally get a 4790k /z97 system since it will have plenty of PCI pipelines for SLI (2-way). That way you can get a 980.

Oh, and if you decide to stick with DDR4, you need 8gb at LEAST, especially for gaming, graphic design would possibly need up to 16.

How did we go from a $1300 budget to a $1700 budget? Edit: just saw the monitor

Giltintur · Oct 20, 2014

prit87 :

Building a PC which is compatible with DDR4 is among my main focuses, the build you linked is superb, and thank you for it, but I really try to focus on the DDR4-X99 theme.
Further answer in my reply to nick779's post.

Giltintur · Oct 20, 2014

nick779 :

Giltintur :

Socket 2011 isnt really worth it unless you have tri SLI and up or absolutely require the extra cores.

Id personally get a 4790k /z97 system since it will have plenty of PCI pipelines for SLI (2-way). That way you can get a 980.

Oh, and if you decide to stick with DDR4, you need 8gb at LEAST, especially for gaming, graphic design would possibly need up to 16.

How did we go from a $1300 budget to a $1700 budget? Edit: just saw the monitor

Thank you, I'll modify the RAM to 8GB. As at the moment I have started to think about upgrading is because I have a DDR2 system and I can't get any more RAM in it, I was focusing in using the newest technology on that aspect. My current idea is to develop the SLI and Processor in due time, to keep up with newer needs. Am I spending too much on the 2011 socket concept for its worth?

To clarify further: I don't want to spend my cash on a system (motherboard, processor and RAM), which I will have to chuck out for a new technology in a couple of years, as I have the money now, but won't necessary have it in 3 years.

bsod1 · Oct 20, 2014

Get this monitor instead:
http://www.amazon.com/FORIS-FG2421-BK-23-5-Inch-Screen-Monitor/dp/B00GBG5SPO?tag=li-org-per-mon-us-20

Giltintur · Oct 20, 2014

bsod1 :

If it fits in my other budget, will do

Shamar Holtz · Oct 20, 2014

That's a $600 monitor?....

g-unit1111 · Oct 20, 2014

Shamar Holtz :

Yeah on a $1300 budget? Does not compute.

I wouldn't worry too much about "future proofing" - it's a moot point any more. Having an i7-5820K won't make your rig future proof in any way since most games really only use two CPU cores at most. Six is just overkill. But having only 4GB of RAM on a quad channel system doesn't make sense either.

Try something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.98 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U9B SE2 37.9 CFM CPU Cooler ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 EXTREME4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($123.79 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2400 Memory ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($345.66 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 Blackout with Window ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($114.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($19.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1283.35
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-20 14:16 EDT-0400

mike1996 · Oct 20, 2014

there is no such thing as future proof the best thing you can do is buy what you need and upgrade as you go

Giltintur · Oct 21, 2014

mike1996 :

Thank you for your input, but as I stated, I want to spend my money of future updates and reliability now, so I can survive by minor upgrades for a.. well.. 5 year period.

Giltintur · Oct 21, 2014

g-unit1111 :

Shamar Holtz :

Yeah on a $1300 budget? Does not compute.

I wouldn't worry too much about "future proofing" - it's a moot point any more. Having an i7-5820K won't make your rig future proof in any way since most games really only use two CPU cores at most. Six is just overkill. But having only 4GB of RAM on a quad channel system doesn't make sense either.

Try something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.98 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U9B SE2 37.9 CFM CPU Cooler ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 EXTREME4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($123.79 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2400 Memory ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($345.66 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 Blackout with Window ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($114.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($19.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1283.35
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-20 14:16 EDT-0400

Thank you for your input, as I stated the display is part of a different budget and there are a couple of stuff I don't need right now: OS, HDD, SDD are among them.

Future-proof silent gaming PC for around $1300

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