First Gaming PC Build

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HeroesFall

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Oct 21, 2014
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Greetings All,

Before I get started I wanted to take a moment to thank the members of this board. I've been doing A LOT of reading the past few weeks as I spec'd out and selected components and parts for my first build. Usually when I Google searched a topic, I would look for TomsHardware to pop up as a site to quickly reference and dig in for answers. Hence my posting my final question(s) here, so thanks again and keep up the awesome work!


My 5 year old gaming PC recently went to PC heaven, or at least part of it did. It was a Dell XPS running GTS-240's in SLI (yes its THAT old). I had wanted to build that PC fresh out of college, but some folks deterred me from the effort stating that although hardware was not too bad, the software side could get nasty. So I stayed away. Now, 5 years later I'm back again with renewed vigor to give it a shot!

Please see below the link to my PC build:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/4VxqwP

I have been watching and waiting for my GPU to become available before taking the dive on the rest of the PC, and lo and behold at 7:05 am (6:05 pm EST), the ASUS Strix became available. I went this route for the cooler, quieter running, and because my selected MOBO is also an ASUS. Figured there would be more compatibility. My final question before making my purchases is also the heaviest one... will I receive all the cables and have all the connections needed to assemble my selected components to build my gaming PC?

I've tried to do the list myself, looked at connections, how mana SATA's I have, connectors, are the components all compatible, etc. but I'd greatly appreciate another set of eyes to say, "yep you're good to go, not get to ordering and building that sucker!!"

I'm very excited about this. The PC will be such a huge upgrade, I can't even begin to fathom the experience once its complete. I'm still leery on assembly - like bending pins or giving some "oomph" at the appropriate times, as well as the software interfacing and setup, but I'm hoping Good Fortune will be on my side.



Any and all input is appreciated. Thanks and best regards!

HF
 
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turkey3_scratch

turkey3_scratch

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Here is my recommendation:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($294.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($137.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($79.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($229.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($355.91 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 300R Windowed ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: LG UH12NS30 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($49.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($88.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1362.80
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-21 21:23 EDT-0400

You were spending too much on the case, and I got rid of the second DVD player, and got an I7 processor. Even though a Z97 motherboard is not necessary, that one is well-priced.
 
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turkey3_scratch

turkey3_scratch

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Or even EVGA. EVGA is cheaper and more reliable, though you won't quite get the quality of a Seasonic.
 
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HeroesFall

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Thanks for the replies. My reading online told me the i7 wasn't really necessary for someone just using the PC for gaming. That the hyperthreading was more useful for say running virtual machines or other more process-intensive things.

I chose the case because I liked the look of it. Being 100% honest. It will be sitting out in plain view in our living room and I wanted something that would look good. Just a personal preference. I also liked the full-size because it would promote more airflow and space between components.

I went with 2 drives as my current PC has two, and its nice to have that extra drive to be quickly able to hop between games. Just a convenience factor, they are $50 and I've always had 2 drives on every PC I've used, whether for work or personal. I could reduce to one if its completely useless.

I'm going to look at the Power Supplies. I chose the CX because it was Haswell ready / approved, had solid reviews on NewEgg, and was Bronze Certified.
 
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turkey3_scratch

turkey3_scratch

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I don't know what modern games you play, but 90% of them are either downloaded or do not run from the CD disk at all.

And please believe me when I say this: don't get the Corsair CX! I need some people here to back me up! Otherwise, the rest of your stuff is fine since it is preference then.
 
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HeroesFall

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I'm not doubting on the PSU at all. Do you feel Seasonic is the best out of the lot? You mentioned it in comparison to the EVGA.


I still have my former games that I like to play, that are all disc. Fallout 3, XCOM, Total War, etc. etc. I do play online as well, but I'm weird in that I like the boxes from the games to save. But yes the currently inclination with things like Steam is towards downloading. Its a good point... I'll reduce to 1 Blue-ray. :-D
 
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turkey3_scratch

turkey3_scratch

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Same! I love buying and installing a game froma disk rather than downloading 55GB of data. I feel like I actually own the game when I have the disk, I like it better. Seasonic is the best PSU but may be more costly. You do not need a 750 watt you could do 600 just fine. XFX is also high-quality.
 
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HeroesFall

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Two peas in a pod then!


Do you feel a 600W is sufficient for future growth? I'm probably not going to upgrade again until either something fails or I really feel the need - so say 5 years from now give or take hopefully. Would much prefer the upgrade was for desire, not need / replacement, heh.

I'm all ears on suggested PSU's. I'm ok with spending a bit more for a more reliable / robust PSU. Not something I want to skimp on, and admittedly, I did NOT do a ton of research on best PSU. Just trust NewEgg reviews on this one.
 
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barto

barto

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What's great about Antec and XFX is they each have series that is made by Seasonic which has been the leader in quality for a little while now. Antech HCG is a great series.

Edit: Also, you don't need to get Bluray drives. You could just get two DVD drives. Or one and one.
 
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barto

barto

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Uh, the first review has someone commenting about a popped cap. The problem with computer part customer reviews is most of those people aren't experts. I take customer reviews as a dime a dozen with a majority rules idea. With customer reviews it either works or fails. You don't get the complete concept of quality from customer reviews.

I would still pick the Seasonic over most Rosewill power supplies. However, Rosewill Capstone is pretty solid right now.
 
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Huang Ray

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Best Build around 1200 and 1300 dollars

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.98 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($28.99 @ Micro Center)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($70.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($208.97 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($255.00 @ Newegg)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($101.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1255.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-21 23:01 EDT-0400

for overclock
(you can switch the gpu to gtx 970 if you want, but r9 290 should be enough for you!)

Non-overclock
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.00 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus H97-PLUS ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($109.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($70.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($208.97 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB ACX 2.0 Video Card ($329.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1248.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-21 23:04 EDT-0400

Both r9 290 and gtx 970 are excellent for their value.

IF you have extra to spend, buy gtx 970!

The psu (Evga G2) is top tier power supply, and it is made from Super Flower! (not saying it is also fully modular and 80+ gold!) 90 dollars -_-

You can also switch the ssd to Samsung 840 EVO, but I personally will not spend around 25 dollars more on it. Both of them have excellent speed and review , but 840 evo is just a bit faster.

Good Luck on you build!

Ray.
 
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