Gaming system critique

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Doeser

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Oct 6, 2014
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So i have posted a few threads on gaming builds, and after research and help from users of this site. I have a build that I'm pretty much set upon. Take in to consideration that i am new to PC gaming and this will be my first full system build that I do by myself.
I would greatly appreciate your comments of this build, if all goes good then I will start purchasing these item within the next couple months.
I want this build to be good for the next couple years before I upgrade or create anew build. I am considering going SLI in the future, but I don't think anytime soon.
I'll be using it for everyday browsing, homework, gaming, visual studio,and flowcharts. The games I plan on using are mainly FPS like BF4, Insurgency etc.

thank you guys for your time, review and comments.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($208.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-PRO(Wi-Fi ac) ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($208.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial M500 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 980 4GB STRIX Video Card ($569.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Rosewill RISE ATX Full Tower Case ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($74.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: LG WH16NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($49.99 @ Micro Center)
Total: $1387.40
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-04 18:01 EST-0500
 
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RedJaron

Difference in price right now between 1600, 1866, and sometimes even 2133 is negligible. I've actually found decent 2133 rated modules cheaper than "premium" 1600 sticks lately. Stepping from 8GB to 16GB is pretty hefty, regardless of RAM freq. Just get the cheapest RAM you can find by a reputable manufacturer that's not slower than CAS 9 1600 and you'll be fine.
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TheTechDude

TheTechDude

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What I suggest:

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K
MoBO: Asus Z97-PRO
MEMORY: Corsair Vengeance Pro DDR3-1866 2x8GB
Storage: Crucial MX100 240GB SSD
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB 7200RPM
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 STRIX Edtion
Case: Corsair SPEC-02 Full Tower Case
PowerSupply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX G2 750W 80+ Gold Fully Modular PSU
Optical Drive: LG DVD/CD Writer

Reasoning:

CPU=good
MOBO=Good
Memory: for spending more, you get futureproof memeory
Storage: Crucial MX100 is newer than M500 and better performance
Hard Drive: Western Digital is more reliable than Segate
Video Card: GTX 970 is better performance per dollar and the extra performance 980 have is not worth spending more money on.
Case: Very good case with cheap price: ~$60
Optical Drive=Good

Total about $1250 ~ 1350.

Good Luck!

If was helpful. please choose it as the answer.
 
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Doeser

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so after your comments, i did a little revision with your guys help.
i did change the mother board, good looking out save some money. and upgraded the memory to 1866mhz but kept it at 8 GBs, 16 i don't need that much and if i need it in the future i can add more. as well as switched to a cheaper more reliable HDD.
and after review of the 970 i will go with it you were right better bang for your buck and if i go sli i would spend just around the same price for one 980. thanks for that info. im sticking with the rosewill case i like how it is so no need for me to change it.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($208.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-PRO ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($187.98 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($85.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Hitachi Travelstar 1TB 2.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($68.34 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($349.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Rosewill RISE Glow ATX Full Tower Case ($98.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: LG WH16NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($49.99 @ Micro Center)
Total: $1235.25
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-04 19:21 EST-0500
 
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Anencephalus

Anencephalus

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Nice build.
1. As said before I wouldn't waste your money on a motherboard that's $100 more than one of equal quality and value but with no wifi. If you want wifi you can get a card and end up saving a lot of money.
The only other major pro to the Z97-PRO would be bluetooth.

2. DO NOT GET THE 980. It barely outperforms the 970 when you consider the fact the 970 is about $200 cheaper.
The 980 is a ripoff unless youve got $200 to blow.
I recommend either the MSI 970 or if it fits in your case the Gigabyte 970.

Other than that you're build looks great.
If you're planning on overclocking I would recommend getting liquid cooling though.
 
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RedJaron

RedJaron

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If this is your first gaming build, I'm not sure I'd recommend CPU overclocking. It's not really that hard to do, but really it's not worth it in gaming. You get a few extra frames, but I don't find it worth the extra cost in the mboard, the CPU, or the CPU cooler ( which you haven't added here. ) Something like the i5-4460 is not going to hold you back in gaming and will save money.

It also means you can go with a good H97 board without losing anything except SLI. I know you say you might want SLI in the future, but if you don't do it in the first year it may not be worth it at all. By the time you add the second card that GPU could be two generations old. I think SLI only makes sense when you're gaming on massive displays, either 4K or triple 1080. And in those cases it generally needs to be done from the start.

For the same cost as OCing, you could also go with a Xeon 1231 for the hyper-threading. I think eight fast threads will be more useful than four really fast threads in the future, but I could be wrong.

If you still want to OC the CPU, I think you can save a little more money on the mboard by going with the Z97 Extreme4 for $150.

I agree on the 970 over the 980. I think the 980's power is wasted on a single 1080 screen.

I do a three tier drive system in my own machines. One SSD for boot, OS, and a few programs, a smaller performance spindle for the rest of my applications, and a bigger, slower storage drive for files, media, etc. Something you might want to consider.
 
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Anencephalus

Anencephalus

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I DO NOT recommend this motherboard. I recently built a rig 2-3 months ago and after a month the motherboard fried. After researching and reading reviews/similair user problems it seems LOTS of people have had the same problem.

I can't remember for sure because I got my refund a couple weeks ago (after 2 weeks of RMAing) but if you simply unplugged the machine, even when it was powered off, the motherboard had a chance of frying. Like I said I can't remember the details but I wouldn't take the risk. That motherboard is crap.

I'm still waiting on my order for the Z97-A so I can't say if it's a good replacement yet, but from the specs and the cost I'd say it'd be a better option.

 
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RedJaron

RedJaron

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Interesting. I've been running ASRock for years with no problem ( not that specific board, mind you. ) I haven't heard the same complaints, but I'll do some searching too. You can of course get a similar spec'd board from MSI or Gigabyte in the same price range, Asus would be $10-$20 more.
 
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SproutSchon

SproutSchon

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Manufacturing issues exist with all brands even the most trusted ones, as long as you get full refund or your part exchanged I think they are doing their jobs right.
 
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RedJaron

RedJaron

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You have to be careful going by those. Displeased customers are much for likely to post a bad review than happy customers are to write a favorable one. It looks bad that 1/3 of the reviews say it failed, but that doesn't tell us how many satisfied people didn't say it's worked perfectly for them. I agree with Sprout, everyone will mess up here and there, and so long as they treat the customer right, I can't ask for much more.
 
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Doeser

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Great info guys I really appreciate it.
As for the i5-4690k, I'm just going to go for it. right now its 20$ more than the 4460 and i have the advantage to over clock if i choose to do so.
I'll continue to get the 970 thanks to you guys.
although you guys suggested that i could save a bit of money im still set on the build with the changes made, after those changes it went 300$ under my budget so im happy spending a bit more for those bells and whistles.

 
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TheTechDude

TheTechDude

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In Gaming Experience and multitasking, its much better deal to have 16GB DDR3-1600 than 8GB DDR3-1866 because the speed of RAM does not affect gaming performance as much as having more RAM.
 
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TheTechDude

TheTechDude

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your signature: Samsung 256 MEGABYTE or GIGABYTE?
 
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RedJaron

RedJaron

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Difference in price right now between 1600, 1866, and sometimes even 2133 is negligible. I've actually found decent 2133 rated modules cheaper than "premium" 1600 sticks lately. Stepping from 8GB to 16GB is pretty hefty, regardless of RAM freq. Just get the cheapest RAM you can find by a reputable manufacturer that's not slower than CAS 9 1600 and you'll be fine.
 
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