PC Gaming Build: Buyer's Remorse On Recent Purchase, Did I Get The Right Components?

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Pure Michigan

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This is the list of parts I just ordered. The good news is if I feel I want a refund I just need to work up a return as I haven't opened anything yet. My questions relates to the seemingly unending amount of differing opinions (deservedly so) regarding "best builds". I was told by many that this build would be really great and capable of crushing gaming specs for at least 3-4 years. Then I post in another thread and am told that I should be looking at this CPU instead http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646i54690k and that my motherboard and processors should be better. Also my current built has compatibility "notes" regarding the memory operating voltage.

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/WiggyWigster/saved/th3323

CPU Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core $169.99
Motherboard ASRock H97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 $89.66
Memory G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 $83.98
Storage Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" SSD $104.99
Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM $51.85
Video Card EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 $351.98
Case Antec GX500 ATX Mid Tower $57.98
Power Supply SeaSonic 550W ATX12V / EPS12V $81.98
Optical Drive Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer $14.98
Operating System Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) $89.98
Wireless Network Adapter Rosewill N600PCE 802.11a/b/g/n PCI-Express x1 $19.98


I'ts been very fun looking into all this information/building instructions for building a rig. However, I'm just curious whether I could get a consistent consensus on whether this is a truly a great, solid, "right compatible parts" that will last and be reliable. As a person that likes to keep things easier all of the back and forth can get overwhelming :(. Otherwise I'm going to be returning it all and taking the easy way out with just purchasing a PS4.

thank you for your input!
 
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DonkeyOatie
I see that you have made some changes to the system. That's fine. You need to understand why I advised you to buy these parts.

The CPU is chosen for price/performance; essentially GHz per $. When you finally buy look at this calculation and buy the most cost effective CPU. Each 100Mhz is only 3% performance and may be less than one FPS.

I see that you have moved to a full ATX motherboard. The one you have selected is fine. I imagine that someone said the mATX looked silly in a big case, that the bigger board allows for future expansion, or there may be heat/power issues with the smaller board.

I recommended the mATX board for several reasons. It is/was cheaper than the ATX and every dollar saved can go elsewhere. Since you...
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rhysiam

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I really like the build, it looks great to me.

You've gone with a H97 board and non "K" processor, which means you can't overclock the CPU. IMHO that absolutely justified as the CPU you've chosen is plenty fast enough for gaming. Sure you could get higher clocks from a Z97 board and 4690K, but it'll also cost you more too. You'll rarely run into a CPU bottleneck on that rig.

The only thing, perhaps, to note is that with the H97 board you're limited to one x16 PCIe slot. That means you don't have the option of adding a second video card down the track (you can technically Crossfire AMD cards, but that's not a great idea on a PCIe 2 x4 slot).

Because of that, I'd say your current powersupply is fine, it's good quality and plenty for one card. If you wanted the option of adding a second graphics card down the track then you could step up to a Z97 board, and then it might be worth a higher wattage PSU.

You'd get absolutely NO more performance now despite paying a bit extra money. However, it does give you more options in future. Adding a second 970 down the track would, if you spend the extra now, simply be a matter of purchasing the extra card.

I think either option is perfectly justified. Your build as-is is good and saves you a bit of money. Investing in a Z97 board and higher wattage PSU costs more, but gives you an easy upgrade down the track. Your choice as to whether it's worth the extra money.
 
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pecul1ar

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I think your build is a 'smart' one: Its good for now and you can purchase stuff later to replace/augment your system when you start needing it, giving it longevity. Another 8gb of ram, a larger capacity PSU, a faster CPU etc. You can also resell the stuff you've replaced to recoup some of the expenses.

When I read your title, I thought it was like: just bought a $200 vidcard last week, and this week amd/nvidia released a new faster card, for $150! FML
 
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DonkeyOatie

DonkeyOatie

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Two things.

1. That memory may not be available at that price anymore. That memory was selected because it was the best, fastest memory available for the cheapest price. Prices change. If it is not available, any DDR3-1600 CAS 9 memory will do as a replacement.

2. In response to your actual question. The computer and the memory will automatically 'adjust' the timings to handle whatever voltages are available, so the memory will run 'slow' to the correct speed to work with your CPU, which will probably be at DDR3-1600 speeds. No harm will be done, you just will be unable to use the full speed of the memory. Point 1 explains why it is there in the first place.

I have a little more to say on the build itself (no changes, just reasons so you understand), but I need to go to work; it's almost 5:30.
 
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Pure Michigan

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Thank you all very much for your responses! It helps me feel a bit better about the build. Donkey, regarding your first point, it isn't that huge of a deal if the memory I purchased is a little more expensive at this point, I just wanted to ensure it is the right "compatibility/performance" and that it won't cause any issues with the build or CPU as was pointed out by another poster. Regarding your second point:

2: The computer and the memory will automatically 'adjust' the timings to handle whatever voltages are available, so the memory will run 'slow' to the correct speed to work with your CPU, which will probably be at DDR3-1600 speeds. No harm will be done, you just will be unable to use the full speed of the memory. It is good to hear that no harm will be done. Will the memory running "slow" have any noticeable affect on the gaming/system or is it something that will go unnoticed? Or is this something that I don't really need to concern myself with?

Thank you and I need to run out right now as well and will check back for any more responses. Thank you all again!
 
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DonkeyOatie

DonkeyOatie

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Sep 16, 2014
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I see that you have made some changes to the system. That's fine. You need to understand why I advised you to buy these parts.

The CPU is chosen for price/performance; essentially GHz per $. When you finally buy look at this calculation and buy the most cost effective CPU. Each 100Mhz is only 3% performance and may be less than one FPS.

I see that you have moved to a full ATX motherboard. The one you have selected is fine. I imagine that someone said the mATX looked silly in a big case, that the bigger board allows for future expansion, or there may be heat/power issues with the smaller board.

I recommended the mATX board for several reasons. It is/was cheaper than the ATX and every dollar saved can go elsewhere. Since you are flexible on cases, mATX gives more options for a 'steal-of-a-deal' case, mATX and ATX cases. As for looking silly, how much does that cost and how often do you gaze in your case?

What expansion? The motherboard will handle up to 32Gb of memory and you do not want to overclock or SLI (otherwise I would have recommended a Z97 board because the H97 does not overclock and does not have enough PCIe lanes for SLI). The board has enough space for a WiFi card and there is a second PCIe slot and some shorter slots. What, exactly, might be put in all those spare slots on the ATX?

Heat is pretty much the same. You are not planning to do anything extreme, you don't need it.

The power supply I recommended was the cheapest best power supply at the time. You need a 450w+ supply with two PCIe power connectors for your GTX970. To get them you will need a 500w+ PSU, probably. When you come to buy, check the market and get the cheapest PSU, with 450 or more Watts, with the two connectors you must have and made by Antec, Seasonic, or XFX, and considering Rosewill Capstone and other Tier 2a or 2b power supplies. It may be anything from 500W to 750W depending on the prices at the time.

There is a choice of one or two different items for every part of your computer and when you come to buy, you should check them out and get the best deal (Barracuda or Caviar Blue)
 
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