Need Help Choosing My Gaming PC Components

ME PC Gamer · Jan 12, 2015

Hi Tom's Hardware Community !

I am building my first custom gaming PC after 2 weeks and need help choosing some of its components.

My Agreed Components :

1.MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G
2.Corsair Vengeance 1X8GB
3.Seagate Barracuda 1TB
4.Corsair Graphite 230T

Please Answer Questions Using Each Question's No.
A=Yes , B=No

My Questions :

1.Does overclocking GPU need a Z-Chipset motherboard ?

2A.What about the MSI Z97 Gaming 5 ?
Can the i5-4690K handle ultra high gaming @1080P and video editing and rendering ?

2B.What good motherboard can I get then for less than 100$ ? (Prefer MSI)
What is the best (locked) i7 CPU for less than 300$ that can handle the previous mentioned tasks ?

3.Can a 500W PSU handle my PC and overclocking ?

4A.What about the EVGA 500W ?

4B.Corsair CX750 or EVGA SuperNOVA 750 B2 ? Or other ?

Any addition to the build will be welcome

Thanks very much for reading
Bye

MEPCGamer

gilbadon · Jan 12, 2015

1. no
2. any cpu i5 and above can handle any game at ultra settings. You do not even need a Z97 mobo because you do not need to overclock. I would suggest the g45 msi if you are really stuck on MSI for the mobo and z97
3. Depends on the PSU. If you are getting a logysis, no. But a seasonic, yes. If it is a evga b1, no, but a b2, yes. It is complex.
4. Get the B2.

Side note. Get dual channel memory (2x4GB) not 1x8GB.

Xavier Bouttier · Jan 12, 2015

ME PC Gamer :

1. Yes (more or less, h motherboards dont overclock)
2. Great mobo
i5 will be able to handle any game at ultra no problems there, especially with a little OC, dont need much. However, it wont perform that well in video editing and rendering, this is where the i7 shines, thanks to hyperthreading.

3. I personally would go for 600w+ just to be comfortable for anything down the line.. I would personally go for a 750-760w psu just in case of an SLI down the road. In terms of choosing a PSU, pls refer to this list: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/id-1804779/power-supply-unit-tier-list.html
And pick anything in tiers, 1, 2a or 2b, nothing lower than that.

With corsair, dont go cs or cx, either TM, TX, or AX

I concur with the above poster, in terms of RAM, you benefit much more with dual channel, so go either 2x4, or 2x8, preferably 2133mhz cl9 or cl10.

What are your plans on cooling the CPU? the 230T is quite small for a mid case, and might suffer in air flow compared to some other larger cases. I would suggest the corsair h100i.

morerice · Jan 12, 2015

1. B.

2. A. The CPU will handle your requirements, but I'd be concerned about the memory. You would be better off getting dual channel dimms. If you do a lot of editing, I'd recommend at least 16 Gb of ram.

3. ASRock Fatal1ty H97 Performance, Asus Z87-A, MSI B85-G41 PC Mate, MSI Z97 PC MATE
i7 3770 (socket LGA 1155) can work but the i5 4690K is better value

4. A. Given that its 80+ bronze rated at a minimum. Your better off with a 550W or 600W PSU
5. A.

ME PC Gamer · Jan 12, 2015

Xavier Bouttier :

ME PC Gamer :

1. Yes (more or less, h motherboards dont overclock)
2. Great mobo
i5 will be able to handle any game at ultra no problems there, especially with a little OC, dont need much. However, it wont perform that well in video editing and rendering, this is where the i7 shines, thanks to hyperthreading.

3. I personally would go for 600w+ just to be comfortable for anything down the line.. I would personally go for a 750-760w psu just in case of an SLI down the road. In terms of choosing a PSU, pls refer to this list: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/id-1804779/power-supply-unit-tier-list.html
And pick anything in tiers, 1, 2a or 2b, nothing lower than that.

With corsair, dont go cs or cx, either TM, TX, or AX

I concur with the above poster, in terms of RAM, you benefit much more with dual channel, so go either 2x4, or 2x8, preferably 2133mhz cl9 or cl10.

What are your plans on cooling the CPU? the 230T is quite small for a mid case, and might suffer in air flow compared to some other larger cases. I would suggest the corsair h100i.

Thanks for reply

But will the i5 really be a bottleneck for rendering ?
I will use CM Hyper 212 Evo
So 230T or SPEC-01 ?
OK I might get another 8GB stick

Thanks again

logainofhades · Jan 12, 2015

For rendering, Xeon 1231v3 and an H97 pro4, unless you want SLI, then a gigabyte Z97x-sli.

Demosthenest · Jan 12, 2015

What is your total budget? I feel like I could suggest a good build.

Xavier Bouttier · Jan 12, 2015

ME PC Gamer :

Xavier Bouttier :

Thanks for reply

But will the i5 really be a bottleneck for rendering ?
I will use CM Hyper 212 Evo
So 230T or SPEC-01 ?
OK I might get another 8GB stick

Thanks again

Have you considered an ssd for your OS? Makes a helluva difference in boot time and general responsiveness of OS...

Regarding the 212 evo, be careful, although a great budget heatsink, it's massive, and can touch your RAM sticks.. Make sure you get low profile ram (i had that issue...hehe)

logainofhades · Jan 12, 2015

Yea my 212 was really tight with ripjaws. When I caught my current Ares kit on sale, I put it in my main rig and put the ripjaws in my AMD rig, that didn't have such clearance issues.

Demosthenest · Jan 12, 2015

The evo does not fit in the spec-01 either...

logainofhades · Jan 12, 2015

Demosthenest :

Good catch. Would have to go with the 230t. Personally, since the OP wants to do rendering, I would go with the Xeon 1231v3, H97 pro4, and a Hyper TX3, if aftermarket cooling is desired.

Demosthenest · Jan 12, 2015

The Xeon would be a good idea. I would still go with a z97 mobo because if the op ever wants to oc, changing the mobo is hard and slow and you can get oc sli ready mobos for 100 dollars too.

ME PC Gamer · Jan 13, 2015

gilbadon :

morerice :

Thanks for reply

No I will not get a Z97 motherboard if GPU overclocking doesn't require it at all but will the Xeon 1230V3 be good for both gaming and rendering for the next 2 years ? Or should I get the i5 4690 ? (I'll not get the K if I can't overclock it)

OK I may get another 8GB stick but if I get 1X8GB and another 1X8GB , Will they work in dual channel ?

Thanks again

ME PC Gamer · Jan 13, 2015

Demosthenest :

Thanks for reply

But the Xeon is mainly a server CPU , Will it be good for gaming ?

Thanks again

ME PC Gamer · Jan 13, 2015

logainofhades :

Thanks for reply

But the Xeon is mainly used for 24/7 use and it has lower clock speeds than the i5 , so what should I get ?

Xeon 1230V3 or i5-4690 ?

Thanks again

ME PC Gamer · Jan 13, 2015

OK What about the MSI Z87M Gaming with a 4790K ?

Demosthenest · Jan 13, 2015

ME, hyperthreading. It maximizes multi core performance. The xeon is basically a locked i7 without the integrated graphics (which you do not need anyway).
If you go with a z board, get the cheapest z97 board with sli you can find. They are about the same price than the z87 and will support broadwell cpus.

logainofhades · Jan 13, 2015

The 1231v3 is essentially an i7 4770, without integrated graphics. It will perform exactly the same as the i7.

ME PC Gamer · Jan 13, 2015

Demosthenest :

Thanks for reply

But the problem with Xeon is it has lower clock speeds and it is locked
Does the MSI Z87M Gaming support i7-4790K ?

Thanks again

ME PC Gamer · Jan 13, 2015

logainofhades :

Demosthenest said:
ME, hyperthreading. It maximizes multi core performance. The xeon is basically a locked i7 without the integrated graphics (which you do not need anyway).
If you go with a z board, get the cheapest z97 board with sli you can find. They are about the same price than the z87 and will support broadwell cpus.

Thanks for reply

But the problem with Xeon is it has lower clock speeds and it is locked
Does the MSI Z87M Gaming support i7-4790K ?

Thanks again

Demosthenest · Jan 13, 2015

The msi z87m supports i7-4790k but you might need a bios flash. This is how you should do it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s0TrScwdoE
I would go with a z97 board; almost the same price, newer, will support broadweel and won't need a bios flash.

ME PC Gamer · Jan 14, 2015

Demosthenest :

Thanks for reply

There is no MSI Z97 for 100$ (I am getting components from Amazon US)
When I get a broadwell , I'll get a new mobo.

Thanks again

ME PC Gamer · Jan 14, 2015

OK I read that MSI H81 motherboards with the new BIOS can now overclock CPU , Is that right ?

Demosthenest · Jan 14, 2015

I will look into it this afternoon

ME PC Gamer · Jan 14, 2015

Demosthenest :

Thnx very much

Need Help Choosing My Gaming PC Components

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