Help with new gaming build (Around 1600$)

Molda_22 · Mar 20, 2015

Hi everyone!

First of all i would like to apologize for my bad english, i am not from english speaking country so you will probably see some weird mistakes etc

I would be very grateful for your tips, help, opinions about my new build i want to buy. So thanks to everyone who will try to help me.

I was thinking a lot about this, but it's been a long time since i was orienting in pc hardware, now i am a bit clueless in some areas (most of them

) So, let's begin:

Budget: Around 1600$ monitor included(hard to say precisely because each country has different pricing and we don't have $ here.)

Purpose: Mostly gaming, but also video editing, photoshop. And i would like some kind of longetivity from that build or possible long term future upgradeability.

Overclocking: Well, probably no. I dont have hardcore hw knowledge and i would rather stay away from that.

PC-PART-PICKER LIST: Here is the link to the list

And here are few comments about the above list:

CPU:
I am still unsure about whetever to choose Xeon or i7, but i think the performance is quite similar and the price is (at least in our country) much better on Xeon. Or should i invest more and get i7? I have to still think on the fact, that i dont have monitor

GPU:
I was thinking a lot about this and i am quite sure i would like to have GTX970. But i am quite puzzled about the whole MSI / GIGABYTE / EVGA / ASUS thing. I think i would prefer gigabyte or msi, but that's just my unexperienced opinion based on my research.

MOTHERBOARD:
i am lost here. So many motherboards and not sure which to pick. I guess it would be good to pick aslo gigabyte since the GPU will probably be gigabyte too. And would H97 be best for me? )Considering i dont know how to overclock, i probably doesnt even know what it means precisely

)

POWER SUPPLY:
i was leaning towards corsair, but then i've heard some bad stuff about that, so i think the seasonal one i've picked up could be good. it's tier 2 bronze, good reviews and it should be enough for that build?

SSD:
i've heard good things about crucial ssds. 256 GB could be ok for operating system and perhaps some games. (or should games be on normal hard drive and not on ssd?

normal hard-drive:
i was not able to find the western digital hard drive that i've found in our local store, in the pcpartpicker, so i put here my second pick seagate.
I would like to have good and fast hard drive, because this was driving me crazy on my old PC because i had terrible hard-drive.i know ssd will help, but having fast normal hard-drive would be great too.

CASE:
i am lost here. I've spent hours doing research on cases (i know - weird) and i still don't know. Everyone i pick has some bad cons and bad things said in reviews apart from the pros.
I would like it to be cooled, have USB 3.0 in front (ideally 2x 3.0s), space for all comonents and cables, good air-flow, dust filters would be nice, silence would be cool too. And ideally not some crazy design.

CPU cooler: do i need one?

ADDITIONAL CASE FANS: do i need them?

MONITOR:
i don't know at all. All i know i want it to have good value / quality ratio. Nice colors and sharpness, good watching angles and overall good for gaming.

So now you can tear my ideas apart

Thanks guys for every single comment. I really appreciate it.

Outlander_04 · Mar 20, 2015

Most of the difference between brands is hype . The seasonic psu , and gigabyte graphics card are quality products .
Cases are personal choice . The difference in temps is usually small , and you get what you pay for in terms of quality . A good case might last for years and several changes of internal hardware . . A cheap case not so much .

Your English is excellent .

Enjoy your build

nednerbish · Mar 20, 2015

I just built my 1st gaming pc less than 2 weeks ago with i7 4790k, gigabyte gtx 970 g1, asus z97a, g skill trident x 8gb, evga 650w modlar psu, coolmaster 212, crucial 256gb sd, 1tb hdd, nzxt h440 case, win 8.1 Its absolutely Amazing and killing games on ultra settings. the parts w out monitor were about 1400$. Its booting in about 10 seconds and running really quiet. This build is perfect for gaming though I truly didnt need the i7. Couldve went w the i5 but I had the $ so went with it.

manofchalk · Mar 20, 2015

To my understanding the mainstream Xeons are i7's without integrated graphics.
Between all the typical brands (MSI, Asus, Gigabyte) you cant really go wrong when it comes to the GPU. Wont make much of a difference no matter which you pick.
Xeons dont allow for overclocking, so go for the H97. Only reason to go Z97 is if you want SLI capabilities in the future.
Seasonic is probably the best PSU brand you can buy, thats fine.
As for case... I recommend the Phanteks Enthoo Pro, or the Corsair 350D.
CPU Cooler, I would get one simply because I dont like the stock cooler. Dont know if Xeons come with a stock cooler either...
Additional fans, depends on the case you get.

For the monitor, seems like an IPS panel would be suited for you. I dont know whats available in your area, so I'm just going to give generic advice and say buy an IPS ASUS monitor of whatever size you want.

g-unit1111 · Mar 21, 2015

CPU:
I am still unsure about whetever to choose Xeon or i7, but i think the performance is quite similar and the price is (at least in our country) much better on Xeon. Or should i invest more and get i7? I have to still think on the fact, that i dont have monitor

Go with an i7. People like the Xeons because they offer i7 level performance without the i7 price tag. However, with that tradeoff, you lose two things - the first (and most important) is the ability to overclock. The second is the integrated GPU which can be useful as a diagnostic tool in case your GPU fails.

I was thinking a lot about this and i am quite sure i would like to have GTX970. But i am quite puzzled about the whole MSI / GIGABYTE / EVGA / ASUS thing. I think i would prefer gigabyte or msi, but that's just my unexperienced opinion based on my research.

Depends on your budget - less than $900 go with the R9-280X. Over $1000 - GTX 970. Over $1500 - GTX 980. The main difference between brands is the cooler that comes with the card. I have the Gigabyte model and it works beautifully so far.

MOTHERBOARD:
i am lost here. So many motherboards and not sure which to pick. I guess it would be good to pick aslo gigabyte since the GPU will probably be gigabyte too. And would H97 be best for me? )Considering i dont know how to overclock, i probably doesnt even know what it means precisely )

No you want Z97 and an overclock capable processor. That will provide you with the best performance per dollar ratio, most motherboards will practically overclock for you anymore. I have the MSI Z97-G45 and it overclocks with just a couple of clicks in the BIOS.

POWER SUPPLY:
i was leaning towards corsair, but then i've heard some bad stuff about that, so i think the seasonal one i've picked up could be good. it's tier 2 bronze, good reviews and it should be enough for that build?

Depends on the model. If you go with Corsair the HXi and AXi are the ones to buy without hesitation. Avoid the CX and TX series. The EVGA G2 and P2 series are also extremely well built units, as is the Seasonic X series. Those PSUs are the top of the line. If you're unsure about a power supply the website jonnyguru.com will point you in the right direction - if they say a PSU is bad, avoid like the plague.

i've heard good things about crucial ssds. 256 GB could be ok for operating system and perhaps some games. (or should games be on normal hard drive and not on ssd?

Crucial and Samsung are the best of the best when it comes to SSDs. The Intel 730 series are also high quality. Avoid the Kingston SSDNows and most SSDs below $70.

i was not able to find the western digital hard drive that i've found in our local store, in the pcpartpicker, so i put here my second pick seagate.
I would like to have good and fast hard drive, because this was driving me crazy on my old PC because i had terrible hard-drive.i know ssd will help, but having fast normal hard-drive would be great too.

They both come off the same assembly line in Thailand, so it's really pretty much a pick your poison kind of deal. As long as it has 7200 RPM. Don't get anything lower than that, higher you are wasting your money.

CASE:
i am lost here. I've spent hours doing research on cases (i know - weird) and i still don't know. Everyone i pick has some bad cons and bad things said in reviews apart from the pros.
I would like it to be cooled, have USB 3.0 in front (ideally 2x 3.0s), space for all comonents and cables, good air-flow, dust filters would be nice, silence would be cool too. And ideally not some crazy design.

Mostly a personal preference choice. And it all depends on budget and the form factor you want to go with. There's a lot of great cases out there and there's also a lot of crap. Good case manufacturers would be NZXT, Corsair, Fractal Design, In Win, Silverstone, Antec, and Phanteks. Cooler Master is hit or miss. Do not purchase anything manufactured by Raidmax, Xion, Apevia, Xclio, or similar brands.

CPU cooler: do i need one?

Yes if you overclock, and you should if you plan on spending over $1000 or more on your system.

ADDITIONAL CASE FANS: do i need them?

Depends on what case you buy. Most high quality ones include 4 or 5 anymore, so probably not.

i don't know at all. All i know i want it to have good value / quality ratio. Nice colors and sharpness, good watching angles and overall good for gaming.

There's a lot of factors that go into choosing a monitor - size, price, aspect ratio, refresh rate, resolution and so on.

Molda_22 · Mar 21, 2015

I would like to thank to everyone who responded so far. I was going through it and after much thought i think i need to raise the budget (well, i would maybe fit in the budget living elsewhere, but we have higher prices here where i live, so i need more money on the same setup as people living elsewhere.

So right now, this looks like it could be the final setup with added possibility of overclocking in future. (without the monitor, because i still doesnt have a clue about those):

CPU:
Intel i7 4790k

GPU
Gigabyte GTX 970 G1 gaming

MOTHERBOARD:
GIGABYTE GA-Z97-D3H - Intel Z97

RAM:
Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1600

SSD:
Crucial MX100 - 256GB

HARD-DRIVE:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.14 - 2TB (i am doing backups often on my external WD my book drives, so if it dies, then its not that big of an issue

CASE:
Corsair Carbide Series™ 300R (sadly no dust filters on side and upper "vent holes" - i don't know the right word for it in english, but you know what i mean, so maybe buy Primecooler dust filter PC-DFA120B? ) but otherwise seems perfect

PSU:
Seasonic S12II-620 620W

CPU cooler:
SilentiumPC Fera 2 HE1224

ADDITIONAL VENTS:
Arctic Fan F12 PWM

OPTICAL DRIVE:
Samsung SH-224DB

So what do you think? The budget raised is a bit problematic, because it means i will have to wait a bit longer to buy this build, but i think it could be worth it in the long-term.
Thanks for opinions and tips.

Molda_22 · Mar 22, 2015

Nobody? Also what do you think about the DEMCiFlex dust filters kits for lot of different cases? Its a lot of money for dust filters, but i've heard it's really worth it.

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Help with new gaming build (Around 1600$)

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Outlander_04

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nednerbish

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manofchalk

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Molda_22

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