Xeon 1231 v3 & GTX 980 or i7 4790k & GTX 970 or i7 5820k & GTX 970

Pandalf · Apr 2, 2015

I'm going to buy a new PC since I can no longer stand the overheating from my DELL Inspiron N5520 (core i7 3632QM - VGA AMD 7670M) plus some bad sectors have been appearing recently.

At the moment I'm confusing amongs these 3 combo(s) mentioned in the thread title. I use PC for gaming (League of Legends and some offline games such as ACU, Dead or Alive, The Witcher 3..., no FPS or Racing games at all) & hackintosh for xcode, therefore an SSD with storage of at least 256GB is mandatory for dual boot hackintosh and win 7.

GTX 970 before VRAM issue detected was my 1st choice for VGA, however now I prefer a GTX 980 even if I will just use 1080p monitor (well, who can ensure 3.5GB VRAM at full speed will be enough for gaming at 1080p max settings in the next 1 year from now?). But, if I downgrade my need to 970, I will have some bucks for investing into other components (CPU, motherboards, gear...)

I created 3 builds with the help of pcpartpicker (for each MSI H97 or Z97 gaming series motherboard bought I will get a free Kinzu v3 so as you can see I didn't choose a mouse for Xeon or i7 4790k build):

■ Xeon 1231v3 & GTX 980
CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI Z97-GAMING 7 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($159.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($108.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($75.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 980 4GB STRIX Video Card ($549.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($56.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.75 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Dell U2415 60Hz 24.1" Monitor ($314.99 @ Adorama)
Keyboard: Logitech K120 Wired Standard Keyboard ($6.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1733.54
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-02 05:35 EDT-0400

■ i7 4790k & GTX 970
CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($324.88 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.75 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI Z97-GAMING 7 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($159.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($108.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($75.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card ($319.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($56.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.75 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Dell U2415 60Hz 24.1" Monitor ($314.99 @ Adorama)
Keyboard: Logitech K120 Wired Standard Keyboard ($6.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1618.18
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-02 05:37 EDT-0400

■ i7 5820k & GTX 970
CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor ($372.95 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.75 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI X99S Gaming 7 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($228.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($189.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($108.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($75.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card ($319.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($56.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.75 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Dell U2415 60Hz 24.1" Monitor ($314.99 @ Adorama)
Keyboard: Logitech K120 Wired Standard Keyboard ($6.99 @ NCIX US)
Mouse: Thermaltake TALON Wired Optical Mouse ($4.99 @ Micro Center)
Total: $1800.23
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-02 05:39 EDT-0400

My budget is around 1700$ to 1900$, so my question is which of the above builds is most balance and suitable for my needs?

Thanks all in advance!

MeteorsRaining · Apr 2, 2015

1. Do you intend to overclock?

The motherboards you have chosen are very high quality (which's good) and great for OCing, but won't really be required if you don't intend for serious OCing. If you do not intend to OC, my choice will be build 1 hands down, you may also switch the board to a cheaper MSI H97 gaming series board or a Z97 if you wish to do SLI in future.

2. Build 3 will get you the best CPU performance but that won't help you with games as much.

A GTX 980 and i7 4790k is what I'd build around. The Xeon will not be inferior but the higher clock speed of i7 may come handy later down the road.

3. Any special reason to get the mentioned monitor?

I see it's a bit overpriced for it's specs. IPS panel is the only thing I see to make that price arguable.

Archaic59 · Apr 2, 2015

If I may:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($83.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($105.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.69 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card ($329.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair SPEC-02 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 520W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($68.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($13.98 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VG248QE 144Hz 24.0" Monitor ($264.99 @ B&H)
Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm Devastator Gaming Bundle Wired Gaming Keyboard w/Optical Mouse ($27.87 @ Amazon)
Total: $1293.36
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-02 07:06 EDT-0400

martinch · Apr 2, 2015

MeteorsRaining :

It's 16:10, rather than 16:9, which makes it inherently more expensive than the more common 1080p screens, Plus, it's factory-calibrated in terms of colour reproduction ... it's actually reasonably priced for what it is.

Pandalf · Apr 2, 2015

MeteorsRaining :

1. I don't intend to overclock at all, I just want a fast, durable, stable and cool system. In my region, the MSI H97 Gaming 3 is the best p/p motherboard for H97 chipset due to its price (around 145$) plus the free SteelSeries Kinzu v3 and its build quality. The downside is that it doesn't scale well with SLI configuration...

2. Since Xeon is specifically designed for Server/Workstation, in my opinion a Xeon 1231 v3 would be more durable, more stable and cooler than an i7 in the long run. The only con in my situation is that it doesn't have an integrated GPU, which could turn into some bad things if one bad day, my VGA card has troubles...

3. Actually I choose Dell U2414H because there is only one local store in my region which are currently posting information about Dell U2415H on their site but the availability status is always "contact...", therefore, if I have any chance to buy Dell U2415H locally, it would be sweet, otherwise there's no problem with U2414, around 50$ cheaper.

Archaic59 :

Quite a decent build, but somewhat still insufficient for my needs, other than X99 platform build, I certainly will choose MSI brand for H97/Z97 motherboard due to the free sweet Kinzu V3, plus, I prefer more memory and more storage size, 16GB RAM and 2TB HDD respectively

Anyway, thanks for your suggestions

And sorry for wrapping you guys' replies inside spoiler tag, I just want my post to be easier to read XD

MeteorsRaining · Apr 2, 2015

1. You'll need a Z series board for SLI. Take the cheapest SLI capable Z series board for that purpose.

2. That's not really the case, alot of time Xeon is used in gaming and i7, in productivity. Consider the Xeons ending with 5 or higher, they have integrated graphics.

3. I'd go with a cheap 1080p 60Hz monitor and focus more on other components, see if you can get U2414.

=> My suggestion now would be get the 1st build, since you won't OC. Try to lower the MoBo's price if you can, keeping the SLI feature in hand.

Pandalf · Apr 2, 2015

Thank you MeteorsRaining, I will post my full build here right after I buy my new rig

MeteorsRaining · Apr 2, 2015

No worries, glad to help.

Pandalf · Apr 5, 2015

So far, my final build is as below:

Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor
MSI H97 GAMING 3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
Avexir MPOWER Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
SSD Lite-On S900 256Gb sata3 6GB/s 2.5"
Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Asus GeForce GTX 980 4GB STRIX Video Card
Carbide Series® 100R Mid-Tower Case
SeaSonic S12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply
Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer
Dell UltraSharp U2515H
SteelSeries Kinzu v3
Genius KB110 keyboard

I pretty much like the Dell U2515, only one local store in my region has this kind of monitor with an affordable price - around 348$. For the chassis, because the Corsair Carbide 200R was out of stock at the moment I bought my PC, I had to turn to 100R, though still a good chassis...My Strix VGA card has an ASIC quality of 67.7%, not quite good I guess

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