Need help building a new gaming PC

areg631 · Apr 27, 2015

Hi I'm building my first build and i need a bit of advice... can some of you guys give me your opinions about this build and tell me if you think its good for gaming and if there is something unnecessary or something better to buy. Thanks!

CPU - Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor

CPU Cooler - be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 3 93.3 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler

MotherBoard - Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (is there a big difference between the Z97 A and the Z97 PRO?)

Memory - Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory
(is there a difference between the 1866 and the 2400?)

Storage - Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive

Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive

Video Card - MSI GeForce GTX 980 4GB Twin Frozr Video Card (I did research and i decided to go with the MSI and not eVGA)

Power Supply - EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (I'm not sure if 650W is to much or not...)

sadams04 · Apr 27, 2015

You are in good shape for a high-end gaming machine. My thoughts are below..

CPU Cooler - The be quiet! you listed is ok, but at that cost you go with the Noctua NH-D15.
MEM - No need for the higher frequency modules or their higher voltage as they provide no benefit to gaming. DDR3-1600 CL9 or lower, or DDR3-1866 CL10 or lower. ..both at 1.5v. If you want performance modules, lower the latency. 16GB is a lot. Consider going with 8GB for now with two open slots open for a future upgrade.
SSD - 120GB is fairly small these days. Consider bumping that up as well as the Crucial below as a quality alternative to the Samsung. Both are fine.
GPU - The GTX 980 is a beast, but if you aren't gaming on multiple monitors or at a very high resolution, is a bit of overkill. The GTX 970 is a good option as well and your ASUS motherboard can handle SLI so you have a GPU upgrade down the road if desired. I prefer the ASUS GPUs for their more rigid backbone and cooling solution.
CASE - Added one...
PSU - That is a good PSU. 650w is overkill for a single GPU, but not quite enough for a pair of GPUs. 550w or 750w are your better sizes depending on the options you want to keep open for upgrades (adding a second GPU).

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($326.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($89.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($130.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($108.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.64 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($332.49 @ B&H)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($97.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0B DVD/CD Writer ($16.89 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($87.79 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1378.62

areg631 · Apr 27, 2015

sadams04 :

You are in good shape for a high-end gaming machine. My thoughts are below..

CPU Cooler - The be quiet! you listed is ok, but at that cost you go with the Noctua NH-D15.
MEM - No need for the higher frequency modules or their higher voltage as they provide no benefit to gaming. DDR3-1600 CL9 or lower, or DDR3-1866 CL10 or lower. ..both at 1.5v. If you want performance modules, lower the latency. 16GB is a lot. Consider going with 8GB for now with two open slots open for a future upgrade.
SSD - 120GB is fairly small these days. Consider bumping that up as well as the Crucial below as a quality alternative to the Samsung. Both are fine.
GPU - The GTX 980 is a beast, but if you aren't gaming on multiple monitors or at a very high resolution, is a bit of overkill. The GTX 970 is a good option as well and your ASUS motherboard can handle SLI so you have a GPU upgrade down the road if desired. I prefer the ASUS GPUs for their more rigid backbone and cooling solution.
CASE - Added one...
PSU - That is a good PSU. 650w is overkill for a single GPU, but not quite enough for a pair of GPUs. 550w or 750w are your better sizes depending on the options you want to keep open for upgrades (adding a second GPU).

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($326.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($89.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($130.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($108.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.64 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($332.49 @ B&H)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($97.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0B DVD/CD Writer ($16.89 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($87.79 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1378.62

thanks man! you really did help me a lot!!! I will change some of the parts in my build.

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