Gaming/Multimedia build; $2000 max

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gdriveramiller

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Hey everyone,

I recently(like yesterday afternoon recently) graduated Mizzou with an IT degree. I plan on going into the entertainment industry in some regard. I will be doing things like 3D modelling/rendering, video work, visual effects work, and coding. I had modest build all ready to go in anticipation of a graduation present which totaled to about $1200, however...my present was FAAAARRR more generous than I had anticipated and was shocked upon receiving it. So needless to say, I need to reevaluate my build.

I don't want to go to crazy, so I'm putting my budget at around $2000, $1600 - $2000 would be ideal. Like I said above, I will be doing various multimedia work so RAM and CPU will be a priority I'm sure. However I will also of course be using it for gaming because why the heck not. I would like this to last me as long as possible. I'm not a super graphics hog, I don't need it to run things at 4k 60fps but running current and games way down the line at 1080p 60+ fps on max settings is where I'd like it to be.

So, suggestions on what I should get? I'm not sure how long certain cards will be able to accomplish the above, but I was looking at the Nvidia 980 for my card. Other than that, a 120gb SSD for my OS and any current projects I'm working on and then a 3TB HDD for everything else. I already have a copy of windows, keyboard, mouse, and monitor so none of that is an issue.

On another/similar note, a headset I'm looking at is the HyperX Cloud II. I've heard a lot of good things about it and it seems to be a good headset for gaming/what ever else without breaking the bank.

I will also be buying everything from Amazon, as I have a rewards card with them/prime so I figure that would just be a good thing as opposed to ordering everything from different sites.

Only other thing I would like an opinion on is PCI wirless card or USB wireless, which do you guys prefer? With how my house is currently set up, as much as I'd like to, hardwired isn't an option.

I appreciate all the help from the community!
 
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Alright, here's what I've come up with. https://pcpartpicker.com/user/profoundnoah/saved/#view=mdHKHx
I've gone with 16 GB of DDR4 RAM purely because there is no noticeable difference from 16 GB to 32 GB. Feel free to buy another set of these if you want to, though. For the card I've gone with the Radeon R9 290 Double Dissipation. This card offers great performs and beats the 980 when it comes to price by a long run. Overall this will be a very good build, and keep in mind, if you plan to run SLI, you'll need a higher wattage PSU. I'll even link all the sites for you. This build will save you 300! Have fun!

GPU...
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profoundnoah

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Alright, here's what I've come up with. https://pcpartpicker.com/user/profoundnoah/saved/#view=mdHKHx
I've gone with 16 GB of DDR4 RAM purely because there is no noticeable difference from 16 GB to 32 GB. Feel free to buy another set of these if you want to, though. For the card I've gone with the Radeon R9 290 Double Dissipation. This card offers great performs and beats the 980 when it comes to price by a long run. Overall this will be a very good build, and keep in mind, if you plan to run SLI, you'll need a higher wattage PSU. I'll even link all the sites for you. This build will save you 300! Have fun!

GPU: http://www.amazon.com/XFX-Double-947MHz-Graphics-R9290AEDFD/dp/B00HHIPM5Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1431967517&sr=8-1&keywords=Radeon+r9+290

CPU: http://www.amazon.com/Intel-i7-5820K-Haswell-E-Processor-BX80648I75820K/dp/B00MMLXIKY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1431967549&sr=8-1&keywords=Intel+i7+5820k

Cooler: http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Extreme-Performance-Liquid-Cooler/dp/B009ZN2NH6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1431967582&sr=8-1&keywords=Corsair+H100i

Motherboard: http://www.amazon.com/MSI-X99S-GAMING-DDR4-Motherboards/dp/B00N2H1EQW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1431967607&sr=8-1&keywords=MSI+X99s+gaming

RAM: http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-Ballistix-PC4-19200-Unbuffered-BLS2K8G4D240FSA/dp/B00MTSWFMM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1431967698&sr=8-1&keywords=Crucial+Ballistix+sport+16+gb+ddr4+2400

SSD: http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-2-5-Inch-Internal-MZ-75E120B-AM/dp/B00OAJ5N6I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1431967702&sr=8-1&keywords=Samsung+850+evo+120gb

HDD: http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Desktop-3-5-Inch-Internal-ST3000DM001/dp/B005T3GRLY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1431967729&sr=8-1&keywords=Seagate+Barracuda+3+tb

Case: http://www.amazon.com/Nzxt-Technologies-Phantom-Green-Enthusiast/dp/B004WO17UC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1431967754&sr=8-1&keywords=NZXT+Phantom

PSU: http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-SuperNOVA-ATX12V-Supply-120-G1-0650-XR/dp/B00K85X2AW/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1431967792&sr=1-1&keywords=evga+supernova+nex+650w

Optical Drive: http://www.amazon.com/Asus-Serial-ATA-Internal-Optical-DRW-24B1ST/dp/B0033Z2BAQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1431967839&sr=1-1&keywords=asus+drw+24b1st+internal+sata+dvd+rw+drive

Wireless Adapter: http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TL-WDN4800-Wireless-Express-Low-profile/dp/B007GMPZ0A/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1431967893&sr=1-1&keywords=tp+link+tl+wdn4800

 
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Archaic59

Archaic59

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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor ($382.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U14S 55.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($74.75 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock X99 Extreme4 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($232.10 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($431.16 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($97.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($96.25 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card ($348.89 @ Amazon)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($110.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: LG WH16NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($57.99 @ Amazon)
Wireless Network Adapter: Asus PCE-AC56 802.11a/b/g/n/ac PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $2003.09
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-19 00:20 EDT-0400
 
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Tchota

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the 2011-3 is overpriced, and the performance increase you would get is not worth it, I think. There are some programs that you might use where the clock speed is more important then number of cores. I'm not sure about about ram speed's importance, hope someone else can clarify this.

I also think you don't need to go with the GTX 980, the 970 will have a great performance at 1080p for the next two years. The price difference between GTX 970 and 980 can be used for other parts (for example if you decide to go with LGA 2011-3)

And if you are still living on your parent's house I think you should go with a platinum power supply to so they will have a lower electric bill :) (and you will be helping to reduce novice gas emissions)


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($333.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($34.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A/USB 3.1 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($154.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($119.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($97.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($96.25 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card ($321.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 660W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($144.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($17.07 @ Amazon)
Total: $1421.25
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-18 14:07 EDT-0400
 
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profoundnoah

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Not to mention, that 970 is falsely advertised. The 290 is better for the money.
 
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gdriveramiller

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Thank you everyone for the help so far.

Yes, I know there was the Nvidia debacle with the VRAM. Main reason I stuck with them is I'm more familiar with their cards and don't know the Radeon equivalents. If I'm not mistaking the 290 is a far older card, does it still perform as well if not better than the 970?

I figured some type of i7 would be the way to go, just am not sure about the difference between the various models. Such as the difference between cores/clock speed.

Unfortunately I was only able to take one actual PC parts class and all we did was build a rinky dink machine and talk about computers for a week haha.

 
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profoundnoah

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The 290 offers equal if not better performance than the 970. The 290 is like the 980 of AMD Cards. Anything above it is overkill. It sells for about 280-320 which is lower than the 970. You'll have a great experience with the 290 especially in double dissipation configuration. As for processors, the first number indicates the generation. By buying a 5820k you will be getting somewhat better performance, not to mention future proofing for future processors. This is a great machine!
 
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Tchota

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that is a very generic statement, that should be confirmed by facts, which you didnt present.





Sorry, but its misleading when you say that r9 290 is cheaper than the gtx 970, because the r9 have higher power consumption, and in the end it might cost you more one the electric bill if you go with the r9.

Plus it will generate more heat.

According to this review http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_970_SLI/20.html the gtx 970 is 8% faster than the r9 290.

As for editing, I made this same mistake assuming that more threads/cores would be better over clock speed: https://forums.creativecow.net/thread/2/1049670 ; http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core-i7-4790k-i5-4690k_6.html
 
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gdriveramiller

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Thanks everyone for your inputs.

Another thing I've been going back and forth with, are coolers.

I know the Hyper 212 Evo(or a Nocturna) are said to be the best coolers on the market. However, they are just so friggin ugly! I've looked at various Corsair Hydros, anything under $100 but everyone says they suck in comparison. Are they really that bad in comparison? If there is another smaller air cooler that doesn't look like it's from the 80s that works just as well if not better then that would be fantastic.

Also, I know it's just sheer paranoia but having that big honking thing just hanging(even supported by the plate) makes me nervous.
 
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Archaic59

Archaic59

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Start out with the stock cooler and see how it performs. It should do just fine. Your rig will be powerfull and overclocking isn't really going to be necessary.
 
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