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SuperKerem

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Help! Please let me know any way I can reduce the price of this build! Trying to shave off £200 (currently £1000!)

Hi guys, this is my first post here. :p
I just wanted to ask some of the more experienced folk about the gaming PC build I am planning!

[EDITED] - Motherboard: MSI Z97 Gaming 3
Graphics: MSI NVIDIA GTX 970 4GB
[EDITED] - Processor: Intel i5 4460 Quad Core
[EDITED] - Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB
[EDITED] - Power Supply: EVGA Supernova 650W
[EDITED] - Storage: 1TB SSHD
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 with Fan

Is the CPU/GPU performance ratio balanced? Should I get an i5-4690K instead? i7?
Also, is the PSU OK and will I need any additional fans/cooling? I am trying to be as money-efficient as possible and stay as much under £800 or so as I can.

Also, my display resolution is 2560x1600. (I'm hoping the GTX 970 will manage this? What about the GTX 960?)

Any advice is appreciated! :)
 
Solution
1. I'd match the brands of MoBo and GPU..... Gigabyte Gaming 5 w/ Gigabyte G1 or MSI Gaming 5 w/ MSI 970.....if you have a Tech Support problem, at least the MoBo guy won't be able to shuffle you off the phone and blame the GFX guy and visa versa . The MSI Gaming 5 is the better performer .... the Gigabyte G1 wins more battles with the MSI Gaming but I am concerned the 23 % of newegg users gave it a very negative 1 egg review.

Every other week, they seem to switch who's cheaper

11104520883l.jpg


2. I have been buying the Muskin 2x4gb 2400 as it's just $2 more than 1600 memory
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/mushkin-memory-997083

3. Run away from the CX PSU....EVGA B2 750 is $50...
You need the 970 to run at that res.
Kind of pointless to get the 4590. I would get the K version or change your mobo to a H97 and get the 4460. You do not need the i7 for gaming. I5 is good.

Do not get that PSU. Get one of these.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $54.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-30 14:15 EDT-0400
 

SuperKerem

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Ok, thanks! The K CPU is about £20 more expensive, but if you say it's worth it, fine. It is a stock 3.4GHz CPU, how far could I overclock it with the stock Intel cooler?
Also, is 550W definitely good enough? What if I add more hard drives/SLI in the future (unlikely but...) Is it better to get a Gold rated lower watt CPU or a Bronze rated higher watt CPU if they were roughly the same price?
Finally, with the 970 could I run games like GTA 5 at the display's native resolution, maxed out 60FPS?
 
1. I'd match the brands of MoBo and GPU..... Gigabyte Gaming 5 w/ Gigabyte G1 or MSI Gaming 5 w/ MSI 970.....if you have a Tech Support problem, at least the MoBo guy won't be able to shuffle you off the phone and blame the GFX guy and visa versa . The MSI Gaming 5 is the better performer .... the Gigabyte G1 wins more battles with the MSI Gaming but I am concerned the 23 % of newegg users gave it a very negative 1 egg review.

Every other week, they seem to switch who's cheaper

11104520883l.jpg


2. I have been buying the Muskin 2x4gb 2400 as it's just $2 more than 1600 memory
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/mushkin-memory-997083

3. Run away from the CX PSU....EVGA B2 750 is $50

4. Yes I would get the K, even if you don't OC now, you will wanna do it later.

5. Samnsing Evo + Seagate SSHD. The 250 GB will hold ya OS and 2 or 3 AAA games, but the hard drive will drag ass. An SSHD will give you at least a 50% speed boost.

Seagate 2 TB SSHD = 9.76 MB/s
WD Black 2 TB = 6.34 MB/s

Avoid large HDs (3 - 4 TB) unless you really need the space as they tend to have a high failure rate

6. Unless the case choice is governed by budget or the looks really grab you, I'd get the Enthoo Pro which has the best fans on the market as well as a built in fan controller.

91% http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/4526/nzxt_phantom_410_chassis_review/index8.html
99% http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/6515/phanteks-enthoo-pro-full-tower-chassis-review/index8.html

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/samsung-internal-hard-drive-mz75e250bam
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seagate-internal-hard-drive-st2000dx001

7. You don't have a CPU cooler .... If budget allows, I'd suggest:

a) @ $30 - Hyper 212 is decent enough for 4.4 - 4.6 depending on how lucky you get in CPU lottery
b) @ $55-60 - Phanteks PH-TC14PE will get you 7-10C more cooling (price depends on color) .... white cooler in white case "looks fahhhhhbulous"
c) @ $90 - Noctua NH-D15 ... best performance / noise ratio, gets 1-2C more than above
d) @ $140 - Swiftech H22-X / H240-X ... gets 3-4C better than above

For your build, I like B)

the 970 does fine at 1440p, tough for some AAA Games you might want two..., I'd certainly add another w/in 12-18 months. Start here and look at the next 18 pages to see various cards + 970 SLI in 19 games

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_Titan_X/8.html
 
Solution


1. It's worth it

2. 4690k can go from 4.4 to 4.8 Ghz depending on how lucky ya get and how good your cooler is.

3. See here for PSU requirements ... I'g get the 750 watter above or the G2 version if you want to do very aggressive overclocking
http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2311121/power-supply-requirements-nvidia-gpus.html#14243229

4. Gold, Bronze affects how much you spend for electricity, nothing else...... though a greater efficiency does mean slightly less heat ... and 85% efficient card gives off only 6% more heat than a 90

5. See the link above for fps scores

Stock 970 gets 58 fps @ 1440p ... figure 14% more overclocked.
 

SuperKerem

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May 30, 2015
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Ok, I have just swapped out the Gigabyte motherboard for an MSI Z97 Gaming 3 (any reason to get the Gaming 5?) and swapped out the PSU for an EVGA Supernova 650W! :)

Since the build is beginning to touch £1000, is there any way to shave off a couple pounds without sacrificing a lot of performance? Preferably not the GPU, but if there is a similar card which is cheaper, I'm fine with swapping it out.

Trying to get to around £800 or even less if possible!

Thanks for all your help though. :D

EDIT: I might get the Hyper 212 if it's noticeably better than the stock Intel!
 
The Gaming 3 won't do SLI .... but your 650 watt PSU won't handle SLI either. The B2 750 watter would and it's cheaper than your 650, at least on this side of the pond

To drop cost:

-you could eliminate the SSD .... will cost you 0.9 seconds on boot time. Add one later when more moola available. Gaming will be 50% faster on the SSHD than on SSD + WD Black when games are on HD.... saves £77.69

SSD = 15.6 seconds
SSHD = 16.5

-change to the B2 750 PSU

-drop the cooler and add later, saves £24.48

-drop the expensive (£91.14) and slower WD Black for the 50% faster Seagate SSHD (£77.98), saves £13.16
 

SuperKerem

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Thanks! I dropped the 1TB HDD + 250GB SSD for a 1TB SSHD, saving £75!!
For the PSU, which one should I get/is there much difference?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/EVGA-SuperNOVA-Bronze-Modular-Supply/dp/B00KM821KC/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1433014424&sr=8-3&keywords=evga+bronze
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00LMAUZ6G/ref=gno_cart_title_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Dropped the cooler also, will buy it some time in the future hopefully.
Thanks so much! Dropped the price down to £820.
(Also dropped the i5 K to a non-OC model and saved £30)
Is it worth paying the extra £20-30 for a Gaming 5 Motherboard, for SLI?

Will the i5 4460 hold back the GTX 970?
 
You want thi9s one if you wanna do SLI

http://www.amazon.co.uk/EVGA-Supernova-BRONZE-MODULAR-Supply/dp/B00LMAUZ5C/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1433015672

970s SLI gives you a 50% speed boost over a 980
970s SLI gives you a 75% speed boost over a 970.... up to 96% on the most demanding games.

So when ya system starts to get tired12-18 months down the road your upgrade options with correct MoBo PSU will be:

a) Buy a 2nd card
b) Buy a new PSU, buy a new MoBo (and maybe PSU)
c) Sell old card and get a new one.

Option a) is easier and cheaper than the other two

Also, if ya can hold off a bit, when the 390x / 980 Ti drops, which I expect will drop before Windows 10 in late July, the prices on the 970s will drop
 

SuperKerem

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OK, I'll probably do that then. But that means I have to get a cheaper CPU, is an i5 4460 OK or will it hold back the 970?