4th PC BUild with Tom's Hardware Forum Support

[xenia]

Requesting comments and suggestions on a gaming build.

Approximate Purchase: No rush, thinking Ill order something within the next 30 days
Budget: I would like to keep it under $1300 but consider stability and performance over price
System Usage: gaming primarily, but Office products and work as well
Monitor: I am not buying a monitor
OS: yes, I will need to buy an OS
Preferred website: newegg or Amazon (I'd prefer to buy all from one location)
Location: I live in and will assemble PC in the Washington DC area
Overclocking: no, never tried it, with my luck I would kill the PC
Parts Preference: not really, just a brand that has good driver download support
SLI/Crossfire: only need one decent/good graphics card

Here is what I was thinking (and found browsing the net). I used to see a Tom's recommended build by certain budget ranges but don't see those articles anymore.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Intel Core i5-4690K Processor 3.5 GHz LGA 1150
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
MSI ATX DDR3 2600 LGA 1150 Motherboards Z97 GAMING 5
EVGA GeForce GTX 970 Super Clocked ACX 2.0 4GB GDDR5 Graphics Card
Kingston HyperX FURY 16GB Kit (2x8GB) 1600MHz DDR3 CL10 DIMM – Black
Seagate 1TB Desktop HDD SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Bare Drive
Samsung 850 EVO 120GB 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD
EVGA SuperNOVA 750G2 80PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V/EPS12V

 

[senseijtitus]

Thats a pretty good build. But I would say swap the Seagate HDD with a Western Digital Black or Red Edition HDD. Also go for either 2400mhz or 2133 mhz RAM since your Mother board supports even higher frequency RAM.

 

[turbopiki]

Change i5 4690K for Xeon E3 1231 v3 if you dont want to OC, then you can change motherboard to H97 chipset, becasue you cant OC XEON.
You can go for lower wattage PSU 500w or more will be fine for a saystem wiht GTX 970

Everything else is fine

 

[g-unit1111]

Change i5 4690K for Xeon E3 1231 v3 if you dont want to OC, then you can change motherboard to H97 chipset, becasue you cant OC XEON.
You can go for lower wattage PSU 500w or more will be fine for a saystem wiht GTX 970

Everything else is fine

I would stick with the i5 before I go with a Xeon.

That's a pretty good build, I like the MSI Z97A because it has an auto-overclock function. With a good cooler you can overclock the 4690K to over 4+ GHz and all you have to do is click one button in the BIOS. The only thing I would change on your build is get faster RAM like DDR3-2400 and upgrade your SSD to a 250GB - the 850 Evo model runs around $100 right now and that's worth the extra money. I'd also get the Gigabyte Windforce over the EVGA ACX.

 

[turbopiki]

He said that he doesnt want to OC. So he should go with XEON

 

[okcnaline]

'This all right, though you should skip 16GB or RAM for 250GB SSD. Otherwise, that's what it usually is.

And also, Xeon E3-1230 V3 has 8 threads, 4 of which aren't necessary. And if he's not OC, why is he paying $20 more than the lowest priced i5?

And BTW, OP, you interested in a color themed build?

 

[senseijtitus]

Change i5 4690K for Xeon E3 1231 v3 if you dont want to OC, then you can change motherboard to H97 chipset, becasue you cant OC XEON.
You can go for lower wattage PSU 500w or more will be fine for a saystem wiht GTX 970

Everything else is fine

I would stick with the i5 before I go with a Xeon.

That's a pretty good build, I like the MSI Z97A because it has an auto-overclock function. With a good cooler you can overclock the 4690K to over 4+ GHz and all you have to do is click one button in the BIOS. The only thing I would change on your build is get faster RAM like DDR3-2400 and upgrade your SSD to a 250GB - the 850 Evo model runs around $100 right now and that's worth the extra money. I'd also get the Gigabyte Windforce over the EVGA ACX.

Im with g-unit1111 on this. A higher frequency RAM will definately help. SSD part depends on how many applications or games are you going to install. SSD will load windows and then the games or software you are using faster than if you are installing them in an HDD. Hybrid drives would also do. But not as effectively as SSD.

 

[senseijtitus]

He said that he doesnt want to OC. So he should go with XEON

'This all right, though you should skip 16GB or RAM for 250GB SSD. Otherwise, that's what it usually is.

And also, Xeon E3-1230 V3 has 8 threads, 4 of which aren't necessary. And if he's not OC, why is he paying $20 more than the lowest priced i5?

And BTW, OP, you interested in a color themed build?

Yup. Keeping a little bit of $ for looks would also be a good idea. An all red & Blue color theme or a specific all round theme like military class like this Battlefield2 themed case in the link below. .

http://www.bit-tech.net/modding/2005/08/15/battlefield2_part2/1

But that would depend on your personal interests.

Whether you like a theme for your case and the internal parts or just go with a case as it is.

 

[xenia]

All very good suggestions and greatly appreciate the responses. I did see the "one button" OC on the Z97 and it seems idiot proof so I would not mind keeping that option. I just don't want to tweak the bios/system normally required to OC, it would not come out well.

I would not mind a color theme and am debating getting a new case or just use an existing case. My current case has blue LED lights/glow which I like.

I also would go for the better RAM and the higher capacity SSD.

The Xeon vs the I5 is interesting and I would have to do some research and compare the two, but considering the "one-button" go-faster button may help future proof the system somewhat, I may just go with the I5 and Z97 compo. I do not run any intense games at all and never play the first person, graphic intensive shooters (the perspective gives me headaches).

Again, very much appreciate all the responses.

 

[xenia]

Follow up question, if I select Windows 10, would I need to select a different MB that is optimized per se to take advantage of Windows 10 features/new socket or is the Z97 perfect for Windows 10? Hope this makes sense.

 

[senseijtitus]

Windows 10 will work with any new Intel or AMD motherboard. Its pretty okay.

 

[xenia]

Thanks, and I forgot to mention the WD Black HDD change, that suggestion is a keeper too.

 

[senseijtitus]

Thanks, and I forgot to mention the WD Black HDD change, that suggestion is a keeper too.

You are most welcome xenia. Always here to help.

 

[g-unit1111]

He said that he doesnt want to OC. So he should go with XEON

Yeah but if you have a motherboard that does it for you, why not?

The Xeon vs the I5 is interesting and I would have to do some research and compare the two, but considering the "one-button" go-faster button may help future proof the system somewhat, I may just go with the I5 and Z97 compo. I do not run any intense games at all and never play the first person, graphic intensive shooters (the perspective gives me headaches).

There's really no such thing as being completely "future proof" no matter how much you spend on a PC. Overclocking will give you a boost in games, but what I do like about the MSI board (I have that same board) is the one touch overclocking feature. With my cooler I have it running at 4.0GHz no problems.

 

[xenia]

Based on suggestions, below is the build, if there are no conflicts/bottlenecks this is what I'll go forward with. Total cost without the OS and still debating on a case is $1,303.

Intel Core i5-4690K Processor 3.5 GHz LGA 1150
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
MSI ATX DDR3 2600 LGA 1150 Motherboards Z97 GAMING 5
GIGABYTE GV-N970G1 GAMING-4GD GeForce GTX 970 4GB 256-Bit GDDR5 PCI E
Kingston Technology HyperX Savage 8GB 2400MHz DDR3 Kit of 2
Western Digital WD1002FAEX Caviar Black 1 TB SATA III 7200 RPM 64 MB Cache
SAMSUNG 850 EVO MZ-75E250B/AM 2.5" 250GB SATA III 3-D Vertical Internal
EVGA SuperNOVA 750G2 80PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V/EPS12V

 

[senseijtitus]

This build is okay. For the case, find a case with good airflow. I would say DEEPCOOL KENDOMEN Red ATX case. It is a very good one.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811853013

 

[xenia]

Done, thanks all, as always, appreciate the guidance!

 

[senseijtitus]

Done, thanks all, as always, appreciate the guidance!

You are most welcome buddy. We are all here to help. Any time you or I need any help, we can turn to our friends in this forum for guidance.