Can I Spend less for the same Performance?

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Pvt-Jun

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Jul 14, 2015
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I'm building my first PC and at the moment it costs £759.79. I would like to know if I can decrease this cost for the same or better performance. I want to keep the i7 4790k CPU but I am accepting any alternatives for other components. I was advised not to get the gtx 960 or r9 280x because they won't "fit" with the performance of my build because I am choosing the i7 CPU, so I went with the r9 290 because I cannot afford a gtx 970. I live in the UK so bear in mind that shipping fees may be an issue. Thank you.
Here is my build:

Asus AMD Radeon R9 290 DirectCU II OC Graphics Card (£218.64)
MSI Z97 Gaming 5 Intel LGA1150 Z97 ATX Motherboard (£99.98)
Corsair CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9R Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 Mhz (£43.06)
WD 1TB 3.5 inch Internal Hard Drive - Caviar Blue (£39.96)
Corsair CC-9011075-WW Carbide Series 100R Windowed Mid-Tower ATX Computer Case (£41)
600W Corsair Builder Series CX600M 80PLUS Bronze Modular Power Supply (£61.98)
[Intel Core i7 i7-4790K CPU (£253.17)]
 
Solution
spdragoo
Well, yes. Unless you're going to do a lot of streaming and content creation like video editing, an i7 is a waste. Also, unless you plan on OC'ing the CPU, never get an Intel "K" processor, because you're paying a lot of extra money for the ability to OC. So unless you're just looking for bragging rights, you don't need the i7.

Secondly, unless you're way far down on the CPU tier list, your GPU choices should be based more on a) the resolution you plan on playing at and b) the games you're planning on playing. For example, if you're playing below 1080p, an R9 270 is more than sufficient GPU to get you to the 50-60FPS mark (I use it for BF4 @ 1600x900, with no stuttering or other FPS issues). For most 1080p games, even the...
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spdragoo

spdragoo

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Oct 17, 2011
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Well, yes. Unless you're going to do a lot of streaming and content creation like video editing, an i7 is a waste. Also, unless you plan on OC'ing the CPU, never get an Intel "K" processor, because you're paying a lot of extra money for the ability to OC. So unless you're just looking for bragging rights, you don't need the i7.

Secondly, unless you're way far down on the CPU tier list, your GPU choices should be based more on a) the resolution you plan on playing at and b) the games you're planning on playing. For example, if you're playing below 1080p, an R9 270 is more than sufficient GPU to get you to the 50-60FPS mark (I use it for BF4 @ 1600x900, with no stuttering or other FPS issues). For most 1080p games, even the newer ones, you shouldn't need any more than the GTX 960 or R9 280X. The R9 290 is better once you start getting to 1440p resolutions...but, given the price, it's probably still a good selection.

The final issue is your PSU. Corsair's CX series apparently has a very bad reputation due to the low-quality capacitors they use. You should be able to get a more reliable PSU for around the same price, though.

 
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Solution
RaDiKaL_

RaDiKaL_

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Apr 17, 2006
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As spdragoo said, take the i7 only if you're into streaming / rendering, otherwise an i5 - 4690k will do as good as the i7 for gaming.

Regarding OC however I would invest on a K version which usually isn't that more expensive as their non-K counterparts, a nice OC will help achieve better min FPS and will also help your CPU to keep up with newer models along the road, thus making your investment more worthwhile.

Even though your monitor res will determine which GPU is "enough" for you, I'd still get the best GPU you can afford, this way you won't have to replace it once you get a new monitor, and of course it will be able to last you longer since the more powerful it is the longer newer games it will be able to handle.

+1 on changing that PSU, avoid Corsair CX series, you should be able to find an EVGA, Antec or Seasonic PSU bronze+ certified with the same wattage and at around the same price.

You could save some money changing to an i5 as mentioned earlier, and you could go with a cheaper mobo with an H87/H81 chipset, no need for the Z97 unless you're going to use lots of HDDs and tri/4x SLI- Crossfire.
 
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Atterus

Atterus

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Jul 15, 2015
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Definitely get the i5 for gaming, and the latest and greatest isn't always the "best" necessarily if you are looking to save. I'd get the "k" version but check older variants to see how well they tend to overclock, some may be cheaper than the newest ones. I have an i5-2500k that I have no intention of upgrading anytime soon because it has been OC'd to match what most modern CPU's can run at. I'm not pulling for the 2500k in particular, but getting the k at the end is worth it and not "dangerous" like some folks would argue.

I agree about the i7's, only get it if you plan on doing graphical design. People have argued that hyper-threading will become important in games for years, it hasn't. I had the same choice in the beginning of my build with the same argument, it's been four years and I have yet to see hyper-threading make a real difference. It isn't worth that extra $100.

I would also switch out that PSU for the ones suggested, and if you do go with Overclocking regardless of the CPU, I would strongly suggest getting a CPU cooler. I use the CoolerMaster 212+ but the Evo is the newer version, generally those should only run around $50. It will not only keep the CPU happy, but knock down the general temperature of the case.
 
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p_nut_uk

p_nut_uk

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