Good First-Time Build for Ultra 1080p 60 FPS Gaming?

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abhinayb1998

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I was wondering if this was a good build for maxing out games like Skyrim with mods, Grand Theft Auto V, The Witcher 3, and Battlefield 4 at 1080p and 60 FPS? If the Graphics Card is not good enough, I would be okay with playing on at least high with around 40-50+ FPS. I will not be overclocking the CPU, at least not yet. Also, I need to know if everything is compatible, because I have read a lot of reviews about things like the case and cooler don't fit, or the motherboard and CPU don't fit, things like that. I already have a monitor and peripherals, and I am probably getting the CPU as a gift, so those will not be included in the price. My maximum budget is around $850-$900 without those items, and also without them, the build I currently have, without shipping and handling and with current prices, is about $830. If you make any suggestions, please make sure the replacement or addition does not drastically increase the price. I have read some guides on the internet saying that I could max out games at 1080p with a $600 build, and that $1000 is capable of 4K gaming, not just 1080p. I think this brings up the reason that some people have said that my build is overkill for what I am going for, and if that is true, could you please tell how to get the performance I am looking for, but reduce the cost? Thanks! Here are the parts:

Case: Corsair 400R ATX Mid Tower Case

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor

Graphics Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card

Motherboard: MSI Z97 PC MATE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard

Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive

Power Supply: Antec Neo Eco 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler

Case Fan: Corsair Air Series AF140 Quiet Edition 67.8 CFM 140mm Fan

Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/RSBS DVD/CD Writer

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit)

Sorry if this was a long read, I just wanted to be really specific since this is my first time building a PC, and I want to make sure everything is a good fit.:)
 
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TheRedMan
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TheRedMan

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It's already a solid build, and overkill is a good thing because it means that your component would still be fine in the long run. But may I suggest an R9 390 and a 750W PSU? Considering that both GPU performs neck-to-neck in games, but the 390 has 8GB of VRAM compared to 970's 4GB (3.5GB actually) which would be useful in terms of longevity.
 
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Fineus_

Fineus_

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Looks like a build - personally I'd chuck another 8GB of RAM in there just for future proofing but it probably won't make a *hug* difference.

You might also want to look at a solid state drive (SSD) to put your operating system and applications on. Whilst it may not have a huge bearing on your FPS, it may also help smooth things out (my current system suffers from some loading times in GTAV as certain bits are loaded in) and you'll enjoy much faster start up times too.
 
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abhinayb1998

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Logain,
What case would you suggest? I just threw the 400r in there since I was focused on other components at the time, but I would optimally like to spend around $40-$60 on a case. I think the Corsair Spec 03 looks pretty good. Is it compatible and would it be a sufficient enough downgrade on the case to cover the cost of the motherboard upgrade, but still keep around the same total price?
 
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abhinayb1998

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Fineus,
I will be upgrading to a solid state drive in the future, but for now, I don't think I really need it that much for the extra increase in price. I will, however, see if it is within my budget to add some more RAM. Thanks!
 
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Fineus_

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If you *don't* plan to have more than one graphics card and *don't* plan to overclock then the H97-Pro Gamer from Asus is well worth a look.

However if you plan to do either - forget it - as it doesn't support those functions :)
 
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logainofhades

logainofhades

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A corsair 200r is still a good case, and typically a good deal cheaper. The price difference should be pretty close to allow for a X97 Gaming 5.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Motherboard: MSI Z97-GAMING 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($135.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Micro Center)
Total: $195.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-21 10:04 EDT-0400

For graphics card, I prefer MSI's quality vs Gigabyte. Asus strix is good too, though.
 
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abhinayb1998

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Logain,
Is the Corsair "Spec" series compatible with all of my components? I've read some reviews that said that series of cases isn't compatible with a lot of things. If it isn't, then I'll just get the 200r or 300r.
 
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TheRedMan

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Both brands are great, what makes them different is the cooling performance. But the temperature difference is marginal so get whichever is cheaper. In terms of gaming performance, sometimes the 390 wins and sometimes it loses to the 970 depending on the game but the difference is 2-4 fps.What really makes the difference is the 390's bigger VRAM which allows you to play even more demanding games like Shadow of Mordor without stuttering.

Yes the 390 use more power than the 970, AMD's website recommends a 750W power supply but it's still plenty enough if you want to overclock.
 
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Dan414

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Your HDD is 90 bucks. I HIGHLY recommend getting an SSD, several of which you can get for $90 around the 250GB range. If you need storage later, you can always add an HDD. The SSD will make huge improvements on load times.

Toms often recommends more expensive SSD's because of better performance or reliability, but I also suggest not relying on any SSD or HDD and have a multilayerd backup system which includes off-site storage. If you have that, you don't have to be concerned too much about data integrity with any SSD.
 
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TheRedMan

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No it is not good at all. You can google the reviews for that thing and you will find a massive amount of negative feedback. That PSU is listed in Tier 4 which means it has terrible components in it:
www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html

Try getting a PSU that is at least in Tier 2 or use brands like Seasonic or XFX. But if you're too lazy to search, get a Cooler Master V750S (Tier 2) like I do.
 
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Fineus_

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As a slight aside, how do you recommend handling a multi-layered backup system?

I'm looking to make a secure backup not just of small word documents etc. but also my photography portfolio which is well into 200GB+ now.

I've got an internal hard drive and external PnP hard drive as well that I back up on to...
 
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abhinayb1998

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Are there any good PSU's for under $100? I can't seem to find a good 750W one that fits in my budget. If there aren't any you guys can recommend, I think I will go with the EVGA SuperNOVA G2.
 
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abhinayb1998

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OK, Here is my new build based on all of your suggestions:

Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor

Graphics Card: MSI Radeon R9 390 8GB Video Card

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-GAMING 7 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard

Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory and Kingston HyperX Fury Black 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (No SSD yet, maybe in a little while)

Power Supply: SeaSonic 750W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler

Case Fan: Corsair Air Series AF140 Quiet Edition 67.8 CFM 140mm Fan

Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/RSBS DVD/CD Writer

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit)

Is it good enough for the performance I want?
 
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TheRedMan

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You are good to go my friend, all that's missing is a SSD but you can always save money for that later :D
 
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Dan414

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Well.
1. I have programs and OS on my SSD (120GB). Anything on it I'm willing to lose, but just for convenience sake I periodically clone it to an old 120 GB laptop drive.
2. I keep photos, videos and documents on a 1TB WesternDigital Black HDD, in my Dropbox folder.
3. All things in my dropbox folder back up to dropbox online with 1TB space for $100 a year.
4. All pictures from my phone sync to Dropbox whenever I'm on WiFi - so every night all my photos are synced to my HDD by Dropbox.
5. I have a Segate Home backup (2TB) next to my router in another room from my computer. It backs up my 1TB HDD in my computer.

This way, if I lose any single HDD, I can backup quickly from home. If I lose my phone, I have most pictures except today's. If my home burns down, I can get to everything in Dropbox. If Dropbox is hacked and everything deleted or soemthing, or I forget to pay, I still have my info on two systems. Also, if I pick up a ransomware virus, I can wipe my HDD and recover quickly.

I will have to upgrate to a 2TB local HDD someday, and will need to buy more online space at the same time, but that's a ways off as I've been doing this for almost two years and am at around 450GB of data. It was a close call for Dropbox - I had 100 GB teir and was looking at other options when they gave me 1TB. Hopefully they will move to more storage in my teir by the time I need it.

I justify the cost of Dropbox ($100 a year) in part because it lets me buy smaller (16GB) iPhones for myself and my wife, and use a single storage solution for both of us (since its not tied to our email or anything else).
 
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logainofhades

logainofhades

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Drop that extra 4gb stick of ram. You will not run in proper dual channel that way, and gaming rigs can get by fine with 8gb still.
 
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