Gaming Build (~£1000) Critique/Advice

Spoonerism · Jul 22, 2015

OK so it's actually been a year since I first posted a thread like this, but never actually managed to bite the bullet. Now I feel it's time to at least approach the subject again; hopefully get some advice. The current build linked I'm fairly happy with but I'm still questioning some components, specifically how they cope with high intensity tasks. (Just wanted to note that lots of people seem to reference that they need to be able to do rendering or streaming, I'm totally not pursuing that. Just thought that might be useful since the i5/i7 debate generally suggests that I wouldn't need an i7)

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/2kjHjX
Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/2kjHjX/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£177.00 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£24.48 @ Novatech)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-PRO(Wi-Fi ac) ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£154.69 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£45.81 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£48.58 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£39.00 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card (£259.00 @ Aria PC)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case (£62.34 @ Aria PC)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£62.24 @ CCL Computers)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer (£9.38 @ CCL Computers)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit) (£75.09 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £957.61
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-22 22:30 BST+0100

The RAM is kind of a sticking point for me, the linked 2 sticks of 4 gigs are by far the most popular but I would guess that's simply down to price. Am I better off with 16GB (2 sticks of 8) or a higher speed for the 8GB?

The power supply was very highly praised in the tier list when I checked last year but it seems that it isn't really that popular. The cheap corsair PSUs are extremely popular, but if I remember right they should totally be avoided in a gaming oriented build. Any opinions on the PSU chosen or an alternative? I just don't feel that confident about the XFX for some reason (also I might have even selected the wrong one on PCPartPicker)

Other than that the rest of the build is pretty much standard, the 970 is run of the mill, I would have thought the SSD will be fine for just the OS and maybe a couple of programs. Thanks.

Onus · Jul 22, 2015

All XFX PSUs are made by Seasonic. Although they have newer, more efficient models, that one is a good PSU. Do avoid the cheap Corsair PSUs.
Prices could be different there, but in the USA, the Hyper212 EVO is a bang/buck Loser compared to competitors at http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-2478892/alternatives-hyper-212-evo-budget-cooling.html so you may be wasting a little money; but that's a niggle.

AdriansNetwork · Jul 22, 2015

Best PSU right now for a good price is the EVGA Supernova G2 650W. Semi passive mode, 100% Japanese capacitors, 80+Gold certification and very, very good reviews online. Regarded as the best 650W PSU. Dont cheap out on the PSU because you want it to last long or maybe even be used in future builds.

Gracodana · Jul 22, 2015

That psu is good, 8gb of ram is fine for the moment and ram is the easiest thing in a pc to upgrade so I really wouldn't bother with 16 unless you want to do some editing. I would suggest getting a 240gb ssd, 120gb doesn't allow for a lot of stuff.

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/crucial-internal-hard-drive-ct250bx100ssd1

This model really isn't much mroe and for twice the space I think that it's a worthwhile upgrade.

Spoonerism · Jul 24, 2015

Sorry I haven't replied lately. Thanks for the tips, just got a few questions about them.

Firstly, this could just be me but the Supernova G2 650W I can't seem to find anywhere in the UK. On Amazon, for example, it supposedly can be pre ordered for June 2016; on the US site it's been out for a little while already. Maybe that's just an EU export thing meaning it isn't available here. At the end of the day, I'd be happy sticking with that XFX PSU, it's just that the only way to tell which model that one is was to copy the part number into google and try to work it out. (For reference PCPartPicker says it's the P1-650X-XXB9, that's an XXX, which fits firmly in the tier one slot on the list, right?)

Also, in regards to upgrading the SSD I'd be much happier with a 240-256GB model but there's a lot of conflicting advice about brands. As far as I can tell the Samsung 850 has the better read write but is also more expensive. That BX100 is actually one I've never heard of before (I am familiar with the MX100). Is there much difference between different SSDs (between one SSD and another, not between an SSD and HDD) or is it only a big deal for someone doing lots of rendering, of which I am not one of those people.

Gracodana · Jul 24, 2015

Spoonerism :

Sorry I haven't replied lately. Thanks for the tips, just got a few questions about them.

Firstly, this could just be me but the Supernova G2 650W I can't seem to find anywhere in the UK. On Amazon, for example, it supposedly can be pre ordered for June 2016; on the US site it's been out for a little while already. Maybe that's just an EU export thing meaning it isn't available here. At the end of the day, I'd be happy sticking with that XFX PSU, it's just that the only way to tell which model that one is was to copy the part number into google and try to work it out. (For reference PCPartPicker says it's the P1-650X-XXB9, that's an XXX, which fits firmly in the tier one slot on the list, right?)

Also, in regards to upgrading the SSD I'd be much happier with a 240-256GB model but there's a lot of conflicting advice about brands. As far as I can tell the Samsung 850 has the better read write but is also more expensive. That BX100 is actually one I've never heard of before (I am familiar with the MX100). Is there much difference between different SSDs (between one SSD and another, not between an SSD and HDD) or is it only a big deal for someone doing lots of rendering, of which I am not one of those people.

I use a 240gb mx100 myself, the bx100 is bacically just a bit of an upgrade.

Couldn't see the G2 version but the b2 is also very good and this is 750w for the same price:

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-110b20750vr

Spoonerism · Jul 28, 2015

Thanks for the advice, just wanted to ask about a few other things.

For the moment I've just put the Corsair 300R as the case but I basically selected it since Corsair generally seem pretty good about a simple, efficient case design. Also, I didn't want a tacky looking flashy case made of cheap plastics that'll scratch in 5 minutes or has some flimsy hinges that would break off. If there's any better alternatives I'm certainly open to that but probably more importantly is the fans. Should I be buying additional fans or does it come with a fair number of good fans as standard? I don't want to end up with an overheating problem because I didn't realise I didn't have enough.

With the release of Windows 10 should I still buy Windows 8 and just upgrade? If I'm right in my thinking, the upgrade is free anyway so it should be fine either way.

Gracodana · Jul 28, 2015

Spoonerism :

You may aswell get windows 8 and just upgrade. There will be fans that come with pretty much all cases, they are fine if you want the best then you can get other fans but they wont do to much difference, the 300r is a nice looking case.

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