Creative concept for a gaming PC

TheHereticAnthem20 · Dec 28, 2015

Hi everybody!

Take a look at this build:

MOBO: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150
CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz Quad-Core
RAM: G.SKILL Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 1866MHz
VIDEO CARD: MSI NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 4GB
PSU: EVGA 600 B1 80+ BRONZE, 600W Continuous Power
HDD: Western Digital Blue 1TB
SSD: Samsung 850 EVO 250GB 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD
CASE: Corsair Carbide Series 100R Mid Tower Case

Now, I'd like to build a pc like this. It's a pretty powerful system that is able to run next-gen games at a resolution of 1440p.

But my idea is different. It might sound silly, but I've been thinking a lot about this.
I'd like to take this build and use it for 1080p gaming.
And I'd like to do that just because I want a PC that is truly powerful and that can handle anything you throw at it. I DON'T want the components (cpu, gpu...) to suffer while playing games on ultra.
I know this build is OVERKILL for 1080p gaming, but please keep reading.

Example: my current pc (old one, quad core Q6600 2.40ghz processor, updated video card amd radeon 7870 hd, 4 gigs of ram, no ssd of course...) would SUFFER and BLEED if I were to play...i don't know...thief 4? Batman arkham knight? Far Cry 4? Or other power-hungry titles.
My current pc can't even OPEN fallout 4 without exploding.

I'd like to have a PC that can run ANY game at 1080p on ultra, without having to worry about low fps or tweaking graphics settings or stuttering. And I'd like the parts of my pc to run cool and smoothly 100% of the time.

Here's a simile to make you understand better: I want a PC like Usain Bolt, but I don't want him to make the effort of breaking the world record (= 1440p gaming on ultra), I just want him to calmly stroll through a park (= 1080p gaming on ultra).
I want a Hulk that only has to lift 50 pounds, I want a PhD in maths that only has to calculate 2+3, I want a professional musician that only has to strike one chord, I want a proportion like this:

This new build : 1080p gaming on ultra = A normal pc : opening a Word document

Strange request, eh? Any advice is appreciated. Should I choose different components? Is everything compatible?

P.S.: a 1080p monitor is MORE than enough for me, I'm used to staying close to the screen, and I have been playing on a 1440x900 screen for 7 years, so 1080p is already a *great* improvement.

Thanks in advance.

BadActor · Dec 28, 2015

Its not overkill by any means. Even this build would struggle in some poorly optimized games. Where this build would shine is if you used a 144hz, GSYNC, 1080p monitor, since you would be getting very good frame rates that would make for very fluid game play. One thing, use a different PSU. The one you have is a lower tier.

http://www.ncixus.com/products/?usaffiliateid=1000031504&sku=97531&vpn=110-B2-0750-VR&manufacture=eVGA&promoid=1027

http://www.microcenter.com/product/409464/VG248QE_24_1080p_144Hz_3D_Gaming_LED_Monitor

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html

TheHereticAnthem20 · Dec 28, 2015

BadActor :

Sorry, I forgot to change the PSU, I actually chose EVGA SuperNOVA 650 G2 80 Plus, as another user suggested in another thread. Is that a good PSU?

And I have another question. Is there a build that can meet the requirements I described (little effort, much power for 1080p gaming)? Does a build like that exist (without having to spend 2500$ for i-sevens and gtx titans and so on)?

BadActor · Dec 28, 2015

There is a point of diminishing returns. Will you really be able to tell the difference between 150 FPS and 300 FPS without looking at a frame counter? Probably not. But the cost would be substantially more to achieve it. So all you really need is a graphics card that can achieve the FPS/settings you want in a given game and then choose a CPU that will not bottle neck the card. If you want 100+ FPS on Ultra settings at 1080p in nearly every game, just go for a 980Ti. The processor you have will work with it, although I would step up to 16GB of RAM. That PSU is a good one.

ohiou_grad_2006 · Dec 28, 2015

Honestly, even my AMD 8 core FX 8120 overclocked at 4ghz can play most games 1080p at high/ultra. If you were to grab say an i5, 16gb of ram, a radeon r9 380x, or better yet, a 390, along with the PSU mentioned above, ssd if you can afford it, I am guessing you'd be suprised.

TheHereticAnthem20 · Dec 28, 2015

But the radeon r9 390 is really power-hungry, and the 980Ti costs 650$.

So the cpu's fine, the psu's fine, storage is fine, the mobo's fine. Gpu remains a mystery.

But what's the difference between 8 and 16 gigs of ram? Aren't 8 gigabytes enough?

BadActor · Dec 28, 2015

For most games, yes. But some games are starting to use more and no doubt more are coming.

ohiou_grad_2006 · Dec 28, 2015

Oh exactly, it's a constant upgrade. I've been running this system for 2 years(installed the 7950 last year). I figure by the time next Christmas comes around, I'll be ready to upgrade. Since AMD is supposed to be releasing Zen, then I can see if it lives up to it's billing or not, then make the determination of whether to stay with them or go for an intel build. So end of next year, early 2017, I'll probably be replacing board, cpu, and ram. Carry over my ssd and hard drive, then start saving up for a new video card.

This year was nice though. Got Christmas money, and instead of upgrading parts, I got to buy games. Picked up WWE 2k15, which I think is fun. Also picked up Assassin's Creed Unity. Honestly I know the requirements call for a 7970, but the 7950 actually runs it on high settings. It turned on FXAA and was relatively smooth, but I went ahead and turned AA off totally, and left all the textures etc on high. With those settings, I'm between 30-60 fps genarally. Not bad for a game that was considered unoptimized and broken when they released it.

TheHereticAnthem20 · Dec 28, 2015

BadActor :

Yeah, you're right, thanks for the advice.
I actually don't need 150 fps. I'm aiming for constant 60fps gaming on ultra with drops of 5 fps AT MOST.
(yeah, well, "very high" is still acceptable, but "ultra" sounds and looks better)

The fact is, I stumbled upon custom pc builds on youtube (serious ones), and one of them struck me.
I saw this pc build (the Positron, by Austin Evans) that could run like Shadow of Mordor at an average of 53 fps on ULTRA at a resolution of 1440p (and other games of course).

So I thought: maybe I can build a pc that's more powerful than this Positron (and this new build is).
AND ON TOP OF THAT, I can use this new build on a 1080p monitor, so the framerate WILL stay locked at 60fps, since 1080p requires much less computing/rendering power than 1440p.

Maybe it doesn't work that way.

TheHereticAnthem20 · Dec 28, 2015

ohiou_grad_2006 :

I know that feel man.
I was able to run Shadow of Mordor (great game and greatly optimized, thank god) on my current pc at an average of 45 fps, with high peaks of 60 and low peaks of 35, at high-medium settings (full resolution, anti aliasing FXAA on, anisotropic filtering 4x on, details on high and textures on MEDIUM, DAMNIT haha)
But it was a GREAT accomplishment, counting that I've got a pc from 2008, with only ONE upgrade, the video card. (quad core Q6600 2.40 ghz, amd radeon 7870 HD, 4 gb of ram, 580 gb of mass storage, a mysterious, unknown mobo and no SSD).

Big up on the excellent performance of my DECREPIT pc...

BadActor · Dec 28, 2015

You may also want to read this thread:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/382560-33-60fps-60hz-monitor

TheHereticAnthem20 · Dec 28, 2015

BadActor :

Thanks, that thread cleared many things up.

So if I were to lock the framerate at 60fps (or just use vsync, something I ALWAYS do) on a 60hz 1080p monitor, I would pretty much get constant 60 frames per second with this build AND my components wouldn't have to struggle and work hard to render my games, they would be relatively "at ease".

Or not?

BadActor · Dec 28, 2015

Yes. Ideally you want to match the refresh rate of the monitor to the FPS the video card can manage. This is the whole concept of VSync, GSync, and FreeSync.

ohiou_grad_2006 · Dec 28, 2015

I know I have vsync enabled and it does help smooth out situations where I would otherwise have over 60.

TheHereticAnthem20 · Dec 28, 2015

BadActor :

Okay, but if the video card can manage x (>60) fps and I lock the framerate at 60fps, then the video card has to work less and the output will be 60 (almost) constant fps, right?

BadActor · Dec 28, 2015

Yes, but the real benefit comes from rendering full frames, reducing tearing.

TheHereticAnthem20 · Dec 28, 2015

BadActor :

Alright, thanks. So, last question:

1) With this build:
MOBO: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150
CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz Quad-Core
RAM: G.SKILL Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 1866MHz
VIDEO CARD: MSI NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 4GB
PSU: EVGA SuperNOVA 650 G2 80 Plus
HDD: Western Digital Blue 1TB
SSD: Samsung 850 EVO 250GB 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD
CASE: Corsair Carbide Series 100R Mid Tower Case

2) With this option:
VSync activated in every game (== fps locked at 60 MAX)

3) With these settings:
Very High to Ultra in every game;

Will this pc run everything:
- smoothly,
- without overheating,
- with little to medium effort,
- at 55-60 fps,
- without compatibility issues?

BadActor · Dec 28, 2015

Yes, with the caveat a few poorly optimized games may average less than 60 FPS.

TheHereticAnthem20 · Dec 28, 2015

BadActor :

Sir, I love you in a non-gay way.

Thank you IMMENSELY for your help.

BadActor · Dec 28, 2015

Hahaha

Creative concept for a gaming PC

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