~$1-1.5k Budget. Looking to get a new rig. Opinions wanted.

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
R

rctelles

Distinguished
Apr 23, 2011
34
0
18,540
I have currently an i5-2500k oc'd to 4.25Ghz and 12gb of ram. For GPU I have the GTX 970. This is what I am thinking of going with:

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/zwQTHN

I have some of the parts but a couple of concerns:

1. Will there be any noticeable boost in performance for games like gta v and maybe sims style games. I play a lot of older games too, when they work. Would there be any boost for those (ie black and white 2)?

2. Would these games look good and play well on a 2k/4k monitor if I decide to upgrade.

3. Would a single gtx 980 be a better option than springing for the second 970, or would you recommend something else?

4. This would be my first attempt at liquid cooling as opposed to air. The liquid is already in the loop right? I don't add any liquid to the Corsair cooler?

I've asked a few people in pm or im what they think but I am always open to many opinions and even criticisms.
 
Solution
B
Go with a cheaper mobo. The sweet spot for mobos is around $150. You're basically just paying extra for fancy heatsinks with that board.

Also, if you mostly just play older games, do you really need a second 970? SLI has its issues. You might be better off saving your money and waiting for the 1070ti or the 1170. What resolution are you playing at and what framerates do you get now that you are eager for an improvement? Sticking to one video card also allows you to go with a cheaper power supply. Say a 600W or 650W power supply, which will give you room for overclocking.

If the reason you want a second card is because you are planning on moving to 1440p or 4K at some unknown point in time, I suggest you wait until you are ready to...
Sort by date Sort by votes
B

bitwright

Reputable
Jun 12, 2014
225
0
4,860
Go with a cheaper mobo. The sweet spot for mobos is around $150. You're basically just paying extra for fancy heatsinks with that board.

Also, if you mostly just play older games, do you really need a second 970? SLI has its issues. You might be better off saving your money and waiting for the 1070ti or the 1170. What resolution are you playing at and what framerates do you get now that you are eager for an improvement? Sticking to one video card also allows you to go with a cheaper power supply. Say a 600W or 650W power supply, which will give you room for overclocking.

If the reason you want a second card is because you are planning on moving to 1440p or 4K at some unknown point in time, I suggest you wait until you are ready to upgrade your monitors before buying a new video card. By the time you save up for the monitor upgrade better cards may be out or prices may have dropped. Also, future games (especially at 4K) will likely need more than 4GB of VRAM.

Considering you're going with a "K" chip and such a big water cooler (yes, the water is already in the cooler), I assume you are planning on overclocking. Otherwise, go with a cheaper chip. You also might want to consider the i5 6600K instead of that i7, if you're price conscious. The i5 overclocks fairly well, and hyperthreading usually doesn't provide much of a performance boost in games, so you won't miss it.

Also consider 2400 or 2133 RAM. It's cheaper, and you're not going to get much of a boost (especially not in games) from 2666 RAM.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
R

rctelles

Distinguished
Apr 23, 2011
34
0
18,540


Never really benchmarked my games. GTA V plays really good on my current i5-2500k oc'd and the single gtx 970, but max settings tends to crash the game to desktop. Sims 3 crashes on main menu since I upgraded to windows 10, but I don't think its a windows issue. My bet is on the motherboard or an issue with overclocking.

As far as the chip I may settle on the i5, as suggested. I think its more of an epeen issue with wanting the i7, lol. I run virtual machines sometimes with modern os's, and convert a big video once in a awhile, but I dont know if that would justify the extra c-note.

I will probably wait on the newer card and monitor, and take your advice on the psu and ram.

I like this mobo because it has a couple ports with 5v dedicated power. That is good enough to power a rasberry pi, so I like that. Any particular board you would recommend. I am partial towards Asus and MSI, but I am willing to try other brands.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
B

bitwright

Reputable
Jun 12, 2014
225
0
4,860

It sounds like you set your CPU voltage too low for your OC. Games put a different kind of stress on your system than programs like Prime95 and OCCT do. I find that RealBench is much better at finding problems with oc settings, even though it doesn't stress the CPU as much, because it puts your system through some real world scenarios including some that make use of the video card as well. Also, once you think your chip is stable using tools like OCCT and RealBench you should also run Firestrike a few times to make sure you won't bluescreen on games.

As for your mobo choices, look at some of Asus' cheaper boards. Those more expensive boards are usually based off of cheaper base models. This board is the cheapest Asus board I could find in a quick search on New Egg. This board gets decent ratings and is right in my ~$150 sweet spot. There are also a slew of boards priced in between them. Find the one that fits your needs the closest. It's also worth noting that the board you chose gets mediocre reviews on New Egg, so you might want to pick a different board anyways. Also, I thought 5v was standard for USB ports?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
O

ohenryy

Honorable
Nov 16, 2014
1,071
0
12,060



Same opinion, over 200$ is either you want a very specific spec or feature or your better off saving that money and put it else where.
http://pcpartpicker.com/list/vtZgLD

Besides overclocking with this baby is easy and rock stable.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
R

rctelles

Distinguished
Apr 23, 2011
34
0
18,540
I have got it down to under $700. I was looking more into that previous case and realized it is big and heavy, so I went with a much smaller and cheaper option. Yikes on the cable management but that monster wouldnt fit on my desk. I'll probably go with nvidia shield to keep me entertained until the new 1070ti or the 1170 gpus as mentioned by bitwright. I can stream gta v and such to my 55 inch 4k tv until I spring for a 4k monitor and/or oculus rift in addition to the new gpu. Another year, another grand:/

I'm sure the new intel chips will be out soon and be awesome as well, but the 2500k lasted 6 years, and probably would last another 6 if I wasnt so bored. Hopefully this chip lasts equally as long.

The final product:
http://pcpartpicker.com/list/Lzzm8K

Thank you both for responses.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom