Building a Good Gaming PC for the next 5 years - Advice Please?

davetay14

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Jun 27, 2013
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Hi,

I've currently got a slightly aging AMD Phenon II X4, 4 GB of RAM, 700W (non-modular) PSU, a GTX 570 and rubbish wide screen LG monitor that only supports up to 1680 x 1050...

I'm a massive Battlefield fan & am quite happy with the frame rates I'm getting in BF3 at this resolution (something around 60 fps at Ultra with AA turned off)... but I have the money in the next couple of months to invest in a new gaming rig & am after a bit of advice really...

I want to build something for BF4 and that will also last me 5 years or so with the plan to drop in a 2nd GPU after a couple of years in SLI to bring me up to date with the latest games when that times comes, but at less cost than a new single GPU that delivers the same performance as an SLI setup.

So I've been thinking of:

CPU = i7 4770K (Haswell) - not sure if this overkill, but I wanna future proof myself now with the hyperthreading potential while I have the money).

RAM = 16GB (will get the highest speed I can for now & perhaps look at adding an additional 16Gb later on if required)

MoBo = Undecided, but likely a moderately priced gaming one that supports SLI & has overclocking potential.

PSU = Corsair ATX1200 (again this might be overkill, but I plan on SLI'ing at least 2 cards further on down the line so I thought for the marginal price difference between a 1000W & 1200W supply, I'd rather invest the extra money now just in case).

GPU = GTX 780 Superclocked with ACX cooler (I've heard this actually beats the Titan in many games @1080p & is significantly cheaper).


I would then look at adding another 780 in a couple of years, which by then should be a fair bit cheaper & this will allow me to be more or less capable of running the latest games for less than £250 (my estimated cost of a 780 in 2-3 years time).


First of all - do you think this rig would future proof me well enough or would I for instance be better off saving some money by not getting an i7 & settling on a i5? Do you think the PSU is overkill, any SLI'ing advice etc?...

... and secondly in terms of a monitor I'm wondering whether just to go for a IPS 1080p 27inch monitor now or invest the extra money in either a 120Hz monitor or one that supports 2560 x 1440 resolution?

I'm guessing that although I will be able to get 60 fps in new games like BF4 with everything maxed out with a single GTX780 SC @1080p... when future games are released & until I SLI up, I'm gonna get less than this further on down the line... so a 120HZ monitor sounds like it wouldn't be worth it?

As for a 1440p monitor I'm likely to see even less frame rates in new games so I'm thinking a decent IPS 27inch 1080p monitor would be the better option for now.. and perhaps if they come out with a IPS 120Hz 1440p monitor at an affordable price in years to come I can look at investing in one then...


Sorry to ask so many questions, but I want to be sure of what I'm buying & future proof myself as much as possible (without the aid of a crystal ball) before I invest in a new rig :)

Any advice / ideas are greatly appreciated!

 

jaytechgaming

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First off, you do not need a i7 for gaming. Go for an i5 (Ivy or Haswell). For the motherboard, pick one of the bundle list on Microcenter. (http://microcenter.com/site/brands/intel-processor-bundles.aspx). You DO NOT NEED 16GB of ram. 8GB is more then enough. If it is needed you can always buy more down the road. If you want to, drop down to a EVGA 770 Superclocked, which is what I will be purchasing this summer. If you plan of SLI then your PSU is fine. The monitor sounds good, make sure to measure the space that you are going to put it first. I've had friends buy a monitor too large for their desktop (vertically, he had a overhang for storage over his desk).
 

davetay14

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Jun 27, 2013
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Thanks for the reply Jaytech :)

I know that right now an i5 3770K (think this is the one) is supposed to be the sweet spot for gaming, but I'm just thinking that in 4-5 years time games may start to take advantage of hyper-threading more and there for the sake of another £70 or so I'm wondering whether it's worth paying the bit extra to just give myself a little extra headroom for future?

No PC is future proof I know that, but when I built my current PC back in 2009 I didn't do a lot of research & ended up with a AMD mobo that didn't support SLI & a NVidia card, which meant I wasn't able to SLI my existing card to make it more future proof at a cheaper price than a new single GPU... Plus the PSU wasn't up to the job of SLI'ing either as I'm pretty sure it only has one 6 pin GPU connector & I had to get an adaptor for the 2 extra pins needed just for the single GPU... no room for SLI in the future with it I'm sure even if it is 700W.

This is why I'm trying to do some research & get some feedback off people in the know like yourself to see how best I can set myself up for the future of games & also inevitably upgrade at minimum cost. :)

The reason I was thinking of getting the 780 & the 16GB of RAM now is that I'm about to start saving for a wedding & to buy a new house which is gonna suck me dry of any spare cash over the next few years... and right now is the only time that I'm gonna be able to fork out a bit more on PC components - hence why I'd rather spend the extra money now so that I can upgrade a min cost when I'm supposed to be saving ;)

Thanks for the monitor advice too - I think I have enough room for a 27inch, but do you reckon it is worth going for 120Hz or 1440p right now while I have the cash or do you think I'll never get the advantage of it in the future without massive upgrades? :)

 

jaytechgaming

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With the monitor, 1080p is perfectly fine for most. However, with a 27 inch monitor you might want to look into 1440p. If you can find one reasonably priced then grab it. With your setup you will not be hitting 120fps in some games unless you lower the settings and you will probably not notice the difference between the two. I have seen a 120hz monitor side-by-side with a 60hz and the difference was not worth much. It looked just a tad smoother, not worth $100. But, if you can find one on sale then go for it. But, remember to check it out so you don't end up buying an expensive paper weight. I AM NOT an expert with monitors, so I would recommend you to go search online about that or talk to a good friend. Maybe even set up a thread under the monitors category specifically for this.

With the i7. If the i5 is good enough now, like I said, buy it. As an example, there are dual core processors now that are playing battlefield three. Which btw takes advantage of quad cores, and they do just fine. There are people still rocking their Phenom ii x2 or x4. You will only be missing a few frames here and there. If you truly want to, then buy the i7. But, I still recommend the i5.

PSU- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139034

About the GPU, keep it if you want to, I was just recommending another one. You decide what you put in your build.

About the RAM, get what you want. Be it 16GB or 8GB or 1GB, I already gave my two cents :D
 

davetay14

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Thanks for the link to the PSU - I think you're right that a 1000W will prob be enough for SLI-ing 2 carsds & if I go with an i5 it will save me perhaps £100 I could perhaps put towards a 1440p monitor
 

jaytechgaming

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Nice! Good Luck :D