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$2000 Christmas Build, How Does This Look?

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November 14, 2013 5:49:31 PM

MY BUILD

With Black Friday, Cyber Monday, the holidays, and next gen right around the corner, I'm looking to get out of console gaming and back into PC gaming. I will play predominately shooters, RPGs, MMOs, and all the other great PC games that are coming out. This will be my first ever build, and I was going for a rig that will be able to play games on max, or at least very high settings, well into the next gen. I really can't go above $2000, so bang-for-the-buck is definitely a priority. I don't like the idea of sacrificing too much performance, because I'm looking to step my gaming up to the next level and would really enjoy some rock solid game play if it means an extra few dollars. In the near future I plan on getting two more fans and other minor upgrades. Any constructive criticism that you PC wizards could give me would be awesome!

Some thoughts:

Would this rig OC well with no heat issues with all six, 140mm fans?

Prefer IPS or TN?

Personal experience with 60hz, 120hz, 144hz?

What peripherals do you use and why?

1440p or 1080p for this rig?


More about : 2000 christmas build

November 14, 2013 5:52:21 PM

Link isn't working for me, friend!
November 14, 2013 6:00:20 PM

eXplicitss said:
Link isn't working for me, friend!


Woops! Should be now.
Related resources
November 14, 2013 6:07:26 PM

you can get 2tb hard drives for the same price as the 1tb you have picked there
unless you really really "want" that case... any $50 full atx case will work fine.
you can find 120mm fans that are quite and work very well for like $7... not $16
windows 8.1 will be on sale on black friday at your local retailer for easily less than $100
the power supply is about $15 over priced....
you can find 2x4gb of 1600 cas 9 ram on deal for just under $60 if you wait
switch out that dvd drive and get yourself a $60 bluray burner.

other than that you should very much wait for the board partners to release the amd r9-290 with much better coolers.

and yeah... your system is good to go. you should use techbargains.com as they have daily deals that come and go so quickly that pcpartspicker just cant update itself that fast. your just over paying for certain items on your list is my only concern.
November 14, 2013 6:11:43 PM

nikoli707 said:
you can get 2tb hard drives for the same price as the 1tb you have picked there
unless you really really "want" that case... any $50 full atx case will work fine.
you can find 120mm fans that are quite and work very well for like $7... not $16
windows 8.1 will be on sale on black friday at your local retailer for easily less than $100
the power supply is about $15 over priced....
you can find 2x4gb of 1600 cas 9 ram on deal for just under $60 if you wait
switch out that dvd drive and get yourself a $60 bluray burner.

other than that you should very much wait for the board partners to release the amd r9-290 with much better coolers.

and yeah... your system is good to go. you should use techbargains.com as they have daily deals that come and go so quickly that pcpartspicker just cant update itself that fast. your just over paying for certain items on your list is my only concern.


Cool, thanks for the advice man!

November 15, 2013 12:10:07 PM

Monitor you definitely want an IPS.

For keyboard I can't recommend this one highly enough: http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=83469&vpn=GK%2DOSMIUM%...

Definitely go with i5-4670K and GTX 780TI, that would be the best CPU and GPU combination you could go with. Try something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($225.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X60 98.3 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($117.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme6 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($178.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Vector 150 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($134.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($61.44 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Video Card ($699.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 500R White ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: NZXT HALE90 V2 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($168.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.00 @ Amazon)
Total: $1842.35
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-15 15:09 EST-0500)

I dropped the extra case fans, included an extremely high quality PSU, but it is stretching the budget a bit. Then add whatever keyboard, monitor, and mouse you want.
November 15, 2013 2:41:16 PM

That's a top end build imo. I'd go with g-unit's build seeing as you have the money.
November 15, 2013 3:03:58 PM

g-unit1111 said:
Monitor you definitely want an IPS.

For keyboard I can't recommend this one highly enough: http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=83469&vpn=GK%2DOSMIUM%...

Definitely go with i5-4670K and GTX 780TI, that would be the best CPU and GPU combination you could go with. Try something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($225.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X60 98.3 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($117.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme6 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($178.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Vector 150 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($134.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($61.44 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Video Card ($699.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 500R White ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: NZXT HALE90 V2 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($168.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.00 @ Amazon)
Total: $1842.35
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-15 15:09 EST-0500)

I dropped the extra case fans, included an extremely high quality PSU, but it is stretching the budget a bit. Then add whatever keyboard, monitor, and mouse you want.


I don't think we should throw in a 780ti... It's overpriced and just dumb

Also, Instead of that SSD, Pick up a Samsung 840 Series... (Save $35)
Maybe replace that 1TB drive with a 2TB price (Add $20)
Change the PSU for the Corsair AX760 (Save $19)
The NZXT Kraken is pointless, First of all, it's 280MM, His case likely will have trouble with it. If you get a H60i then you save money. (Save $60)'
Make that 780ti to a R9 280x (Save $400)

Honestly I would go for a R9 280x... It's only $300 and you can add another one when the prices drop in Q1 2014... Your motherboard supports it and your power supply should be sufficient, Maybe come back to us if you consider the 2x280x because it is way better than a 780ti or 780. We probably need to re analyze your PSU if you go for 2x280x. Also if you play Battlefield 4 A LOT then you should DEFINITELY go for AMD as Mantle will give a 15%+ Increase in performance.

If you want I'll make a build with pc parts if you want the clear picture.

Also 120hz isn't really necessary, It just requires double the graphics power but it does indeed look very smooth. You won't gain any "skill" or win more "fights". It just feels nice to the eyes and could get rid of motion sickness if you have it.

November 20, 2013 9:36:37 AM

I wouldn't go with a r9 280x because the 7970 ghz performs better (future drivers could change this). I wouldn't recommend crossfire, I have had a few issues on my system (2x 7850's 2gb factory oc). Flash player crashes when I am in a game and some games just don't support crossfire (most do but napoleon total war, for example, doesn't).

I would get a 780 ti (it is over priced, but the benchmarks don't lie) it performs better than the r9 290x, and doesn't have that performance issue.

edit: I would go with g-units build.

280x benchmark: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-r9-280x-r9-270x-r7-260x,3635-8.html

290x benchmark: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-r9-290x-thermal-paste-efficiency,3678-3.html
November 20, 2013 10:02:56 AM

Krazeee said:
I don't think we should throw in a 780ti... It's overpriced and just dumb


There's no such thing as overpriced when it comes to gaming GPUs (well the Titan is a dumb investment I'll give you that because dual 780TI eclipses dual Titans with the same GK110 processor) , a GTX 780TI completely eclipses an R9-290X, and with all the issues the R9-290X is having, I don't think it would be wise to purchase one until AMD clears up the overheating issues:

Quote:
Also, Instead of that SSD, Pick up a Samsung 840 Series... (Save $35)
Maybe replace that 1TB drive with a 2TB price (Add $20)


Storage is all relative to the user. I chose that particular SSD because it's getting solid reviews and is putting up better read - write numbers than the Samsung 840 Pro is.

Quote:
Change the PSU for the Corsair AX760 (Save $19)


Change a top of the line Super Flower unit to a generic Flextronics unit with gimmicky software just to save $20? I don't think so.

Quote:
The NZXT Kraken is pointless, First of all, it's 280MM, His case likely will have trouble with it. If you get a H60i then you save money. (Save $60)


No. If you're getting anything less than a 2 x 120mm fan unit, get a Noctua D14 instead, 80mm liquid units are pointless, IMO. I have a Corsair 500R and it can easily house that cooler, I'm planning to get one when I upgrade to X79 in a couple of months. I will agree that I'm not a fan of closed liquid units but that seems to be the way the trend is going. However, most of the reviews I've read from various tech websites (and not just Newegg) all say the NZXT coolers are better than any of the Corsair H series.

Quote:
Make that 780ti to a R9 280x (Save $400)

Honestly I would go for a R9 280x... It's only $300 and you can add another one when the prices drop in Q1 2014... Your motherboard supports it and your power supply should be sufficient, Maybe come back to us if you consider the 2x280x because it is way better than a 780ti or 780. We probably need to re analyze your PSU if you go for 2x280x. Also if you play Battlefield 4 A LOT then you should DEFINITELY go for AMD as Mantle will give a 15%+ Increase in performance.


Not sure if serious. There's tons of articles right now on various tech websites telling us that the R9 is not a wise investment right now due to overheating and overclocking issues. There's a few even on the front page of this website (like: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/r9-290-accelero-xtr... ) . And if we're talking benchmarks well...



Of course that's on 4K resolution which very few people can afford but the differences between a dual 290X setup a 780TI setup are a literal 1 FPS difference.

Quote:
Also 120hz isn't really necessary, It just requires double the graphics power but it does indeed look very smooth. You won't gain any "skill" or win more "fights". It just feels nice to the eyes and could get rid of motion sickness if you have it.


That's probably the only part of this post I agree with, unless you go full 3-D. But even then full 3-D isn't a wise investment.
November 20, 2013 11:02:03 AM

^^

A graphics card over $500 is overpriced and should not be purchased. It's just blind consumerism. Unless you have a specific requirement such as a program and then you'd go for Quadro cards or whatever.

About the PSU thing, it doesn't matter, it really doesn't... They are both quality products one is just cheaper and looks nicer, so i recommended that.

About CPU coolers, why are you recommending a TOP end CL cooler to somebody who's building their first build and doesn't really care about all this in depth information. Overclocking is more of a hobby these days. I told him get an H60 because it will overclock to 4.0Ghz with no problem and it will look nice in his case while giving good temperatures.

The R9 280X custom coolers are out from most major sellers such as Sapphire and Gigabyte, No idea why he'd have a problem. Recommending anything over a R9 290 or 770 is just wasting the consumers money... This whole graphics cards and gaming industry is scamming people... Once again, blind consumerism.

I guess we just have difference perspectives. I always go for most efficient price/value ratios. Which is why i never recommend anything under a 7850 and never anything over a 770.

You can just change your settings from Ultra --> High and you will gain many FPS and your gaming experience will be the exact same.
November 20, 2013 11:24:10 AM

repost, delete please
November 20, 2013 11:33:50 AM

Krazeee said:
^^

A graphics card over $500 is overpriced and should not be purchased. It's just blind consumerism. Unless you have a specific requirement such as a program and then you'd go for Quadro cards or whatever.


No it isn't. It's like how you can tell the difference between a Bentley Continental and a Chevrolet Malibu. You pay more for quality. You can tell the difference between 55 FPS and 32 FPS. Especially if you play games at higher resolutions.

Quote:
About the PSU thing, it doesn't matter, it really doesn't... They are both quality products one is just cheaper and looks nicer, so i recommended that.


Manufacturer (OEM) of PSUs absolutely matters. Don't think the opposite even for a second - and the people who do are wrong. Wrong wrong wrong. Even high end brands like Corsair use junk OEMs (as evidenced on their CX series). I've seen tons of power supplies fail because of cheap build quality. Super Flower and Seasonic are highly regarded as being the best of the best. Flextronics - who makes the Corsair AX series - isn't. And the iLink software isn't what it is advertised. It's definitely worth it. Read this: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/power-supply-oem-ma...

Quote:
About CPU coolers, why are you recommending a TOP end CL cooler to somebody who's building their first build and doesn't really care about all this in depth information. Overclocking is more of a hobby these days. I told him get an H60 because it will overclock to 4.0Ghz with no problem and it will look nice in his case while giving good temperatures.


Like I said I'm personally not a fan of top end CL coolers, and even the highest end closed loop liquid coolers can't compete with custom open ended ones. But with liquid cooling, the lower end you go, the more there is just no point to purchasing one. Top end air heat sinks like the Noctua D14 are far more likely to get better overclocking results without going the liquid route.

Quote:

The R9 280X custom coolers are out from most major sellers such as Sapphire and Gigabyte, No idea why he'd have a problem. Recommending anything over a R9 290 or 770 is just wasting the consumers money...


Yeah I never recommend going with aftermarket coolers because most manufacturers will void warranties if you're using one and things go south.

Quote:
This whole graphics cards and gaming industry is scamming people... Once again, blind consumerism.


Again, no it isn't. And again I'll emphasize the point I was trying to make earlier - it's like how you can tell the difference between a $20000 car and a $20000 car. Or how I can tell the difference between my 2013 Altima and a 1994 model. You ever try playing games with high details on 2560 x 1440 using an R9 280?

Quote:
I guess we just have difference perspectives. I always go for most efficient price/value ratios. Which is why i never recommend anything under a 7850 and never anything over a 770.


I'm of the opinion that the graphics card is the most important part of the rig and everything else comes second. I've been PC gaming dating back to the days of the Voodoo 2 (yeah I'm dating myself :lol:  ) and I've seen lots of technologies come and go, and in the modern era, just as it was back in the early 90's, frame rates are everything. Especially the more competitive you get. And on a $2000 rig, in the grand scheme of things a $699 graphics card is only 34% of the budget and that leaves you plenty of money for the other stuff. And the rest of the components I pick are based on reviews from tech websites like Jonnyguru, Hardware Secrets, Maximum PC, Anandtech, and so on.
November 20, 2013 1:40:33 PM

g-unit1111 said:
Krazeee said:
^^

A graphics card over $500 is overpriced and should not be purchased. It's just blind consumerism. Unless you have a specific requirement such as a program and then you'd go for Quadro cards or whatever.


No it isn't. It's like how you can tell the difference between a Bentley Continental and a Chevrolet Malibu. You pay more for quality. You can tell the difference between 55 FPS and 32 FPS. Especially if you play games at higher resolutions.

Quote:
About the PSU thing, it doesn't matter, it really doesn't... They are both quality products one is just cheaper and looks nicer, so i recommended that.


Manufacturer (OEM) of PSUs absolutely matters. Don't think the opposite even for a second - and the people who do are wrong. Wrong wrong wrong. Even high end brands like Corsair use junk OEMs (as evidenced on their CX series). I've seen tons of power supplies fail because of cheap build quality. Super Flower and Seasonic are highly regarded as being the best of the best. Flextronics - who makes the Corsair AX series - isn't. And the iLink software isn't what it is advertised. It's definitely worth it. Read this: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/power-supply-oem-ma...

Quote:
About CPU coolers, why are you recommending a TOP end CL cooler to somebody who's building their first build and doesn't really care about all this in depth information. Overclocking is more of a hobby these days. I told him get an H60 because it will overclock to 4.0Ghz with no problem and it will look nice in his case while giving good temperatures.


Like I said I'm personally not a fan of top end CL coolers, and even the highest end closed loop liquid coolers can't compete with custom open ended ones. But with liquid cooling, the lower end you go, the more there is just no point to purchasing one. Top end air heat sinks like the Noctua D14 are far more likely to get better overclocking results without going the liquid route.

Quote:

The R9 280X custom coolers are out from most major sellers such as Sapphire and Gigabyte, No idea why he'd have a problem. Recommending anything over a R9 290 or 770 is just wasting the consumers money...


Yeah I never recommend going with aftermarket coolers because most manufacturers will void warranties if you're using one and things go south.

Quote:
This whole graphics cards and gaming industry is scamming people... Once again, blind consumerism.


Again, no it isn't. And again I'll emphasize the point I was trying to make earlier - it's like how you can tell the difference between a $20000 car and a $20000 car. Or how I can tell the difference between my 2013 Altima and a 1994 model. You ever try playing games with high details on 2560 x 1440 using an R9 280?

Quote:
I guess we just have difference perspectives. I always go for most efficient price/value ratios. Which is why i never recommend anything under a 7850 and never anything over a 770.


I'm of the opinion that the graphics card is the most important part of the rig and everything else comes second. I've been PC gaming dating back to the days of the Voodoo 2 (yeah I'm dating myself :lol:  ) and I've seen lots of technologies come and go, and in the modern era, just as it was back in the early 90's, frame rates are everything. Especially the more competitive you get. And on a $2000 rig, in the grand scheme of things a $699 graphics card is only 34% of the budget and that leaves you plenty of money for the other stuff. And the rest of the components I pick are based on reviews from tech websites like Jonnyguru, Hardware Secrets, Maximum PC, Anandtech, and so on.


Your being a bit irrational about the Power supply... It doesn't matter. It's not a diablotech, its a corsair. Reminds me of Ikea batteries... They use cheap stuff but they work A M A Z I N G... Besides corsair is amazing technical support, if anything goes wrong hit them up get a new one.

Buying a low end card is like buying a naked cupcake, it's edible.
Buying a middle-high end card is like buying a cupcake with just enough frosting and sprinkles
Buying a high end card is like buying a cupcake with lotssss of amazing frosting and sprinkles all around... It also is much more fattier...

You can tell the difference in the cupcakes, but really, only people who are true "foody's" will care about getting the extra frosting with sprinkles all around.

Kind of like you, your obviously an enthusiast with YEARS of experience, way more than me... but i still don't think you should recommend high end parts to people who aren't well acknowledged. They aren't even using high resolutions and 120hz works best with SLI/CFX since it is 1080p...

And about the r9 280x, i didn't mean a custom cooler, i mean the sapphire vapor x and gigabyte windforce, I'm assuming the overheating happened with REFERENCE cards so i guess it's okay to buy. $300 for the card is sweet but $400 is better for the r9 290...

Bang for your buck


November 20, 2013 1:54:39 PM

Quote:
Your being a bit irrational about the Power supply... It doesn't matter. It's not a diablotech, its a corsair. Reminds me of Ikea batteries... They use cheap stuff but they work A M A Z I N G... Besides corsair is amazing technical support, if anything goes wrong hit them up get a new one.


Even the highest end power supplies from Super Flower and Seasonic can fail. But I have used, diagnosed, and rebuilt several crappy power supplies and I would much rather go for quality than quantity.

Quote:

Buying a low end card is like buying a naked cupcake, it's edible.
Buying a middle-high end card is like buying a cupcake with just enough frosting and sprinkles
Buying a high end card is like buying a cupcake with lotssss of amazing frosting and sprinkles all around... It also is much more fattier...

You can tell the difference in the cupcakes, but really, only people who are true "foody's" will care about getting the extra frosting with sprinkles all around.


That is true, but if you're going to buy a high end system you need a high end monitor to go with it. And a low end graphics card on a high end rig won't cut it. It'd be like going to a first class suite but you had to serve yourself.

Quote:

Kind of like you, your obviously an enthusiast with YEARS of experience, way more than me... but i still don't think you should recommend high end parts to people who aren't well acknowledged. They aren't even using high resolutions and 120hz works best with SLI/CFX since it is 1080p...


If you're paying more 120Hz only works if you're buying a true 3D display and the glasses to go with it. I personally don't go that route, I would much rather have a 2560 x 1080 or 2560 x 1440 monitor than buying one with a ridiculously high refresh rate.

Quote:
Kind of like you, your obviously an enthusiast with YEARS of experience, way more than me... but i still don't think you should recommend high end parts to people who aren't well acknowledged. They aren't even using high resolutions and 120hz works best with SLI/CFX since it is 1080p...


On a $2K budget I'd personally get the best of the best. But again it's all relative to one's budget. I definitely wouldn't recommend a $700 card on a $1200 budget, that's for sure. That is one where it would be best suited for an R9 280/290X. :lol: 

Quote:


And about the r9 280x, i didn't mean a custom cooler, i mean the sapphire vapor x and gigabyte windforce, I'm assuming the overheating happened with REFERENCE cards so i guess it's okay to buy. $300 for the card is sweet but $400 is better for the r9 290...


Yeah it's true that some manufacturers have better coolers than others. Gigabyte is definitely one of them, Sapphire has good cards (and I own a couple of them) but there's mixed reviews on the coolers.
November 20, 2013 1:58:08 PM

^^ Most power supplies last, the ones from OCZ and the other crappy diablo ones have high failure rates but corsair doesn't. Whatever.

OP is never going to be able to decide what to buy hahaha

plot twist: OP bought a macbook air

:'( 
November 20, 2013 2:08:53 PM

Krazeee said:
^^ Most power supplies last, the ones from OCZ and the other crappy diablo ones have high failure rates but corsair doesn't. Whatever.

OP is never going to be able to decide what to buy hahaha

plot twist: OP bought a macbook air

:'( 


I think that actually did happen one time. :lol: 

But yeah research that's what you have to do, I get that opinions vary from person to person, and that's what makes this board fun.
November 21, 2013 4:23:27 AM

g-unit1111 said:
Krazeee said:
^^ Most power supplies last, the ones from OCZ and the other crappy diablo ones have high failure rates but corsair doesn't. Whatever.

OP is never going to be able to decide what to buy hahaha

plot twist: OP bought a macbook air

:'( 


I think that actually did happen one time. :lol: 

But yeah research that's what you have to do, I get that opinions vary from person to person, and that's what makes this board fun.


It is quite fun, im waiting for OP to reply now lol
!