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Assistance with building a high-end gaming machine

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  • Gaming
  • Components
  • New Build
Last response: in Components
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September 13, 2014 3:45:47 PM

Hello everyone,

I made a post several months ago asking for advice on a solid gaming and video editing machine; however, at the time, I did not have the budget that I asked for.

Fortunately, I do have the means now, and of course, better components may be out there, or prices have drastically moved around etc. So, given a budget of $1500-$2500, preferably no less than 2k based on co-workers' advice, please assist in building a machine with me!

I do have some specifics that I'd like to throw out which should help the process move along faster. I am by no means an expert in the area, but I currently work in IT and CS; so I do know some things.
First, Intel vs AMD. To my understanding, Intel is still faster with their hyperthreading, so I have a preference for them. If this has changed, feel free to let me know!
Second, 3 monitors. My machine needs to be able to run smoothly on three monitors. Currently, on the diagonal, I have one 24" and two 19". I plan on having this machine for at least 5 years, so upgrading my monitors to three 27" in the "near" future would be nice; so please keep that in mind.
Third, I have heard having 2 SSDs is a good idea; one for the OS, and one for everything else. I don't see the OS one needing to exceed 100 gigs, but if you have more info than me, feel free to choose your preference. As to the other, I think 1T is fair, unless you know better deals.
Fourth, If this is obvious, my bad, but I just wanted to be clear. I think a Quad-core minimum is required.
Lastly, this will be my first build; so if you have found good tutorials and insights out there, please share them.

Thank you much!

More about : assistance building high end gaming machine

a b 4 Gaming
September 13, 2014 5:14:43 PM

Let me start by saying no. 2 SSDs is not a good idea, unless you're planning on using a RAID setup, which essentially means combining the 2 to expand the memory. The bad news is if one SSD fails, then you have no operating system and worst of all, all of your data could then be wiped entirely. Here's the build, excluding monitors -

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($339.93 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H105 73.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-PRO(Wi-Fi ac) ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($208.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Gaming Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($310.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Plextor M6S 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive ($165.00 @ B&H)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB DirectCU II Video Card ($557.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: NZXT H440 (White/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($98.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1996.84
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-13 20:14 EDT-0400

September 13, 2014 6:23:53 PM

dottorrent said:
Let me start by saying no. 2 SSDs is not a good idea, unless you're planning on using a RAID setup, which essentially means combining the 2 to expand the memory. The bad news is if one SSD fails, then you have no operating system and worst of all, all of your data could then be wiped entirely. Here's the build, excluding monitors -

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($339.93 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H105 73.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-PRO(Wi-Fi ac) ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($208.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Gaming Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($310.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Plextor M6S 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive ($165.00 @ B&H)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB DirectCU II Video Card ($557.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: NZXT H440 (White/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($98.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1996.84
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-13 20:14 EDT-0400



Thanks for your reply. I do have a couple questions.
1) how does the Asus Z97-PRO(Wi-Fi ac) ATX LGA1150 compare with the GIGABYTE z97-d3h ATX?
2) Did you not include an optical/blue ray drive?
Related resources
a b 4 Gaming
September 13, 2014 7:07:18 PM

Reworked -

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($339.93 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H105 73.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-PRO(Wi-Fi ac) ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($208.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Gaming Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($310.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Plextor M6S 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive ($165.00 @ B&H)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB DirectCU II Video Card ($557.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Arctic White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: LG UH12NS30 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $2012.83
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-13 22:05 EDT-0400

The Asus Z97-Pro is a better board for overclocking, aesthetics (no garish gold), has on-board Wifi-AC and has better fan controlling software.
September 24, 2014 6:40:15 PM

dottorrent said:
Reworked -

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($339.93 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H105 73.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-PRO(Wi-Fi ac) ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($208.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Gaming Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($310.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Plextor M6S 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive ($165.00 @ B&H)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB DirectCU II Video Card ($557.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Arctic White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: LG UH12NS30 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $2012.83
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-13 22:05 EDT-0400

The Asus Z97-Pro is a better board for overclocking, aesthetics (no garish gold), has on-board Wifi-AC and has better fan controlling software.


So far this build is looking pretty cool. I do have one issue though. Right now, the GPU only fits halfway into the slot. Specifically, only the back pins slide in due to the front getting blocked by the case where you would put a screw in to secure the GPU. Any fix on this besides bending the metal plate?
!