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$2100 gaming rig, 4690K / 970. First build, any suggestions before I go through with it?

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October 4, 2014 7:48:06 PM

Hi folks, I plan on building my first PC. Before I go ahead and order everything I thought it might be worthwhile to get some advice. I chose the majority of the parts from the suggestions made over at Logical Increments. My budget is $2500 CDN.
PCPartPicker part list: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/dc8TjX
Price breakdown by merchant: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/dc8TjX/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($248.97 @ DirectCanada)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($99.95 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-PRO(Wi-Fi ac) ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($226.18 @ DirectCanada)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($100.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Sandisk Extreme II 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($148.32 @ TigerDirect Canada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($57.99 @ Canada Computers)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($438.50 @ Vuugo)
Case: Corsair Air 540 ATX Mid Tower Case ($126.83 @ DirectCanada)
Power Supply: Corsair RM 1000W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($189.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Monitor: NEC E243WMi-BK 60Hz 23.8" Monitor ($293.50 @ Vuugo)
Keyboard: Corsair Vengeance K70 RGB Wired Gaming Keyboard ($171.15 @ DirectCanada)
Total: $2102.35
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-04 22:45 EDT-0400

Memory: It's a little expensive, but it matches the motherboard.

PSU: I know that a 1000 watt psu is really overkill, but I plan on upgrading when the 20nm / GM200 cards are released. So I figure the extra wattage will leave some headroom for overclocking and a possible SLI setup.

Monitor: I don't mind paying a little extra, however, I'm not sure if this is the best choice.

Also, I've been using a 27" iMac for the past 3 years, so I'm kinda bummed about the downgrade to 1080p. I just don't see a single card solution for 1440p right now, which for me is being able to run at ultra on all games with at least 60fps. That's why I plan on the possible upgrade in the future, if the rumours about the next cards are true. The 980 is a beast, but from most benchmarks I've seen I think a single 980 would not do the job @1440 in a years time and I'd rather not start off with SLI. But, perhaps I'm wrong.
Besides this, anything I should add/change?
Thanks!

More about : 2100 gaming rig 4690k 970 build suggestions

a b 4 Gaming
October 4, 2014 8:53:49 PM

Why don't use SLI from Now ??? you can get 2x970 in same price of your build with very good FPS on 1440p !
check this out :
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($248.97 @ DirectCanada)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($99.95 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($154.99 @ NCIX)
Memory: G.Skill Trident X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2400 Memory ($89.99 @ Memory Express)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($137.98 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($57.99 @ Canada Computers)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($396.25 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($396.25 @ Vuugo)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($134.99 @ NCIX)
Monitor: Asus VS239H-P 23.0" Monitor ($176.25 @ Vuugo)
Keyboard: Corsair Vengeance K70 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($129.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Total: $2123.59
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-04 23:51 EDT-0400

and with 850W PSU you can OC + 2xSLI safely :) 
October 4, 2014 9:13:04 PM

AntonM95 said:
Why don't use SLI from Now ??? you can get 2x970 in same price of your build with very good FPS on 1440p !
check this out :
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($248.97 @ DirectCanada)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($99.95 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($154.99 @ NCIX)
Memory: G.Skill Trident X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2400 Memory ($89.99 @ Memory Express)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($137.98 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($57.99 @ Canada Computers)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($396.25 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($396.25 @ Vuugo)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($134.99 @ NCIX)
Monitor: Asus VS239H-P 23.0" Monitor ($176.25 @ Vuugo)
Keyboard: Corsair Vengeance K70 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($129.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Total: $2123.59
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-04 23:51 EDT-0400

and with 850W PSU you can OC + 2xSLI safely :) 


If I were to run the 970 in SLI would a reference card be better? That way one card isn't blowing hot air onto another?

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a b 4 Gaming
October 4, 2014 9:23:05 PM

No, the reference wouldn't be better. it's too hot than the non-ref card .
the non-ref cards is better in every thing except OCing, but it's already OCed. so I recommend to SLI now that will give you a better performance than 1 GTX 980.

The GTX970 is 10 % slower than the GTX980, BUT the GTX980 is 60%+ more costly.
2 x GTX970s would GREATLY outperform a single GTX980 and cost less than 100$ more.

Especially considering that MOST GTX970 reviews indicate is can easily be overclocked to GTX980 level of performance.

and see these reviews :
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/geforce_gtx_970_sl...
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_9...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anhwXkTN8Nc
October 4, 2014 9:27:27 PM

AntonM95 said:
No, the reference wouldn't be better. it's too hot than the non-ref card .
the non-ref cards is better in every thing except OCing, but it's already OCed. so I recommend to SLI now that will give you a better performance than 1 GTX 980.

The GTX970 is 10 % slower than the GTX980, BUT the GTX980 is 60%+ more costly.
2 x GTX970s would GREATLY outperform a single GTX980 and cost less than 100$ more.

Especially considering that MOST GTX970 reviews indicate is can easily be overclocked to GTX980 level of performance.

and see these reviews :
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/geforce_gtx_970_sl...
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_9...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anhwXkTN8Nc


Oh wow, thanks for the advice. If I was to stay with the gigabyte card, given the size, if I had two would I have to worry about sagging?

a b 4 Gaming
October 4, 2014 9:34:25 PM

The Gigabyte one is too expensive, but it's the best GTX 970 card (I'm talking about G1 version) in overclocking and cooling .

Get it if you can afford the money but if U couldn't, the Asus is amazing too (specially it's have 0db noise level).
a b 4 Gaming
October 4, 2014 10:15:41 PM

If you're going to game on a 1080p 60hz monitor just get the one 970. It should max everything out. There's no point in spending money on two if only one is utilized, otherwise Anton's build looks good.

Also check out this psu. Very good quality and a little bit cheaper.
http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-220g2...

Here is a good 144hz monitor for about $100 extra
http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/benq-monitor-xl2411z
!