Haven't Built in Several Years, Could Use Some Help

[Jason Hoi Polloi]

I've built every PC I own, and was A+ certified before they changed it to be regularly updated. Anyway, I'm not a noob but am humbly seeking advice on my next build. There's not much wrong with my current gaming rig aside from its age. (CPU: Q8400 / GPU: GTX275 / RAM: 8GB)

So I got a little bit of money from a motorcycle accident and am looking to build something that's borderline amazing compared to what I'm used to, and hopefully be able to play Star Citizen on medium settings or higher. (I can't even run the alpha on my current rig it's so old.)

Here is what I've thrown together. I'm questioning my judgment on the CPU and mobo. I didn't know if getting a Vishera would outweigh downgrading from PCI-E 3.0 to 2.0. (Can't find any AM3+ mobos with PCI-E 3.0) I would like to hear folks thoughts on that dilemma. Otherwise, how will the following setup perform? Would you change anything? Thanks in advance!

ASUS CROSSBLADE RANGER ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132255

AMD A10-7850K Kaveri 12 Compute Cores (4 CPU + 8 GPU) 3.7GHz Socket FM2+ 95W Desktop Processor AMD Radeon R7 series AD785KXBJABOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113359

G.SKILL Trident X Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2666 (PC3 21300) Desktop Memory Model F3-2666C11Q-32GTXD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231602

(TWO OF THESE in Crossfire---) ASUS R9290X-DC2OC-4GD5 Radeon R9 290X 4GB 512-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121840

Rosewill LIGHTNING-1300 1300W Continuous @ 50°C, Intel Haswell Ready, 80 PLUS GOLD, ATX12V v2.31 & EPS12V v2.92, SLI/CrossFire Ready, Modular Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182063

Thanks again in advance for everyone's help!


-Jason

 

[logainofhades]

You do not want to use Kaveri with a single 290x, much less 2. 32gb of ram is total overkill. 8gb is the norm for gaming, though 16gb is useful for some. The GTX 970 is faster than a 290x, and cheaper. No need for a 1300w PSU either. You are severely overpaying. This would be far better, for a little bit less. Not knowing your budget, I tried to keep it close to what your total was for those components.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($248.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($118.98 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($109.99 @ Micro Center)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB ACX 2.0 Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($329.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB ACX 2.0 Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($329.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($80.00 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1357.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-14 09:47 EDT-0400

 

[Transmaniacon]

Ditch AMD, Intel is faster and you are overspending on a lot of things:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($137.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($111.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($349.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($114.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) ($90.26 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1325.15
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-14 09:48 EDT-0400

 

[Jason Hoi Polloi]

Ok I understand. I do have about $2k to spend though. Or more if needed.

 

[logainofhades]

Ok I understand. I do have about $2k to spend though. Or more if needed.

Full system, or just the components listed?

 

[Jason Hoi Polloi]

$2k for just the components I listed. I already have several LCD monitors, peripherals, HDDs, etc. as well as a few cases.

BTW I also want to utilize crossfire or SLI, but am partial to neither. Also, Star Citizen has high requirements that I want to far exceed where possible.

 

[Transmaniacon]

I would go with something like this then with that budget:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($319.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($74.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($137.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($169.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($111.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($349.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($349.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1594.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-14 10:12 EDT-0400

You definitely want SC on a SSD, it helps a lot with loading times. The i7 and SLI 970s will handle just about everything.

 

[Jason Hoi Polloi]

Ok. Perfect!
Is there any argument against putting in two more 8GB strips in dual channel?

 

[logainofhades]

$2k for just the components I listed. I already have several LCD monitors, peripherals, HDDs, etc. as well as a few cases.

BTW I also want to utilize crossfire or SLI, but am partial to neither. Also, Star Citizen has high requirements that I want to far exceed where possible.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($319.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: NZXT HAVIK 140 90.3 CFM CPU Cooler ($68.16 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($144.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($142.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($109.99 @ Micro Center)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($339.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($339.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($80.00 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1546.10
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-14 10:44 EDT-0400


Could go crazier on this CPU wise, but for gaming, I don't think it is really necessary.

 

[Jason Hoi Polloi]

^Thanks!

 

[Transmaniacon]

There is no need for 32GB of RAM, even 16GB is a lot for a gaming computer. That money would be better spent upgrading to say LGA2011 or something.

 

[logainofhades]

There is no need for 32GB of RAM, even 16GB is a lot for a gaming computer. That money would be better spent upgrading to say LGA2011 or something.

Yea something like this, at the upper end of the budget. For just gaming it is a bit crazy. Would last a long time though. :lol:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor ($383.95 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: NZXT HAVIK 140 90.3 CFM CPU Cooler ($68.16 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock X99 Extreme4 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($239.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($233.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($208.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($339.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($339.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1905.05
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-14 10:43 EDT-0400

 

[Jason Hoi Polloi]

Ok, then should I go with 4 x 4GB? They'll have a lower latency than the 8GB strips, right?

Also, would it be worth it to liquid cool the 4790? I've never had liquid cooling and am willing to be liberal in my justification of its purchase.

 

[logainofhades]

It isn't really necessary, but you could go with something like an H100i or a Seidon 240m. 5820k uses a quad channel platform, so it is best to go with 4x4gb for it. If you choose to go with one of the 4790k builds, stick with 2x8gb for dual channel.

 

[Jason Hoi Polloi]

I just placed the order. A million thanks guys!