Need advice on RAM and graphics cards for PC I'm building.

[sublimerule]

So I'm building a gaming rig. This is my first time ever building a PC, I'm excited, and I need a few tips. I have a stick of 8gb hyper-x fury ram, and a AMD Sapphire Tri-X R9 290 graphics card. I was thinking about buying a second graphics card to boost performance, and I'm wondering if it would be okay to buy either a better or inferior graphics card, or whether I should buy another exact same one.

Also, I think 16gb RAM would be a bit overkill, but is there anything wrong with putting an 8gb and a 4gb stick of RAM in there to make 12gb? And lastly, I have an NH-U14s fan, do you think that will be adequate cooling, or do you think I should fit two of them?

And any general advice on my build is welcomed.

Thanks!

 

[p_nut_uk]

What is your target resolution?

Single more powerful cards are always preferred over SLI/Crossfire as the games run smoother.

It's not impossible to mix ram but you may encounter some problems and/or stability issues. 8GB is enough but if you must then by a matching pair with what you already have.

 

[sz0ty0l4]

honestly i always advice to evade dual gpu setups like cfx or sli. you better just keep your graphics card if you are fine with it, if you need more power then you could sell it and buy a stronger one.

 

[sublimerule]

What is your target resolution?

Single more powerful cards are always preferred over SLI/Crossfire as the games run smoother.

It's not impossible to mix ram but you may encounter some problems and/or stability issues. 8GB is enough but if you must then by a matching pair with what you already have.

So you and the other poster both advise against using two graphics cards? I don't really have a target resolution in mind, I don't know enough about it to be honest. But I will be playing it on a 4K ultra HD tv, so there is potential to run games at 1620p, but I'm not sure if the rig I'm building would be powerful enough to do that. I got my graphics card because it was a good deal at the time, but if you think I should sell it and upgrade, I'll do that.

I just want to be able to run games on high specs. I'm not expecting to run games like Crysis 3 on full specs, I just want decent overall quality and smooth gameplay.

My build is here, it's the 'Outstanding' build, the more expensive of the multiple options on each part. But I swapped the graphics card for the one I mentioned in the OP, because it seemed to have better specs, and I swapped the 240gb SSD for a 480gb. And swapped the NH-U 12s for the 14s, and swapped the 1TB HD for a 2TB.

http://www.logicalincrements.com/#

 

[p_nut_uk]

You will get playable frame rates at 4k with another R9 290X added in, otherwise a r9 290x should yield good frame rates and high quality at 1440p.

I would guess that your TV has a 30hz refresh rate at 4k so playing at 4k may not be satisfactory.

I would advise you to get a brand power supply around the 750w mark for a r9 290x though.

If you have the money a GTX 980 would be even better although the R9 290X is no slouch.

 

[sublimerule]

You will get playable frame rates at 4k with another R9 290X added in, otherwise a r9 290x should yield good frame rates and high quality at 1440p.

I would guess that your TV has a 30hz refresh rate at 4k so playing at 4k may not be satisfactory.

I would advise you to get a brand power supply around the 750w mark for a r9 290x though.

If you have the money a GTX 980 would be even better although the R9 290X is no slouch.

Thanks for the advice. I didn't buy the TV yet, I will once the rig is built.

The power supply I have is SeaSonic 650-Watt ATX12V/EPS12V. I got a good deal on it from a friend in America, but if you think I'll need a 750, I'll sell it and get a 750. I thought 650 would be enough, but if I get a second GPU I'll have to upgrade it for sure, I guess.

What do you think?

 

[p_nut_uk]

The 650w should suffice if you don't plan to overclock it.

 

[chenw]

You will get playable frame rates at 4k with another R9 290X added in, otherwise a r9 290x should yield good frame rates and high quality at 1440p.

I would guess that your TV has a 30hz refresh rate at 4k so playing at 4k may not be satisfactory.

I would advise you to get a brand power supply around the 750w mark for a r9 290x though.

If you have the money a GTX 980 would be even better although the R9 290X is no slouch.

http://videocardz.com/55299/nvidia-geforce-gtx-980-ti-to-be-released-after-summer

980 ti will be a better value and longterm card than 980, but it may be up to 6 months wait, since the poster is already on a 290x, I'd probably wait it out.

To the OP:

I recommend SLI/Crossfire if and only if the majority of games you play already have playable frame rates at the resolution you are playing, because that is the 'worst case scenario' in this kind of setup. If games are already struggling with 290x, I'd recommend upgrading the card to ensure that all of your games would benefit, as SLI/Crossfire profiles can be a little erratic.

I'd recommend looking up performance reviews on games you are struggling with to see if the Crossfire is something you can accept over a single powerful GPU (the only single GPUs currently more powerful than 290x is 980 and Titan X). But Crossfire profiles has been lacking lately from AMD.

I do recommend though that if the more power single GPU can do the job, go that way.

4k's heavy reliance on working SLI/Crossfire profiles were one of my main reasons for avoiding that resolution. It's much less so on than say 1440p

 

[Coolboy951]

So I'm building a gaming rig. This is my first time ever building a PC, I'm excited, and I need a few tips. I have a stick of 8gb hyper-x fury ram, and a AMD Sapphire Tri-X R9 290 graphics card. I was thinking about buying a second graphics card to boost performance, and I'm wondering if it would be okay to buy either a better or inferior graphics card, or whether I should buy another exact same one.

Also, I think 16gb RAM would be a bit overkill, but is there anything wrong with putting an 8gb and a 4gb stick of RAM in there to make 12gb? And lastly, I have an NH-U14s fan, do you think that will be adequate cooling, or do you think I should fit two of them?

And any general advice on my build is welcomed.

Thanks!

290x CF is the best option for 4k ultra

 

[pomps74]

You will get playable frame rates at 4k with another R9 290X added in, otherwise a r9 290x should yield good frame rates and high quality at 1440p.

I would guess that your TV has a 30hz refresh rate at 4k so playing at 4k may not be satisfactory.

I would advise you to get a brand power supply around the 750w mark for a r9 290x though.

If you have the money a GTX 980 would be even better although the R9 290X is no slouch.

http://videocardz.com/55299/nvidia-geforce-gtx-980-ti-to-be-released-after-summer

980 ti will be a better value and longterm card than 980, but it may be up to 6 months wait, since the poster is already on a 290x, I'd probably wait it out.

To the OP:

I recommend SLI/Crossfire if and only if the majority of games you play already have playable frame rates at the resolution you are playing, because that is the 'worst case scenario' in this kind of setup. If games are already struggling with 290x, I'd recommend upgrading the card to ensure that all of your games would benefit, as SLI/Crossfire profiles can be a little erratic.

I'd recommend looking up performance reviews on games you are struggling with to see if the Crossfire is something you can accept over a single powerful GPU (the only single GPUs currently more powerful than 290x is 980 and Titan X). But Crossfire profiles has been lacking lately from AMD.

I do recommend though that if the more power single GPU can do the job, go that way.

4k's heavy reliance on working SLI/Crossfire profiles were one of my main reasons for avoiding that resolution. It's much less so on than say 1440p

we have no way of knowing whether a 980 ti will come out. Nvidia hasn't said anything about it. Even if it would, it would not have good value; most likely be $700+. On the other hand the r9 300 series are coming out for sure and then prices will change. There will be value then. But for now, if you want, you can crossfire a 290 with another 290 or 290x. It's up to you, really.