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Started by Ganz | | 25 answers
~1200-1300 USD Gaming Build Opinions (need good case options)
Alright I will be building this within a few weeks so I want some opinions on my current setup:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/GMH8P6

I will be using this exclusively for gaming so performance is key. I plan to mildly OC the system in the future. I don't need monitors or other peripherals. I also already have purchased the OS I will be putting on this machine. I will buy from any reputable dealer to find the lowest price.

I also WILL be waiting until the GTX 900 series gets released(September 19th) because speculation is that the 970 will be at a price point of $399 which would replace the 780 in the current build.

I also would very much appreciate if you guys could point to some good gaming cases that are:
Relatively large (I've got big hands :p )
Performs well/Good Airflow
Looks good(important) keep with my black/red color scheme
~$100 or less

Thanks for your help!


EDIT: I will be gaming on 1080p with games like:
League of Legends
Guild Wars 2
HEAVILY modified Skyrim
Borderlands series
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a c 280 4 Gaming
September 12, 2014 4:07:44 PM

zeyuanfu said:
Thermaltake NiC C5 Untouchable? It has 2 fans and it's red...


It's a good cooler but it can be very loud on higher fan speeds.
a b 4 Gaming
September 12, 2014 4:07:09 PM

zeyuanfu said:
Thermaltake NiC C5 Untouchable? It has 2 fans and it's red...


hmmm, never heard of it. reviews seem decent as far as thermals for the price... though it is rather loud compared to many other options. but it definitely is RED
a b 4 Gaming
September 12, 2014 4:01:45 PM

Thermaltake NiC C5 Untouchable? It has 2 fans and it's red...
a c 280 4 Gaming
September 12, 2014 3:59:07 PM

zeyuanfu said:
numanator said:
The Phanteks are great coolers, I usually forget about them since they are a bit on the big side but you should have no problems with that in a full tower case.

Why not the hyper 212 EVO?


Price to performance the 212 EVO would win, but the Phanteks is a better cooler. Better aesthetics, quieter, superior build quality, and cools better as well.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Phanteks/PH-TC14PE/7...
a b 4 Gaming
September 12, 2014 3:58:04 PM

zeyuanfu said:
numanator said:
The Phanteks are great coolers, I usually forget about them since they are a bit on the big side but you should have no problems with that in a full tower case.

Why not the hyper 212 EVO?


many are struggling with the heat of devils canyon cpus on the cm212evo. since the op likes red anyways, and only $20 more, it kinda kills two birds with one stone.... RED and a little extra cooling headroom for the modest overclock.
a b 4 Gaming
September 12, 2014 3:55:20 PM

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC14PE_RD 78.1 CFM CPU Cooler ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $64.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-12 18:51 EDT-0400

you could go with this former king of the air coolers(now the noctua nh-d15 that is not red and about $100). its a beast, so you would have to make sure the case you get fits it and the motherboard ram slots would clear it, meaning very likely low profile ram. its also heavy, so moving your rig around isn't a very good idea since it basically weighs more than any motherboard recommends as the max grams to mount. but it cools just as good as most boxed water coolers and is roughly on par with an h100i.
a b 4 Gaming
September 12, 2014 3:50:35 PM

numanator said:
The Phanteks are great coolers, I usually forget about them since they are a bit on the big side but you should have no problems with that in a full tower case.

Why not the hyper 212 EVO?
a b 4 Gaming
September 12, 2014 3:47:53 PM

The Phanteks are great coolers, I usually forget about them since they are a bit on the big side but you should have no problems with that in a full tower case.
a b 4 Gaming
September 12, 2014 3:44:37 PM

Humm...
Not bad.
September 12, 2014 3:43:57 PM

nikoli707 said:
i disagree with such a high wattage power supply. any quality 600w unit will power an overclocked i7 extreme along with an overclocked 780ti/290x. that said.... since your going with the 970 which will come in at likely 35-70w more conservative than the 780, with your setup, i would rather have the xfx gold or even the corsair rm series gold 650w at $90 than the evga.

i dont really understand why you have 16gb in there as your not rocking an i7 for highly threaded non gaming apps, but by all means, if you want 16gb, throw out another $70.

the crucial mx100 is equal to +/- the 840 evo, but at a better price point with newer tech.

took out the hyper 212 and threw in a better performing phanteks that is RED!!!!!!.... and the 4690k can make use of the better cooling so you can get couple points higher on your overclock since others are struggling with the hyper 212 on these devils canyon cpus.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.97 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC12DX_RD 68.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($122.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($72.00 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($56.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 780 3GB DirectCU II Video Card ($398.00 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom ATX Full Tower Case ($115.64 @ TigerDirect)
Power Supply: XFX XTR 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1170.55
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-12 18:27 EDT-0400


My goodness thank you! Very in depth explanations! I'll have to look into the CPU cooler too (I'm very picky with those) Also, what Wattage should you shoot for in an SLI configuration? And if anyone has more recommended cases please throw them out I want to choose from about 5 of them.

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