Gaming PC Investment

thesethoughts

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May 21, 2014
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***Please scroll down to updated post*

ORIGINAL:
Hello, I am considering purchasing a pre-built PC. It should have Windows 8. The main games I would like to play are Skyrim and MMOs such as Guild Wars and Elder Scrolls Online. However, I would like to mod the former (that is, Skyrim) to the absolute fullest and enjoy ultra/HD mods at an optimal frame rate.
I have been looking at cyberpowerpc since they have a few memorial day sales, but most of the computer specs details are not entirely clear to me and I do not know what will work best. My budget is 2,000USD. What PC configuration should I strive for to maximize my gaming experience?

I was thinking Intel i7-4820K Quad-Core for my CPU
32Gigs of RAM (is this enough?)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 3GB GDDR5 16X PCIe 3.0 Video Card
But then I need help with the rest of the core components that will keep the system running smoothly even when under the strain of mods.

Thank you in advance since I am not the most tech savvy. I appreciate your help.
 
Solution
i7 4790k (for no OC E3-1231V3)
Asus z97 Maximus VII Ranger (for no OC H97 pro)
16GB DDR3 1600 CL8 Crucial
R9 295X2..if this is too expensive for you downgrade it to R9 290x or 280x..but not below 280x.
4TB HDD 7200rpm (any brand you like)
Samsung 840 EVO 500GB
Seasonic 850W
Coolermaster H110 (for no OC CM Hyper 212 EVO)
Fractal Design Define XL R2 (for without the watercooling Fractal Design Define R4 blackpearl)

1. if you are playing only on 1 monitor, no multi GPU is needed
2. Fan noise is dependent on your components and you sensitivity. Those above is already silent enough for me, I build it 3 days ago for a friend of mine. Thoseo components are very rare but he somehow managed to buy them.
3. There will be no lags/frame drops for...

TheMux2

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Nov 14, 2013
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To be honest i think that 32 GB ram is waaaaaaay too much. But if its in your budget id say go for it. For storage i would recommend a 120 GB SSD and (for windows) GB SSD and a 1-2 TB HDD
 

Its_Byte_00

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Nov 15, 2013
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You poor, poor person.
Try a 4820k
16gb 2133mhz cl9 ram - Kingston hyperx, Mushkin blackline enhanced or Corsair vengeance
GTX 780/ti 6GB (What ever you can find) EVGA, Gigabyte or MSI
AS Rock Extreme 6, Gigabyte UD5 or better motherboard.
Water cooling for the cpu, any astek 240 or 280mm rad is fine.
Samsung 840 Evo 120 - 250GB or corsair 240+ GB SSD Or Mushkin Chronos 3 or better 240GB + SSD + 1tb caviar blue/black HDD. Maybe 2 500GB SSD's in raid 0.
Corsair RM 750, AX 860i, PSU. Maybe a CXM 750 or any sea sonic thats 80+ Silver, 700+ watts and modular.

I still highly suggest you build your own PC. It will save you Load of cash and get you better components. Its easy to do, not like your building a rifle from scratch.

Not to mention Samsung new 4k UHD monitor is 700-899 USD Depending on the hour of the day. That's at least 1/3 of your budget. A 6 or 12 gb Titan black would suit you better, 2 of those or 3 780 ti's but that's going to run you at least your total budget.

Longstreet
 
For gaming need i7 4820k is an overkill, as well as 32GB RAM.
i7 4820k's (2011) mobo is also expensive, unnecessary expensive.
If you can afford those, I would recommend to get i7 4770k (or E3-1230V3 if you are not OCing) and 16GB RAM.
Spend the budget you save from above and get an SSD.

 

Its_Byte_00

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Nov 15, 2013
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Xeon? You told him to not get a 4820k but to rather get a xeon, meant to be paired with a second chip?
 

Its_Byte_00

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Nov 15, 2013
373
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Xeon? You told him to not get a 4820k but to rather get a xeon, meant to be paired with a second chip?
 
?????
1. Xeon E3-1230V3 is a i7 4770 (no-K) without the iGPU. He will be getting GTX780, the iGPU is therefore not needed.
2. Xeon E3-1230V3 has the same price as i5 4670k. So, even cheaper as i7 4770.
3. The mobos for E3-1230V3 are the usual 1150 mobo. No need of special mobo.
I see no problem recommending this Xeon to him.
I built already several E3-1230V3+Asus H87-pro systems and never had any issues.

Xeon E3-1230V3 is a good alternative of i7 4770.
Also, under one important condition, if you wanna build the rig yourself not simply buying a branded PC.
 

Its_Byte_00

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Nov 15, 2013
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Don't I look like a shithead now....
sorry

Longstreet
 

thesethoughts

Reputable
May 21, 2014
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4,510
Thanks so far for the ideas. Okay, so I looked into the logistics of building a PC and it looks a lot less intimidating than I originally thought. So I think I might want to build one in order to simply end up with a better machine.

I'm thinking of getting a ASUS VE278Q Black 27" 1920x1080 2ms Full HD HDMI LED Backlight LCD monitor, but no 120Hz worries me. I still have my budget to spend ($2,000) and would like to be able to build something that will have powerful processing power (no less than i7 CPU). As I said earlier, I really enjoy playing video games such as skyrim with added mods that will require a top-of-the-line graphics card. I looked into AMD's Radeon R9 295X2 but the price puts me off, is there anything comparable, or would I need multiple graphics cards? I also would like to be able to play MMOs without lag or frame rate issues. Preferably without having to overclock anything. I'm also wondering if cooling/ventilation/fan noise will become problems for me and now suddenly I'm rethinking my GPU. As for my SSDs, will two 500MB drives suffice? And 1 or 2TB of HDD?

Please, if anyone in the community has good advice or tested -preferably recent- builds (a components list would be great!) to share, that would be highly appreciated. I can go slightly over-budget for components if needed to get the best results.
 
i7 4790k (for no OC E3-1231V3)
Asus z97 Maximus VII Ranger (for no OC H97 pro)
16GB DDR3 1600 CL8 Crucial
R9 295X2..if this is too expensive for you downgrade it to R9 290x or 280x..but not below 280x.
4TB HDD 7200rpm (any brand you like)
Samsung 840 EVO 500GB
Seasonic 850W
Coolermaster H110 (for no OC CM Hyper 212 EVO)
Fractal Design Define XL R2 (for without the watercooling Fractal Design Define R4 blackpearl)

1. if you are playing only on 1 monitor, no multi GPU is needed
2. Fan noise is dependent on your components and you sensitivity. Those above is already silent enough for me, I build it 3 days ago for a friend of mine. Thoseo components are very rare but he somehow managed to buy them.
3. There will be no lags/frame drops for MMO/Skyrim today, the only games which perhaps can torture this rig is highspecs games e.g. Titan Fall, etc.
4. I would prefer to get an SSD for games + OS and a separate HDD for data
5. 120Hz is only needed if you can really tell the difference (not everyone can). Go first to a store near you and judge using you eyes.

 
Solution