Topic: Building a new gaming PC. (Read 5935 times)

iRo · « **on:** July 20, 2014, 03:10:01 PM »

So i would like to have some advise and appreciate your help guys.

It was long time coming and i think i'm finally ready to go for a new full rig upgrade. Pretty much sat on the same gear from 2008 with a little changes here and there. I'm not really up to date with the market and all those upgrade cycles in CPU and GPU, so i'm not entirely sure what should i look into.

The primal usage of the PC will be for competitive gaming (Dota 2) and video streaming. I don't have any particular budget in mind as i'd like to know where i can get to. I also consider upgrading my monitor and getting some 144hz 1080p/1440p goodness (yes, i'm looking at you Asus), but i'm not sure what kind of monster GPU am i looking for to get such fps on max settings. I've read that you'd need something like 1.6k in GPUs to get max of ROG SWIFT PG278Q? If that's the case i don't think i'd want to pay that much for cutting edge tech.

I'd also like to build it as a open case rig. Some points made by ohhgourami in the various discussions on this board really convinced me to check it out. So i guess i'm looking for Lian Li T60 case, unless there are some other alternatives.

ohhgourami · « **Reply #1 on:** July 20, 2014, 08:47:17 PM »

Dang, I'm flattered you saw my post on open case!

You are caught in a weird cycle where there's good hardware to be bought this fall. You have cheap ($400) 6 core Haswell-E in August and Nvidia Maxwell in November. If there's a microcenter near you, that six core could be ~$280. Rumor has it that GTX 880 will be faster than GTX 780Ti for ~500. I'm guessing you need to SLI to get 144fps.

Cutting this short. Will continue when I get home.

DaveBSC · « **Reply #2 on:** July 20, 2014, 11:17:41 PM »

If you do change your mind on cases, maybe take a look at the NZXT H440 or Phanteks Enthoo Luxe.

BlackenedPlague · « **Reply #3 on:** July 20, 2014, 11:52:31 PM »

lord_tris on shill-fi has a Cooler Master HAF XB if that's what you mean by open. It's a really nice case for benchtesting and a good (but rather large) LAN box

ohhgourami · « **Reply #4 on:** July 21, 2014, 01:32:07 AM »

Continuing from where I left off:

If you need to build immediately, my recommendation would be a Devil's Canyon i7 4790k. High stock turbo, and seems to be pretty easy to get it to 4.5-4.6ghz on air. Delidding is still highly recommended to get another 10C drop in temps. You would have to make a decision on GPU on either 780s or 780Ti's which I think both are a bit overpriced as Maxwell is right around the corner. Maxwell will run cooler which helps a lot in an open case rig as there will be much lower temps.

Now is to decide whether you're going to go air or liquid cooling. Air cooling would utilize open case the most and be quieter. CPU cooler would have to be Noctua NH-15 or Phanteks, but be aware when picking mobo with first slot x16 PCI-e lanes as D15 is not compatible. For the GPUs, I would go for a pair of Prolimatech MK-26s or the new Rajitech or whatever its spelled GPU cooler. You would have to mount the fans blowing down the thin side but it still provide very good cooling and of course low noise.

The LianLi T60 case is not bad but I wish the quality could be better. To me it's really low priced and functions well. Only problem is it doesn't support water if you go that route. Another option is a Dimastech test bench which supports water but cost a lot more, looks better, with similar build quality so it's a toss up. I saw someone have a "tray" style test bench where all the parts are on one plane, but I haven't seen something like it for sale.

BTW, cooler master cases look like shit.

To be continued with PSUs...

Hands · « **Reply #5 on:** July 21, 2014, 03:41:41 AM »

For gaming, and if you can afford it, go Intel. Even the Sandy Bridge line is still great these days, if you had to go cheap and used (i.e. 2500K). Get a K-line CPU, an aftermarket heatsink and fan, and overclock it, if you can.

At 1440p, something like a GTX 780 will still run most graphically advanced games at 60FPS (i.e. BF4), though it can be a stretch on less optimized games (i.e. Watch Dogs). Hitting that 120/144Hz target can be much more difficult, but it is glorious when you do.

The suggestion to wait for the next generation of Nvidia cards is a good one. I'd go with the GTX 880, or whatever it ends up being. Maybe two...

If you wanted to more easily attain high frame rates at that resolution, I would start considering dual GPUs. OTOH, you then have to worry about general stability issues, game incompatibilities (leaving you with just one GPU, effectively, or bugs), and micro-stuttering. These issues continue to become less and less of a problem as time goes on, but they're still a factor to consider. I purposely stick with single-GPU solutions because of these reasons, going for the highest end single offerings when I can (well, ignoring overpriced crap like the Titan).

I recommend Nvidia, as I overall think they have the best drivers, best stability, and least issues with games. That said, AMD has competitive solutions as well from a pure performance standpoint.

Go SSD. No questions asked. Use it for the OS, games, applications, etc. Use a mechanical HDD for storing media files and such.

If you decide to go closed case, consider the Fractal Design Define R4. You can often find them around $80. They are quiet, surprisingly cool, built like tanks, and are very easy to work with.

drez · « **Reply #6 on:** July 21, 2014, 07:25:58 AM »

Quote from: iRo on July 20, 2014, 03:10:01 PM

So i would like to have some advise and appreciate your help guys.

It was long time coming and i think i'm finally ready to go for a new full rig upgrade. Pretty much sat on the same gear from 2008 with a little changes here and there. I'm not really up to date with the market and all those upgrade cycles in CPU and GPU, so i'm not entirely sure what should i look into.

The primal usage of the PC will be for competitive gaming (Dota 2) and video streaming. I don't have any particular budget in mind as i'd like to know where i can get to. I also consider upgrading my monitor and getting some 144hz 1080p/1440p goodness (yes, i'm looking at you Asus), but i'm not sure what kind of monster GPU am i looking for to get such fps on max settings. I've read that you'd need something like 1.6k in GPUs to get max of ROG SWIFT PG278Q? If that's the case i don't think i'd want to pay that much for cutting edge tech.

I'd also like to build it as a open case rig. Some points made by ohhgourami in the various discussions on this board really convinced me to check it out. So i guess i'm looking for Lian Li T60 case, unless there are some other alternatives.

If you want high settings at 144Hz at QHD you will need SLI and megabucks in graphics cards. I agree with everything said by ohhgourami and hans030390.

Waiting for GTX880 might be a good idea, ditto waiting for monitors with upcoming DisplayPort standard but that could be a way off.

If you are willing to sacrifice either graphics quality or resolution and go back to 1080p you could save a lot of money and still be competitive, but maybe not so much fun so meh!

shipsupt · « **Reply #7 on:** July 21, 2014, 10:54:36 AM »

Sounds like you're not a beginner like I was, so this may not be useful, but this thread helped me out here: http://www.changstar.com/index.php/topic,962.0.html

I built two gaming PCs now using guidance from the suggested link in that thread: http://www.logicalincrements.com

I'm sure it's not definitive, but it gave a good idea of the range of stuff out there and it seems to be up to date.

Buttercream · « **Reply #8 on:** July 21, 2014, 01:19:42 PM »

Is Dota 2 the primary game you play?

If so, then some good news.

First of all, Dota 2 is not a demanding game at all, not to mention is has a 120fps cap. At 1200p, you can max out the game and hit the 120fps cap with a GTX 760 (~
$250) or a R9 280X (~$300).

At 1600p, you can still max out the game and hit the 120fps cap with a R9 290 (~$400), the GTX 780 (~$500) falters a skosh at higher resolution, but it's close.

Source: http://www.techspot.com/review/785-free-to-play-games-benchmarks/page3.html

You'll definitely want a good CPU with Dota 2 though, min fps will suffer with a less powerfull GPU. Stay with 4690K and above.

Of course, If you want to max out new and upcoming games at 1440p and 144hz, be ready to drop some serious dough with multi-gpu set up.

Hope this helps.

hendric0 · « **Reply #9 on:** July 22, 2014, 07:03:16 AM »

Good point.

I play Dark Souls 2, BF3 and Witcher 2 around 80 fps with R9 270.(FHD maxed out, but i leave MSAA off, i dont like what it does to the picture anyway..)

Author Topic: Building a new gaming PC. (Read 5935 times)

iRo

Building a new gaming PC.

ohhgourami

Re: Building a new gaming PC.

DaveBSC

Re: Building a new gaming PC.

BlackenedPlague

Re: Building a new gaming PC.

ohhgourami

Re: Building a new gaming PC.

Hands

Re: Building a new gaming PC.

drez

Re: Building a new gaming PC.

shipsupt

Re: Building a new gaming PC.

Buttercream

Re: Building a new gaming PC.

hendric0

Re: Building a new gaming PC.

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Author Topic: Building a new gaming PC. (Read 5935 times)