New PC Gamer/ Building 1st PC

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cnaratcliff

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Mar 21, 2014
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CPU:Intel Xeon E3-1225 V3 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor($219.98 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler:Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler($29.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard:ASRock H87M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard($79.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory:A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory($61.99 @ Newegg)
Storage:Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive($57.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card:Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Video Card($649.99 @ Amazon)
Case:Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply:Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply($59.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive:Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer($19.98 @ OutletPC)
Total:$1219.88

Need advice guys since I am pretty new at this. I am trying to get the most power out of $1200 for my very first gaming PC. Here's my list, let me know what you guys think or if I should change something for better performance. I also dont plan to overclock anything. Been a console gamer my whole life, but I think im ready lol.
 
those caviar blue are incredible slow for 7200rpm drives, try black or re/re4.
since youre going for 4gb sticks @1600, search for CL7 ones.
thats a nice CPU, i cant make recommendations for the rest because since 2010 im only interested in ITXs ;)
 
Great gpu, surely hope that you are running higher than 1080p or plan to use downscaling otherwise... Maybe you are trying to get 120fps.. Who knows. Nice pick
 
I agree with Ryoohki, what display are you using? That 780 might be overkill. I would also suggest picking up a good gaming mouse and keyboard. PC > Consoles especially for fps and that looks like a nice setup.
 
Ryoohki360 said:
Great gpu, surely hope that you are running higher than 1080p or plan to use downscaling otherwise... Maybe you are trying to get 120fps.. Who knows. Nice pick
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Yes I will be doing 1080p on the big screen in the living room. This PC is basically taking my xbox one's place for netflix and games. I chose that gpu because i am very sensitive to framerate and i dont want to overclock or touch this pc again for 4 years or longer. With all the new game engines in the horizon i want to be ready.
 
If you were going to do an ITX build, this is a excellent case as well: Fractal Design I am considering it for myself but, I have a reference R9 290 and I am not sure it would fit or run well in that case. What do you guys think? (Right now, I am using a Fractal Design R3 so I would be changing my motherboard and CPU if I did this.)

I am including this in this thread to give the OP some additional ideas. (That is why I did not start a new thread.) I think the build overall is good in the original post and you would be happy with that for a long time to come though.
 
aeonrevolution said:
Why are you going with a Xeon? I'm just curious.
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This is why. Quote from a friend. Do you guys agree? "If you want absolute power, this gets you a 780 Ti, with an arguably better CPU. Again, the Xeon is essentially an i7 because of hyper-threading, and Intel has much better single thread performance, and the 8 threads on the Xeon will last a very long time."
 
Just did an ITX build in a Corsair Obsidian 250D with an H100i. Really a nice set-up that's quiet as hell, as I could cut back fan speeds to 50% at full load!
 
Save yourself $200 and get the regular evga reference 780 (superclocked). For 1080P there's really no need to blow another $200. I agree with the hard drive comments from others, go with Caviar Black's, or check out Amazon for SSD deals. There have been quite a few 500GB SSD's for $200'ish, and even a 750GB for $330 if I recall. I'd put my $200 saved into an SSD, rather than the Ti.

- 2 cents.
 
cnaratcliff said:
This is why. Quote from a friend. Do you guys agree? "If you want absolute power, this gets you a 780 Ti, with an arguably better CPU. Again, the Xeon is essentially an i7 because of hyper-threading, and Intel has much better single thread performance, and the 8 threads on the Xeon will last a very long time."
Click to expand...

The Xeon E3-1225 V3 does not have hyperthreading. Personally at that price point I'd just grab a i5-4670.
 
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Hate to say it, but can you maybe squeeze in a 360 controller? It'll help with the transition lol
 
ManofGod said:
If you were going to do an ITX build, this is a excellent case as well: Fractal Design I am considering it for myself but, I have a reference R9 290 and I am not sure it would fit or run well in that case. What do you guys think? (Right now, I am using a Fractal Design R3 so I would be changing my motherboard and CPU if I did this.)

I am including this in this thread to give the OP some additional ideas. (That is why I did not start a new thread.) I think the build overall is good in the original post and you would be happy with that for a long time to come though.
Click to expand...

Since the system will be replacing my game console I would like it to fit in a shelf/slot in an entertainment center. I dont think il go itx but does anyone have any suggestions for an HTCP horizontal case that will provide sufficent cooling for this setup?
 
cnaratcliff said:
This is why. Quote from a friend. Do you guys agree? "If you want absolute power, this gets you a 780 Ti, with an arguably better CPU. Again, the Xeon is essentially an i7 because of hyper-threading, and Intel has much better single thread performance, and the 8 threads on the Xeon will last a very long time."
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An i7 has 4 physical hyperthreaded cores, or 8 logical cores, while the Xeon has 4 non-HT physical cores for 4 logical cores total. More cores does not usually translate to more performance unless the software you're running takes advantage of all the CPU threads that are available. Games more and more are utilizing multiple threads, though.

The Xeon line of processors typically has a longer pipeline for server/HPC applications. The i5-4670k is around the same price and has slightly better performance when utilizing all cores, in addition to having superior single-threaded performance over the Xeon. For gaming or normal use, you'll get better price-performance ratio by choosing a CPU from Intel's lineup of Core processors.
 
I would also trim some fat somewhere and throw an SSD in there. The speed gains are crazy. Once you go SSD you never go back.
 
I would recommend you drop down to a GTX 780 and put the extra money into a nice HTPC case like the Silverstone GD08B. http://www.amazon.com/Silverstone-T...=1395420536&sr=8-1&keywords=silverstone+gd08b

That case, while not the easiest to build in, has plenty of space, the potential for five 120mm intake fans and two 80mm exhaust fans, fits full ATX motherboards and a regular power supply, and has the exact same dimensions as my home theater receiver. Plus it looks good. I'm using it with the system in my sig and have even used SLI setups in it before.

Also, you will want an SSD, and the M500 is currently very affordable. http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-240GB...TF8&qid=1395420766&sr=8-1&keywords=m500+240gb

Note: You won't be able to use a tower cooler in that case. There are lots of low profile options available, however.
 
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cnaratcliff said:
This is why. Quote from a friend. Do you guys agree? "If you want absolute power, this gets you a 780 Ti, with an arguably better CPU. Again, the Xeon is essentially an i7 because of hyper-threading, and Intel has much better single thread performance, and the 8 threads on the Xeon will last a very long time."
Click to expand...

Honestly, save your money and get a 4670k. By the time the thing will start to fail you, you've have upgraded 2 times over. Don't blow money for the sake of blowing money.
 
My general comments on changes I'd make, were it my money:

--Why a Xeon? You tend to pay for more and get less. Also make sure it is compatible with your board, consumer boards want consumer CPUs.

--I like Intel motherboards, I find them to be less problematic.

--Cut back on the videocard to a regular 780 or maybe a 770. Your system is more mid range, no sense in putting a high end video card in it. Save the money and put it towards other things. Remember speed and price don't scale linearly at the high end.

--Maybe knock 16GB of RAM in there. Not necessary, 8GB is fine, but usage is slowly growing and RAM is cheap. Also it helps a bit since the OS will precache data to RAM to make things load even faster. Also maybe look at Crucial for your RAM, they make good stuff.

--I'm not a huge fan of Antec supplies, particularly their cheaper ones. I'd look at Corsair myself, their TX, RM, HX, or AX lines. A PSU can fry your system if it goes wonky, so I like to buy higher quality ones.

--Look at an SSD. They are an amazing step up in performance. You need one big enough to hold OS, data, and apps. Just putting the OS on it does little good since it only makes booting faster. 240-256GB usually does the trick unless you like a ton of games on at once, in which case 480-512GB should be enough even for tons. Keep the magnetic drive as well for storing media n' such.


Not saying any of this is gospel, just what I'd look at doing if I were spending the money on my own system, or more precisely, what I did when I did build my own system.
 
Unless you guys are talking about the Caviar Black2 Hybrid, then the current Caviar Blues are actually faster than the older generation Blacks...
 
Sycraft said:
My general comments on changes I'd make, were it my money:

--Why a Xeon? You tend to pay for more and get less. Also make sure it is compatible with your board, consumer boards want consumer CPUs.

--I like Intel motherboards, I find them to be less problematic.

--Cut back on the videocard to a regular 780 or maybe a 770. Your system is more mid range, no sense in putting a high end video card in it. Save the money and put it towards other things. Remember speed and price don't scale linearly at the high end.

--Maybe knock 16GB of RAM in there. Not necessary, 8GB is fine, but usage is slowly growing and RAM is cheap. Also it helps a bit since the OS will precache data to RAM to make things load even faster. Also maybe look at Crucial for your RAM, they make good stuff.

--I'm not a huge fan of Antec supplies, particularly their cheaper ones. I'd look at Corsair myself, their TX, RM, HX, or AX lines. A PSU can fry your system if it goes wonky, so I like to buy higher quality ones.

--Look at an SSD. They are an amazing step up in performance. You need one big enough to hold OS, data, and apps. Just putting the OS on it does little good since it only makes booting faster. 240-256GB usually does the trick unless you like a ton of games on at once, in which case 480-512GB should be enough even for tons. Keep the magnetic drive as well for storing media n' such.


Not saying any of this is gospel, just what I'd look at doing if I were spending the money on my own system, or more precisely, what I did when I did build my own system.
Click to expand...

Im going for the i5 4670k. Going to overclock to 4 probably. I want framerates high for a long long time. Powerful GPU will do that for me. ill add more ram at a later date and an ssd. What mother board should I go with that is affordable and well safely overclock my cpu? i5 4670k.
 
cnaratcliff said:
This is why. Quote from a friend. Do you guys agree? "If you want absolute power, this gets you a 780 Ti, with an arguably better CPU. Again, the Xeon is essentially an i7 because of hyper-threading, and Intel has much better single thread performance, and the 8 threads on the Xeon will last a very long time."
Click to expand...

I believe it's the Xeon E3-1230 (not 1225) variants that are i7-equivalents. Also - GTX-780ti is probably overkill.
 
jaguax said:
Do you have a Microcenter nearby? They have killer CPU prices.

i5 4670k: 189.99
i7 4770k: 269.99
Click to expand...

2 hour drive :/. and gas costs more than cpus these days lol.
I've decided on the xfx black edition 850 watt psu. I will sli two 780 ti 3 or 4 years down the road. I need a board sli capable. 2 x pci express 3 and the ability to overclock. Also do i need it to be capable of reading ram higher than 1600mhz? Should i invest in the faster ram?
 
I couldn't imagine building any system today without a ssd. The Crucial M500 is $110 for 240gb. It's one of the few components that make a night and day difference. It's half the price of the price difference between a normal 780 and 780ti. I bet you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a 780 and a 780ti if they were side by side.
 
Tbird87 said:
I couldn't imagine building any system today without a ssd. The Crucial M500 is $110 for 240gb. It's one of the few components that make a night and day difference. It's half the price of the price difference between a normal 780 and 780ti. I bet you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a 780 and a 780ti if they were side by side.
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In 4 years when cryengine 5 is out and murdering my 5 year old card. Yea I will notice a difference lol. Im getting the m500 to begin with. I can live on 240 gb for a few weeks. What motherboard do you guys recommend that I can sli gtx 780 ti's for said "cryengine 5" lol
 
cnaratcliff said:
2 hour drive :/. and gas costs more than cpus these days lol.
I've decided on the xfx black edition 850 watt psu. I will sli two 780 ti 3 or 4 years down the road. I need a board sli capable. 2 x pci express 3 and the ability to overclock. Also do i need it to be capable of reading ram higher than 1600mhz? Should i invest in the faster ram?
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You might have trouble finding a second 780 ti for SLI in 3-4 years and by that time 780 ti SLI will likely be weaker than a new single card, I really think that you're overestimating the difference between the 780 ti and the cards right below it. The 780 ti is for people that want the absolute best GPU and don't care about cost, most people that buy a card like that will likely turn around and replace it with the next top end card as soon as it's released. I certainly wouldn't spend the money on that before getting an SSD.

I don't know anything about that specific power supply but my impression is that XFX PSUs tend to be hit or miss, I tend to prefer Corsair and Seasonic PSUs but I would consider any brand if the specific model I was looking at had a favorable review here or on Jonny Guru's site.

I wouldn't bother with ram over 1600 mhz, if you really want more memory bandwidth you should go with a quad channel setup or wait for DDR4 but I doubt you would ever notice much difference. I would avoid Adata and go with a more reputable brand, there's a reason they tend to be a little bit cheaper than other ram with comparable specs. I would also get more than 8 gbs, it's plenty for most things now but won't be for long and once DDR4 comes out DDR3 prices will likely increase.

Some of the criticism of your choices may sound harsh but I think that people are just trying to point you in the right direction. :)
 
If you're planning on SLI, better make sure early on that that power supply can handle it.

I also wouldn't go with a Ti, but it appears you've made your mind up. Do not skip the SSD or you'll be making a terrible decision. The Ti will hopefully last you 4 years but honestly by that point you'll be able to replace it with something faster for half the price (or less). Just how it goes.
 
cnaratcliff said:
In 4 years when cryengine 5 is out and murdering my 5 year old card. Yea I will notice a difference lol. Im getting the m500 to begin with. I can live on 240 gb for a few weeks. What motherboard do you guys recommend that I can sli gtx 780 ti's for said "cryengine 5" lol
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With Crytek's announcement that they will be adding Mantle support to Cryengine you might be better off with an AMD card if that's your main concern, of course that could change between now and whatever they have in 4 years. In 4-5 years who knows if the cards available today will even support whatever API is being used.

What I'm trying to say is that you while you should buy a card with the performance you want now and a little extra for longevity you shouldn't go all out with the expectation that it will last 4-5 years or you will most likely be very disappointed. My 3 year old GPU(6950) is towards the end of it's useful life and the only reason it's still acceptable is because the last gen of consoles have held games back the last few years and I haven't been playing any of the newest most demanding games, if I had paid 1/3 more for a 6970 I would basically be in the same situation.

The m500 is a good drive, it's not as fast as some but it has some enterprise level features that at least in theory should make it more reliable.
 
cnaratcliff said:
In 4 years when cryengine 5 is out and murdering my 5 year old card. Yea I will notice a difference lol. Im getting the m500 to begin with. I can live on 240 gb for a few weeks. What motherboard do you guys recommend that I can sli gtx 780 ti's for said "cryengine 5" lol
Click to expand...

If your card is getting murdered in 4 years I doubt you will want to still use it after being spoiled by going super high end. It's hard to go from everything running perfect to having to sacrifice something or not being over 60fps. A $200 premium over a card that is already more than enough for 1080p (unless you're going to take advantage of 120-144hz display) seems steep if you're trying to keep a budget. Plus the fact that Kepler has been out for a while now. Not trying to be one of those people that say you should wait, but this is a $700 card. Either decision you make you'll enjoy so it's not too big of deal :D

Good deal on getting the m500, I have a pretty easy time having free space on my solid states. What form factor are you going to be going with, I saw you had a matx board before?
 
Tbird87 said:
If your card is getting murdered in 4 years I doubt you will want to still use it after being spoiled by going super high end. It's hard to go from everything running perfect to having to sacrifice something or not being over 60fps. A $200 premium over a card that is already more than enough for 1080p (unless you're going to take advantage of 120-144hz display) seems steep if you're trying to keep a budget. Plus the fact that Kepler has been out for a while now. Not trying to be one of those people that say you should wait, but this is a $700 card. Either decision you make you'll enjoy so it's not too big of deal :D

Good deal on getting the m500, I have a pretty easy time having free space on my solid states. What form factor are you going to be going with, I saw you had a matx board before?
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Il be playing on 600hz. Plasma for gaming has always been the best in my opinion. Ive had every tv technology and plasma takes the cake for me. Im looking at an atx motherboard z87. I don't want to go Micro. Is the asrock z87 extreme 4 a good board? its ATX seems to have everything i need. Also looking for a sufficent cooling case that doesn't brake the bank.
 
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