1080p competitive fps build

[eiji]

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
6) Will you be overclocking?
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?


1. Competitive FPS gaming.
2. Reasonable: 3000$ (not paying for '1%' increases, the benefit needs to be measurable).
3. California.
4. Motherboard, CPU, Liquid Cooler, GPU, Sound Card, Monitor, Headset, Keyboard, Mouse.
5. Everything will be fresh.
6. Absolutely, this is a major concern.
7. 1080P only, I'm not using surround setups or higher resolutions for gaming.
8. I'm purchasing the components and building the PC.
9. ASUS, SLI, HDD/SSD 6GB/s, overclock stability.
10. I'll be buying Windows 7.


Goal:
1080p low latency fps competitive gaming, side RTS.

End-stage goal: premium surround sound/directional cues, 121 constant capped FPS (no vsync), 4.7k overclock with good temps (no 70c temps..), single card (780) or dual sli (770).


I've picked a few components already:
Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk
Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Corsair 600T Mesh (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case
SeaSonic Platinum 860W 80 PLUS Platinum Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply
Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory C7 [own this]
Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver 12g Thermal Paste
Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Full (32/64-bit)


Additional information:
I'll be using a 120hz Lightboost setup while capping fps at 121. I want to have a constant 121 fps running in FPS games, even in the most demanding situations if possible. I will also go with 500hz/1000hz keyboard and mouse, but I'm not decided on which poll rates are most effective. I want to atleast reach a 4.7k OC, but reasonably, 4.5k OC.

I have come across two pieces of information, one being that an I5 3570k is as functional as an I7 3770k in games. The second piece is that Haswell runs hot as "hell." I really do not want to delid a CPU, but I will if I need to, or I will go with a previous generation (Ivy, Sandy).

Sound card is for the directional cues with upmixed 5.1 or more channels, but i'll be using a 2.1 stereo headset. Honestly, I only want the soundcard best suited for emulated surround sound/directional cue gaming.

I've looked into multiple parts, but the pieces I'm considering but cannot decide on are:

i5-3570K
i5-4670K
i7-3770K
i7-4770K

Corsair H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
Corsair H70 61.2 CFM CPU Cooler
Corsair H80i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
Corsair H90 94.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler

Asus Maximus VI Hero ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
Asus P8Z77-V ATX LGA1155
Asus P8Z77-V PRO ATX LGA1155
Asus Z87-EXPERT ATX LGA1150
Asus Z87-PRO ATX LGA1150

Asus GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card SLI
Asus GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card

Asus Xonar Essence STX 24-bit 192 KHz Sound Card
Asus Xonar Phoebus 24-bit 96 KHz Sound Card
Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Zx

Asus VG248QE 144Hz 24.0" Monitor //// IF I use a different monitor that's for lightboost 120hz, it will be 24" or less.


I won't hesitate to go with other components if they cost less and perform as exceptionally as the listed items. I'm not decided with any cooling unit, because I haven't got consistent info on overclocking between ivy/haswell. I was looking at the ROG board for the set of options it has, mainly SupremeFX which hosts DTS Connect (will this suffice for my audio needs?). I was also considering the Intel® Ethernet chipset that it uses, but real-world benefit may be unnoticeable. I'll go with a cheaper board that doesn't boast all the extras if it overclocks as good or better than the rog/sabertooth boards.

I look forward to and appreciate in advance any input contributed. It would not be wise to waste money in excess for extremely minimal gains. I'm looking to create a build that is very exceptional but also cost effective, with a capped 121 constant fps and as minimal latency possible.

 

[Dangman]

Is it too late to return that RAM?

 

[eiji]

Nope

 

[Dangman]

Please read question 8 again and answer it correctly.

I would recommend just returning the RAM as the lower latency doesn't provide enough of a noticeable improvement in games to justify the 30% increase in price over CAS 9 and CAS 10 RAM. I recommend this RAM instead:
$120 - Crucial BLS2CP8G3D1609DS1S00 Ballistix Sport 2 x 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM

As for the rest of your selected parts:
- Considering your budget, you might as well get the Samsung 840 Pro 256GB for the slightly higher performance doubel the storage space.

- You dont need a 860W PSU unless you are going for a TRI-SLI setup. A solid 750W PSU, even for GTX 770 SLI and a heavily overclocked CPU, will still be more than enough power. So I would look at the Corsair AX760 and Seasonic X750 Gold PSUs.

- Ditch the AS5. The thermal paste that comes with most 3rd party HSF these days are just as good as AS5, if not better. Even if you wanted extra 3rd party thermal paste for whatever reason, there are better thermal pastes out there that don't have the curing time that AS5 has. The Arctic MX-5 is a good thermal paste.

- As for the CPU, Haswells do indeed run hotter than their Ivy Bridge counterparts and they don't OC as high as IB. However, the lower overclocks is made up for by the higher IPC of the Haswells. In other words, a Haswell clocked at 4.2Ghz will perform the same as an Ivy Bridge at 4.5Ghz. Since those numbers are usually the average OCs for those CPUs, in terms of performance, they're going to be roughly the same.

So which platform to get? The better and improved UEFI that comes with most Asus, MSI, and Gigabyte LGA 1150 motherboards is pretty much what's making me recommend Haswell over Ivy Bridge at this point in time. So I recommend getting the Core i5 4670K and the Asus Maximus VI Hero if that's still at it s $200 price point when you buy.

- Video card wise, this is a bit trickier as this is largely dependent on what game you're playing and whether or not the recommended VRAM requirements for BF4 have some measure of truth to them. GTX 770 2GB SLI will definitely get you the FPS you need at 1080P. However, for a game like BF4, it may not be smooth FPS since apparently 3GB of RAM is recommended for that game. But 3GB of VRAM recommended for what resolution though? We really won't know until the beta hits and people start reporting their findings.

 

[eiji]

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?

I've been reading for a few months but I am buying it now. My post here was the last step to finalizing my decisions and after the valued input that I came here for, I'll be buying.

Thanks, i'll match a Core i5 4670K with the VI Hero. Is delidding something I should consider down the line to overcome the moderate oc, or can I reasonably reach my fps goals with sli 770/780?

I'm definitely not using tri-sli. Dual-sli is a potential for the build, so whichever graphics processor and PSU I go with i'll have a sli option and tdp headway. I'm now considering dual 780s, but really, that's an insane price tag. I'll stick to either 770s or a 780 for now.

Thanks, i'll drop the A5. As for the SSD, I mainly chose the 840 pro for reliability and to host my os with a game or two, while having a primary storage device--don't see a need to go past this setup.

I haven't seen a game to this point that could use 2gb vram on 1080p resolution, so if BF4 goes to 3gb then I'll be damned, that's sick. It would really bottleneck the GPUs though, curious about that. However, I could drop some graphics catching intensive settings and potentially work this out with sli 770s?

Is 750w psu actually going to be okay for sli 770 and moderate OC?

 

[Dangman]

Thanks, i'll match a Core i5 4670K with the VI Hero. Is delidding something I should consider down the line to overcome the moderate oc, or can I reasonably reach my fps goals with sli 770/780?

With a moderate OC, yes you'll be able to achieve your goals.

Thanks, i'll drop the A5. As for the SSD, I mainly chose the 840 pro for reliability and to host my os with a game or two, while having a primary storage device--don't see a need to go past this setup.

Like I said, higher performance.

I haven't seen a game to this point that could use 2gb vram on 1080p resolution,

Skyrim with HD texture packs and abunch of other mods can do it. FNV with mods can do it as well.

However, I could drop some graphics catching intensive settings and potentially work this out with sli 770s?

Yes you could do that.

Is 750w psu actually going to be okay for sli 770 and moderate OC?

I answered this earlier:

A solid 750W PSU, even for GTX 770 SLI and a heavily overclocked CPU, will still be more than enough power. So I would look at the Corsair AX760 and Seasonic X750 Gold PSUs.

What part of what I said did not answer your question?

 

[eiji]

Excellent, i'll go with 770s and a 760/750 PSU.

In that case, I'm down to the sound card. I'll look into it more of course.

Thanks for the input

 

[Dangman]

Please post a final build list before you buy so that we can all double-check to see you're getting the best deals.

 

[eiji]

Intel Core i5 4670K $225.99
http://us.ncix.com/products/?usaffi...BX80646I54670K&manufacture=Intel&promoid=1258

ASUS Maximus VI Hero price matched with newegg ($203.99 /w shipping)
http://us.ncix.com/products/?usaffi...MAXIMUS VI HERO&manufacture=ASUS&promoid=1258

Corsair Graphite Series 600TM $134.99
http://us.ncix.com/products/?usaffi...&vpn=CC600TM&manufacture=Corsair&promoid=1067

Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200RPM 64MB SATA 6Gbps $59.99
http://us.ncix.com/products/?usaffi...=ST1000DM003&manufacture=Seagate&promoid=1258

Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB $126.99
http://us.ncix.com/products/?usaffi...facture=Samsung Memory & Storage&promoid=1258

Asus Internal SATA 24x DVD Writer $21.95
http://www.adorama.com/ASDRW24B1STB...iate&utm_campaign=Other&utm_source=cj_3938566

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium $179.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

ASUS VG248QE $266.98
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B2HH7G0/?tag=pcpapi-20

Asus NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 OC 2GB x2 $397.99/$397.99
http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=AS-770DO2G&c=CJ

CORSAIR AX760 760W $152.48
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

 

[Dangman]

You can the slightly higher quality Asus Sabertooth motherboard if you buy it this weekend as part of this CPU + mobo combo deal:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1444534

Total cost will be about the same. Though not sure if NCIX US charges CA sales tax like Newegg does. Something you should look up. If NCIX US does charge CA sales tax, then go the Newegg combo route. If they don't, then stick with your original CPU and mobo choice.

 

[eiji]

I'm either using the 600T and an H80 cooling unit, or I'm going with a different case. I'll be decided very shortly here as I consider what exactly I need and want from a mid-tower case.

Thanks Dangman, you've been an awesome help.

I'm curious though, is there a need for concern with a sli setup as opposed to a single card setup in terms or latency? Stuttering? Anecdotal accounts are really irritating as they are every direction. I'll put my faith in hardforum for this information.

 

[Dangman]

I'm curious though, is there a need for concern with a sli setup as opposed to a single card setup in terms or latency? Stuttering? Anecdotal accounts are really irritating as they are every direction. I'll put my faith in hardforum for this information.

Yes there are some things you should keep in mind with going SLI: Mainly the rather small possibility of that micro-stuttering and the possibility of no SLI driver support for a certain game. Many AAA games should work fine with SLI but some more modest budget games won't work too well with it.

At least SLI scaling has improved pretty well to the point where adding a second card does really mean twice the real world performance.