4K gaming build

[elleana]

Picked up a Seiki 39" 4K monitor a while back, so figured its time to get a new setup which can hopefully last a few years and can support gaming at 4K. Haven't been following the different iterations of processors / graphics cards etc so am somewhat lost..

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Web browsing + gaming, at 4K. No FPS though, mainly RTS / WoW, Simcity.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
No fixed budget but would like to keep things somewhat reasonable, hopefully somewhere around $1000 all in, but stretching is fine if necessary.

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
Singapore, but ordering from Amazon / Newegg is fine.

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.
CPU (and cooler?), motherboard, RAM, graphics card, PSU, case. Am hoping for a slim tower mATX (or even ITX, if everything can fit) case.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
SSD and HDD, input devices, optical drive.

6) Will you be overclocking?
No.

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
4K 39"

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Next couple of weeks, no particular urgency though.

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.
Probably only USB 3 to download photos, SATA 6gbs.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Windows 7 64bit, wondering if Windows 8.1 is worth the hassle to learn and the additional spend.

 

[Nenu]

The display is 30Hz @ 4K.
You might not like this for gaming @ 4K, best be sure before you build a PC for 4K gaming.
The adverts say 120Hz, thats at 1080p.
fyi

 

[tiraides]

Which specific SSD and HDD are you using?

Do you really want to play games at 4K and 30Hz? Most reviewers consider 30Hz to be unacceptable for playing games, regardless of the resolution.

 

[elleana]

Just picked up a Sandisk extreme 480GB on Amazon, will use that for OS and game installs, also have an old 1TB disk to use for data.

Everyone told me 30Hz also had terrible mouse lag and was pretty much unuseable even on the desktop, but I'm pretty ok with it. Am not planning to play anything fast paced, so that might help.

 

[Dangman]

What's your max budget?

I ask because even without factoring some of the more high-end RTS games out there, 4K is still pretty demanding. Which means that you're more than likely going to be spending quite a bit on the video card alone. In addition, going mITX actually costs more than a normal ATX setup. Plus you live in Singapore which I would imagine has a fairly hot climate which means you're going to want spend a bit on cooling the parts. So all of that combined is more than likely going to push you well past that $1000 budget.

 

[elleana]

What's your max budget?

I ask because even without factoring some of the more high-end RTS games out there, 4K is still pretty demanding. Which means that you're more than likely going to be spending quite a bit on the video card alone. In addition, going mITX actually costs more than a normal ATX setup. Plus you live in Singapore which I would imagine has a fairly hot climate which means you're going to want spend a bit on cooling the parts. So all of that combined is more than likely going to push you well past that $1000 budget.

I could do $1,500 I guess, there isn't exactly a max budget but I don't really want to be spending /that/ much on a new computer..

I had a quick look at some benchmarks, seems like the current sweet spot for price / performance ratio for video cards is the R9 280X or the R9 290. Would either be sufficient to run, say, WoW? Doesn't have to be at all max settings.

 

[Dangman]

I could do $1,500 I guess, there isn't exactly a max budget but I don't really want to be spending /that/ much on a new computer.

Cool. Lemme see what I can whip up.

I had a quick look at some benchmarks, seems like the current sweet spot for price / performance ratio for video cards is the R9 280X or the R9 290. Would either be sufficient to run, say, WoW? Doesn't have to be at all max settings.

Yes for the R9 290. Not sure for the R9 280X.

EDIT: Actually, before I can start setting up a build list, I need to know which mITX case you'll be going with as some parts aren't compatible with some mITX cases out there. So what mITX case do you want? Here's my personal recommendations:
$50 - Silverstone SG05BB-LITE mITX Case
$50 - Coolermaster Elite 130 mITX Case
$80 - Bitfenix Prodigy Arctic White mITX Case
$80 - Bitfenix Prodigy Midnight Black mITX Case
$85 - Corsair Obsidian 250D mITX Case
$95 - Lian Li PC-Q08B mITX Case

 

[elleana]

Cool. Lemme see what I can whip up.


Yes for the R9 290. Not sure for the R9 280X.

EDIT: Actually, before I can start setting up a build list, I need to know which mITX case you'll be going with as some parts aren't compatible with some mITX cases out there. So what mITX case do you want? Here's my personal recommendations:
$50 - Silverstone SG05BB-LITE mITX Case
$50 - Coolermaster Elite 130 mITX Case
$80 - Bitfenix Prodigy Arctic White mITX Case
$80 - Bitfenix Prodigy Midnight Black mITX Case
$85 - Corsair Obsidian 250D mITX Case
$95 - Lian Li PC-Q08B mITX Case

Wow thanks - didn't realize there were so many cool mITX possibilities out there. Do you have any particular recommendations with good layout and airflow / cooling? Otherwise I like the Bitfenix for its looks A slim mATX would work too.

 

[Dangman]

Wow thanks - didn't realize there were so many cool mITX possibilities out there. Do you have any particular recommendations with good layout and airflow / cooling? Otherwise I like the Bitfenix for its looks A slim mATX would work too.

Every single one them has good layout and cooling. Otherwise I wouldn't be recommending them, now would I?

With that said, I'd flip a coin between the 250D and the Prodigy. The Prodigy has better CPU cooling but the 250D has better GPU cooling. The 250D is smaller and quieter but the Prodigy cools better.

 

[elleana]

Alright, did some reading up and I have determined that - an i5 should be sufficient for my needs (I do not code nor render), K is overkill as I have no intention nor inclination to overclock, 16GB 1600mhz is the current defacto RAM recommendation. This is what is in my Amazon cart at the moment:

Intel Core i5-4690 Processor
http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Core-i5-4690-Processor-BX80646I54690/dp/B00JST2QEW/ $209

MSI LGA1150, Intel Z87, WiFi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.0, Mini-ITX Motherboard Z87I GAMING AC
http://www.amazon.com/MSI-Motherboard-Z87I-GAMING-AC/dp/B00HPQ0KCA $195

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory F3-10666CL9D-16GBXL
http://www.amazon.com/G-SKILL-Ripjaws-240-Pin-Desktop-F3-10666CL9D-16GBXL/dp/B0066AESOC/ $167

Sapphire Radeon R9 290 4GB GDDR5 DUAL DVI-D/HDMI/DP TRI-X OC Version PCI-Express Graphics Card 11227-00-40G
http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-Version-PCI-Express-Graphics-11227-00-40G/dp/B00HJOXUKC/ $440

Seasonic X-850(SS-850KM Active PFC F3) 850W 80 Plus Gold ATX12V/EPS12V Power Supply
http://www.amazon.com/Seasonic-X-850-SS-850KM-Active-ATX12V/dp/B004ETEFTK/ $170

Corsair Obsidian 250D Mini ITX Case CC-9011047-WW
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Obsidian-250D-Mini-CC-9011047-WW/dp/B00HFRTF5W/ $85

$1266, which I think I can live with. Will this work or would you recommend any tweaks? Do I need a aftermarket CPU cooler if I'm not planning to overclock?

 

[Dangman]

$1266, which I think I can live with. Will this work or would you recommend any tweaks? Do I need a aftermarket CPU cooler if I'm not planning to overclock?

I'd recommend a lot of tweaks actually:

Intel Core i5-4690 Processor
http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Core-i5-4690-Processor-BX80646I54690/dp/B00JST2QEW/ $209

Two problems with getting this CPU:
1) You'd basically need a Z97 motherboard to guarantee compatibility
2) It's still not worth the extra $10 over the Core i5 4570 or even the Core i5 4590 if you do get a Z97 motherboard
3) The Z97 motherboards are newly released and therefore their long-term or even short-term reliability haven't been established yet.

Considering all of the above, I'd err on the side of caution and stick with the older Haswell CPUs and the Z87 motherboards. I recommend the Core i5 4570:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116896

MSI LGA1150, Intel Z87, WiFi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.0, Mini-ITX Motherboard Z87I GAMING AC
http://www.amazon.com/MSI-Motherboard-Z87I-GAMING-AC/dp/B00HPQ0KCA $195

Ridiculously overkill for your needs. You're not overclocking nor have you mentioned a requirement for Wifi and bluetooth. As such, not worth it. From what you've posted so far, you should be fine with these cheaper motherboards:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128615
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157374

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory F3-10666CL9D-16GBXL
http://www.amazon.com/G-SKILL-Ripjaws-240-Pin-Desktop-F3-10666CL9D-16GBXL/dp/B0066AESOC/ $167

Ridiculously overpriced. You'll save $15 and get faster RAM by buying two of this Kingston RAM:
$76 - Kingston HyperX Blu KHX1600C10D3B1/8G 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM

Sapphire Radeon R9 290 4GB GDDR5 DUAL DVI-D/HDMI/DP TRI-X OC Version PCI-Express Graphics Card 11227-00-40G
http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-Version-PCI-Express-Graphics-11227-00-40G/dp/B00HJOXUKC/ $440

Overpriced. You can get the XFX R9 290 for $10 less:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HHIPM5Q/?tag=extension-kb-20

Seasonic X-850(SS-850KM Active PFC F3) 850W 80 Plus Gold ATX12V/EPS12V Power Supply
http://www.amazon.com/Seasonic-X-850-SS-850KM-Active-ATX12V/dp/B004ETEFTK/ $170

Overpriced and overkill. This is mITX. So no need whatsoever for 850W PSU since you can't do a SLI/CFX setup, you're not overclocking, and you're not cramming in 20 hard drives into the system. You'll be fine with a solid 550W PSU:
$80 - Seasonic G Series SSR-550RM 550W Modular PSU

As for cooling, I'm assuming that Singapore is very hot. So I do recommend this HSF:
$50 - Cooler Master Seidon 120V Liquid Cooling System

 

[sinisterDei]

Thou shalt not purchase DDR3 1333 memory. Thou shalt purchase at minimum 1600, preferably 1866. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104421 is $139 right now and is 1866 CAS10 memory.

Completely agree with Dangman on the XFX R9 290 as well; I just purchased one last week. Runs great, though I run at 2560x1600 and not quite 4k.

As for the CPU, I think with the Intel CPUs for the last few generations you're basically shooting yourself in the foot if you don't overclock bit. For your chosen genre of RTS, CPU speed does matter. Spend a bit more, get the 4670k for ~$240, and you can typically run it at 4.0 GHz (up from 3.4) without even touching the voltage.

 

[Skott]

Not to be the bad guy here but 4k gaming on a single gpu? If you ask me, doesn't matter which types of games you play gaming with, 4k res and a single gpu is going to be rather lack luster. The high res demands a lot of gpu power. Is the OP okay with this? You can't add a second gpu when using mitx. Matx you can but not mitx. Not trying to thread crap but just wondering if the OP really thought this through?