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Build help with ~$2800 gaming machine.

O

outroot

n00b
Joined
Jun 17, 2009
Messages
8
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Mainly gaming, but I also do a lot of web/backend development work. I usually have a ton of things open, and run a VM for development.
My current machine has 32gb of RAM, and I'll need at least that amount in my new machine (currently, I only have 6GB available, and most of the time much lower.)
I do a LOT of compiling and write massively parallel applications.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Around $2500-$2800. I can go more or less depending. Willing to go $3k if it's worth it.
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.

US. Florida.
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, Mobo, GPU(s), Case, Memory, Storage (SSD + magnetic), PSU, possibly water cooling system. No peripherals.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
None. Giving my wife my current computer and buying a whole new one.
6) Will you be overclocking?
Yes! I always overclock my machines. I've never gone water cooling before but I think I want to try it and push a little further.
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
I have a QX2710 LED. 27inch. 2560x1440. Possibly want to future proof for 4k monitor.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Within a month. Wife really wants a better computer. Willing to wait for a few months if there is so technology/hardware I should wait for.
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.
Crossfire/SLI would be nice. 2+ USB 3.0 ports, 4+ SATA 6Db/s.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
I have a legit Win7. Debating if Win8 is worth it.


I'm a big tech guy, so I usually don't like going small unless it's really worth it. Even if I won't use all the power now, I like to know that I can.

My current system specs:
Mainboard : ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. P8Z77-V DELUXE
Chipset : Intel Ivy Bridge
Processor : Intel Core i7 3770K @ 3500 MHz
Physical Memory : 32768 KB (4 x 8192 DDR3-SDRAM )
Video Card : NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670
Hard Disk : SAMSUNG SSD 830 Series ATA Device (256GB)
Hard Disk : Samsung SSD 840 PRO Series ATA Device (256GB)
Hard Disk : Western Digital WD2002FAEX-007BA0 ATA Device (2000GB)
DVD-Rom Drive : ASUS DRW-24B1ST c
Monitor Type : DUAL-DVI - 27 inches
Network Card : Intel 6 Series Chipset Family Ethernet Controller
Network Card : Broadcom BCM43228 802.11a/b/g/n
Network Card : Realtek Semiconductor RTL8168/8111 PCIe Gigabit Ethernet Adapter
DirectX : Version 11.00

It's been good to me, but I'd really love an upgrade (I play WoW and I lag in 25 man raids, on fair settings).

Here are a couple of builds I found on some forums that seemed pretty decent to me, but I don't keep up with hardware unless I'm buying, so I'm not completely informed:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Yjct99
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/TV3Qcf
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Yjct99

If there are better parts for more money than let me know or just give me a good build list.

Also, I heard the nvidia 880 is coming out soon, is that worth waiting for? Not sure what the price will be like. I usually don't buy new because it's so expensive.
Anything else worth waiting for? CPU tech?

I'd also would like to get a full system water cooler (for CPU and GPU(s)). I would like to do more overclocking this time around. I'm also a fan of fairly large cases
with good airflow.

Thank you for your time!
 
I'll take a stab at it for you:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4930K 3.4GHz 6-Core Processor ($549.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H110 94.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($114.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus Sabertooth X79 ATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($302.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport XT 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($299.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport XT 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($299.99 @ Micro Center)
Storage: PNY XLR8 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($99.99 @ Micro Center)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 290X 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($489.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 290X 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($489.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 750D ATX Full Tower Case ($129.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 1000G2 1000W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($139.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $2997.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-07-25 01:49 EDT-0400

This comes in right at $3k, but there is a lot you can change here. If you don't feel like you need the 6 cores you can drop to a 4820k (4 core) which will shave $200 off the total price.

The first big decision you need to make is if you want to water cool or not. A full loop with 2 gpu blocks and a cpu block will run you $800-$1000. On your 3k budget you can do this, but you'll have to sacrifice some things.

For instance the build above comes with a 6-core monster CPU based on the x79 platform which allows for 64gb of ram. Not to mention it also comes with 2 x 290x. This should chew through the type of work that you do and make for a bad ass gaming machine.

But if you want to do a full loop, you should shoot for the $2k mark. This would allow you put together a nice loop. But this is where things get tricky. It is hard to put together a dual gpu build with an i7 and 32gb of ram at $2k. I would say drop the second gpu for now and then add another later if you need the extra power. If you are coming from a 670, the 290x will give you a lot more power (Check out this comparison of a 770 vs 290x - they didnt have a 670 to compare it against).

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($322.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus MAXIMUS VII HERO ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($208.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport XT 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($299.99 @ Micro Center)
Storage: PNY XLR8 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($99.99 @ Micro Center)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 290X 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($489.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 900D ATX Full Tower Case ($279.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 1000G2 1000W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($139.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1921.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-07-25 02:01 EDT-0400

This still gives you an i7 and 32gb of ram. That case is expensive, but that is a great case to build a water cooling loop in since you can hide the radiators at the bottom. Plus it is a big case like you wanted. Figure $150 a block for the gpu and $70 for cpu. Also $150 for 2 radiators and $100 for a good pump. Fittings and tubing will probably run $100 depending on the brand you pick. This put you at about $600. So total you are looking at $2600. If you add another 290x + block than add another $650.

Hope this helps get you started!
 
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Considering your planned usage and the specs of your current PC, a LGA 1150 Core i7 setup would not be a worthwhile improvement. You could just upgrade the video card in your current system and it would only be about 10% (maaybe 15% pending circumstances) slower than any of the 4790K setups posted by you and doug. So you're definitely looking at a X79 setup if you want any sort of worthwhile upgrade.

The Core i7 4930K is based on the same Ivy Bridge tech as your current Core i7 3770K. So in games, there would be little to no difference between your setup and the 4930K assuming both had similar video cards. But the extra two cores of the Core i7 4930K as well as the extra 32GB of RAM capability means that your other usages should see a decent performance increase.

The only big thing I would change with doug's setup would be the SSD: I'd go for the more reputable Crucial MX100 series or the Samsung 840 Evo series of SSDs. If you want to get closer to the bang for the buck point, drop the video cards down to the R9 290 cards.

With that said, later this year, the X99 platform with their Haswell-E CPUs is going be released. The big differences:
- Complete switch to DDR4 RAM. Which will more than likely be very expensive
- There's apparently going to be an 8-Core Haswell-E CPU.
- Every single SATA port will be SATA 6.0Gb/s compared to the current count of two on the X79 platform
- Support for the M.2 based SSDs.
- More USB 3.0 ports.
 
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Dangman said:
Considering your planned usage and the specs of your current PC, a LGA 1150 Core i7 setup would not be a worthwhile improvement. You could just upgrade the video card in your current system and it would only be about 10% (maaybe 15% pending circumstances) slower than any of the 4790K setups posted by you and doug. So you're definitely looking at a X79 setup if you want any sort of worthwhile upgrade.

The Core i7 4930K is based on the same Ivy Bridge tech as your current Core i7 3770K. So in games, there would be little to no difference between your setup and the 4930K assuming both had similar video cards. But the extra two cores of the Core i7 4930K as well as the extra 32GB of RAM capability means that your other usages should see a decent performance increase.

The only big thing I would change with doug's setup would be the SSD: I'd go for the more reputable Crucial MX100 series or the Samsung 840 Evo series of SSDs. If you want to get closer to the bang for the buck point, drop the video cards down to the R9 290 cards.

With that said, later this year, the X99 platform with their Haswell-E CPUs is going be released. The big differences:
- Complete switch to DDR4 RAM. Which will more than likely be very expensive
- There's apparently going to be an 8-Core Haswell-E CPU.
- Every single SATA port will be SATA 6.0Gb/s compared to the current count of two on the X79 platform
- Support for the M.2 based SSDs.
- More USB 3.0 ports.
Click to expand...
He said that he was giving his wife his current PC, so he is building a brand new one.

For the kind of work you do, it might be worth waiting for X99 in a few months. The only thing is I'm sure such a platform build from scratch is going to be very expensive with the switch to DDR4.

I'm not one for budget-minded builds, but some things are overpriced. Here is what I would do, and it comes in at your starting budget of $2500 before rebates. This leaves room for adding the H20 cooling system of your choice if you want to run under water.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($322.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Z97X Killer ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($152.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($319.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($199.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($136.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 290X 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($489.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 290X 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($489.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom (Black/Orange) ATX Full Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 1050W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($158.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case Fan: NZXT Air Flow Series 83.6 CFM 140mm Fan ($11.41 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: NZXT FN-200RB 166.2 CFM 200mm Fan ($12.65 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: NZXT FZ-200mm LED 103.0 CFM 200mm Fan ($22.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $2407.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-07-25 10:25 EDT-0400
 
I'm like you, I don't like budget-minded builds. But, I also usually don't buy things that are brand new because 1) sometimes they come with problems that aren't hashed out and 2) they're way overpriced.

So is it really worth it to wait for the X99? I don't know. Should I wait for Broadwell or Maxwell?

I also just read up on M.2 SSDs a bit, and that looks like something I would like to have.

I think my biggest concern would be getting a new PC and just not feeling the power compared to my current one. I usually wait to upgrade when there are significant changes in technology (although, my circumstance is a bit different now because of the wife wanting my computer).
 
outroot said:
I'm like you, I don't like budget-minded builds. But, I also usually don't buy things that are brand new because 1) sometimes they come with problems that aren't hashed out and 2) they're way overpriced.

So is it really worth it to wait for the X99? I don't know. Should I wait for Broadwell or Maxwell?

I also just read up on M.2 SSDs a bit, and that looks like something I would like to have.

I think my biggest concern would be getting a new PC and just not feeling the power compared to my current one. I usually wait to upgrade when there are significant changes in technology (although, my circumstance is a bit different now because of the wife wanting my computer).
Click to expand...

I don't know if you've seen the prices yet for DDR4, but the gain that you will get with DDR4 will not be worth the extra cost. The benefit of DDR4 wont be substantial at first. Plus with the amount that you'll have to spend for DDR4, you will have to cut back in other places that you will notice.

If you are ok with buying used, then you can save a ton by buying used.

i.e.

used 290xs with transferable warranties go for 350-400 warranty (xfx, asus, msi, gigabyte)
You can save a 100 by getting a 3930k. Not much of a difference there.
EVGA currently is selling b-stock x79 classified boards on their webpage for $105 shipped.
You can pick up used SSDs and HDDs for cheap.
and so on.

I'm like you. I usually don't buy new. If you want to save a bunch of money, I would buy an x79 platform now and pickup used parts over the next few weeks.

Will you "feel" a huge difference between what you are coming from? No. There is nothing out that will give you a huge boost since you are coming from one of the best chips out there. Most thing you do on a day to day basis are single threaded. There is nothing that feels faster in single thread that those 4770k chips
 
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I'd go x79. , and go ahead and buy 64GB of ram because you are near the wall at 32GB, and the price will only go up after we finish the switch to DDR4.

x99 + 64GB DDR4 will simply be out of your price range. I would also just start with one R9 290X, since you have to save up enough dosh for a decent 4k@60 monitor before you really need that kind of video power. Trust me: one 290x can handle every game out right now at 1440p on high/ultra :D

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2014...rectcu_ii_oc_video_card_review/4#.U9MNt7EY4oc

Given how incredibly well they sold during the massive mining fest last year, you can easily find a second card on the used market a year from now if you decide to go 4k that soon.

And any of those newfangled M.2 slots you desire can just be added into one of the many expansion slots on your huge motherboard..
 
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