New Gaming/Dev Build/Upgrade

[Clanan1]

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Software dev, gaming (FPS, RPG, strategy), some light photoshop and web. I don't need top-of-the-line 1440 100fps but my gaming goal is 1440p with >60 fps without stutter.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
>$1k but it's very flexible, depending on what's needed.

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
Dayton, Ohio. Near a Microcenter.

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.
GPU at least. I would like to keep as many components as possible (motherboard, cpu, psu). If it needs to be upgraded though, I'll make it work.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
My existing machine from 2012 is listed below. I also have a very large case. Note that the PSU model might not be accurate. I know it's a Corsair 750W but not sure which specific model (from 2012).

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K ($239.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V LK ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: CORSAIR 16GB (2 x 8GB) Vengeance Pro ($77.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: ASUS GeForce GTX 670 GTX670-DC2OG-2GD5 ($329.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: CORSAIR 750W CX series CX750 ($79.99 @ Newegg)


6) Will you be overclocking?
Doubtful.

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
Two QNIX 27" 2560x1440 AH-VA panels. One might be dying; I've heard about GSYNC, not sure if I should go for it though.

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
ASAP. Black Friday deals.

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.
Whatever fits the build.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
64-bit Windows 10.

PC Hound Part List

 

[yowen]

So is your current setup performing to your expectations aside from gaming? Or do you need a performance increase in other areas as well? The reason I ask is if all you need is increased gaming performance, just start with a GPU and see how you like it, you can always buy more parts later.

And more to that point. Are you sure you don't want to overclock? Because that would be the perfect way to avoid building a whole new system, or least be worth experimenting to see if that meets your needs. Buy an aftermarket cooler for that -K chip and overclock it.

 

[Clanan1]

Thanks for the reply, yowen. Yes, I think my primary desire is better gaming. Of course I wouldn't mind overall improvements in other areas, I haven't noticed any problems. My fear was that current GPUs wouldn't work with my motherboard or CPU. I would consider overclocking if that avoids a new setup.

 

[yowen]

I'm still running a socket-1155 motherboard like yours and it works fine with my new graphics card. For 1440p at 60fps, I would recommend something beefier than mine, perhaps a 1070 would do nicely.

I imagine it's possible you'll be CPU-bound with a 1070, so in that case having overclocking in your back pocket is always nice. But if it runs your games at acceptable FPS without doing so that's fine too.

And if you don't already have one, an SSD and a fresh install of windows is always a nice upgrade.

 

[Clanan1]

It appears the GTX 1080 is ~$100 more than the 1070. Will the 1080 provide good future-proofing? I'm fine spending that difference if it's worth it. You mentioned the 1070 might leave me CPU-bound so I wonder if the 1080 is overkill. And I think I did get an aftermarket cooler so maybe overclocking is in the cards.

I'm trying to make sense of the 100s of 1070s and 1080s on newegg... Bunch of gobbledegook.