A few build questions for a gaming PC build

[Craig234]

- What's the best motherboard to get (quality, ease of use, up to date features) for an Intel 4790K? (watching for black Friday deal)

- Is years-ago purchased Corsair XMS 3 16GB RAM still ok and a good pick for RAM for it?

- Anything to do to help keep it quiet (NZXT Phantom 530 case - or, I could use an Antec Sonata II but it seems lower-end)?

- Is Seasonic M12 II EVO edition 620W PS a good fit with a modern graphics card)?

- I'm still not very comfortable building it, I might give it a shot, but is there anyone in the bay area who does this sort of thing reasonably?

- What are the best graphic cards to watch for Black Friday deals on?

(Typically I'd look for 'second best' - good enough to be future proof, but not the very latest with a huge price premium, but open to suggestions)

 

[lehtv]

- What's the best motherboard to get (quality, ease of use, up to date features) for an Intel 4790K? (watching for black Friday deal)

There is no "best" motherboard. There are different features offered at different price points. Although we can rule out low end boards where power delivery isn't good enough quality to support a 4790K, and features are more limited.

Do you intend to overclock the CPU?

What 'up to date' features are you actually concerned about? The motherboard has little to do with gaming performance, other than its CPU overclocking features and multi-GPU compatibility.

- Is years-ago purchased Corsair XMS 3 16GB RAM still ok and a good pick for RAM for it?

Should work fine. Run it at 1333MHz at 1.5V unless it's rated for a higher MHz at that voltage.

- Anything to do to help keep it quiet (NZXT Phantom 530 case - or, I could use an Antec Sonata II but it seems lower-end)?

The best thing to do is to buy a quiet CPU cooler. I'd suggest an entry level 120mm tower like Hyper 212 EVO if you're light or no OC. For heavier overclocking you'll want something like D14, U14S, TC14PE or similar big 140mm (dual) tower.

Sonata II is a little dated and will have trouble fitting big graphics cards. I'd buy a new case, not necessarily a Phantom 530 though (not a bad case, just not my style). E.g. Corsair 200R, Phanteks Enthoo Pro, Fractal Design Core 2500, Define R4/R5.

- Is Seasonic M12 II EVO edition 620W PS a good fit with a modern graphics card)?

Yes. But it may not be the optimal choice depending on how other units are priced. I'd be on the lookout for a quality 80+Gold unit, e.g. Corsair RMx, EVGA GS/G2, Seasonic G-series, XFX TS / XTR.

- I'm still not very comfortable building it, I might give it a shot, but is there anyone in the bay area who does this sort of thing reasonably?

All I have to say here is check out this guide: http://www.pcgamer.com/how-to-build-a-gaming-pc-a-beginners-guide/

Building a PC really isn't difficult

- What are the best graphic cards to watch for Black Friday deals on?

What resolution do you game at? Any particular games that must run well? What's your budget? Any preference as to AMD vs NVIDIA - and as a follow-up, do you care about possibly running adaptive sync (FreeSync vs G-Sync)?

 

[Craig234]

Thanks for the response; to answer or clarify:

- I already own all the parts I listed, a factor in whether to buy alternatives

- I don't plan to overclock

- I don't know all the features to be concerned about. I just know that motherboards support a variety of the 'up and coming' standards.

Some would support USB v. USB 2.0 v. USB 3.0, some would support various types of controllers or card interfaces, and so on.

I've found there are usually cards with especially good reputations for the factors I mentioned, that tend to be sort of future proof.

But an example would be wanting to be able to take advantage of any anticipated disk and video card standards, just in case (no pun intended).

- I have a 'Cooler Master Silent Fan 120 S12' from years ago, no idea how that compares to the models you suggested

- Resolution is hard to say, but I'll plan around 4k even though I have no plans for it for the foreseeable future (not locked into that if compromising now makes sense).

Of course there's a minimum of 1920x1280, but I should at least plan for the possibility of the 34" ultrawide or a 2560 monitor as a possibility.

Or I could be a little more conservative and plan an upgrade - there are always new cards coming.

 

[lehtv]

I already own all the parts I listed, a factor in whether to buy alternatives

OK in that case use the Phantom 530 and M12II 620W, no point replacing them.

- I don't plan to overclock

Some would support USB v. USB 2.0 v. USB 3.0, some would support various types of controllers or card interfaces, and so on.

But an example would be wanting to be able to take advantage of any anticipated disk and video card standards, just in case (no pun intended).

Without overclocking, all you need is a decent B85/H97 chipset board. Those will cover your standard connectivity needs (USB 3.0, PCIe 3.0, SATA 6gb/s). The main thing these boards lack compared to more expensive Z97 boards is overclockability, but you may also lose out on a little bit of audio quality since few B85/H97 boards sport high end integrated ("gaming") audio.

Many Z97 boards have an M.2 socket (for M.2 SSD's) and SATA express. The former is not worth using over normal SATA 6gb/s, at least not on Z97. You need LGA1151 / Z170 to take advantage of the extra bandwidth that higher end M.2 SSD's require for full speed. The latter, on the other hand, is already basically obsolete.

USB Type-C connector and USB 3.1 (10 gb/s) are offered on very few LGA1150 boards. The ones that do offer them tend to cost about a $20-30 premium. Not worth it in my opinion.

There are no upcoming video card slot standards that are supported by any current technology - the current standard is PCIe 3.0 which you'll get on almost any modern board.

I would recommend AsRock H97 Pro4 or Gigabyte Z97-HD3.

- I have a 'Cooler Master Silent Fan 120 S12' from years ago, no idea how that compares to the models you suggested

Isn't that just a case fan? What you need is a heatsink plus fan compatible with LGA115x. 212 EVO is a good pick.

- Resolution is hard to say, but I'll plan around 4k even though I have no plans for it for the foreseeable future (not locked into that if compromising now makes sense).

4K is going to take a year or two to run smoothly on a single GPU, at least if we're talking about AAA games on high gfx settings. For dual GPU's you'd need a bigger PSU and a more expensive board. If you want a dual GPU board just in case, grab a Z97X-SLI.

I'd buy R9 390 8GB (in fact I did, just a few days ago). Performance is on par with GTX 970 but in my view R9 390 is preferable because FreeSync monitors cost much less than GSync ones (esp. useful if you upgrade to 1440p or ultrawide), and you get 8GB of VRAM and a high memory bandwidth which ensures that performance scales nicely with resolution (although it'll still be too slow for 4K). Good models (in this order): Sapphire Nitro w/ backplate, XFX Double Dissipation (Core or Black edition), PowerColor PCS+.

 

[Craig234]

Thanks for the info. Why do you think it's not worth $20-$30 to get support for USB Type-C and USB 3.1? How important do you think it is to get the specific graphic card brands?

Does it make more sense to get an SLI capable board for possible addition of a second matching graphic card later, or just plan up upgrading to a new card when needed?

 

[Craig234]

I see Amazon has the Sapphire card for $345 (with backplate, not sure what that means).

 

[Craig234]

Should 'pascal' factor in to planning next year? I have two 6770 cards sitting here unopened that might be ok until then, or could get a not too expensive card until then.

 

[lehtv]

Sorry for the late reply.

Thanks for the info. Why do you think it's not worth $20-$30 to get support for USB Type-C and USB 3.1?

USB 3.1 simply doubles the bandwidth compared to USB 3.0 but few USB-devices need more than USB 3.0 speeds, and most devices get by fine with USB 2.0 speeds.

If you buy a device that uses a Type-C cable, you can just buy an adapter for it and use it in a normal Type A port. And I can't imagine it being important when you only have it in the back panel. Once Type-C is mainstream, you'll want a case front panel port which current cases don't have anyway.

How important do you think it is to get the specific graphic card brands?

The differences lie, for the most part, in cooler quality and warranty.

The best coolers for GTX 970 are MSI Gaming, Asus Strix, Gigabyte G1 (Windforce). EVGA ACX 2.0 is also good, just a little noisier at load. Some of the smaller brands may have competitive coolers, I'm just not that familiar with them.

R9 390 coolers from the three big brands are a bit sub par. Asus Strix apparently has a flaw where only three of the five heat pipes make contact with the GPU. Gigabyte G1 only uses two fans, and can have heat problems based on newegg user reports. MSI Gaming may not handle 250W+ load adequately without excellent case cooling. So, the best picks are Sapphire Nitro (preferably with backplate), then PowerColor PCS+ or XFX DD.

As for warranty, it's 2 or 3 years depending on brand. Zotac (and possibly some others, not sure) offers extended warranty with registration.

Does it make more sense to get an SLI capable board for possible addition of a second matching graphic card later, or just plan up upgrading to a new card when needed?

It's almost always a better idea to upgrade to a new single GPU because of the rate at which GPU tech evolves. If you pay for SLI compatibility as a backup plan, you'll probably never use it.

I see Amazon has the Sapphire card for $345 (with backplate, not sure what that means).

It means the card has a metallic support on the back. Without a back plate, a card with a heavy cooler (Sapphire Nitro definitely qualifies) will 'hang' a bit in a typical setup where the motherboard is vertical. A back plate ensures that the card stays straight (and it may have a slight effect on thermal efficiency). And it looks nice, and oozes more quality

Should 'pascal' factor in to planning next year? I have two 6770 cards sitting here unopened that might be ok until then, or could get a not too expensive card until then.

Pascal factors in insofar as it's fast enough that it's worth upgrading to from a GTX 970 / R9 390. Same with AMD's next gen.

I don't think you'd be happy with two 6770's. Crossfiring two weak GPU's is a bit of a hassle and will result in relatively bad frame times. Plus you'd need a SLI board for optimal results (for PCIe 3.0 x8 bandwidth for both GPUs, instead of x16/x4). 6770 Crossfire is about the same speed as a single R7 265- in a best case scenario where crossfire scaling works well. R7 265 isn't even half the way to R9 390. Also, you'd only have 1GB of VRAM which just doesn't cut it these days.

Sell the 6770's while they're still worth something (unless you can find other uses for them).

 

[Craig234]

Thanks for the replies. I hear that the R3 390 is a good pick - but is it if it'll be worth upgrading to Pascal in the next year, wouldn't more compromise for now make sense?

 

[nsafreak]

That depends on how frequently you plan on upgrading your GPU although that varies from person to person. Pascal is going to be an improvement, sure but how much is hard to say at this point and AMD will likely have something to compete with it. Whichever you choose keep in mind that you will be selling the GPU you end up purchasing at a loss.

 

[lehtv]

Thanks for the replies. I hear that the R3 390 is a good pick - but is it if it'll be worth upgrading to Pascal in the next year, wouldn't more compromise for now make sense?

There's always something better around the corner. If you want to play games now, then buy a good GPU now. If you don't want to play games yet, then it's fine to wait.

Also you can always sell the R9 390 if you decide you want to upgrade to Pascal. A high performance card like that with 8GB VRAM is not going to lose much value in one year. I bought an EVGA GTX 970 one year ago for 370 euros, sold it 10 months later for 300 euros. During that time, AMD released their Fury and 300 series cards and NVIDIA released 980 Ti.