Building a Gaming PC. First time - Need advice

[bubbarock]

Hi All,

I have been thinking about building a gaming PC. This is my first time so please advice on whats the best parts. Please also suggest components that I may have missed. There may be mistakes in compatibility that I may have overlooked so do educate me.

Also questions that are in my mind - Double/triple slot GPU, which is best, do i need to change the motherboard for this?

Imp Note: I want to be able to Play Crysis 3 at near max settings with 60 fps at 1440p. Guess if the rig can do this, it should be good to go for the next 2-3 years.

Here goes:

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

Gaming mostly. Browsing, movies and music.

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread

Aprrox £1500

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.

UK. I will be using scan.co.uk and Amazon.

4. IF you're buying parts OUTSIDE the US, please post a link to the vendor you'll be buying from.
We can't be expected to scour the internet on your behalf, chasing down deals in your specific country... Again, help us, help YOU.

CPU - i7 4770k
GPU - Crossfire - 290 or 290x (depending on price)
Memory - Corsair Memory Vengeance Jet Black 16GB

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/16gb...-(1600)-non-ecc-unbuffered-cas-9-9-9-24-xmp-1

Mobo - MSI Z87-G45 GAMING Intel Z87

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/msi-...-sata-raid-pcie-30-(x16)-d-sub-dvi-d-hdmi-atx

Case - Corsair Graphite Series 600T

PSU - XFX 850W XXX Semi Modular ( Is this enough and the right choice)

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/850w...-bronze-sli-crossfire-eps-12v-quiet-fan-atx-v

Storage - Western Digital 2TB

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2tb-wd-wd20ezrx-green-35-hdd-sata-iii-6gb-s-intellipower-64mb-cache

5. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.

Intel on Processors. Rest None. Performance/Price matters but wouldn't mind paying a little extra for better alternatives

6. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

My first ever build so will be using youtube videos to guide me. But using the Samsung 830 256gb SSD from my latop.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

Yes I will overclock but only on air.

8. What resolution, not monitor size, will you be using?

Building this rig to game on 1440p single monitor. (Monitor to be bought after the rig, cost not included here)

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
Note that it is usually not cost or time effective to choose your build more than a month before you actually plan to be using it.

Mid November (waiting for news on r9- 290/ 290x)

X. Do you need to purchase any software to go with the system, such as Windows or Blu Ray playback software?

I have Windows 8. I don't know if any other software I will be using.

 

[mfenn]

Your build looks reasonable given that the GPUs are an unknown. I do have a few comments though:

- CPU: There's not much reason to get an i7 4770K for gaming purposes. The i5 4670K performs within a few percent and costs about 1/3rd less.
- RAM: Don't get RAM with tall heatspreaders for a build using air coolers. The fins will get in the way. Here's a similar kit with normal heatspreaders.
- HDD : There's no real advantage to hobbling yourself with a slow 5400RPM drive. A Seagate 7200 RPM one costs about the same.

 

[bubbarock]

Your build looks reasonable given that the GPUs are an unknown. I do have a few comments though:

- CPU: There's not much reason to get an i7 4770K for gaming purposes. The i5 4670K performs within a few percent and costs about 1/3rd less.
- RAM: Don't get RAM with tall heatspreaders for a build using air coolers. The fins will get in the way. Here's a similar kit with normal heatspreaders.
- HDD : There's no real advantage to hobbling yourself with a slow 5400RPM drive. A Seagate 7200 RPM one costs about the same.

Ah thanks. I will change as you said. Will get low profile RAM. well the cards have been released but waiting for AIB ones as the reference ones are hitting quite high in temps. probably have a look at 290 non x as well.

Question: For crossfire is the MSI G45 enough as it has only one x16 PCI bus?

 

[mfenn]

You'll get x8/x8 with two cards, which is standard for Z87 boards that don't have an extra PLX PCIe switch. The benefits to spending 50% more on a PLX-equipped board are minimal for dual-GPU, 1-2% or so.