Good enough for medium quality 2560 x 1440 gaming?

[KeithP]

Howdy,

I was thinking of picking up this Windows box (or something similar), swapping in a better power supply and a GTX 960 or some sort. Eventually, another 8GB of RAM and an SSD would probably also find their way into the build but not right away.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&tag=tbpre-20

The only area where I am really concerned about performance, is gaming. I have 2560x1440 monitor. I would like to run games at native res with reasonable frame rates which to me means the game not dropping below 30 FPS.

I don't need AA or the highest quality visual settings. At the same time I don't want to have to set everything to the lowest settings either. I play most shooters (Borderlands 2, etc).

What say you? Is that hardware enough? Might I need a better CPU or GPU (or both)?

Edit: Either a AMD or Nvidia GPU would be fine, I don't have a brand preference,

Thanks,
KeithP

 

[Burpo]

Yes, but if you go with the GTX 960, you should probably go with a bigger PS than the stock 300 watts..

 

[fourdegrees11]

No reason to get a 960, it's outclassed in its price range. A 380x for under $230 is the best choice. If that's to high a 4gb 380 can basically be had for the same price as the cheapest 2gb 960. The extra vram will definitely help at 1440

 

[KeithP]

Yes, definitely plan on upgrading the PSU from the get go.

I will check out the 380x, thanks for the suggestion fourdegrees11. I should have mentioned I would be fine with either an AMD or Nvidia GPU.

-KeithP

 

[JeffMD]

why would you do something silly and reduce details to medium just so you can boost resolution? A high resolution turd is still a turd.

 

[lehtv]

JeffMD I suppose it's because he already has a 1440p monitor. Not much point not using it at this point.

Tbh I would recommend building the PC yourself as you get better quality parts and full component specific warranties (anywhere from 1 year to lifetime depending on the part). With that Asus box you only get a 1 year warranty so if anything breaks after that you're on your own. If you're prepared to reinstall a power supply in an OEM box, you might as well do the whole shebang yourself.

For instance -

i3-4160 + B85M-Gaming 3 $170 (3 year warranty)
2x4GB G.Skill DDR3-1600 $30 (lifetime)
Sapphire R9 380 4GB $180 AR (free mousepad) (2 year)
Hitachi 1TB $42 (3 year)
Corsair CX500M $35 AR (3 year)
Versa H25 $25 AR (3 year)
Windows 10 $88 AR
= $570 AR

 

[KeithP]

Good points on the warranties lehtv. I hadn't thought about that especially since once I upgrade an OEM box getting any warranty honored on the remaining parts would be difficult.

I do have a unused Cooler Master Elite 130 in my storage unit somewhere. I have built systems in the past, I just thought this would be easier. And while it might be, the trade offs may not be worth it.

Thanks all for the feedback. :thumbsup:

-KeithP

 

[lehtv]

Elite 130 is a nice case for an ITX gaming rig. Should work fine with the above parts and an ITX board, e.g. Asrock B85M-ITX $75. Also, I recommend changing the PSU to Silverstone SX500LG $96 @ amazon. It has short, modular cables which makes it much easier to assemble in a tight case, and the higher efficiency will result in lower temperatures for the whole system. It's also better quality throughout than the CX.