It is time to put her down after 7 years

[Gabornski]

The time has come to put her down. Want to build a gaming system that will last me awhile again.

budget ~$2k
buying in USA
not a fanboy.
Only plan on reusing my rocketfish tower case and blu-ray drive.
Not planning on overclocking.
Will need new windows.
Build in January.

Not sure what the monitor will be. I have not checked out recent hardware for awhile now. I would like to go highest resolution/biggest I can with my budget.

Thanks in advance.

 

[bigboxes]

I did this last year. About to reuse my i7 920 in a HTPC scenario. It's always sad to say goodbye to our machines. I was grinning from ear to ear for most of the year. It's nice having hardware that can handle anything you can throw at it.

I may not be able to help, but it seems like you have a healthy budget. You should be able to build a monster of a machine since you are reusing that tower case. You probably should list your intended display specs, whether that be your current monitor or what you will be using in the future after you build that box. 4k or not 4k. That is the question.

 

[Erithan13]

Just replaced a 7 year old build myself, we had some great gaming experiences together all right, system has at least gone to a friend so it can live on and serve another. Didn't half pick up some dust in all that time though!

Quick thoughts: Probably looking at an i7 6700 or i7 5820k for the cpu, on your budget you might consider the 6700k if only for the higher stock clocks. Get a decent aftermarket cooler even if you go for the 6700. 5820k vs 6700(k) is a very interesting and much discussed question around here. Right now and for the immediate future 6700 seems to edge it slightly since there's few games that really demand more than a hyperthreaded quad. Now, in a couple of years it might be that games begin to scale properly to 6 cores and the 5820k starts to outpace the quads making it the better long term contender. Although I'd be shocked if the 6700 couldn't still put in a great show in a few years so don't stress over it too much, both are solid choices.

Worth mentioning that the 5820k ideally needs a mild overclock up to 4ghz to match the 6700 in per-core performance, from what I've read this is very easy to accomplish and nothing to worry about.

At the moment I wouldn't advise spending a huge amount on the gpu as there's a new generation coming from both NV and AMD next year. It should deliver a massive leap in performance and would be the ideal time to splash out on a real killer of a gpu. Beyond a certain price point any money spent now on a fancy gpu would really be better saved for then. Personally I wouldn't bother looking at anything much beyond the R9 390 or GTX 970 unless you're pushing very high resolutions.

Other stuff: SSD if you haven't already, certain games are vastly more fun to play with near-instant load times compared to the old spinners. DDR4 RAM prices are decent at the moment so 16GB of 2600mhz or higher is a good place to be.

 

[Craig234]

If it helps for ideas since I'm doing something similar:

- Intel i7-4790k since I got a good deal
- Samsung 500GB 850 EVO
- Planning on a ~3B HDD
- ASrock extreme6 MB
- 16GB RAM I had from a few years ago waiting to use
- Don't skimp on sound
- Initial planned monitor: 65" 1080P TV, possible upgrade later maybe Dell 34" ultrawide
- Sapphire R9 390 8GB (reviews said it was the best of the model)

New generation graphic cards are coming out next year.

The other graphic card in the 'great for 1080P but not top price' was the 970.

 

[Charlie98]

The other graphic card in the 'great for 1080P but not top price' was the 780.

780 or 980?

 

[Gabornski]

I did this last year. About to reuse my i7 920 in a HTPC scenario. It's always sad to say goodbye to our machines. I was grinning from ear to ear for most of the year. It's nice having hardware that can handle anything you can throw at it.

I may not be able to help, but it seems like you have a healthy budget. You should be able to build a monster of a machine since you are reusing that tower case. You probably should list your intended display specs, whether that be your current monitor or what you will be using in the future after you build that box. 4k or not 4k. That is the question.

I have a Dell U2410 now. Will be at a desk so thinking maybe go up to 27", 30" at the most probably.

 

[bradly1101]

I did this last year. About to reuse my i7 920 in a HTPC scenario.

That's what I did. The machine that runs that CPU doesn't even break 40% CPU usage when transcoding video (mostly WMC's MPEG-2 TV files) to wireless devices at 1080 while recording six HD shows and watching a seventh on that PC. If it's not transcoding it manages the rest of that while running at only 1.6Ghz. What amazes me is that the two drive RAID0 array can manage all that at once, but I guess video is not all that demanding.

 

[Craig234]

780 or 980?

970, I realized my error and came back to fix it and you had found it.

 

[Charlie98]

970, I realized my error and came back to fix it and you had found it.

:thumbsup: The GTX970 is a pretty decent card for general gaming.

 

[Craig234]

:thumbsup: The GTX970 is a pretty decent card for general gaming.

Ya, I was just picking between it and the R9 390 in the last week for a new gaming system.

Went with the R9 390 based on 8MB and somewhat better performance, reviews said.

 

[EliteRetard]

Question, are you including the new monitor in that $2k budget?

As others have mentioned, there's a new manufacturing node coming up for GPU's. That hasn't happened since around 2012. It's certainly the high end cards that will see significant advancement including new RAM technologies (that hasn't happened since 2008). Since you're aiming high end and want the build to last a long time it's totally worth waiting for the major update.

So I too would suggest sticking with a more mid-range GPU for now ($250) and perhaps even your current monitor (a $250 card will run 1920x1200 quite well) until the new stuff drops.

There's a chance some new monitors with HDMI 2.0 and/or DP 1.3 will crop up as well, as those are the new standards being introduced with the new GPU's. Since these 3k and 4k high resolution monitors are fairly new they have also been dropping in price fairly significantly as production and competition ramps up.

Whether or not a new monitor is included in that $2k budget, I think will determine if this is going to be a single or dual GPU setup. That decision will then determine what kind of MOBO you get.

 

[dud]

What I could do with a $2k budget ...

I'm in the process of designing an i5/i7 system for under $1k.

 

[Gabornski]

Are there estimates on when the new GPU will be out next year? I would prefer to do this as a "all at once" project so could hold off for a few months. I was hoping to do a new monitor as part of that budget. If it is more than a few months off for video then the option of getting a mid-range GPU and reuse my UF2410 are probably the way to go.

Thanks guys for the suggestions.

 

[fourdegrees11]

$2k is plenty for a killer build

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/dggwLk

 

[EliteRetard]

$2k is plenty for a killer build

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/dggwLk

New GPU's are rumored to be out by middle of next year.

Thus I would suggest a similar build but go for a holdover GPU and keep your current monitor for now.

Perhaps like this:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/MyD2vK

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($309.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 EXTREME6 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($122.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory CAS 10 1.5v ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($147.99 @ Newegg) *COMBO
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 290 4GB Video Card ($213.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Thermaltake TR2 700W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg) *COMBO
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($89.88 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1002.69
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-09 01:08 EST-0500

That's almost exactly half the budget. In 6-8 months sell off the cheap video card to recover ~100$ and then use the remaining $1.1k to buy a nice monitor and GPU.

Because of the new manufacturing node I fully expect a large performance jump in the $500+ high end GPU categories (30% or more). Add in the newer memory and display technologies along with efficiency improvements etc I think it'll be worthwhile to wait.

Edit: And the 290 isn't a bad performer either, along with your current 1920x1200 monitor you'll still be enjoying great performance in games until the big update happens.

 

[fourdegrees11]

New GPU's are rumored to be out by middle of next year.

Thus I would suggest a similar build but go for a holdover GPU and keep your current monitor for now.

That's a good idea too, if the OP wants to split his purchase. 980ti is still going to be a great performer next year at 1440p though, it's just likely going to be equal to a $400 level card.

 

[EliteRetard]

That's a good idea too, if the OP wants to split his purchase. 980ti is still going to be a great performer next year at 1440p though, it's just likely going to be equal to a $400 level card.

Yeah, I'm not suggesting a holdover to get the same performance for less...I fully expect a large performance gain at the ~$600 price range (and wishing for one of the old school 50% epic leaps). The reason I don't suggest a top end expensive card now is I expect them to loose significant resale value. I can't imagine that $200 290 card selling for less than $100 even after the new stuff drops...so there's little loss in using one for now.

Right now the best card is merely adequate for 25x14, not even breaking 60FPS in some games...and can't break 100FPS in most others. And 4k is just to much even for a 980ti. There's no performance headroom left for future games either. I'm hopeful the new memory tech along with more brute force processing power will whoop these high res high speed LCD's.

 

[Gabornski]

Thanks for the advice. I will go with a mid-range GPU for now and use my present monitor.

 

[bigboxes]

Thanks for the advice. I will go with a mid-range GPU for now and use my present monitor.

Good idea. If you're going to go 4K in the future then you can upgrade your video card to the latest once you are at that point.

 

[Puffnstuff]

The op has a very healthy budget for his build and can accomplish quite a lot with it if spent wisely. I would suggest that you construct a plan within your budget and itemize each component price wise so that you can clearly see how you plan to reach your objective. Once you are satisfied with everything prioritize the parts and begin your odyssey. I would suggest that you include a small boot ssd and keep your OS separate from your other programs and data files. I learned this the hard way and wouldn't be caught with my data files on the same drive as my OS.

 

[Gabornski]

Thanks for the advice. I have a bit of a change. For reasons I am not going to go into I need to spend $1500 in the next month or two. So to help future proof I am looking at a 5930K with an X99 board. That way down the road I can upgrade to the next HEDT that comes out. Then also thinking going with two way SLI and then sell those GPU's in maybe a year and take advantage of the new GPU coming out in 2016. I know the 6700k can outperform the 5930k in single core so there is that. I have a microcenter close by it's $399 for a 5930k vs $350 for a 6700k. Thoughts?

 

[EliteRetard]

A 5930k aint bad at $400, but it's most effective with a moderate OC. If you aren't going to overclock then the high stock speeds of a 4790k or 6700k will put them ahead in many tasks. Because it's 3 generations older (same as the 5930k), the 4790k is much cheaper ($250 at MC)...which is why it's still worth contemplating.

I'm going to try to put together a build with those prices in mind and see what things look like. The 5930k is quite tempting though, it's not like it's bad at stock speeds.

I recently saw this leak of the new X99 CPU's being released mid 2016:

 

[Gabornski]

A 5930k aint bad at $400, but it's most effective with a moderate OC. If you aren't going to overclock then the high stock speeds of a 4790k or 6700k will put them ahead in many tasks. Because it's 3 generations older (same as the 5930k), the 4790k is much cheaper ($250 at MC)...which is why it's still worth contemplating.

I'm going to try to put together a build with those prices in mind and see what things look like. The 5930k is quite tempting though, it's not like it's bad at stock speeds.

I recently saw this leak of the new X99 CPU's being released mid 2016:

Yeah, I don't mind spending the $ for a top notch cooler and seeing what I can get out of it. Don't think I want to go the water cooled route though.

 

[EliteRetard]

CPU: Intel Core i7-5930K 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($380 @ MC Store)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H5 Universal 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($42.25 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock X99 Extreme4 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($165 @ MC Store)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2800 Memory ($199.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($147.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 390 8GB PCS+ Video Card ($269.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Rosewill HIVE 1000W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($68.00 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($89.88 @ OutletPC)

Total: $1362.96 (A second R9 390 would put you at ~1650$)

Compared to the $1k build listed earlier (4790k) almost 40% more expensive, but you get 50% more cores, double RAM (faster too), and I'm including a ~50% bigger PSU.

Here's one possible 6700k build:

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($340 @ MC Store)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($32.50 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z170 Extreme4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($126 @ MC Store)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2800 Memory ($104.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($147.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 390 8GB PCS+ Video Card ($269.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Thermaltake TR2 700W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($89.88 @ OutletPC)

Total: $1161.11

I cut the RAM back to 2x8GB cut the PSU and HS/F back as well. If you keep everything the same as the X99 build above (except MOBO/CPU) this would only be $80 cheaper.

This 6700k system really doesn't have a significant benefit over the 4790k system earlier, but it costs more. It's also not much less expensive than X99 all else being equal...so I think the decision is between the 4790k and the 5930k.

It looks like if you go for the 4790k system you can afford a good monitor and high end GPU when the new parts release. If you go 5930k you may be able to get good parts now, but may not have as much for the monitor and no new GPU when they release.

These were just kinda of quick and dirty slap together builds...I'm still a little confused as to what the new plan and budget is.

 

[EliteRetard]

Is the new total $1500 with the monitor? Or is there still $2000 total?
Or is there some other new number/combination going on?

Whats with this time limit, do you need to have the entire build now, including monitor etc. Or is it still possible to hold off on a high end GPU and new monitor for later?

Perhaps it's now :

I have $2000 but must spend $1500 ASAP. I can save the other $500 for a new monitor or whatever later?