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Recommendations for Gaming machine w/ 4k Monitor

F

Finnien

Junior Member
My current gaming system is starting to show its age, and I'm looking to build a new system, something I haven't done in awhile. I'd like to build something that can handle a 4k monitor, since my 30" apple cinema is starting to also show signs of wear, and there's a good chance I'll be picking up a new monitor in the next 6-9 months (I bought my brother the 4k Asus monitor as a gift, and he raves about it). The price of the system doesn't include any monitor, or standard keyboard/mouse/etc. Just looking to build the box (mainly for Wildstar, a new MMO coming out soon).

My price range is about $2500-3k, since I know the system could require some hefty video cards to properly run a good 4k monitor. I'll probably buy my parts from Newegg or other similar sites. I generally have leaned towards Intel and NVidia in the past, but am not firmly married to either if there's a performance discrepancy in the current generation. I don't plan on overclocking, and plan to order the parts within the week.

Any help is appreciated! I'm so out of touch I really don't even know where to begin on current hardware. Thanks.
 
Firstly welcome to the forums!

On to your system, don't think there's a conclusive or strong answer to a 4k gaming set-up as while there's a big push and transition towards 4K currently, the tech itself is still a bit immature. Many monitors and TVs are capable of 4K but only so at 30fps for instance, and as far as gaming is concerned the current trade-off for playing at 4K is that you will have to turn down settings as there's no real configuration on the market that can run it without issue with current cards/drivers.

But the landscape is changing very quickly in that regard, and even if the hardware can't match up for another generation or two many people who've played on 4K say that the image quality is so much nicer that even when you turn down the AA and other settings it still looks amazing.

If you're looking to build a system now I have a few recommendations I could throw your way, but my suggestion is to wait till you're replacing the monitor and rebuild the system at the same time. By the end of the year nVidia should be shipping some of it's GTX800 family high end cards, Intel will be releasing the X99 platform (not recommended for gaming but still cool) and with that Intel chipset launch you'll start seeing motherboards that use DDR4 come about. You don't have to wait but since 4K is a bit punishing to our current hardware and there's a lot of new stuff coming out around the same time you'll be monitor shopping AND holiday deals galore, I'd suggest waiting in your particular situation.
 
I agree with krnmastersgt. Being an early adopter in something like this rarely pays off.
 
You are doing things in reverse. Wait for the 4K screen you want to come out. Buy it for your current system and then upgrade your rig after that.
 
Right now the minimum gamer setup for 4k is probably a pair of 780 ti's or 290X. The reality is todays GPUs struggle with 4k resolutions, and by handle I mean they can likely pump out >30 fps most of the time at very high/ultra quality settings. But in 6-9 months when you intend to buy your monitor you'll probably find new cards are out, and they may very well be 2x as fast as todays cards as they will be based on 20nm. Its simply not a good idea to "invest" in hardware with an expectation of upgrade, you just buy what you need now and reassess when you get to the point because things change in the computing sector so rapidly its not possible to future proof anything.
 
A good Z97 motherboard like the Gigabyte Z97X-UD5H and the upcoming Devil's Canyon 4790K would form a good basis for your new build, but which GPUs to get is a bit tougher question right now. I would agree with the 780ti SLI scenario, simply because they will use about 90W less power (and emit a correspondingly lesser amount of heat) than a 290X CF rig, although depending on what you want to play, the 290X setup might have the performance edge.
 
crashtech said:
A good Z97 motherboard like the Gigabyte Z97X-UD5H and the upcoming Devil's Canyon 4790K would form a good basis for your new build, but which GPUs to get is a bit tougher question right now. I would agree with the 780ti SLI scenario, simply because they will use about 90W less power (and emit a correspondingly lesser amount of heat) than a 290X CF rig, although depending on what you want to play, the 290X setup might have the performance edge.
Click to expand...

I don't really see the point in spending extra for an overclocking geared processor like the Devil's Canyon when the OP said that they don't intend to overclock.
 
mfenn said:
I don't really see the point in spending extra for an overclocking geared processor like the Devil's Canyon when the OP said that they don't intend to overclock.
Click to expand...
I missed that. I see that he overclocks his current rig, though. I suppose a currently available 4790 would do nicely then...
 
Ok, I'm going to listen to advice (see, mom, I can listen!) but my brother is in dire straits - I bought him the monitor as a present, and his current machine can't handle it. He has a pair of GTX 780's and only one will fit in his current case, so he's rebuilding. He doesn't need the vid cards (using two GTX 780's) but would need the rest of the system. Can I get a quick system suggestion to throw his way?
 
Budget is $1200 but flexible (up to maybe 1500), has vid cards, needs motherboard, cpu, RAM, solid state hard drive, second non-SSD for bulk use, case, PSU, sound card if needed.
 
I'll have a go at it:

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http://pcpartpicker.com/user/crashtech/saved/hxfhP6

The sound on that motherboard is plenty good, no add-on card needed, imo.
 
The mobo in crashtech's build is too expensive for what your brother needs to do. I'd swap it out for the GA-Z97X-SLI for $110 AR. If you want to go back to $1200, then up the RAM to 16GB with this Team DDR3 1600 16GB kit for $128.
 
That board might be overkill, but the OP did mention a desire for a discrete audio solution, which might not be such a good idea in SLI. We want to save the PCI-e lanes for the GPUs. If the OP's bro likes his sound, a board with a killer onboard audio section might be advisable, whether it is the one I preferred or not.

I will admit I tend toward overkill if the budget is there. An extra mobo feature usually doesn't present a problem, but a missing one can't easily be added. Maybe he doesn't need the Amp-Up, the Killer LAN and tons of USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s ports. But they are cool. 😀
 
With my brother, he's always playing around with something, so having options is better than having regrets.

He does have two questions: First, the fan listed is discontinued, he said, and was wondering if you had an alternate suggestion. He's a bit worried about just grabbing something then have it be oversized or in some way incompatible. Fans usually aren't that complicated but better safe than sorry. Second, he was wondering if it'd be worthwhile to upgrade from 8 to 16 (or even 32) gigs of RAM, since his current machine has 16 and the extra cost is (as far as these things go) relatively negligible.

And thanks for the help! He was getting pretty frustrated with his crashes in Path of Exile and Wildstar from overheating and general performance issues, so this will go a long ways towards making his machine capable of the monitor I gave him.
 
I will confess that the heatsink/fan assembly is pretty much overkill for a CPU with a locked multiplier. I specced it out as if the machine would be overclocked, but for a CPU with a locked multiplier, even the stock HSF would likely be adequate, or just buy the common and pretty decent Hyper 212 EVO.

As to the amount of RAM, you might ask him to leave the Task Manager open while engaging in the most demanding things he does. If 8GB is really exceeded, then by all means switch to 16GB.
 
Having a sound card along with SLI/CF is doable with the right board layout. The best is probably if you can

I would highly recommend getting an overclockable processor even if initially you/he might not plan to overclock. Two high end graphics cards are not by any means guaranteed to not be limited by a stock clocked Haswell, even on 4K. Overclocking to 4-4.2GHz with a $30 cooler like the aforementioned 212 EVO takes literally 5 minutes, anyone can do it.

I would recommend against the Corsair 550D, it's a case designed for quiet operation, not cooling of dual 250W graphics cards, except if you simply added loads of fans, but that would kind of defeat the point of paying extra for a quiet case.

Here's what I'd build
i7-4770K + Gigabyte Z97X-SLI $425 AR
G.Skill AEGIS 2x8GB DDR3-1600 1.35V $130
Hyper 212 EVO $32
Xonar DSX $60 (the onboard ALC1150 is not bad, I'd suggest trying it out first; if you do get this, it can be installed in the top slot above the upper graphics card)
Seagate ST2000DM001 $84
Crucial M500 480GB $217
EVGA Supernova 850W G2 $139
NZXT Source 530 $70 AR

To improve case cooling, I'd get five 140mm PWM fans ($15 each; front in x2, top exhaust x2, rear exhaust x1) and connect them to the motherboard via a splitter cable $10. That way you have relatively quiet idle operation, with improved cooling at load. These yellow fans will also look absolutely badass in a black, windowed case.
 
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It would be interesting to know which 780 model is in play here, some exhaust all their hot air externally. I think the 550D is a better case, but some of that is of course subjective opinion. I don't think the NZXT is a bad choice either. Look carefully at the features of each and see which one more closely meets the perceived needs.

I too would like to see a 4770K in this build. A modest overclock can only help in a build like this.
 
Gaming on a 4k monitor? Need 290x CF at least to get decent frame rates. Hell, its already been shown 3 and 4 cards wont max out games on a 4k monitor. Plan for multiple cards if you truly want to game on 4k monitors.
 
I'm sure it's crossed the minds of some readers here that waiting for X99 might be better. The board I specced has 4 PCI-e slots, but no PLX, however, the Asus Z97-WS does have a PLX chip, and might be a suitable candidate for Quad-Whatever, should it be desired, though my thinking was that a GPU upgrade would have to be performed at some point to make this into a truly viable solution. Seeing all the problems associated with 3 or 4 GPUs in the same system, I would not wish it upon anyone unless they were dead set. Two cards is tough enough.
 
crashtech said:
It would be interesting to know which 780 model is in play here, some exhaust all their hot air externally. I think the 550D is a better case, but some of that is of course subjective opinion. I don't think the NZXT is a bad choice either. Look carefully at the features of each and see which one more closely meets the perceived needs.
Click to expand...

I agree that the 550D is overall a better case. But it's also $50 more expensive. That's enough for four 140mm PWM fans and a splitter, putting the cheaper case's airflow capabilities far beyond what the stock 550D is capable of
 
lehtv said:
I agree that the 550D is overall a better case. But it's also $50 more expensive. That's enough for four 140mm PWM fans and a splitter, putting the cheaper case's airflow capabilities far beyond what the stock 550D is capable of
Click to expand...
No real disagreement, other than it might be helpful to know the airflow characteristics of the GPUs before building in that many fans right out of the gate. Probably just a difference in approach; I would rather add more fans if thermals are unsatisfactory than automatically assume they are needed.
 
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