Yet another "Please build me a computer Thread"

[MonKENy]

I was hoping that you guys could put together a build for me to get cyber monday deals.

I want to finally build a PC that can run Shadows of Mordor, Alien Isolation, Tom Clancy The Division, Arkham Knight (I know some specs are still to be revealed)

I would like water cooled to keep it as quiet as possible.

Do not need a monitor, Running a Panasonic TC-P50S60 50-Inch 1080p 600Hz Plasma HDTV

Do need a case

As high end as possible

Budget $1500 or as close as possible. I dont even know where to start anymore, esp with cyber monday deals. Im also at work which doesnt help. I already have a Blu-Ray player so I dont need that.

If you folks can make this happen Ill be freakin stoked!

Thanks Everyone!

 

[VirtualLarry]

It's a bit late for CyberMonday sales, this late in the day, don't you think?

I might pick up an SSD for a future build though, if they're not sold out.

 

[fastamdman]

If you are a gamer sink the majority of the money into the cpu and gpu.

Processor 4790k - 300 dollars with a game bundle.
Video card GTX 980 - 580 dollars with a game.
Case - whatever you can afford that you like the looks of.
Water cooling - corsair h100i or something around there.
Ram - 16gb ddr3 gskill for 120 ish dollars
PSU - 100 dollars corsair
Motherboard - 150ish asus/asrock/gigabyte z97 board
SSD - Size depends on budget.

Something like that works well.

 

[OlyAR15]

Hmm, high-end, watercooled, $1500. Choose any two.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($299.98 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($119.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($189.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital WD Green 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($78.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($334.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($68.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 660W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0B DVD/CD Writer ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($86.42 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1336.32
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-01 21:34 EST-0500

It's not watercooled, but at your budget it would not really be feasible. Should still be reasonably quiet though. You still have enough in your budget to go to 16GB RAM if you want, although right now I don't think any game needs it. If you want to stretch your budget a bit, you can get a GTX 980 for a couple hundred more, which should allow you to run most current games at max or near max graphics. Or, drop the mechanical hard drive and get a 1TB SSD.

 

[MonKENy]

Hmm, high-end, watercooled, $1500. Choose any two.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($299.98 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($119.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($189.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital WD Green 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($78.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($334.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($68.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 660W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0B DVD/CD Writer ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($86.42 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1336.32
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-01 21:34 EST-0500

It's not watercooled, but at your budget it would not really be feasible. Should still be reasonably quiet though. You still have enough in your budget to go to 16GB RAM if you want, although right now I don't think any game needs it. If you want to stretch your budget a bit, you can get a GTX 980 for a couple hundred more, which should allow you to run most current games at max or near max graphics. Or, drop the mechanical hard drive and get a 1TB SSD.

I added the 980GTX and dropped the DVD drive and Windows. So far im leaning towards this. Any other suggestions?

 

[mfenn]

I added the 980GTX and dropped the DVD drive and Windows. So far im leaning towards this. Any other suggestions?

OlyAR15's build is absolutely solid, no issues with it.

The GTX 980 isn't really a good value in terms of performance per dollar compared to a GTX 970 or an R9 290X. However, there's nothing wrong with it if you want to spent the money.

 

[MonKENy]

Would this build still be a good value/build? Im looking to ultra settings Arkham Knight when it comes out, as well as run Shadows of Mordor and hopeful The Division if its an good, Witcher 3, maybe MGS5 and all the other games I currently own. Alien Isolation, Farcry 4, Thief, and im hoping it lasts as long as this one has. 6 years strong with just a recent GPU upgrade. Its survived a couple moves and lots of use.

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/MonKENy/saved/#view=yNKNnQ


Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor
$338.99 Free two-day shipping with Amazon Prime $338.99 Amazon (Overridden)

CPU Cooler
Scythe Mugen 4 79.0 CFM CPU Cooler

Motherboard
Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
$139.99 -$10.00 $0.99 $130.98 Newegg
+ USD $10 off w/ promo code 0422TGRXX05, limited offer

Memory
Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
$108.03 Free two-day shipping with Amazon Prime $108.03 Amazon

Storage
Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
$202.95 $202.95 SuperBiiz

Western Digital WD Green 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive
$79.00 FREE $79.00 B&H

Video Card
EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card
$569.99 -$15.00 $5.67 $560.66

Case
Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case
$99.99 $99.99 NCIX US

Power Supply
SeaSonic 660W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply
$137.99 FREE $137.99 SuperBiiz


Base Total: $1676.93
Promo Discounts: -$10.00
Mail-in Rebates: -$15.00
Shipping: $6.66
Total: $1658.59

 

[Essence_of_War]

Im looking to ultra settings Arkham Knight when it comes out, as well as run Shadows of Mordor and hopeful The Division if its an good, Witcher 3, maybe MGS5 and all the other games I currently own

We don't have magical crystal balls so it's really hard to tell what sort of performance you'll get in games like AK or W3 until the games actually get released and are benchmarked.

If those games are a priority for you, your best bet is to wait for the release, the big post-release driver update, and then for benchmarks with the new drivers. Then choose your GPU accordingly.

 

[MonKENy]

We don't have magical crystal balls so it's really hard to tell what sort of performance you'll get in games like AK or W3 until the games actually get released and are benchmarked.

If those games are a priority for you, your best bet is to wait for the release, the big post-release driver update, and then for benchmarks with the new drivers. Then choose your GPU accordingly.

Thanks for that delightfully helpful post, W3 and AK are both on the GeForce site and recommend Cards are for ultra on AK are 980 and W3 is a 770. I figured the folks answering the questions would have some idea of what they THINK would work.

I am just giving an idea of what Ill be using it for because thats always a question needing to be answered.

 

[mfenn]

Would this build still be a good value/build? Im looking to ultra settings Arkham Knight when it comes out, as well as run Shadows of Mordor and hopeful The Division if its an good, Witcher 3, maybe MGS5 and all the other games I currently own. Alien Isolation, Farcry 4, Thief, and im hoping it lasts as long as this one has. 6 years strong with just a recent GPU upgrade. Its survived a couple moves and lots of use.

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/MonKENy/saved/#view=yNKNnQ


Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor
$338.99 Free two-day shipping with Amazon Prime $338.99 Amazon (Overridden)

CPU Cooler
Scythe Mugen 4 79.0 CFM CPU Cooler

Motherboard
Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
$139.99 -$10.00 $0.99 $130.98 Newegg
+ USD $10 off w/ promo code 0422TGRXX05, limited offer

Memory
Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
$108.03 Free two-day shipping with Amazon Prime $108.03 Amazon

Storage
Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
$202.95 $202.95 SuperBiiz

Western Digital WD Green 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive
$79.00 FREE $79.00 B&H

Video Card
EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card
$569.99 -$15.00 $5.67 $560.66

Case
Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case
$99.99 $99.99 NCIX US

Power Supply
SeaSonic 660W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply
$137.99 FREE $137.99 SuperBiiz


Base Total: $1676.93
Promo Discounts: -$10.00
Mail-in Rebates: -$15.00
Shipping: $6.66
Total: $1658.59

There's nothing completely crazy in that list, but there are a few parts where you're going beyond the best value:

- CPU: The i5 4690K is generally within 10% of the i7 and costs a third less at $240.
- GPU: The R9 290X is even with the GTX 980 in some games and around 25% slower in others, but it costs right around half as much at $280 AR AP.
- PSU: That Seasonic is certainly a very nice PSU, but it isn't twice as good as a good Seasonic-built Gold unit like the Antec TP-750C for $80 AR.

 

[MonKENy]

There's nothing completely crazy in that list, but there are a few parts where you're going beyond the best value:

- CPU: The i5 4690K is generally within 10% of the i7 and costs a third less at $240.
- GPU: The R9 290X is even with the GTX 980 in some games and around 25% slower in others, but it costs right around half as much at $280 AR AP.
- PSU: That Seasonic is certainly a very nice PSU, but it isn't twice as good as a good Seasonic-built Gold unit like the Antec TP-750C for $80 AR.

Im seeing the 980 blowing the 290 away on oall those numbers. Thats not even close thats consistently 20+ ahead of the 290

Same with the i7 vs i5. YOu are talking hyperthreading vs none, Double the threads, 1/3 more cache. These are not 10% differences. I like the modular aspect of the power supply
so thats the only thing I can say against the one you suggested.

 

[makwy2]

I don't have "advice" but I would say that for the price this seems to be a great build centered on the CPU and GPU. If it were me I would add some storage and go for a RAID array or something with some fault tolerance but I have a ton of media and a fear of losing it.

Good Luck.

 

[Bateluer]

Im seeing the 980 blowing the 290 away on oall those numbers. Thats not even close thats consistently 20+ ahead of the 290

This is a more accurate comparison. Any 290X you buy today is going to be using better coolers than the shitty reference coolers that were used in the Bench numbers.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1438?vs=1442

The 290X is out performed by the GTX 980, and it consumes much more power. But the 980 costs more than double the 290X. Your call there.

Same with the i7 vs i5. YOu are talking hyperthreading vs none, Double the threads, 1/3 more cache. These are not 10% differences. I like the modular aspect of the power supply
so thats the only thing I can say against the one you suggested.

They're less than 10% difference in the real world. Compare an i5 4690 against an i7 4790 and you'll find them neck in neck in most applications.

Its a little nit picky, but I'd also throw concern towards your use of a Caviar Green drive as its 5400rpms.

 

[MonKENy]

I am going to stick with the 980 and i7, both run cooler, more efficiently, and the 980 is quieter. I did replace the HDD with 7200rpm drives.

I think that this is my final build.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($279.99 @ Micro Center)
CPU Cooler: Scythe Mugen 4 79.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($39.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($130.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($108.03 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($202.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($71.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($71.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($560.66 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.49 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1651.05
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-28 01:37 EDT-0400

 

[Bateluer]

Build was decent, we're just giving you options and variations to possibly spend less.

After reading this Ars article, I'm apprehensive about Seagate drives.
http://arstechnica.com/information-...ned-once-more-hgst-rules-seagate-is-alarming/

We've got Seagates in a number of systems at work and we see absurdly high fail rates in them too.

 

[MonKENy]

its done! Let teh godz be merciful.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($326.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Scythe Mugen 4 79.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($39.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($130.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($108.03 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($202.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($560.66 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.49 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1674.06
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-28 03:07 EDT-0400

I hope I dont need to do anything again for many years lol

 

[Bateluer]

Nice.

Interesting to see the price of the Define R4 go up and down. When I bought mine in 2013, I paid 70. My younger sibling just got one for his recent build for 65. Now the cheapest price is 99. Seems like a roller coaster.

 

[mfenn]

I understand that you already bought this, and like I said there is nothing wrong with what you picked out, it is just expensive. I want to state my response for the record in case that anybody else is looking at this thread for a purchase decision.

Im seeing the 980 blowing the 290 away on oall those numbers. Thats not even close thats consistently 20+ ahead of the 290

I would make sure that you go back and read what I said. I said that the GTX 980 is 0-25% faster while costing twice as much, which is what the benchmarks show.

Nowhere did I make any claims about absolute performance numbers. That's because saying that one card gets "20+ more FPS" is meaningless without context. Going from 20 to 40 FPS makes a big difference in playability, going from 80 to 100 FPS does not.

Your claim that the GTX 980 is "blowing the 290 away on all those numbers" is patently false. The two cards are dead even in Shadow of Mordor, Civilization: Beyond Earth, and Far Cry 4.

Same with the i7 vs i5. YOu are talking hyperthreading vs none, Double the threads, 1/3 more cache. These are not 10% differences.

Don't get carried away by items on a spec sheet, you have to look at real world numbers. In the real world, the performance difference between the two CPUs is small, the i7 is certainly not 50% faster to justify it's 50% cost increase. Also, I'm not sure why you say that the i7 runs cooler, that the i5; it does not.

 

[MonKENy]

I understand that you already bought this, and like I said there is nothing wrong with what you picked out, it is just expensive. I want to state my response for the record in case that anybody else is looking at this thread for a purchase decision.



I would make sure that you go back and read what I said. I said that the GTX 980 is 0-25% faster while costing twice as much, which is what the benchmarks show.

Nowhere did I make any claims about absolute performance numbers. That's because saying that one card gets "20+ more FPS" is meaningless without context. Going from 20 to 40 FPS makes a big difference in playability, going from 80 to 100 FPS does not.

Your claim that the GTX 980 is "blowing the 290 away on all those numbers" is patently false. The two cards are dead even in Shadow of Mordor, Civilization: Beyond Earth, and Far Cry 4.



Don't get carried away by items on a spec sheet, you have to look at real world numbers. In the real world, the performance difference between the two CPUs is small, the i7 is certainly not 50% faster to justify it's 50% cost increase. Also, I'm not sure why you say that the i7 runs cooler, that the i5; it does not.

I really did weigh your advice quite seriously. I almost went with your suggestions even after my response but Im hoping that ill get my moneys worth long run. The running hot thing only applied to the GPU and was a major influence on the card. It does run significantly cooler, quieter and lower power. If I was on a more strict budget I def would have went your advice route.

I almost thought about dropping the GTX and running dual R9s. But then realized that really was going over kill and getting away from some of what I was looking to do, lower power, lower heat.

Thank you everyone for the guidance I want you to know I did take everyones thoughts and ideas into consideration.

 

[mfenn]

I really did weigh your advice quite seriously. I almost went with your suggestions even after my response but Im hoping that ill get my moneys worth long run. The running hot thing only applied to the GPU and was a major influence on the card. It does run significantly cooler, quieter and lower power. If I was on a more strict budget I def would have went your advice route.

I almost thought about dropping the GTX and running dual R9s. But then realized that really was going over kill and getting away from some of what I was looking to do, lower power, lower heat.

Thank you everyone for the guidance I want you to know I did take everyones thoughts and ideas into consideration.

No worries.

 

[MonKENy]

Well everything came so far except the case and the scythe cooler, actually everything came friday I was just hoping the case and cooler would show today.

I do not like Amazon using USPS, I never had an issue with amazon shipping until then. I grabbed the RAM and DVD player from them. The DVD came wed and it said the RAM as well, but when I checked the mail no RAM. Amazon says that sometimes they will mark the package as delivered even when its not to clear it from the system and to give it another day. Thursday comes still no package so amazon overnighted me the RAM.

Friday night comes and I have all the essentials to make it work, I was going to use this as a teaching moment with my son so I figured Ill throw everything together and drop it into the case later.

Everything went together smoothly, loaded the OS onto the SSD and installed steam and a couple games to test everything. Man am I glad I went with the GTX over the R9. The thing is so quiet It was right in front of us running thief and Arkham City full ultra and we couldnt hear it unless we got up ear to fan.

Only mistake I made was after we tested the machine and I pulled it all back apart I pulled the stock cooler off thinking the new one would be here today. So now I cant put the guts into a spare case because I dont have any paste to reseat the stock cooler so its just sitting there waiting for the last two parts.

When I first fired up the PSU, my heart hit the floor because I couldnt hear anything and it wasnt vibrating the slightest, I think I hit my goal of a quiet machine.

Thanks everyone for the help. Case will be here monday and it should be good to go then.

 

[lehtv]

Awesome rig! Not necessarily the most cost effective (with the exception of Mugen 4 and the PSU), but OOZING with quality everywhere.

 

[MonKENy]

Yeah I wanted to know I had a beast and long lasting at that. Wont be building a new one for another 5+years if not longer unless some crazy breakthroughs happen.

 

[mfenn]

Glad it worked out!

 

[MonKENy]

Just because I am my own worst enemy, Could you have built my system cheaper? Not by cutting performance just stuff that is = it?