Building a gaming rig

Imprenion

Solid State Member
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12
Location
Kansas
This machine is for gaming purposes.

Case: I like the look of Level 10 and Apple aluminum products. Carbon fiber doesn't look to bad, but I'm looking for something fairly cheap and modular. Preferably something that is large enough for a possible dual GPU.

GPU: I am still giving the GTX-Titan and GTX-780 a look, the 780 being a cheaper alternative with less memory. Giving the GTX-690 or x2 GTX-770s a look. If i go dual card, i was told to get 4Gb cards.
The GTX 770 SLI runs about 420$ and if dualed should beat out most other models. It has a slightly higher temperature but that can be easily fixed.
http://gpuboss.com/gpus/GeForce-GTX-780-vs-GeForce-GTX-770

Now- there is the GTX-690 which some say is their best GPU so far along with the Titan. Then there's the 780 which is a lower/cheaper Titan. Comparison between the 780 and 690.
http://gpuboss.com/gpus/GeForce-GTX-780-vs-GeForce-GTX-690

CPU: I was looking at the i5-3570k or the i7-3820, but some new advice says the 4670k or the 4770k for games/productivity/photoshop/vid editing would be a better choice. I know Apple is more for that purpose then gaming but it's not something i do really. I mainly do Music/Games/Browsing/etc.
http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i7-4770K-vs-Intel-Core-i7-3820
4770K seems to be the better option

Power: I was looking at ThorTech and EVGA SuperNova, but new advice says Seasonic Gold or Corsair HX/AX/AXi is a better bet especially for a single card for the 750w. I'm thinking a 1000w would be a better choice though.

Motherboard: I'm told EVGA isn't as good as they used to be. I was told to look at the AsRock Z87 Extreme 6 over ASUS or so since ASUS is more for overlocking which is something I'm trying to avoid cause it can decrease the life of your components.
http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Z87 OC Formula/
http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Z87 Extreme9ac/
http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Fatal1ty Z87 Professional/

Memory: My choice was Kingston HyperX Predator x2 8Gb 2133-2666 at overclocking. Other then that i was told not to get over 1600 because i wont be overclocking.

SSD: I was told no OCZ. Samsung Pro, Corsair ForceGT, Nuetron GTX, or Intels 520 were better options. Crucial makes good ones but has limited IOPS/ not entirely sure what IOPS are.

HHD: Was told doing a Raid wouldn't be a grand idea. That a single 4TB drive or so would work. But from who- WD or SeaGate and what kind? I was looking into SSHDs. With a SSHD you have what's similar to Apples Fusion Drives, but I'm not sure how reliable this can be since it's new.
With doing a Raid, you gain that protection of data and increased read/write times. Could use Velociraptors which are for 140$ and offer the RPM over the usual HHDs.

Monitor: TNs are cheap, have 120Hz and all but are usually thick offering more input then i want. I like the quality and color of IPS but they're at 60Hz... are there any IPS at 120Hz or TNs worth buying that can compare?
 
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My recommendations will vary depending on what the purpose of the machine is, but for now I'll assume gaming.

Case: If you seriously like those Level 10 cases then by all means, but I personally find them ugly and can't recommend them.

GPU: This will depend on how much you really want to spend on your machine. I would say go with the middle ground, or even a GTX690 if you can get ahold of one. Maybe even two GTX 770s as they are the exact same thing as a 680 except cheaper. If you go dual card route, get 4GB cards. If not, don't worry about it.

CPU: I would get a 4670k if you want to game, or if you will actually be doing a lot of productivity like Photoshop, video editing, ect then get the 4770k. HT doesn't do squat for games.

Power: I wouldn't look at anything other than Seasonic Gold or Corsair HX/AX/AXi for your high end rig. A single card machine will only need a max of 750w.

Motherboards: I can't recommend eVGA boards anymore as since their golden days of the P55/X58 their quality has decreased and price went up. I actually recommend ASRock boards over Asus as for Z87 the only true advantage you'll get out of an Asus would be extreme high end overclocking. It'll be costly, you need their top of the line boards, and you already said you don't want to do a lot of overclocking. Something like the ASRock Z87 Extreme 6 is perfect as it has a ton of features for being cheap and rock solid.

Memory: It doesn't matter really what you get, but I wouldn't get anything over 1600 because the IMC on these chips are so efficient it takes a really good overclock to get a real advantage of faster speeds.

SSD: Wouldn't get an OCZ. I recommend Samsung pro series, Corsair ForceGT and Neutron GTX, or Intel's 520. Crucial make solid SSDs but are rather limited in IOPS.

HDD: I wouldn't do RAID. If you have an SSD and won't be doing anything exceptionally HDD heavy then a single large drive would be more than plenty.

Monitor: Why are your requirements IPS if you need a 120Hz panel?
 
Thanks PP Mguire- used and incorporated your info into what i was using to see what other results i can get. Just need to jot down and do some research on what you gave and compare.
 
Wireless or wired headphones or even wireless or wired peripherals in general are all up to what you want. Any wireless headphones are bound to have some kind of interference whether it be very tiny and you only have a minor quick DC or you have lots of distortion if you have several wifi APs around you (I'm talking 8+ at an apartment complex). Some wireless headphones are better about interference than others. I speak from experience on both sides, as my mouse and headphones are wireless. I live in an apartment and my headphones run into interference quite a bit where the sound distorts a bit. Their software has gotten much better at quickly changing channels to fix this though. My mouse on the other hand I've had 0 issues with wirelessly.
Again, totally up to you on what you purchase there. If you're a gamer I can say that having a quality mouse is rather more important and more personal preference than any keyboard. I would put more cash there. Again if you're a gamer, the virtual surround on some headsets (like mine) is excellent in almost any case. It only sounds goofy on older gamers or simply doesn't work well.

As for a sound card you don't need it unless you have a high quality sound setup to plug into it or high end cans.

If you will be watching BD on your PC then any BD reader you want really.

If you won't be overclocking the stock solution for any 1155/1150 CPU is sufficient enough. Put your money in the hardware rather than things that aren't really needed.
 
Ok I'm coming close to what i think will be the components i want-

GPU- 4Gb GTX-770/ possibly a SLI later or until Nvidias new line of GPUs come out, cause this card alone can run most recent games
CPU- Intel i7-4770K Haswell, its base performance and integrated graphics along with less draw on power
RAM- Kingston HyperX Predator at 2666Mhz x2 8Gb
HHD- WD Black or Velociraptor at the 4TB or 1TB, maybe internal SSDs would work and external HHDs
SSD- I looked into Corsair and their prices were pretty high and i found out that the higher the Gb for SSD is the lower IOPS i saw. So it turns out OCZ Vector or Samsung 840 Pro was the better choice.
Motherboard- I'll get into this later...still looking at AsRock vs ASUS
 
Nvidia's 800 line won't come out until this time next year.

Don't get any RAM faster than 1600. The gains are marginal and the extra cash can be spent elsewhere.

Don't waste your money on any HDD that spins faster than 7200RPM. Sustain rates are still the same.

You're kidding right? Neutron GTX was rated one of the most consistent drives on the market just a few months ago, and the read/write IOPS all stay above 80k while the sequential speeds raise with size. It's the reason why I bought mine, besides it wasn't a Sandforce based SSD like most all on the market. If you decide to go with something else, whatever it is don't get OCZ. Don't buy into speed and compromise quality and reliability. Anything over SATA2 speeds are pretty much unnoticed in day to day PC activities anyways. Moving from my Vertex 2 to the GTX I only saw a very slight difference in performance on a 3960x based rig.
 
Ok, def can't wait for that to come out.
Marginal gains even if that 1600 goes to 2666? So Ocing is the only way to see those marginal gains?
What do you mean by sustain rates? Do you mean that happy medium the HHD maintains at all times for a read/write?
SandForce? Hmm I'll look into that. Mainstream isn't always the way to go. I'll look up bootup test and all for the Nuetron GTX and see how it fairs/ pros/cons etc.

*So the WD Black would be a good choice for a HHD? Or would doing a cheaper 1TB work better? A con was that a 1TB platter runs faster.

For the Nuetron GTX i see that it's priced at a middle ground and that it has the LAMD over the SandForce.
I am checking in about the SSD controllers. I know there is: Indilinx, SandForce, Marvell, Phison, Samsung, Intel, Toshiba, Jmicron, and LAMD. Not sure how i can test and find out which one works for me or so.
 
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Yes. Like I said, the newer IMCs are so efficient that the difference in memory bandwidth isn't seen even in synthetic benchmarks. My buddy did a review of the Dominator Plats at 2800 and the difference was minimal. Can't even tell in the real world and that was benching with an IGP which takes advantage of higher speeds. I have 2133 RAM and run it at 1600. Just isn't worth the extra cost. (His review was done with a 3770k @ 4.6GHz btw)
Sustain rates are how fast your drive reads or writes at a prolonged period of time. Both HDDs and SSDs have what's called sequential and sustained. Sustained is typically what matters but in SSDs IOPS are really the big deal but I'll get into that later. A HDDs sustained speed can only be so fast, and most good drives these days sustain between 100 and 150MB/s. An SSDs sequential read/write may be like 550/500 but you'll only sustain file transfer around 300-400 and burst speed will be the only time you see those higher numbers. It's all in how the drives are made. The big deal about SSDs though isn't that much raw speed, but IOPS and latency. An SSD has no moving parts, so it has virtually no latency when searching or retrieving data. A HDD has a 4.16ms latency on average due to spin up and search. IOPS is how many operations a drive can do at once going in and out at the same time. I don't prefer Crucial drives because their IOPS are typically lower than the competition even though they are rock solid.

WD Black or Seagate Barracuda. Some prefer either, I prefer Seagate. Single platters running faster aren't a con. If you have a 1TB drive with only 1 platter it has less seek time and generates less heat due to less moving parts.

Yes I prefer the LAMD controller and NAND flash over the others because they provide a better consistency in speed. In other words, over all general performance in all areas are consistent with each other rather than it having strong or weak points. Also, less overhead needed due to it being a smarter controller. It's newer tech, but I prefer it over Sandforce because with those it's hit and miss. Like I said, quality over speed just like in PSU quality over total wattage. You want parts that will last, not be cool for a few years then possibly die out. There are several members that bought Neutron drives and are quite happy with them. There are also several members that will back up OCZ but their financial situation still isn't 100% settled so I will not recommend them until I know for a fact the drives I recommend to people will absolutely have a warranty a few years down the line.

As to which one works out for you, in the end you won't really see a difference unless you completely understand all the differences in drives. All you need to know is quality, speed, and that's what I recommend for your money. In the end, you won't tell a real world difference between 450MB or 550MB/s sequential drives, or 70,000 or 90,000 IOPS.
 
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