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[Pattycakes]

I would love if someone could give me a final check of this before I press the buy button.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($214.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($26.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-E ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($99.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($93.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($98.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Toshiba Product SeriesT01ACA 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB SSC ACX 2.0 Video Card ($329.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($40.98 @ Newegg)
Monitor: ViewSonic VX2452mh 60Hz 23.6" Monitor ($169.50 @ Amazon)
Total: $1310.33
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-07 14:18 EDT-0400

 

[Train of Midnight]

Sorry, I've asked the question before, but it kind of got lost
So: is a 7 year old PSU (Corsair TX650W 650 W) still ok to power a new gpu? (970).
It doesnt have the 8pin adapters for the higher ones though.

I would spend the money for a new one. These things don't last forever, and your PSU is the last thing you should cheap out on.

 

[mkenyon]

I would love if someone could give me a final check of this before I press the buy button.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($214.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($26.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-E ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($99.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($93.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($98.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Toshiba Product SeriesT01ACA 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB SSC ACX 2.0 Video Card ($329.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($40.98 @ Newegg)
Monitor: ViewSonic VX2452mh 60Hz 23.6" Monitor ($169.50 @ Amazon)
Total: $1310.33
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-07 14:18 EDT-0400

Looks great. I regret the lack of a 144Hz panel. If there was a way to eek out $100 in the budget, I'd do it, but you've got yourself a pretty good list there.

 

[Pattycakes]

Looks great. I regret the lack of a 144Hz panel. If there was a way to eek out $100 in the budget, I'd do it, but you've got yourself a pretty good list there.

Yeah, I considered it, but I already the have the Viewsonic VX2452MH and it's been very satisfying so far. I wanted to go with the same monitor I already had rather than have two different monitors.

 

[mkenyon]

Yeah, I considered it, but I already the have the Viewsonic VX2452MH and it's been very satisfying so far. I wanted to go with the same monitor I already had rather than have two different monitors.

Eh, two different monitors isn't a big deal, especially when you have the main panel and then the secondary panel.

If there's any way to scrounge that up (maybe drop the Blu-Ray drive?) then I'd seriously consider it. 120/144Hz is seriously up there with my top 5 favorite technology developments in the last 20 years. Probably right behind broadband and discrete 3D graphics cards in terms of impact it's had on my gaming experience.

 

[JetForceGemini]

Unless they already have the latest NVIDIA drivers. In which case, there's no need.

Yeah I had the latest drivers.... So just plug in and that's it?

 

[unagisensei]

If anyone happens to have a Sapphire Radeon 7950 Boost Dual-X, could you do a me a big favor and check to see if you have the BIOS with p/n 113-3e24900x-s48 (ver. 015.030.000.001.000000)? By default this is the version of the BIOS that appears when the blue bios switch light is on.

I stupidly started messing wih my BIOS without backing it up, only to realize the version of the BIOS when you push the switch (light off), is actually slightly different and slower (it's p/n 113-3e249000-s48).

If someone has this card and could upload the BIOS somewhere to me to download (or PM me for my email address), it would be greatly appreciated.

And before someone suggests it, I've tried using some of the other BIOSes in the TechPowerUp database with the same version number but different p/n, and they cause various problems such as windows booting to a black screen or my core and memory clocks being permanently stuck at 0mhz. I've also tried contacting Sapphire tech support and they haven't been able to get me the right version of the BIOS.

For anyone who doesn't know how to check their BIOS version or download an image of it, you can download the free GPU-Z program and follow these directions:

How to make an image of current Vbios:

• make sure model is this: Sapphire Radeon 7950 Boost Dual-X
• download and run GPU-Z here

Example:

• Select: bios chip icon
• Select: save to file [VbiosName.rom]
• Select: VbiosName.rom [file that was created]
• press right mouse button
• Select: send to compressed zip folder
• Upload the file to any free file service and reply with a link or PM me for my direct email address

Thanks, and apologies that this is sorta off topic but I've stretched my google-fu to the limit looking for this file, and figured there weren't many better places where I might find an owner of this card...

 

[mkenyon]

Yeah I had the latest drivers.... So just plug in and that's it?

Yup.

 

[Barajas_201]

Hey guys, is it okay to ask driver related problems for fresh windows install in here?

 

[ItsTheNew]

Would a GTX 760 for $110 be a good deal? I sold my 290 and it sounds like the 390x or next wave of nvidia cards are going to be a while.

 

[mkenyon]

Hey guys, is it okay to ask driver related problems for fresh windows install in here?

Absolutely.

 

[mulac]

I caved and see a future for SLI - got the Asus 980 Strix and Corsair HX750i platinum psu to go alongside it.

Should be here next week!

 

[Barajas_201]

So I posted here a while ago about an HP desktop buisness computer, I got it in my hands now but it's so bloated with software I don't need, and a fresh install is the way to go. But the original owner deleted the HP recovery partition and I'll have to manually install windows and the drivers, the problem is that I'm looking at the drivers page of my model and there are a ton of different drivers for NVIDIA and ATI/AMD plus a bunch more I don't know if I even need. So before I fresh install windows I want to know how to find out what are the drivers correct for my model, is there any software that can tell me which essential hardware drivers are installed already so that I can find them in the HP driver page?

 

[Chitown B]

Not a big deal, most of the builds we recommend today leave out the DVD drive, for most people it's something they'll never use more than once or twice so it's like a $15 fee you can cut out by downloading the driver installers yourself. I'd download and copy them to a temp folder on the Windows 8.1 USB installer.

Here's the link to their download support page, you need to select the motherboard yourself as they don't have a separate driver download page for each model.

if you regularly rip your blurays to back them up for XMBC, then it's more valuable.

 

[AndyD]

So I posted here a while ago about an HP desktop buisness computer, I got it in my hands now but it's so bloated with software I don't need, and a fresh install is the way to go. But the original owner deleted the HP recovery partition and I'll have to manually install windows and the drivers, the problem is that I'm looking at the drivers page of my model and there are a ton of different drivers for NVIDIA and ATI/AMD plus a bunch more I don't know if I even need. So before I fresh install windows I want to know how to find out what are the drivers correct for my model, is there any software that can tell me which essential hardware drivers are installed already so that I can find them in the HP driver page?

You can download GPU-Z now or after installing Windows and that should tell you what graphics card you have. Then you get the correct drivers either on HP site or the AMD/NVIDIA ones.

 

[Train of Midnight]

Does team green or red seem to have any clear advantage for the VR market yet?

 

[H4r4kiri]

So my cousin said he want to be able to go SLI in the Future. I had a budget of 1100€ without Case and I came up with this.

How does this look like ? Anything I can improve on ?

 

[lordfuzzybutt]

So my cousin said he want to be able to go SLI in the Future. I had a budget of 1100€ without Case and I came up with this.

How does this look like ? Anything I can improve on ?

That PSU is not quite enough for SLI 970, assuming it's what you mean. 750W is the minimum recommended. 850W optimum.

Rest look good.

 

[spinz]

After much internal debate, iv decided to try the define r5 case. I'm figuring i'll want to pick up at least one fan to cool down my xfx 290. Any thoughts on a good fan/size/and location to put it for this case??

 

[lordfuzzybutt]

After much internal debate, iv decided to try the define r5 case. I'm figuring i'll want to pick up at least one fan to cool down my xfx 290. Any thoughts on a good fan/size/and location to put it for this case??

If it's the windowless version then you can buy a 140 mm fan, install it on the side panel so that it blows cool air directly at the card. Noctua fans are generally good.

 

[spinz]

One more thing I would change on top of what mkenyon suggested:
Ditch that Kingston V300 SSD, as they switch its v300 line nand chip with a shitty one resulting in absolutely horrible performance.

Go with a Crucial, like this one, instead. It's 250GB, as 120 GB is rather limited. But drop it down if you so wish.

hm! that makes sense, i'll go with the 250gb crucial then. Thanks!

If it's the windowless version then you can buy a 140 mm fan, install it on the side panel so that it blows cool air directly at the card. Noctua fans are generally good.

hmm nope its windowed. doh.

 

[Shambles]

That PSU is not quite enough for SLI 970, assuming it's what you mean. 750W is the minimum recommended. 850W optimum.

Rest look good.

Measured power consumption GTX 970 2-way SLI

System in IDLE = 123 Watts
System Wattage with GPU in FULL Stress = 439 Watts
Difference (GPU load) = 316 Watts
Add average IDLE wattage ~10 Watts
Subjective obtained GPU power consumption = ~ 326 Watts

 

[lordfuzzybutt]

Measured power consumption GTX 970 2-way SLI

System in IDLE = 123 Watts
System Wattage with GPU in FULL Stress = 439 Watts
Difference (GPU load) = 316 Watts
Add average IDLE wattage ~10 Watts
Subjective obtained GPU power consumption = ~ 326 Watts

Well that is for the cards only.

We'll be calculating the GPU power consumption here, not the total PC power consumption.
...
GeForce GTX 970 or 980 in 2-way SLI - On your average system the cards require you to have an 700~800 Watt power supply unit as minimum.

hm! that makes sense, i'll go with the 250gb crucial then. Thanks!



hmm nope its windowed. doh.

Then install one on the bottom.

 

[Dartastic]

Ugh. I'm trying to start to put together my first build in a very, VERY long time (like, ten years or longer) and I'm realizing that most of what I'm looking at is gibberish to me.

Was looking at this motherboard. Was going to put an i5 in it and 1 970, probably 16 GB of RAM and yeah... Any thoughts? http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K872IT6/?tag=neogaf0e-20

 

[lordfuzzybutt]

Ugh. I'm trying to start to put together my first build in a very, VERY long time (like, ten years or longer) and I'm realizing that most of what I'm looking at is gibberish to me.

Was looking at this motherboard. Was going to put an i5 in it and 1 970, probably 16 GB of RAM and yeah... Any thoughts? http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K872IT6/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Your budget? What do you use it for? Gaming?

 

[Dartastic]

Your budget? What do you use it for? Gaming?

I wanted to build somewhere around the "Excellent" build in the OP. Around 1200, before monitor or keyboard. I'd want to use it to game and maybe stream on Twitch or something. I can wait a little bit also if there are some new great things coming out soon as well, although I have a 2009 MBP that I'd like to unload sooner rather than later to finance this build. I figure I can still get 350, 400 for my machine.

 

[lordfuzzybutt]

I wanted to build somewhere around the "Excellent" build in the OP. Around 1200, before monitor or keyboard. I'd want to use it to game and maybe stream on Twitch or something. I can wait a little bit also if there are some new great things coming out soon as well, although I have a 2009 MBP that I'd like to unload sooner rather than later to finance this build. I figure I can still get 350, 400 for my machine.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($309.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($26.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($114.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($108.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card ($304.79 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($47.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: SeaSonic M12II 850W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($114.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1156.19
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-07 17:29 EDT-0400

Well, the next AMD cards are about to drop if the rumours are true. That will certainly be interesting. Even if you do not like AMD, Nvidia prices will likely go down and the next 980ti or whatever it's going to be called will be released to counter AMD. So I will hold off at least until till then. So the 970 here is more of a placeholder, but a fine card itself.

You can go for an i5 4690K if you want. The i7 is just because the budget allows, streaming twitch can get heavy on the CPU.

I also went for a big PSU in case you want to SLI later. But if not, a much cheaper one for single GPU can be had.

 

[Pattycakes]

I wanted to build somewhere around the "Excellent" build in the OP. Around 1200, before monitor or keyboard. I'd want to use it to game and maybe stream on Twitch or something. I can wait a little bit also if there are some new great things coming out soon as well, although I have a 2009 MBP that I'd like to unload sooner rather than later to finance this build. I figure I can still get 350, 400 for my machine.

AMD 300 series is coming out sometime next month, so prices may be changing. If you're getting a 970 though you can get the Witcher 3 and the new Batman for free when you buy, so that saves you like $120 if you were already planning on getting both of those. That's why I purchased instead of waiting for next month.

 

[spinz]

Then install one on the bottom.

Ok, something like this??

 

[lordfuzzybutt]

Ok, something like this??

Looks good. A bit expensive. But that one you linked has a loudness of 42db. Not really quiet.

This one with similar price is like half as loud.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608044

 

[spinz]

Looks good. A bit expensive. But that one you linked has a loudness of 42db. Not really quiet.

This one with similar price is like half as loud.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608044

ahhh good call, im definitely pro-quiet.

 

[Dartastic]

Big PC build recommendations

Whoa! Thanks a lot!

Any particular reason why you picked that motherboard? I've heard that one of the best places to start from is with the motherboard and build from there. I plan to probably upgrade in the future, so I don't mind spending a little more in order to get a good motherboard. With that in mind, are there any other suggestions that you may have in mind?

I'd probably want to put it in this case because I think it's a sexy case. Hah. Unless of course, there's something similar for a better price that will house better components.

 

[Easy_D]

It peaked at 67°c at one point. It didn't go above 59 during heavy load before, and that was with the factory paste that was pretty applied on the heatsink. Now I was just updating steam and light browsing.

Made sure to clean the heatsink and the CPU properly so I must've used too much paste. I'll try one small blob and just attach the heatsink. There should be scale accurate pics on the packaging instead of measurements :lol

Okay, cleaned my stuff out and added a slightly (slightly) larger than uncooked rise sized and reassembled everything and now I'm jumping between 20-46. Much better than the previous 40-67 :lol. For some reason my ram is only running at half speed though. What's up with that? Task Manager says it's at 667mhz, maybe I need to check the bios settings.

Edit: Jumped to 57 degrees just now during Steam game install, but that probably boils down to me not disabling all the "cool/quiet" features. Those are dumb. But at leastthe thermal paste is applied correctly now, well within safe temps. AMD says 65 is the max but people have been running these at 75 for a good while without any issues. Currently at 20% load due to steam stuff and it's hovering around 50-60. However the temps drop about as fast (a bit faster in fact) as they used to with the stock stuff so I'm assuming it's just because the fan keeps winding down due to some dumb bios setting that it's running a bit on the hot side. I'll have to test some games to see how it fares there.

Edit #2: Does Thermal Paste need to settle before it works optimally? I'm using Noctua NT-H1. Assuming the pressure+heat makes it spread thinner over time making it conduct more heat? Still, it drops to 19 degrees while idle now so everything should be good to go

 

[MisterNoisy]

So I could get away with just a new gpu? My cpu is still ok? Would I need additional power supply etc?

For now, sure - I just don't think I'd buy a whole new rig with some major stuff just around the bend since your CPU shouldn't really be an issue for most games still. Your PSU will be fine - I'd wager that the 970's power consumption is the same or lower than a 570's.

 

[matrixman92]

I noticed the PNY 970 had a price drop on amazon now. The reviews for it on amazon and newegg seem to be pretty mixed. Anyone have experience with it?

 

[lordfuzzybutt]

Whoa! Thanks a lot!

Any particular reason why you picked that motherboard? I've heard that one of the best places to start from is with the motherboard and build from there. I plan to probably upgrade in the future, so I don't mind spending a little more in order to get a good motherboard. With that in mind, are there any other suggestions that you may have in mind?

I'd probably want to put it in this case because I think it's a sexy case. Hah. Unless of course, there's something similar for a better price that will house better components.

That case is nice. I personally do not recommend case, as I believe it should suit the personal preference of the person asking. So if you like it, no reason not to choose it. It's a very good case.

Also I made a mistake with that motherboard there. Somehow, I thought it supported SLI while it actually doesn't. See my updated build below.

Well, choosing a motherboard mostly depends on what kind of functions you want to have. If you don't need anything in particular, it doesn't make a big difference.

The one I chose below fit your micro atx case, with SLI capability.

However, if you do not plan to SLI ( which is not really good unless absolutely necessary), we can go with the previous motherboard as it's cheap and it works well enough. Going solo GPU will allow us to drop the PSU to a less powerful, less expensive one too.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($309.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($26.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97MX-Gaming 5 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($101.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($114.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($108.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card ($304.79 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 350D Window MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic M12II 850W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($114.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1225.18
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-07 18:44 EDT-0400

 

[mkenyon]

I like that build, but I also think that if you're planning on SLI, you should go ATX. Or at the very least, mATX that supports a full sized card in the bottom slot, like the Gene.

But, planning for a future SLI is a generally bad way to go about things. Keep your card, and when a new card comes out, sell it, and buy the next best single GPU you can afford. This will keep your performance up, and random issues down.

 

[RGM79]

Okay, cleaned my stuff out and added a slightly (slightly) larger than uncooked rise sized and reassembled everything and now I'm jumping between 20-46. Much better than the previous 40-67 :lol. For some reason my ram is only running at half speed though. What's up with that? Task Manager says it's at 667mhz, maybe I need to check the bios settings.

Edit: Jumped to 57 degrees just now during Steam game install, but that probably boils down to me not disabling all the "cool/quiet" features. Those are dumb. But at leastthe thermal paste is applied correctly now, well within safe temps. AMD says 65 is the max but people have been running these at 75 for a good while without any issues. Currently at 20% load due to steam stuff and it's hovering around 50-60. However the temps drop about as fast (a bit faster in fact) as they used to with the stock stuff so I'm assuming it's just because the fan keeps winding down due to some dumb bios setting that it's running a bit on the hot side. I'll have to test some games to see how it fares there.

Edit #2: Does Thermal Paste need to settle before it works optimally? I'm using Noctua NT-H1. Assuming the pressure+heat makes it spread thinner over time making it conduct more heat? Still, it drops to 19 degrees while idle now so everything should be good to go

Good to hear that your temperature issues are mostly sorted out. Your RAM should be fine. DDR means double data rate, so while it's technically running at 667MHz, it has an effective speed of 1333MHz.

As for the thermal paste, some models of paste say they require a curing time to reach optimal performance. Reviews of the Noctua paste (like this Hardware Canucks review) say no curing time is required, and the official product page says much the same thing. Don't worry about pressure and heat, the less thermal paste there is, the better. Too much paste can inhibit heat transfer.

I noticed the PNY 970 had a price drop on amazon now. The reviews for it on amazon and newegg seem to be pretty mixed. Anyone have experience with it?

Which model? PNY makes a few different ones.

 

[matrixman92]

Which model? PNY makes a few different ones.

oh, sorry this one

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NH5ZNWA/?tag=neogaf0e-20

 

[Dartastic]

I like that build, but I also think that if you're planning on SLI, you should go ATX. Or at the very least, mATX that supports a full sized card in the bottom slot, like the Gene.

But, planning for a future SLI is a generally bad way to go about things. Keep your card, and when a new card comes out, sell it, and buy the next best single GPU you can afford. This will keep your performance up, and random issues down.

Honestly, I don't think I'm going to go SLI. I think I may want to pick up that new AMD card, depending on how good it is and how much it is. I was only planning on going 970 because I heard it was one of the best cards for the price, and it generally can run everything at extremely high settings. That being said, I don't think it's a bad idea to at least have that capability on my motherboard, as that's one piece that's going to stay static for a loooooooooooooooooooooong time.

...in regards to the 970, the two free games don't hurt either.

 

[mkenyon]

Honestly, I don't think I'm going to go SLI. I think I may want to pick up that new AMD card, depending on how good it is and how much it is. I was only planning on going 970 because I heard it was one of the best cards for the price, and it generally can run everything at extremely high settings.

...the two free games don't hurt either.

If that's the case, then just go with a quality 650W PSU.

 

[adamantypants]

Would a GTX 760 for $110 be a good deal? I sold my 290 and it sounds like the 390x or next wave of nvidia cards are going to be a while.

They're going for about $130ish on eBay. So I'd say it's a fair price. The card is good for that price; it'll handily outperform the 750ti. I owned one for a few months and was pretty pleased with its performance. You can expect mostly high settings on most games. It's not gonna beat the 290 but it should be more than enough to hold you over.

 

[RGM79]

That case is nice. I personally do not recommend case, as I believe it should suit the personal preference of the person asking. So if you like it, no reason not to choose it. It's a very good case.

Also I made a mistake with that motherboard there. Somehow, I thought it supported SLI while it actually doesn't. See my updated build below.

Well, choosing a motherboard mostly depends on what kind of functions you want to have. If you don't need anything in particular, it doesn't make a big difference.

The one I chose below fit your micro atx case, with SLI capability.

However, if you do not plan to SLI ( which is not really good unless absolutely necessary), we can go with the previous motherboard as it's cheap and it works well enough. Going solo GPU will allow us to drop the PSU to a less powerful, less expensive one too.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($309.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($26.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97MX-Gaming 5 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($101.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($114.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($108.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card ($304.79 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 350D Window MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic M12II 850W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($114.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1225.18
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-07 18:44 EDT-0400

I just have a few suggestions for that build.

The Ripjaws X RAM is kinda tall at 40mm and may interfere with the 212 Evo's fan. Normally the 212 Evo has clearance for RAM up to 37mm tall and you would be able to slide the fan up to allow even more room underneath, but the Corsair 350D's specs say it supports CPU cooler height of 160mm, and the 212 Evo is already 159mm tall. There might be a bit of leeway since that height is measured at the heatpipes at the top of the cooler, but to be safer I'd recommend going with lower profile RAM like this 2x8GB G.Skill Ares 2400MHz kit for $115, the same price as the Ripjaws X yet slightly faster.

The newer Crucial MX200 250GB ($110 outright with free shipping) now seems to be more or less priced nearly the same as the older MX100 256GB ($109). I'd opt for the newer drive.

The Seasonic power supply is good, but $115 is pretty steep. I'd go for an alternative like the EVGA Supernova B2 850 watt model ($70 after $20 rebate), it's made by Super Flower which is one of the best power supply OEMs, right up there next to Seasonic. It's also bronze rated and semi-modular, so you're not missing out on performance or features.

Edit: If not going SLI, then I recommend this XFX XTR Series 650 watt gold rated fully modular PSU ($73 after $25 rebate). All XFX power supplies are rebadged Seasonic designs, so they're quite good.

 

[lordfuzzybutt]

I like that build, but I also think that if you're planning on SLI, you should go ATX. Or at the very least, mATX that supports a full sized card in the bottom slot, like the Gene.

But, planning for a future SLI is a generally bad way to go about things. Keep your card, and when a new card comes out, sell it, and buy the next best single GPU you can afford. This will keep your performance up, and random issues down.

Honestly, I don't think I'm going to go SLI. I think I may want to pick up that new AMD card, depending on how good it is and how much it is. I was only planning on going 970 because I heard it was one of the best cards for the price, and it generally can run everything at extremely high settings. That being said, I don't think it's a bad idea to at least have that capability on my motherboard, as that's one piece that's going to stay static for a loooooooooooooooooooooong time.

...in regards to the 970, the two free games don't hurt either.

Well then you should take mkenyon advice and opt for the gene board plus a good 650w psu. Thanks for the note about that sli build, mkenyon.

Sorry I am already in bed, work in 5 hours, maybe mkenyon or RGM can help you with the rest.

Edit: great catch with the case and ram, RGM. I was too tired To even think about checking that. Thanks.

Great day, gents.

 

[Easy_D]

Good to hear that your temperature issues are mostly sorted out. Your RAM should be fine. DDR means double data rate, so while it's technically running at 667MHz, it has an effective speed of 1333MHz.

As for the thermal paste, some models of paste say they require a curing time to reach optimal performance. Reviews of the Noctua paste (like this Hardware Canucks review) say no curing time is required, and the official product page says much the same thing. Don't worry about pressure and heat, the less thermal paste there is, the better. Too much paste can inhibit heat transfer.
.

I actually did and applied it a third time with a more generous blob in the middle and smaller blobs parallell to it on each side which seems to have done the trick. Apparently UEFI Bios results in a 100% CPU load (you can tell, it's sluuuggish) and it kept a cool 53 degrees in there.

Starting to wonder if it's just HWMonitor reporting false temperature readings and that my fan is actually a bit more noisy than I remember. Bios reported a max of 53 degrees, bopping between 52-53. HWMonitor says it's gone all the way up to 62 now and the temperature fluctuates wildly. I'm gonna guess it's not really reporting the numbers properly.

I guess the best way to see is to play a game and see if I notice any throttling. It's keeping cool enough that it won't fry at least :lol. Fan does spin up randomly, is that a sign of the paste not being even or something? If one core isn't covered properly or something?
Or is it just acting different because I have a different brand of motherboard than I did before and it just happens to act a bit quicker when it comes to telling the fan to spin up?

Edit: D'oh! I know why it's spinning up more than usual :lol. I haven't attached the rear case fan, I remember it did this on the old motherboard too where it'd run the CPU fan faster without the case fan installed, the port is on the other side of the case now so I'll have to turn the fan 90 degrees and re-attach it to reach. Oh well everything is quite and silent now, can barely tell the thing is on. Thanks for the tips.

I swear, putting on thermal paste was harder than straightening the bent pins the first time I installed this CPU :lol. Also dumb that Task Manager doesn't report the linked speed of the ram and instead just the single stick mhz.

Edit #2: Yep, it's just the fan being noisier, CoreTemp reports temperatures that add up with the bios readings. Fluctuating temps are a sign of a slightly botched paste job though right? At least it seems to be able to stay under the safe operating temperature, I did scratch the heatsink a dad when cleaning it so that may be a factor, however I was planning on replacing it by the end of the month anyway, so as long as it keeps under 65 degrees I'm fine with a bit of noise as I game with headphones anyway.

 

[Red Comet]

Speaking of monitors though, I want to upgrade to my first high resolution and G-Sync monitor. Right now I'm conflicted between Acer's 4K TN G-Sync model and their 1440p IPS model. Which would you guys prefer for gaming? I plan on keeping my VG248QE for high frame rate gaming.

Bumping this question because I'm ready to buy a monitor today. Would it be worth it to go 4K with a single Titan X, or would 1440p be better overall with slightly higher settings? Basically, is 4K worth it? Both monitors that I'm looking at are the same price.

 

[knitoe]

Bumping this question because I'm ready to buy a monitor today. Would it be worth it to go 4K with a single Titan X, or would 1440p be better overall with slightly higher settings? Basically, is 4K worth it? Both monitors that I'm looking at are the same price.

For 1 card, I would go 1440p. Pretty much, 4K needs 2 or more GPUs.

 

[mkenyon]

Bumping this question because I'm ready to buy a monitor today. Would it be worth it to go 4K with a single Titan X, or would 1440p be better overall with slightly higher settings? Basically, is 4K worth it? Both monitors that I'm looking at are the same price.

I think it's a bit too early for 4K still. Plus, you still get the benefits of a >60 refresh rate on the Acer 1440p display.

 

[Cleve]

I wish the cpu market was more interesting. I'm really surprised how well my i5 3570k still compares for something that's 3 years old. Looks like it'll see me through at least one more video card generation at this rate, maybe even two.

 

[Red Comet]

For 1 card, I would go 1440p. Pretty much, 4K needs 2 or more GPUs.

I think it's a bit too early for 4K still. Plus, you still get the benefits of a >60 refresh rate on the Acer 1440p display.

Okay, great, I suppose this is the route I'll go for now. Perhaps if I ever pick up a second Titan X then I can look into 4K. Thanks!