Support NeoGAF

[EVA UNIT 01]

Great! The one in the first link seems like the best deal so I'll go with that one. That being said, I should get the R390 instead of the GTX... are all variants of these cards pretty much the same, like I'm seeing MSI, Sapphire, etc. I've always wondered about that actually. Just want to make sure I get a good one.



This would be me.

When you settle on your final build could you repost it?
Id like to take a look.

 

[brandonh83]

When you settle on your final build could you repost it?
Id like to take a look.

Yep! All that seems to be left is picking a card and I'm digging around on which brand of Radeon R9 390 to get.

So far its:

Fractal Design Node 304 case
??? Radeon R9 390
Ripjaws 16GB DDR4 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0141X52U4/?tag=neogaf0e-20
Intel Core i5 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B012M8M7TY/?tag=neogaf0e-20
WD Blue 1TB HDD http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0088PUEPK/?tag=neogaf0e-20
Gigabyte LGA1151 Intel Z170 Mini-ITX DDR4 Motherboard http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014W2000Q/?tag=neogaf0e-20
Corsair CX 750W PSU http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ALK3KEM/?tag=neogaf0e-20
Cooler Master CPU Cooler http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005O65JXI/?tag=neogaf0e-20

 

[EVA UNIT 01]

Yep! All that seems to be left is picking a card and I'm digging around on which brand of Radeon R9 390 to get.

So far its:

Fractal Design Node 304 case
??? Radeon R9 390
Ripjaws 16GB DDR4 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0141X52U4/?tag=neogaf0e-20
Intel Core i5 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B012M8M7TY/?tag=neogaf0e-20
WD Blue 1TB HDD http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0088PUEPK/?tag=neogaf0e-20
Gigabyte LGA1151 Intel Z170 Mini-ITX DDR4 Motherboard http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014W2000Q/?tag=neogaf0e-20
Corsair CX 750W PSU http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ALK3KEM/?tag=neogaf0e-20
Cooler Master CPU Cooler http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005O65JXI/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Was a 970 not compatible here or was the 390 simply a better value here?
Im liking your build and wanted to see it on behalf of a friend who wanted one centered around a 970.
I may just copypasta your build with a 970 for him. =)

 

[brandonh83]

Was a 970 not compatible here or was the 390 simply a better value here?
Im liking your build and wanted to see it on behalf of a friend who wanted one centered around a 970.
I may just copypasta your build with a 970 for him. =)

970 was the original recommendation by RGM, then bomblord chimed in that he recommends the R3 as it's roughly the same price point and the better card. It required a bit more wattage and RGM got a list of better PSU's for the R3 that would fit in my case, which is why I'm settled on the R3 for now.

 

[EVA UNIT 01]

970 was the original recommendation by RGM, then bomblord chimed in that he recommends the R3 as it's roughly the same price point and the better card. It required a bit more wattage and RGM got a list of better PSU's for the R3 that would fit in my case, which is why I'm settled on the R3 for now.

Whats your grand total at?

 

[brandonh83]

Whats your grand total at?

Case was 60, everything else is in my Amazon cart EXCEPT the graphics card and that total is 643, so around 703 plus however much I pay for the card.

Should be a little more than 1000.

Oh, and I just saw this edit...

Darn, if I knew you were going to order everything from Newegg and Amazon, I could have tailored the build around that. Oh well, I guess the parts list doesn't need to be min-maxed that badly, you'll probably only save a couple tens of dollars at this point.

I recommended the GTX 970 because this is a more compact build and the size of the Fractal Node 304 kind of dictates a smaller PSU (<160mm length) as well, meaning I'd have to pick the Cooler Master 550 watt PSU to fit closer to his $1000 budget instead of picking some EVGA PSU like I normally do. There's nothing bad about the R9 390 other than that it does draw higher wattage (especially if overclocked) and runs somewhat warmer than a GTX 970 would. The R9 390 does have a slightly better cost-to-performance ratio than the GTX 970, but the Nvidia card also comes bundled with a redeemable code for Rise of the Tomb Raider which is nice to have.

And yeah, I would like to keep it around this price but honestly if I'm paying this much I might as well get the best I can get for around this much money, even if it ends up costing a bit more. So if you feel the urge to make adjustments, the ONLY thing I've actually ordered at this point is the Node case -- so that'd be welcome and appreciated. When you're spending this much you obviously get a little picky and realize that you're already spending a lot of money and you may as well go out a little bit more if it means any respectable difference in performance.

I'm definitely open to going back to the 970, and especially after just reading the post right under this one.

 

[Hazaro]

The 970 vs 390 debate depends how strongly you feel about AMD vs nVidia, what resolution you'll play at (970 not as bad at 1080p), concerns about load and OC power draw (I could not game with a 390 OC'd in my room).

On paper for a majority of games the 390 will come out on top, but I couldn't use one personally.

 

[brandonh83]

The 970 vs 390 debate depends how strongly you feel about AMD vs nVidia, what resolution you'll play at (970 not as bad at 1080p), concerns about load and OC power draw (I could not game with a 390 OC'd in my room).

Efficiency is also important. I'm starting to lean back toward the 970. But I swapped a PSU in favor of a better one to support the 390; should I just keep that PSU anyway or get a lower wattage one? I guess it wouldn't hurt to have a 750W PSU.

This is why I've always bought Nintendos and Playstations I know this will be worth the effort though.

 

[Hazaro]

Efficiency is also important. I'm starting to lean back toward the 970. But I swapped a PSU in favor of a better one to support the 390; should I just keep that PSU anyway or get a lower wattage one?

This is why I've always bought Nintendos and Playstations I know this will be worth the effort though.

Can't tell how your weather is, air conditioning, room size, or airflow or how sensitive you are to those!
FWIW the 390 should have much better legs.

The CX line isn't nearly as good as other models (Don't think of it as a Corsair PSU). I'd look at getting a nicer 550W-650W supply if you will stick to single card (Heck, even that's enough for most budget minded dual card configs).

 

[brandonh83]

The CX line isn't nearly as good as other models (Don't think of it as a Corsair PSU). I'd look at getting a nicer 550W-650W supply if you will stick to single card (Heck, even that's enough for most budget minded dual card configs).

Well it's a smaller form case (Fractal Node 304) and I'm just going by what I'm being told so far by RGM, I can get whatever honestly I'm just taking everyone's advice into consideration.

 

[Hazaro]

Well it's a smaller form case (Fractal Node 304) and I'm just going by what I'm being told so far by RGM, I can get whatever honestly I'm just taking everyone's advice into consideration.

Yeah, no blatantly correct answer. I was rocking XFire 290's for a little bit but had to swap down, then to a 970 because heat issues where I use my computer. Probably hold strong until I can buy used HBM2 cards.

 

[brandonh83]

Yeah, no blatantly correct answer. I was rocking XFire 290's for a little bit but had to swap down, then to a 970 because heat issues where I use my computer. Probably hold strong until I can buy used HBM2 cards.

For sure. I haven't really looked into building in years and I'm largely unfamiliar with newer tech and equipment so I feel very lost. Been meaning to build a PC for like a decade but I'm finally financially able to do so. You noted that the CX PSU's weren't that great, any recommendation in place of it? Still undecided on the card, 390 sounds better but 970 sounds fine and less needy. I guess it just depends on which PSU is chosen. Room size and temperature aren't an issue.

 

[Crisium]

At least among the four 390s compared here (and several beefier 390Xs), the Powercolor 390 PCS+ ranked lowest in total system load wattage. It's also the quietest among those compared.:

http://www.computerbase.de/2015-10/neun-radeon-r9-390-x-partnerkarten-test/4/

371 Watts total system usage with a typical 4.4GHz PC

I haven't really been able to find any other 390 roundups, and it's hard to compare across separate sites but at least that one seems attractive from this site.

While similar at idle, the load wattage will be more than the 970 of course.

It's generally a bit faster, and will likely age more gracefully, but at a cost of efficiency while gaming. Either can be a rational choice based on what you value.

 

[REMAINSILLY]

Real talk: I have an i3-4170 paired with a GTX 960 FTW 2GB. I play games on Medium-High on 30 FPS, but I want to get to 60 FPS. Should I upgrade the CPU or GPU? Keep in mind, I still want to play on Medium-High and 1080p.

Thanks!

 

[Erekiddo]

Looking to upgrade the CPU on my PC but I was literally overwhelmed by the amount of I7 variants there are. Is there somewhere I can go to see a list of compatible I7 processors? Or can someone let me know the last one that was supported?

ASUS Z87-C (Intel Z87 Chipset)

 

[EVA UNIT 01]

Someone pass jusgement on this.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/9rwg8d
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/9rwg8d/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI Z170-A PRO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($111.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill NT Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($65.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($43.94 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card ($314.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Raidmax ATX-321WB (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($40.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $894.73
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-12 00:49 EST-0500

My total with windows is $1106.56
And if those numbers dont add up its because i didnt go to the cheapest sellers.(i had my reasons)
Just discuss my parts compatibility and any notes.
also no cooler as im not going to OC-just using the stock fan with my CPU.
This builds goal is 1080/60 across the board(high settings) and emulation.


Edit: wtf @ my links?
Will fix...

 

[Hazaro]

For sure. I haven't really looked into building in years and I'm largely unfamiliar with newer tech and equipment so I feel very lost. Been meaning to build a PC for like a decade but I'm finally financially able to do so. You noted that the CX PSU's weren't that great, any recommendation in place of it? Still undecided on the card, 390 sounds better but 970 sounds fine and less needy. I guess it just depends on which PSU is chosen. Room size and temperature aren't an issue.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...cm_re=seasonic_modular-_-17-151-095-_-Product
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...cm_re=seasonic_modular-_-17-151-118-_-Product

Just from a quick browse.
The EVGA 600B is a good budget buy, but it's not modular in a small case, it's going to take a lot more work to look good!

At least among the four 390s compared here (and several beefier 390Xs), the Powercolor 390 PCS+ ranked lowest in total system load wattage. It's also the quietest among those compared.:

http://www.computerbase.de/2015-10/neun-radeon-r9-390-x-partnerkarten-test/4/

371 Watts total system usage with a typical 4.4GHz PC

I haven't really been able to find any other 390 roundups, and it's hard to compare across separate sites but at least that one seems attractive from this site.

While similar at idle, the load wattage will be more than the 970 of course.

It's generally a bit faster, and will likely age more gracefully, but at a cost of efficiency while gaming. Either can be a rational choice based on what you value.

I've had two PCS cards in the past and they both overclocked to the moon, but I'd feel more comfortable pushing towards a larger brand for warranty support like ASUS/GB (Adds to resale value too)

Real talk: I have an i3-4170 paired with a GTX 960 FTW 2GB. I play games on Medium-High on 30 FPS, but I want to get to 60 FPS. Should I upgrade the CPU or GPU? Keep in mind, I still want to play on Medium-High and 1080p.

Thanks!

Depends on the game but for most, throwing more GPU at it should help first.

Looking to upgrade the CPU on my PC but I was literally overwhelmed by the amount of I7 variants there are. Is there somewhere I can go to see a list of compatible I7 processors? Or can someone let me know the last one that was supported?

ASUS Z87-C (Intel Z87 Chipset)

https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/Z87C/HelpDesk_CPU/
Just Google your model + CPU Support and it should get you there, otherwise go to the Support Tab on the website -> CPU Support/List
If you have a 'K' CPU then you should just overclock, and CPU bump wouldn't matter that much for a large % of cases.

*Note you may have to upgrade your BIOS firmware.

Someone pass jusgement on this.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/9rwg8d
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/9rwg8d/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI Z170-A PRO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($111.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill NT Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($65.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($43.94 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card ($314.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Raidmax ATX-321WB (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($40.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $894.73
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-12 00:49 EST-0500

My total with windows is $1106.56
And if those numbers dont add up its because i didnt go to the cheapest sellers.(i had my reasons)
Just discuss my parts compatibility and any notes.
also no cooler as im not going to OC-just using the stock fan with my CPU.
This builds goal is 1080/60 across the board(high settings) and emulation.


Edit: wtf @ my links?
Will fix...

I'd swap in at least a 240GB BX200 ($65), if you can stretch it to a 250GB BX100 or Samsung SSD ($90) that's even better.
Zotac is fine, I prefer MSI/ASUS/GB for easy resale. eVGA is good, but you get the eVGA tax
You can go cheaper on the mobo unless you know you need something on the PRO version. I haven't looked too much into Skylake stuff so I can't vouch for anything specifically.

 

[double0cinco]

Someone pass jusgement on this.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/9rwg8d
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/9rwg8d/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI Z170-A PRO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($111.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill NT Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($65.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($43.94 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card ($314.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Raidmax ATX-321WB (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($40.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $894.73
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-12 00:49 EST-0500

My total with windows is $1106.56
And if those numbers dont add up its because i didnt go to the cheapest sellers.(i had my reasons)
Just discuss my parts compatibility and any notes.
also no cooler as im not going to OC-just using the stock fan with my CPU.
This builds goal is 1080/60 across the board(high settings) and emulation.


Edit: wtf @ my links?
Will fix...

Maybe think about higher speed RAM. Since you're going with the Z170 chipset, you'd might as well right? I know Witcher 3 specifically saw significant gains when using higher speed ram in CPU intensive areas. I don't know if this is specifically a Skylake thing or a Witcher 3 thing, but I think it's worth it to get a little more legs out of your locked CPU.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSU0UWFCa1Y

Also, a question for y'all: Any experience using Intel XTU to overclock the CPU instead of the BIOS? I have the MSI Z77ma-G45, and it has miserable voltage control. Before I was only able to get a 4.3 GHz overclock with a +.006V modifier. With the XTU, I can pump the voltage up to 1.27V and get a 4.5 GHz overclock. Highest temps I've reached are 69 C. Any danger here? Anything I should look for as far as temps or whatnot?

 

[RGM79]

Efficiency is also important. I'm starting to lean back toward the 970. But I swapped a PSU in favor of a better one to support the 390; should I just keep that PSU anyway or get a lower wattage one? I guess it wouldn't hurt to have a 750W PSU.

This is why I've always bought Nintendos and Playstations I know this will be worth the effort though.

Can't tell how your weather is, air conditioning, room size, or airflow or how sensitive you are to those!
FWIW the 390 should have much better legs.

The CX line isn't nearly as good as other models (Don't think of it as a Corsair PSU). I'd look at getting a nicer 550W-650W supply if you will stick to single card (Heck, even that's enough for most budget minded dual card configs).

Well it's a smaller form case (Fractal Node 304) and I'm just going by what I'm being told so far by RGM, I can get whatever honestly I'm just taking everyone's advice into consideration.

I usually wouldn't recommend Corsair CX power supplies as they're the cheapest models that Corsair offers. They're not exactly awful, but there are usually better options when it comes to price and build quality. That said, the CX750M does fit inside the Node 304 as it's only 140mm long according to the official specs, and it's been confirmed by other users. Besides, Jonny Guru's review of it shows that it's passable.

That said, I guess I should have been clearer, I was on my phone so I ended up just copying and pasting the links into my reply. While the Corsair CX750M does offer the most wattage, the build quality is only so-so. The Seasonic model I linked would have the best build quality out of all of them, but is the most expensive of the three and doesn't have modular cabling. The Cooler Master model fits in between the Corsair and Seasonic in terms of build quality, it's quite literally just the G550M's bigger brother but rated at 650 watts.

Oh, and I just saw this edit...

And yeah, I would like to keep it around this price but honestly if I'm paying this much I might as well get the best I can get for around this much money, even if it ends up costing a bit more. So if you feel the urge to make adjustments, the ONLY thing I've actually ordered at this point is the Node case -- so that'd be welcome and appreciated. When you're spending this much you obviously get a little picky and realize that you're already spending a lot of money and you may as well go out a little bit more if it means any respectable difference in performance.

I'm definitely open to going back to the 970, and especially after just reading the post right under this one.

Well, it turns out the only things to change were the power supply and the graphics card. I thought the prices would be somewhat different and there would be more choices to make.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($249.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.44 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170N-Gaming 5 Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 4 Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2800 Memory ($46.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 390 8GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($274.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Node 304 Mini ITX Tower Case ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Cooler Master VSM 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($97.96 @ Amazon)
Total: $1033.33
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-12 01:55 EST-0500

If you were gonna opt for a GTX 970 from Newegg or Amazon, then your selection is kind of limited. Going down that list..

The $315 Zotac is okay as a basic GTX 970 with an open style fan cooler, but it lacks the ability to turn off its fans at low temperatures to keep the PC running more silently. It does have a lot of positive reviews, though. The EVGA ACX 2.0+, Asus Strix, Gigabyte Windforce are the nicer midrange models which should be quite good. They can overclock decently well and the EVGA and Asus models can automatically turn off their fans.

 

[Hazaro]

CM VSM for $70 is great if you can bite the rebate.

 

[MaxVarEmreis]

I need new gaming headphone. Without mic. Can you recommend me one?? For roughly 100$.

 

[OraleeWey]

I need new gaming headphone. Without mic. Can you recommend me one?? For roughly 100$.

Take a look at this.

 

[LilJoka]

For sure. I haven't really looked into building in years and I'm largely unfamiliar with newer tech and equipment so I feel very lost. Been meaning to build a PC for like a decade but I'm finally financially able to do so. You noted that the CX PSU's weren't that great, any recommendation in place of it? Still undecided on the card, 390 sounds better but 970 sounds fine and less needy. I guess it just depends on which PSU is chosen. Room size and temperature aren't an issue.

Corsair RMx 650/550 fits in the Node 304 with a bit of work. Wouldn't go CX. 970 for node, lower TDP.
http://m.neogaf.com/showpost.php?p=193042431


Seasonic G550 and Coolermaster VS series are the go to PSUs for this case as they are 140mm. But louder than the RMx and don't have a hybrid fan.

 

[Kudo]

Depends, are you using an ASUS, MSI or ASRock mainboard?

Edit:
You have to activate the M.2 with your ASUS Mainboard.
I've found a video, should be easy:
https://youtu.be/No-ct8pQcIg?t=44s

Thank you very much, so disabling CSM and clearing the boot keys lets me install OS on the drive?
Bookmarked the video.

 

[hooijdonk17]

What's the cheapest APU+mATX combination that will handle 1080p x265 in an HTPC these days?

 

[7DollarHagane]

I really like the idea of the 390x but all the issues with amd drivers, stuttering, poor support on nvidia partnered games, and all the bad stuff I've heard over the years, I'm just going to go with the old standard evga ssc 970.

Had an evga 670 and never an issue with it. Worked for almost 4 years and still plays games on high/1080/30 pretty well.

 

[SolarMystic]

EDIT: Nevermind, fixed it.

 

[roadrunn3r]

I'm having an issue with my external hard drive. I bought an external drive and opened the enclosure so I could put it into my ps4, then I took the 500gb ps4 hard drive and put it in the enclosure. When I hook the drive up to my computer it won't show up for me to use it.

Does it show up in the bios?

 

[Garou]

Moving up to some of the newest Mobo's will also likely mean new RAM(DDR4 standard). DDR3 is not backwards compatible on the newer boards, so it is something to keep in mind.

Your processor very likely WILL still work just fine(it looks like your current i5 is an LG 1155 socket) , so you just have to make certain that whatever new mobo you go with has THAT socket support for the chip to fit. Amazon, Newegg, etc... will always display on their product pages which socket sizes the motherboards will fit, if you want to transfer it over when deciding on updated mobo options. But again, keep in mind whether that new board also supports DDR3 or if you need the new DDR4 standard.

That's not how this works, sockets and chipsets are not mixed up. No motherboard released in the last 3 years has a socket 1155.

 

[SolarMystic]

Does it show up in the bios?

Just figured it out. It wasn't assigned a drive letter so windows couldn't read the drive. Had to go into disk management to fix it.

 

[NaughtyPrawn]

I'm looking to put together a new rig for under £1100. Main reason for the purchase is I'm going to be mainly gaming on my PC instead of my ps4 as I'm losing my gaming lounge area.

I need it to be VR ready mainly for the Oculus Rift release and I would also like it to be reasonably future proof with some possibly upgrade options.

I put together one on PCPartPicker a D thought you guys could help me make the correct decision.

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/dXxH6h
Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/dXxH6h/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£185.96 @ Amazon UK)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£26.49 @ Ebuyer)

Motherboard: ASRock Z97 EXTREME4 ATX LGA1150

Motherboard (£109.78 @ More Computers)

Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£46.42 @ Amazon UK)

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£124.99 @ Amazon UK)

Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card (£276.98 @ Amazon UK)

Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case (£84.34 @ Amazon UK)

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (£70.97 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £925.93

I will most likely buy a 27" 2560 x 1440 monitor to game on. I asked a friend what he thought about the set up and he commented that he cpu is not future proof and "Ddr4 ram and the new 6k range chips are a must have if you dont want to rebuild in a couple of years IMO"

Just dine this post in a rush on mobile but will check back to see if links work etc. Thanks in advance!

 

[bomblord1]

What is the difference between a Z170I, Z170N, and Z170A?

 

[LilJoka]

I'm looking to put together a new rig for under £1100. Main reason for the purchase is I'm going to be mainly gaming on my PC instead of my ps4 as I'm losing my gaming lounge area.

I need it to be VR ready mainly for the Oculus Rift release and I would also like it to be reasonably future proof with some possibly upgrade options.

I put together one on PCPartPicker a D thought you guys could help me make the correct decision.

I will most likely buy a 27" 2560 x 1440 monitor to game on. I asked a friend what he thought about the set up and he commented that he cpu is not future proof and "Ddr4 ram and the new 6k range chips are a must have if you dont want to rebuild in a couple of years IMO"

Just dine this post in a rush on mobile but will check back to see if links work etc. Thanks in advance!

No reason to go ATX, either mATX or ITX would be more efficient. Are you looking to overclock? I assumed yes.

Here's what I would get around £900
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£185.96 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£26.49 @ Ebuyer)
Motherboard: Asus Z97M-PLUS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£92.94 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£61.91 @ More Computers)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£124.99 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card (£276.98 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Fractal Design Arc Mini R2 MicroATX Mini Tower Case (£70.20 @ Ebuyer)
Power Supply: Corsair RMx 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (£74.99 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £914.46
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-12 13:05 GMT+0000

It's fine to stick with Devils canyon, you don't need to go skylake. It's about 10% difference in CPU power at most but likely you'll be GPU limited first.

So if you want to step that rig up, just get a better GPU then up to the i7. Skylake is about £30 extra for the i7 vs Devils canyon i7 and the ram is about £15-30 more depending on the kit.

I would definitely get 16GB ram.

 

[kubus]

You're welcome I'm glad I could write it simple enough That's what I don't like about most tutorials online:

What you want to do: Move flower-pot from A --> B

How tutorials explain it: Move mountain from A --> B



But wow yeah 85°C is way too hot to think about overclocking :/ Where are you from, US or EU? You definitely want to get a good budget cooler on the CPU D:

Haha yeah I totally get what you mean

I opened my PC yesterday to see how the dust situation is and errrr yeah there was a lot of dust. Don't have compressed air atm but I managed to get most of it out with a cotton swab. Temperatures decreased to 75°C under load after that, so that's at least a little bit better.

I'm in EU, and I was eyeing the Scythe Mugen 4 or Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO as an affordable but quality cpu cooler. But I just figured out that to install a cooler on my cpu I'm most likely gonna have to take out the motherboard to get the bracket installed on the back which is a bit daunting. To make matters worse my case also has a fan on the sliding panel that's hovering right above the cpu, making it impossible to fit a cpu cooler in there. Apparently it can be removed but ugh, this is all so headache inducing . Feels like a RPG where you need to get a key from a NPC but before he gives it you have to deliver some flowers to NPC 2 who was kidnapped so you have to beat up Monster X first but to do that you have to get Magic Arrows first, etc.

Would just upgrading my GPU to a GTX 970 increase the temperature of the cpu? I think 40°C idle - 75°C under stress is borderline okay-ish, so in case I give up on getting a cpu cooler, I would like to know if upgrading my GPU is still an option.

 

[LilJoka]

What is the difference between a Z170I, Z170N, and Z170A?

Nothing really, usually companies just use a letter at the end to denote some sort of series, can be ITX or ATX for Asus.

 

[bomblord1]

Nothing really, usually companies just use a letter at the end to denote some sort of series, can be ITX or ATX for Asus.

That makes sense thanks.

 

[Lockjaw333]

So my current build is a 2500k @ 4.0ghz, 970 and 8gb gskill x series 1600 RAM.

With the quantum break specs recommending 16gb and recent games using quite a bit of system RAM, I'm wondering if adding another 8gb would be wise? It's not too expensive right now.


Also am I still good rocking the 2500k through this year?

 

[LilJoka]

So my current build is a 2500k @ 4.0ghz, 970 and 8gb gskill x series 1600 RAM.

With the quantum break specs recommending 16gb and recent games using quite a bit of system RAM, I'm wondering if adding another 8gb would be wise? It's not too expensive right now.


Also am I still good rocking the 2500k through this year?

Overclock it more, get s better CPU cooler if needed.
Overclock the GTX 970, should hit 1400mhz core
I would say adding another 8Gb is a good idea considering how cheap it is.

 

[Lockjaw333]

Overclock it more, get s better CPU cooler if needed.
Overclock the GTX 970, should hit 1400mhz core
I would say adding another 8Gb is a good idea considering how cheap it is.

I have a hyper evo 212 installed. When I originally over clocked I had a stable 4.5 ghz with 1.36v (I think I got an average chip). At the time I didn't want to chance anything because I wasn't in a position to replace it if it failed so I backed it down to 4.0 ghz with a negative offset only.

Now I'm not as concerned about the chip considering this is year 5 of the build, so I could push it back up to 4.5.

I think I will grab another 8gb ram.

 

[Skyfireblaze]

Haha yeah I totally get what you mean

I opened my PC yesterday to see how the dust situation is and errrr yeah there was a lot of dust. Don't have compressed air atm but I managed to get most of it out with a cotton swab. Temperatures decreased to 75°C under load after that, so that's at least a little bit better.

I'm in EU, and I was eyeing the Scythe Mugen 4 or Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO as an affordable but quality cpu cooler. But I just figured out that to install a cooler on my cpu I'm most likely gonna have to take out the motherboard to get the bracket installed on the back which is a bit daunting. To make matters worse my case also has a fan on the sliding panel that's hovering right above the cpu, making it impossible to fit a cpu cooler in there. Apparently it can be removed but ugh, this is all so headache inducing . Feels like a RPG where you need to get a key from a NPC but before he gives it you have to deliver some flowers to NPC 2 who was kidnapped so you have to beat up Monster X first but to do that you have to get Magic Arrows first, etc.

Would just upgrading my GPU to a GTX 970 increase the temperature of the cpu? I think 40°C idle - 75°C under stress is borderline okay-ish, so in case I give up on getting a cpu cooler, I would like to know if upgrading my GPU is still an option.

Oh dear yeah dust is one of the most annoying things about PCs. Compressed air is amazing for this but even with it and dust filters in cases it can still be annoying. Ever since I switched to a Fractal Design Define R4 case it got better since the dust filters catch most of the dust and make a nice dust-brick you can simply scrap off but alot of invisible "micro-dust" still reaches the inside :/ (And I don't want to mention the PCs I sometimes have to maintain in smoking households...)

Glad you managed to get the temperatures a bit better though! Yeah 40°C idle and 75°C load is acceptable. As for the cooler yeah many will need you to get behind the mainboard for the bracket but as an alternative look into the Cooler Master Hyper TX3 EVO. It might not be as good as the 212 in terms of cooling but it uses the standard Intel Push-Pin mounting mechanism so you don't have to install a bracket, maybe that's an option for you. I personally use one and it's almost inaudible quiet over my other PC components and keeps my 3570k around 66°C under load at 4.2ghz, 37°C idle.

That case fan sounds definitely annoying but ahaha that was one of the better gaming --> PC analogies I heard Reminds me of most MMOs and JRPGs too: Oh hey you have to save the world and go into this dungeon? Well before I let you pass slay these monsters and get me food and a drink and help me delivering a letter or else... wait you still haven't got the magic Pendant of Redundancy?! Nope you can't pass! Is the fan attached with screws or anything else visible?

Also no a 970 shouldn't have too much of an effect on your CPU temps, you would maybe see a little increase depending on how hot your current card gets but ultimately nothing to worry about when you get all the dust out

 

[Bloodember]

I really like the idea of the 390x but all the issues with amd drivers, stuttering, poor support on nvidia partnered games, and all the bad stuff I've heard over the years, I'm just going to go with the old standard evga ssc 970.

Had an evga 670 and never an issue with it. Worked for almost 4 years and still plays games on high/1080/30 pretty well.

AMD does not have driver issues, they havent for years. If a game has issues they will release a beta driver to fix the it pretty quickly. You have nothing to worry about if you want that 390x. Ive been using radeon cards for years with no major issues.

 

[kubus]

Oh dear yeah dust is one of the most annoying things about PCs. Compressed air is amazing for this but even with it and dust filters in cases it can still be annoying. Ever since I switched to a Fractal Design Define R4 case it got better since the dust filters catch most of the dust and make a nice dust-brick you can simply scrap off but alot of invisible "micro-dust" still reaches the inside :/ (And I don't want to mention the PCs I sometimes have to maintain in smoking households...)

Glad you managed to get the temperatures a bit better though! Yeah 40°C idle and 75°C load is acceptable. As for the cooler yeah many will need you to get behind the mainboard for the bracket but as an alternative look into the Cooler Master Hyper TX3 EVO. It might not be as good as the 212 in terms of cooling but it uses the standard Intel Push-Pin mounting mechanism so you don't have to install a bracket, maybe that's an option for you. I personally use one and it's almost inaudible quiet over my other PC components and keeps my 3570k around 66°C under load at 4.2ghz, 37°C idle.

That case fan sounds definitely annoying but ahaha that was one of the better gaming --> PC analogies I heard Reminds me of most MMOs and JRPGs too: Oh hey you have to save the world and go into this dungeon? Well before I let you pass slay these monsters and get me food and a drink and help me delivering a letter or else... wait you still haven't got the magic Pendant of Redundancy?! Nope you can't pass! Is the fan attached with screws or anything else visible?

Also no a 970 shouldn't have too much of an effect on your CPU temps, you would maybe see a little increase depending on how hot your current card gets but ultimately nothing to worry about when you get all the dust out

Aside from wireless electricity and everlasting batteries, the third thing on my "future innovations wishlist" is a way to completely eliminate the forming of dust .

Thanks a lot for the cooler recommendation. It actually sounds perfect! It's also only 136mm so maaaaaybe it will fit in my case without me having to dismantle the case fan (which I imagine also somehow helps with air flow, so I wasn't too happy about having to remove it in the first place). I'm sure it'll be enough to get my temps in the green range, but hopefully it'll also provide a little wiggle room for some CPU overclocking . So I actually just went ahead and called a local electronics shop and they seem to have it for only &#8364;20 which is crazy cheap. I'm going to pick it up later today along with some compressed air .

Returning to the gaming analogies, with a bit of luck, in a few hours I'll have skipped all those dumb NPC sidequests so I can get to saving the world right away .

Final question (..for now, lol): I think the cooler has some thermal paste included in the box, but would getting another brand be better?

 

[Skyfireblaze]

I really like the idea of the 390x but all the issues with amd drivers, stuttering, poor support on nvidia partnered games, and all the bad stuff I've heard over the years, I'm just going to go with the old standard evga ssc 970.

Had an evga 670 and never an issue with it. Worked for almost 4 years and still plays games on high/1080/30 pretty well.

AMD does not have driver issues, they havent for years. If a game has issues they will release a beta driver to fix the it pretty quickly. You have nothing to worry about if you want that 390x. Ive been using radeon cards for years with no major issues.

I can only agree with what Bloodember said. The whole "AMD drivers are bad!" thing is a myth of the past. Since 2008 I've owned a x1600xt, a 4850, a 5770 a 6850 and now a 7970 with a friends PC that I maintain having a 7870 and I can count the issues I had with them on one hand.

- Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 bad performance --> Was fixed by a day one driver update

- AION Online freaking out after I updated the driver without uninstalling the old one --> Was fixed with a clean install of the driver

- GTA V minimap flickering --> Was fixed by a driver update.

The only thing I have to call out AMD where it's due, I'm not sure how it is nowadays but the stock coolers on the 4850 and 5770 were bad as hell with the cards reaching 80-90°C under load. Ever since then I buy non-stock models and have a great time ever since. Heck my 7970 overclocks like a champ too while staying under 80°C. From 925mhz core and 1375mhz memory to 1100mhz core and 1500mhz memory.

Aside from wireless electricity and everlasting batteries, the third thing on my "future innovations wishlist" is a way to completely eliminate the forming of dust .

Thanks a lot for the cooler recommendation. It actually sounds perfect! It's also only 136mm so maaaaaybe it will fit in my case without me having to dismantle the case fan (which I imagine also somehow helps with air flow, so I wasn't too happy about having to remove it in the first place). I'm sure it'll be enough to get my temps in the green range, but hopefully it'll also provide a little wiggle room for some CPU overclocking . So I actually just went ahead and called a local electronics shop and they seem to have it for only &#8364;20 which is crazy cheap. I'm going to pick it up later today along with some compressed air .

Returning to the gaming analogies, with a bit of luck, in a few hours I'll have skipped all those dumb NPC sidequests so I can get to saving the world right away .

Final question (..for now, lol): I think the cooler has some thermal paste included in the box, but would getting another brand be better?

I'm with you on the innovations list, wireless electricity is being worked on as are seemingly everlasting batteries but even with these two the non-forming of dust would be a ground-breaking event, much like defeating the final boss

And that sounds like a plan! Yeah that's about what I paid for the TX3 too and for that it has insane value. For your side-CPU fan I would try to reattach it too, it's probably not needed but aslong as it doesn't cause any turbulence an extra fan can't be wrong. Theoretically It wouldn't even really matter if fan mounting-parts touch the heatsink aslong as no fans are being blocked or obstructed in their movement. Overclocking should be within moderate reach with the TX3 too.

Also yeah seems like it, I guess what you did was like a sequence-break in games but hey who cares aslong as you are the hero or heroine who gets the world saved

I don't really know much about thermal paste and just used the included one which works just fine with the pea-method. But maybe someone else can chime in or look around this link: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/360490-28-best-thermal-paste-lowest-temps

Report back how it goes

 

[brandonh83]

That said, I guess I should have been clearer, I was on my phone so I ended up just copying and pasting the links into my reply. While the Corsair CX750M does offer the most wattage, the build quality is only so-so.

Well, it turns out the only things to change were the power supply and the graphics card. I thought the prices would be somewhat different and there would be more choices to make.

Corsair RMx 650/550 fits in the Node 304 with a bit of work. Wouldn't go CX. 970 for node, lower TDP.
http://m.neogaf.com/showpost.php?p=193042431

Thank you both. I think I'll go with that new build you've suggested, seems to be nice and isn't radically different from the original prices anyway. Been a great help and I really appreciate it. I may approach this as a sort of starting build-- get it, put it together, play on it, see how it goes. If I feel like it could be better or not meeting my standards, I may order a bigger case a bit later for flexibility especially when a new card I want drops.

Speaking of which, how "upgradeable" is this build, assuming I get a bigger case down the line? Motherboard pretty lenient?

 

[soulassssns]

So I just upgraded my system to an I5 4690k but my next upgrade is the graphics card. Currently I'm rocking an MSI GTX 760 2gb but I am thinking about picking up a GTX 970.

Or should I throw AMD some love and pick up a 390? I have a EVGA 750 watt psu if that matters.

 

[Cry0gen-X]

I'm putting together a new gaming rig with a budget of somewhere around the $1200 bracket.

Looking to be putting together an i5 skylake build + nvidia combo.

Would love to hear your suggestions guys.

No monitors or any other accessories. Just the rig. Thanks.

 

[Erekiddo]

https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/Z87C/HelpDesk_CPU/
Just Google your model + CPU Support and it should get you there, otherwise go to the Support Tab on the website -> CPU Support/List
If you have a 'K' CPU then you should just overclock, and CPU bump wouldn't matter that much for a large % of cases.

*Note you may have to upgrade your BIOS firmware.

Thanks for your help on this. I was on the site but didn't see the CPU Compatibility button.

I'm not sure if I want to move from an i5 to an i7 just yet. I used the money I was going to spend on that on upgrading my GTX from a 760 to 970. I figured I'd see the bigger performance jump through that rather than CPU + RAM.

(Although I still want it... eventually)

 

[RGM79]

Thank you both. I think I'll go with that new build you've suggested, seems to be nice and isn't radically different from the original prices anyway. Been a great help and I really appreciate it. I may approach this as a sort of starting build-- get it, put it together, play on it, see how it goes. If I feel like it could be better or not meeting my standards, I may order a bigger case a bit later for flexibility especially when a new card I want drops.

Speaking of which, how "upgradeable" is this build, assuming I get a bigger case down the line? Motherboard pretty lenient?

You can drop all of the parts into a larger case in the future, it's all compatible. It's just a little silly to see an mITX motherboard inside a mATX or ATX case. The Node 304 is a great case though. It's big enough to take all but the absolute largest graphics cards on the market.

So I just upgraded my system to an I5 4690k but my next upgrade is the graphics card. Currently I'm rocking an MSI GTX 760 2gb but I am thinking about picking up a GTX 970.

Or should I throw AMD some love and pick up a 390? I have a EVGA 750 watt psu if that matters.

What are the rest of your PC's specs? In particular, we should know what case you have in case there are size restrictions on what graphics card you can get.

It's hard to go wrong with either the GTX 970 or R9 390. They have very similar performance, the R9 390 costs a bit less but right now the GTX 970 comes bundled with a free redeemable code for Rise of the Tomb Raider. Looking at current prices, the R9 390 starts at $260, and the GTX 970 starts at about $300. Those listed prices include rebates where they exist, though. I think Eurogamer's Digital Foundry articles on PC game performance tend to recommend the GTX 970 over the R9 390 for having slightly smoother gaming experience when it comes to frametimes and whatnot. That doesn't mean the R9 390 can't deliver a smooth performance, though. I think it boils down to whether you want low power consumption and heat (go for GTX 970 in that case) or don't mind (go for R9 390 for better value for your money). If you're not interested in Rise of the Tomb Raider, then you might want to wait because in less than a week they are apparently starting new game promotions, the Division will be bundled with some Nvidia cards and the new Hitman game will be bundled with some AMD cards.

Some of the other thread regulars here like Crisium will recommend the R9 390 and he makes a compelling argument.

 

[brandonh83]

You can drop all of the parts into a larger case in the future, it's all compatible. It's just a little silly to see an mITX motherboard inside a mATX or ATX case. The Node 304 is a great case though. It's big enough to take all but the absolute largest graphics cards on the market.

Works for me! That pic is hilarious, but by the time I think I'll be ready to make any upgrades I'll have plenty in the budget to get a new motherboard.

Again I really appreciate your help (and everyone else's of course!). One final question before I pull the trigger-- how's my build looking for the new Doom? Are the system requirements up?

edit: seems like it'll handle it just fine.

AND I just ordered. Finalized:

Case: Fractal Design Node 304
GPU: XFX Double Dissipation R9 390
CPU: Intel i5 6600K 3.5ghz
Memory: Ripjaws 16GB (8GBx2)
Motherboard: Gigabyte Mini-ITX DDR4
PSU: Cooler Master V650 PSU
HDD: WD 1TB
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU cooler

 

[RGM79]

I'm putting together a new gaming rig with a budget of somewhere around the $1200 bracket.

Looking to be putting together an i5 skylake build + nvidia combo.

Would love to hear your suggestions guys.

No monitors or any other accessories. Just the rig. Thanks.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($244.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170XP-SLI ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($118.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($89.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB SSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($319.99 @ Micro Center)
Case: Fractal Design Define S ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($48.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($87.95 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1135.54
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-12 12:08 EST-0500

This should meet your needs pretty well. The cost of Windows is included into the build but if you don't need a new copy, you could put that money towards a larger SSD or something else.