Unique Beast Races [WIP]

[Dardranac]

I gotta disagree with Dardranac's suggestion of a motherboard with onboard video. Those ports are never going to be used, because he'll have a video card, that's a lot of space which could instead have more USB ports.

Drohung's budget is my budget too, nice.

I would trade out the motherboard from my last build idea with this MSI X99A Gaming 7. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130839

My reason being it has red ports instead of blue ports and it has a Killer E2200 network interface card, which is really cool, and it's only a little bit more expensive.

 

Dardranac is thinking Intel Z170 chipset motherboards, they're the brand new this month thing created for lower budget normal gaming people. I'm more fond of the Intel X99 chipset motherboards, LGA2011v3 processors, because they have eight ram slots and six core processors. The general word I've seen around is that Z170 is a better idea for gamers, they're cheaper and the processors are faster, 4GHz or higher right off the bat, and x99 is a better idea for people who intend to overclock, programmers, and editors of huge files.

Why does the color of the ports matter if the rear of the computer will be facing a wall? As for onboard graphics Directx 12 along with other new graphics apis, will have a new feature that allows the onboard graphics to be used in sync to the dedicated video card. This allows for a pretty large performance increase with newer games down the line. I can tell you first hand I had an i7-990x@ 4.6ghz with 12gb RAM, after changing to an OC i7 4790k, theres really been no difference when gaming because games arent very good with multi core processors. Games prefer faster single cores, over multiple slower cores. The 2011v3 motherboards and processors also cost a lot more. That extra money could go towards a better graphics solution, monitor, better parts, or just more storage. I also have the gaming 7 for testing other hardware, and to be honest the onboard killer networking just feels not all that useful to me, you wont notice much of a difference unless you also upgrade router and internet provider. But I do agree that if youre going to be doing very intensive things with autodesk maya, or loading multiple programs on a ramdisk, I would go the extra mile. For programming though, get a really cheap laptop with a very slow cpu and low ram. Those limits will push you so that youll get better overall.

[Voldearag]

Why does the color of the ports matter if the rear of the computer will be facing a wall?

Why would the interface end of the computer be facing a wall? That's the side that faces me, so I can plug stuff into it. I haven't needed to read or burn a CD in ages.

Directx 12 sounds really cool, but Windows 10 is a predator so I won't be able to use it.

I've just bought all the stuff I suggested, with tax and stuff it was $1252.

In case anyone's confused, I'm not Drohung, we just both needed to upgrade.

[Dardranac]

 

Why does the color of the ports matter if the rear of the computer will be facing a wall?

 

Why would the interface end of the computer be facing a wall? That's the side that faces me, so I can plug stuff into it.

The average person has the rear exaust pointing away from them, thats why there's front headers. Also, turning the cables around to plug into the monitor and router cause strain. The optimal position is having the case perpendicular to the monitor, the rear interface right next to the monitors ports. That way both the front and rear ports are at either side for easy access, and any wires for things like the keyboard or mouse can be routed just under the monitor. If you want to go all out, just mount the motherboard inside your desk and use extentions to place ports where you want them.

[Drohung]

All of your guy's suggestions are really helping! Every Thursday I haven't ordered the parts by, the budget increases by an additional 100 dollars, so I need to remember that when I finally purchase the parts. It's been suggested to me that I should use dual graphics cards. Is that a good idea? It sounds good in theory with what my friends have told me.

[Boombro]

You one first. Save money for until the gpu gets old or for other better parts.

[Voldearag]

Dual graphics cards, honestly I've never done it! But it's the coolest thing. If you're going to buy a new graphics card at all then your spending requirements go up at least $200 though. I don't know enough about modern graphics cards to suggest anything, besides that I would go for a card with all of the ports in one slot, like say, this http://www.amd.com/PublishingImages/photography/product/360px/AMD-Radeon-HD-6990-360W.png

instead of this

http://computingforever.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/amd-radeon-hd-6970.jpg

So that if you replace the fans with a waterblock later you'll have space to use the expansion slot beside the card.

[Dardranac]

All of your guy's suggestions are really helping! Every Thursday I haven't ordered the parts by, the budget increases by an additional 100 dollars, so I need to remember that when I finally purchase the parts. It's been suggested to me that I should use dual graphics cards. Is that a good idea? It sounds good in theory with what my friends have told me.

Depends what resolution you intend to play at, you said dual monitor set up before right? If 1080p, a gtx 970 is awesome for the money. Higher res such as 2k, a r9 390 would be great. 4k, multi monitor would be best to go multiple cards or just one 980ti. Sli increases performance by 40%, but adding a third card only increases by 10-20%, fourh increase being lower still. If youre going to water cool any of your cards in the future, there are these new water blocks aimed at people just starting out, they are basically a cpu water block with a seperate bracket that acts as a heatsink for vram and regulator cooling. Water cooling is expensive though.

 

Heres an example of universal waterblocks, the alphacool GPX series: http://www.alphacool.com/index.php/cat/c41_NVIDIA-Fullsize.html

 

If I were you though, I would get a very cheap card thats passable at 1080p. Such as a gtx 950, a 750 or even onboard graphics depending on what cpu you intend on getting. Tough it out with that for a couple more months until pascal releases, the high bandwidth memory nvidia cards should be worth the wait.

 

Edit: Forgot to mention, for sli or crossfire, you have to make sure the motherboard and power supply supports it.

Edited September 22, 2015 by Dardranac

[strazytski]

All of your guy's suggestions are really helping! Every Thursday I haven't ordered the parts by, the budget increases by an additional 100 dollars, so I need to remember that when I finally purchase the parts. It's been suggested to me that I should use dual graphics cards. Is that a good idea? It sounds good in theory with what my friends have told me.

er whats your build?

 

 

There is a point its good to buy two. but if your buying super cheap gpus. you can buy one more powerful gpu for less than two of the weaker gpus. just go to pc build sites. and remember these are suggestions if they make a mistake its you flipping the bill! same goes your friends!!!!

 

and remember buying two gpus does not double the graphical power.

 

cautious and patience!

Edited September 23, 2015 by strazytski

[RetroG3cko]

All right fellas, lemme try to clear some things up. I apologize in advance for the wall of text incoming... ^w^

 

We are at a crossroads where new parts are currently being released and a new platform may be the way to go for the future. Specifically, I am referring to Intel's Skylake series of CPUs. They are releasing right now. The catch is that they require a different socket, the LG 1151 socket, which is incompatible with precious generations of Intel CPUs (4th gen stuff like Haswell typically used LG 1150 sockets).

 

Considering the current prices and the fact that you are building a new computer all together, then perhaps you may consider the Skylake chips. It's a bit more expensive, but you'll be more future proofed with those CPUs. On the flip side, Haswell (and Haswell refresh) chips are at a very good price right now and a good chip will surivive you for several years. I've read about folks who have held onto Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge CPUs (2nd and 3rd Gen) and have had no issues playing modern games. AMD provides overall good CPUs for the price, but an Intel chip is faster and draws less power (and of course is more expensive).

 

So, if you are just playing games and doing some modding, a good i5 CPU should do you wonders.

 

In fact, most games are hardly ever CPU restricted. The obvious exceptions are MMOs and Bethesda games to an extent due to their high CPU usage. If you want to stream, do video editing, rendering, tons of modeling, then an i7 CPU will be better. In your case, it seems something like an i5 4690 or an i5 6600k would be plenty for gaming and multitasking. You may even consider getting the i5 4690k as it is the unlocked version of the 4690 (meaning you can overclock it to squeeze more juice out of it if you have a good cooler).

 

If you stick with a 4XXX series Intel CPU, then you need a motherboard with an LG 1150 socket. Take a look at the following build to get an idea of a CPU/Motherboard combo: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/sbxyP6

 

If you go for a 6XXX series Intel CPU, then a motherboard with an LG 1151 socket is needed. Here's an example build using it: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/QfsyP6

 

If you go for AMD (not my preference, but it's still good to consider), then you'll need a different socket all together. I don't have much experience with this so I cannot say much.

 

As for graphics cards, my suggestion is to go for one card and maybe later down the line get a second card if you need it.

 

Why? Higher upfront cost because then you need to have adequate cooling to be able to handle that amount of heat. Generally speaking, an Nvidia GTX 960 will handle most games at 1080p on high settings. A GTX 970 will max out games at 1080p and do well with a lot of games at 1440p. A GTX 980 will allow you to touch 4K gaming. These cards typically run cool and have a relatively low power draw.

 

On the flip side, AMD cards provide more performance at the cost of a bit more power usage (make sure to have a good PSU) and increased heat (proper cooling takes care of this anyways). AMD cards are also cheaper compared to the respective Nvidia card they are competing with. I'm not to well knowledged with these cards, but I do know the R9 3XX series of cards are pretty solid overall. The R9 380 competes with the GTX 960.The R9 390 competes with the GTX 970. The R9 390x competes with the GTX 980. All these cards are solid choices.

 

My recommendation, go for an Nvidia GTX 970. You can later SLI if you want. The GTX 980 and the competing AMD card are incredibly expensive (~$500), but if you really want performance that blows you mind (and since you are using two monitors eventually) then you may one to consider those.

 

Here is a build showing off a monstrous R9 Fury card: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/dFppP6

 

Other things to note...

 

If you plan to do dual graphics, make sure the motherboard is compatible with it. Nvidia does SLI and AMD does Crossfire. Not all motherboards have one or both.

 

In terms of RAM, getting 8GB (about $40 from G.Skill, Crucial, Kingston, etc.) will do you fine for the gaming currently. If you multitask a lot (tons of windows open) and game, then maybe 16GB is the way to go.

 

When it comes to storage, I highly recommend getting a small SSD as your boot drive (OS and some frequently used programs). A 120GB or 250GB Crucial, SanDisk, Samsung SSD are all good choices (250GB typically runs at about $90 which is good). For a second drive, you can get the typical 1TB HDD at 7200 RPM or something like that (Western Digital at $50 is one option).

 

If you plan to overclock (CPU, GPU and even RAM can be overclocked if it supports it), then you definitely want a good cooling system. The Cooler Master 212 EVO that you see in many PCPartPicker builds is a togo choice for fan based coolers. If you want a really quiet cooler, then perhaps consider the flashier Noctua coolers. If you are planning for some crazy overclocking and using a strong GPU (or even two GPUs), then you may want to consider water cooling. I don't know much about these so ask around the PCPartPicker website (they are really helpful!).

 

As for a PSU, just get a good quality PSU (80+ Gold (Bronze and Silver are okay too)) that leaves enough headroom for overclocking. With a single Nvidia, a 550W-650W should be fine. For a single AMD, a 650W-750W will suffice. Not sure about dual GPUs, but expect to get a PSU around 750W. If you aren't overclocking, then something around 500W-600W will do fine unless you got a monster of a GPU.

 

To build a modern computer that will handle current games at 1080p, expect to spend around $900. If you wanna up the ante and go for 1440p or even higher, especially on two monitors, then your price range of $1200-$1400 is reasonable. Anything higher is probably for top-of-the-line parts and is better spent on peripherals and extra storage (unless you are a total enthusiast).

 

On a final note, I highly recommend just reading around in PCPartPicker, especially in the forums because of all the information there is about building computers. It's free to make an account and just ask around and even make your own parts list! I wish you the best of luck in building a computer, it's a fun and sometimes addicting project to undertake!

 

Feel free to ask more questions or just pick apart my information; I may be a bit off on some things so please correct me if there is a mistake, I tried to generalize as much as possible! I'm in the process of building my own desktop and I have spent way too many hours scouring the internet for information about building (it's been too long since I've built one ;w; ). Sorry if I explained things that you already knew, I just wanted to cover all the bases to be as clear as possible.

 

Oh, and here's an example build to give you an idea of what I was talking about: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/s9dYD3

The motherboard could probably be exchanged for a cheaper one. MSI and Asus are solid buys, but that's just me. I chose a fan cooler for this one, but a water cooler may be better because of the GTX 980 and the unlocked i5 6600k. The case could probably be better, but it's a solid case with good airflow. Also note that there is a juicy 7% off sale going on for the GTX 980 which really helps lower the cost. I wish you the best of luck!

Edited September 23, 2015 by RetroG3cko

[Dardranac]

 

Wall of text.

 

All of what was said is true.

 

Also best graphics card here: http://i.imgur.com/4uHrDTX.jpg

Edited September 23, 2015 by Dardranac