Rate this Gaming Rig please

BeerWolf

Been looking about on that hardwareversand.de site... came about accumulating this Gaming rig for a €1500 Budget ( €1380 with that discount tip! ):

• Intel Core i7-4770K Box, LGA1150
• 16GB-Kit G.Skill RipJawsZ PC3-12800U CL9-9-9-24 (DDR3-1600)
• Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition, 3GB GDDR5, PCI-Express
• WD Caviar Black 1TB SATA 3 8,9cm(3,5")
• Samsung SSD 840 Pro 128GB SATA 6Gb/s
• Asus 24X SATA DVD+/-RW
  
• Corsair Carbide Air540, ATX
• Corsair Professional Series HX750 80PLUS Gold 750W
• ASUS Z87-PLUS (C2)
• Noctua NH-D14, Sockel AM2/AM2+/AM3/775/1366/1155/1156

Would you rate this as a decent setup, and would this setup last me a fair while down playing games on max settings?

Keimps

Very nice setup there mate.
Will allow you to basically play all games on ultra settings with at least 60 fps.
Maybe the very most demanding games as Crysis 3 and Arma 3 will be at around 50 fps.

Depends on your monitor and resolution though.

Great motherboard and, cpu and cpu cooler (one of the best air cpu coolers there is) which will allow you to get a very good overclock.
Great PSU which allows you to overclock and add a second GPU in the future if you want to.

Might want to change the WD Caviar to the Blue one which is faster and cheaper.
WD Blue

Same for the SSD, might want to go with the Samsung EVO one, which got released around 1 month ago.
SSD Evo

Make sure to use the geizhals website knocked me off around 80 euros on my order (1100 euro order).
Look for coupons as well which will knock off another 20 euros.

BeerWolf

Ah, cheers for the heads up with them two drives - and yeah, already applied that discount, saved me over €100


Edit - How the heck do I remove an item from the basket? >_<;

Keimps

Just make a 0 from the 1 at the right side of the item and then click refresh basket at the bottom.

Keimps

Great, you can also use the VYETY2UF1Y for a 20 euro voucher on 1000 orders. (only applicable to new accounts though).

BeerWolf

Aight, total costs is €1352, including shipping, with that €20 voucher


There any 21-22" monitors that you could suggest to make the most out of it ?


Edit - hit the ORDER button, and it's a "Thank you for placing an order cash on prepayment.", yadda yadda yadda... where's my options to actually PAY for it ? 'Credit transfer' ... no other info given...

Keimps

Only option on orders over 750 euro is credit transfer yes.
That's the only downside of hardwareversand.

I ordered my parts last Friday and transferred the money that morning, using online banking (bank of ireland).
Got an update today that the money has been received

The details should be sent in an email to you (check your spam/junk filter). If not there also is a confirmation (a copy) of your order on the website itself if you go into my profile and then order history.
Then by clicking on your order, all the way at the bottom you should have:
''Info:
With the following link, you can reach the order confirmation for the above order, which was send to you as email:
View order confirmation''

Make sure to add in the 'Intended purpose', order number and customer number to make it as easy as possible for them

BeerWolf

Ah, it indeed was in the Spam folder. Cheers


On a side note, while looking at monitors... I was thinking of getting this:

LG 29EA93 29 inch Widescreen LED Monitor

Not right now, but something eventually later - this old monitor could do with an eventual replacement too!

Keimps

Dunno about that one to be honest (literally don't really know).
Quite a lot of guys seem to very fond of this one: 27'' Monitor

BeerWolf

Yamakasi ? Never even heard of that brand >_<;

BloodBath

I would say it's a bit overkill in some areas. 16gb of ram is not needed for gaming. Most games don't use over 4gb of ram at the moment. 8gb of ram is the sweet spot and will be enough for a few years I'd say.

Likewise there aren't many games that will benefit from the extra threads of the 4770k. A 4670k will get identical performance in most games.

You could save more by going for the 7950. Clock for clock it's only about 8% slower than the 7970.

The power supply is overkill unless you plan on going with a dual gpu setup in which case you will need a better mainboard that supports proper 8/8 crossfire. If you aren't going to go dual cards then a 500w psu would be more than enough.

I would say the cpu cooler is overkill as well. You will still get around the same clocks with something cheaper like the Thermalright Macho R2 or the Thermalright True Spirit 140mm.

With all of those savings including the drive savings you could probably get 2 x 7950's and grab a Korean 1440p monitor for a great 1440p gaming rig.

BeerWolf

BloodBath wrote: »

I would say it's a bit overkill in some areas. 16gb of ram is not needed for gaming. Most games don't use over 4gb of ram at the moment. 8gb of ram is the sweet spot and will be enough for a few years I'd say.

Likewise there aren't many games that will benefit from the extra threads of the 4770k. A 4670k will get identical performance in most games.

You could save more by going for the 7950. Clock for clock it's only about 8% slower than the 7970.

The power supply is overkill unless you plan on going with a dual gpu setup in which case you will need a better mainboard that supports proper 8/8 crossfire. If you aren't going to go dual cards then a 500w psu would be more than enough.

I would say the cpu cooler is overkill as well. You will still get around the same clocks with something cheaper like the Thermalright Macho R2 or the Thermalright True Spirit 140mm.

With all of those savings including the drive savings you could probably get 2 x 7950's and grab a Korean 1440p monitor for a great 1440p gaming rig.

Well, I do plan to upgrade to crossfire once AMD's RX Series is out in a few weeks.. prices for the 7970 should drop then to get another relatively cheap.

What motherboard would you recommend in that case?

BloodBath

The cheapest decent board that has the newer Realtek 1150 audio and sli/crossfire support is this one.

http://www.hardwareversand.de/DDR3/79845/ASRock+Z87+Extreme4%2C+Sockel+1150%2C+ATX.article

The point about the 7950 is that you can get them for €85 less and there is very little between them and a 7970. If you aren't going for a 1440p monitor then you won't need a dual link dvi-d connection so this card would be ideal for only €230. You're paying 37% more for 8% more performance. Buying a second one is also going to be a lot cheaper. You could even get 2 now with some adjustments to your build.

http://www.hardwareversand.de/3072+MB/65384/HIS+HD+7950+IceQ+Boost+Clock+GDDR5+3072MB+DVI+HDMI+2xMiniDP.article

Keimps

7970 ghz benchmarks
As you can see here there is still quite a difference with the 7970ghz, on BF3 ultra settings. 10 fps difference on 1200p compared to the 7950 boost (60 to 50 fps).

I would prefer going with the stronger single GPU, which will allow you to run all games on very high or ultra settings.
Then you will still have the possibilities to add another one (of the better GPU).

With a first build I would always choose the single GPU over the SLI.

I really think a sinlge 7970ghz will be enough at 1080p, also offering you better upgrade options down the road.

Edit:
Anyway, that's just my opinion of course, for what it's worth.
Bloodbath has been in this business of course, for way longer than I have

BloodBath

Clock for clock it's around 5%. That article does not show what clock speeds the cards are at.

This does.

http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/graphics/34761-amd-hd-7950-vs-hd-7970-clocks/

Spending 37% more for 5% more performance is just silly.

Keimps

They compare it to a stock 7970 though, not a 7970 GHZ edition, which is another 5% stronger at least.
The 7970GHZ comes close to a GTX 770.

With a first build I would prefer a single gpu with cf/sli options.
Otherwise you start with higher power consumption, you lose to option to upgrade and you start with some possible issues cf/sli experience, like micro stutter and support. Now I know that most of those issues have been taken care, but still, the power consumption and upgrade option sticks.

BloodBath

It's a stock 7950 and a stock 7970 both at the same clock speeds. The cards have the same memory, gpu's and pcb's. There is no difference outside of a couple less shader units on the 7950. They will go to the same clock speeds with the same coolers and the difference is only 5%. No more.

My point stands. It's madness to spend 37% more for 5% more performance.

Keimps

While I might not agree that the difference between the both card is only 5%, I definitely do agree that spending 37% more for a 5% increase is madness.

BloodBath

Why would you not agree? It's there right in front of your eyes. Here's another article with the same conclusion. Are they all wrong? Have you got evidence to suggest otherwise?

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/graphics/display/sapphire-radeon-hd-7950-oc_8.html#sect5

And yet another with the 7970 running 25mhz faster on the gpu.

http://hardocp.com/article/2012/03/01/xfx_radeon_hd_7950_black_edition_video_card_review/8#.UkthGoash7M

I've been saying this on here for nearly a year now.

BeerWolf

Aight - cheers for the debating, I guess I'll be going with the 7950... then getting another for crossfire later once prices drop come the new RX Series.

Bloodbath, you seem to be pretty much in the loop - as a Gamer, for monitors, would you recommend the ASUS VG248QE 24-Inch Screen LED-lit Monitor or the larger ASUS VG Series VG278HE 27-Inch Screen LED-lit LCD Monitor?

Keimps

Maybe I have misunderstood you a little bit Bloodbath.
7970 ghz vs 7975 boost
What I was/am referring to is that if you look at this review they 7970ghz clearly outperforms the 7950 boost by more than 5%.
This is the (box) overclocked 7950 boost version vs the (box) overclocked 7970 ghz version.

The only way when the 7950 pulls close (which is what you were saying) is when it's fully overclocked to the max, which you will have to do yourself. Not everyone may be willing to overclock their GPU to the max.

So yes you are right, especially if you don't mind giving it an overclock yourself, you would be mad going for the 7970 for that very small extra performance.


Beerwolf, I was actually planning on buying that Asus 248QE monitor.
I did a lot of research and what I found is that it's a real popular gaming monitor, 3d ready, 144hz, very fast response times.

The only thing people seem to be finding a downside on it is that the colors are not the best.
The colors out of the box are horrible. Although you can make those a lot better with some adjustments, they still seem to be lacking in comparison to other monitors.

The reason I dropped down to an Ultrasharp from Dell was mainly because of my budget.

BloodBath

Maybe I have misunderstood you a little bit Bloodbath.
7970 ghz vs 7975 boost
What I was/am referring to is that if you look at this review they 7970ghz clearly outperforms the 7950 boost by more than 5%.
This is the (box) overclocked 7950 boost version vs the (box) overclocked 7970 ghz version.

The only way when the 7950 pulls close (which is what you were saying) is when it's fully overclocked to the max, which you will have to do yourself. Not everyone may be willing to overclock their GPU to the max.

So yes you are right, especially if you don't mind giving it an overclock yourself, you would be mad going for the 7970 for that very small extra performance.

You are comparing 2 different cards at different clock speeds. And no the only way it pulls close is not when it's overclocked to the max. A highly overclocked 7950 would outperform a stock 7970. I'll say it again. With both cards running at the same clock speeds the difference in performance is only 5%. I couldn't make it much clearer.

As for the monitor I have no clue to be honest. They seem expensive.

Keimps

BloodBath wrote: »

You are comparing 2 different cards at different clock speeds. And no the only way it pulls close is not when it's overclocked to the max. A highly overclocked 7950 would outperform a stock 7970. I'll say it again. With both cards running at the same clock speeds the difference in performance is only 5%. I couldn't make it much clearer.

I get that point yes and you are right there, but that is only relevant to the buyer if they want to overclock their GPU. (But not everyone wants to do that)
So if they don't mind overclocking your GPU, then yes then you would get A LOT more bang for your bucks yes.

As in the last review I linked, they compare the cards as you buy them, with their standard (pre overclocked) speed, in which the
Gigabyte 7970 GHz is clocked at Base 1050/ Boost 1100 MHz, and the His 7950 Boost at Base 850 / Boost 925 MHz).

So out of the box there still is substantial difference between the two (more than 5%), that was my point.

BloodBath

The op is clearly going to overclock with his choice of parts though so it's a non argument.

BeerWolf

I plan on getting the ASTRO A50 headset, would the ASUS Z87-PLUS (C2)'s onboard 7.1 sound work fine with it - or should I expand on the idea of getting a sound card, like the ASUS Xonar Essence STX, to make the most out of it ?

srsly78

BeerWolf wrote: »

Bloodbath, you seem to be pretty much in the loop - as a Gamer, for monitors, would you recommend the ASUS VG248QE 24-Inch Screen LED-lit Monitor or the larger ASUS VG Series VG278HE 27-Inch Screen LED-lit LCD Monitor?

What is the point of building a monster gaming pc, then hooking it up to a cheapo 1080 monitor? The yamasaki the guys linked you earlier is a high resolution monitor, 2560x1440. You can even get as high as 2560x1600.

Sure those other monitors can do 120hz or 3d, but you really want higher resolution (and IPS) imo.

simple version: Buy a high resolution ips monitor (or 2 or 3) so you can actually use your new pc to it's full potential.

BeerWolf

srsly78 wrote: »

What is the point of building a monster gaming pc, then hooking it up to a cheapo 1080 monitor? The yamasaki the guys linked you earlier is a high resolution monitor, 2560x1440. You can even get as high as 2560x1600.

Sure those other monitors can do 120hz or 3d, but you really want higher resolution (and IPS) imo.

simple version: Buy a high resolution ips monitor (or 2 or 3) so you can actually use your new pc to it's full potential.

You pretty much answered it - the higher refresh rate.

Keimps

srsly78 wrote: »

What is the point of building a monster gaming pc, then hooking it up to a cheapo 1080 monitor? The yamasaki the guys linked you earlier is a high resolution monitor, 2560x1440. You can even get as high as 2560x1600.

Sure those other monitors can do 120hz or 3d, but you really want higher resolution (and IPS) imo.

simple version: Buy a high resolution ips monitor (or 2 or 3) so you can actually use your new pc to it's full potential.

Good point on the resolution.

But then again, if you go with a high resolution monitor with 60hz you 2 great GPU's will be able to run games at 100+ fps, but your 60hz monitor will be your bottleneck limiting your fps at 60...

So ideally you would want a 1440p high resolution 120hz monitor. But those are really expensive.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-YAMAKASI-Catleap-Q270-2B-Extreme-OC-120Hz-IPS-1440p-Monitor-Perfect-Pixel-/140922305094

BeerWolf

^ 1440p monitors are only recent - give it awhile for proper ones to come out with higher refresh rates. Currently, as the one you linked, are just OC'd.

BeerWolf

Right o - I've 'bought' it via online banking... just got to wait til Monday for it to actually proceed, then wait for a comfirmation... etc.

So yeah, I'll be having this brand spanking new PC within a few weeks, hopefully...


Also getting that ASUS VG248QE 24" monitor.

J_V_C

You might consider getting an adapter for the power cable, hwvs supply a German two pin cable.

Morf

J_V_C wrote: »

You might consider getting an adapter for the power cable, hwvs supply a German two pin cable.

HWVS sent two EU to UK/Ire adaptors with my order. Which was nice.