Build me a gaming rig please

stimpson

I've put my Mac mini on adverts and I'm planning on using the cash to build a gaming rig. I got on the Carmageddon kickstarter and it shipped last week. Unfortunately my laptop isn't up to the task so it's time for a build.


1. What is your budget?

€800, give or take

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer?

Gaming. Oculus rift.


3. Do you need a copy of Windows?

No

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer?

1080p monitor and plenty of hard drives. I'd like a 256gb SSD. Keyboard and mouse, but might be interested in a gaming mouse if in budget

5. Do you need a monitor?
Maybe

5a.

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future?

I'm thinking of dual 1080p - I can pick up a matching benq for ~100. The other option is to sell the Benq and get a catleap or 2 if it can be done in budget.

6. Do you need any of these peripherals?

Nope.

7. Are you willing to try overclocking?

Sure, why not

8. How can you pay?

Credit card, cash, sexual favours

9. When are you purchasing?

As soon as the Mac is sold.


I've built many a machine in the past, but haven't done one in a good few years, so I don't know what to look for in modern hardware.

One thing though - NO BLUE LED's!!!

BloodBath

If you want good oculus support without upgrading I'd be looking at a gtx 970 at least since the rumored specs for the consumer version will be around 1440p/90hz which is going to be pretty demanding if you want good game settings.

That's a good chunk of the budget so I'd rule out a second monitor for now and focus on the PC.


Total build cost: € 799, + €11.99 shipping
Intel Core i5-4460 in-a-Box € 158,
Zotac GeForce GTX 970, 4GB DDR5 € 308,
8GB Kit Crucial Ballistix Sport Series DDR3-1600, CL9 € 62,
ASRock B85 Pro4, Socket 1150, ATX € 60,
Crucial 256GB SSD MX100 2.5 "(7mm) € 90,
Nanoxia Deep Silence DS 3 Dark Black, without power supply € 59,
Corsair Builder Series CX600 V3 Non-Modular 80 + Bronze, 600 Watt € 57,

stimpson

Thanks Bloodbath. I hear what you're saying about the GPU. Would the GTX970 have enough welly to drive dual 1440p displays at a good frame rate?

Also has the PSU enough headroom if I throw more stuff at it?

If I had another €100 to spare, would I be better off stretching for an i7 or 16gb of RAM?

BloodBath

No bother.

Nope not dual 1440 for gaming. Single 1440p would be fine though. I wouldn't use dual monitors for gaming anyway. You could always add a 1440p screen further down the line and use your current 1080p as a second monitor for web pages/desktop or whatever.

The PSU has enough headroom for single GPU systems yes. If you plan on going dual gpu you would want a 700-800w with decent efficiency and connectivity for 2 gpus. You would need a board with good sli support as well then. I'd probably go for a better case as well if that was the plan.

An i7 and 16gb of ram will do nothing for games.

stimpson

So do you think I could get a single GPU SLi ready machine for the 950 mark? Had a decent offer on the Mac today

stimpson

I'm ready to pull the trigger on this, so if someone could give this the once over I would really appreciate it. My budget went up , so the plan is to future proof by making it SLi ready, so I changed the motherboard and PSU from above. I still have about €50 to play with if someone can recommend a better case??

I'm going to stick with my current monitor for the time being, and decide if I should do dual 1080p or single 1440p and double up in the future (I should have said I need dual monitor setup for work.

Intel Core i5-4460 in-a-Box 158,76 €
ASRock Z97 Extreme3, Sockel 1150, ATX 101,94 €
8GB Crucial Ballistix Sport CL9 DDR3 PC3-12800 1600 67,87 €
Nanoxia Deep Silence DS 3 Dark Black 59,94 €
Zotac GeForce GTX 970, 4GB DDR5 308,99 €
Crucial MX100 SSD 256GB (2,5", 7mm) 90,72 €
EVGA 750W,80Plus Bronze,5Yrs Wnt 70,88 €


Total 859,10 €

BloodBath

There are lots of cases you could go for. It depends if you favor quietness or cooling. If you like the Nanoxia there is the deep silence 1 version which is bigger and more suited to SLI setups.

Cooling 2 gpu's well is not easy with air so you want something with good airflow and plenty of fan mounting options. You would want to fill out all the fan slots in the DS1 for example.

It has 2 front intakes and 1 rear exhaust at stock. You would want to add a side intake, a bottom intake and 2 top exhausts when going SLI. Look for a case with similar features.

There is a huge amount of good cases around 100 though so go for something you like with good reviews.

I think you're spreading yourself a little thin on that budget though. I'd be more inclined to grab the better Gigabyte G1 GTX 970 and maybe a 4670k and a decent cpu cooler with a decent z97 single gpu board, overclock the whole lot and you will still have excellent 1440p performance.

The oculus won't have good support for at least a year or 2 I'd imagine and there will be an even newer gen of cards out by then that handle 1440p even better with a single GPU. The giga g1 gaming 970 with a decent overclock blitzes most games at 1440p though pulling over 60fps on max settings with most titles.

It's obviously up to you though. If you have your heart set on going SLI later then that's your choice.

stimpson

So I was able to stretch the budget by not telling the missus. This is what I'm going for - not 100% about the motherboard, but I can't read any more reviews. I think it will be fine and should keep me busy for a while:


8GB Crucial Ballistix Sport CL9 DDR3 PC3-12800 1600 73,84 €

EVGA 750W,80Plus Bronze,5Yrs Wnt 75,25 €

Nanoxia Deep Silence One Dark Anthracite mit Seitenfenster, 94,93 €

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 G1 Gaming, 4GB GDDR5 339,90 €

Intel Core i5-4670K Box, LGA1150 203,66 €

ASRock Z97 Extreme4, Sockel 1150, ATX 119,99 €

Crucial MX100 SSD 256GB (2,5", 7mm) 90,72 €

Total €998,29

Many thanks BloodBath - couldn't have doe it without you!

walshyp

Don't forget the cpu cooler if your overclocking! 212 evo shud do.

GREENGEKO

hmm good thread this

walshyp

GREENGEKO wrote: »

hmm good thread this

Did you enjoy it

stimpson

8GB Crucial Ballistix Sport CL9 DDR3 PC3-12800 1600 73,84 €

EVGA 750W,80Plus Bronze,5Yrs Wnt 75,25 €

Nanoxia Deep Silence One Dark Anthracite mit Seitenfenster, 94,93 €

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 G1 Gaming, 4GB GDDR5 339,90 €

Intel Core i5-4670K Box, LGA1150 203,66 €

ASRock Z97 Extreme4, Sockel 1150, ATX 119,99 €

Crucial MX100 SSD 256GB (2,5", 7mm) 90,72 €

Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - Intel/AMD27,59 €

Total € 1025.88

stimpson

GREENGEKO wrote: »

hmm good thread this

7 years on boards and 3 out of 51 posts in the last 10 minutes. Good for you.

BloodBath

No problem man. Looks good.

Don't forget to use geizhals.de to get a discount on those prices. You should be able to save around €100 total.

I'd also consider grabbing this cpu cooler instead as well. It's only a little more than the 212 evo and is a lot better. It's pretty massive but will fit the DS1 no problem.

http://www.hardwareversand.de/Intel+AMD/158618/Deepcool+Lucifer+CPU-K%C3%BChler+-+140mm.article

stimpson

Cool - The Lucifer seems to get excellent reviews. Found the RAM a little cheaper and found a €20 off €1000 voucher, so here's what I went for in the end:

Deepcool Lucifer CPU-Kühler - 140mm 37,98 €
8GB-Kit Crucial Ballistix Sport Series DDR3-1600, CL9 62,48 €
EVGA 750W,80Plus,Bronze,5Yrs Wnt 79,01 €
Nanoxia Deep Silence One Dark Black mit Seitenfenster, ATX, ohne Netzteil 94,89 €
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 G1 Gaming, 4GB GDDR5 339,90 €
Crucial MX100 SSD 256GB (2,5", 7mm) 90,72 €
Intel Core i5-4670K Box, LGA1150 203,66 €
ASRock Z97 Extreme4, Sockel 1150, ATX 119,99 €

Total 1.028,63 €
Voucher 20,00 €
Shipping costs by UPS-Standard: 11,99 €
Total: 1.020,62 €

I'll post some pics when it's done.

BloodBath

You could be waiting a while, the 970's are out of stock and probably backordered a bit especially the gigabyte one since I'd say it's the biggest seller.

stimpson

It says they're in stock from today. Are they a bit optimistic on lead times?

stimpson

Wow. It's a whole month since I ordered this and it only arrived this morning. The Lucifer was out of stock and rather tell me, they decided to ignore my emails until I rang them. I ended up with a Scythe Ashura which I'm not particularly happy with.

Anyway, I got it built this evening. Booted to the bios screen which is enough for now. Gotta say, I love the Nanoxia case. Cable management is excellent, absolutely loads of room and plenty of scope for expansion. It looks perfect too - a black monolith. The only blue LEDS are on the gtx 970, but I believe they can be swiched off. I decided to fit the Intel cooler and sell on the scythe. I'll pick up a lucifer instead elsewhere. Anyway, here's a few shots of the finished article.

BloodBath

Hey looks great. Needs a little work though

The PSU should be facing the other way around with the fan side down which sucks in cool air from the bottom and blows it out the back. There is a dust filter down there as well to keep dust out of it.

It's competing for air with the graphics card as well which isn't ideal.

Also your HDD and SSD should be mounted the opposite way around with the cables at the back. It will look a lot cleaner that way. I'd put them both in the 2 part rack as well and remove the others out of the case to allow better airflow from the front as well.

Easy mistakes to make.

It's a pity about the Lucifer. That would really complete the look of the build.

stimpson

Eh... Deliberate mistakes. Well done for spotting them.

I noticed the psu was upside down alright, but it was getting late. I hope I can flip it over without disconnecting everything. When you say it's competing with the GPU, do you mean because it's upside down?

Cheers for the tip on the drive connectors. Didn't think of that.

Just ordered the Lucifer on overclockers. If it's worth doing...

.G.

Yeah because it's upside down its fan is facing the fans on the GPU and they are all trying to get air from the same space. Also its sucking in air from inside the case which may be warmer than the air from outside the case which it would be using if it was the right way up.

stimpson

Thanks guys - modifications made. Sorry I didn't remove the drive cages last night. It would have been much easier to fit the GPU.


Also obtained a DVD drive because I forgot that Windows ships on physical media. How quaint. Anyway, here's how she looks.

stimpson

OS installed and drivers all updated. Here's the stock 3Dmark score: http://www.3dmark.com/fs/3110954

Not too shabby. Might get to play a game or two tomorrow

stimpson

The Lucifer arrived today and I didn't want to waste any time do I put the missus in front of Downton Abbey and set to work. It was a good 2 hours as I couldn't quite access the mounting holes from the rear so the GPU and mother board had to come out. Even then it was tough to get the mounting bracket in place without the cooler sliding around on the chip. This thing is well named as its a beast of a thing. I eventually got it in place and I had only one screwdriver long enough to get between the fins to finish the job.

Anyway, here it is in its final glory



Temps with prime95 running maxed out at 62deg. Is that reasonable? Haven't overclocked it yet.