Building Gaming PC - Suggestions welcome

Sgt_Beaker

I've decided to sell my Alienware M18X R1 and build a desktop instead. Below is a list of the components I am considering. I would welcome any suggestions about other options or potential problems with my selections...

1. What is your budget? ~€3000

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? Gaming (FC4 and other FPS)

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? No

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? Samsung SSD with Windows 7

5. Do you need a monitor? Yes

5a. If yes, what size do you need. 28'

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? Keyboard

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? Not until I need to...

8. How can you pay? All of the above

9. When are you purchasing? January

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? Dublin but I have taken apart and upgraded gaming laptops before so I should be ok. Plenty of tutorials online.

Intended purchases:

Asus Supreme Bundle (Includes X99-S, Intel Core i7-5820K & 16GB DDR4 Vengeance LPX Memory)

Asus GeForce GTX 980 1241MHz 4GB PCI-E 3.0 HDMI MATRIX

Corsair H100i Hydro Series Extreme Performance CPU Cooling

Antec 1000W HCP-1000 High Current Pro Platinum Series PSU

Arctic Cooling MX-4 (20g) Thermal Compound for All Coolers

Antec 1200 Twelve Hundred V3 Tower Case ATX Black (No PSU)

Logitech G19s Gaming Keyboard - USB

AOC U2868PQU 28" 4K 60Hz 1ms Gaming Widescreen LED Monitor

Thanks for any help.

Sgt_Beaker

Also considering taking the SSD from my laptop and just plugging it into the desktop. Would there be a problem doing that without formatting it and using the Windows 7 install that's already on it?

xen0phon

Sgt_Beaker wrote: »

Also considering taking the SSD from my laptop and just plugging it into the desktop. Would there be a problem doing that without formatting it and using the Windows 7 install that's already on it?

I've done that myself recently and there was no problem with the move. The only thing that might be an issue is if the laptop manufacturer has some proprietary stuff on there ( would be common for Acer etc).

Did you ever build this pc? I'm interested to find out how you got with the H100i, just bought a new case and am considering a liquid cooler.

Cheers.

Sgt_Beaker

Yeh, built it about a month ago. H100i is great, keeps CPU really cool, idles around 20*C. I ordered some Corsair AirSeries fans for the H100i and the exhaust though so they help. I would measure your case and exhaust fan thickness as in my case if either was even a couple of mms longer/thicker I wouldn't have got the tubes past the exhaust fan. See pic below:

//i.imgur.com/W7uxZER.jpg

Sgt_Beaker

Build evolved along the way, ended up with this build:

//i.imgur.com/C5V6zgk.jpg

xen0phon

Sgt_Beaker wrote: »

Yeh, built it about a month ago. H100i is great, keeps CPU really cool, idles around 20*C. I ordered some Corsair AirSeries fans for the H100i and the exhaust though so they help. I would measure your case and exhaust fan thickness as in my case if either was even a couple of mms longer/thicker I wouldn't have got the tubes past the exhaust fan. See pic below:

//i.imgur.com/W7uxZER.jpg

H440 is a great looking case. I just bought the S340 which can supposedly handle the dual fan Kraken cooler, so it's interesting that you nearly had some space issues. Will have to do some research on that so.

How is the noise from the cooler? My pc is tucked away in the living room and the case I currently use isn't optimised for silence (antec 1200), hence the new case and the rebuild. For purely aesthetic reasons I'd love a liquid cooler, just not sure it'll be as quiet as I want it to be... (have a big shuriken at the moment and that is very quiet)

Sgt_Beaker

It's really quiet, it's under my desk but I would have to really listen to hear anything from it. Definitely can't hear any of the pump noises I've heard people talk about online from liquid coolers.

I think if it didn't fit I could probably have put the radiator in the other way around (pretty sure I saw a photo of it installed that way) but I want the tubes coming from the back.

S430 looks great, very clean looking. One thing to look out for is that if you're getting an SSD, which most people do, and want to put it in one of the visible mounts on top of the PSU shroud you need a flat SATA connector. The ones that came with my PSU were L shaped at one end and flat at the other. Had to use the flat connectors on the MB and the L shaped end wouldn't fit on the PSU shroud mount as the drive sits too flat on the shroud.

I'll probably get a cable with flat connectors at some stage as the Samsung SSD would look good there in the red light from the Sound Blaster.

xen0phon

That's good to hear about the noise as I had read some stories about the pump noise myself and there are plenty of videos showing the worst case scenarios of rattling pumps etc... I think I'm sold though. Once confirmed I can fit it I'll pick one up, the H100i or the Kraken X61. I think now that the coolers have PWM fans, or are at least in someway controllable, it should reduce the risk of them being too noisy.

Good shout on the sata cables, had heard the same but did not think to check the PSU until you mentioned it there.

A subtle led or two will make these cases for sure. The big window forced me into thinking about the interior design and colour because everyone will be able to see in. Dont want it to look like just a pile of wires mashed into a box!

Sgt_Beaker

I forgot to say if you get the H100i, don't bother hooking up the USB cable to it as I heard that Corsair Link is pretty crap, just get 4pin fans and hook them straight up to the 2 CPU fans headers on the MB. Most new MBs have better fan control software without the added bloat. The only thing you won't be able to do is change the colour of the lights on the H100i. Makes for neater cabling too.

I bought 3pin fans by mistake and didn't realise until I had ripped open the packaging and then it was too late. They run at full speed all the time but still make no noise.

Lastly, after I posted about the SATA cabling thing earlier I bought a flat cable on eBay so I'll be putting the drive under the sound card.