Considering a new build

abelard

Considering a self-build at the minute. I've filled out the standard form below and stuck in a few extra questions;

1. What is your budget? I could go up to about €1200 though I don't necessarily have to spend that much if my needs could be met cheaper.

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? Gaming, some photo editing (just as a hobby rather than anything professional), general browsing, little bit of GIS work

2a. Games most likely played: I guess current AAA games anyway (Witcher, Batman) and upcoming games like Fallout. I'm a Civ addict but I guess that's not so taxing. I tend to always play single player so don't chase every last fps in performance.

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? Yes

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? I have a 120 GB Samsung SSD but would like a 250GB on top. I have a 1TB 7200 HDD but would prob like to add another 1TB.

5. Do you need a monitor? No

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future? Have a 1080p right now, considering going up to 1440p in the next 6 months or so.

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? No

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? Probably not

8. How can you pay? Not an issue

9. When are you purchasing? Either now, or else wait for new components on the market.

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? I should be ok - based in London anyway so not exactly nearby!


I've quickly put together a sample build as below based on reading around a few of the threads on here. Interested to hear any thoughts.

- Intel Core i5 4690K Processor (3.5 GHz, 6 MB Cache, LGA1150 Socket)
- ASRock Z97 PRO4 Motherboard (Intel Z97, USB 3.0, Socket 1150)
- MSI NVIDIA GTX 970 Gaming Twin Frozr HDMI DVI-I DP Graphics Card (4GB, PCI Express, DDR5, 256 Bit)
- Corsair CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9 Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600 Mhz CL9 XMP Performance Desktop Memory Kit Black
- WD 1TB 3.5 inch Internal Hard Drive - Caviar Blue
- Samsung 2.5-Inch 250 GB 850 EVO Solid State Drive
- Fractal Design Define R5 Pearl Computer Case - Black
- Be Quiet L8 500W Pure Power Supply Unit

All above components found on Amazon and that pushed me almost right to the €1200. I'm UK based, have a Prime subscription and have about £400 in saved up amazon gift vouchers so I will likely buy some of the parts on there but equally happy to try get better deals on HWVS and the geizhals. Having said that, is there anything that is blatantly overkill?

Some other points;
- The most annoying question I can ask, but do you think I would get significant performance increases by waiting for Skylake and/or new graphics cards? I know AMD have some new ones imminent, how about Nvidia?
- How will this perform if I upgrade to 1440p/60hz?
- What if I decided to buy an Oculus Rift when they get consumer release?
- I'd like it to run as close to silent as possible when not playing games - so the case and fan are important to me, would appreciate feedback on those.
- Was someone linking to Reddit on here recently for a place selling cheap Windows licenses?

Digital Solitude

abelard wrote: »

Considering a self-build at the minute. I've filled out the standard form below and stuck in a few extra questions;

1. What is your budget? I could go up to about €1200 though I don't necessarily have to spend that much if my needs could be met cheaper.

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? Gaming, some photo editing (just as a hobby rather than anything professional), general browsing, little bit of GIS work

2a. Games most likely played: I guess current AAA games anyway (Witcher, Batman) and upcoming games like Fallout. I'm a Civ addict but I guess that's not so taxing. I tend to always play single player so don't chase every last fps in performance.

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? Yes

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? I have a 120 GB Samsung SSD but would like a 250GB on top. I have a 1TB 7200 HDD but would prob like to add another 1TB.

5. Do you need a monitor? No

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future? Have a 1080p right now, considering going up to 1440p in the next 6 months or so.

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? No

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? Probably not

8. How can you pay? Not an issue

9. When are you purchasing? Either now, or else wait for new components on the market.

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? I should be ok - based in London anyway so not exactly nearby!


I've quickly put together a sample build as below based on reading around a few of the threads on here. Interested to hear any thoughts.

- Intel Core i5 4690K Processor (3.5 GHz, 6 MB Cache, LGA1150 Socket)
- ASRock Z97 PRO4 Motherboard (Intel Z97, USB 3.0, Socket 1150)
- MSI NVIDIA GTX 970 Gaming Twin Frozr HDMI DVI-I DP Graphics Card (4GB, PCI Express, DDR5, 256 Bit)
- Corsair CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9 Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600 Mhz CL9 XMP Performance Desktop Memory Kit Black
- WD 1TB 3.5 inch Internal Hard Drive - Caviar Blue
- Samsung 2.5-Inch 250 GB 850 EVO Solid State Drive
- Fractal Design Define R5 Pearl Computer Case - Black
- Be Quiet L8 500W Pure Power Supply Unit

All above components found on Amazon and that pushed me almost right to the €1200. I'm UK based, have a Prime subscription and have about £400 in saved up amazon gift vouchers so I will likely buy some of the parts on there but equally happy to try get better deals on HWVS and the geizhals. Having said that, is there anything that is blatantly overkill?

Some other points;
- The most annoying question I can ask, but do you think I would get significant performance increases by waiting for Skylake and/or new graphics cards? I know AMD have some new ones imminent, how about Nvidia?
- How will this perform if I upgrade to 1440p/60hz?
- What if I decided to buy an Oculus Rift when they get consumer release?
- I'd like it to run as close to silent as possible when not playing games - so the case and fan are important to me, would appreciate feedback on those.
- Was someone linking to Reddit on here recently for a place selling cheap Windows licenses?

Drop to i5 4460, virtually no difference gaming and get H97 board
Stick with AMD cards for 1440p

-New AMD cards are out Thursday I believe, worth the wait imo
-Fairly well with 290/290x or higher AMD cards
-Think the Fractal us made with silence in mind, could be wrong
-I've heaps of links in loads of threads. Won't be home all evening so can't get one now

abelard

Digital Solitude wrote: »

Drop to i5 4460, virtually no difference gaming and get H97 board
Stick with AMD cards for 1440p

-New AMD cards are out Thursday I believe, worth the wait imo
-Fairly well with 290/290x or higher AMD cards
-Think the Fractal us made with silence in mind, could be wrong
-I've heaps of links in loads of threads. Won't be home all evening so can't get one now

Happy enough to drop to the 4460, few pounds saved.

Have to admit I have no idea really the difference between a H97 and Z97 board - why go for H97 over Z97?

edit: ok, so the only difference is Z97 supports overclocking? If so, happy to change to H97 as well

Lu Tze

If your GIS software (ARC?) benefits much from multithreading it may be worth looking at sticking in a compatible xeon instead of the i5. You should look into it, depending on how much and what you do, and if you usually run other heavy programs alongside.

You will see a benefit loading large datasets etc. from the SSDs so thats covered

abelard

Lu Tze wrote: »

If your GIS software (ARC?) benefits much from multithreading it may be worth looking at sticking in a compatible xeon instead of the i5. You should look into it, depending on how much and what you do, and if you usually run other heavy programs alongside.

You will see a benefit loading large datasets etc. from the SSDs so thats covered

It's ArcGIS alright, but tbh I'm far from a power user, just utilise some fairly simple features for a few personal projects.

digital solitude wrote:

Stick with AMD cards for 1440p

Looking at benchmarks, there don't seem to be any but the top end cards that can maintain 60 and above fps for 1440p, and I don't think I can afford a GTX 980Ti / R9 Fury X and above.

So if I rein in my ambitions and stick with 1080p for now, would the GTX 970 be the winner?

Digital Solitude

Fury or Fury Nano may be contenders at 1440p, I haven't seen benches yet.

At 1080p, 290x, 970 or Fury Nano would be good calls

Digital Solitude

Didn't realise the other cards weren't out until July. 970 is fairly good for 1080p, or an R9 290x

abelard

Digital Solitude wrote: »

Didn't realise the other cards weren't out until July. 970 is fairly good for 1080p, or an R9 290x

Heh I'm going to be a pedant - what's 'fairly good'? :pac:

Digital Solitude

Plays pretty much every game, with exceptions like the new Batman and Assassins Creed which isn't the cards fault, and stuff like Crysis.

It can handle 99% of what you'll throw at it at 1080p, should be a few years before you need to even hit Medium settings for 60fps

abelard

Took the plunge in the end and went with;

- i5 4460
- ASRock H97 Pro4
- GTX 970
- 8GB RAM
- 250GB 850 EVO SSD
- WD 1TB HDD
- R5 case
- BeQuiet 500W

So far, very happy with it. One fantastic thing is that, without the HDD spinning or putting it under much load from gaming, it's essentially silent. Thanks for the help and advice on here.

Now starting to think about a new monitor. I have a 22 inch already but might go for something bigger. Any recommendations out there for something 24-25 inch, IPS, 1080p?

abelard

I hope mods won't mind if I cross-post, but am having some graphical issues with the build I made above, and have posted in the Graphics forum here - http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057460195 - wondering if anyone here would be able to offer any insight as well...