Quite filtered Livingroom PC.

Grimwar

1. What is your budget? [€1800] not including monitor

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? [Gaming/HTPC/Internet] (Total War series)

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? [Yes] Win 10

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? [No]

5. Do you need a monitor? [Yes/No] I do need a monitor and also a new TV, but cant afford both.
I am using a Hannspree 21' LCD as a TV atm. I can use this as a monitor and buy a 42'/45' smart tv.
The PC will be in the living room, and will connect via cable to a Linksys EA6900 router, will also connect a 2TB WD my cloud.

5a. If yes, what size do you need. [24'/27'.]

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? [Keyboard/Mouse.] I liked the Microsoft Sculpt Comfort Desktop Combo.
Will also need Wifi and Bluetooth, I was thinking of a good OC Mobo that inculided both.

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? [Yes] OC on CPU and GPU

8. How can you pay? [Bank Transfer/Credit Card/Laser]

9. When are you purchasing? [In a week]

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? [county Cork]

Hi all.

I do require a quite pc, with good dust filters, this rig will have a few cats sleeping on it i guess, and is also in the living room. no need for fancy lights, as the missus will kill me. well maybe a few that i can turn on/off.
I would like a good Mobo, a i5-4690k, quite cooling (may spent more on cooling for quiter rig), good anti cat hair proof, OC to high and good GPU. I am willing to pay extra for quality, so that i can upgrade GPU to GeForce GTX TITAN some day.

Thanks
Grimwar

Digital Solitude

No need in a Titan or overclocking mate :pac: Is Total War all you're going to want to game at?

Give a 1440p monitor for the craic anyways.

2tb WD Red €90
H97 board €90
Nanoxia DS3 €70
i5 4460 €185
GTX 970 €350
250gb SSD €90
500w BeQuiet PSU €60
8gb Crucial Ballistix Sport RAM €55
Total €1000

Windows X key is €40 from Reddit, nice keyboard and mouse is €100.
Wifi and Bluetooth PCIE cards are €20 each, if not less. Put €300 aside for Monitor, and another €200 for a watercooling kit.

It'll be a reasonably sized PC, jet black, inconspicuous, silent and cool. Shouldn't have to worry about cat hairs if you keep the doors on tight.

Total really shouldn't go upwards of 1700

Wright

Digital Solitude wrote: »

No need in a Titan or overclocking mate :pac: Is Total War all you're going to want to game at?

Give a 1440p monitor for the craic anyways.

2tb WD Red €90
H97 board €90
Nanoxia DS3 €70
i5 4460 €185
GTX 970 €350
250gb SSD €90
500w BeQuiet PSU €60
8gb Crucial Ballistix Sport RAM €55
Total €1000

Windows X key is €40 from Reddit, nice keyboard and mouse is €100.
Wifi and Bluetooth PCIE cards are €20 each, if not less. Put €300 aside for Monitor, and another €200 for a watercooling kit.

It'll be a reasonably sized PC, jet black, inconspicuous, silent and cool. Shouldn't have to worry about cat hairs if you keep the doors on tight.

Total really shouldn't go upwards of 1700

This build doesn't allow OCing; neither the board nor CPU.

OP there are new chipsets out in a few days. I recommend you hold on.

I also recommend the Corsair 240 case, small yet roomy, classy and fits in a living room well.
Also I do not recommend AIO water coolers, they are loud in my experience.

I also can't recommend the 970 due to its RAM design flaw, I recommend going with a 960 then maybe upgrading once nVidia release their 'next gen' cards next year. I recommend Windforce or STRIX branded cards, as they have zero spin features if you're not stressing out the card.

Digital Solitude

I'm aware they don't allow overclocking, there isn't any need for his uses so the money is better spent elsewhere

Stick with the 970 OP, or get a R9 290, GTX 960 is a woeful step down

Wright

Digital Solitude wrote: »

I'm aware they don't allow overclocking, there isn't any need for his uses so the money is better spent elsewhere

Stick with the 970 OP, or get a R9 290, GTX 960 is a woeful step down

He specifically mentions overclocking.

If wattage is not an issue for OP a 380 or so would be fine too, also comes in Windforce and STRIX flavours.

970's RAM issue causes stuttering, there's videos showing it on youtube OP.
With HBM RAM mainstream next year, not to mention Pascal, I recommend buying a stop gap card that'll get you through the year.

Grimwar

Digital Solitude wrote: »

I'm aware they don't allow overclocking, there isn't any need for his uses so the money is better spent elsewhere

Stick with the 970 OP, or get a R9 290, GTX 960 is a woeful step down

This is a future build that can include a GeForce GTX TITAN at a later date,
Mobo must include easy OC of CPU and GPU.
I can buy atm a good basic Mobo, gold 750W PSU, i5 4690k, a nice dust proof case.
Looked at this superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-87MPMXC&c=CJ

Sonics2k

Wright wrote: »

He specifically mentions overclocking.

If wattage is not an issue for OP a 380 or so would be fine too, also comes in Windforce and STRIX flavours.

970's RAM issue causes stuttering, there's videos showing it on youtube OP.
With HBM RAM mainstream next year, not to mention Pascal, I recommend buying a stop gap card that'll get you through the year.

Been using a 970 since March, I've yet to really suffer from the stuttering that people raged about. Quite often those people were playing games at all out max quality, and while NVidia were jerks about the whole thing, the card is still very good for 1080p and decent for 1440p.

Grimwar

Wright wrote: »

He specifically mentions overclocking.

If wattage is not an issue for OP a 380 or so would be fine too, also comes in Windforce and STRIX flavours.

970's RAM issue causes stuttering, there's videos showing it on youtube OP.
With HBM RAM mainstream next year, not to mention Pascal, I recommend buying a stop gap card that'll get you through the year.

Which stop gap card, i have waited 8 years for a great build

Wright

Grimwar wrote: »

This is a future build that can include a GeForce GTX TITAN at a later date,
Mobo must include easy OC of CPU and GPU.
I can buy atm a good basic Mobo, gold 750W PSU, i5 4690k, a nice dust proof case.
Looked at this superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-87MPMXC&c=CJ

Yeah I really recommend waiting a bit OP and waiting for Z10 motherboards and the new i5 6600K. If anything for the new and shiny factor and USB 3.1 and DDR4 RAM which is very reasonably priced at the moment, prices fell like a stone.

Would you like to save a bit or do you not mind maxing out the budget?

Wright

Grimwar wrote: »

Which stop gap card, i have waited 8 years for a great build

I mean, for that budget, you could easily get a 980ti in there, which is a baller card. But then next years offerings are gonna be a significant step up. But a 980ti could do you for years.

Digital Solitude

Are you planning on utilising a Titan and OC'd i5 or dickswinging OP?

Wright

Digital Solitude wrote: »

Are you planning on utilising a Titan and OC'd it or dickswinging OP?

Bit harsh lol.

He'd be much better of with a 980ti at this point.

Digital Solitude

Wright wrote: »

Bit harsh lol.

He'd be much better of with a 980ti at this point.

Okay maybe harsh, you've quoted me now anyways.

I don't think I'm wrong there though, its a HTPC with Total War capabilities, where does the Titan enter the equation?

980Ti is a good call, I'd say it or a watercooling ring

Wright

Digital Solitude wrote: »

where does the Titan enter the equation?

Finally being able to I suppose Must be a nice feeling.

But 980ti is a fancier less RAM version of it so its yesterdays news really.

Digital Solitude

At 1080p 60hz though, a 970, 980Ti and Titan Z are pretty much the same thing, its nonsensical trying to add one to a build where not even the 970 will be pushed.

Do you know when exactly the new chipsets are out? Really something I need to research

Grimwar

Wright wrote: »

Yeah I really recommend waiting a bit OP and waiting for Z10 motherboards and the new i5 6600K. If anything for the new and shiny factor and USB 3.1 and DDR4 RAM which is very reasonably priced at the moment, prices fell like a stone.

Would you like to save a bit or do you not mind maxing out the budget?

I was using an XP GPU-128mb machine for the last 8 years, still am.
I can wait, but how long, i've been holding off for years, got very good on OC, so i could run Rome total war on basic on it. can't really play it on high, but it can run.

In future build will include 4k gaming.

Sonics2k

There's really no need for a Titan in a rig like that.

The 980ti would be fantastic and you'll get years from it. Iirc in most benchmark tests the 980ti is virtually on par with the Titans.

I think the last one I saw was on Linus Tech tips.
Both are frankly overkill for a 1080p setup.

I'm all for the go hard or go home approach, but its an odd set up you're looking at.

Wright

Grimwar wrote: »

I was using an XP GPU-128mb machine for the last 8 years, still am.
I can wait, but how long, i've been holding off for years, got very good on OC, so i could run Rome total war on basic on it. can't really play it on high, but it can run.

In future build will include 4k gaming.

Well a 980ti is arguably 4K and VR ready so there you go.

A 980ti will eat up the Total War series on Ultra.

New chipset, this week. At the very least it'll mean the chip you're looking at for cheaper.

Digital Solitude

Still no need for a Titan at 4k

A pair of 980Tis or 390Xs will overshadow a Titan at a lower cost.

The €350 motherboard is a bit mental too

Wright

Digital Solitude wrote: »

Still no need for a Titan at 4k

A pair of 980Tis or 390Xs will overshadow a Titan at a lower cost.

The €350 motherboard is a bit mental too

Yeah there's no recommending a Titan at all. 3 year old card now.

I really advise against SLI personally, you just end up on game forums whining Day 1 cause SLI is not supported.

Yes €350 is insanity typically preserved for X99. No need for that. €200-250 will do fine.

Grimwar

Wright wrote: »

Bit harsh lol.

He'd be much better of with a 980ti at this point.

I want to expand and thought of the 980ti 6gb, but atm i wish to have good CPU, Mobo /OC easy, PSU 850w gold, i can get buy on internal graphics for awhile.

Digital Solitude

I hadn't even copped it was X99 I just saw the price tag.

Some craic putting an i5 into one of those.

980Ti or 390X should be grand for 4k 30fps, he doesn't seem to want to upgrade for a while so its completely useless futurproofing now

Grimwar

Sonics2k wrote: »

There's really no need for a Titan in a rig like that.

The 980ti would be fantastic and you'll get years from it. Iirc in most benchmark tests the 980ti is virtually on par with the Titans.

I think the last one I saw was on Linus Tech tips.
Both are frankly overkill for a 1080p setup.

I'm all for the go hard or go home approach, but its an odd set up you're looking at.

Odd why

Digital Solitude

Where's the 850w PSU coming from?

OP I think telling us your needs and letting myself and Wright stop bickering at each other (mainly me bickering ) will give you a better build than deciding you need this this an that, whatever the cost.

When do you plan to upgrade to 4k?

Wright

Digital Solitude wrote: »

I hadn't even copped it was X99 I just saw the price tag.

Some craic putting an i5 into one of those.

I didn't even spot that. That explains it alright.

Be very careful OP don't shell out for anything before running it through here first lol. Things have changed an awful lot and its really complicated these days.

(I remember buying an i7 3770 for my Z-board lol)

I wonder what kind of an effect DX12 is gonna have on threads, any point in him bumping up to an i7?

Digital Solitude

It's a Z87, I've us both confused now, I thought you had said it was X99 :pac:

I dunno tbh, I'm on a 4460 and its barely heating up in games, are there even an DX12 ones out yet?

Wright

Digital Solitude wrote: »

I dunno tbh, I'm on a 4460 and its barely heating up in games, are there even an DX12 ones out yet?

I assume anything game designed to push Windows 10 is gonna feature it.
This rig is for a few years though.

Grimwar

Digital Solitude wrote: »

Where's the 850w PSU coming from?

OP I think telling us your needs and letting myself and Wright stop bickering at each other (mainly me bickering ) will give you a better build than deciding you need this this an that, whatever the cost.

When do you plan to upgrade to 4k?

I have 3k to budget, 2k max for pc, 1k for tv and sound.
I do have the Linksys EA900 (bad buy) and the WD my Cloud 2TB (also a bad buy)
I want to use my pc as a hub to link, all multi media, as in windows 10. and also allow for future upgrades, well to a point.

Digital Solitude

Given that info, I don't see anything wrong with my first build, there's no need to overclock for your needs. It it wasn't for Total War, I'd tell you to get a Pentium. Wright might disagree with me there.

I still reckon a GTX 970 or an R9 390 is the card for you, and if you come to the conclusion that you need a more powerful one in time, you can simply upgrade the card there and then. They'll suffice for Total War at 4k and are way more than you need for general media at that resolution.

Apologies for being so brash earlier, I was a by put up by (imo) daft suggestions left, right and centre.

Any questions, ask away, I'll try my best to answer them.

Grimwar

i have wish list on komplett.ie. how to post here

Digital Solitude

Posting individual component names is probably the best way, I don't think they do personal links

Grimwar

Digital Solitude wrote: »

Where's the 850w PSU coming from?

OP I think telling us your needs and letting myself and Wright stop bickering at each other (mainly me bickering ) will give you a better build than deciding you need this this an that, whatever the cost.

When do you plan to upgrade to 4k?

i may do sli, haven't really checked it out, i require 4k now, i thought the titian may wake ye up. way over priced,

Grimwar

Wish list items:


20210346 Microsoft Sculpt Comfort Desktop - Combo 1 €59.99
20213629 Western Digital Black - 1TB - Desktop 1 €84.99
20219159 Cooler Master CM 690 III window 1 €99.00
20431551 Intel Core i5-4690K - 3.5GHz - Socket 1150 - Unlocked 1 €259.00
20450171 Samsung SSD 850 PRO 128GB 1 €109.00
80012813 Crucial Ballistix Tactical 8GB - PC3-12800 - DIMM 1 €69.95
80013564 ASUS DRW-24F1ST - DVD burner 1 €14.99
80015957 Noctua NH-U12S - 120mm 1 €59.99
80015959 Noctua NF-P12 PWM - 120mm 2 €39.90
80030281 MSI Z97 MPOWER MAX AC - Socket 1150 - ATX 1 €0.00
20051327 Intronics HDMI cable - 2 metre 1 €8.95
80038429 Gelid Solutions GC-Extreme Thermal Compound 1 €7.99
80039986 Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64-bit, OEM 1 €119.00
80015724 Seasonic G-Series G-750 - 750 Watt 1 €139.00
20051556 Intronics power cable - 1.8 metres 1 €0.00
80035535 MSI GeForce GTX 970 GAMING 4G - 4GB - PCI-E 1 €409.00
80039898 1 €0.00


Total excl. VAT: €1,480.75
Total incl. VAT: €1,480.75

Digital Solitude

The hard drive, RAM, PSU and GPU are fairly overpriced. A 500w PSU is all you need, should be able to get 8gb ram for under €60, A 2tb WD Red is €90 so I think komplett are just taking the piss with that price, and you can get 970s for around €350

The case should have fans with it, and the power cable is supplied with the PSU. As in my first post, WX keys are available for €40 from Reddit

Wright

If he does SLI 500W won't be enough. Though again, better to sell the last card and get shiny new features in the newest card than SLI.

Are you saying now that you don't want to overclock OP?

OP, aside from being flawed in design, a 970 is nowhere near 4K ready. I'd bump it up to a 980ti before you make another 'bad buy' :P

Is the DVD burner for watching media? Do you mind having another box around? PS3 is the best DVD/bluray player out there, maybe PS4 if we can budget it. Most these days don't put drives in their PC'S. I've never done it. DVD/BD software is expensive.

Also we can get you legit Windows 10 for €40 so removed that €120 version.



Case wise, this is what I'm going for next build. Obviously down to personal tastes, but I think this looks ok in the living room. I'll be laying it flat though, window in the air.