Help Finishing A Gaming Build

MarkJD

Howdy good folks!

Recently just moved back from across the water and ended up taking the majority of my gaming system home with me. I was hoping to sell it all and rebuild from scratch but find myself with the majority of a system but need to pick up some new parts to complete a build. Iv always been a full tower gamer and for the last 10 years iv had full tower cases and in the last 5 have always gone SLI or Crossfire. With this build id really love to go with just a standard tower and am going to stick with just one decent GPU. The parts I need recommendations for are listed below. The other parts that I currently have and will be using / completing the build with are listed below that.

Would love to get some suggestions on what would work best for me to make the best system possible.

Parts Needed:

Case (Standard Tower Preferred) - I'm looking for good build quality, good or hidden cable management as well as good cooling & airflow is preferred.


CPU Cooler - Most recently iv been using the H100i and prior to that I was using the H60. Iv heard great things about fan coolers that are just as good these days. Happy to go back to a water block or would welcome suggestions for a fan cooler. I will be looking to overclock the CPU if possible.

GPU - Thinking about going for one of the new 1070 GPUs but was leaning towards a 980Ti if I could pick one up at a good price. But would welcome any suggestions AMD or Nvidia.


Current PC Parts

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor
Motherboard: Asus MAXIMUS VII HERO ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill Trident X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2400 Memory
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 1000G2 1000W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX
Optical Drive: LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer
Monitor: Perfect Pixel 27" Slim Qnix QX2710 Evolution II LED PLS 2560x1440 QHD Monitor

Thanks for any suggestions to help me complete the build. Budget isn't a huge factor but I'm also not gonna go out and spend 500+ on a GPU etc.

Eoinmc97

Case: Corsair 400C, 600C, NZXT H440/N450, Fractal Design Define R5 and Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ATX are all great cases IMO that eschew quality and design.

CPU Cooler: If you still have the H100i, I'd stick with it, as it's a good cooler for your CPU. Maybe just replace the fans on it with quieter ones from Noctua, beQuiet etc.

GPU: The 980Ti is €450 for the EVGA SC version atm, which is a really good price for it. If you want to liquid cool it, the Fury X is also around €460 on mindfactory.de, so there's that.
The GTX 1070 is a good card, I just feel that an overclocked 980Ti oroves better value atm until the 1070 drops to €400 rather than €500.

MarkJD

Eoinmc97 wrote: »

Case: Corsair 400C, 600C, NZXT H440/N450, Fractal Design Define R5 and Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ATX are all great cases IMO that eschew quality and design.

CPU Cooler: If you still have the H100i, I'd stick with it, as it's a good cooler for your CPU. Maybe just replace the fans on it with quieter ones from Noctua, beQuiet etc.

GPU: The 980Ti is €450 for the EVGA SC version atm, which is a really good price for it. If you want to liquid cool it, the Fury X is also around €460 on mindfactory.de, so there's that.
The GTX 1070 is a good card, I just feel that an overclocked 980Ti oroves better value atm until the 1070 drops to €400 rather than €500.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll definitely check out a good few of those cases. Just had a NZXT 820 so the 450 looks good but have been wanting to try out a Corsair case.

I don't have the H100i anymore but would you say just best getting another or have another recommendation if buying new.

Will look at the GPU thanks. Prob won't drop on the GPU until mid August so will keep an eye on the prices. Any experience with the 980ti? How is it temp wise etc?

Cheers again for the response!

Eoinmc97

MarkJD wrote: »

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll definitely check out a good few of those cases. Just had a NZXT 820 so the 450 looks good but have been wanting to try out a Corsair case.

I don't have the H100i anymore but would you say just best getting another or have another recommendation if buying new.

Will look at the GPU thanks. Prob won't drop on the GPU until mid August so will keep an eye on the prices. Any experience with the 980ti? How is it temp wise etc?

Cheers again for the response!

Well, if you need
Better Temps) Corsair H100i
Better Accoustics) A Noctua or beQuiet air cooler. It's upto you I guess.

The ONLY time I ever got to use a 980Ti when my mate was inbetween selling his for cash for a car. It was the Gigabyte G1 Gaming one, so kt was whisper quiet all the time with temps below 60°C. Bear in mind I couldn't OC it because it wasn't really mine to do that.

Going back to my 380X was like going from crack coccaine to spearmint XD

MarkJD

Thanks again! I used to be ATI for years but doesn't seem like they are coming around anytime soon. Anything you do like about that 380X

Gonna be deciding on a case this weekend most likely!

K.O.Kiki

1440p "sweet spot" (€400-450) is GTX 980Ti / GTX 1070 / R9 Fury X.

Can't go wrong with any of those 3, although the AMD card needs more power.

---

Arctic Cooling Liquid Freezer 120 is a better deal than Corsair H100i
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2016/02/11/arctic_cooling_liquid_freezer_120_aio_cpu_cooler_review/3

2-3degrees warmer, but 11dB quieter.

*edit*
just realised you already have the Corsair. => get some Noctua fans or sell the entire unit.

MarkJD

So iv finally ordered my case and GPU.

I decided to go with the Phanteks Evolv ATX and the Gigabyte GTX 1070 G1. Only thing left now is the CPU cooler. Definitely want to stick with the AIO.. Nearly pressed order on the Arctic Liquid Freezer 120 but given this case has a special rail for larger radiators im unsure if i should go for something like the H100i or a larger radiator cooler. I dont think im gonna be overclocking the bollox out of the CPU or the box in general but would like a decent CPU cooler. Stick with the Arctic 120 or go for a 240MM radiator given the case i bought?

K.O.Kiki

The Arctic is also quieter than many 240s.

Eoinmc97

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

The Arctic is also quieter than many 240s.

I think it's just Arctic's good quality fans out of the box, as their rads' fins are actually quite sparce in comparison to Fractal's or NZXT's. This does go to show though that fin count does require a matching fan, as Corsair still ship their old "pressure optilmised" fans.
Realistically, the 240mm rads are attracting a price premium because of how bad 120mm AIOs used to be. Yet, 120mm AIOs caught up, so I hope 240mm advance too.

MarkJD

Ok you guys won me over! I went with the Arctic Liquid Freezer 120mm... Ordered and all. Ultimately seeing how it stacked up against many of the 240 or larger AIOs in this article puts it in a great light! http://www.hardocp.com/article/2016/02/11/arctic_cooling_liquid_freezer_120_aio_cpu_cooler_review

If you own it did you mount it at the rear exhaust just above the PCIe slots? As this comes for Push / Pull i haven't configured any coolers like this before so was curious if the rear spot was the best option given im going to have a GTX 1070 G1. This case doesnt come with any top fans but does includes 2 x 140mm fans in front and 1 x 140mm fan in the rear so want to make sure i get the best placement. The case does have a dedicated rail up top for 120mm-280mm Rads i believe so was thinking of putting it up there but wasn't sure where would be best?

Thanks

Eoinmc97

Put it up top, but if there's no room for Push-Pull, have it set to pull as it leaves behind less dust.

MarkJD

Thanks for the response will see can i get it in a push pull!