PC build 2014

[Elyxiatic]

Alright guys.
I'm building a new PC (which I haven't done before).
As I work fulltime, I don't get much time for gaming, but on average I'm still going to play games like BF3/BF4, Crysis 3, F1 2012, Fallout NV at least once per week. The built I've gone for isn't super high-tech as I'm not going to be using it 24/7, but I still want a reasonable build that I don't have to upgrade for ~3 years.

MOBO	ASUS Z97-A/4	$204.00
CPU	Intel i5-4690s 3.2GHZ,4CORES,6MB CACHE,LGA1150	$259.00
RAM	Corsair 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600MHz Dimm, 9-9-9-24, Vengeance Pro Blue	$115.00
GPU	Gigabyte GTX760 OC 2G GDDR5, PCIE3.0, WINDF X3 FAN	$305.00
SSD	Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA III 6Gbs 7mm 2.5inch 540MB/410MB	$94.00
HDD	Western Digital Black 2TB SATA3 64M Black(WD2002FAEX)	$169.00
PSU	SeaSonic G-750W 80Plus Gold Semi Modular PSU	$169.00
Case	NZXT Phantom 410 Mid Tower Case Black NO PSU	$125.00
WIFI	ASUS PCE-N15 WLAN PCI-Express N300	$23.00
DVD	Asus DRW-24D3ST OEM SATA 24X DVD-RW Black	$20.00
OS	Microsoft Windows 8 64bit OEM	$112.00
Total	_	$1595.00

Questions -

• I'm tossing up between the GTX 760 2/4GB & GTX 770 2/4GB. Reviews say 4GB doesn't get used (will it?), & the GTX 770 is +$100 on my current setup, and another +$50 for the 4GB versions of each.
• Opinions on the motherboard? I've taken a stab at a mid-range model here. While its newer than the z87, it does cost +$50 more.
• Is 8GB of RAM fine? For gaming I don't believe 16GB will get used
• Is the i5 processor fine for gaming? I think i7 is overkill (not doing video editing, photoshop). Also I've gone for the low power version, saves ~20W. I could get a i5 3.5Ghz for $10 more, but power saving is a good thing right?
• I've gone for a 750W PSU here. Put it into a calculator and it came out as a min. 650W with GTX760 & min. 750W with GTX770. If I get the 770, is it too close to the minimum & should I upgrade to 850W?

Your general thoughts & opinions are welcome  :)

[Patty]

Questions -

• I'm tossing up between the GTX 760 2/4GB & GTX 770 2/4GB. Reviews say 4GB doesn't get used (will it?), & the GTX 770 is +$100 on my current setup, and another +$50 for the 4GB versions of each.

Assuming you're not playing any higher than 1080p, 4gb is fairly useless, 2 would be more than enough. I just bought a 770 2GB in my build and I'm really happy with it, handeled everything I've thrown at it.

• Opinions on the motherboard? I've taken a stab at a mid-range model here. While its newer than the z87, it does cost +$50 more.

No experience with the motherboard so I can't really help you there, Asus are generally a good brand though so I assume it'd be fine.

• Is 8GB of RAM fine? For gaming I don't believe 16GB will get used

8GB IS enough, more ram would make general use a bit quicker, but for the most part you'd get by fine with 8.

• Is the i5 processor fine for gaming? I think i7 is overkill (not doing video editing, photoshop). Also I've gone for the low power version, saves ~20W. I could get a i5 3.5Ghz for $10 more, but power saving is a good thing right?

yeah i7 isn't worth the price to perforamance upgrade from i5 (Unless you're just a nerd who wants to brag like me :3). I would personally go for the 3.5GHZ, but saving power is nice too. Up to you.

• I've gone for a 750W PSU here. Put it into a calculator and it came out as a min. 650W with GTX760 & min. 750W with GTX770. If I get the 770, is it too close to the minimum & should I upgrade to 850W?

850W sounds a bit overkill, I have 700W running a gtx770 and i7 so I think you'd be fine.
[/list]

Your general thoughts & opinions are welcome  :)

[/quote]

That'll last you this console generation fairly comfortably!
(Sorry I'm not that much help, JC will probably be more help.

[P E A C E]

so rich

[PineappleTom]

I don't see any Apples :s

[Mojo]

moving to tech help

[JC]

Questions -

• I'm tossing up between the GTX 760 2/4GB & GTX 770 2/4GB. Reviews say 4GB doesn't get used (will it?), & the GTX 770 is +$100 on my current setup, and another +$50 for the 4GB versions of each.
• Opinions on the motherboard? I've taken a stab at a mid-range model here. While its newer than the z87, it does cost +$50 more.
• Is 8GB of RAM fine? For gaming I don't believe 16GB will get used
• Is the i5 processor fine for gaming? I think i7 is overkill (not doing video editing, photoshop). Also I've gone for the low power version, saves ~20W. I could get a i5 3.5Ghz for $10 more, but power saving is a good thing right?
• I've gone for a 750W PSU here. Put it into a calculator and it came out as a min. 650W with GTX760 & min. 750W with GTX770. If I get the 770, is it too close to the minimum & should I upgrade to 850W?

Your general thoughts & opinions are welcome  :)

Overall - looks pretty good, and very similar to Patricia's set up :3

In response to your questions:

1. I'd recommend the GTX 770, they 760 is a good card no doubt, but it is sort of at that uncomfortable point where it will be out of date fairly quickly and it's just not quite good enough to buy given that it's now mid-late cycle (it's been over a year for the 770 & nearly that long for the 760) for those cards.  I'd expect the 8xx series later this year and for those 'mid spec' cards it's probably worth waiting (the 770 & higher are good enough to last a fair while, so it wouldn't worry me so much).

In regard to the 2 or 4GB question - I probably wouldn't bother, even if you went for the 770 unless you're running a large screen (eg. 1600p or above).  In fact, unless you went for SLi I doubt you'd ever use that much so unless that's your plan, save the pennies.


2. To be honest, unless you're a 'hardcore' overclocker - most motherboards are much of a muchness for day to day use.  You've got a Z97 series chip so that means it's good, and it's from a reputable brand so you should be sweet. 


3. What Patty said really - I'd maybe go for 16GB if you went for an i7, but since you're not don't worry about it.


4.  I'm running an i5-4570 and it's absolutely fine for gaming (it's got the same base clock as a 4690, but it doesn't turbo as high - 3.6 vs. 3.9 Ghz).  I honestly wouldn't bother with the low power version, keep in mind that it's TDP (Thermal Design Power) which doesn't necessarily mean it uses 20W more/less - it just means when it's under load that's the maximum heat you can expect it to create. 

If you're using it that hard then you'll probably wish you had the full power version, and assuming it isn't significantly more I'd go for the full power one for the higher base clock.  The benefit of the full power version is when you put it under load, it will run all four cores faster (eg. 4 @ 3.7Ghz) whereas the 'S' will only run one or two at that speed, BF4 does push all 4 cores.

Also keep in mind that it's not going to use 84W/65W at all times - CPU's are amazingly efficient these days, so if you're not putting load through them they'll slow everything down to save energy (while I'm writing this post, my '3.2Ghz' i5 is running at 800Mhz).


5. 750W is overkill, and even nVidia doesn't recommend that much for a 770 (they say min 600W: http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-770/specifications) and they are normally fairly conservative on what you really need - not sure what calculator you used?

Normally people use this one, which suggests 456W as a recommended spec based on the kit above:  http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine

If I was you, I'd go for one of the Seasonic Platinum ones (eg. the 660W) - they're about the same price, but are definitely a better PSU:  http://www.seasonicusa.com/Platinum_Series_XP2.htm