Building a PC for the First Time

[Xanders]

I've read Dae314 Hardware Guide before and the recently updated version again, I was wondering a few things...

 

Graphics card I've already made my choice for the GTX 760 or either GTX 650 Ti Boost would suffice.

 

CPU, I would decide on Intel i3-4130 or 4330 as I won't set the settings THAT high.

 

RAM got it covered

 

PSU I can settle for Corsair CX430 or you guys think otherwise. I Couldn't find modular PSU in the local market.

 

Casing I'm going for a ATX casing since I've heard mATX motherboards are backward compatible for ATX casing so it should fit nicely, just in case for future upgrades.

 

mATX or ATX ?

mATX being the most popular now unlike back in the day in was introduced, just because its smaller I've heard it gets hotter because the components are close together I was wondering how hot compare to an ATX. ATX had a lot of expansion slots for which I won't be using because I won't be doing overclocking, SLI and Crossfire.

 

I wanted a motherboard that can last say 4 years maybe more or less for mainstream gaming, I'm not going to set the settings to Ultra as Medium - High would do.

I couldn't make up my mind with Z87 Gryphon, Z87 PLUS / Z87 A and Z87 GENE / GENE Z.

 

If I got something wrong just correct as this is my first time. Laptop getting old for mainstream games as it Can't even handle them at the lowest settings haha even at 800x600 with antianalising SSAO and everything off LOL I've even tweaked 3D settings in the nvidia control panel !

[JohnFlower]

For your use case, mATX is the better bet. But do you need a new motherboard? Why cant you upgrade the CPU you already have?

Regarding the heat issue: if you have an ATX case with an mATX board, you wont have any problems. mATX boards are designed to be small and fit into tiny cases. Tiny cases have lower airflow and are therefore hotter.

[Xanders]

My current computer is a laptop which can't play mainstream games anymore and I was also considering going for an i5 core but then again DDR4 and Z97 is just around the corner I can actually hold out till then.

 

My mistake JohnFlower I'm not actually UpgradinG, I'm Getting a New computer as I don't have a desktop, bofore I do have a old Windows ME/1995 desktop computer which doesn't work anymore haha RIP it was fun back then.

 

Oh and thanks for the advice on the casing !

Edited June 15, 2014 by Xanders

[JohnFlower]

Right, confusing all these new upgrade threads >_>

The boards you've listed are quite expensive... And only Asus... Then again, my current board is an Asus ROG edition. They have all the features, great build quality and great support, but also come with a not so great price. If you don't plan to spend big on a decent CPU, you should get something cheaper. You could spend the money saved elsewhere by getting, say, an H97M-PLUS instead of the latest and greatest ROG mATX.

With the H97M-PLUS, you could get an i3-4350/4360, or maybe even an i5-4460.

[Dae314]

The heat won't matter much for you.

I've noticed that high end games have started relying more on the CPU. BF4 for instance actually gets a noticeable boost from a better CPU. It's not true for all games, but the CPU bottleneck isn't as insignificant as it used to be.

[ZeroPenguins]

^I was under the impression that BF4 wasn't so CPU tied rather GPU. As seen here: http://www.techspot.com/review/734-battlefield-4-benchmarks/page6.html

 

Reason why I haven't bothered to upgrade my i7 920, running at 4GHz means that I have essentially no bottlenecks on modern titles, oonsidering stock speed barely have bottlenecks.

Edited June 15, 2014 by Ang3lofDarkness

[Xanders]

I don't know where to start to look at motherboards so I went with what I know which was Gigabyte and Asus. They both make amazing motherboards. Although they make similar motherboards with similar names and I got confused and went with Asus since its most preferred but I can't figure what is the motherboards role in gaming performance besides being the main component in a computer. I've asked my friends, hardly cared about the motherbaord and all they talk about is the GPU and CPU.

I couldn't get my hands on Asus Component Product Guide Q2/Q3 as I only had Q1 so I'd miss the 97 series all I knew was the 87 thanks for JohnFlower making me realize that.

 

I didn't pick AMD because in my experience using a friends Desktop It get really hot although I have optimized his PC, cleared all his junk, and he never heard of defragmentation and registries Geez... ITS brand new and its still hot.

i5 series with 'K' at the end of the model number means it can be overclocked but I don't know how anyways but is it really worth it ?

 

Ang3lofDarkness is right most games now aren't CPU tied but rather GPU

[JohnFlower]

Back in the good old days, the motherboard played a key part in the overall performance of your system. Things like FSB speeds were key. These days, however, it isn't much of a problem. You're now buying motherboards based on built in features; things like sata ports, various controllers, sound cards and build quality.

AMD isn't a bad option, especially if you're looking to build a cheap system. I swear by Intel though.

The K means the multiplier is unlocked. This means it's easier (and safer) to overclock than non-K models.

[Xanders]

I wanted a reliable build not cheap because well its stable reliable and doesn't break when I unexpectedly do something I would normally do like rendering graphics as the future is unpredictable(LOL), I was wondering is the Corsair CX430 which supplies at a maximum of 430 Watts be sufficient for my build ?

[ZeroPenguins]

Yes a 430W PSU is more than enough for a 760.

[Xanders]

I've just got a minor setback well major actually, I won't be able to afford the GTX 760 instead I am thinking about getting either GTX 640, 650 Ti, 650 Ti Boost and the new Maxwell GTX 780 Ti. I've seen the benchmarking test by them on the highest preset of the games tested some fell to min 20fps which SHOULD BE quite ok if I play them in optimal settinghree s and medium settings. I was also wondering if they could play newer games at optimal settings. I usually care less about quality and more on fluent performance. I'm NOT in the rush to get these parts just planing up my calender I'm also curious of the GTX 880 coming soon.

 

I'm also considering ATI Radeon to give it try but I can't tell them apart easiy because the 4 digit model numbers I'll go research more.

Edited June 16, 2014 by Xanders

[RikuoAmero]

I've just got a minor setback well major actually, I won't be able to afford the GTX 760 instead I am thinking about getting either GTX 640, 650 Ti, 650 Ti Boost and the new Maxwell GTX 780 Ti. I've seen the benchmarking test by all three at the highest preset of the games tested some fell to min 20fps which SHOULD BE quite ok if I play them in optimal settings and medium settings. I was also wondering if they could play newer games at optimal settings. I usually care less about quality and more on fluent performance.

 

I'm also considering ATI Radeon to give it try but I can't tell them apart easiy because the 4 digit model numbers I'll go research more.

You can't afford the 760, but you're thinking of getting the more powerful and thus more expensive 780 Ti?

[Xanders]

OH GOD Opss my bad Typo GTX 750 Ti, this is happens when I browse with multiple tabs.

Edited June 16, 2014 by Xanders

[ZeroPenguins]

Well the AMD Radeon 265 is a lot better than the Nvidia's 750 TI if you don't care about power consumption.

 

I would recommend at least a 280X (roughly same as 760 give or take), but you might not have the money for it. It be quite future proof. The 270 and 270X are pretty nice as well.

 

I would just go with the 750 Ti if I was you considering your power supply.

Edited June 16, 2014 by Ang3lofDarkness

[Xanders]

Power Supply is not a problem I could always make little upgrades now and then in the future for now I would stick to what I have because desktop gives the option to upgrades in the future which I would never forget. 

 

The R7 265 and R9 270/270X really is impressive based on the benchmarking test I looked from multiple sites. Besides I could spent a little more on it.

But I also see that it uses more Watts they recommend at least 630W Isn't it too excessive ? and If I use Crossfire how much Watt do I need ?

Edited June 16, 2014 by Xanders

[ZeroPenguins]

Honestly you could get away with a 650W with crossfire with 2X 270X. The peak power draw won't even be 500W with a quad core i7 CPU.

 

Of course there are cards that need more, but for those midrange cards it's more than enough power.

 

 

As you can see even with two 780 Ti SLI your peak power draw is 556W.

 

I personally have a 700W PSU. This http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Thermaltake-TR2-700-W-Power-Supply-Review/1422

I should clarify, what I mean before. With a 750 Ti and with a 430W PSU you be on the ideal load for your PSU which is roughly at 50% when gaming (200W with a i3 I did assume). Which means you would have the highest efficiency at the moment.

[Xanders]

Interesting, 270/270X Would my ideal choice then.

I'll settle with the i5 4670k will z87 a or plus be a good match ? I'm going with ATX motherboards since I'll be doing crossfire the bigger spacing components should reduce heat build up.

Edited June 16, 2014 by Xanders

[Dae314]

^I was under the impression that BF4 wasn't so CPU tied rather GPU. As seen here: http://www.techspot.com/review/734-battlefield-4-benchmarks/page6.html

I guess I should've specified minimum fps. I think the CPU topic usually comes up when people want a minimum of 120fps in the game. CPUs haven't been jumping in power over generations like they used to. There's no reason to upgrade it unless you want better performance in a specific application. AMD's pretty much given all of its focus to its APUs recently, and Intel tends to focus more on power consumption and heat for their presentations now. Starting out with a good base CPU wouldn't hurt though.

On the motherboard, I'd check the chipset just to make sure it's got what you want and the voltage regulators to make sure you have the phases/brand you want. Sticking to a good brand and not going dirt cheap usually gets you passable voltage regulation as long as you're not overclocking.

[ZeroPenguins]

That is true, minimum is important for those that want higher frame rates for their monitor, however the most limiting factor for Xander's build would most likely be his GPU side. Though with G-Sync or AMD's Adaptive Sync, I think having FPS drops won't be a huge issue anymore.

 

On the other hand AMD's new Kaveri APUs seems to be pretty amazing on the laptop side. I haven't read up on it much but saw some benchmarks.

[Xanders]

@Dae314

Hmm... getting a base computer with a high end CPU then getting a GPU later on when I have the budget NUTS why didn't I think of it. Simple and brilliant thank you so much for pointing that out Dae314. Which chipset and how much Wattage would be great for i5 4670k and i7 4770k thanks you.

 

@Ang3lofDarkness

I'm researching on AMD's graphics cards. I have an Mid term test coming this Thursday so I won't put too much time into it but after the exam if I can.

Edited June 17, 2014 by Xanders