Hi everyone, I'm a Mac user since I grew up, however after 24 years of life and more games coming to the Mac (and my MacBook Pro with a GeForce 780M almost dying soon), I have finally found my way into (real) gaming and feel the difference in performance and optimisation between OS X, Windows on a Mac aaand Windows on a PC - which leads me to the decision of building my own Gaming PC, so I'll eventually be able to enjoy games the way I should enjoy them.
To be clear: I'll be using both platforms, so I don't need any advice on still having a Mac thereafter ;) Nevertheless I'm totally new to 'creating' a computer, and even though building seems like something easy to me (I have actually tweaked a few Macs with new HDDs, RAM, ODDs and recently even CPUs, learning by doing, so technically I'm not lost), I still think it's best to get some feedback from experienced folks like you. I have a pretty straightforward idea, yet I'm still open for any opinion or hint or criticism.
TL;DR: I wanna build a PC, please have a look at my thoughts and tell me your opinion, thanks for every comment. Well then, here is my initial plan:
http://de.pcpartpicker.com/p/YvyqVn
My reasons for picking certain parts:
CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K
Basically I don't want to go below 4 Cores. Those cost 160€ minimum and I think ~210€ for the current high-end i5 should be a good deal. Agree? Or would an i7-4790K be more sensible? But this one would cost me like 100€ more. For me that's a freakin lot, is it worth the bump?
CPU-Cooler: Corsair H75
I totally want to liquid cool my CPU. It's cool in either way and it looks awesome, especially this model. And of course I guess the cooling efficiency won't be too bad either. I know I could go cheaper, but the main reason is the look and the fact for it being a liquid cooler. Yet: any considerations? Still open for your opinion!
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G55
Absolutely no idea which motherboard will be the best for me. Criteria: fit the CPU, allow "high speed" RAM, run PCIe 3.0... Yeah. And I chose this one in particular as it has this black-blueish colour theme (fits the NZXT H440 black/blue), and MSI is a brand I as a noob would trust. Other options? I think ~85€ are totally fine for a motherboard.
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series,16GB-Kit DDR3 @2400MHz
I hear the Ripjaws are told to be good/solid RAM, 2400 MHz is fast, 16 GB are enough (for the beginning) for gaming and creativity, the blue colour fits the rest of the rig.
SSD: 2x Corsair Force LS 120GB
I definitely go with an SSD; especially in this case (pun not intended; NZXT H440) I prefer to use 2 of em for the look (as the case has eye catching SSD-bays, not using one/them hurts my perfectionism), but as I would never use 2 seperate SSDs, I'd run em in RAID0, doubling the size and largely increasing the performance/speed (correct?). I think I can trust Corsair in SSDs, write&read speeds sound promising.
Not sure if 120GB would be enough (2x 60GB) or if 240GB (2x120GB) are overkill. Price at ~60€ each is totally cool with me though.
HDD: WD green 4TB
Absolutely no idea again. This drive is huge, the cheapest for it's storage (~135€), it's green ( = less power, less noise?? Is green even an advantage?), uhm... Yeah. No other reason tbh.
GPU: Sapphire R9 290 Tri-X OC
Sapphire has this sympathy for me, dunno why. Brand name sounds cool, their cards are said to be good, price is totally okay for me, considering the 290 appears to be quite a strong GPU. I think I'd go for this one.
Note: I consider to upgrade to liquid cooling at some later stage
Case: NZXT H440 black/blue
This case is just plain beautiful for my eyes (remember, I'm used to Apple's perfection). The quality seems to be a really great compromise, design and money wise. I don't think anyone can stop me from getting this case.
PSU: EVGA 1000W 80+ Gold (SuperNova? idk)
Now let me explain this choice. I initially opted for the In Win Desert Fox Commander III (600W, 80€), as it looks awesome, sounds promising, has 80+ Gold efficiency (I don't even know how justified Gold is, I just feel like I don't want to go beneath - again, open for comments!). Then I thought, I might upgrade to a second R9 290 one day. 600W would not be enough. How about the 800W version (100€)? According to PCpartpicker.com, yes; but I believe the PSU would soon almost run at full power, especially after probably overclocking - not knowing whether this would even be possible with so little spare power.
What do you think? Do you agree 800W wouldn't be enough to later power two R9 290's? That's why I reckoned I might be better off with 1000W. I believe EVGA has reliable PSUs, which'd be why I'd be ready to pay those ~140€.
Now my thoughts on this build in general. I want a Gaming PC capable of running games at best quality on at least 1080p with a framrate around at least 60 fps. Current games are mostly League of Legends, Guild Wars 2, then increasingly quite a few others in my steam library (as I'd not be limited to OS X due to my current GPU), and I want to enjoy Star Citizen one day. The PC should last at least roughly 3 years, I imagine even 5 years, of course with minor upgrades (extra cost) like RAM and CrossFire. In those entire 5 years I believe I should be able to run games in at least high settings. Money I plan to spend initially is around 1500€; however I look into getting the total cost down to 1300€ or so.
Here's the thing: This PC will most likely not be built within the next half year - probably even only next year around this time of the year. (As for financial reasons) Does it make sense to stick with these specs, or do you think I should spend like almost 500€ more for upgrading to newer hardware able to handle DDR4-RAM? Because like I said, I'd want this machine to serve me for roughly 3-5 years. Any other upcoming technologies I should keep an eye on? I don't know how prices (for DDR4 builds) might drop over the next 12 months regarding especially CPUs (>350€), RAM (>270€) and motherboards (>170€) which feel like a pain in the ass at the moment.
So besides you judging my build in general, I have core questions regarding:
CPU: i5-4690K (~210€), i7-4790K (~305€) or i7-5820K (~370€ for DDR4)?
Motherboard: Z87 fine (~85€), or something better (Z97? Or X99 for DDR4, ~190€?)
RAM: Should I believe the benefits of DDR4 (4x4GB @~290€) are not worth the higher costs today/in 2-3 years or would I be mistaken?
SSD: Am I stupid running 2 SSDs in a RAID0 config? Are 240GB (~120€) way more than I'll probably ever need, as I should use this only for most important stuff and save the rest on a big HDD? Rather go with 2x 60GB? (~85€) Or even PCIe? What about this weird M.2 thingy?
HDD: Is the green drive pure nonesense? Any other recommendations with reasons?
GPU: Would a 290x be worth the higher cost? (~330€ instead of ~280€) Is the 290 actually worth the cost, when compared to a 280x/285 (~230€) or even a 280? (~170€) (When) Does Crossfire make sense, is it worth the additional cost?
Is water cooling the GPU(s) e.g. with a NZXT G10 + Corsair H55 a good idea or just plain stupid/useless/overkill? Besides feeling more awesome... Because... Yeah, it's water cooled bro!? Should parts live longer/the card(s) perform better when cooled this way?
-> Is there actually a benefit from push-pull configs? How much/in which way is this a difference?
PSU: Might I be fine with a Desert Fox 800W or should I go with a 1000W EVGA? Is Gold too much of a wannabe spec? Any alternative (recommendable) PSUs for around 100€?
Should you really have read through all of this, I honestly thank you very much for your time and patience. I just want to be precise as possible with this being my first time spending a shitload of money (to me it is) on something exciting. Thank you so much, I'm open for any opinions and suggestions!
~ Yaru