As the title says I've been researching parts to build a computer for the first time, and I just wanted to get some opinions on a few things. Here is one of the builds I've been looking at: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/FPEB
I already have a 2tb external drive, so I was thinking I would use that for storage and the SSD for the OS and a few games. I'm also planning on overclocking both the CPU and GPU.
- First of all I wanted to know if a 1440p monitor would be a good choice for a computer with a single GTX 680. The the most taxing game I currently have for the PC is The Witcher 2 and I'd like to be able to run that on at least high with a decent frame rate (~40-50fps minimum). I've seen the 680 is able to run it at max settings in 1600p with about 30fps average, so I think this should should work fine, but don't want to pay around $700 for a monitor that my computer will not be able to take advantage of. Any reccomendations for a different model are also welcome, though I'm uneasy about buying a Korean monitor off of Ebay for a better price.
The other option I was considering for a monitor was a 23-24 inch 120hz, but I already have a 120hz TV that I was planning on playing games on occasionally (to take advantage of Steam Big Picture Mode), so I'm not sure if it's worth it. Also, I don't play FPS games competetively, though I do play games like Borderlands 2 and Left 4 Dead. Other than that I mostly stick with single player games like Skyrim or Arkham City. In that case would I just be better off getting a regular 60hz?
I am planning on putting in another GTX 680 sometime in the future, but I just don't have the money for it right now unless I scale back a few parts.
- The second thing I'm unsure of is the i7 processor. I also play a lot of emulated games from consoles, and as I understand they require more processing power than standard PC games. I know that for about $130 less, the AMD FX-8350 offers only slightly less performance for PC gaming, but what about computational power? Would I be able to switch to an AMD processor without sacrificing too much? For example I've been studying Japanese and I would like to be able to run PCSX2 with a good framerate so I can play the Final Mix editions of 'Kingdom Hearts' that have never been released in the States, ideally upscaling them into HD.
- Lastly I'm wondering if there is any benefit to buying a GTX 680 with 4gb of ram or if I should just stick with the 2gb version, or another card altogether. I'd like to get an nVidia card for physX and the lower power consumption/noise/heat (compared to the AMD 7970) so I was also considering the GTX 670 or possibly the Titan with a few cutbacks. I've been looking around and the general consensus seems to be to get the best single GPU graphics card that you can afford but $1000 is pretty steep for a graphics card. Any recommendations?
Hi res gaming benifits from lots of VRAM, if you want the best fps you can at max settings, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202005 .
This is your best bet card for the money, dont buy a Titan. Its price for performance is like 700-800 dollars. Your spending 200 bucks on looks and to give yourself internet baller status.
Honestly just stick with the 120hz TV you have, if you find you're not liking it go for the 1440p monitor. A single gtx 680 WILL do the job for you, at a decent framerate also. If you want to play emulating games that use a lot of processing, the i7 would be better, although the FX 8350 would do it almost just as well
4gb WILL help in higher resolutions (1440p, 1600p) so you should get the 4gb
I see the case you're getting is a mid tower. You could easily get a full tower case for the same price, which fits more things (water cooling, fans, HDD's, bigger graphic cards, etc..)
Don't get the Titan, just like the guy above me said. Not really worth it.
If money isn't too much of an issue, I'd go for the monitor- but if you're looking to play mostly games, than the TV should be good enough.
Thanks for the input! For the case I was looking at the HAF XM for the cooling potential and smaller size compared to full towers since I will likely be moving my computer from the computer room to the living room every so often. Specifically for those games that are just better to play with a controller. Are there any full tower cases you'd recommend?
Well first off you could save yourself quite a bit of money. You don't NEED an X60 you'll be fine with like a dark night for around $50 which performs about as good as an H100. You don't need an 850W power supply. You'll be just fine with a 650W. So save yourself a few bucks there too. Personally I would opt for a bigger case. Maybe just me so it's debatable.
I wouldn't suggest going with a 1440P monitor. It's just not necessary. Nice? Yes. but going for a 1080P monitor still gives you a very nice resolution. Plus you'll get more FPS running games in 1080 than in 1440.
More FPS=Smoother/less blurriness between frames. Wanted for FPS games but it's not necessary to have 120FPS. You'll be just fine with 60FPS. You might be better off with a 60Hz monitor as 60 FPS is quite smooth in my opinion. Save yourself the money if you don't absolutely NEED the smoothest gaming experience possible. (that's also if you're card gets 120 fps in the games you play at the settings you play at.)
Also make sure you look at the latency in the monitors for your FPS games. It's not as critical for other types of games, but you may notice a 3-5ms input delay as lag in your FPS games. Also the monitor in the list has a 5ms input latency. I wouldn't recommend that.
As far as computing goes, I'm not sure, but I don't think you'll find a big difference between the Intel and AMD UNLESS you plan on doing some rendering stuff. Could be wrong though so anyone should correct me if I'm wrong.
Also the more VRAM the higher the resolution and AA you can run. In your case more is better.
I would suggest the 680 if you're willing to spend the money. Otherwise the 670 is the next best choice.