New Gaming Rig $2000 Budget

Hardware Hub Build a PC
1

Realized I'd been doing things wrong here.  First time I haven't read the rules for a particular forums section.  SO, that's my fault. 

Anyway, this is my first build, and I know kinda what I'm doing but not 100%.  As I said this is my first build.

Here is some info:

  • Budget. How much are you willing to spend? Around $2000
  • Where do you live (what country),  and what currency do you use? USA, Dollars
  •   -Is there a retailer you prefer? Newegg.com
  • Do you need or already have peripherals? (this can add to costs) No.  I'll take care of that stuff later.
  • What will you be using your future computer for? Gaming? Rendering? Mix of both? Or is this a home media PC? Mainly Gaming as well as everyday usage
  • Do you overclock or want to get into overclocking? Maybe in the near future but not right away
  • Do you plan on going for custom watercooling now, or in the future? Maybe in the future once I've gained more knowledge
  • OS. Do you need a new one? Yes
  • Do you plan on Mining BTC either for yourself or Tek Syndicate? No

If you Game-

  • What kind of settings do you like? Max
  • What resolution will you be playing at? //or would like to play at. 1920x1080 higher if I can manage
  • What kind of games do you like to play? FPS (Battlefield, etc.) open to trying anything though
  • What specific game will you be playing (if applicable) Mainly Battlefield 4

 This is the build that I have planned thus far:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1cyC0

Any advice and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  Bare in mind that I already have the case so that won't change.

2

$2000 is a lot of gaming PC. Especially if you're gaming at 1080p. The i7 is more of an editing CPU, it offers no real performance gain over an i5. Same with high frequency RAM, great to have if you're editing, but it is just extra cost that does nothing for games.

There's also the AMD flavour. But, I'll draft you a Intel build, if that's your interest.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1czbP

I've actually kept most of the parts, since they appear to be your personal preference. It would be very simple to save money on this build. It's more optimal for gaming. Your power supply, as good as it is, was completely overkill for a single card. 550W is enough for a completely overclocked system and more. 750W is good for dual cards, but I see no need to crossfire cards at 1080p. I've included an SSD.

3

The Sapphire Vapor-X card is only $350, could use the saved money on the i7, a bigger psu or faster ram.

4

Thanks again for your help, I'm really liking that build and I was trying to decide between a Corsai and Seasonic PSU, but I didn't know which to go with, so I chose the Corsair.

Also, for a 27-inch monitor, which is what I plan on getting early next year, would you recommend a 7970 Ghz Edition, a 770, or a 780?

5

At 1080p, either the 770 or 7970, but I wouldn't recommend a 27'' 1080p monitor. At 1440p, the 780 is the only way to go.

6

Yeah, man. 27" 1440p monitors are baws! Any high-tier card will run games on that panel. I have a GTX780 which maxes out my own 1440p monitor. I don't think 27" 1080p monitors look particularly good. It's because the pixels stretch. Screen size isn't everything. For more pixels, you do need the extra GPU muscle. So an ultra card, like a 780, would handle that better than something like 7970.

I would post my own build, but PCpartpicker is being an ass, at the minute.

7

You mean its being a Kenny G?

8

I have a 27" 1080 screen and I want to swap it over for a 1440 its not high enough res at that size

9

That's what I was thinking.  This is the monitor I am looking at at the moment:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236294&IsVirtualParent=1

Also, how high do you think I'd be able to OC the 4670k with that Xigmatek cooler if I were to add a second fan to it?

10

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1cApd

This is what I have, including the 1440p monitor. The ASUS PB27 is fantastic.

Though, I went with 1866 CAS 9 RAM and the i7, just for some editing. I had a slightly different PSU and a Phanteks cooler.

11

Go for it. Probably around 4.3 ghz, maybe.

12

But, for gaming, the above link is pretty much spot on for your needs, and with the 1440p. It will still be useful for editing.

I got to be honest with you, the Xigmatek cooler is great, but Haswell runs really hot. The safest OC I would recommend is about 4.2, 4.4 at the most. You would need to put a custom watercooling loop on the CPU, only has to be a small loop.

13

So, which of these coolers would you recommend for OCing the 4670k to around 4.0 to 4.2 GHz?

Xigmatek Dark Knight II Night Hawk (with a second 120mm fan. So, push/pull in other words)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029

Noctua NH-D14

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608024

Phanteks PH-TC12DX

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835709020

 

14

I have the Phanteks 12DX, I recommend it.

I like all those coolers. Though, the Noctua house-style has never appealed to me. Yucky colours.

Any of them will get you to 4.2, easily.

Haswell has a nice overclocking feature, of one-touch overclocking. Takes you to 4.2, 4.4, or 4.6 in a single click.

4.2 is all you really need for gaming, and you'll get safe temps with any of the above.

15

So, I should be alright getting to around 4.2 with two of these on the Xigmatek?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233101

16

In its stock configuration, you should be able to get 4.2.

I think you should pick a cooler that you like, try it out. You'll be pleasantly surprised.

If you need an additional fan on the Xigmatek, you can add it later, but only if it is needed. Save money, that's my advice. I think the coolers you are deciding on are all pretty awsome. I just dislike the size and look of the Noctua.

17

Think I'm gonna go with the Xigmatek. 

Does anyone know if the Asus 4-way optimization works with the Z87 Sabertooth mobo, or is it only for the RoG stuff?

18

The D14 will outperform all of those other coolers.

19

It's on all Asus Z87 motherboards.

20

I don't usually post here on Tek Syndicate... Anyways, this is what I threw (in the kindest way possible) together.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1d5Ei

As for the changes I made: 

CPU: As Beserker said in his fist comment, the i7 is more of an editing CPU. Thus, I "down-graded" to the 4670k, which preforms almost as well in most gaming scenarios.

CPU Cooler: Judging from you previous comments, you seem bent on getting the Dark Knight from Xigmatek. Even though the D14 preforms quite better. Then again, the colour scheme isn't the prettiest, so I'll give you that.

Motherboard: I really like this mATX board, it's full of features and it's compact, also it's in a good price range. The "Hero" board would aslo be a viable option in this case even though it is an ATX board. 

Memory: The Beast! That is all. 

Storage: I kept the 2TB WD Black drive, and I changed the SSD. Only because of my personal experience with the Adata. I have none with the Samsung Drive. It really wouldn't make that much of a difference I guess. 

GPU: Since, you're thinking of going 1440p the 780 would be a perfect contender. I'm not sure if the ACX cooler on that particular card cools the card better than the stock cooler. But, I chose it anyways. 

Case: This case is amazing. It's better than any Cooler Master/Corsair/Lian Li/NZXT case you will find in this price range. I own this case, and not only are the cable routing options great, the this case legitimatly looks good. It's very sleek, and it has a nice window so you can show off yo' stuff off.

PSU: I've heard good things about this power supply, just check the reviews. And it's pretty cheap. I do believe it runs on 4 rails though. So, if you feel uncomfortable about that you may want to opt-out for a SeaSonic. 

And I kept everything else (the OS and Optical Drive) the same. 

To decrease the cost of this machine, (to save for that 1440p monitor) you could get an 128GB SSD instead of a 256GB one. 

Hope this helps, 

                             - jn