Please evaluate my gaming system?

[CFster]

I used to build systems all the time, but 11 years ago I started having kids and well, you know...I've been out of the loop. I'm in the US and am looking to build a decent gaming system with a little working from home as well. Trying to keep it under $1500. All I need is the PC itself. I have keyboard, mouse, external optical drive and Dell 2407WFP running at 1920x1200. Not too interested in over clocking at the moment but I won't rule it out in the future (I pushed enough chips far enough back in the day that ended up with corrupted data - not too interested in doing that again unless I know it's safe)

I put together the following list based entirely on brands I've had good luck with in the past and NewEgg customer reviews. I'd love some input. Thanks.

ASUS Maximus VII Hero
i7-4790K Haswell
G.SKILL Trident X Series 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 2400
EVGA Superclocked w/ACX Cooling GTX 770 2GB
Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB
Antec 300 ATX case
Seasonic M12II 620 Bronze 620W

This comes out to $1255.93 on NewEgg.

 

[Spydermag68]

One thing I would add is to add an ssd boot drive. When you install the so keep the regular hd disconnected so it will not try to install the swap file on the hd.

 

[Termie]

That's a nice, very fast system. But it can be tweaked for better balance and more modern features:

(1) The Hero is specifically an overclocking board. You'll get nearly all the same general features on the Asus Z97-A, other than the upgraded sound. If you want very good onboard sound, another option is the ASRock Z97 Extreme 4 or Gigabyte Z97-UD3H.

(2) You're spec'ing very high-priced, high-voltage RAM. If it happens to be on sale, that's fine, but DDR3-2133 or even DDR3-1866 would perform nearly identically.

(3) The GTX 770 really isn't a good value at this point. I'd get a 3GB or 4GB card, and the best option right now in your price range is probably a Radeon R9 290. It's much, much faster.

(4) Flat out don't get the Antec 300. It has good reviews on Newegg because those people have never used a modern case. A Corsair 200R or 300R is far superior, and you might even step up to a NZXT Phantom 410 or H440 (the H440 has no external bays and would be perfect with your external optical).

(5) Yes to an SSD, as stated above. It's an absolute must. Get the Crucial MX100 512GB at just over $200 and you might be able to skip that Seagate all together.

 

[Spydermag68]

If you have a micro center near you then it might be better to get your motherboard and CPU there. Most of the time you can beat newegg on this combo by $20 to $50 depending on your selection after taxes.

 

[CFster]

(2) You're spec'ing very high-priced, high-voltage RAM. If it happens to be on sale, that's fine, but DDR3-2133 or even DDR3-1866 would perform nearly identically.

16GB of this memory is $179.99. I think that's a good price?

(3) The GTX 770 really isn't a good value at this point. I'd get a 3GB or 4GB card, and the best option right now in your price range is probably a Radeon R9 290. It's much, much faster.

Any suggestions on brand? Or are they all pretty much the same card?

 

[CFster]

If you have a micro center near you then it might be better to get your motherboard and CPU there. Most of the time you can beat newegg on this combo by $20 to $50 depending on your selection after taxes.

Didn't know that. The board I'm looking at is the same money, but the CPU is $60 cheaper!

 

[Termie]

16GB of this memory is $179.99. I think that's a good price?

Any suggestions on brand? Or are they all pretty much the same card?

16GB of DDR3-2400 for $180 is a good price, about the same as DDR3-2133. If you're not an overclocker, though, I'd look at whether a DDR3-1866 kit were available for a bit less.

As for the R9 290, the XFX model is the best among the less expensive tier, while Sapphire's Tri-X and Vapor-X model are the best of the higher-priced tier. Better cooling, quiet operation, nice overclocks.

 

[CFster]

Will I see an advantage with a 4GB card vs. 3 with a single display?

 

[monkeydelmagico]

Didn't know that. The board I'm looking at is the same money, but the CPU is $60 cheaper!

Until you put them both in your shopping cart. Then you go to check out and realize microcenter has given you another $40.- off your motherboard.

:thumbsup:

 

[Termie]

Will I see an advantage with a 4GB card vs. 3 with a single display?

No, 4GB on its own is not superior to 3GB for a 1920x1200 monitor like the one you have. But you were originally looking at the GTX 770 2GB. I would not go for that card. Either pick up the 280X 3GB or the much faster 290 4GB. Either has sufficient VRAM, but the 290 is a newer, more powerful design.

 

[CFster]

Until you put them both in your shopping cart. Then you go to check out and realize microcenter has given you another $40.- off your motherboard.

:thumbsup:

I notice a lot of the items I'm looking at are store pick up only.

 

[Termie]

I notice a lot of the items I'm looking at are store pick up only.

That's the catch with MicroCenter. It typically isn't worth shopping at unless you can drive there.

 

[CFster]

Thanks guys. I went with the Z97-A, R9 290, Crucial SSD and Corsair case. Already put it together and I must say this thing chews up pretty much anything I feed it.

I put together my last system probably 10 years ago. What amazed me this time around is how much things haven't changed. It's all the same for the most part. Sure the board has more fan headers and SATA ports, but they're still fan headers and SATA ports. I would have thought the architecture would have changed more.

 

[Termie]

Thanks guys. I went with the Z97-A, R9 290, Crucial SSD and Corsair case. Already put it together and I must say this thing chews up pretty much anything I feed it.

I put together my last system probably 10 years ago. What amazed me this time around is how much things haven't changed. It's all the same for the most part. Sure the board has more fan headers and SATA ports, but they're still fan headers and SATA ports. I would have thought the architecture would have changed more.

Glad to hear it came together without any problems.

The basic building blocks of PCs haven't changed that much, but I would say the process has gotten a bit easier, particularly with regard to case design. Modular PSUs help a lot also.

 

[Jetasis]

Thanks guys. I went with the Z97-A, R9 290, Crucial SSD and Corsair case. Already put it together and I must say this thing chews up pretty much anything I feed it.

I put together my last system probably 10 years ago. What amazed me this time around is how much things haven't changed. It's all the same for the most part. Sure the board has more fan headers and SATA ports, but they're still fan headers and SATA ports. I would have thought the architecture would have changed more.

Did you go with the 512gb mx-100??

Jet

 

[CFster]

Yes.