Gaming build - your collective expertise would be much appreciated

hughtrimble

hughtrimble

hughtrimble

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Joined
22 Jan 2014
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Afternoon all,

This is the first post of a long time lurker of this fine forum; hopefully I have posted it in the correct section.

I've been considering putting together a gaming package for quite a few years now, and have finally decided to crack on with it after much goading from one of your number. Gaming is the name of the...game. Budget around the £315 mark (already have SSD+HHD+GPU+motherboard), but I know what usually happens in such threads, so can allow for a touch more.

I would like it to be as quiet and as un-flashy as possible (i.e. no fairy lights or Christmas tree baubles), and be able to be upgraded in the future. I see the motherboard I've selected is compatible with Intel i7, but I've gone for an i5 as I've been informed the i7 is overkill for my needs (these are terms I was unfamiliar with until last week, so I am open to education). I've got a 120GB SSD already and a 500GB HHD, so no need for any more of that (yet).

I've seen the method used for displaying selected components in similar posts for builds, but being the very definition of a noob, I cannot work out how they worked that magic. My method will hopefully work.

Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 OC WindForce 4096MB

Gigabyte Z87X-UD4H Intel Z87

Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell)

Corsair Hydro H100i

Corsair Carbide 330R Silent Mid Tower Case

TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3

SuperFlower Golden Green HX 650W non-modular


How does the above look to your experienced eyes?

Also, I'm unsure as to what sort of cooling is needed. I can't see myself overclocking things (stone the blasphemer!), but I would like it to be lovely and quiet. Also, I am totally at sea in the ocean of optical drives, so something that'll work well is needed, but I don't think I need any bells and whistles on that bit of kit.

Any suggestions would be very much appreciated, as I do realise you get quite a few requests for build guidance, so any snippets of information will be gratefully received.

Cheers,
Hugh
 
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Afternoon Qitarah,

Thank you for your response and suggestions. May I ask the reason for your choice of the Gigabyte motherboard vs. the ASRock? If the difference is very technical then I understand if it's pointless explaining!

I've certainly heard of Gigabyte before, and I cannot say the same for ASRock.
 
Many thanks once again Qitarah - I have updated the OP with the recommended parts. I'm thinking the non-modular PSU is fine for me - excess wiring is not something I'm too OCD about! I'd certainly like to be able to put a bit more cash in now and not have to upgrade for a little while, so on that front the 650W PSU you linked to looks grand.

I do like the look of that case you used in the build - liking the connections at the front which the one I posted appears to lack. I'll have a look around for other companies that may have it.

Thank you kindly for taking the time to give such comprehensive responses.
 
dirtychinchilla said:
Evening dude.

You can get soundproofed cases, like the one Qitarah has shown you. Fractal do very nice ones, but they had a disagreement with OcUK and don't sell them any more. My current one is a fractal, but I don't think you've seen it. Used to have the Shinobi, which was fine, but no noise dampening.

I'd go for a bit more RAM, while you're at it.

In terms of quiet CPU coolers, Corsair H series are great.
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Cheers man. Currently at 8gb, will I really need 16gb for gaming? I can always add it in at a later date if 8 does not suffice. Could I not just add in 2x more 4gb, or will the motherboard not allow for that?
 
BinnsY said:
This would be my suggestion. Nice quiet case and just a couple of minor tweaks to your origional budget. The MSI version of the GTX780 is £10 cheaper and just as good, the twin fozer cooler on it is also exceptionally quiet. I've included a nice heatsink thats about as big as you can fit in that case so you can keep the noise levels low as well.

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI Geforce GTX 780 Gaming Edition OC 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £369.95
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £173.99
1 x Gigabyte G1.Sniper Z87 Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £119.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 330R Silent Mid Tower Case - Black £74.95
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 650W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £73.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLAD38G2400HC11CDC01) £55.99
1 x Raijintek Themis Direct Contact CPU Cooler £17.99
Total : £901.85 (includes shipping : £12.50).

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Thank you kindly for putting this package together. The case looks great, especially if it is likely to be easier to cool things with it vs the Shinobi.

The MSI vs Gigabyte business: do MSI have a UK returns centre? I'd be willing to fork out the extra tenner on the Gigabyte if that's the only real difference between them.
 
OLDPHART said:
Sorry for that was doing ten things at once did not see his budget, the only thing l would do is get a better motherbroad then the
Gigabyte G1.Sniper Z87 Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard-£119.99 inc VAT-

Gigabyte Z87X-OC Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard-£158.99 inc VAT

Asus Z87 MAXIMUS VI HERO Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard-£164.99 inc VAT

If you get a Shinobi put a 140mm fan in the top of the case, as you have only a 120mm fan rear and front for air flow and the Raider case is the same so the air flow not that good, the 140mm fan does make a differance to the case temps.
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Thank you for the information on the Shinobi and Raider with regards cooling. That's good to know.

I've been looking at the spec for the 787X-OC vs the 787: the primary difference I can see are more PCI-E x16 in the 787X-OC. May I ask why this is advantageous/worth the extra outlay vs the 787?
 
Qitarah said:
That will take the total price way over the original £800 budget.

Or would require lowering he graphics card down to like a 270x. Which would just be stupid!

Stick with the i5 and 780 graphics card.

If you want to push the budget a bit get a 4770k. Games are starting to make use of the virtual cores more often, and it will be a bit more future proof than the i5. However the i5 and 780 will absolutely suit your needs and last a good while.

make sure you get a aftermarket heatsink. It will help lower noise compared to the intel heatsink.
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Roger that on the aftermarket heatsink, that is certainly not something that would have ever crossed my mind! One of those will go into the basket; thank you for the suggestion.

I've been looking at the 4770k vs the 4670k after the mentions in this thread, and I'm unsure whether I (having been gaming on a six year old HP 'entertainment' laptop) will really get the use out of the 4770k just yet.
 
fowler002 said:
If you're not set on nvidia then

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-341-SP

That comes with free bf4, or you can save another £10 and get the msi gaming edition

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-239-MS

According to gibbo the sapphire is the best 290 currently available tho the msi is certainly not a bad second choice.
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Not set on Nvidia at all - I have no brand/make bias (too uneducated for that) but I do like things like UK returns centres. It just makes things so much more pleasant when things go wrong.

I'll have a look at the Sapphire. It sounds like it may be rather top spec and thus wasted on me!
 
Just having a look at the graphics card - can another graphics card be added at a later date, or will the Gigabyte G1.Sniper Z87 Intel Z87 mother board / and or the current graphics card not support it?

My apologies if this is a highly noobish question.
 
fowler002 said:
The sapphire 290 tri-x is no more top spec than a gtx780, they're both about equal(290 better in some games while the 780 is better in others).

If you prefer uk based RMA then the gigabyte 290 windforcenis on today only offer for £336 tho only 9 left at time of posting so be quick as they'll be sold out in quick time

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-133-GI



All the motherboards mentioned in this thread so far support xfire/sli(I.e 2 graphics cards, xfire is the term for amd cards while sli is for nvidia cards). Only thing is you'll nene a 'bigger' psu than the one speced thus far if you're going a 290/780(the 650w superflower should be enough for 2x 280x but not quite for 2x 290/780).
Click to expand...

Good spot on the deal - just ordered one.

So now the graphics card is sorted, thanks to your good self!

May I ask what sort of PSU would be needed if I were to ever add a second of the 290 cards? I think it will be quite some time before that, but shelling out a few extra reddies now for a more powerful unit that would cost many more reddies to upgrade entirely seems like the better move.
 
Qitarah said:
The AMD r9 290 Gigabyte version would be a very good alternative to the 780 you originally had, its on for a good price too at the moment. Also the 290 vs 780 comes down to which games you play really, and what you want to get out of your card.

As mentioned you would need to get a higher capacity PSU for crossfiring/sli (especially Xfire 290s).

And finally in regards to the i5 vs i7. From what you describe the i5 should be more perfect really.
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I had no idea different games ran differently on certain makes of graphics cards. Is this only found through playing the games, or can it be predicted depending on the games' creators?

I have a feeling I won't need to be crossfiring this GPU for quite some time. But it's nice to have future options.
 
This is what I'm currently looking at man:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £173.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 330R Silent Mid Tower Case - Black £74.95
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 650W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £73.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLAD38G2400HC11CDC01) £55.99
1 x Raijintek Themis Direct Contact CPU Cooler £17.99
1 x Enermax T.B.Silence UCTB14B 140mm Fan £9.98
Total : £421.00 (includes shipping : £11.75).




Why the liquid cooler and the different motherboard vs the current selection?
 
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Qitarah said:
...
The other parts are looking fine. Liquid cooling is pointless if your not going to be overclocking. That cooler you have listed will do the job just fine.


If you wanted to look for a slightly better motherboard (which I dont think is needed as per your description of not overclocking and just for gaming), then yer have a look on other websites for the Gigabyte Z87X-UD4H or Gigabyte Z87X-UD3H Intel Z87 they quite cheap from some other places (hint: rainforest) and are really good motherboards.

...
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Your help throughout this is very much appreciated Qitarah - my rather poor BB skills mean I have not made it very clear which parts I've purchased etc. and for that I apologise.

What is excellent is that so many of those kind enough to post in this thread have all said what a good deal that R9 290 GPU is, and that is certainly comforting! One will hopefully be with me by the morrow.

I just honestly cannot see myself overclocking things, at least not just yet. This will be my first 'build' and as such I am likely to be rather hesitant about messing around with components. What would be nice though, is the option to OC at a later date when I have grown some cojones! Therefore a superior motherboard and cooling may be worthwhile...?
 
Qitarah said:
Sure yer. Overclocking really isn't that hard anyways (well for up to a certain level).

The boards I mentioned in two posts above (gigabyte ud3h and ud4h) will do for a decent amount of clocking, this board in particular is quite highly recommended;

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-434-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=2574

As for a better cooler well then your coming to high end air coolers something like;

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-011-NC&groupid=701&catid=2330&subcat=2346

Or closed loop water cooling units such as;

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-015-CS&groupid=701&catid=2330&subcat=2262


As for spending the extra money on the parts listed, that's up to you buddy. If you are not going to overclock the extra will be mostly wasted, the mobo we originally talked about will let you overclock and is a decent board, but the other ones mentioned are well just...better.

(hint again; look on the rainforest named site for Gigabyte Z87X-UD4H)

As for the better heatsinks cooling. I personally prefer high-end air cooling over Closed looped watercooling (like the one I listed above) but thats just me. Sure you have a huge chunk of metal hanging off your motherboard but better than some plastic holding water! :D

Either way high end air or closed loop will both do the job of keeping things cool, and both have there own pros and cons!

Just as a note, check the product dimensions for heatsinks/etc and make sure it will fit in the case you decide on!

For the added price of the motherboard or extra cooling you could get the 4770k the original motherboard and down the road if you decided to overclock you could always pick up a better aftermarket cooler! However that said I think what it comes down to is setting yourself a budget and sticking to it.

If it was me? Id get;

The 290 you got.
The money saved from the original 780, put it towards a 4770k
Decent ish motherboard like the above mentioned Gigabyte Z87X-UD4H from the rainforest named website (A LOT cheaper than here currently, sorry OCUK!)
Get a the cooler you have listed and if you do decide to overclock later on get a better high end aircooler.
The same Ram we discussed/you have listed.


the 4770k (or 4670k admittedly), coupled with a r9 290 will make for a monster.
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Today has not been a cheap day; but monies have been saved certainly!

Just went for the Gigabyte Z87X-UD4H from home of the Yąnomamö. Thank you very much indeed for the heads up on that Qitarah.

Looking into the various processor options once again.

Cheers,
Hugh
 
Qitarah said:
Great, the build is coming along nicely.

If you count in total what you have spent/aim to spend on ram/case/etc, what is the total (so we have an indication of how close/far we are from the original budget)?
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hughtrimble said:
This is what I'm currently looking at man:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £173.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 330R Silent Mid Tower Case - Black £74.95
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 650W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £73.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLAD38G2400HC11CDC01) £55.99
1 x Raijintek Themis Direct Contact CPU Cooler £17.99
1 x Enermax T.B.Silence UCTB14B 140mm Fan £9.98
Total : £421.00 (includes shipping : £11.75).

Click to expand...

This is currently what I'm looking at for the rest, with the processor and power supply up for debate. I'll also need to factor in WinOS and the various cables etc that I'll need. That is likely to be the most confusing part for yours truly!

Spent around the £480 mark thus far. I anticipated going over the initial budget with improved recommendations. If the parts last and don't need upgrading so readily, an increased initial outlay is worth it in my book.
 
Qitarah said:
I'd get the 4770k and stick with the other listed parts.

Crossfiring down the road sounds good when you start talking about it, but usually ends up never happening for most. Not to mention current xfire can be a pain in the backside on some games.

However I can understand putting another £70 in getting a beast psu just in case.

Have a think about in the i5 vs i7. Both will be great, but I think the i7 will last longer.

Looks good anyways Hugh, I'm jealous!
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Cheers Qitarah - your help has been great in putting this together.

Regarding the i7, may I ask which?

There appear to be a few i7, but is the key in the 'Haswell' and 4770K?

There also appear to be two different GHz options: 3.4 and 3.5

Or would getting one of the OEM (what does that mean?!) versions be wiser than the retail?
 
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