Gaming build - your collective expertise would be much appreciated

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
 
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)? I count just under £700 without CPU?
 
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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).

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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.
 
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!
 
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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4820k is ivy bridge express. Different motherboard socket. Slightly slower than haswell 4770k but overclocks a bit better and it's Not compatible with the 1150 socket motherboard (haswell). The 4820k has more expensive motherboards as well. Over all it's not worth it over a 4770k. The only benefit is that socket 2011 have the 4930k which is a beast of a processor (at a beastly price!). This would offer an upgrade path in a few years time but at that point where a 4770k needs upgrading, I would imagine a 4930k would too!

Haswell is code name for socket 1150 and in this case the 4770k (i7) or 4670k (i5).

Oem basically means it is one year warranty and no intel heatsink (retail is 3 year warranty). I'd defiantly not recommended oem over retail for the sake of a couple of pounds (especially since the 4770k is on offer right now).

The 4770 (3.4 ghz) is a non-k edition, which is a bit slower and also not overclockable at all (or very limited).

The 4770k is the one you are looking for and it is currently at a nice price this week!!

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-471-IN
 
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Unless you're a extreme overclocker spending £300+ on a motherboard (such as the asus Maximus vi extreme) then for the most part what motherboard you use doesn't effect how well the CPU overclocks as its the cooling used, well I'm no expert but that is what I've read.

As you're not an extreme overclocker the motherboard choice really comes down to your budget and the features you require(I.e number of sata ports, wifi/Bluetooth etc), not as important as the other two but also the looks/colour of the motherboard.

The gigabyte sniper is meant to have the best onboard sound for a motherboard, tho looks like you took qitarhs suggestion on the motherboard.

If you will be going xfire in the future then go with the 4770k otherwise might as well save money and stick with the 4670k, cooler wise the top 3 air coolers are the k2 mount doom, the one qitarah linked to and the thermalright silver arrow(the mount doom being the cheaper of the three).
 
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The ud4h at £135 is a good deal, the sniper is also a good board but at £120 for the sniper the ud4h is just better overall.

going back to the I7 vs I 5 for a sec what games do you play currently?
 
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fowler002 said:
Unless you're a extreme overclocker spending £300+ on a motherboard (such as the asus Maximus vi extreme) then for the most part what motherboard you use doesn't effect how well the CPU overclocks as its the cooling used, well I'm no expert but that is what I've read.

As you're not an extreme overclocker the motherboard choice really comes down to your budget and the features you require(I.e number of sata ports, wifi/Bluetooth etc), not as important as the other two but also the looks/colour of the motherboard.

The gigabyte sniper is meant to have the best onboard sound for a motherboard, tho looks like you took qitarhs suggestion on the motherboard.

If you will be going xfire in the future then go with the 4770k otherwise might as well save money and stick with the 4670k, cooler wise the top 3 air coolers are the k2 mount doom, the one qitarah linked to and the thermalright silver arrow(the mount doom being the cheaper of the three).
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Splendid - I'll have a look at the coolers. Cheers
 
Qitarah said:
4820k is ivy bridge express. Different motherboard socket. Slightly slower than haswell 4770k but overclocks a bit better and it's Not compatible with the 1150 socket motherboard (haswell). The 4820k has more expensive motherboards as well. Over all it's not worth it over a 4770k. The only benefit is that socket 2011 have the 4930k which is a beast of a processor (at a beastly price!). This would offer an upgrade path in a few years time but at that point where a 4770k needs upgrading, I would imagine a 4930k would too!

Haswell is code name for socket 1150 and in this case the 4770k (i7) or 4670k (i5).

Oem basically means it is one year warranty and no intel heatsink (retail is 3 year warranty). I'd defiantly not recommended oem over retail for the sake of a couple of pounds (especially since the 4770k is on offer right now).

The 4770 (3.4 ghz) is a non-k edition, which is a bit slower and also not overclockable at all (or very limited).

The 4770k is the one you are looking for and it is currently at a nice price this week!!

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-471-IN
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You know, I hadn't even noticed the addition of the 'K' - that certainly helps to differentiate between them.

I had noticed the one year warranty on the OEM one and was certainly put off by it. As you say, the slight price increase of the retail unit is certainly worth it in my book just for the warranty.

Thank you for explaining the finer points of the different processors Qitarah, I very much appreciate it. Had I not come on here and heard from you knowledgeable folk I would have likely thought the bigger number was better (!) and not considered the socket compatibility. Saved me there!
 
Qitarah said:
The ud4h at £135 is a good deal, the sniper is also a good board but at £120 for the sniper the ud4h is just better overall.

going back to the I7 vs I 5 for a sec what games do you play currently?
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The ud4h is on its way as we speak - the price was too good to pass up.

I have not played anything in a good while due to my laptop (now deceased) being rather elderly and frail. It still played Battlefield Vietnam (the original one!) which is just an excellent game, but I'm looking at things like DayZ (standalone); GTA V (when it finally emerges); War Thunder; and likely things like Assassin's Creed Black Flag; Call of Duty; and Battlefield. More emphasis on the DayZ/War Thunder side of things though probably.
 
Trust me, man. If you want to get a decent temperature (=better performance) from your CPU, spending the extra on a liquid cooling unit is well worth it. You won't be able to overclock it with that air cooler, particularly not such a cheap one, and in that case you won't need a K processor, just a standard one.

I think we probably had this conversation at the pub; it won't leak.

Also, the PSU, although it'll be fine for one GPU, if you ever want a second, you'll need to change it.

Excellent on the UD4H, though. I have the UD5H I think.
 
dirtychinchilla said:
Trust me, man. If you want to get a decent temperature (=better performance) from your CPU, spending the extra on a liquid cooling unit is well worth it. You won't be able to overclock it with that air cooler, particularly not such a cheap one, and in that case you won't need a K processor, just a standard one.

I think we probably had this conversation at the pub; it won't leak.

Also, the PSU, although it'll be fine for one GPU, if you ever want a second, you'll need to change it.

Excellent on the UD4H, though. I have the UD5H I think.
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There's a post above with three air cooling options - the one in my 'basket' post is just a guide. But this is only if I OC. I won't be OCing for quite some time I imagine, in which case my budget 'basket' one looks like it'll be fine.

The 4770K processor is for the future ability to OC. Better to outlay more now than have to totally replace the 4770 if I want to OC. N'est pas?
 
Bien sur. The air coolers are fine, I just wouldn't buy a really cheap one. The last link that that chap has posted, the Corsair H80i, is the cooler I have. As I said in my text, you'd probably need to change out the fans that come with it. Also, when you turn the PC on they run at 100% for about 10 seconds, which is annoying, but unavoidable with that unit.
 
dirtychinchilla said:
Bien sur. The air coolers are fine, I just wouldn't buy a really cheap one. The last link that that chap has posted, the Corsair H80i, is the cooler I have. As I said in my text, you'd probably need to change out the fans that come with it. Also, when you turn the PC on they run at 100% for about 10 seconds, which is annoying, but unavoidable with that unit.
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That would irritate me greatly. Don't most PCs (in the traditional sense) start up with that 'woosh' though? Or is it avoidable with certain air coolers?
 
If your not going to overclock or venture into it for a while, just get a cheaper cooler. Will be silent enough and do the job of keep temperatures down.

If and when you decide you would like to try overclocking, replacing an 18 pound heatsink isn't the worst thing in the world. Then you can decide between high end aircooling or a closed loop water cooling system.

Aircoolers start up a bit noisy yer, but its not for very long. Mine certainly isn't 10 seconds, more like 2 seconds and I doubt you will even hear it really due to the sound isolation in the case.

However if you do decide to go for a high end aircooler (like the ones mentioned in the above posts) then make sure they will fit in the case! I personally prefer high end air over a middle of the pack closed loop cooler. Either would be fine though for a decent overclock.


Did you decide between the 4770k and the 4670k (i5)?
 
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Qitarah said:
If your not going to overclock or venture into it for a while, just get a cheaper cooler. Will be silent enough and do the job of keep temperatures down.

If and when you decide you would like to try overclocking, replacing an 18 pound heatsink isn't the worst thing in the world. Then you can decide between high end aircooling or a closed loop water cooling system.


Did you decide between the 4770k and the 4670k (i5)?
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Yes indeed - a decision that warrants further investigation at a later date (and hopefully when things have moved on and have become a little cheaper)!

Not decided on the i7 or i5 yet. What were your thoughts on the games of DayZ/War Thunder/latest FPS?
 
I'm not too familiar with War thunder and how it performs, and I don't think DayZ makes use of hyperthreading (what the i7 has to get its 4 more virtual cores).

However battlefield 4 for example does make use of virtual cores.

A lot of games currently aren't making proper use of an i7, and the i5 will still make easy work of them when coupled with the 290 you have bought!

Maybe in the interests of not smashing the original budget by two miles you should just get the 4670k its a great processor and will be great for what you want.


What about the Power supply, have you had any thoughts on that? (i.e. getting a larger one for maybe Crossfiring another 290 in the future). I personally think its not worth it. One 290 now will be great FPS for a long time on games, by the time its not it will be just much easier to replace the one graphics card to a newer model, rather than messing around trying to find a 2nd hand card and etcetc.

The more I think about it, the more I think you should just get the i5, get a cheap aircooler and get the PSU you have listed. Will be an great gaming machine.
 
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Qitarah said:
I'm not too familiar with War thunder and how it performs, and I don't think DayZ makes use of hyperthreading (what the i7 has to get its 4 more virtual cores).

However battlefield 4 for example does make use of virtual cores.

A lot of games currently aren't making proper use of an i7, and the i5 will still make easy work of them when coupled with the 290 you have bought!

Maybe in the interests of not smashing the original budget by two miles you should just get the 4670k its a great processor and will be great for what you want.


What about the Power supply, have you had any thoughts on that? (i.e. getting a larger one for maybe Crossfiring another 290 in the future). I personally think its not worth it. One 290 now will be great FPS for a long time on games, by the time its not it will be just much easier to replace the one graphics card to a newer model, rather than messing around trying to find a 2nd hand card and etcetc.

The more I think about it, the more I think you should just get the i5, get a cheap aircooler and get the PSU you have listed. Will be an great gaming machine.
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The deal on the 4770K appears to have ended on OCUK, but the rainforest has it at 239.99.

This one is just a few quid more on the same site:

Intel Core i7 4820K Extreme Quad Core CPU Retail (Socket 2011, 3.70GHz, 10MB, 130W, Unlocked and Unleashed, Hyper-Threading Technology)

Is the issue there the socket being 2011 rather than 1150?
 
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