So my background with PC's - I can use one, that's about it. Im 37 years old, always had an interest with computers and gaming, consoles etc and I have always had a computer from 8 years old or so. I currently own an Xbox one and have had it since launch date. I was satisfied with the Xbox one but I have always fancied the idea of dipping my toe into the world of PC gaming. So after some thought I decided to research purchasing a gaming PC.
I was going to buy an off the shelf system, but they looked like over priced machines with parts that could be better. Then I looked into a self build, which to be honest scared me, but after looking at tutorial videos online it put my mind at ease as to how easy it actually looked. So after lots of parts research, I took the plunge and started to order my bits.
I live in a large one bedroom flat by myself. I didn't want to start building a rig station with a monitor due to cluttering the place up (I don't do clutter!). I decided that I wanted to use my PC thru my new Samsung 4K TV in my living room. I made sure through research that my 4K TV could handle PC gaming (input lag, response times, FPS, HDMI 2.0 etc blah blah) and it appeared that my 4K TV was upto the job. (Model is Samsung UE48JU7500)
So I then ordered my parts from various different online stores (finding the cheapest supplier of course). Here is my parts list:
Intel i7 4790K
Gigabyte Z97X Gaming 5
16GB Gskill X Series
Gigabyte Xtreme Gaming GTX 980 Ti
Samsung EVO 850 500GB SSD
Seagate Barricuda 1TB HDD
EVGA G2 Supernova 750w
TP Link Wireless Network Card
Corsair 450D case
KableDirekt Hi-Speed HDMI Cable
Xbox One Control Pad
So after all the parts had arrived I started my build on Friday evening. All went like clockwork and I didn't really come across any major problems. Its all very plug and play and you can figure out what goes where by taking your time as you go along. I only came across one small problem: I got so far with the build and then decided to test my system before installing my GTX 980ti by hooking it upto my TV to see if it worked! So I turns the PC on for the first time and it all fired up perfectly, lights on, fans spinning. I plugged a HDMI cable to the motherboards HDMI slot to my TV, but I was not getting the BIOS. I was just getting a flashing cursor in the top left of the screen. I was panicing a little as I was expecting it to goto the BIOS system. I then remembered I had an old VGA cable from years ago. I hooked that upto my motherboard VGA slot and into my bedrooms TV (my new 4K tv does not have a VGA port) and that worked, went straight to BIOS. Anyway, after the relief of knowing it all worked I carried on completing the build. I installed the GPU, tidied up all the cabling, hooked my HDMI to my GTX 980 Ti GPU and to my 4K TV and it worked a treat straight away. Installed Windows 10 and then decided to have a small play around with the settings etc. From start to finish of the build it took me appx 4 hours, and the sense of satisfaction that I got from the build and seeing it work was amazing. I was (and still am) really pleased with myself at building something so complex when it really is very very easy. I then decided to retire for the evening and carry on the next day.
Anyway, the nitty gritty. I was VERY interested to see how my Samsung 4K TV would look and perform with a Gaming PC attached to it. Windows looks superb, youtube 4K videos are simply beautiful. I then decided to download a few games. Project cars being the first. I am so pleased to say that I am gaming at 3840 x 2160 UHD with 60FPS and what does it look and play like? Absolutely GORGOUES. Graphically it is so so nice, and it runs silky smooth. I have the settings mostly set to ultra. I was getting some screen tearing but I changed a setting on the Nvidia control panel for 3D settings which has cured all my screen tearing issues. I have Project Cars on Xbox one and I can honestly say the PC version craps all over the Xbox one both visually and for smoothness. I have also downloaded Dying Light, Grid Autosport, Payday 2, F1 2015 and Assetto Corsa, all these games are running High or Ultra settings 60FPS and look stunning and run silky smooth. Also, the Xbox One control pad works a treat with all these games. I am majorly impressed!
I have been keeping my eye on the GPU temps and I haven't seen them go over 65degs yet.
So all in all, im really pleased I went ahead and did a self build. It really was that easy and the results and feeling you get are worth it. If you have never done a PC build before and are thinking about it, DO IT, litrally anybody can do it if you think about it and take your time. See below a few pics of my rig.
I was going to buy an off the shelf system, but they looked like over priced machines with parts that could be better. Then I looked into a self build, which to be honest scared me, but after looking at tutorial videos online it put my mind at ease as to how easy it actually looked. So after lots of parts research, I took the plunge and started to order my bits.
I live in a large one bedroom flat by myself. I didn't want to start building a rig station with a monitor due to cluttering the place up (I don't do clutter!). I decided that I wanted to use my PC thru my new Samsung 4K TV in my living room. I made sure through research that my 4K TV could handle PC gaming (input lag, response times, FPS, HDMI 2.0 etc blah blah) and it appeared that my 4K TV was upto the job. (Model is Samsung UE48JU7500)
So I then ordered my parts from various different online stores (finding the cheapest supplier of course). Here is my parts list:
Intel i7 4790K
Gigabyte Z97X Gaming 5
16GB Gskill X Series
Gigabyte Xtreme Gaming GTX 980 Ti
Samsung EVO 850 500GB SSD
Seagate Barricuda 1TB HDD
EVGA G2 Supernova 750w
TP Link Wireless Network Card
Corsair 450D case
KableDirekt Hi-Speed HDMI Cable
Xbox One Control Pad
So after all the parts had arrived I started my build on Friday evening. All went like clockwork and I didn't really come across any major problems. Its all very plug and play and you can figure out what goes where by taking your time as you go along. I only came across one small problem: I got so far with the build and then decided to test my system before installing my GTX 980ti by hooking it upto my TV to see if it worked! So I turns the PC on for the first time and it all fired up perfectly, lights on, fans spinning. I plugged a HDMI cable to the motherboards HDMI slot to my TV, but I was not getting the BIOS. I was just getting a flashing cursor in the top left of the screen. I was panicing a little as I was expecting it to goto the BIOS system. I then remembered I had an old VGA cable from years ago. I hooked that upto my motherboard VGA slot and into my bedrooms TV (my new 4K tv does not have a VGA port) and that worked, went straight to BIOS. Anyway, after the relief of knowing it all worked I carried on completing the build. I installed the GPU, tidied up all the cabling, hooked my HDMI to my GTX 980 Ti GPU and to my 4K TV and it worked a treat straight away. Installed Windows 10 and then decided to have a small play around with the settings etc. From start to finish of the build it took me appx 4 hours, and the sense of satisfaction that I got from the build and seeing it work was amazing. I was (and still am) really pleased with myself at building something so complex when it really is very very easy. I then decided to retire for the evening and carry on the next day.
Anyway, the nitty gritty. I was VERY interested to see how my Samsung 4K TV would look and perform with a Gaming PC attached to it. Windows looks superb, youtube 4K videos are simply beautiful. I then decided to download a few games. Project cars being the first. I am so pleased to say that I am gaming at 3840 x 2160 UHD with 60FPS and what does it look and play like? Absolutely GORGOUES. Graphically it is so so nice, and it runs silky smooth. I have the settings mostly set to ultra. I was getting some screen tearing but I changed a setting on the Nvidia control panel for 3D settings which has cured all my screen tearing issues. I have Project Cars on Xbox one and I can honestly say the PC version craps all over the Xbox one both visually and for smoothness. I have also downloaded Dying Light, Grid Autosport, Payday 2, F1 2015 and Assetto Corsa, all these games are running High or Ultra settings 60FPS and look stunning and run silky smooth. Also, the Xbox One control pad works a treat with all these games. I am majorly impressed!
I have been keeping my eye on the GPU temps and I haven't seen them go over 65degs yet.
So all in all, im really pleased I went ahead and did a self build. It really was that easy and the results and feeling you get are worth it. If you have never done a PC build before and are thinking about it, DO IT, litrally anybody can do it if you think about it and take your time. See below a few pics of my rig.
