New Build, Going all out!

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Joined
7 Nov 2004
Posts
154
Location
Liverpool, England
Hi, I'm currently in the final statges of my most recent build but would like some advice from you guys before I possibly waste money and regret my choices (ha!).

Specs:

Case: Corsair Carbide Air 240
CPU: Intel Core i7 4790K
CPU Cooler: Corsair Hydro H100i
Mobo: Asus Maximus VII Gene (mATX)
Ram: Corsair 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1866Mhz (CL9)
PSU: Corsair Builder Series CXM 750W
SSD: Samsung 120 GB 850 EVO

I'm now just left with quite possibly the most important component of a PC.
The Graphics card.

I'm stuck. Stuck because I have been pondering if I should go for a GTX 980 or a 970. As you know the 980 is near double the price. Is this worth the extra £££? Do y'all think or would I be better off with a GTX 970?....

I'm aware of the AMD 390x impending arrival but figure it's going to be even more £££ than that of the GTX 980. What are my options? Should I just wait (I'm a impatient person)?
 
I'd recommend cutting down the motherboard - for example a "Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming 5" and put the money towards a larger SSD.

What games do you play? What resolution?
 
I'd also recommend ditching that PSU idea, there are much better built units w/ longer warranty for similar money

YOUR BASKET
1 x EVGA SuperNova G2 750W '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £94.99
1 x EVGA SuperNova B2 850W '80 Plus Bronze' Hybrid Modular Power Supply (110-B2-0850-V3) £84.95
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 750W "80 Plus Gold" Semi-Modular Power Supply - Black £77.99
1 x Antec TruePower Classic 750w '80 Plus Gold' Power Supply £77.99
Total : £345.52 (includes shipping : £8.00 Ex.VAT).




Any of these for example
The SuperFlower is a good price at the moment, semi-modular and 5 year warranty with far superior componentry compared to the CX
 
I'd recommend cutting down the motherboard - for example a "Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming 5" and put the money towards a larger SSD.

What games do you play? What resolution?

Sorry I completely forgot to mention that I will also be taking the "Samsung 840 EVO 500GB" out of my current rig and using it in the new.

If you don't mind me asking what sort of benefit would I be seeing from switching motherboards to the one you mentioned?

I'm into mostly FPS games (Battlefield, Deus Ex, Dishonered, Ect..) but also don't mind the odd TPS (GTA, Alan Wake, Max Payne, Ect..). Quite looking forward to the new batman game tbh. Would very much like to play that at it's absolute MAX!
 
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Wouldn't be any sort of benefit other than saving £30-40.

I think the release of the 980Ti may affect the price of the 970 and 980 so it may be worth waiting. In any case I think I'd probably recommend a 980. I have one and it's great :D

Also I'd agree with Shivy, change the PSU.
 
All the component I've listed in my fist post I have already bought haha, My question is more so to do with the final component I've yet to buy, the graphics card. I think I will end up waiting then, see what price drops are around the corner.

One more question if I may? I've been running prime95 today to see how stable my temps are with the h110i and I'm not quite sure they are right. At idle my temps are around 30°, when I start prime95 they go up to 75-80° but If I leave it for say 5-10 minutes the temperatures will reach 98-100°. Is this normal for this CPU (i7 4790K) with this cooler? (Corsair H100i)
 
Also theres talk of the h100i being out performed by air coolers. http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18671476

Personally I'm not a fan of AIOs.

Also my Corsair TX 750M blew under not much load which is slightly better than the CX.

Sorry don't want to criticise what you bought, just my experience, you'll probably be fine but its worth asking around first. What thermal paste are you using?

If you have the cash spare I too would favor the 980. Love that case BTW
 
People are over critical of the corsair 750cxm psu. It'll be fine. Yes there are better quality ones but that's not to say yours isn't. Use and enjoy.
 
Also theres talk of the h100i being out performed by air coolers. http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18671476

Personally I'm not a fan of AIOs.

Also my Corsair TX 750M blew under not much load which is slightly better than the CX.

Sorry don't want to criticise what you bought, just my experience, you'll probably be fine but its worth asking around first. What thermal paste are you using?

If you have the cash spare I too would favor the 980. Love that case BTW

I'm using the pre-applied paste that was on the h100i. I've just had a mess about with my setup, I have decided to not use the corsair link software and am now using "Fan Xpert 3". I've disconnected the fans from the h100i block and am now using the motherboard pins instead. Temps have dropped 20° by doing so. Corsair link software doesn't seem to be all that good to me :(

People are over critical of the corsair 750cxm psu. It'll be fine. Yes there are better quality ones but that's not to say yours isn't. Use and enjoy.

I intend to, cheers :)
 
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