Spec me - 2k

michaelp

michaelp

michaelp

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Joined
14 May 2012
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390
Location
London
I did a spec thread last month but decided to wait until January for the new build so i'm looking for a re-spec. Thanks Doomedspeed and Ethermaster for the help last time.

I'm looking to build a gaming PC with
-1440p Monitor
- E-ATX / XL-ATX Case
- Lots of storage
- Ultra/High game graphics /w good frame rates
- Best performance parts for price point
- Low noise
- No OS needed
- No Mouse
- No Keyboard

I have been keeping my eye on all the recent spec threads and it seems that the R9 290 features a lot in them but I've always been a bit of a Nvidea fan boy so whats the case for choosing the R9 over the Nvidea range?.

Starting point
YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus PB278Q 27" Professional LED Multimedia Monitor - Black £449.99
1 x Corsair Obsidian 750D Full Tower Case - Black (CC-9011035-WW) £160
Total : £626.48 (includes shipping : £13.75).

 
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The next gen of AMD cards will support Mantel, which will be used in future games. If it pans out well, AMD cards/CPU's will have a boost over what Nvidia offer in the same games.

The specs in the old thread should still be somewhat on point to what we can offer you now minus the daily deals etc.
 
I did look into Mantle but it kind of went over my head. I've always been under the impression that you get more power with AMD GPU's but their drivers are not as good. I also like the Geforce experience program they have that optimizes your game settings for your card and driver updates.

And as for watercooling I have given it a thought but not sure how it will effect the performance I could get with the same budget.
 
If it helps, the advice I was given re mantle last week.

Ethermaster said:
Mantle is just an API (Application Protocol Interface) it shouldn't require any specify hardware like PhysX does so in the long run Nvidia may have to pay royals to AMD to use it with there current cards but there is nothing stopping them as its a software solution.
Click to expand...
 
The now argument:
AMD offers more frames per second per pound spent (bang for buck)
nVidia offers fewer black screen issues & cooler running (reliability)

The future argument:
AMD offers Mantle, which may significantly improve performance in some games
nVidia offer Gsync, which may make performance seem better in all games with a compatible monitor/make poor performance far less of an issue.

Both of these may eventually be seen by the other party but not any time soon.

Edit: OK, some wild oversimplifications in there but you get the idea.
 
Gsync requires hardware which will be a lot more expensive with the new technology but I have to agree with reliability of Nvidia.
 
michaelp said:
So the basic consensus is to go for the R9 290x but wait for the non ref cards?
Click to expand...

290 (non-X) is my opinion.

Better PvP..

I also have my concerns over the Shinobi XL..

I have heard the airflow is poor through the case.

I'd much rather pay the extra for the 750D.
 
Doomedspeed said:
290 (non-X) is my opinion.

Better PvP..

I also have my concerns over the Shinobi XL..

I have heard the airflow is poor through the case.

I'd much rather pay the extra for the 750D.
Click to expand...

Point taken, I really like the look of the 750D as well and it seems the dimensions aren't even far off the shinobi so i'll take your advice on that one.
 
Think i'll stick with the 750D now. I started putting a build together that comes to a budget that will allow me to buy the GPU a few days/weeks down the line.

I started putting a build together as best as I could but no idea on the motherboard if I can get some recommendations.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus PB278Q 27" Professional LED Multimedia Monitor - Black £449.99
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor & Corsair H100i CPU Cooler Bundle £349.9
1 x Corsair Obsidian 750D Full Tower Case - Black (CC-9011035-WW) £160
1 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Laptop Kit - (MZ-7TE250LW) £156.95
1 x Avexir Core White Series 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-17200C9 2133MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (AVD3U21330908G-2CIW) - White Light £149.99
1 x SuperFlower Leadex GOLD 1000W Fully Modular "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £139.99
2 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £65.99 (£131.98)
Total : £1,575.74 (includes shipping : £30.80).

 
Is a 1440p screen worth the price you want to pay? It's taking a big chunk of your budget.

YOUR BASKET
2 x Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 OC WindForce 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (GV-R929OC-4GD) £389.99 (£779.98)
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor & Corsair H100i CPU Cooler Bundle £349.9
1 x SuperFlower Leadex Platinum 1000W Fully Modular "80 Plus Platinum" Power Supply - White (NESF-011) £169.99
1 x Iiyama Prolite E2481HS-B1 24" Widescreen LED Super Slim Bezel Monitor - Black £149.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 540 High Airflow ATX Cube Case - Arctic White (CC-9011048-WW) £129.95
1 x Gigabyte G1.Sniper Z87 Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £119.99
1 x Crucial M500 240GB SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive - (CT240M500SSD1) £109.99
1 x Avexir Venom Series 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17200C9 2133MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (AVD3U21330904G-2CIG) - Green Light £79.99
1 x Toshiba 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA200) HDD £59.99
1 x Corsair SP120 Quiet Series High Pressure Low Noise - Dual Pack (CO-9050006-WW) £25.99
1 x Corsair Air Series AF120 1500RPM LED White Quiet Edition - Dual Pack (CO-9050016-WLED) £16.99
1 x NZXT CB-LED10-WT 12x White LED Sleeve - 1m £9.98
1 x BitFenix Alchemy 24pin ATX extension 30cm - Green £8.99
2 x BitFenix 6+2-Pin PCIe Extension 45cm - sleeved green/black £5.99 (£11.98)
1 x BitFenix Alchemy 8pin EPS extension 45cm - Green £5.99
1 x MTN 94 Spray Paint Emerald Green - 400ml £4.99
1 x BitFenix Alchemy Internal USB Extension 30cm - sleeved green/black £4.98
1 x BitFenix Alchemy Internal Audio Extension Adaptor 30cm - Green £4.49
3 x BitFenix Alchemy 2pin I/O extension 30cm - Green £3.95 (£11.85)
Total : £2,072.48 (includes shipping : £13.75).



Not that I recommend 2 x 290's for a single 24" monitor, but if you drop the cost of the monitor, you can get 2 GPU's in there with some nice case modding to make it look amazing.

Spray paint to spray the SP120's green. AF's have white LED's to lighten the inside of the case.
Cheaper SSD as it has very good read speeds, but low write speeds, however, you probably won't make use of writing to SSD anyway, OS, Programs and games is all you need it for.
 
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You can drop the price on the ssd by going with a 120gb and Maybe a little on the case which will allow a bigger budget for the gpu/gpus
 
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