Ultimate gaming PC
- Thread starter warpus
- Start date
warpus
Sommerswerd asked me to change this
This is the new case I've been looking at - the Cooler Master Silencio 550
Looks like it should fit dinner plates nicely. 
warpus
Sommerswerd asked me to change this
Haha yep.
I need more time to sit down and pick out all my parts again. Why can't there be 28 hours in a day?
I need more time to sit down and pick out all my parts again. Why can't there be 28 hours in a day?
I built the following rig in January:
CPU: Intel i7-4770 (non-overclocking)
RAM: 16 GB
SSD: Samsung 840 EVO 250 GB
HDD: 1 TB Seagate
Gfx: GTX 760
Mobo: Asus Z87-A
PSU: Corsair CX600M
for about $1100. So if you had the same(ish) build except with a 780 and a bigger HDD it would be about $1400-$1500. I'd recommend a different PSU though, as mine caused no end of problems (2 replacements in the first month).
CPU: Intel i7-4770 (non-overclocking)
RAM: 16 GB
SSD: Samsung 840 EVO 250 GB
HDD: 1 TB Seagate
Gfx: GTX 760
Mobo: Asus Z87-A
PSU: Corsair CX600M
for about $1100. So if you had the same(ish) build except with a 780 and a bigger HDD it would be about $1400-$1500. I'd recommend a different PSU though, as mine caused no end of problems (2 replacements in the first month).
warpus
Sommerswerd asked me to change this
I ended up going with a 770. I finally found the time to research the parts fully, wait for deals, and put in the orders. 
The HD is already here and sitting on a shelf - the rest will be arriving in 4 separate orders - 1 of which I have to pick up, the rest arriving straight to my house. It's not ideal, but it saved me some money, plus it allowed me to get the exact parts that I want.
CPU - Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU cooler - Noctua NH-C14
Mobo - ASRock Z87 Extreme6 ATX
RAM - Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133
HD - Seagate 600 Series 240GB 2.5" SSD
Video Card - PNY GeForce GTX 770 2GB V
Case - NZXT Phantom 630 (Black) ATX Full Tower
PSU - Corsair 760W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX
Keyboard - Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 Wired Ergonomic Keyboard
A bunch of these parts are made for overclocking, but at first I probably won't be doing that . There is tons of overhead figured in everywhere, so I'll be able to if I ever want to.
Thanks for all the input everyone! I'll be sure to post photos from the assembly process and of course of the final product. It probably won't be for about a month - the case and the video card are both special orders.
The HD is already here and sitting on a shelf - the rest will be arriving in 4 separate orders - 1 of which I have to pick up, the rest arriving straight to my house. It's not ideal, but it saved me some money, plus it allowed me to get the exact parts that I want.
CPU - Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU cooler - Noctua NH-C14
Mobo - ASRock Z87 Extreme6 ATX
RAM - Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133
HD - Seagate 600 Series 240GB 2.5" SSD
Video Card - PNY GeForce GTX 770 2GB V
Case - NZXT Phantom 630 (Black) ATX Full Tower
PSU - Corsair 760W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX
Keyboard - Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 Wired Ergonomic Keyboard
A bunch of these parts are made for overclocking, but at first I probably won't be doing that . There is tons of overhead figured in everywhere, so I'll be able to if I ever want to.
Thanks for all the input everyone! I'll be sure to post photos from the assembly process and of course of the final product. It probably won't be for about a month - the case and the video card are both special orders.
The MS 4000 is my work keyboard at my office, it's pretty good but I'm skeptical of its gaming ability. See my previous post for thoughts on alternate gaming input devices.
Also I'd probably get a controller at some point. The XB1 controller doesn't have proper PC support yet, so I'd probably wait for that.
edit: Also, I was going to mention that with Windows<8 you need to partition off a chunk of the SSD for optimal performance, but checking the Seagate drive it's a 256GB drive and factory-overprovisioned so that only 240GB is actually accessible, so you don't really need to do anything. (Though to note, if you partition to 200GB or just leave a min 40GB free with Win8, you essentially get the same performance as the 200GB Pro series drive.)
Also I'd probably get a controller at some point. The XB1 controller doesn't have proper PC support yet, so I'd probably wait for that.
edit: Also, I was going to mention that with Windows<8 you need to partition off a chunk of the SSD for optimal performance, but checking the Seagate drive it's a 256GB drive and factory-overprovisioned so that only 240GB is actually accessible, so you don't really need to do anything. (Though to note, if you partition to 200GB or just leave a min 40GB free with Win8, you essentially get the same performance as the 200GB Pro series drive.)
warpus
Sommerswerd asked me to change this
It's my work keyboard too, and I love it. I'm very used to the layout, I don't think it'll lead to any gaming issues. My roommate uses it for gaming too.
We'll see though, I barely do any FPS gaming.. This is going to change bigtime - so we'll see what happens.
At some point I'm going to be setting up my basement TV (once the room is modified to be a proper TV/gaming/ent. room) to have some sort of a steambox attached to it, so that I can access my entire steam library and play games on my new giant TV. That's more for platformers though and games that lend well to be played on a TV and controller.
I'm probably going to start looking at controllers then. I find that I don't really use them for PC gaming. I have an old (but decent) logitech controller and I think I used it a grand total of 4 times. It sits there collecting dust.
Interesting.. I haven't really thought about it, but I really prefer windows 7 over 8. I sort of hate windows 8 actually, that's what I have on my laptop.. I realize it's more efficient or whatever, but I've got windows 7 at work and the UI is perfect. Windows 8 UI is garbage. So we'll see.
Good to know tho. I am also thinking of grabbing another ssd, if I see anything on sale. I doubt I'd need it anytime soon, but if something cheap enough comes along, why not.. I'm used to have a lot more storage space than 250gb, and while my external harddrives add 4.5TB to all that, that's mostly TV shows and backups.
It's been beaten to death in the other thread, but with Windows 8.1 you can basically make it look and feel just like 7.
warpus
Sommerswerd asked me to change this
Oh yeah? I should look into that. I have heard that the start menu is coming back, is that what you're referencing? I suppose I should read that thread.
It's sort of coming back. Basically you can run it such that you will never see the Metro start page ever, if that's what you want.
warpus
Sommerswerd asked me to change this
Oh, definitely. The only time I "use" it is when I accidentally hit something that brings it up. It would make far more sense if I was using it on a tablet or something, but this is a gaming PC.. but that's a rant that doesn't belong here.
Is it worthing buying windows by the way? I know that forum rules forbid us to discuss illegal alternatives, but.. is it worth buying windows in terms of the pros/cons?
Yeah it's either Windows or... buying a PS4 or Xbone.
We are a ways away from a viable Linux alternative, e.g. SteamOS. If Valve can ever sway enough of the market to go that route though, that would be pretty cool (assuming the OS remains free).
We are a ways away from a viable Linux alternative, e.g. SteamOS. If Valve can ever sway enough of the market to go that route though, that would be pretty cool (assuming the OS remains free).
A competitive market for free viable gaming-centered desktop OS's would be pretty sweet.
warpus
Sommerswerd asked me to change this
My roommate says I might as well just get a non-SSD HD for storage. I was going to look for SSD deals and get a 2nd SSD instead. I have external HDs totalling about 4.5TB, but you know how slow those can be..
What would you get?
What would you get?
When I built mine, included an 256GB main SSD for operating system, and two conventional hard drives. One for data/some programs and one for backup.
Your build is looking good. Anxious to see how it turns out.
Your build is looking good. Anxious to see how it turns out.
If it's just for storage and the data will not be regularly accessed while doing whatever it is you want to do on a daily basis, (e.g., storing movies you occasionally watch, or music, or documents, or backing up your hard drive) get a mechanical drive. SSD's earn their money in actually running programs and accessing data you use on a routine basis.
Exactly.
