New Gaming Rig

[Banana Joe]

Hey guys. I'm setting up a custom gaming rig and just would like to get some input/opinions on what I've selected so far.

This are the current specs:
CPU: i5-4690k
GPU: MSI GeForce GTX 970 Gaming 4G
Board: MSI Z97 Gaming G5
RAM: Crucial Ballistix Sport DIMM 8GB, DDR-1600
Soundcard: Creative Sound Blaster Recon3D
PSU: be quiet! Straigt Power E9 CM 460W
SSD: Crucial MX100
Cooler: Scythe Mugen 4
Chassis: Fractal Define Black Pearl


Maybe you have some suggestions of things to change. It should run recent game releases on high (like FarCry4, BF4 etc.). Price limit is around 1000 Euro.


Cheers,
Banana

[Steeps]

I would skip the sound card and get a better PSU.

CPU cooler I recommend the newest model of Cooler Master 212 (not sure which is newest, just verify socket versions).

Love your choices for CPU and GPU.

[Banana Joe]

Thanks for the reply

Yes, you're right. I'll skip the soundcard for now and test the onboard sound first.

Love your choices for CPU and GPU.

Me too , but more and more people started telling me to exchange the i5-4690k with a Xeon 1231.v3. According to the motto: "OC isn't a big deal anymore just go for hyperthreading."
If I keep the i5 you're definitely right with the cooler. If I get a Xeon, the mugen 4 should be enough... But I'm still torn between both CPUs.
Also I have been suggested to exchange the MSI with a Palit GTX 970 Jetstream.

Gonna have a look at PSUs again. I already came to the conclusion to ditch the cable-management and safe some money there.



Cheers,
Banana

[Geronimo]

Hello there!

A few weeks ago I built a very similar system. The 4690k and the gtx970 (mine is a Palit Jetstream) are a great combo.

Make sure that the case has good noise reduction because some gtx970s can suffer from coil whine.

Throw away the soundcard. Creative drivers just suck. I speak from experience, because I was stupid enough to buy two soundcards from them over the years.

Also don't forget to check if the mainboard is compatible with your cpu and ram. Haswell Refresh CPUs are often only compatible to mainboards with an updated BIOS, so make sure to get an appropriate one. (google cpu compatibility list)


edit:
If you are a gamer, get the 4690k. IMO hyperthreading is atm not worth it for a gaming PC. Single thread performance is the way to go.
Same thing happened ~4 years ago with the quadcore vs dualcore discussions yet we still have new games that only support two cores. Yes arma 3, I'm talking to you.

[LITOralis.nMd]

PSU: be quiet! Straigt Power E9 CM 460W

That PSU does not have enough Wattage to overclock your CPU and GPU.

So, throw out the Sound Card, put the sound card money towards a 600W to 700W PSU.

Because your motherboard can support two GTX 970s, but if you buy too small a PSU now, you'll have to buy a second GTX 970 and a new beefier PSU in the future.

Otherwise you can save money and buy a Z97 motherboard with a single PCIEX-16 slot and build a smaller physical colume system now. (mATX or miniITX)

GPU: MSI GeForce GTX 970 Gaming 4G

Board: MSI Z97 Gaming G5

Overall, this system is going to rock, enjoy!

[Banana Joe]

Hey guys. Thanks a lot for the feedback!

After a sleepless night thinking about what CPU I want, I came to the conclusion that I would not consider myself a "hardcore" gamer. If you would know with how much fps I played PR for the last years some of you would probably start crying

Therefore I'll most likely go for the Xeon 1231v3 instead of the i5-4690k. This allows me to safe some money on the board (looking at a MSI H97 Gaming 3 right now) and at the same time keep the cheap cooler and PSU (at least I think so).

I was also thinking about if I would ever set up a SLI configuration, and since the chances are pretty low that I will, this strengthened my decisions.

Still nothing is bought as I'm hoping for some cheap christmas sales

I will keep this thread updated until the PC is build, maybe someone is interested in the config.


Cheers,
Banana