Next gaming build
Posted: Sat Dec 21, 2013 2:03 pm
I've delayed replacing my trusty e8400 system for a long time. It's been a great build, but I'm tired of dialing down game graphics (severely in some cases) for non-stuttery play. So, after a fair bit of tweaking, here's my planned build. Feel free to razz me as needed
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks
CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Amazon)
- sweet spot for gaming. I plan to undervolt at std clock. A year or two down the road, I'll overclock @ std voltage (or a tiny bit above) to delay the next build.
CPU Cooler: Scythe SCMG-4000 79.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($47.95 @ NCIX US)
- Yay, Scythe is back in the US. I had considered the TRUE Spirit 120M (possibly with a replacement fan).
Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver Ceramique 2 Tri-Linear 2.7g Thermal Paste ($4.99 @ Newegg)
- I like non-electrically conductive pastes and have used Ceramique for a lot of builds.
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G45 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($139.99 @ NCIX US)
- There's a lot of things I look for in a motherboard beyond the basic feature set. Some key areas:
- power efficiency: I don't want a board with zillions of VRM phases - it helps for overvolting, but impacts idle/low power efficiency. The g45 isn't the leader here, but it's decent.
- undervolting in UEFI: reading the manual, it looks like the G45 can set the CPU voltage offset to a negative value. Waiting for feedback. This is what moved me away from the Asrock Z87 Extreme4. The Extreme6 has it, the Extreme4 doesn't.
- UEFI fan control: In general, the fewer s/w add-ons I run, the better. So, decent UEFI fan control is key. I really wanted to try the Asrock Z87 Extreme4..
- NIC: I was hoping for Intel...unfortunately, the MSI Gaming boards come with the Killer NIC..which has a checkered past. MSI provides the option to just install the driver and not the netword mgmt s/w. So, if there's an issue, I can abort it.
- audio: Have you noticed Haswell's DPC latency is much worse than IVB? Another reason why I don't want to run extraneous s/w tools in the background. Seems like all of the mid-range and up boards have moved to the Realtek 1150. This board also comes with, yes, a s/w tool from Creative, that I really won't be installing.
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($79.98 @ OutletPC)
- I'll either go for the low voltage 1600 or the std voltage 1833. Haven't made up my mind. There's a slight bump in performance at 1833. Might be useful when I OC. Funny that they are the same price. Funny that 1833 1.35V is hard to find, and that awesomely overclockable Samsung 1.35V RAM has become unavailable. I did look at the mobo's memory list and there are some 1.35V sticks listed.
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($159.99 @ Amazon)
- nice performance, decent price, given my typical write loads - will outlive me.
Storage: Western Digital Red 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($98.95 @ Amazon)
- already bought.
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($249.99 @ NCIX US)
- I've talked about this card a lot. Great for my 1080p monitor. Also, I run two monitors, and AMD is still borked when it comes to clock management, two monitors, and idle/media play back power use.
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Microcenter)
- Hopefully, Newegg will rn their $80 + free shipping sale sooooon.
PSU:: Seasonic X-560
- I'll pull this from my Solo (curse you PSU brace one last time) and pop an older PSU into what will be my back-up/guest PC.
This will be a Win7 build, btw. I may wait for Win8.2
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks
CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Amazon)
- sweet spot for gaming. I plan to undervolt at std clock. A year or two down the road, I'll overclock @ std voltage (or a tiny bit above) to delay the next build.
CPU Cooler: Scythe SCMG-4000 79.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($47.95 @ NCIX US)
- Yay, Scythe is back in the US. I had considered the TRUE Spirit 120M (possibly with a replacement fan).
Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver Ceramique 2 Tri-Linear 2.7g Thermal Paste ($4.99 @ Newegg)
- I like non-electrically conductive pastes and have used Ceramique for a lot of builds.
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G45 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($139.99 @ NCIX US)
- There's a lot of things I look for in a motherboard beyond the basic feature set. Some key areas:
- power efficiency: I don't want a board with zillions of VRM phases - it helps for overvolting, but impacts idle/low power efficiency. The g45 isn't the leader here, but it's decent.
- undervolting in UEFI: reading the manual, it looks like the G45 can set the CPU voltage offset to a negative value. Waiting for feedback. This is what moved me away from the Asrock Z87 Extreme4. The Extreme6 has it, the Extreme4 doesn't.
- UEFI fan control: In general, the fewer s/w add-ons I run, the better. So, decent UEFI fan control is key. I really wanted to try the Asrock Z87 Extreme4..
- NIC: I was hoping for Intel...unfortunately, the MSI Gaming boards come with the Killer NIC..which has a checkered past. MSI provides the option to just install the driver and not the netword mgmt s/w. So, if there's an issue, I can abort it.
- audio: Have you noticed Haswell's DPC latency is much worse than IVB? Another reason why I don't want to run extraneous s/w tools in the background. Seems like all of the mid-range and up boards have moved to the Realtek 1150. This board also comes with, yes, a s/w tool from Creative, that I really won't be installing.
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($79.98 @ OutletPC)
- I'll either go for the low voltage 1600 or the std voltage 1833. Haven't made up my mind. There's a slight bump in performance at 1833. Might be useful when I OC. Funny that they are the same price. Funny that 1833 1.35V is hard to find, and that awesomely overclockable Samsung 1.35V RAM has become unavailable. I did look at the mobo's memory list and there are some 1.35V sticks listed.
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($159.99 @ Amazon)
- nice performance, decent price, given my typical write loads - will outlive me.
Storage: Western Digital Red 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($98.95 @ Amazon)
- already bought.
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($249.99 @ NCIX US)
- I've talked about this card a lot. Great for my 1080p monitor. Also, I run two monitors, and AMD is still borked when it comes to clock management, two monitors, and idle/media play back power use.
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Microcenter)
- Hopefully, Newegg will rn their $80 + free shipping sale sooooon.
PSU:: Seasonic X-560
- I'll pull this from my Solo (curse you PSU brace one last time) and pop an older PSU into what will be my back-up/guest PC.
This will be a Win7 build, btw. I may wait for Win8.2