PC build opinions wanted

  • Thread starter SASKCHAUCH
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Hey guys I am thinking about pulling the trigger on a build. Would like some opinions on it. As i am getting a little sick of xbox one, and am planning on running the cv oculus when released.

Also can anyone tell me if this video card supports triple monitors on its own?

Will it run the oculus rift?

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5209#ov

First, a single 970 will likely not be enough for OR CV1 for a game like pCARS. iRacing, Assetto Corsa, rFactor2, others, yes. CV1 may have a panel that runs at 2560x1440p at 144hz (something less is more likely but this is the optimal spec) for all we know (current spec is 1920x1080p at 74hz). In which case(1440p@144hz), you will need a top end GPU. SLI support for OR CV1 is not guaranteed either ("we are working on it") so adding another 970 may not do the trick on day one. If you have the money ALWAYS go for the fastest single GPU you can buy.

This is not the most price conscious build. You could save money on the case, go for an air cooled CPU, and get a lower watt PSU that does not have room for future SLI additions.

On the case change. The Air 540 is one of the best mid tower cases out there. The 450D is not bad by any measure, but the 540 is more compact and is better set up for water cooling radiators.

Your GPU with model (ie within all 970's) does not matter as long as it is a non reference (modified body vs stock silver block) card from EVGA, MSI, Gigabyte or Asus. I have had good experiences with MSI so that is what I recommend. If you have the money for a GTX 980 (~$580), then definitely go that route.

This build will perform equally to the one you configured. The Mobo, SSD, Ram and PSU where all unnecessarily expensive (IE there were cheaper options that will perform equally).


[PCPartPicker part list](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/QQQHJx) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/QQQHJx/by_merchant/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646i54690k) | $179.99 @ Micro Center
**CPU Cooler** | [Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-cpu-cooler-h100i) | $79.99 @ Newegg
**Thermal Compound** | [Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver 3.5g Thermal Paste](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/arctic-silver-thermal-paste-as535g) | $6.98 @ OutletPC
**Motherboard** | [ASRock Z97 EXTREME4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-z97extreme4) | $123.79 @ Newegg
**Memory** | [G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f31600c9d8gab) | $71.98 @ OutletPC
**Storage** | [Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/crucial-internal-hard-drive-ct256mx100ssd1) | $109.97 @ SuperBiiz
**Storage** | [Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seagate-internal-hard-drive-st2000dm001) | $79.98 @ OutletPC
**Video Card** | [MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-video-card-gtx970gaming4g) | $349.99 @ Amazon
**Case** | [Corsair Air 540 ATX Mid Tower Case](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-case-cc9011048ww) | $114.99 @ NCIX US
**Power Supply** | [EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-220g20750xr) | $89.99 @ NCIX US
**Operating System** | [Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/microsoft-os-wn700615) | $89.98 @ OutletPC
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | $1297.63
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-19 09:35 EST-0500 |
 
CV1 will come probably in february 2016. Till then there will be new GFX cards. I would go with one 970GTX and spent some money later when CV1 is out instead of buying a expensive 980GTX wich will be medium range in 1-2 years.

But I have no tripple screen so I can´t say anything about that. I have an r9 280x and am damn happy with it. Can play almost everything with high/very high details on one single Full HD screen.

Maybe you get an Xeon CPU if you don´t want to overclock it. I have the Xeon E3 1231V3 and it runs like hell. Its an cheaper I7.
 
CV1 will come probably in february 2016. Till then there will be new GFX cards. I would go with one 970GTX and spent some money later when CV1 is out instead of buying a expensive 980GTX wich will be medium range in 1-2 years.

But I have no tripple screen so I can´t say anything about that. I have an r9 280x and am damn happy with it. Can play almost everything with high/very high details on one single Full HD screen.

Maybe you get an Xeon CPU if you don´t want to overclock it. I have the Xeon E3 1231V3 and it runs like hell. Its an cheaper I7.
I have a very similar setup although one generation behind (4670K, GTX780) and I'm really happy with it. I believe the 970 is pretty much the same performance as the 780 but a LOT cheaper being the mid range card of the new generation.

I'm only running single screen at the moment completely maxed on every sim I run, but intend on going to triples soon with my single 780 which I will have to turn some settings down like the extreme AA etc but I'm not too worried about that.

Perhaps I'll do a GPU swap in a year or two for the top of the line replacement to the 900 series just to really max out the triple screens but I believe the rest of the system will be fine for a while yet, the i5 really is a great CPU.
 
Here are some parts within your range:

**CPU** | [Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646i54690k) | $236.98 @ DirectCanada
OR
**CPU** | [Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646i74790k) | $359.89 @ DirectCanada

**CPU Cooler** | [Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-cpu-cooler-rr212e20pkr2) | $32.21 @ DirectCanada
OR (if you want quiet cooling. I would go water if you you plan to heavily overclock your CPU)
**CPU Cooler** | [Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-cpu-cooler-h100i) | $89.99 @ NCIX

**Motherboard** | [ASRock Z97 EXTREME4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-z97extreme4) | $144.99 @ NCIX
OR
**Motherboard** | [Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD5H-BK ATX LGA1150 Motherboard](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-gaz97xud5hbk) | $204.00 @ Vuugo

**Memory** | [G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f312800cl10d16gbxl) | $153.92 @ DirectCanada

**Storage** | [Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/crucial-internal-hard-drive-ct256mx100ssd1) | $115.98 @ DirectCanada

**Storage** | [Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/seagate-internal-hard-drive-st2000dm001) | $89.95 @ Vuugo

**Video Card** | [EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-video-card-04gp42974kr) | $389.99 @ Amazon Canada
OR (You can go more expensive, but the gain is minimal)
**Video Card** | [EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-video-card-04gp42983kr) | $626.98 @ Amazon Canada

**Case** | [Corsair Air 540 ATX Mid Tower Case](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-case-cc9011048ww) | $119.99 @ NCIX
OR
**Case** | [NZXT S340 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/nzxt-case-cas340ww1) | $79.99 @ NCIX

**Power Supply** | [EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-220g20750xr) | $109.99 @ NCIX

**Operating System** | [Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)](http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/microsoft-os-wn700615) | $107.99 @ NCIX

| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | $1559.77-$1978.68
 
I see you posted the EVGA video card. Is that just your personal prepreference?

I was looking at the gigabyte 970 g1 gaming card. As it supports 3 monitor setup on its own.

What are your opinions on this card

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-video-card-gvn970g1gaming4gd

From what I have read the Gigabyte is the most powerful out of the gate, overclocks the best, and yes, does support triple screens on it's own. With that said, if you want to game on triple screens, you will likely need a second graphics card in SLI, so that feature matters less.

Like I said, GPU brand does not really matter. EVGA, Gigabyte, MSI and ASUS are all great options and will perform about the same in game. Gigabyte seem to overclock the best but come at the expense of cost and size (it is larger than other brands). Only reason I picked the EVGA was cost.
 
From what I have read the Gigabyte is the most powerful out of the gate, overclocks the best, and yes, does support triple screens on it's own. With that said, if you want to game on triple screens, you will likely need a second graphics card in SLI, so that feature matters less.

Like I said, GPU brand does not really matter. EVGA, Gigabyte, MSI and ASUS are all great options and will perform about the same in game. Gigabyte seem to overclock the best but come at the expense of cost and size (it is larger than other brands). Only reason I picked the EVGA was cost.
There is a bit of a heat issue with EVGA's ACX coolers on the 970 as only two of the three heat pipes actually make contact instead of all three, would recommend going with anything but the ACX cooler.
 
There is a bit of a heat issue with EVGA's ACX coolers on the 970 as only two of the three heat pipes actually make contact instead of all three, would recommend going with anything but the ACX cooler.

I believe that EVGA confirmed that this was by design (can't speak on the logic of that design...).

IMO, go with the Gigabyte. Also small correction, all the 970/980s support 3 screens (for games). I believe the Gigabyte supports 4 (again, for games). If you are just view the desktop, you can use as many screens as there are ports (IIRC).
 
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I have the oculus dk2 and love it. Sadly my PC is dead and I'm wanting to do a build for CV1 like you are. My advice would be to wait. Oculus has said CV1 is months away not years. I'm going to wait and see what they recommend before I buy anything. I wouldn't don't of nvidia comes or with some tech that's VR friendly. I watched an interview with palmer, a guy from nvidia , and the lead Dev on star citizen and palmer and the nvidia guy hinted they are working on something. I would hate to build a system now and have nvidia release a card that has a vsync tech that works with the rift like vsync or something.

If your not in a big hurry I wouldn't build until specs and details are released because once you use the rift IRS hard to go back to normal gaming. I didn't play anything outside of VR until my PC died and I went back to the ps4.
 
I have the oculus dk2 and love it. Sadly my PC is dead and I'm wanting to do a build for CV1 like you are. My advice would be to wait. Oculus has said CV1 is months away not years. I'm going to wait and see what they recommend before I buy anything. I wouldn't don't of nvidia comes or with some tech that's VR friendly. I watched an interview with palmer, a guy from nvidia , and the lead Dev on star citizen and palmer and the nvidia guy hinted they are working on something. I would hate to build a system now and have nvidia release a card that has a vsync tech that works with the rift like vsync or something.

If your not in a big hurry I wouldn't build until specs and details are released because once you use the rift IRS hard to go back to normal gaming. I didn't play anything outside of VR until my PC died and I went back to the ps4.

I have been told the target is holiday 2015, but that is not guaranteed. If there are manufacturing issues or the software side is not ready, they will not launch.
 
I have been told the target is holiday 2015, but that is not guaranteed. If there are manufacturing issues or the software side is not ready, they will not launch.
if that's the case then it will release close to the next gen of nvidia GPUs more than likely. I would just get a decent you for now and go for a decent price for performance one then upgrade when the cv1 releases. I wouldn't put the cash out now for a 980. Maybe find a 700 series card used cheap then see what oculus says later on.

I've got 2 4gb 670s. I'm going to build my son a PC for Christmas and I'm going to give him a 670 and keep one myself until the rift launches.

Unless your gaming high res over 1080 you really don't need the latest and greatest cards. The only reason I went sli was for triple screens. One 670 still runs everything just fine at 1080.

As for the 970 the OP lists it will support triples and it would do well with the current dk2 rift.
 
My Build I'm going to do once the cash is established:

Part Product Amazon$
Case Thermaltake Core V71 129.99
PSU EVGA SuperNova 750G2 108.99
CPU i7 4790k 299.99
Motherboard Asus z97 AR 149.99
Video Card Gigabyte Geforce GTX970 349.89
RAM Corsair 8x2 ddr3 2133 MHz 174.99
HDD WD Blue 1TB 7200 SATA 54.99
SSD Samsung 840 EVO 250 GB 119.99
Cooler Thermaltake Water 3.0 Ultimate 139.99
Wifi
19.48
OS Windows 7 HP 64bit 99.99
Disk Drive Samsung SE506 Blu-ray usb 84.95
Card Reader
11.95

$1745.18

* I will get some parts at the local Microcenter to save some cash, like the cpu and motherboard will save me $120

If anyone sees flaws in this build let me know.
 
My Build I'm going to do once the cash is established:

Part Product Amazon$
Case Thermaltake Core V71 129.99
PSU EVGA SuperNova 750G2 108.99
CPU i7 4790k 299.99
Motherboard Asus z97 AR 149.99
Video Card Gigabyte Geforce GTX970 349.89
RAM Corsair 8x2 ddr3 2133 MHz 174.99
HDD WD Blue 1TB 7200 SATA 54.99
SSD Samsung 840 EVO 250 GB 119.99
Cooler Thermaltake Water 3.0 Ultimate 139.99
Wifi
19.48
OS Windows 7 HP 64bit 99.99
Disk Drive Samsung SE506 Blu-ray usb 84.95
Card Reader
11.95

$1745.18

* I will get some parts at the local Microcenter to save some cash, like the cpu and motherboard will save me $120

If anyone sees flaws in this build let me know.
There are flaws in every build...:lol:. Yours is pretty much the same as my recent build and I'm very happy with it on iRacing, AC etc. so far. I figured I can always overclock if need be and add another 970 at some point down the road if the situation demands it or upgrade to a 980 or 990 (if they ever make one) 👍
 
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I pulled the trigger this morning, and a good chunk of the parts are on the way. The 2 differences between the list I posted and what is coming are the RAM and hdd. Will keep you posted :)

Part Product
Case Thermaltake Core V71 154.99
PSU EVGA SuperNova 750G2 108.99
CPU i7 4790k 249.99*
Motherboard Asus z97 AR 79.99*
Video Card Gigabyte Geforce GTX970 349.89
RAM Corsair Vengence Pro 8x2 ddr3 2400 MHz 157.99
HDD Seagate Barracuda 1TB SATA 6gb/s 53.68
SSD Samsung 840 EVO 250 GB 119.99
Cooler Thermaltake Water 3.0 Ultimate 139.99

*= will get these at Micro Center once the rest shows up, along with OS, Disk drive, wifi adapter, card reader, and any other oddity that is needed.
 
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.............*= will get these at Micro Center once the rest shows up, along with OS, Disk drive, wifi adapter, card reader, and any other oddity that is needed........

Hey Jimmy, looks like your from my neighborhood............did you get to Microcenter over on Hwy 100 to finish your build? I thought I'd go over there soon to get set up with a GTX970, Mobo and maybe a i7-4790k to replace my i7-2600K. Did they provide knowledgeable advice and service? Thanks in advance for any info, cheers!
 
http://lm.facebook.com/l.php?u=http...6rTKhOqFtpCkreNMgB457jZDnXTdK_mKIl3Vy2m7U&s=1

The completed build.

Yes I finished the parts list at Microcenter. I suggest buying online then picking up in store as their layout sucks.

I honestly only got the motherboard and processor there. I paid less money for everything at Amazon.com.

Their service, more like a lack of. Hense, buy the cpu and mobo online and pick it up, you'll save an hour. The rest from amazon.
 
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