Building a New High End Desktop PC

[Alternative X]

Thank you all!

Ark Law, I notice that your SSD is almost full, only 7.47GB left? What is stored on it? Does the OS alone take up that much space?

What SSD size should I get?

Alternative X, I would be using the computer to play Dota 2. But I would like to be prepared for other games as well.

My work entails opening multiple browsers and webpages at the same time, and playing videos, etc.

I will be using Windows 7 64bit Professional, and I have my own mouse, keyboard. I'll be using 21.5 inch E-line Philips 227E4QHA monitor.

My current motherboard is Gigabyte S-series Ultra Durable 2 P35C-DS3R. Is that ATX? M-ATX? ITX?

Since I am not overclocking, I guess I should get the Intel Core i7 4790 3.6GHz then?

I think I should get Intel Ethernet since it gives lower ping in games than Realtek right? And it should have Gigabit right?

What motherboard should I get for these? Asus or Gigabyte?

I want parts that are durable and will last for a long time.

1) Your budget so large, get a 256GB SSD.

2) Windows 7 only takes up 20GB.

3) That motherboard is ATX sized. What casing are you using?

4) No need. i5 is good enough for your needs.

5) What is the speed of your internet connection? Also, I think it does not matter what NIC you use as your internet will get throttled by the Big 3 anyway.

6) Any B85 motherboard will do. All motherboards are generally quite durable nowadays.

7) What internet browser are you using? How many tabs do you open? Hundreds?

8) Do you want to reuse parts from your old rig to offset the cost of the new rig? If so, list down the parts of your old rig.

9) What future games do you want to play? True futureproofing is virtually impossible in the fast changing technological enviroment today.

 

[MindReality]

My current casing is ATX Mid Tower

So this is what I would be getting:

Intel Core i7 4790 3.6GHz

Intel Ethernet

G.Skill DDR3 2400 CL 11 (32GB Kit) 8GB x 4 [Ripjaws-X] F3-2400C10Q-32GXM - [S$519.00]

Western Digital Caviar Black 4TB SATA3 WD4001FAEX - [S$354.00]

Corsair Neutron GTX 120GB 2.5" SSD SATA III - [S$179.00]

Asus Geforce GTX780 3GB GTX780-DC2OC-3GD5 - [S$785.00]

LG 24x DVDRW GH24NS50 - [S$28.00]

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD - [S$279.00]

What motherboard should I get?

What power supply should I use?

What casing should I get? Do I need to get fans or does it come with fans?

Should I get a CPU cooler or no need?

 

[Alternative X]

My current casing is ATX Mid Tower

So this is what I would be getting:

Intel Core i7 4790 3.6GHz

Intel Ethernet

G.Skill DDR3 2400 CL 11 (32GB Kit) 8GB x 4 [Ripjaws-X] F3-2400C10Q-32GXM - [S$519.00]

Western Digital Caviar Black 4TB SATA3 WD4001FAEX - [S$354.00]

Corsair Neutron GTX 120GB 2.5" SSD SATA III - [S$179.00]

Asus Geforce GTX780 3GB GTX780-DC2OC-3GD5 - [S$785.00]

LG 24x DVDRW GH24NS50 - [S$28.00]

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD - [S$279.00]

What motherboard should I get?

What power supply should I use?

What casing should I get? Do I need to get fans or does it come with fans?

Should I get a CPU cooler or no need?

NO! NO! NO! That rig is crazy overkill for DOTA 2. You are wasting money with this build for unnecessary computing power that will never be used.

Suggested Rig:

CPU+ Mobo: MSI B85-G41 PC MATE+ i5 4460 (348)
RAM: CORSAIR VENGEANCE 1600MHZ ( 8GBx2pcs ) CL9 (232)
GPU: LEADTEK GTX 750 TI 2GB O.C (225)
SSD: CRUCIAL MX100 256GB (165)
HDD: TOSHIBA 1TB 7200RPM (69)
DVD-RW: LG 24X DVD-RW SATA OEM (25)
PSU: SEASONIC S12G-Non MODULAR 550W (105)
Case: DEEP COOL TESSERACT (65)

Total cost: $1234

Buy at PC Themes, #04-15, and ask for discounts. DIY yourself. If you can't into DIY, go to PC Care & Solution at #02-32 and ask Nigel to help you assemble for a fee.

Notes:

1) This build confirm+chop+stamp will give you 100+ FPS in DOTA 2 with all settings maxed out. (Your monitor can display at a rate of 60FPS only, so more FPS is pointless.)

2) The difference between DDR3 1600 and DDR3 2400 is only a few milliseconds and you will not feel the difference. As you said that you will be opening many tabs, this build comes with 16GB RAM. This is more than enough for your use as this amount of RAM is normally reserved for Photoshop/ Video edit rigs.

3) Onboard sound is generally good enough for gameplay. There is generally very little need for a soundcard.

4) Most casings generally will come with some case fans.

5) As you are not overclocking, the Intel stock cooler is good enough.

6) If you want to play any future games, used the money saved to upgrade your GPU so that you can get the optimal gaming experience in the future and keep up with techonology. Games generally are more dependent on GPU processing power than processor processing power and hence with regular GPU upgrades, your rig will stay relavent for a long time.

 

[MindReality]

I have already decided on the specs based on other reasons.

I am getting Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 casing which comes with 2 USB 3.0 Ports.

I'm getting Anker 7-Port USB 3.0 Hub.

I still need to know:

What motherboard should I get?

What power supply should I use?

 

[MindReality]

I have already decided on the specs based on other reasons.

I am getting Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 casing which comes with 2 USB 3.0 Ports.

I'm getting Anker 7-Port USB 3.0 Hub.

I still need to know:

What motherboard should I get?

What power supply should I use?

I have decided to get (LGA2011) Gigabyte X79-UD3 - [S$365.00]
Motherboard

Do all those components complement each other well?

What power supply should I use?

Can I get a USB 3.0 Hub such as Anker 7-Port USB 3.0 Hub?

 

[bunnypangsai]

So much money to burn hur? Might as well get a Xeon chip. Lol.

 

[Swordsman]

Weird choice of parts.

If you do not OC, consider the 4790 (without the k), asus h97 (or z97 if you need certain features on the MB), 4x 1333 or 1600 4GB or 8GB memory sticks, seasonic >500W PSU (Platinum or Gold), Sapphire Vapor-X R7 GPU, Samsung 840 120GB SSD, WD 4TB blue HDD.

Casing can consider Fractal Design R4 or a Lian-Li casing. You can go smaller with a mATX or ITX form factor.

CPU cooler... any tower config with a 120mm fan is sufficient. If you'd like to splurge, Noctua is a good choice. Forget liquid cooling. It's noisier than air.

You can build this beast for less than 2k. Spend the rest on a nice monitor, speakers/headphones, soundcard/DAC or stuff that catch your fancy.

Note that the more powerful a machine (esp. the GPU), the more heat and noise you'll have to live with.

Can it play all current games at 1440p resolution with max settings ?

 

[shadow84]

I have decided to get (LGA2011) Gigabyte X79-UD3 - [S$365.00]
Motherboard

Do all those components complement each other well?

What power supply should I use?

Can I get a USB 3.0 Hub such as Anker 7-Port USB 3.0 Hub?

Lol, u r like getting frm bad to worst sia... now want lga2011 jus for dota2...

 

[Swordsman]

Lol, u r like getting frm bad to worst sia... now want lga2011 jus for dota2...

He dunno mah..

 

[wkweewee]

I have decided to get (LGA2011) Gigabyte X79-UD3 - [S$365.00]Motherboard

So this is what I would be getting:
Intel Core i7 4790 3.6GHz

I want the best quality I can for my needs without overspending unnecessarily.

Erm your chip chosen is lga1150 (4970). You can only fit your chip in lga1150 boards due to the socket size. Lga2011 is not really suitable for you in terms of use. You will not be able to utilize anything useful if you only play games like dota 2 etc. If you want to play games at max setting, retain your 4970 and go with a high end h mobo but the most important thing is to get the best gpu in the market your money can whack.

 

[shadow84]

Put it this way, TS, u can spend $10k now,but by 2015, almost all of ur components can be considered obsolete.... lol. So, spend $10k or $1k do make a diff.

 

[Felfirez]

Put it simply, TS can't be bothered or lazy to even do a simple research based on his incompatibility of processor and mobo choice. Egoistic about it even. I rather let him go down to SLS and kena chop.

I pity fellow forumers efforts and time wasted on these kinda ppl.

 

[royfrosty]

TS the more you research, the more you go astray.

TS you really need to read up more.

Go read up what motherboard chipset, go read up more on what are all those boards for.

H81, B85, H87, Z87, H97, Z97, X79, X99

Next read up the processors socket.

1155, 1150, 2011

This 2 will let you know more about CPU and Motherboard relations. You cant simply put a 2011 socket on any of H81, B85, H87, Z87, H97 and Z97 socket.

Or the other way a 1150 to a X79 or the upcoming X99 motherboard.

Neither does ivy bridge 1155 is able to fit in any of the above motherboard.

Next read up more on what is Celeron, Pentium, i3, i5, i7 and i7 extreme edition. What is the difference and what is it.

What is a Core i3, Core i5, or Core i7 as Fast As Possible - YouTube

Watch more youtube like linus tech tips. His channel has a lot of stuffs that will teach and guide you on whatever you looking for.

Things like does gaming really need more cores?

How Many CPU Cores is Enough for Gaming NCIX Tech Tips - YouTube

Do intel platform really need fast ram

High Speed RAM - Is it Worth it? DDR3 1333MHz vs 2400MHz Test - YouTube

What is hyperthreading and does game really need hyperthreading?

What is Hyper Threading Technology as Fast As Possible - YouTube

Do you really need a overkill PC? The video below is more of a build guide. But the ending is a very important message. Do you really need an overkill rig?

ULTIMATE "Overkill" Water Cooled Build a Gaming PC Computer "How To" Guide - YouTube

Go ahead and view everything you will need to know.

From your needs you only need to spend a mere 1.7k max.

 

[twasken]

What TS should try to understand is that at HWC the recommendations start first from looking at your real world usage and then we try to find the best value build around your budget.

Today's fastest GPU will only match toe to toe with a mid range one 2 years from now - case in point: the GTX760 (2013) is already a leap ahead of the GTX580 (2011, claiming then to be the world's fastest GPU) in terms of efficency and performance, and the GTX760 handles most AAA games reasonably well at high settings.

Beyond a certain point, there is diminishing returns. You won't get 2x the FPS from a GPU that costs $999 compared to a $499 one, that's for sure. Plus, tech innovation moves so fast that it doesn't make all sense to dump in $3000 today to match the performance of something you can get at $1000 3 years down the road. That's why all the bros here are interested in getting the bang for buck today and upgrading components in their DIY PCs over time. It's an enthusiast community that hopes other people meet their needs/wants yet SPEND REASONABLY.

If I had a 5k budget lying around solely for rig building from scratch, I would put 2.5k into getting it, 1k go to laobu as bonus to household contribution, 1k put to save for future upgrades to the rig and $500 to charity. Of course, how you use your money depends on your own values, we can only advise you to make the best choices over here.

 

[JeunesseGlobal]

Since he got budget and really wants high end without factoring $$$/performance ratio, this is my recommendation for CPU/Mobo & GPU


4690X + ROG Rampage IV Black Edition

Asus ROG 780ti Matrix SLI

 

[Op_Valkyrie]

Since he got budget and really wants high end without factoring $$$/performance ratio, this is my recommendation for CPU/Mobo & GPU


4690X + ROG Rampage IV Black Edition

Asus ROG 780ti Matrix SLI

5960x + ROG Rampage V

Gtx880 sli liao....

 

[JeunesseGlobal]

5960x + ROG Rampage V

Gtx880 sli liao....

wah..

 

[Ark Law]

Thank you all!

Ark Law, I notice that your SSD is almost full, only 7.47GB left? What is stored on it? Does the OS alone take up that much space?

What SSD size should I get?

Alternative X, I would be using the computer to play Dota 2. But I would like to be prepared for other games as well.

My work entails opening multiple browsers and webpages at the same time, and playing videos, etc.

I will be using Windows 7 64bit Professional, and I have my own mouse, keyboard. I'll be using 21.5 inch E-line Philips 227E4QHA monitor.

Since I am not overclocking, I guess I should get the Intel Core i7 4790 3.6GHz then?

I think I should get Intel Ethernet since it gives lower ping in games than Realtek right? And it should have Gigabit right?

What motherboard should I get for these? Asus or Gigabyte?

I want parts that are durable and will last for a long time.

Comments for corresponding highlighted parts;

- Win7 only takes 20GB of space. There are a few games, MS office, and quite a number of HD/4K video files which take up the bulk of space.

- A Pentium with a GTX750 can stomp all over Dota2. An $800 build can do it, a $3000 build can it at the expense of thinning your wallet

- That doesn't warrant the need for an i7. I have built an entry-level PC for families that handle those tasks with ease. All you need is any CPU paired with an SSD. Guess what? Their Pentium PC boots faster than my i7

Spoiler

- Even more reason to warrant NOT to get an ultra high-end GPU (a la GTX780), as you're using only a 1080p monitor

- Purpose = gaming only = get an i5 4690. Unless you don't mind spending extra $160 just to see 4 extra bars in Task Manager

- All motherboards today come with Gigabit Ethernet. Intel LAN doesn't give you lower ping than Realtek/Killer/Broadcom/3Com. That is your ISP's taiji

- See which board you prefer, what design you prefer, what feature set you like, and most importantly, what level of service you prefer if something goes wrong.

- Reliable? Durable? See below

Spoiler

 

[shadow84]

Spending $3k for dota2 does not improve your skills for the game. If ur skills are cui, pay $1k or $10k wun make a diff.

 

[zenniz]

It is like buying a Lamborghini in Singapore but you can't do **** with it.

It will not even hit 40% of it's maximum potential with your daily usage even with 100+ web tabs, videos, dota2, etc.

LGA2011 i7 and 32gb ram is overkill unless you want to set Guinness world record or show off.

Get a $4000+ Mac Pro Dustbin instead.