[PC] Ask The Experts Thread

[kmkaks]

Hi Guys.... I was originally planning to buy a PS4 but instead I am going to buy a PC which can play Witcher 3 @ 30FPS on ULTRA @ 1080P resolution( To Import my saves from Witcher 2 ). My budget is about 55000 Rs and I am looking at a config of :

 

Graphics Card : Nvidia Geforce GTX 760 or AMD R9 270X(Confused as to which brand or edition is best)

Proccessor : Intel Pentium I3 3.4 Ghz 4130 4th Generation Haswell

Mobo : Asus Z87 Pro(So that I can upgrade graphics and CPU later this year)

PSU : 650W Corsair

RAM : Corsair Vegance 2 * 4GB 1600

 

Is this a good config? Any suggestions from my Pro friends is welcome. When I approached the leading shop here in Kerala the shop salesman suggested the GT 740 for good gaming performance and was adament that Quadro is the best for gaming. So yeah that is the condition here.

[ALPHA17]

^ Answered your query in the Gaming PC section, please further this discussions there. Cheers!

[lithuvien]

Now, I am looking to build a gaming PC. I have done some research, but since I have never ventured into this area before, I would appreciate any help.

Now, this is what I have managed to come up with:

 

Component Description Cost Processor i5-4690K 17,000 RAM 2 X Corsair Vengeance DDR3 4 GB PC DRAM (CMZ4GX3M1A1600C9) 5,780 HDD Seagate Barracuda 1 TB , 7200 rpm 3,790 Cabinet Corsair Vengeance C70 9,000 GPU ZOTAC NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 4 GB GDDR5 27,000 Motherboard MSI Z97 PC Mate Motherboard 8,000 PSU Corsair VS650 650 Watt PSU 4,000 Monitor Samsung 23.6 inch 12,000 Optical Drive LG DVD Burner 1,000 Cooler Cooler Master Hyper TX3 EVO 2,300 Sound Card ?? Total 89,870

 

I will also put down my reasoning:

1. Processor - Read that i5 and i7 differ very little when it comes to gaming, so i5

2. RAM - Need 8 GB or more. Going initlally for 8

3. HDD - SSDs are fast, but also very very expensive. I saw 256 GB SSDs for 12k+. Dont want to go for it unless someone tells me a big benefit of having it

4. Cabinet - This was recommended in a few sites

5. GPU - Now this is where I am confused. I dont want top of the line as they are very expensive. But I also want to play games at high settings (not ultra). Suggestions needed most here (I didnt see a 2GB version so I posted the 4GB prices)

6. Motherboard - Recommended in a few sites. Again, have no idea about these

7. PSU - Chose one at random, to be honest

8. Monitor - Wifey wants to watch her boo hoo serials in the omfort of the bedroom and I refuse to shift my TV there. This 23.6" size should suffice for her soap opera needs. She might not be pleased if I get something smaller

9. Cooler - Picked one at random

10. Sound Card - My current laptop has a sound card and I have the astro A40 headset, so I would like to have one in my PC as well. But here, I have no clue as to what is good and what is not. Also, read that soun cards will enable me to hook up a 5.1 channel speaker set to my pc with very good results.

 

One thing I have not added is Windows 7 Home. I dont want to go for Windows 8.

[PhantomShade]

Now, I am looking to build a gaming PC. I have done some research, but since I have never ventured into this area before, I would appreciate any help.

Now, this is what I have managed to come up with:

 

 

Component

 

Description

 

Cost

 

Processor

 

i5-4690K

 

17,000

 

RAM

 

2 X Corsair Vengeance DDR3 4 GB PC DRAM (CMZ4GX3M1A1600C9)

 

5,780

 

HDD

 

Seagate Barracuda 1 TB , 7200 rpm

 

3,790

 

Cabinet

 

Corsair Vengeance C70

 

9,000

 

GPU

 

ZOTAC NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 4 GB GDDR5

 

27,000

 

Motherboard

 

MSI Z97 PC Mate Motherboard

 

8,000

 

PSU

 

Corsair VS650 650 Watt PSU

 

4,000

 

Monitor

 

Samsung 23.6 inch

 

12,000

 

Optical Drive

 

LG DVD Burner

 

1,000

 

Cooler

 

Cooler Master Hyper TX3 EVO

 

2,300

 

Sound Card

 

??

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

 

 

 

89,870

 

I will also put down my reasoning:

1. Processor - Read that i5 and i7 differ very little when it comes to gaming, so i5

2. RAM - Need 8 GB or more. Going initlally for 8

3. HDD - SSDs are fast, but also very very expensive. I saw 256 GB SSDs for 12k+. Dont want to go for it unless someone tells me a big benefit of having it

4. Cabinet - This was recommended in a few sites

5. GPU - Now this is where I am confused. I dont want top of the line as they are very expensive. But I also want to play games at high settings (not ultra). Suggestions needed most here (I didnt see a 2GB version so I posted the 4GB prices)

6. Motherboard - Recommended in a few sites. Again, have no idea about these

7. PSU - Chose one at random, to be honest

8. Monitor - Wifey wants to watch her boo hoo serials in the omfort of the bedroom and I refuse to shift my TV there. This 23.6" size should suffice for her soap opera needs. She might not be pleased if I get something smaller

9. Cooler - Picked one at random

10. Sound Card - My current laptop has a sound card and I have the astro A40 headset, so I would like to have one in my PC as well. But here, I have no clue as to what is good and what is not. Also, read that soun cards will enable me to hook up a 5.1 channel speaker set to my pc with very good results.

 

One thing I have not added is Windows 7 Home. I dont want to go for Windows 8.

 

Good build,But some suggestions

Swap the Zotac GTX 970 for an Asus GTX 970,Which has a better cooler

Go for Seasonic M12II 620w PSU instead of the Corsair

No need for the expensive corsair vengeance case,get a Corsair 400r instead, costs around 5-6k

Also no need for cooler,the stock one should do unless it gets very hot at your place

Optional : swap MSI mobo for Asus H97 Plus,I've heard bad things about MSI's reliability

 

You can buy at Havok Nation assuming you still are in Pune

EDIT : IMPORTANT : there is some issue with gtx 970 being unable to use more than 3.5 GB RAM which is detailed in the Graphics Card Thread

You could wait for AMD R9 380X expected in June to release

Edited January 27, 2015 by PhantomShade

[lithuvien]

Yep. Still in Pune. Thanks for the suggestions. My goal now is to finalize my build so I can lock my budget and then plan accordingly.

[ALPHA17]

One thing I have not added is Windows 7 Home. I dont want to go for Windows 8.

 

Okay, the following is what I would suggest,

 

Intel Core i5 4690 (non-k, I do not think you will over-clock since you are new to the whole shebang)

MSi H97 Gaming 3 / ASUS H97 PRO GAMER / MSi H97M-G43 (again, not over-clocking but giving you the best at the price)

G.Skill 4GB x2 1866MHz (I trust G.Skill more than Corsair but if you want to go with the Vengeance it is your call, just make sure you go for the 1866MHz kit and not 1600MHz)

Western Digital Blue Edition 1TB (no real difference between the two companies, save that WD offers door-to-door replacement services, so in a pinch that is a plus)

MSi Twin Frozr V GTX970 4GB (if you can wait, then wait till the AMD R9-380X shows up)

Seasonic M12II 650W (Corsair has gone to sh*t for most of its SMPS's line-up)

Corsair Carbide 400R (the C70 is not worth the extra money you sink into it, honestly)

DELL U2412H (24". slightly larger, better viewing angles thanks to the IPS panel at its heart)

Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO / X (best after-market cooler on the cheap and trust me you need one)

 

Miscellaneous points,

• What is your budget, make sure of this first. Do not try to build a PC and then stuff it in a limited budget.
• You do not need a sound-card unless you are audiophile, in that case a standard entry-level ASUS Xonar DG / DGX should keep you good. Alternately, the sound sub-system on the ASUS and MSi gaming series boards I suggested are stellar so no need to add there either.
• If you can wait on the graphic card, wait till AMD plays its hand with the R9-3XX series (pun intended).
• You can purchase a copy of Windows7 Pro from reddit sales sub-section

If you have any further queries, do let us know.

 

If you have any doubts specifically pertaining to MSi and Cooler Master, since I work for the latter and am well networked with the former.

Swap the Zotac GTX 970 for an Asus GTX 970,Which has a better cooler

Optional : swap MSI mobo for Asus H97 Plus,I've heard bad things about MSI's reliability

 

Never had issues with either company, in-fact MSi holds the edge because of its cheaper price and better after-sales.

 

Also, the Twin Frozr series that they sport are pretty much the benchmark for air-cooled third-party offerings for both nVidia and AMD.

 

ZOTAC! is a red herring, never liked it for anything, the saving grace being its 5 year warranty.

Also no need for cooler,the stock one should do unless it gets very hot at your place

 

This is India. The weather be like (to stock Intel cooler),

Edited January 27, 2015 by ALPHA17

[lithuvien]

wow. thanks a lot

 

Now, the AMD R9-380X is touted to be in the league of the GTX 980, which means it will be priced at around 40k or more. The one you mentioned is around 30k and I dont think I want to spend more than that.

As far as budget goes, i want to keep it < 100,000.

Also, can you suggest a cool and funky looking cabinet around the price range of the ones you mentioned? The Corsair 400 R is all straight and bland ...

[PhantomShade]

wow. thanks a lot

 

Now, the AMD R9-380X is touted to be in the league of the GTX 980, which means it will be priced at around 40k or more. The one you mentioned is around 30k and I dont think I want to spend more than that.

As far as budget goes, i want to keep it < 100,000.

Also, can you suggest a cool and funky looking cabinet around the price range of the ones you mentioned? The Corsair 400 R is all straight and bland ...

380x will be in 30k range.390x is meant to compete with GTX 980

For "funky" cases Check the ones by NZXT and Cooler Master Storm line of cases(teh cm sahib can help you on this)

[ALPHA17]

Now, the AMD R9-380X is touted to be in the league of the GTX 980, which means it will be priced at around 40k or more. The one you mentioned is around 30k and I dont think I want to spend more than that.

As far as budget goes, i want to keep it < 100,000.

 

In the league of performance, yes, in the price and hierarchy of the line-up it sits below the GTX980. I do not see it priced above ~32000/- in the most pessimistic scenario.

 

Okay, so you are looking at spending less than that amount, what is your power supply situation, does it cut out often or only now and then?

Also, can you suggest a cool and funky looking cabinet around the price range of the ones you mentioned? The Corsair 400 R is all straight and bland ...

 

You can look at the following then,

• Corsair Graphite 760T
• Corsair Air 540
• Cooler Master STORM Stryker / Trooper (depending on colour)
• NZXT Source 530

In my opinion, going for something less fancy like the Carbide 400R / Cooler Master N600 will allow you to save money or reallocate it towards something more interesting like mechanical keyboards et al.

[PhantomShade]

In the league of performance, yes, in the price and hierarchy of the line-up it sits below the GTX980. I do not see it priced above ~32000/- in the most pessimistic scenario.

 

Okay, so you are looking at spending less than that amount, what is your power supply situation, does it cut out often or only now and then?

 

 

You can look at the following then,

 

• Corsair Graphite 760T
• Corsair Air 540
• Cooler Master STORM Stryker / Trooper (depending on colour)
• NZXT Source 530

In my opinion, going for something less fancy like the Carbide 400R / Cooler Master N600 will allow you to save money or reallocate it towards something more interesting like mechanical keyboards et al.

cm sahib forgot about Storm Scout II Advanced i guess

[ALPHA17]

cm sahib forgot about Storm Scout II Advanced i guess

 

It is not quite in the same league as the aforementioned cabinets. Smaller too.

 

I would have recommended the STORM Sniper but sadly it has not aged well neither is it supported.

 

Another option that skipped my mind was the Cooler Master HAF XB, compact design but totally capable of capping a beast inside.

[piper]

Now, I am looking to build a gaming PC. I have done some research, but since I have never ventured into this area before, I would appreciate any help.

Now, this is what I have managed to come up with:

Component Description Cost Processor i5-4690K 17,000 RAM 2 X Corsair Vengeance DDR3 4 GB PC DRAM (CMZ4GX3M1A1600C9) 5,780 HDD Seagate Barracuda 1 TB , 7200 rpm 3,790 Cabinet Corsair Vengeance C70 9,000 GPU ZOTAC NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 4 GB GDDR5 27,000 Motherboard MSI Z97 PC Mate Motherboard 8,000 PSU Corsair VS650 650 Watt PSU 4,000 Monitor Samsung 23.6 inch 12,000 Optical Drive LG DVD Burner 1,000 Cooler Cooler Master Hyper TX3 EVO 2,300 Sound Card ?? Total 89,870

 

I will also put down my reasoning:

1. Processor - Read that i5 and i7 differ very little when it comes to gaming, so i5

2. RAM - Need 8 GB or more. Going initlally for 8

3. HDD - SSDs are fast, but also very very expensive. I saw 256 GB SSDs for 12k+. Dont want to go for it unless someone tells me a big benefit of having it

4. Cabinet - This was recommended in a few sites

5. GPU - Now this is where I am confused. I dont want top of the line as they are very expensive. But I also want to play games at high settings (not ultra). Suggestions needed most here (I didnt see a 2GB version so I posted the 4GB prices)

6. Motherboard - Recommended in a few sites. Again, have no idea about these

7. PSU - Chose one at random, to be honest

8. Monitor - Wifey wants to watch her boo hoo serials in the omfort of the bedroom and I refuse to shift my TV there. This 23.6" size should suffice for her soap opera needs. She might not be pleased if I get something smaller

9. Cooler - Picked one at random

10. Sound Card - My current laptop has a sound card and I have the astro A40 headset, so I would like to have one in my PC as well. But here, I have no clue as to what is good and what is not. Also, read that soun cards will enable me to hook up a 5.1 channel speaker set to my pc with very good results.

 

One thing I have not added is Windows 7 Home. I dont want to go for Windows 8.

Running that build on HDD instead of SSD is like driving a fast car in traffic.

[PhantomShade]

Running that build on HDD instead of SSD is like driving a fast car in traffic.

This.

Get 128 GB SSD and 1 TB HDD

 

Put OS and 1-2 games which you play regularly on it for faster boot and loadtimes on OS and said games respectively

Samsung 128 GB SSD range from 5-6k

[piper]

Even a used SSD (4k-5k for a 256GB) will outperform a brand new HDD by a significant margin.

[lithuvien]

 

In the league of performance, yes, in the price and hierarchy of the line-up it sits below the GTX980. I do not see it priced above ~32000/- in the most pessimistic scenario.

 

Okay, so you are looking at spending less than that amount, what is your power supply situation, does it cut out often or only now and then?

 

You can look at the following then,

• Corsair Graphite 760T
• Corsair Air 540
• Cooler Master STORM Stryker / Trooper (depending on colour)
• NZXT Source 530

In my opinion, going for something less fancy like the Carbide 400R / Cooler Master N600 will allow you to save money or reallocate it towards something more interesting like mechanical keyboards et al.

 

What is mechanical keyboard? any big advantage over normal keyboards? I know I should gogle this but I spent 12 harrowing hours in office and my brain isnt functioning anymore

Power goes out like 1-2 days a month, not more than that. It goes out frequently during monsoons, I assume because of the storms and all

 

 

This.

Get 128 GB SSD and 1 TB HDD

 

Put OS and 1-2 games which you play regularly on it for faster boot and loadtimes on OS and said games respectively

Samsung 128 GB SSD range from 5-6k

is it only load times that get affected? Will SSD also affect the fps and other things? If load times are the only advantage then I might get something like a 2nd hand 128 GB for the OS only, depending upon the price. .

[PhantomShade]

What is mechanical keyboard? any big advantage over normal keyboards? I know I should gogle this but I spent 12 harrowing hours in office and my brain isnt functioning anymore

Power goes out like 1-2 days a month, not more than that. It goes out frequently during monsoons, I assume because of the storms and all

 

 

 

is it only load times that get affected? Will SSD also affect the fps and other things? If load times are the only advantage then I might get something like a 2nd hand 128 GB for the OS only, depending upon the price. .

 

Mechanical kb's are good for hardocoar MP gaming

Like if you are pro and every peripheral needs to be perfect with the best response time,No ghosting and all

They are also very durable compared to membrade kb's and have long longevity

 

No only load times,Not FPS

Edited January 28, 2015 by PhantomShade

[piper]

is it only load times that get affected? Will SSD also affect the fps and other things? If load times are the only advantage then I might get something like a 2nd hand 128 GB for the OS only, depending upon the price. .

 

Load times, OS boot times. General OS performance. Everything is zippier.

[zibalingz]

Transcend 512 GB SSD for 14k

 

http://www.flipkart.com/transcend-ssd-2-5-512-gb-desktop-internal-hard-drive-ts512gssd370/p/itmeyw5p2zazzvgf?pid=IHDEYW5PDHHZHJFM&affid=jimishjoba&affExtParam1=16CL1Xforums

[ALPHA17]

Mechanical kb's are good for hardocoar MP gaming

Like if you are pro and every peripheral needs to be perfect with the best response time,No ghosting and all

 

Type on a mechanical keyboard once, the experience is better. In-fact if one has a budget these days, getting an SSD and a mechanical keyboard should be considered seriously.

What is mechanical keyboard? any big advantage over normal keyboards? I know I should gogle this but I spent 12 harrowing hours in office and my brain isnt functioning anymore

Power goes out like 1-2 days a month, not more than that. It goes out frequently during monsoons, I assume because of the storms and all

 

It is a different type of keyboard technology.

 

There are individual (mechanical) switches that register every key-stroke you make. This makes them free of any mistyping and non-registeration issues of standard membrane type keyboards. Also, due to design they tend to have a lot more tactile feedback vis-á-vis the standard keyboards you use.

 

If you want to know more about the technology behind it, head here. Detailed and descriptive with intuitive animated .gif's to boot.

Transcend 512 GB SSD for 14k

 

http://www.flipkart.com/transcend-ssd-2-5-512-gb-desktop-internal-hard-drive-ts512gssd370/p/itmeyw5p2zazzvgf?pid=IHDEYW5PDHHZHJFM&affid=jimishjoba&affExtParam1=16CL1Xforums

 

Transcend have terrible after-sales, experiencing it first-hand, will avoid it as far as possible.

Edited January 28, 2015 by ALPHA17

[Nr.Draca47]

Dont you guys think that its better to wait a bit for DX12?