Build Advice New build for gaming at 1440p

Hi Guys,

I am putting together a new PC for gaming, the objective is for eveyrthing to be buttery smooth at 1440p (and drive a secondary montor).

I will run Windows on it but am a tinkerer with Linux and will probably dual boot so good Linux compatibility is a bonus.

Here is the current breakdown with my thoughts :

Budget:

About £1500-1600 including monitor and peripherals. The monitor is probably gong to be £400 ish which will take a chunk out. I can go higher if theres a really good reason.

Main uses of intended build:
I play Eve Online almost exclusively and will expect to be able to run mutliple clients at this resolution so moderately heavy multi tasking although Eve is not hugely demanding graphically.
My son will also be playing FPS games on it, when I let him
I use a secondary monitor at a lower resolution for browser/TS/Jabber etc etc so it needs to drive that too.

Parts required:
Full build

Previous build information (list details of parts):
I have a number of other PC's but this will be a new build from scratch, I am currrently using an i5-2500, 560Ti unit which will go to my daughter for her minecraft obsession

Monitor resolution:
I plan to run at 2560x1440 and haven't decided which monitor to get, its a bit of a minefield. I will have a secondary monitor at 1080p for other stuff

Storage requirements:
I have NASes and other stuff on my network and probably won't have a huge number of games installed, so no need for massive storage. Just want a zippy SSD with around 500Gb

will you be overclocking: MAYBE
No, but want to retain the capability. At the build stage I am more interested in it being quiet. If I need the extra oomph to run multiple Eve clients at 1440p then I will overclock it

Any motherboard requirements (no. of USB, Xfire/SLI, fan headers):
Must have decent sound, I use headphones and I am fussy about this kind of thing, my current rig has a separate Essence ST soundcard. I am not planning to re-use any parts or go down this route but am prepared to pay a bit more for decent onboard sound.
I have always used Asus motherboards, plus the odd Gigabyte, for this one I would prefer to Asus as I generaly find them very robust.

Here my starting point :

• CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£187.73 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
• CPU Cooler: Corsair H80i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (£63.00 @ Amazon UK)
• Motherboard: Asus SABERTOOTH Z97 MARK2 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£117.56 @ Scan.co.uk)
• Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£124.19 @ Aria PC)
• Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£149.99 @ Ebuyer)
• Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 780 3GB TWIN FROZR Video Card (£339.95 @ Aria PC)
• Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case (£87.13 @ Scan.co.uk)
• Power Supply: Corsair CSM 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£65.40 @ Aria PC)
• Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) (£79.18 @ Amazon UK)

Total: £1214.13

Monitor : not sure yet but want a 2560x1440p monitor with reasonable capabiity for games
Peripherals : Really fancy a Ducky shine but still thinking about it, haven't decided on mouse yet.

I would truly grateful for any advice or if you can spot any mistakes, I haven't done enough research and am probably not super current on hardware as I have been too busy at work. I have mainly gone for brands and kit that I have had previous good experience of.

Thanks in advance

Chunkers

 

A nice build! Nothing to change really!

Do you need a DVD or Blu-Ray drive as well?

If you're willing to spend a bit more, a 780Ti might be worth it but only if money doesn't really matter. You could also look into SLIing 770s but you'd have to beef up the power supply to ~800-850W roughly.

 

Brilliant thanks for looking it over, I have no need for an optical drive assuming I can find a way of installing the OS from USB, I also have a usb bluray drive which I guess I could use.

C

 

GTX 780 Ti compliments 1440p well but don't expect smooth 60FPS with the eye candy turned to ultra with demanding games. Big jump in price to consider over the GTX 780. Scored one for £405 thanks to a misprice that the retailer honoured, little expensive at RRP otherwise!

 

TN
http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/asus_rog_swift_pg278q.htm
http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/displays/72229-asus-rog-swift-pg278q/
http://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/zardon/asus-gtx780-ti-rog-matrix-review/

IPS, PLS
http://wecravegamestoo.com/forums/monitor-reviews-discussion/15027-best-2560x1440-monitors.html

Also see
http://www.overclock.net/f/44/monitors-and-displays
http://forums.blurbusters.com/

 

Great links, thanks, I'll have a good look through them

I think I am leaning towards the ViewSonic VP2770-LED which looks promising and decent value

 

I went for (and would highly recommend) a refurbished U2713HM from NRG:IT

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dell-Wide...mputerComponents_Monitors&hash=item2c86ed1f8f

I read some worrying things about this particular screen (backlight bleed mostly but also crosshatching) but asked them to check the screen over before sending it to me. It arrived in perfect condition and in perfect working order - literally couldn't tell it wasn't brand new.

As for GPU - I run SLI 780s and would definitely not suggest anything less than a single 780 for a 1440p screen if you like pretty games A 780ti for me was just too much of a price hike (~20% at the time I bought) for not that much more performance (maybe 10% better - I could be wrong there, I can't remember precisely)

 

Thanks for the advice, I have pushed the button on the PC with components as shown apart from upgrading the mb to the Maximus version (on impulse!).

I am still thinking about the monitor, will probably order that today.

Cheers big ears!

Chunks

 

I have ordered everything (from Scan apart from monitor which is a Viewsonic VP2770-LED, this is coming from Amazon.
The monitor was the only bit I was really struggling with and am still a bit concerned about it. In the end the 3 year warranty swung it for me after careful consideration of George K's advice above which was tempting.

Thanks guys!

Chunks

 

Final reply to my own post, I promise!

System runs great, CPU idles at 29C and maxes out in heavy gaming at 50C with the fan controls on 'silent' and the system is almost completely without noise.

27" 1440p gaming is awesome, when i play Eve I now finally have the real-estate to have all the dialogue boxes I want and still actually see the game running, hehe

I got a copy of Watchdogs free with the Gfx card, looks awesome.

My one regret is Windows 8.1, terrible user interface for a desktop and has 'built-in' incompatibility with my Synology NAS so i can't use my media from my NAS with my native Windows media apps - really stupid move by MS (and by me for buying it). Should have got Windows 7.

Thanks to those advised me on this build, very happy.

Chunks