General help with starting a gaming PC build

[mac1204]

Hey everyone,


This site is amazing. I’ve been a die-hard Apple fan for a few years now, but I’m ready to build a hackintosh for gaming. After reading through the last few monthly buyers’ guides and some forum posts, I have some general questions. This will be my first build since 2006, so assume I don’t know anything about anything.


Objective: to build a Windows 7 machine meant for PC shooter/adventure/strategy gaming, with the ability to maintain high framerates on the highest graphics settings in games like Battlefield 4, Far Cry/Crysis series, Skyrim, Starcraft II, etc… that can also dual-boot to OS X for general use. Also, while I know it’s difficult to predict future requirements, I want my rig to be future-proof, or at least upgradeable, for the next generation of games/engines (which will inevitably include Battlefield 5, Frostbite 4, etc). Also, my emphasis is really on high FPS, given that the last PC gaming I did was on a sad 2010 MacBook Pro with integrated graphics.


Price Range: $2k-2,500 (not including display). I just recently broke up with my girlfriend of one year, and afterwards I realized that I spent so much more on her over the past year than a high-end gaming PC would ever cost me. So now that I have the free time to get back in to gaming, I want to treat myself and get something I can actually enjoy on weekends more than a Broadway show or farmer’s market


Questions:


1. I see that the last buyer’s guide to recommend 3rd Gen CPUs was August. I think I’ve made up my mind on a Haswell CPU, but would there be any benefit (other than cost) to go with Ivy Bridge instead?


2. I’m not interested in tinkering/overclocking, so I’d probably just pick an i7. I know it’s pretty much all about the video card in terms of graphics performance, but would an i7 be overkill, or just about right, for high-FPS gaming?


3. I was looking at this 27” Monoprice LED monitor (http://goo.gl/GcXxRn) for $437, which has dual-link DVI and a 6ms response time. I haven’t done too much research on monitors, but the price seems good and it’s gotten a lot of good reviews. Does anyone have experience with Monoprice monitors?


4. I just recently bought a new TV (Samsung UN65EH6000 LED), so I’ve thought about getting some sort of couch desk and using my TV for PC gaming instead of a computer monitor. I’m not much of a console gamer, but I did recently get GTA V for PS3. When playing at 720p and moving the camera around, the whole screen gets kind of choppy, the framerate seems to drop, and it’s kind of hard to look at repeatedly. Eventually I’ve gotten used to it, but I really have no idea if it’s the refresh rate of the TV, or the fact that the game is pushing the limits of a 7-year-old console. I know this might be a bad comparison, but I’ve seen 1080p gameplay videos of the game on Youtube that seem to have higher framerates.


Anyway, does anyone have any insight into using a large HDTV for PC gaming, or have any recommendations for couch desks?


Thanks guys!

 

[mac1204]

Here's a build I came up with, just looking to see if anyone has any recommendations before I pull the trigger.

Case
Corsair Carbide 500R

Power Supply
Corsair Professional Series HX750

Motherboard
GIGABYTE GA-Z87X-UD3H

CPU
Core i7-4770K



Memory
CORSAIR Vengeance LP 16GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)


HD
Samsung 840 EVO-Series 250GB


Graphics Cards (SLI config)
GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 770 2GB
GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 770 2GB


Questions:

1. Is the HX750 power supply sufficient for this build, or should I be getting an HX850?

2. Should I get a separate CPU cooler?

3. The case comes with a 200mm side panel fan, two front-mounted 120mm fans, and one rear 120mm fan, but also has slots for 6-7 more 120mm & 140mm fans. Should I assume that this build would require the maximum number of fans the case can support?

Thanks!

 

[HMAN1911]

Hey, just to answer your first post questions:

1. Go with the Haswell for gaming and future-proofness, and ease of install for OSX.

2. You want the regular (non K) i7 if you will game and want to stay relevant for next gen engines, as they will use the cores and threads.

3. Cant comment on this brand as it is not available here.

4. GTA 5 runs at around 30fps, so you will notice a difference if you are coming from computer gaming. I would not rush off to blame your TV for this, probably just your eye picking up a difference.

I used a big TV for gaming, I didn't like it. I prefer the sitting at desk experience more. If you get a quality TV with a good refresh rate, you should be fine. But I notice a image quality decrease when using HDMI compared to the DVI signal. YMMV.

For your parts:

850 is not necessary.

You dont need the K variant on the CPU if you wont overclock.

Memory is fine, make sure it is 1600 MHZ for Hackintosh compatibility.

SSD is good, just dont forget to trim patch post install in multibeast.

2 x 770s should work in hackintosh

Mobo is fine

You definitely dont want to 'max out' the fans on ANY case. That thing will sound like a jet taking off. Cases have many spots to mount fans so you can choose a configuration works for you. The fans that come with the case are enough for good airflow.

You wont need a aftermarket CPU cooler.

Just from personal experience, and you don't have to listen to me, but I would consider dropping one of the 770's and just going a straight 780 OR a single 770. When not running dual/triple monitors, the added 770 wont really give you much. Save the money now, and just throw in a 870 when it comes out next gen. You save money and get better performance. I play the games you listed, BattleField 4 in particular, and I run a 1920x1200 monitor. I have a single 4gb 770 and it runs that game easily at max settings around 60fps.

The other thing I recommend is removing all the fans the case comes with and buying aftermarket fans. They make a tremendous difference to the sound and heat.

 

[Astralv]

I would use 4770 K because it has higher clock speed.

You need more power. 1 770 card requires 600 W system power. http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-770/specifications

I would not worry about fans, unless there is a problem.

I would use Windows 8.1 instead of Mac for gaming. Unless you have serious reason to use Mac for some kind of graphics/video production, it is easier to build Windows machine and it has no issues and no risk. Windows 8.1 is great. You can probably use 1866 Mhz memory and enable XMP profile. But 1600 Mhz is good.

Mow that you have free time... may be some college?

 

[mac1204]

Awesome, thanks for the feedback guys!


HMAN1911 - I didn’t even realize the 770 came in a 4GB version, so that looks pretty good. I’ll go with 1 x 770 4GB for now.


Which power supply do you have to accommodate your single 770?

Also, I think it makes sense to go with the non-K i7 like you said, since I won't be overclocking.



Astralv - It’s funny you said that, because I actually did consider just building a Windows PC specifically for gaming and forgetting the whole Hackintosh thing. But I’m actually going to sell my aging 15” MacBook Pro, and this Hackintosh will be my main machine at home. I’ll probably be in OS X most of the time for work/email/etc, and will only boot into Windows for gaming on weekends.


Oh also, my IT manager job takes up most of my week, so I’ve got no time left for more college! Gaming is probably going to be a weekend-only affair for me. Back in college I used to stay up all night every night playing Warcraft III and Counter-Strike Source, and that’s probably why I didn’t do too well in my classes, haha.

 

[HMAN1911]

For a single 770 and the non K i7, a 500w system would be enough. Your system is shaping up a lot like my Hackintosh build. I have a 650w corsair 'silent' PSU in mine. I would say that is around 100w overkill, but I like to cover myself. If you do intend to SLI sometime down the track, you might want to look at the 850w PSU offerings.

However, if you follow my advice, you should never need to SLI if you intend to run a single screen for gaming. The 4GB 770 is probably your best bang for buck bet to future proof yourself for next gen games, as texture sizes increase (and monitor resolutions!) that extra VRAM will come in handy. I was undecided myself but bit the bullet for Battlefield 4.

I actually play games on my OSX install, like Dota 2 and some other steam games. It is still perfectly capable, if only more AAA titles were released for OSX.

 

[mac1204]

Cool, thanks again for the great input. When I first started this research I didn’t realize that SLI would only really benefit 2560+ resolutions or multi-monitor setups. I’ll probably always want to use a single monitor for gaming, so I’ll never need an SLI config. I downgraded to a 650w power supply like you recommended.


Also, in the process of trying to figure out how many fans I’d need, I started finding other cases that I liked better. I narrowed it down to the Corsair Obsidian 650D, the 550D, or the Fractal Design Define R4. They all got great reviews, but I like the 650D the most.


But I’m still confused about fans/cooling. The case comes with a front 200mm intake fan, a top 200mm exhaust fan, and a rear 120mm exhaust fan. The top 200mm exhaust fan can be replaced by two 120mm fans.


1. Based on my updated build list below, would the stock fans provide adequate cooling?


2. I’m not too concerned about noise levels (because I prefer to use headphones when gaming) but should I be looking to get better aftermarket fans anyway, for performance reasons?


3. This is going to make me sound ignorant, but I’m super confused about fan speeds. The case has a 3-mode fan controller and they say it gives you a choice between noise and performance. Is there a way to not use that controller and just have the computer determine the necessary fan speed based on sensor data and current load? Do such sensors even exist like this, or am I just spoiled from the world of Macs where fan speeds are controlled automatically based on sensors? Also, when reading case reviews on newegg, a lot of people mention their good airflow and perfect temperatures. How do they determine that their airflow is good? That their cards don’t melt while under heavy usage? Or are there Windows applications that can tell you sensor data and the temperature of components?




Updated build:


Case
Corsair Obsidian Series 650D (CC650DW-1) Black Aluminum / Steel ATX Mid Tower Case


Power Supply
CORSAIR HX series HX650 650W ATX12V v2.2 Modular Active PFC Power Supply


Motherboard
GIGABYTE GA-Z87X-UD3H


CPU
Core i7-4770 3.4GHz


Memory
Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory (CML16GX3M2A1600C10)


HD
Samsung Electronics 840 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5-Inch SATA III MZ-7TE250BW


Graphics Card
Gigabyte GTX 770 GDDR5-4GB 2xDVI/HDMI/DP OC WINDFORCE 3X Graphics Card GV-N770OC-4GD


Optical Drive
Sony AD-7280S-0B 24x SATA Internal DVD+/-RW Drive

 

[mac1204]

Ok, so I watched some youtube videos and I get the basic concepts of airflow. The 650D case is designed to have negative pressure airflow, in which there are more exhaust fans than intake fans.

So basically, if I put together this build, using the stock fans, how will I know if it's sufficient cooling when I'm gaming for several hours at a time?

How will I know whether I need to add more fans, and should I go ahead and buy better fans from the start?

 

[HMAN1911]

In any air cooled case, you need some flow of air to draw cool air in and then expel the hot air out. When someone says a case has good airflow, they mean the internal and external design of the case is open and allows for air to pass over most parts inside the case. This doesn't mean your peripherals will melt if your case has bad airflow, it just means the fans will have to turn faster and general temperature will increase.

There are spots on your motherboard that are called system fan inputs. You can plug your fans into those connectors and your computer will control how fast those fans turn based on sensors. Just like in a Mac you can also plug fans straight onto your power supply and they will just turn as fast as they can all the time.

If you don't care about sound, the fans that come with your case should be fine. Leave them in their default spots and you will be perfectly fine. You don't need to move them around.

Your system parts are almost the same as mine except I have a Marx motherboard. Good stuff it should work well.

 

[mac1204]

Awesome, I'm super excited to get this thing built. Probably going to order everything tomorrow.

Thanks again for your help!