Looking for help in my first gaming buildPost Date: 2015-02-19 |
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Kooba
Newbie Joined: 19 Feb 2015 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4 |
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Topic: Looking for help in my first gaming build Posted: 19 Feb 2015 at 11:27am |
Budget:
Max: $2,000 Expectations: I plan to use this PC to game at, hopefully, max settings. The games I plan to play include Minecraft, LoL, Dying Light, and other various games I find to be fun via Steam. Usage: This PC will be used on a dual monitor set up (Note: Haven't determined what Monitors yet, I currently use an Asus to game on my Xbox One) to complete functions such as streaming, recording videos (On the PC and Xbox One), gaming, edit (Photoshop, C4D), and watch Netflix / Streams / YouTube. Special Needs: No real special requirements, I am very lenient, but I don't truly want to break the bank.. I am still a High Schooler working a minimum wage job! So far I have kept my eye on the Apollo because it seems to be around my price range, and is appealing in looks. I came to DS because everyone seems very involved, active, knowledgable, and the prices seem fair! Thanks for any suggestions, Kooba Edited by Kooba - 19 Feb 2015 at 11:28am |
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DS Veteran Joined: 28 Oct 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1674 |
Quote Reply Posted: 19 Feb 2015 at 11:47am |
Level 2 Apollo with better processor for editing applications, larger hard drive for storing videos and photos, better quality PSU, and an air-cooler (should work just as well, if not better than the 120mm rad). If you can stretch it, go for extra memory for the video editing and the Noctua cooler has gotten excellent reviews (the Cooler Master unit selected here was the benchmark before the Noctua was introduced).
Configuration URL: https://www.digitalstormonline.com/configurator.asp?id=1151331 Specifications: Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Digital Storm Apollo Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish Processor: Intel Core i7 4790K 4.0 GHz (Codename Devils Canyon) (Unlocked CPU) (Quad Core) Motherboard: GIGABYTE Z97X-SLI (Intel Z97 Chipset) System Memory: 8GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested) Power Supply: 750W EVGA SuperNOVA Expansion Bay: - No Thanks Optical Drive: - No Thanks Storage Set 1: 1x SSD (120GB Samsung 850 EVO) Storage Set 2: 1x Storage (2TB Western Digital - Black Edition) Storage Set 3: - No Thanks RAID Config: - No Thanks RAID Card: - No Thanks Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections) Graphics Card(s): 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 4GB (Includes PhysX) Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio HPC Processor: - No Thanks Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 1: High-Performance Copper Heat Pipe Cooler H20 Tube Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected Chassis Fans: Standard Factory Chassis Fans Internal Lighting: - No Thanks Airflow Control: - No Thanks Chassis Mods: - No Thanks Noise Reduction: - No Thanks LaserMark: - No Thanks Boost Processor: Stage 1: Overclock CPU 4.0GHz to 4.4GHz Boost Graphics Card(s): - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s) Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory Boost OS: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (64-Bit Edition) Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows CD) Virus Protection: FREE: McAfee AntiVirus Plus (1 Year Service Activation Card) (Not Pre-installed) ($35 Value) Office: - No Thanks Game: - No Thanks Display: - No Thanks Surge Shield: - No Thanks Speakers: - No Thanks Keyboard: - No Thanks Mouse: - No Thanks Portable Gaming: - No Thanks Branded Gear: - No Thanks Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 10-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed Warranty: Life-time Expert Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty (3 Year Labor & 1 Year Part Replacement) |
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Kooba
Newbie Joined: 19 Feb 2015 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4 |
Quote Reply Posted: 19 Feb 2015 at 7:59pm |
And you believe this build will be able to complete all my tasks / games and also be able to multi-task well? |
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DS Veteran Joined: 28 Oct 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1674 |
Quote Reply Posted: 19 Feb 2015 at 10:31pm |
For the budget you gave, yes. I wouldn't run your games concurrently with photo/video editing software...too much resource demands. But you could do photo/video editing alongside web browsing and word processing. Make sure you have enough page file space on your SSD, and that will help the responsiveness of your computer if you go above the amount of memory you have in your machine (like I said, if you can stretch for the memory, that would be the best improvement beyond that spec...8GB will work but 16GB gives you that much more room).
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michaeljhuman
Groupie Joined: 09 Jan 2015 Online Status: Offline Posts: 297 |
Quote Reply Posted: 19 Feb 2015 at 10:45pm |
For that budget I agree with the suggest config. 6-core is going to blow the budget probably and I suspect not needed for routine video/photo editing
I would try for 16 GB RAM if that can fit in the budget Note that you could always add another drive if you needed, but if you are storing photos, videos and games, the 2 TB drive makes sense to me. Make sure you have some backup system ( soon rather than later is best), even if it's just burning DVDs of your most treasured photos, etc. Edited by michaeljhuman - 19 Feb 2015 at 10:45pm |
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"The other day, I shot an elephant in my pajamas. What an elephant was doing in my pajamas, I will never know"
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DS Veteran Joined: 28 Oct 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1674 |
Quote Reply Posted: 19 Feb 2015 at 11:04pm |
Thinking about it...take the OC on the processor off...the 4790K have a base clock of 4.0GHz and boost clock of 4.4GHz; all you'd be gaining is a bump in base clock speed (and with multicore enhancement, the difference is probably even less). Add the 16GB 1600MHz RAM in, giving you $2061, and with the $50 off in the special offer, that'll be close to $2k again.
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Kooba
Newbie Joined: 19 Feb 2015 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4 |
Quote Reply Posted: 23 Feb 2015 at 6:35am |
What about this versus the Bolt II or the Velox? Will this be the best option for my specific needs? |
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bprat22
DS ELITE DigitalStorm East -- (Unofficially!) Joined: 08 Jun 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 20391 |
Quote Reply Posted: 23 Feb 2015 at 6:47am |
The case selection, whether the Apollo, Velox or Bolt 2 makes no difference in the performance. With identical parts like the mobo, graphics card, etc they all perform equally.
The Velox does have the best cooling. The Bolt 2 being a small form factor, only allows for a single graphics card and doesn't offer the Haswell E's, like the 5930k 6 core cpu. For the build you were shown, any of the cases work. It comes down to space available, room to work on upgrades and what you like for looks. Good Luck. |
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Kooba
Newbie Joined: 19 Feb 2015 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4 |
Quote Reply Posted: 23 Feb 2015 at 8:15am |
So you think the build originally suggested would be the best for my situation? I'm just not sure I'm ready to drop $2k on a build yet. |
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bprat22
DS ELITE DigitalStorm East -- (Unofficially!) Joined: 08 Jun 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 20391 |
Quote Reply Posted: 23 Feb 2015 at 8:31am |
I believe the build you were shown was based on the budget you were going for and does give you a larger hdd and psu. But, if the $2000 is a bit steep, I would suggest the Vanquish level 4 for $1399. It will give you about the same performance as the other .
The Vanquish lvl 4 has the i5- 4690k cpu vs the i7-4970k in the original build. The i7-4790k does have hyper-threading, meaning more threads, and does make multi- tasking, editing,etc. a little quicker, but the i5-4690k will certainly get the job done. They're both excellent choices. The Vanquish lvl 4 does have a smaller hard drive and smaller power supply than the build shown to you, but again, for most people the 1TB drive and the 600 watt psu is all you need. If the $2000 is a stretch than the Vanquish lvl 4 for $600 less will give you almost the same results for a lot of applications. You really can't beat the Vanquish for best bang for your buck. Hope this helps and stay in touch. Edited by bprat22 - 23 Feb 2015 at 8:34am |
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Snaike
Moderator Group Just a dude trying to keep the spam away Joined: 23 Jan 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 9462 |
Quote Reply Posted: 23 Feb 2015 at 9:10am |
This ^. This is so very true. For those of us on a budget, the Vanquish II gives us all of the "gamer" toys, without breaking the bank. I've been extremely pleased with mine even without the new K chip in the current model. |
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