RelentlessOhio
Divekick x 1000
Well it's about time for me to do a new full PC build. I plan on turning my current desktop into a server or workstation more than likely.
But with the upcoming release of MKX and a slew of new graphic-intensive games over the next year, I've decided to go all-out and build a new PC. I've always been a PC gamer at heart - I don't mind consoles, I've just always had more friends and connections on PC games than the PS3.
So here's my build I'm planning on completing by Christmas at the latest. I will probably update this as new architectures and releases are announced, but in the mean time this will surely suffice and keep me going for at least a couple years:
CASE: Antec 1200 v3 Full ATX Gaming Tower
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129100
- Great towers. They are massive, and come with great standard cooling. I'll eventually upgrade to water cooling, but the default fan setup does the job just fine.
MoBo: ASUS Maximus VII
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132247
- ASUS makes some of the best motherboards IMO, along with eVGA. Obviously the motherboard is one of the most critical components to a gaming build, so it's not something I want to skimp on. Also features SLI if I ever feeling like adding in another video card. However I don't play at ridiculously high resolutions, so I doubt I'll ever use it. But it's nice to have the option. Plus the overclocking features are legit.
CPU: Intel i7 Hasell Quad-Core
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116900
- Haswell architecture is legit. Great on power consumption, and you can overclock the hell out of them. It's almost a crime to not include a quad-core in your build nowadays. While many programs still don't utilize four cores, it's always nice to have the option for future releases.
GPU: EVGA SC GTX 770 2GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130921
- I have been an EVGA fan boy since the beginning. Their warranty and upgrade policies can't be topped, and they are the most reliable nVidia card maker out there. The reason I choose this over the 780 or Titan is because the price jump is pretty large, and the increase in performance doesn't really justify it. The 770 can run basically anything on max settings. Again, I don't play on a 52" monitor, so anything I throw at this baby will be a breeze, even MKX. Now by next year a new line will be announced, so I may or may not be changing my mind on this one, depending on the benchmarks.
RAM: G.SKILL Trident X 16GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231589
- The best gaming RAM you can buy, hands down. Some will argue Corsair is better, but I've had my times with Corsair, and they are overpriced, and tend to under perform compared to G.SKILL. Plus you can tweak the timings on this set likes nobody's business. 8GB is sufficient for anything today, but I plan to make this as future proof as I can within my budget.
PSU: EVGA SuperNOVA 750W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438017
- Despite what some people claim, unless you're running a shit ton of extra peripherals and 2x GTX Titans, you don't need a crazy amount of wattage on your PSU. As long as the 12V rails are stable and put out good amperage, you're good to go. PC parts are much more stable and energy efficient than they were say 10 years ago. I've only owned Thermaltake PSU's, but I'm giving this a shot.
HDD: Samsung 840 Pro 256 GB SSD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147193
- SSD's are awesome, plain-and-simple. I've got a 2TB external HD I use for movies and music, so I won't be filling this up anytime soon. I always like to keep my programs and files to a minimum and very organized.
CD/DVD Drive: ASUS CD/DVD Reader/Writer
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204
- Really have never been one to buy expensive CD drives. I have no use for Bluray burners or readers since I can get Bluray movies online for free. And with more and more games being released digitally, it will come to a point where these drives will never be needed. But, again it's always good to have the option. And you can't beat it for $20.
There you have it folks. This will be an awesome and fun build to do. It'll be even more fun when I get extra parts like water cooling, wire casing, LED's, etc. I'm not quite sure if I want to overclock it right after the build, it's usually good to break in everything for a couple hundred hours first before cranking up the speed on everything. Once I have the parts though I'll definitely be posting pictures of the build.
Oh and if anyone needs advice on building their own, or good pre built ones to buy, let me know!
But with the upcoming release of MKX and a slew of new graphic-intensive games over the next year, I've decided to go all-out and build a new PC. I've always been a PC gamer at heart - I don't mind consoles, I've just always had more friends and connections on PC games than the PS3.
So here's my build I'm planning on completing by Christmas at the latest. I will probably update this as new architectures and releases are announced, but in the mean time this will surely suffice and keep me going for at least a couple years:
CASE: Antec 1200 v3 Full ATX Gaming Tower
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129100
- Great towers. They are massive, and come with great standard cooling. I'll eventually upgrade to water cooling, but the default fan setup does the job just fine.
MoBo: ASUS Maximus VII
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132247
- ASUS makes some of the best motherboards IMO, along with eVGA. Obviously the motherboard is one of the most critical components to a gaming build, so it's not something I want to skimp on. Also features SLI if I ever feeling like adding in another video card. However I don't play at ridiculously high resolutions, so I doubt I'll ever use it. But it's nice to have the option. Plus the overclocking features are legit.
CPU: Intel i7 Hasell Quad-Core
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116900
- Haswell architecture is legit. Great on power consumption, and you can overclock the hell out of them. It's almost a crime to not include a quad-core in your build nowadays. While many programs still don't utilize four cores, it's always nice to have the option for future releases.
GPU: EVGA SC GTX 770 2GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130921
- I have been an EVGA fan boy since the beginning. Their warranty and upgrade policies can't be topped, and they are the most reliable nVidia card maker out there. The reason I choose this over the 780 or Titan is because the price jump is pretty large, and the increase in performance doesn't really justify it. The 770 can run basically anything on max settings. Again, I don't play on a 52" monitor, so anything I throw at this baby will be a breeze, even MKX. Now by next year a new line will be announced, so I may or may not be changing my mind on this one, depending on the benchmarks.
RAM: G.SKILL Trident X 16GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231589
- The best gaming RAM you can buy, hands down. Some will argue Corsair is better, but I've had my times with Corsair, and they are overpriced, and tend to under perform compared to G.SKILL. Plus you can tweak the timings on this set likes nobody's business. 8GB is sufficient for anything today, but I plan to make this as future proof as I can within my budget.
PSU: EVGA SuperNOVA 750W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438017
- Despite what some people claim, unless you're running a shit ton of extra peripherals and 2x GTX Titans, you don't need a crazy amount of wattage on your PSU. As long as the 12V rails are stable and put out good amperage, you're good to go. PC parts are much more stable and energy efficient than they were say 10 years ago. I've only owned Thermaltake PSU's, but I'm giving this a shot.
HDD: Samsung 840 Pro 256 GB SSD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147193
- SSD's are awesome, plain-and-simple. I've got a 2TB external HD I use for movies and music, so I won't be filling this up anytime soon. I always like to keep my programs and files to a minimum and very organized.
CD/DVD Drive: ASUS CD/DVD Reader/Writer
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204
- Really have never been one to buy expensive CD drives. I have no use for Bluray burners or readers since I can get Bluray movies online for free. And with more and more games being released digitally, it will come to a point where these drives will never be needed. But, again it's always good to have the option. And you can't beat it for $20.
There you have it folks. This will be an awesome and fun build to do. It'll be even more fun when I get extra parts like water cooling, wire casing, LED's, etc. I'm not quite sure if I want to overclock it right after the build, it's usually good to break in everything for a couple hundred hours first before cranking up the speed on everything. Once I have the parts though I'll definitely be posting pictures of the build.
Oh and if anyone needs advice on building their own, or good pre built ones to buy, let me know!