Price vs Performance...am I spending too much?

[BarbaricSoul]

for finding the best prices on hardware, I suggest using the PC Part Picker web site. You select the hardware you want to buy, and it price checks all the stores for what you pick and lists the prices at the stores, showing who has what you want for the lowest price.

http://pcpartpicker.com/

 

[Staxed]

so onto the GPU issue again that a few people have mentioned.

I'm looking at the 770 that I had already selected (4gb version), for $370. A few people mentioned the 780ti...which from what I can see is $730ish? That is quite a big leap and not sure if it would really be worth that much of an increase for my purposes. Can the 770 play any current game at max setting easily? To start I'm going to be using 2 monitors 20+ inch, high res monitors...but may increase that to 3 later...so I guess that could be a reason to go with the 780ti as well.

(Though, if I'm going to buy something that much more expensive...would the 780ti be a better choice than just going with a Dual 770 setup?)

for finding the best prices on hardware, I suggest using the PC Part Picker web site. You select the hardware you want to buy, and it price checks all the stores for what you pick and lists the prices at the stores, showing who has what you want for the lowest price.

http://pcpartpicker.com/

Thanks, that'll help a lot once I get my list finalized and start purchasing stuff.

 

[qubit]

If you want to max out your games, then that performance really depends on the graphics card, so get the best. It won't break the bank, either.

This is one is screamingly fast and whisper quiet, even running flat out, which isn't a combination that you often find. No wonder TPU gave it a 9.9 rating. Therefore, I recommend getting the recently reviewed MSI GTX 780 Ti Gaming 3 GB.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_780_Ti_Gaming

 

[Staxed]

If you want to max out your games, then that performance really depends on the graphics card, so get the best. It won't break the bank, either.

This is one is screamingly fast and whisper quiet, even running flat out, which isn't a combination that you often find. No wonder TPU gave it a 9.9 rating. Therefore, I recommend getting the recently reviewed MSI GTX 780 Ti Gaming 3 GB.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_780_Ti_Gaming

The issue though is while I "want" to max out my games, I don't "need" to max out my games. High settings are perfectly reasonsable...it's hard to justify adding another $300 to the pricetag for that purpose alone. Hard to decide, lol.

 

[Durvelle27]

The issue though is while I "want" to max out my games, I don't "need" to max out my games. High settings are perfectly reasonsable...it's hard to justify adding another $300 to the pricetag for that purpose alone. Hard to decide, lol.

That's why i recommended a GTX 780 $460 and OC"d can max almost all games out excluding Crysis 3

 

[qubit]

The issue though is while I "want" to max out my games, I don't "need" to max out my games. High settings are perfectly reasonsable...it's hard to justify adding another $300 to the pricetag for that purpose alone. Hard to decide, lol.

Well, you said you wanted to play at "very high/ultra" detail which one would normally take to be maxed out, especially "ultra". If you don't want to max your games, then yeah, sure, go for something lower down and save some cash.

In my personal experience though, you can never have too much rendering power when it comes to games, as motion smoothness is king. The new bar for this is 120Hz with a 120Hz strobing backlight monitor which looks fabulous, but this takes a lot of rendering power, especially for the newer games.

There's no hard and fast to this though, so get what you feel comfortable with.

 

[HalfAHertz]

For me the i7's hyper-threading is overrated for gaming and most software tasks. It's mostly good for rendering and video trans-coding. The i5k's usually overclock just as good and are much cheaper.

 

[TheMailMan78]

The GTX 770 is a very capable card, I just think they're overpriced for what you are actually getting. The new Camaro Z28 is an incredible car, but it's still not a Corvette.

Don't want to turn this into a car debate and I get what you are saying but a Corvette and a Camaro are for two very different types of racing. Ones a muscle car and the other is a sports car. Drag vs. Track. Different animals.

A better car analogy would be a 770 is a GT Mustang vs Cobra Mustang (780).

For me the i7's hyper-threading is overrated for gaming and most software tasks. It's mostly good for rendering and video trans-coding. The i5k's usually overclock just as good and are much cheaper.

Play BF4?

 

[HalfAHertz]

Nope I haven't but from the looks of it, it seems to be gpu limited. Even the low end bulldozers do 94+ frames.

BF3 tho seems to like HT. Maybe they fixed that in BF4

 

[Durvelle27]

Nope I haven't but from the looks of it, it seems to be gpu limited. Even the low end bulldozers do 94+ frames.

BF3 tho seems to like HT. Maybe they fixed that in BF4

Your BF4 post is hilarious

 

[HalfAHertz]

Fixed as in optimized their engine a little better

according to tom's a stock sandy bridge i5 is almost as good as a hexa core( "12 core" with HT if you wanna call it that) IB. Seems it dipped under 60 fps for a bit there. But with a healthy oc, it quickly overcame that.

 

[TheMailMan78]

Fixed as in optimized their engine a little better

according to tom's a stock sandy bridge i5 is almost as good as a hexa core( "12 core" with HT if you wanna call it that) IB. Seems it dipped under 60 fps for a bit there. But with a healthy oc, it quickly overcame that.

An i5 with a large OC doesn't keep the FPS steady in BF4 man. HT is VERY useful with Frostbyte.

 

[shovenose]

Didn't feel like reading the entire thread, but:
-Personally I would not buy a PNY video card. Not to say they suck, in fact if you want a Quadro card which is like $6K they're usually the only option. But MSI is what I'd recommend.
-Good PSU selection. Seasonic makes a great product.
-You're spending too much on the motherboard. Look for a cheaper one. I don't mean the $40 Foxconncrap ones but a mid range MSI build unless you're going to OC crazily but the i7-4770K is already not going to be maxed out a lot if ever.
-If you've already decided on the case, fine. But there are less expensive options that are a better value.
-Do NOT buy that monitor. Look for an IPS monitor, it's soooo much better you'll never go back. You don't need the touchscreen.
-Make sure that Blu-Ray drive includes software. If it doesn't, find one that does include it, because the software is expensive.
-WD makes better hard drives than Seagate, and you don't need an overpriced SSHD for secondary storage if you already have an SSD. I know it's not neccessarily cheaper but I would recommend a WD RE4 2TB disk if you really need the absolute best quality, otherwise a WD Black or even a newer WD Blue (though I don't think they make 2TB, but if you only need 1TB, the WD10EZEX is a fantastic drive on the cheap)...
-Look on Amazon for a better deal than Newegg on some parts. Just make sure it says the order is being fulfilled, and the producti s being sold, by Amazon. Don't buy from 3rd-party sellers on Amazon!

 

[jcgeny]

cpu can run with ram at 1600 Mhz max , you loose [a max of] money buying a 1866 Mhz
i buy at performance pcs in florida few rare things , they have better price than new eggs .

i found two psu , that are $80 or $150 below your antec
they are in this section : http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1078

950 w 80 silver or gold $142,48
http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...roduct_info&cPath=1078_1079&products_id=24947
850 w 80 gold $85
http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...roduct_info&cPath=1078_1079&products_id=30689
ppcs says no warranty but the product should be covered by brand in the us [ may be except OCZ that is bankruptcying ]

i use gelid instead of artic silver5 @ $7.95 : http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...product_info&cPath=46_58_1101&products_id=959

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=46_58_1107

for the ssd try to find a Toshiba [ they buy ocz...] and for hard drive take a 2 or 3 To like a western-digital green that is very cheap and have 4ko clusters . [the ssd has 512 octects and most hdds ] . it s better mostly , apart technical aspects , because it is also the size windows uses when it format in ntfs .

 

[Deleted member 24505]

Personally i would stick with the asus board, if you are spending that much overall, why not get a great board, which Asus are imho.

 

[silentbogo]

Since everyone already offered to step up to GTX780, I would suggest to switch PSU to this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817159114
It has four 12V rails and almost $100 cheaper. My last PSU was a Coolmax 950W(Green) and it worked like a bull.

Another thing - get 16GB RAM, but faster. It should be enough for everything you've listed, unless you are planning on running RAM disk(which is unnecessary with your SSD).
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231589

Also $200+ for Z87 motherboard is definitely an overkill. I am personally inclined to buy this board:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157373
I haven't purchased ASRock products since college. I had a nice Socket A MoBo back in a day, and it served well for over 5 years(maybe it is still somewhere in someones old rig). Lately I hear some really promising reviews about their motherboards.
That's $122 vs $219.

Total Savings: $312.
You can get GTX780 for an extra $50.

If you drop the hybrid drive in favor of regular HDD and switch Touchscreen with regular monitor - you could probably buy second GTX780!!!

 

[ZetZet]

Nope I haven't but from the looks of it, it seems to be gpu limited. Even the low end bulldozers do 94+ frames.

BF3 tho seems to like HT. Maybe they fixed that in BF4

That is singleplayer test, online tells a different story.

 

[Durvelle27]

 

[MxPhenom 216]

so onto the GPU issue again that a few people have mentioned.

I'm looking at the 770 that I had already selected (4gb version), for $370. A few people mentioned the 780ti...which from what I can see is $730ish? That is quite a big leap and not sure if it would really be worth that much of an increase for my purposes. Can the 770 play any current game at max setting easily? To start I'm going to be using 2 monitors 20+ inch, high res monitors...but may increase that to 3 later...so I guess that could be a reason to go with the 780ti as well.

(Though, if I'm going to buy something that much more expensive...would the 780ti be a better choice than just going with a Dual 770 setup?)



Thanks, that'll help a lot once I get my list finalized and start purchasing stuff.

The 4GB version right now will not net you much performance, if at all, over the 2GB version, so its a bit of a waste. Jump up to a better all around card.

 

[thebluebumblebee]

so onto the GPU issue again that a few people have mentioned.

I'm looking at the 770 that I had already selected (4gb version), for $370. A few people mentioned the 780ti...which from what I can see is $730ish? That is quite a big leap and not sure if it would really be worth that much of an increase for my purposes. Can the 770 play any current game at max setting easily? To start I'm going to be using 2 monitors 20+ inch, high res monitors...but may increase that to 3 later...so I guess that could be a reason to go with the 780ti as well.

(Though, if I'm going to buy something that much more expensive...would the 780ti be a better choice than just going with a Dual 770 setup?)



Thanks, that'll help a lot once I get my list finalized and start purchasing stuff.

I hate Nvidia's nomenclature.
I didn't recommend the GTX 780 Ti. I recommended the GTX 780, but I did point to the absolutely sweet MSI Gaming GTX 780 Ti. Quiet and powerful. Sorry if that was confusing.
It's almost always better to get 1 (better)GPU than 2 (or more)(lesser) GPU's, unless you are the type that enjoys the eye candy that SLI brings.
I was trying to point out that you are building a high end system and that the GK104 is actually a mid-range part, no matter what its performance is. Okay, that sounds real snobbish.

 

[leeb2013]

I think your 770 4GB is a bit weak for such a system, considering you want the best parts. The 4GB is fairly pointless unless you SLI it and the 770 isn't so powerful. I would either SLI the 770 4GB or get 780ti or R9-290(x)

 

[Mathragh]

On that budget, I'd also go for a more beefy card like the 780ti or perhaps an R9 290X with 3rd party cooler. Also, I wouldn't exactly shy away from lots of VRAM. While loads of VRAM might not seem all that usefull now; once new gen console ports come around you'll prolly need all the VRAM you can get, since both consoles have 8GB of (V)RAM and a big chunk of that will probably be spent on graphics performance. For console ports this means that unless you want to turn down a lot of graphics options, you'll also need lots of VRAM. You might also invest some time in reading up on Mantle and decide what you want to believe regarding its implications(just a suggestion, don't shoot me y'all).

As far as your other stuff goes, you might want to switch out that samsung pro SSD for an EVO. Furthermore, for that price you can probably do quite a bit better on the CPU cooler front.

 

[HD64G]

R9 290 from me for GPU. Sapphire Tri-X specifically.

 

[craigo]

you may want to substitute the 4770k cpu for a non-k variant to support virtualization.

 

[Mathragh]

you may want to substitute the 4770k cpu for a non-k variant to support virtualization.

If he does that, he might also just aswell go with a cheaper motherboard.