Where can I get a good gaming PC...

[PZ]

Thanks GKID; after reading the thread at the build forum you supplied, it seemed reasonable to get a new monitor to take full advantage of the graphics card.

I'm still a bit on the fence regarding the new R series AMD card that is coming up in the future.  The articles I've seen indicate that a new age of graphics hardware is upon us.

[OWGKID]

It is your money so you can either wait for the R9 390X or buy a GTX 980.

[Binnatics]

The monitor looks great PZ. I also have a 24" HD Acer monitor, but mine is a 60Hz I think.
The 144 is especially for 3D, making it possible to have 3D without losing fluid movement. I hate it when I go to the Cinema nowadays and am confronted with images that don't move fluidly, as if the framerate drops below 25Hz. That is because these cinema systems offer 3D images over a system that can apparently only cope with 50 or 60 Hz/FPS.
Even regular digital movies are shown with that horrible stuttering framerate, which heavily reduces my joy of going to any movie atm

Stiku, correct me if I'm wrong in my explanation plz, but I think when you don't bother 3D gameplay (or 3D movies on your PC) it's better to invest your money in a 1440p screen, which will give you more detail and probably a bigger image. ;)

[PZ]

Stiku, correct me if I'm wrong in my explanation plz, but I think when you don't bother 3D gameplay (or 3D movies on your PC) it's better to invest your money in a 1440p screen, which will give you more detail and probably a bigger image. ;)

Good question - I was wondering the same, whether to go with a better frame rate or with a better image.  I read a review in which a person purchased a 144hz unit and his friend scoffed until he tried it for himself - he now has one as well.  The claim was that even without 3D, the movements were much more fluid.

[OWGKID]

Good question - I was wondering the same, whether to go with a better frame rate or with a better image.  I read a review in which a person purchased a 144hz unit and his friend scoffed until he tried it for himself - he now has one as well.  The claim was that even without 3D, the movements were much more fluid.

You should definitely go for a 1440p 144Hz monitor :-() ;)

[PZ]

 :-()

EDIT: upgraded/changed a couple of parts and vendors

I joined partspicker and developed a build that looks to have flexibility, yet should be quiet.  Here's the build:

What do you think?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($337.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Nepton 240M 76.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI Z97-GAMING 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($131.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($104.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Toshiba  3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($104.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 980 4GB STRIX Video Card  ($567.48 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($123.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX TS 650W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply  ($76.08 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($102.98 @ Newegg)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-S12A ULN 120mm  Fan  ($17.85 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-S12A ULN 120mm  Fan  ($17.85 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Acer GN246HL 144Hz 24.0" Monitor  ($249.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $2056.14
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-12 19:12 EDT-0400

[Binnatics]

I like the Scythe Mugen coolers. They are usually cheaper and perform best amongst other air CPU coolers. I have one myself, which made it possible to crank my 3.2GHz clocked i7 now run @ 4.2GHz, stable and cool, yet no significant noise raise.  :-X

For the rest, I'd say that is a marvellous collection of gear you picked :-X :)

[OWGKID]

Looks good  :-X :) May your framerates be high and your temperatures low, PZ  :-D :-()

[Stiku]

Change the SSD, I haven't seen a single crucial ssd based lineup, that haven't had dataloss issues.
Consider something in line of Samsung 850 Pro, OCZ lineup or Sandisk.

If your planning to store photos and movies into the HDD, then that 5400rpm is good, but if you want to run games, applications from it, get a 7200rpm one.(differences is actually notable in real life scenarios)

Powersupply : http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/EVGA/NEX750G/11.html
Serious problems in high usage scenarios, also not a quiet PSU.

[Dweller_Benthos]

Yeah I'd say ditch the Crucial drive, I've had three of them fail in three different computers. Plus upgrade to 500GB just for the breathing room.

Maybe go to an 800 watt power supply, again, for breathing room. Might be a tad noisier, but it's nice to have those extra connections if you need them in the future.

[PZ]

Thanks guys - how about this parts list? (Might go higher capacity SSD)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($317.98 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Nepton 240M 76.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($102.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: MSI Z97-GAMING 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($131.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Toshiba  3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($99.99 @ Best Buy)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 980 4GB STRIX Video Card  ($554.99 @ B&H)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($109.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional 850W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-S12A ULN 120mm  Fan  ($19.49 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-S12A ULN 120mm  Fan  ($19.49 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Acer GN246HL 144Hz 24.0" Monitor  ($258.11 @ B&H)
Total: $2064.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-13 11:31 EDT-0400

[OWGKID]

Yeah I'd say ditch the Crucial drive, I've had three of them fail in three different computers. Plus upgrade to 500GB just for the breathing room.

Maybe go to an 800 watt power supply, again, for breathing room. Might be a tad noisier, but it's nice to have those extra connections if you need them in the future.

Which Crucial drives were you using ???? ? I'm using the MX100 and it works great. Haven't experienced failures with mine. The build draws almost 400 W so I consider a 800 W overkill, unless you need future upgrades (extra GPUs etc)

[PZ]

Which Crucial drives were you using ???? ? I'm using the MX100 and it works great. Haven't experienced failures with mine. The build draws almost 400 W so I consider a 800 W overkill, unless you need future upgrades (extra GPUs etc)

Original was a bx, but then changed to the mx100.  Online reviews indicate that the Samsung units are highly rated and hardly more expensive.  The rig was estimated to draw 391 watts but you never know - might add an additional GPU in the future, more memory sticks, and I might salvage a 10,000 rmp velociraptor out of my current rig, so a little extra wattage might not be a bad idea

The other PSU I was considering was a 650 watt unit: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207034

[OWGKID]

The MX100 got a firmware update recently ;) Haven't bothered to install it 

http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/support-ssd

[Stiku]

Crucials are well known for their faults, you can actually do a quantitative research about it with multiple forums and get the idea how bad the crucial ones are, most worst are the MX100 and M500 series ones. Their performance is great for their price range, but the risk losing data from your drive isn't something that anybody would want.

Also stay away from Samsung Evo drives also, Pro drives are the best that the market has to offer right now.

PZ, if you need more space on the SSD, then get a bigger one, but basic windows and necessary apps will take usually about 50-100gb from the drive(windows,office,drivers, etc)

On the note of PSU, you said that the power draw would be ~400w, so a 850w supply would run around ~47% capacity, pretty much at the best power efficiency.
Guru3d test on HX850W supply unit

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[PZ]

Thanks for the information , Stiku  :-X

My main reason for the SSD is the OS, so the 256 should be fine so I'll probably save a little $ and spend it on a new monitor I have my eye on, the Acer XB270HU, an IPS unit that offers G-sync and has a resolution of 2,560x1,440 pixels, a 144MHz refresh rate,  quick 1 millisecond response time - it has HDMI 2.0, DVI and DisplayPort 1.2 connections so I can use it with my console as well.

The monitor is not out yet, but I'll build the PC and wait for the monitor to release later this month (as long as the monitor industry does not follow the same release rules as the gaming industry)  :-()  Also, the rumor is that the price will be around $800 US, which I will spend, but not much more.

[Art Blade]

just a thought on the monitor resolution

As far as I understand the matter: many games have a "native" resolution suitable for full HD TV (a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9 = 1920x1080) because they were developed for consoles using a TV. Any other monitor resolution means scaling up or down. Same goes for your average movie. So unless you plan to do some type of artwork or use some special programs that support higher resolutions, you might get more for less money if you get a 1920x1080 monitor.

[fragger]

That is a good thought :-X

[Stiku]

Thought was ok, but reality is different.

Though some games have their designed resolution(Mobile and console platforms mainly), most games won't look any worse with higher resolutions, and graphics. It will actually lower the jagged edges, and increase the overall sharpness.

Game frames are rendered before they are shown, videos on the otherhand are pre-rendered(when recorded) and then played, hence need scaling. just a simple example is when a painter paints a painting, he does it once, if you want to increase the size, it needs to be stretched(scaled) into the new size, in games, the painter will always paint the picture again, and again to the higher size.

[Binnatics]

Interesting thoughts, gentlemen :)

I would go for a sharp image. So the smaller the pixels, the happier I am. 1440p means more points on your screen, thus lines that are more fluid. Almost like a 'real painting' heheh

[PZ]

Most of you gent know that the graphics are extremely important to to me in my gaming experience.  Until now, I think the only incredibly fast response time (1 msec) monitors with 144 hz refresh was using TN (twisted nematic) techology out of the 80s.  I like fast response time because it helps reduce the ghosting you would see with rapid on-screen movements.  In contrast the IPS (in plane switching) technology improves on the flaws in TN with regards to poor viewing angles and color reproduction. As I understand it, IPS is what the Apple Retina display has.

As I was looking at monitors the past week, it appeared that if you wanted fast refresh and 1 msec response, you had to live with TN technology, and if you wanted the true color reproduction of IPS, 5 msec response and 60 hz refresh.  So I faced a decision on which way to go.  Now with the introduction of this new monitor, it seems that you can have the best of both worlds - fast response and IPS.  My only question now is exactly which IPS technology this particular monitor uses.  I'll definitely look at reviews for a while, but am leaning toward this new technology because it should serve my monitor needs for years to come, so should be a good investment.

[Stiku]

Why get a 144hz monitor?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJ97Ni4Hb3c&ab_channel=VeryTraumatic

[Dweller_Benthos]

Which Crucial drives were you using ???? ? I'm using the MX100 and it works great. Haven't experienced failures with mine. The build draws almost 400 W so I consider a 800 W overkill, unless you need future upgrades (extra GPUs etc)

The one I have on hand says it's an M4 SSD 2.5? There's no other model number I can see. I would imagine the other two were the same, bought about the same time in pre-built systems from the same company. One has been trashed, I'm using the other at home as my transfer drive, hooked up to a USB interface when needed. All three had the same malfunction, the computer would just reboot for no reason, and sometimes not come back up until a full power down and power up cycle occurred. Sometimes you'd get the NTLDR missing error, sometimes not. I even tried putting one in as a secondary drive and it would still make the computer reboot for no reason even if there were no files being accessed on it, just having it hooked up caused the error. The one I'm using as a transfer drive is still working, but I don't have it hooked up for very long. I never had a data loss with any of them, it would just stop working, causing a reboot.

[PZ]

Dang, D_B, talk about a computer horror story  ???

[PZ]

AMD R9 390X, Nvidia GTX 980 Ti and Titan X Benchmarks Leaked – GTX 965/ 960 Ti Shows Up Too

http://wccftech.com/amd-r9-390x-nvidia-gtx-980ti-titanx-benchmarks/