$3000 gaming/productivity machine

[Zeno50]

Haven't built in 6 years - finally putting something together and was hoping you guys could help me out.

Use: gaming/productivity
Price: around $3000, newegg/amazon (USA)
Brand preference: I have the original cosmos and love it. I felt like it might be worth it to spend extra on the cosmos II case.
Won't be reusing any of my current parts except for maybe keyboard.
OC: I plan to do some modest overclocking.
Resolution: 1080p vs 1440p (see below)
Plan to order as soon as possible.

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($338.93 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus MAXIMUS VI FORMULA ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($299.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($139.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 750GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($484.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($149.92 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card ($560.91 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Cosmos II (Black) ATX Full Tower Case ($273.00)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional 750W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($58.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit - OEM (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VG248QE 144Hz 24.0" Monitor ($259.99 @ NCIX US)
Mouse: Logitech G700 Wireless Laser Mouse ($68.98 @ Amazon)
Total: $2828.64

Concerns:
1. Motherboard: It seems pricey but I did want WIFI and the option to SLI down the road. Plus the onboard sound is supposed to be pretty good? Any thoughts?

2. Monitor: I really wanted to go with a 27 inch 1440p IPS monitor but didn't know if I could justify it. I'm debating waiting until g-sync is available next year and then using this monitor (the 24 inch asus) in portrait mode and picking up a new 27 inch 1440 to run in landscape. Opinions?

3. GPU: Went with the 780/ACX cooler because the bump for the 780Ti did not seem worth it (especially with no aftermarket coolers). If I decide to SLI (a year from now let's say), will I be able to pick up another version of this exact card?

4. SSD size: Is it worth it to go for the 750GB version and run all my games off the SSD? I could get a 250GB to save a lot of cash but would probably have to install games to my mechanical drive.

5. Watercooling: I was looking at the Corsair H100i, but it only beats the Hyper212 evo by 1-6 degrees depending on quiet/performance mod - am I missing something? Is the Hyper212 evo a lot louder?

 

[Braidster]

Haven't built in 6 years - finally putting something together and was hoping you guys could help me out.

Use: gaming/productivity
Price: around $3000, newegg/amazon (USA)
Brand preference: I have the original cosmos and love it. I felt like it might be worth it to spend extra on the cosmos II case.
Won't be reusing any of my current parts except for maybe keyboard.
OC: I plan to do some modest overclocking.
Resolution: 1080p vs 1440p (see below)
Plan to order as soon as possible.

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($338.93 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus MAXIMUS VI FORMULA ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($299.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($139.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 750GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($484.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($149.92 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card ($560.91 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Cosmos II (Black) ATX Full Tower Case ($273.00)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional 750W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($58.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit - OEM (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VG248QE 144Hz 24.0" Monitor ($259.99 @ NCIX US)
Mouse: Logitech G700 Wireless Laser Mouse ($68.98 @ Amazon)
Total: $2828.64

Concerns:
1. Motherboard: It seems pricey but I did want WIFI and the option to SLI down the road. Plus the onboard sound is supposed to be pretty good? Any thoughts?

2. Monitor: I really wanted to go with a 27 inch 1440p IPS monitor but didn't know if I could justify it. I'm debating waiting until g-sync is available next year and then using this monitor (the 24 inch asus) in portrait mode and picking up a new 27 inch 1440 to run in landscape. Opinions?

3. GPU: Went with the 780/ACX cooler because the bump for the 780Ti did not seem worth it (especially with no aftermarket coolers). If I decide to SLI (a year from now let's say), will I be able to pick up another version of this exact card?

4. SSD size: Is it worth it to go for the 750GB version and run all my games off the SSD? I could get a 250GB to save a lot of cash but would probably have to install games to my mechanical drive.

5. Watercooling: I was looking at the Corsair H100i, but it only beats the Hyper212 evo by 1-6 degrees depending on quiet/performance mod - am I missing something? Is the Hyper212 evo a lot louder?

I just purchased a PC that was the same budget as you but picked my parts a little different. A couple things I could suggest that might help you out a little.

First off for the SSD situation I decided to go with a 128gb for my OS, and a 256gb for my games to speed things up a bit (overkill yes I know).

I also went with a gtx780 but choose the Gigabyte Windforce which can be had for $499 right now (I got two). That's a crazy good deal on one of the better cooled cards. Do you think the $60 difference is worth it for a card just with the clocks boosted a bit, and not even cooled as well? I'm pretty sure you could get close to the same overclock outta the cheaper card.

My PC should be here wed/thur so if you got any questions LMK....oh yeah I went 4770k haswell also.

 

[Essence_of_War]

That's a pretty enormous budget, and for a rig that's primary gaming it seems like you're spending A LOT of it on NOT video card. It seems like you're spending a lot of money on components that provide marginal improvements for gaming, and if you reorganized a bit, I think you can easily find enough money to enjoy the performance of SLI.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($339.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($77.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G55 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($134.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Silverline 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($124.95 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate 600 Series 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($91.79 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($705.91 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($705.91 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 500R White ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic M12II 850W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.92 @ Amazon)
Total: $2601.41
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-17 22:49 EST-0500)

Add in the monitor, mouse, and a PCIe WiFi card for $260+$70 + $30 = $370 takes you in under $3k.

Swap the 780 Ti's for ordinary 780s (linked to below) saves $400, and you could then swap the monitor for a 27'' IPS.

I'm not sure how gsync will go down, but I do know that SLI is pretty great already, IPS is wonderful, and I've heard wonderful things about 144Hz as well. You could always drop your budget down to around $2500, and pocket the difference for a gync ips panel later. Performance should be fantastic on a 24'' 144Hz panel w/ SLI'd 780s.

Here are some specific thoughts I had on your questions/build:

3. GPU: Went with the 780/ACX cooler because the bump for the 780Ti did not seem worth it (especially with no aftermarket coolers). If I decide to SLI (a year from now let's say), will I be able to pick up another version of this exact card?

For 3k, on a primary gaming machine, a single 780 is underkill. You have enough budget to comfortably get sli 780 Ti's. A single 780 would be in the budget sweet for a primary gaming machine looking to spend $12-1300 or so, total. But if I were getting a 780, I'd probably get the Asus one for $60 less. :awe:

4. SSD size: Is it worth it to go for the 750GB version and run all my games off the SSD? I could get a 250GB to save a lot of cash but would probably have to install games to my mechanical drive.

For primary gaming, 250 GB gives plenty of space for your OS, and a couple of games at a time. In games, the SSD won't get you any FPS really, it just might alleviate level load times. The benefit seems pretty marginal to me. It's worth having one, it's absolutely 100% worth having a modest sized SSD, but you get diminishing returns quite quickly over 250 GB. Moreover, the EVO is a fine SSD, but it is presently a little over priced compared with the Seagate 600 240 GB series.

Also, with regards to storage, something is up with that WD Black. That is simply too much money for a 2 TB mechanical drive. You can get an identically sized Seagate for <$100.

Brand preference: I have the original cosmos and love it. I felt like it might be worth it to spend extra on the cosmos II case.

The Cosmos makes sense if you're quad-crossfireing, or quad-sli'ing and you need 20 HDDs or something. It seems like overkill for the components you've picked out. The Carbide 500R is an excellent, roomy case for 1/4 of the price. Money saved that can be funneled back into your primary performance components: The GPUs.

 

[Aithos]

I built a similar machine recently and used a lot of the same parts you're looking at, I would definitely be looking at at least a 780ti (or two) or two 780 classified from EVGA. Which motherboard you go with largely depends on whether you intend to overclock or not, the Asus Maximus VI Formula is a great overclocking board (it's what I went with) but you can definitely get a Maximus VI Hero for $100 less and still get most of the features (and it's ok for overclocking, just not amazing).

I also agree on the SSD, no reason to go over 250gb since that will cover you for OS and games easily. I got by on my 120gb, but I chose a 256gb for this build instead of doing 512 or raid 0. I like WD HDDs myself so I went with the one you were looking at, I paid the premium price for brand loyalty because I've never had a WD drive die on me (knock on wood).

I also strongly recommend the Corsair 750d case, it's got tons of room to build in, good airflow (I would replace the case fans) and was super easy to cable manage. I don't think there is much else to say that hasn't been said already, but if you have specific questions I'd be happy to address them.

 

[mfenn]

I agree with Essence, but I also want to comment on this.

2. Monitor: I really wanted to go with a 27 inch 1440p IPS monitor but didn't know if I could justify it. I'm debating waiting until g-sync is available next year and then using this monitor (the 24 inch asus) in portrait mode and picking up a new 27 inch 1440 to run in landscape. Opinions?

The monitor is the most important part of your build. Then mouse/kb then GPU third. The motherboard is way far down the list. When you look at it that way, the question isn't "can I justify this monitor?", but instead "can I justify spending $300 on a mobo when I don't have a 1440p monitor yet?"

So I guess that is a long way of saying: yes, get the 27" monitor. A basic Yamakasi goes for $375 at Newegg (less on Ebay).

 

[Braidster]

The monitor is the most important part of your build. Then mouse/kb then GPU third. The motherboard is way far down the list.

So a quality KB/Mouse is more important then a quality motherboard?

 

[Medwynd]

I don't know if it falls second, but for something you interact with for hours on end, to me, it is pretty high on the list.

 

[Torn Mind]

Gaming involves using the keyboard and/or the mouse a lot. A motherboard is much more of an either/or scenario; you either get one that's problem-free or you get one that breaks, and in most cases they are problem-free whether you're spending $70 or $200.

 

[richaron]

So a quality KB/Mouse is more important then a quality motherboard?

Errrm, yes. A lot of the time. Nubs and stat monkeys will go MOAR CPU/GPU MHz, moar GBs, or less-moar RAM latencies, etc. Once you get to a ~comfortable~ budget, what makes a bigger difference in everyday life are the devices we use most of the time: screen, sound, & input (kb/mouse). And they are better investments.

OP: looks like an awesome build but I think the SSD is too big; just not price efficient. I agree with the others, $3k for a gaming/general box means you want a better GPU setup and/or monitor.

 

[Hampster Dance]

So a quality KB/Mouse is more important then a quality motherboard?

How many times (since you built your computer) have you had to look at, hold, wear (headphones) your motherboard? Peripherals are absolutely the most important part of your daily computing experience... Who cares if you have the fastest setup alive when you are dissatisfied with the way you interface with it. I tell people all the time the best upgrade I ever had was a 1440p IPS 27 inch panel and great pair of headphones. A close second was the SSD

Edit - On a side note, both MB's referenced are great quality. Mfenn was merely stating the OP should reallocate his massive budget to address the most important parts of his build. He wasn't suggesting that he get a crap MB in place of a mouse/keyboard.

 

[mfenn]

So a quality KB/Mouse is more important then a quality motherboard?

Yes, the peripherals are more important to the overall experience that whether or not your motherboard has x16/x16 or x8/x8. By the way, nobody is saying that the OP should run out and get the cheapest ECS H81 board.

See below for more good arguments:

Gaming involves using the keyboard and/or the mouse a lot. A motherboard is much more of an either/or scenario; you either get one that's problem-free or you get one that breaks, and in most cases they are problem-free whether you're spending $70 or $200.

Errrm, yes. A lot of the time. Nubs and stat monkeys will go MOAR CPU/GPU MHz, moar GBs, or less-moar RAM latencies, etc. Once you get to a ~comfortable~ budget, what makes a bigger difference in everyday life are the devices we use most of the time: screen, sound, & input (kb/mouse). And they are better investments.

OP: looks like an awesome build but I think the SSD is too big; just not price efficient. I agree with the others, $3k for a gaming/general box means you want a better GPU setup and/or monitor.

How many times (since you built your computer) have you had to look at, hold, wear (headphones) your motherboard? Peripherals are absolutely the most important part of your daily computing experience... Who cares if you have the fastest setup alive when you are dissatisfied with the way you interface with it. I tell people all the time the best upgrade I ever had was a 1440p IPS 27 inch panel and great pair of headphones. A close second was the SSD

Edit - On a side note, both MB's referenced are great quality. Mfenn was merely stating the OP should reallocate his massive budget to address the most important parts of his build. He wasn't suggesting that he get a crap MB in place of a mouse/keyboard.

 

[Zeno50]

So I decided to go with two gtx 780s in SLI and get the 27 inch 1440p monitor based on everyone's recommendations. I'm also cutting down the SSD size. I appreciate all the help!

I noticed in Anand's review of the 780Ti that certain games (the new rome total war and company of heroes) had terrible performance with SLI set ups. What is this effect on real world gameplay? Any way around it?

I'm not completely sold on the Korean panels so I think I'm going to go with the Asus PB278Q. I was also looking at the Dell U2713HM, but it's more expensive and I've had terrible experiences with Dell support in the past - don't know if I can stomach supporting them.

 

[Essence_of_War]

The Asus is a fine monitor, I think you'll be very happy with it.

From the looks of the Anandtech review, it sounds like the game engine doesn't support alternate frame rendering out of the box, which is sort of a prerequisite for SLI/Xfire to work. I would hope that the developers fix this with a patch, but as this sounds like an engine (rather than driver) problem, my expectations would be low.

Are those games very important to you?

 

[Aithos]

LOL at the people saying Keyboard and Mouse are the most important part...

Come on. Here's the deal: the best keyboard and mouse is a completely subjective decision, the best motherboards are largely related to what you're doing with your system and what features you need. Also, the price of even high end keyboards/mice are nowhere near the same price as a good motherboard, so all things being equal you are much better off using a shitty cheap keyboard and mouse for a while and going with a good motherboard.

You can easily replace a $5 dollar mouse AT ANY TIME. You can't easily replace a bad motherboard decision without taking apart your entire system, reinstalling all your hardware and then re-routing all your cables again. Not to mention, the real differences between a high end "gaming" mouse and a basic intellimouse are completely negligable and mostly preference. A rubber dome keyboard isn't much worse for gaming than a mechanical keyboard for $150, unless you're at the peak of competitive gaming most people wouldn't even care. It's all feel and preference.

All that being said, I think you made a good choice on the monitor. That Asus is one of the few without awful input lag IIRC and aside from the Korean panels is one of the only 1440p I'd consider. Good choice on the SSD too and the 780s also, that's exactly what I would have done in your place with your budget.

 

[Hampster Dance]

LOL at the people saying Keyboard and Mouse are the most important part...

Come on. Here's the deal: the best keyboard and mouse is a completely subjective decision, the best motherboards are largely related to what you're doing with your system and what features you need. Also, the price of even high end keyboards/mice are nowhere near the same price as a good motherboard, so all things being equal you are much better off using a shitty cheap keyboard and mouse for a while and going with a good motherboard.

You can easily replace a $5 dollar mouse AT ANY TIME. You can't easily replace a bad motherboard decision without taking apart your entire system, reinstalling all your hardware and then re-routing all your cables again. Not to mention, the real differences between a high end "gaming" mouse and a basic intellimouse are completely negligable and mostly preference. A rubber dome keyboard isn't much worse for gaming than a mechanical keyboard for $150, unless you're at the peak of competitive gaming most people wouldn't even care. It's all feel and preference.

All that being said, I think you made a good choice on the monitor. That Asus is one of the few without awful input lag IIRC and aside from the Korean panels is one of the only 1440p I'd consider. Good choice on the SSD too and the 780s also, that's exactly what I would have done in your place with your budget.

I think you missed the point. No one here told him to get a cheapo motherboard. They just suggested instead of spending $350 on a MB he could spend ~$200 and upgrade his peripherals.

 

[Torn Mind]

LOL at the people saying Keyboard and Mouse are the most important part...

Come on. Here's the deal: the best keyboard and mouse is a completely subjective decision, the best motherboards are largely related to what you're doing with your system and what features you need. Also, the price of even high end keyboards/mice are nowhere near the same price as a good motherboard, so all things being equal you are much better off using a shitty cheap keyboard and mouse for a while and going with a good motherboard.

If contingency-proofing is an issue, then that too does not require something overly expensive in most cases.

For most people then, the "best" motherboards according to your standards of "features and what you do" then the H87 Fatal1ty board by Asrock for $100 or, for those who need overclocking and/or SLI/CrossfireX, the Asrock Z87 Extreme4.

The only mistake one can regret for choosing something less feature-full as those boards are not having enough USB 3.0 ports, the right amount of PCIe and/PCI expansion slots, max RAM supported, Digital S/PDIF, not having enough SATA 6.0 Gbps ports, missing out on the Intel LAN controller, or having a worse hardware audio decoder, etc. Out of all these features, the Intel LAN is the only one that may play a significant factor if gaming online in something the Those boards are plenty enough for gaming/general productivity rig the OP wants.

 

[mfenn]

LOL at the people saying Keyboard and Mouse are the most important part...

Second most important after monitor, get it right!

Come on. Here's the deal: the best keyboard and mouse is a completely subjective decision, the best motherboards are largely related to what you're doing with your system and what features you need. Also, the price of even high end keyboards/mice are nowhere near the same price as a good motherboard, so all things being equal you are much better off using a shitty cheap keyboard and mouse for a while and going with a good motherboard.

You can easily replace a $5 dollar mouse AT ANY TIME. You can't easily replace a bad motherboard decision without taking apart your entire system, reinstalling all your hardware and then re-routing all your cables again. Not to mention, the real differences between a high end "gaming" mouse and a basic intellimouse are completely negligable and mostly preference. A rubber dome keyboard isn't much worse for gaming than a mechanical keyboard for $150, unless you're at the peak of competitive gaming most people wouldn't even care. It's all feel and preference

I think you're reading things into my post that I simply did not say. I did not say "You should spend more money on a keyboard and mouse than a motherboard". I said, "The monitor is the most important part of your build. Then mouse/kb then GPU third. The motherboard is way far down the list." and "Yes, the peripherals are more important to the overall experience that whether or not your motherboard has x16/x16 or x8/x8."

If you can spend $25 on a keyboard and mouse combined and get the subjectively best keyboard and mouse for you, then great, you're done. But you should figure that out and allocate budget before you allocate budget to the mobo, even if you end up spending more on the mobo. The peripherals are absolutely a higher priority than the motherboard when it comes to the overall quality of experience.

 

[mfenn]

I noticed in Anand's review of the 780Ti that certain games (the new rome total war and company of heroes) had terrible performance with SLI set ups. What is this effect on real world gameplay? Any way around it?

It's only very rarely than enabling SLI on a game that doesn't support it actually noticeably reduces framerates. The framerate is for all intents and purposes the same whether or not there is one card or two. What you see in reviews is measurement error and run-to-run variance.

So yeah, it does suck that not all games support SLI, which is why it is not recommended with anything but high-end cards that can perform acceptably on their own. But it should not be actively worse than only running a single card.

 

[Davidjohn]

Yes rubber dome keyboard is not much preferred for gaming. When the rubber dome membrane is pressed, the game key is pressed along with it. These keyboards are cheap and available at less than $5. When the rubber dome membrane gets old, it will difficult in working in these types of keyboards. Mechanic keyboards works great when compared to rubber dome type ones.