Hardware Building the most powerfull PC I can for gaming

[ilman]

First PC build here, just pointing that out before anyone asks.
So, I've been saving up for quite some time now and want to build a PC that will run extremely smooth and will play all games at Max settings for as long as possible. That's my main goal with this PC.
My current, unfinished build can be seen here.

Please tell me if there's anything wrong with it and/or if I should change anything to make it cheaper(I know an i7 isn't needed for gaming, but I will do some video editing, so there's that). Also, can cheaper video cards in SLI output a better performance than the GTX 790? Just curious.


P.S. If I need anything else that I haven't added there, please let me know.


All help is much appreciated.

 

[darcangel]

Sli and CrossFire can give a bigger boost on some games, but never a 100% boost, A game needs to be compatibly and most are not, so you will be stuck as 15% boost at best on a lot of games.( but some times is worth and better than a single 790)
And it will generate a lot of heat A LOT!!! and you will need a better cooling system.

You can Upgrade the GPU to a 790ti, it already have a overclock and is safer if you dont know how to do one.

Your Motherboard is cool, but a one with easier overclock can help you gaming at maximum quality lo last longer like the "Maximus Vi Extreme" looks way cooler and have a one botton overclock.

and what tower you are buying? a gamer Pc needs a good tower, a full tower with a lot of fans and a good air flow, or even the best gpu wont work well.
Overheating is the evil of all PCgamer
A lot of ppl buys expensive hardware but forgot to buy a good tower w; a good cooling system.

 

[Originality]

For getting such a high end system... why do you cut yourself short with the quality of RAM? And for that matter, why Ivy Bridge when Haswell does not cost anything more and has better memory management?
Also, as mentioned, gaming generally will not benefit from multi-GPU setups. Certain games will get a boost, but it is always more cost effective to get a single graphics card than two in SLI/CrossFire. Also, multi-GPU setups create microstuttering which takes 3 GPUs to start to even it out.

Anyway, looks like a decent system. I don't see any triple/4K monitors so the GTX 780 will max any game currently out (don't know about Watchdogs though...).
CM Hyper 212 Evo Cooling is fairly good (not the best, but based on information available it doesn't seem you need the best). Also the NZXT Phantom White is a decent tower - it was on the shortlist of tower choices in the system I built a couple weeks ago. Cooling intake fans over the GPU and exhaust fans at the CPU means the main parts are covered, although it looks like the HDD cage has no cooling which is a little worrying. HDDs aren't the hottest parts in the system, but they'll suffer from heat too (heat = vibration = wear and tear = damage).

I'll give any help needed, although I can only go based on the information you provide. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. If you want any suggestions, make sure to tell us in as much detail as you can what you want, what you need, and how much you can afford to get what you want.
EDIT: In reference to the title, you have a long way to go to get "the most powerful PC" you can get. But it really depends on how much you're willing to spend.... that and diminishing returns...

 

[ilman]

For getting such a high end system... why do you cut yourself short with the quality of RAM? And for that matter, why Ivy Bridge when Haswell does not cost anything more and has better memory management?
Also, as mentioned, gaming generally will not benefit from multi-GPU setups. Certain games will get a boost, but it is always more cost effective to get a single graphics card than two in SLI/CrossFire. Also, multi-GPU setups create microstuttering which takes 3 GPUs to start to even it out.

Anyway, looks like a decent system. I don't see any triple/4K monitors so the GTX 780 will max any game currently out (don't know about Watchdogs though...).
CM Hyper 212 Evo Cooling is fairly good (not the best, but based on information available it doesn't seem you need the best). Also the NZXT Phantom White is a decent tower - it was on the shortlist of tower choices in the system I built a couple weeks ago. Cooling intake fans over the GPU and exhaust fans at the CPU means the main parts are covered, although it looks like the HDD cage has no cooling which is a little worrying. HDDs aren't the hottest parts in the system, but they'll suffer from heat too (heat = vibration = wear and tear = damage).

I'll give any help needed, although I can only go based on the information you provide. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. If you want any suggestions, make sure to tell us in as much detail as you can what you want, what you need, and how much you can afford to get what you want.
EDIT: In reference to the title, you have a long way to go to get "the most powerful PC" you can get. But it really depends on how much you're willing to spend.... that and diminishing returns...

Yeah, I already swapped the Ivy Bridge for a Haswell (dumb mistake on my end) and found a friend selling higher quality RAM (something along the lines of this, offered it for 40 quid). At most I'll be using two monitors (second one being fairly low-res(720p), but that's only for maps/multitasking , so I don't need anything better than that).

Can you recommend me another case, if that one in my build is going to wear the HDD out. I'm going to need to keep it cool, as I am planning on doing recordings with DXtory/Fraps, which needs my HDD to be at top shape.
Of course, I want it to be at least a bit flashy and awesome-looking, like the one I have in my build, and I want one with the best possible cooling. Also, shipping to the UK would be nice.

And I know about the title and that there is always a more powerful PC, but I can't edit it, so meh...

 

[LuckySteves]

I appreciate the thread, and I'm looking forward to seeing the result.

Please post the final build and tell us how it runs when (if) you get it.

 

[Originality]

Before I go dig up my shortlist of good towers for high end PCs, what do you need? You already said cooling, but what about aesthetics, noise, size, costs and extras?
Quiet towers tend to have worse cooling, but the best cooling comes from noisy monsters like my Antec 1200 v1.
Size affects how big a graphics card you can fit in and how many drive bays you get.
Towers come in many styles, some more aesthetically pleasing than others, and some with more extras (USB3 ports, fan controllers, LEDs, etc) than others.
There's also the question of compatibility with CLC loops for the CPU, but since you opted for air cooling, then it shouldn't matter much.
EDIT: Looking through my shortlist, noticed the Corsair Obsidian 900D popping up. To quote my favourite review site, "it has overkill written all over it".

 

[BMinkie]

http://www.logicalincrements.com/

 

[Hydrazine]

GTX 780? You filthy casual! If you want the most powerful PC you can, you have to use GTX 780 Ti in SLI. Three way and up doesn't scale well, so just dual 780 Ti. Also use custom water cooling loop on everything. That'll get you the most powerful PC.

 

[Originality]

How can you call someone a casual and limit yourself to only two GPUs? And how can you call two 780s water cooled "the most powerful PC"?
There's a difference between picking parts as if you're trying to make it the most expensive gaming machine in the world, and picking parts to suit the needs of the person. If you're only 1080p gaming, you don't need more than a 770. If you're trying to max out grimy detail in modern shooters, then a 780 might be more suitable. If you're pushing for max detail on a 4K monitor, then even a Titan Black (on its own) isn't enough for 60fps. If you really want the most powerful PC, you'd probably need 3 or 4 Titan Blacks in SLI with custom liquid (not water) cooling. I don't even remember if this current generation has any 7/8 slot motherboards to fit that many dual-slot graphics cards.
....oh wait, was that meant to be humour?

 

[The Real Jdbye]

First PC build here, just pointing that out before anyone asks.
So, I've been saving up for quite some time now and want to build a PC that will run extremely smooth and will play all games at Max settings for as long as possible. That's my main goal with this PC.
My current, unfinished build can be seen here.

Please tell me if there's anything wrong with it and/or if I should change anything to make it cheaper(I know an i7 isn't needed for gaming, but I will do some video editing, so there's that). Also, can cheaper video cards in SLI output a better performance than the GTX 790? Just curious.


P.S. If I need anything else that I haven't added there, please let me know.


All help is much appreciated.

I would suggest not using the most expensive and high-end parts you can find. No matter how much you spend on a PC, in two years your hardware will be outdated and similar hardware can be obtained much cheaper.
That's why it's better to get high-end parts without overpaying just to get the best of the best, you will save lots of money which you can spend on a PC upgrade in a couple of years and end up with a better PC in the end, and you'll still be able to run games at max. Though honestly some games are simply not viable to run at max on today's hardware.

That link BMinkie posted seems like a decent reference. You can see that the price more than doubles between "Exceptional" and "Monstrous", but what are the chances you will have any use for that extra power within the next year or two? Best save that money and upgrade later on instead. I wouldn't go any higher than Exceptional or maybe Enthusiast on that list.

 

[jonthedit]

I would wait on the processor TBH. Although at the same time no breakthroughs have occurred in the processor market.
I suggest an i5 3570K [they can be found for $50]

 

[CompassNorth]

What kind of video editing are you going to do?

 

[Ericthegreat]

Yeah, I already swapped the Ivy Bridge for a Haswell (dumb mistake on my end) and found a friend selling higher quality RAM (something along the lines of this, offered it for 40 quid). At most I'll be using two monitors (second one being fairly low-res(720p), but that's only for maps/multitasking , so I don't need anything better than that).

Can you recommend me another case, if that one in my build is going to wear the HDD out. I'm going to need to keep it cool, as I am planning on doing recordings with DXtory/Fraps, which needs my HDD to be at top shape.
Of course, I want it to be at least a bit flashy and awesome-looking, like the one I have in my build, and I want one with the best possible cooling. Also, shipping to the UK would be nice.

And I know about the title and that there is always a more powerful PC, but I can't edit it, so meh...

Make sure you run memtest on that ram overnight if you have a way to.

 

[Fishaman P]

The CPU cooler may be slightly inadequate. A Corsair H100i cooler or something of similar caliber should suffice.
Other than that, nothing jumped out at me, which is quite unusual for builds here.

 

[Originality]

The CPU cooler may be slightly inadequate. A Corsair H100i cooler or something of similar caliber should suffice.
Other than that, nothing jumped out at me, which is quite unusual for builds here.

A H100i would be overkill for a LGA115x system, even if he overclocks. All he needs is any non-stock air cooler and he'll be fine.

Also, there's not really much point in waiting for the next processor generation. In a few months we'll see Haswell Refresh (100Mhz clock increase across the range, nothing new) and Intel Series 9 motherboards (introducing M.2 and Sata Express to prepare for the next generation of SSDs), and we will have to wait another year for Broadwell (which will NOT have DDR4 - that's slated for servers only at this point of time).

 

[Fishaman P]

A H100i would be overkill for a LGA115x system, even if he overclocks. All he needs is any non-stock air cooler and he'll be fine.

In total cooling capacity, yes, it's a little overkill.
I just assumed that the OP wouldn't want the rig to sound like an airplane when gaming.
I personally can't stand the noise my PC makes (on the floor) if the radiator fan is any higher than 1200RPM.

 

[ilman]

In total cooling capacity, yes, it's a little overkill.
I just assumed that the OP wouldn't want the rig to sound like an airplane when gaming.
I personally can't stand the noise my PC makes (on the floor) if the radiator fan is any higher than 1200RPM.

Nah, I have good noise-cancelling headphones, so I can stand noise.

Make sure you run memtest on that ram overnight if you have a way to.

Saw the results on my friend's computer. They seemed good to me.

What kind of video editing are you going to do?

Some Sony Vegas, some 3D animation (3DS Max and Maya), as well. Nothing my current laptop (specs in my sig) can't do without a lot of loading.

I would wait on the processor TBH. Although at the same time no breakthroughs have occurred in the processor market.
I suggest an i5 3570K [they can be found for $50]

I know the i5 can be good for gaming, but it doesn't do multi-tasking as well as the i7. And I'm one of those people that always has at least 40 tabs in Chrome open + a window of PhotoShop + maybe Osu! for music and other kinda lightweight processes that would eat up an i5's performance.

The Real Jdbye I am fully aware of that, which is why I'm not going for a GTX Titan. I would if that wasn't the case. I think this build should last me a good 5 years without a need to upgrade.

Welp, in a few days I'll be ordering everything. Thanks for all the help you've posted, really appreciate it.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

Nah, I have good noise-cancelling headphones, so I can stand noise.



Saw the results on my friend's computer. They seemed good to me.



Some Sony Vegas, some 3D animation (3DS Max and Maya), as well. Nothing my current laptop (specs in my sig) can't do without a lot of loading.



I know the i5 can be good for gaming, but it doesn't do multi-tasking as well as the i7. And I'm one of those people that always has at least 40 tabs in Chrome open + a window of PhotoShop + maybe Osu! for music and other kinda lightweight processes that would eat up an i5's performance.

The Real Jdbye I am fully aware of that, which is why I'm not going for a GTX Titan. I would if that wasn't the case. I think this build should last me a good 5 years without a need to upgrade.

Welp, in a few days I'll be ordering everything. Thanks for all the help you've posted, really appreciate it.

Just had a look at your build, must've missed the link the first time around. Looks pretty beefy, and it's not overpriced. Noctua make some great coolers, I have one of those myself.
I'm not so sure about that thermal paste though. From the product page, "Precaution: Arctic Silver Thermal Adhesive is a permanent adhesive. Components you attach with Arctic Silver Thermal Adhesive will stay attached forever.". That's not something I'd want on a normally removable computer part.

 

[naddel81]

I would wait on the processor TBH. Although at the same time no breakthroughs have occurred in the processor market.
I suggest an i5 3570K [they can be found for $50]

I'd really like to know where to get an 3570k for 50 bucks. here they cost about 100 at least!

 

[Fishaman P]

I'd really like to know where to get an 3570k for 50 bucks. here they cost about 100 at least!

What the hell? Even finding it for under $200 is rare!