By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close
Slimebeast on 24 June 2016
Edit Thread
Scisca said:
Slimebeast said:

Cool. Is this your first PC you built by yourself?

LED lights, watercooling, flashy looking RAM-sticks... sounds like you've put some money into this PC build. So naturally comes the question about GPU choice. With your budget, shouldn't you be aiming for the $500 price class?

It would be fun to hear how you reason about this, about budget, how much extra it's worth spending on "bling", and about balancing a system.

Yeah, it was my first PC built ever

It did cost a bit, but I've spent some time hunting for deals, so it was quite cheaper than MSRP for these parts

My reasoning was like this: I wanted a good CPU that will last for some time, so I went with the best i5 (i5 6600k), since I don't think I'd benefit from an i7 (I don't edit graphics), so it's not worth the extra money. I bought a gaming motherboard from the Republic of Gamers ASUS line, since gaming boards are of higher quality than regular boards, have better audio, USB 3.1 type A and C and a lot of cool options (I got a couple games, a gaming mouse and 40 Euro payback!) that can help you tremendously while overclocking - I recommend gaming MoBos and I love the ASUS interface.

Since I knew I wanted to wait for Polaris, I had to use the iGPU, so I went with very fast (and cool looking) 2x8GB DDR4 G.Skill Trident Z 3000Mhz CL15 (I got fast RAM, cause the iGPU uses it as VRAM, thus faster RAM makes a difference. I can expand it to 32GB in the future if that's needed). I also went with watercooling, since I don't like a huge, heavy aircoolers hanging in a case - it may even damage the motherboard after all (especially when moving the computer and I am about to move), and I wanted to OC my CPU, since I don't have a GPU yet. I got the Corsair H110i with a 25 Euro rebate and I'm happy I fitted it with the new best fans from Noctua (NF-A14 Industrial 2000 RPM PWM), so that I get great cooling and great temps. I got a modular 850W platinum rank power supply from Super Flower - the company in Taiwan that manufactures the award winning power supplies for EVGA, but since it's not branded as EVGA, they were A LOT cheaper I got a fast 250 GB SSD from Good RAM - the only company that manufactures RAM and storage in Europe instead of Asia and a 3 TB Seagate 7200 RPM HDD for storage. I put it all into a stylish, but conservative case (I'm no longer a teen, so cosmic style isn't for me ) and I went with the Cooler Master Mastercase 5 Pro - awesome case, it allows me to put 6 140 mm fans and have absolutely insane air circulation. Since it's modular, CM plans to release new fronts with new USB formats and even HDMI-out for VR, so it can be connected here instead of the back of the PC! Awesome case, I recommend it, it looks great.

I've decided I wanted an ultrawide monitor with FreeSync (screw G-Sync!). Since these monitors are developing very fast, almost every month a new one hits the market and takes the top spot, but none looks like it will keep the crown for long, I've decided to go for a cheaper monitor till manufacturers reach the ultimate goal in monitors - a curved 34" 144Hz Ultrawide U4K (resolution 5120x2160p) IPS with FreeSync. Till that happens, I'm rocking a 29" IPS 75Hz 2560x1080p FreeSync monitor from LG and I love it. Ultrawide is totally worth it! Once you get it, there's no turning back. I can't imagine using a 16:9 monitor anymore.

Now, why am I thinking about the RX 480 and not something more? I have a FreeSync monitor, so AMD is natural. It seems that RX 480 will be performing almost at the levels of a 980 (maybe almost 980Ti after OC?) and that is an expensive GPU But most importantly, I have a 75Hz monitor, so I won't be seeing more than 75 fps. And since it's still only a bit more pixels than fullHD 1080p, I don't need a 1080 to get that performance even at ultra settings. I plan to change the monitor only when the one I've described above hits the market, so until then I don't need a better GPU. When I upgrade the monitor (in a year or two?), I'll upgrade the GPU and will be fine for years again Until then, all I need from my GPU is to give me 60-75 fps @ 2560x1080p @ ultra settings and I think RX 480 after OC is pretty much there. I'd rather get the RX 480X, but I don't know if it comes out. Vega will most probably be overkill for me, but we'll see.

Wow, one can feel how you enjoy this. Down to all the little details.

Very interesting to read. Thanks for all the details including your reasoning.

About cases, yes that case of yours is very nice. And mature looking. The trend of gamer cases has died off, most people think they're nerdy and "too much". I will look into a similar case when I build my next comp, important to have that window.   Is it a midi tower or bigger? I right now have this one, a NZXT phantom 410 and it already feels huge, even though it's labeled only as a miditower.




Yes, screw FreeSync! I do only AMD so it's G-sync for me.

About monitors, I'm so conflicted whether I should get a 16:9 or an ultrawide monitor next time. I'm thinking of the Acer XR341CK 34 inch curved (3440x1440 res), but I'm not sure. Like you say, new kings come up so fast and I too have that dream of 144Hz, but I'm not sure about 5120x2160 resolution, that seems very hard to run for years to come. But I'm glad that the technology is improving fast with monitors too, they're so nice nowadays. Nice to hear that you are so happy with an ultrawide. Hm...

Your GPU strat of "2560x1080p @ ultra settings" sounds pretty wise and really thought out. Perhaps correspondingly it's wise to think of Vega and a GPU that can at least match the Geforce GTX1080 if you plan on getting a 3440x1440 monitor like I do, what do you think?