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Doominator2

How good are these specs?

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I'm ordering computer parts with these specs, how good are they?

Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor

Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard

Corsair Vengeance 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory(x2)

Western Digital Caviar Blue 750GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive

MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card

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You're missing a SSD. (They're starting to get affordable, you know...) You sure you don't need one, or do you already have one?
Also, I'm a little wary of the GTX 970, since its specs are not what they say they are...

Other than that, looks good!

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It's funny how everyone freaks out about the memory thing with the 970.

Yeah, they misrepresented the way the memory works on the card,m but that doesn't change any of the performance tests which the same press were raving about when the card released. It still performs really well, and in real world situations the 3.5GB "barrier" doesn't affect anything.

The 970 is still one of the best "bang for buck" cards.

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SavageCorona said:

Not shabby but the 970 is a bit dodgy.

So I hear all this talk about the 970 and VRAM issues, will that effect the performance of new games in a negative way and could this ever be fixed through driver updates?

EDIT: Well Air Raid posted quicker than I could, but seriously I'm curious about any any negative effects of this VRAM Controversy

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What purpose are you going to use this build for? And what're the rest of the components, like the chassis and the power supply? These are equally important. Your choice of components are pretty good, and the GTX 970 is still a solid choice despite it's 3.5+0.5 GB video memory. If you're going to play at 1080p, VRAM isn't going to become an issue unless you're playing games like Shadow Of Mordor with HD Texture pack or Skyrim mods with huge textures.

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Well spec'd. Could use a SSD for OS.

romulus_ut3 said:

And what're the rest of the components, like the chassis and the power supply? These are equally important.


As long as the case fits an ATX and the PSU is 650watt it's good to go. The cheapest case you can get off the shelf nowadays has decent airflow. Unless you're planning stuff like SLI, watercooling, or need a million HDDs for pr0n because you haven't discovered the joy that is streaming sites - any modern chassis will fit the bill. Difference in temperature will be negligible.

For psu's yes more overhead puts less stress on it, for a single gpu 650 is more than sufficient. Yeah you can assburger over ratings, ICs, boards, capacitor internals and all that fun stuff. A cheap, bronze, non-modular from a decent vendor will get the job done.

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SYS said:

For psu's yes more overhead puts less stress on it, for a single gpu 650 is more than sufficient. Yeah you can assburger over ratings, ICs, boards, capacitor internals and all that fun stuff. A cheap, bronze, non-modular from a decent vendor will get the job done.

I'm no expert, but I know that being flippant about PSU quality is one of the worst mistakes of PC building. Decent vendors don't always produce decent products. And if you care about cable management, for the love of God get a modular PSU.

For the record, I have a Corsair RM650, which isn't universally praised but isn't a shoddy product either.

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Doominator2 said:

So I hear all this talk about the 970 and VRAM issues, will that effect the performance of new games in a negative way and could this ever be fixed through driver updates?

EDIT: Well Air Raid posted quicker than I could, but seriously I'm curious about any any negative effects of this VRAM Controversy


I was mostly on about how it's marketed. I wouldn't buy anything that's got false advertisements because that's disingenuous and probably illegal to some degree, but that's just me.

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Doominator2 said:

So I hear all this talk about the 970 and VRAM issues, will that effect the performance of new games in a negative way and could this ever be fixed through driver updates?

EDIT: Well Air Raid posted quicker than I could, but seriously I'm curious about any any negative effects of this VRAM Controversy


OK, the breakdown is this - The first 3.5GB of memory the 970 has to allocate is normal, highspeed VRAM. If it needs to allocate a full 4GB, the last 500MB chunk works at a lower speed. It is, however, still there. In current videogames, you will find it hard to push that 3.5GB limit. Perhaps with some modded really high res textures playing at 4K you'd run into it, but it's definitely an edge case right now.

As far as I know it cannot be fixed with software, it's an actual hardware thing.

E: also, it is not falsely marketed. It's advertised as having 4GB of memory and all of that memory is present.

It's a bit dumb that they weren't open about the way it works, but, people saying its this huge conspiracy and nvidia are evil are blowing it way out of proportion.

2nd edit: DoomUK speaks the truth regarding PSUs. Don't cheap out. You don't need a 1000W monster, but you want a good brand. These include, but are not limited to, Antec, Coolermaster, Corsair, Thermaltake and Seasonic. There are calculators like this one - http://www.coolermaster.outervision.com/ which can help you figure what kind of wattage you need. If you're not sure estimate high though.

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I need to build a new machine and you have specced something very close to what I'm thinking, except I'd like a SSD and a 2TB HDD - WD doesn't do a 2TB Blue though for some reason, so still thinking about that. I'm also going to re-use my current card and upgrade it later.

Only I'm thinking I might base around the i5 6600K now, as the price difference isn't much at all - the 4690K has refused to drop in price.

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pritch said:

I need to build a new machine and you have specced something very close to what I'm thinking, except I'd like a SSD and a 2TB HDD - WD doesn't do a 2TB Blue though for some reason, so still thinking about that. I'm also going to re-use my current card and upgrade it later.

Only I'm thinking I might base around the i5 6600K now, as the price difference isn't much at all - the 4690K has refused to drop in price.


You'll find that a lot of LGA1151 motherboards for skylake chips will only support DDR4 ram. There are a couple that support 3 and 4, but mostly you'll need to factor the extra cost of DDR4 into that equation.

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AirRaid said:

You'll find that a lot of LGA1151 motherboards for skylake chips will only support DDR4 ram. There are a couple that support 3 and 4, but mostly you'll need to factor the extra cost of DDR4 into that equation.

Yep, I can live with that. It's getting cheaper too.

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DoomUK said:

I'm no expert, but I know that being flippant about PSU quality is one of the worst mistakes of PC building. Decent vendors don't always produce decent products. And if you care about cable management, for the love of God get a modular PSU.

For the record, I have a Corsair RM650, which isn't universally praised but isn't a shoddy product either.


Oh yes, I forgot to post my Case and PSU so ya I didn't forget that.

BTW just for those who are interested this is what I'm planing to buy for PSU

Cooler Master 650W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply

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DoomUK said:

I'm no expert, but I know that being flippant about PSU quality is one of the worst mistakes of PC building. Decent vendors don't always produce decent products. And if you care about cable management, for the love of God get a modular PSU.

For the record, I have a Corsair RM650, which isn't universally praised but isn't a shoddy product either.

Nothing like zap straps and velcro tape can't fix for a non modular. The vendors take an existing product and rebrand to their spec for whatever line it falls under.

AirRaid said:

2nd edit: DoomUK speaks the truth regarding PSUs. Don't cheap out. You don't need a 1000W monster, but you want a good brand. These include, but are not limited to, Antec, Coolermaster, Corsair, Thermaltake and Seasonic. There are calculators like this one - http://www.coolermaster.outervision.com/ which can help you figure what kind of wattage you need. If you're not sure estimate high though.

970 is rated for a 140w, with a suggested 500w minimum. A 650watt bronze is plenty of headroom. The irony being most PSUs don't output the wattage they claim, hence people having to overspec/over estimate in the first place.

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SYS said:

Nothing like zap straps and velcro tape can't fix for a non modular.

Anything which makes PC building easier is a good thing, imo. I like not having to hide unused cables, while making them easily accessible in the event that I need them one day. Of course, some cases make cable management easier than others.

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You don't need to necessarily hide them all behind the tray. You can bundle up the unused real tight with velcro strap and secure them with zap strap to the bottom of the case right beside the power supply. It won't impede airflow. It will make people on pc building forums sperg-out on you about it though haha.

Semi-modular PSUs are the happy medium that have trickled into the good but affordable psu price bracket.

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Let me throw a curve ball into this thread.

Bottom or top mounted PSU? I'm really torn between the two atm (I've had both now)

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I'm not really sure it matters whether your PSU is inside the top or bottom of the case. I've had both and it doesn't really seem to make a difference.

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The only thing that really matters for is cable routing. The difference on airflow is negligible. Basically if you see a case you like with all the right features, PSU position is not really a deciding factor.

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pritch said:

Bottom or top mounted PSU? I'm really torn between the two atm (I've had both now)


Top heavy or stable base? If you are in an area which shakes much and you have a super heavy PSU at the top, then your desktop tower might just fall over.

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GhostlyDeath said:

Top heavy or stable base? If you are in an area which shakes much and you have a super heavy PSU at the top, then your desktop tower might just fall over.

Opposite problem. I built up a machine using old parts until I do my new build, into a Thermaltake bottom PSU mATX case I figure I'll re-use at some stage, but it's actually humming through the floor below...

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Maybe you can use some foam tape or weather strip to reduce vibration noise?

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