Build Help: Gaming, Streaming, Multitasking

Hello everyone, I thought I had everything figured out, but after reading for the past few hours and only having minimal knowledge about hardware I thought it'd be a good idea to get some opinions. I have a budget of $2500, not looking to go over that by any more than a few bucks.

I need a gaming rig that is going to allow me to play any game on the market on high-ultra settings for a few years to come. Games that I am looking to play on PC would be World of Warcraft, Diablo III, LoL, Elder Scrolls series (including online), Minecraft, numerous FPS games, and basically anything else I find on Steam...I play e v e r y t h i n g. I play a mix between console and PC, but when I play PC I don't want to be disappointed with a laggy or low resolution experience...duh.

I'm going to be running a dual monitor setup because I am looking to start streaming on Twitch. I am not interested in gaming on 2 monitors, just gaming on one, and using my 2nd to keep tabs on whatever else I happen to be doing in the background. I will be using two 23 inch monitors. (ASUS VX238H 23-Inch Screen LED-lit Monitor) Another important note is I will sadly have to be connected to Wi-Fi. The setup is going upstairs and unless I decide to relocate my modem...which I may I would like the capabilities of Wi-Fi. Was thinking the PCI card...?

I'm primarily looking at the Apollo. I love the styling overall and what I have previously built fit my budget. Though, I had dabbled with the Velox, but I'm just really leaning towards the Apollo. I'm 100% going to be running Windows 7, I am disgusted with 8...I'm looking to take advantage of the current deal of up to $200 off a purchase, free shipping, and the 4 year warranty. The build I posted below is at $2600, but with $75 off I will be right where I want.


Configuration Code: 1146680

Specifications:

Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Digital Storm Apollo
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 4790K 4.0 GHz (Codename Devils Canyon) (Unlocked CPU) (Quad Core)
Motherboard: ASUS SABERTOOTH Z97 MARK2 (Intel Z97 Chipset) (Military-Grade TUF Components)
System Memory: 16GB DDR3 2133MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 750W Corsair CX750M
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Optical Drive: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x)
Storage Set 1: 1x SSD (250GB Samsung 850 EVO)
Storage Set 2: 1x Storage (1TB Seagate)
Storage Set 3: - No Thanks
RAID Config: - No Thanks
RAID Card: - No Thanks
Internet Access: Wireless PCI-E ASUS PCE-N53 (Dual Band Performance) (Supports 802.11n/g/b)
Graphics Card(s): 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 4GB (Includes PhysX)
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
HPC Processor: - No Thanks
Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 2: Digital Storm Vortex 120mm Radiator Liquid CPU Cooler (High-Performance Edition)
H20 Tube Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected
Chassis Fans: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: Remote Controlled LED Lighting System (Multiple color options and lighting effects)
Airflow Control: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
LaserMark: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: Stage 1: Overclock CPU 4.0GHz to 4.4GHz
Boost Graphics Card(s): - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory
Boost OS: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition)

Hi misstwiztd,

You can get the 750 Super Nova power supply for $30. That would be a better choice.

If I wanted to use Wi-Fi I would buy a AC series PCI card. That is the latest generation and operates at a much higher speed than an N router. Even if you don't have an AC router the AC PCI card is backward compatible with an N router. Later on you can upgrade to an AC router and get the much better speed. Look at the Asus PCE-AC68.

Frank



Table from Asus.

Edited by FrankW - 10 Feb 2015 at 2:28pm

The 128GB SSD is nice but not enough storage for a lot of games, pics, videos etc so what I did was partition my 1Tb HDD to two parts (operational and storage). On the operational partition I put folders matching the main folders on the SSD.

Programs 2, downloads 2, documents 2, music 2, pictures 2, and a couple of my own, like I always have an EXE folder that I download install files to so I keep the actual downloads folder not so messy. I put one EXE folder on my desktop and EXE 2 on drive E (personal preference but works well). I have had no problems running programs like games, Ccleaner, malwarebytes etc from Programs 2 on drive E.

Drive C contains the OS and major programs like anti-virus and programs that actually need to be in conjunction with windows like sound and video etc. With this set-up I still have about 34Gb on the SSD and nearly 70 GB installed on the HDD and more coming. I will probably end up with about 350Gb on the HDD when I transfer files from my other 2 computers. (been lazy about that because I am gaming too much. :-) )

Just something to consider.

asus rampage v extreme
i7-5960x oveclock 5Ghz
4 way titan black overclock 1200 Mhz
64gb ram ddr4 corsair dominator platinum 3300Mhz
8x samsung 850 pro 256gb ssd

Hi misstwiztd.....  That looks like an excellent build to me.       The biggest difference between this mobo and the Sabertooth you had initially selected, is that the Sabertooth  is a full size mobo and allows for sli, 2x graphics card and has a longer warranty, 5 years vs 3 years I believe.  Other than that, go for it.

I don't have Windows 8 so others can comment.  

Good luck and stay in touch.


Edited by bprat22 - 04 Mar 2015 at 12:03pm

Woo! You guys are getting me all excited for this PC.

Thanks @bprat22 for the clarification on the motherboard, I don't think I will be looking to upgrade to SLI on this rig, maybe in 5 years I'll get a new rig and tango with dual, for now a single card is gonna do some pretty decent work for me!

@Pacesetter So, are you saying it may be worth getting Windows 8, or I'll be good with Windows 7? My fiance has Windows 8 on his laptop and it has been....a pain..but I doubt I'm really gonna purchase another OS after this one, so I want to make sure I choose wisely! Sorry if I didn't follow your response well!

THANKS for responding so QUICKLY, this community is so reliable -- I'm happy to soon be an official part of it!

   We love pics.

Haha, perfect @bprat22 I love taking them!

Ohhh, @Pacesetter I see what you're saying to me now! Haha, I will think about this and hopefully make up my mind by Friday! It's only 52 bucks extra for Win. 7 Pro...but 8 is free...but I guess when I'm spending 2500-2600...what is an extra 50 difference gonna make? Again, THANK YOU!

@FrankW Then I think I may choose Win 7 Pro and work with that for as long as possible. :D Thanks!

Edited by bprat22 - 05 Mar 2015 at 9:30am

Ha!!   

Too cool!   Can't wait for your reactions when you get it plugged in and try it!

DS does all the tweaking for you.    Just plug it in and GO.  

Some use Geforce Experience to tweak each game for optimal settings  and some like myself just do it myself if needed.


This will sound basic, but it does come up with some complaining of the monitor not working......Make sure you plug the monitor cable into the graphics card below the rear fan and not the motherboard's video ports next to the fan.

Have fun.



Edited by bprat22 - 06 Mar 2015 at 8:10am

Originally posted by misstwiztd @FrankW Then I think I may choose Win 7 Pro and work with that for as long as possible. :D Thanks!

Hi misstwiztd,

That sounds good. If you do decide to upgrade to Win 10 the Free upgrade will only be available for one year after the release date. Only Win 10 will have DirectX 12 graphics API. It seems that Win 10 may be good for gamers.   

Frank

Woohooo,... Badge looks good there! (and you're welcome, of course!)

Yes, these machines are custom built but like bprat says, DS does all the tweaking... that's their guarantee. You might have to run some updates but that's easy. Like he says, "Just plug it in and GO."

Yes, both monitors to the GPU. You'll have plenty of slots to choose from as long as you're not running VGA (yes, I'm old).

Enjoy your machine and we're really looking forward to an artist's perspective of the Apollo.

Oh yea... and you can play GAMES, TOO!!!   

@FrankW I went with Win7 Pro, so I'll use it for the year and maybe upgrade for free, not sure really.

Thanks, @Clay. Okay, @Snaike REALLY good to know! Can't wait to get those two monitor hooked up and turn this thing on.....has it been 10-15 business days yet???! I'll try and see what kind of cool shots I can manage. :)

As for naming her...I will, it will hit me within the first week or two. When I bought my Genesis Coupe 3 years ago I was able to name her within the first month! I'll let you know what I come up with! :D



Edited by misstwiztd - 06 Mar 2015 at 1:15pm

Originally posted by Dwik30 Welcome to the Apollo family, your gonna have to light her up green and post some pics :)

Now you're gonna get Snaike all antsy

Originally posted by misstwiztd I went with Win7 Pro, so I'll use it for the year and maybe upgrade for free, not sure really.

I've been using W10 Technical Preview for a while now and have liked it. Much more similar to Windows7 than Windows 8 in the way you interface with the various parts of the system. I only temporarily did not have the Start Menu after one of the updates, but that has been fixed and things like that are to be expected in early trials.

Edited by  - 06 Mar 2015 at 7:03pm

Originally posted by  Originally posted by Dwik30 Welcome to the Apollo family, your gonna have to light her up green and post some pics :) Now you're gonna get Snaike all antsy Originally posted by misstwiztd I went with Win7 Pro, so I'll use it for the year and maybe upgrade for free, not sure really. I've been using W10 Technical Preview for a while now and have liked it. Much more similar to Windows7 than Windows 8 in the way you interface with the various parts of the system. I only temporarily did not have the Start Menu after one of the updates, but that has been fixed and things like that are to be expected in early trials.

Well, that is good to hear. I fell in love with Windows 7, I felt like they finally got it right. It ran great, felt comfortable, and it wasn't over complicated...then...Windows 8 came out and it was in a totally OPPOSITE direction..and I can't say I enjoyed it at all..I'd choose XP over 8 any day! Too much going on, I log on my computer for my work and my gaming, my OS doesn't need all that "fluff" and tile crap! Lol...