Gaming Config Help

Hi IHateKate....   Both builds look great and will give almost identical performance.   The biggest difference, the Slade 550D case vs the Apollo 760t case, is a lot of personal preference.   The 550D will run quieter due to the acoustic panels on the side and top to muffle the sound.   The 760T has more of the eye candy look and will have a bit better airflow due to the larger front fans and being more open., like the top.  Both, especially with a single video card , will work great.  Of course, the 550d can have fans added if the acoustic panels are removed for any future needs.

The i5-47690k chip is all gaming needs for the most part, but the i7-4790k you picked with its hyperthreading will help with a second monitor doing your other tasks.  Good pick.

The gtx 970 is a better bang for your buck, but the gtx 980 does give a 15%, give or take, performance boost in fps over the 970.    If you'll be sticking with a single card then the 980 with its double digit frames per second edge will come in handy.   If you thought about a second card in sli, I'd stay with the 970.

Change the Seagate HDD to the Western Digital Black for $19.  A better drive with longer warranty. 

The other difference between the builds was the psu.  I'm not sure what EVGA 750w psu they use, Gold, Bronze, etc.  but they generally have a much better warranty than the Corsair 750 offered. 

Looks good and hope this helps.

EDIT...  From other discussions, I believe the 850 Pro SSD for a little more is the way to go. 

My preference, just me,  would be the Apollo with the drive changes, HDD and SSD,  and the EVGA 750w SuperNova.    I like a little something to look at with lights fans, etc in between heavy shooting.  



Edited by bprat22 - 14 Apr 2015 at 10:45am

Originally posted by Pacesetter I'll echo what Bprat said. Hate it when someone is more perfect than me, but ya just can't argue with perfection.

   Its really stressful for us, being so perfect.   

The first card with Physx is just a marketing designation for that card since they all support Physx, which is software for much more realistic real world rendering of objects.

The Strix vs EVGA ACX coolers are custom coolers and custom circuit boards. There's reference cards that are all the same except manufacturers label and then the custom cards with each manufacturers personal touch.   

Both EVGA and ASUS have excellent reputations and can be just a personal choice.   I believe the Asus Strix is clocked a little higher.   They also, the Strix and ACX 2.0, allow the cooling fans to remain off until their temps hit about 60c.    Makes for a quieter rig since the video card fans can be the noisiest part of a gamin rig.

Either of the ones you listed will game real nice. The extra money is the added features.

A better description would be to Google the Strix and Evga ACX and read all the differences.

The 1x and 2x is just single vs sli.

Hope this helps.

Edited by bprat22 - 15 Apr 2015 at 3:28am

My pleasure.

Not sure which I would pick,so good luck.   I like the reference single fan cards since they exit all the heat out the back and not into the case. The dual fan cards dump heat into the case, just there design kicking the heat out the sides. But, the 0 rpm on lower stress and their other features are tempting with Strix, ACX, especially with the 970 being so low in heat compared to past generations. Tough call.