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New Velox Build

Post Date: 2015-01-15
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Sevean View Drop Down
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Posts: 5 		  Quote Sevean Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Topic: New Velox Build
    Posted: 15 Jan 2015 at 6:33pm
Hi all,

This is my first time posting on the Digital Storm forum. I'm planning to purchase a new gaming PC in the next month or so, and I was wondering if I could get some feedback. My total budget is roughly $3,000. I would like to run my games at 2560X1440. Here are the specs which I have tentatively put together:

Processor: Intel i7 4790K

Ram: 16 GB DDR 3 1600MHz

GPU: Two GTX 970's 4GB running in SLI

I know I have left out a number of components, but I was mainly hoping to get feedback on the CPU and the graphics cards. Is the i7 4790K going to be able to run at 1440 for the foreseeable future, or would I be better off investing in an i7 5820K or 5930K? I would like to buy myself at least 3-4 years. And as far as the graphics cards are concerned, is the 970 still a better investment than the 980? From what I have read, the 970 seems to give you the better bang for your buck.

Thanks in advance for your help!
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michaeljhuman View Drop Down
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Posts: 297 		  Quote michaeljhuman Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 15 Jan 2015 at 11:44pm
I will first say, I have not looked at benchmarks. But dual 970s would be my choice for SLI at a "reasonable" cost. Close to 980 performance for 400 less ( roughly, as memory serves.)

Certainly there are enough benchtests out there to determine how well dual 970s will work. IMO they look pretty good, but note even dual 980s might perform below 60fps on highest settings, 4k rez and the latest games ( look at the Hard OCP GTX 980 SLI test on Crysis 3.)

Processor is not too important for gaming. At least one test did not show an advantage with a 40 lane CPU, and processors have not changed much in single core speed for years ( games are often single threaded, and don't care about 6 core and such.)

I would spring for the EVGA PSU if that's an option. Too late I read many reviews of the Corsair used in the basic Velox builds. It's second to the bottom of the Corsair range - a bit cheap in such a pricey PC. I have a suspicion the price differential makes the upgrade worth it. Perhaps not so much for the additional 100 watts, but because the EVGA seems to use better parts ( mind you, my system is weeks away from being delivered and the Corsair might be more than adequate, but if I did it over - the EVGA 850 would be the option I would pick.)

16 GB of RAM is more than adequate. Not sure if quad channel is an option with that CPU and that board, otherwise I might point out the slightly interesting option of 32 GB in quad channel config.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents.

For comparison I did go with the Haswell 5930K. For gaming performance? No, for bench test foolishness - I have a weakness for trying to get high scores in bench tests. I also went with the 30 over the 20 just in case 40 lanes vs. 28 lanes mattered ( probably doesn't.)

And I wanted the quad channel memory setup

I went with the dual 980s, ASUS Strix. Why? High factory overclock, and what looked to be a great aircooled setup. But real world gain vs price difference is very hard to justify, so I am am not trying to justify it.

I upgraded to a 512 GB SSD. 256 is enough - but I wanted the headroom

But the price is outrageous for those upgrades. Your build is far more rational!



Edited by michaeljhuman - 15 Jan 2015 at 11:46pm
"The other day, I shot an elephant in my pajamas. What an elephant was doing in my pajamas, I will never know"
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bprat22 View Drop Down
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Posts: 20391 		  Quote bprat22 Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 16 Jan 2015 at 3:11am
The 4790k cpu is can excellent choice. The higher priced x99 chipset with the 6 and 8 core cpu with its much wider memory bandwidth isn't all that much difference for gaming right now.   Even if games continue to make better use of memory and cores, you're still good. Best   bang for your buck is what you picked.   The dual channel ram with the z97 and its 4790k does allow for 32gb ram, the x99 allows 64gb, but 16gb is plenty.

I agree with sli 970 for the money. Sli 980 is stronger if the budget allows but the 970s are close.

Also agree with going with the EVGA 850watt for another $56. Not so much for the wattage, although a little more doesn't hurt, but the warranty is 10years vs 3 years for the default 750 watt.

Hope this helps and good luck.
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bprat22 View Drop Down
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Posts: 20391 		  Quote bprat22 Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 16 Jan 2015 at 5:46am
michaeljhuman......If your build hasn't been started or isn't far along waiting for special orders, etc. , then you can change the psu without any extra build cost.  Cost of the psu of course. 

The 750 watt is good, but your 980 Strix do use 20-30 watts each more than reference, before you do any other oc'ing.  Still good with the 750, otherwise DS would let you know.

Good luck. Big%20Smile
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Sevean View Drop Down
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Posts: 5 		  Quote Sevean Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 16 Jan 2015 at 6:49am
Thanks for your replies Michael and Bprat. I think I'll stick with the original configuration, but add the EVGA PSU.

A couple more questions if you (or anyone else) are willing:

i. What motherboard would you recommend for the Velox build? I noticed that the default board does not come with SLI support.

ii. For the monitor, I was thinking of getting the ASUS PA279Q Professional Grade LCD Monitor. Have any of you had experience with this display? Most of the professional reviews which I have read say that it is not a "gaming" monitor. I tend to take that with a grain of salt, though, because I do not play professionally and don't necessarily need a 144 Hz refresh rate. I tend to stick to RPG's and the occasional FPS for fun. Alternatively, I could go with the Asus ROG SWIFT 27 inch PG278Q (G-SYCN) (144Hz Refresh) (2560 x 1440). The Asus ROG SWIFT is technically more geared to gaming, but the colors don't look at vivid as the PA279Q, and it's a TN panel. The general consensus seems to be that IPS is better?

Edited by Sevean - 16 Jan 2015 at 6:51am
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bprat22 View Drop Down
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Posts: 20391 		  Quote bprat22 Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 16 Jan 2015 at 7:09am
For the mobo, my pick would be the Z97 Sabertooth.   A nice board with top of the line caps, chokes, etc and the 5 year warranty to highlight its quality.    Most others boards have 3 years.

If you want built in WiFi, then the Pro is excellent. 

You really can't go wrong with any of them.  

Monitors I'll let other chime in.   Too many for me to keep up with.  Hahaha

Big%20Smile

I just noticed the Velox case is back ordered until the end of the month.   Cry

IPS vs TN monitors .... IPS has the best color and viewing angle and TN are supposedly faster with less lag, but I haven't heard of anyone on the forums having trouble with response time with their IPS, including me.   Until just the last few days, TN was needed for above 60hz but that is changing.   I don't recall which has the higher refresh with IPS. 


Edited by bprat22 - 16 Jan 2015 at 7:15am
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Posts: 297 		  Quote michaeljhuman Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 16 Jan 2015 at 7:37am
I think my order, in spite of being at stage 3, will be delayed on the case being not available. My current PC is good though, so I am not too impatient. I just hope they build it before the GTX 1080s ship ;) j/k about the 1080s
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Sevean View Drop Down
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Posts: 5 		  Quote Sevean Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 16 Jan 2015 at 8:54am
Yeah, I noticed that the Velox cases were back ordered, but I don't mind waiting. I wasn't planning on getting the PC for a month or so anyways. Glad to see that it's popular :) Hopefully that speaks well to its quality.

I was worried about the GTX 1080 coming out ... and debating whether or not to hold off, since the 980 will invariably become more affordable down the line. I don't think that I want to wait that long, though. Based on a cursory investigation, it appears that the GTX 1080 isn't coming out until late 2016 or early 2017. I think two 970's will keep my head above water for a while.

Thanks for the feedback on the motherboard. The Sabertooth looks like it will do the job.
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Posts: 297 		  Quote michaeljhuman Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 16 Jan 2015 at 10:12am
I was joking about the 1080s. But to be serious, the GTX 980 came out sometime in the fall. So next release of Nvidia might be summertime. Not sure when the next gen architecture would come out, but perhaps spring/summer would bring a 980 TI? No clue, but there's a lot of info out there for the dedicated to sift through

http://www.breathecast.com/articles/gtx-980-ti-release-date-specs-price-new-nvidia-graphics-card-delayed-until-2016-22931/


Edited by michaeljhuman - 16 Jan 2015 at 10:13am
"The other day, I shot an elephant in my pajamas. What an elephant was doing in my pajamas, I will never know"
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Posts: 4314 		  Quote ArkansasWoman777 Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 16 Jan 2015 at 11:30am
Even if a new graphics card comes out later this year the 970s and the 980s will still be pretty good cards and will probably be cheaper
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Sevean View Drop Down
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Posts: 5 		  Quote Sevean Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 16 Jan 2015 at 1:06pm
Completed the build, incorporating the suggestions that you all offered. Ta-da!

Probably going to buy the monitor separately, since I'm looking at the ASUS PA 279Q and Digital Storm doesn't appear to carry it.

Specifications:
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Digital Storm Velox
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) <br><strong></strong>
System Memory: 16GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 850W EVGA SuperNOVA <br><strong></strong>
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Optical Drive: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x)
Storage Set 1: 1x SSD (120GB Samsung 840 EVO)
Storage Set 2: 1x Storage (1TB Seagate)
Storage Set 3: - No Thanks
RAID Config: - No Thanks
RAID Card: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Graphics Card(s): 2x SLI Dual (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 4GB (Includes PhysX) <br><strong></strong>
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) <br><strong></strong>
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): Yes, Overclock the video card(s) as much as possible with complete stability <br><strong></strong>
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) <br><strong></strong>
Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows CD)
Virus Protection: FREE: McAfee AntiVirus Plus (1 Year Service Activation Card) (Not Pre-installed) ($35 Value)
Office: - No Thanks
Game: - No Thanks
Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
Portable Gaming: - No Thanks
Branded Gear: - No Thanks
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 10-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty (3 Year Labor & 1 Year Part Replacement)
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Posts: 1581 		  Quote Nav Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 16 Jan 2015 at 1:12pm
Looks like a solid build! As long as you don't plan on installing any games on the SSD, shouldn't have any space issues.
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bprat22 View Drop Down
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Posts: 20391 		  Quote bprat22 Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 16 Jan 2015 at 1:51pm
Very nice.

Like Nav hinted at, if you have another $118, the 256gb 850 pro will give you more room to play off the SSD.   Not necessary but loading off the SSD is fast and game refresh smoother for games that benefit.

Good luck.   
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Sevean View Drop Down
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Posts: 5 		  Quote Sevean Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 16 Jan 2015 at 2:46pm
Thanks for the input all! I will give the 250 gb SSD some thought.
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Posts: 2254 		  Quote FrankW Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 18 Jan 2015 at 9:03am
Hi Sevean,

The suggested 256gb PRO is a better choice than the 250gb EVO. The EVO series have a long term memory problem. There is a software fix but it requires more maintenance.

Frank
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