Build a PC for Rome 2 / Hardware Recommendations and Advice Thread

[-Concrete-]

Here's what i've settled on, unless you guys think it's unbalanced in one direction or another. I''m looking to play in 1080, as close to maxed as I can manage, i'm thinking I should get the K model but i'm not planning to overclock as i'm sure to destroy it. Any advice is much appreciated!

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Case
PCS MAELSTROM T900 BLACK GAMING CASE

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-4670K (3.4GHz) 6MB Cache

Motherboard
ASUS® Z87-A: ATX, USB2.0, USB3.0, SATA6GB/S, SLi, XFIRE

Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)

Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 760 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready

Memory - 1^st Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)

1^st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
4x BLU-RAY ROM DRIVE, 16x DVD ROM

Power Supply
650W FSP RAIDER SERIES RA-650 80 PLUS® BRONZE

Processor Cooling
Super Quiet 22dBA Triple Copper Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler

[Totalheadache]

Here's what i've settled on, unless you guys think it's unbalanced in one direction or another. I''m looking to play in 1080, as close to maxed as I can manage, i'm thinking I should get the K model but i'm not planning to overclock as i'm sure to destroy it. Any advice is much appreciated!

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Case
PCS MAELSTROM T900 BLACK GAMING CASE

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-4670K (3.4GHz) 6MB Cache

Motherboard
ASUS® Z87-A: ATX, USB2.0, USB3.0, SATA6GB/S, SLi, XFIRE

Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)

Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 760 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready

Memory - 1^st Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)

1^st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
4x BLU-RAY ROM DRIVE, 16x DVD ROM

Power Supply
650W FSP RAIDER SERIES RA-650 80 PLUS® BRONZE

Processor Cooling
Super Quiet 22dBA Triple Copper Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler

never heard of that case. i tend to go for corsair/coolermaster. plus the psu as well...again i go for corsair/antec/seasonic.

plus you wont destroy the cpu by overclocking if you get a decent enough cpu cooler...if that's a stock cpu cooler...go for something like this...you should be able to get a decent oc with one.

this looks like a pre-built to me. do it yourself....better parts..more bang for your buck.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...701&catid=2330

[Sebt1890]

Quick question.

In what order do I install the parts? I'm ordering the bulk of my rig tonight and ordering the other half at the end of the month.

No I can't afford to buy it all at one time I wish though.

[Epic28]

Quick question.

In what order do I install the parts? I'm ordering the bulk of my rig tonight and ordering the other half at the end of the month.

No I can't afford to buy it all at one time I wish though.

There are a number of youtube videos that show visual/detailed step by step processes to build a rig from scratch. I highly recommend some of the more popular videos to watch prior to building it, there are a lot of useful tips and things to keep in mind while building.

What components do you plan on ordering tonight? I recommend not unboxing anything until all components arrive, but if you want to test your essentials for a BIOS screen start-up it is simple and easy to do without mounting inside your case.

[-Concrete-]

Thanks for the quick reply, how about these three parts instead.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Case
COOLERMASTER SILENCIO 550 QUIET MID TOWER CASE

Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX650 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE

Processor Cooling
Corsair H40 Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler

[Sebt1890]

Yea I'm not unboxing anything until I have everything. I'm buying a full tower, so idk what difference that may make aside from making it easier to install parts.

I plan on ordering the Case
Option A:CPU fans + PSU
Option B: Mobo + CPU + PSU
Option C: CPU fans + PSU + HDD + SSD

[Epic28]

Yea I'm not unboxing anything until I have everything. I'm buying a full tower, so idk what difference that may make aside from making it easier to install parts.

I plan on ordering the Case
Option A:CPU fans + PSU
Option B: Mobo + CPU + PSU
Option C: CPU fans + PSU + HDD + SSD

Full tower is fine, allows for airflow space and solid cable management. I assume you're buying a GPU and not using the CPUs integrated graphics chip?

[Sebt1890]

yea I'm getting the 7970 Ghz edition. However, it's $450 lol so I'm waiting to get that baby at the end of the month.

EDIT: I'm getting the new Haswell i5 and that's about $250, the mobo I'm getting is $150, the CPU fans are around $80, and the PSU is about $140 I think.

[Jean-Roch Coignet]

Thank you for your responses guys regarding my graphic card question.


what do you think about this? this is what I have on my mind so far.
so far it would cost me about 1115 USD or 850 Euro.



ASROCK Z77 Pro4
INTEL Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz 1155 BOX
CORSAIR 8GB Vengeance Pro DDR3 1600MHz CL9 KIT CMY8GX3M2A1600C9R
GIGABYTE GV-N760OC-2GD GTX760 2GB GDDR5 OC PCIE
SEAGATE 2TB Barracuda 7200rpm 64MB SATA3 ST2000DM001
COOLERMASTER RC-K380-KWN1 K380
CORSAIR GS Series GS600W 2013 Edition
Cooler Master Hyper TX3 EVO CPU Cooler

[Epic28]

8 GB of RAM?

If you are getting the i5-4670k make sure your motherboard is an LGA 1150 socket model, for the new Haswell CPU.

[Sebt1890]

yea it is. it's the Asus Z87-A ATX LGA1150

[Bearnation54]

I5 or i7 processor? I'm building a gaming rig with a very large budget ( iv been saving up for a few years) so I can afford the i7 top end CPU but I heard they just slow games down is it true? Should I go for the I5 instead?

[Epic28]

I5 or i7 processor? I'm building a gaming rig with a very large budget ( iv been saving up for a few years) so I can afford the i7 top end CPU but I heard they just slow games down is it true? Should I go for the I5 instead?

Unless you do video editing/rendering or use intense software programs, there is little benefit for an i7 versus and i5 if you only plan on gaming. But you are on a "very large budget" so what the hell, i'd buy it.

If you are just a gaming it'd be more wise of you to spend the money on a monster yet pricey GPU and an i5-4670k, rather than and i7-4770k.

The difference in pricing between the i5 and the i7 here in the states is ~ $100 FYI.

[Baldos]

I5 or i7 processor? I'm building a gaming rig with a very large budget ( iv been saving up for a few years) so I can afford the i7 top end CPU but I heard they just slow games down is it true? Should I go for the I5 instead?

For Gaming the i5 CPU is great! Unless the difference (about $100US) truly means nothing then save the money and buy a faster GPU, or bigger SSD, or bigger case with more/bigger fans (I like Corsair 650D) or a big water cooler....

[Sebt1890]

I've heard the performance boost is very little and not worth the $$$.

[General George S. Patton]

probably not for gaming, but for stuff that actually utilizes hyperthreading it does.

[alQamar]

probably not for gaming, but for stuff that actually utilizes hyperthreading it does.

most games e.g. Civ 5 and also TW does utilize Hyperthreading. I'am quite happy I choosed a HT capable CPU.

[Silver]

Thank you very much Splenyi,
Following your suggestion, I will order as below:
CPU Intel Core™ i5-4570 3.20 GHz / 6MB / HD 4600 Graphics / Socket 1150 (Haswell)
Mainboard MSI Z87M-G43
VGA GIGABYTE™ GV R795WF3-3GD
RAM Corsair VENGEANCE 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 Bus 1600Mhz (Màu Ðen) - (CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9)
PSU Corsair Gaming Series™ GS 600W V2 - Single Rail - 80PLUS®
Case Corsair Carbide Series™ 300R Window (Mid Tower)
Monitor Dell 23"U2312HM Ultrasharp
HDD Western Caviar Green / Blue 1TB 7200Rpm, SATA3 6Gb/s, 64MB Cache
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
This one cost about 1300USD

[alQamar]

Sounds good now silver. However I would prefer following changes:

- as for your CPU you surely meant a i5 4670k?

- take a WD Green over a Blue as they have bigger cache. At least do not get a drive with 5400rpm and only 16 / 32 MB cache.

- I am not sure about the reputation of Corsair in case of their PSUs, I would go for Seasonic they are expensive but highly reliable. Your rig has a quite low TDP around 320 W and in this case you would not need a such powerful PSU, aslong you do not aim for SLI.
Look for a SS 460W X-Series Fanless, passive cooling, 80plus gold certified (456 W in real terms), cable management > you will love it. I got a X-660 and after I measured my power peaks I noticed it was quite oversized for my rig.

- concerning the screen you should be able to get a 24" instead for a lower price. Look out for this one Samsung S243550H.

[Biggus Splenus]

Sounds good now silver. However I would prefer following changes:

- as for your CPU you surely meant a i5 4670k?

- take a WD Green over a Blue as they have bigger cache. At least do not get a drive with 5400rpm and only 16 / 32 MB cache.

- I am not sure about the reputation of Corsair in case of their PSUs, I would go for Seasonic they are expensive but highly reliable. Your rig has a quite low TDP around 320 W and in this case you would not need a such powerful PSU, aslong you do not aim for SLI.
Look for a SS 460W X-Series Fanless, passive cooling, 80plus gold certified (456 W in real terms), cable management > you will love it. I got a X-660 and after I measured my power peaks I noticed it was quite oversized for my rig.

- concerning the screen you should be able to get a 24" instead for a lower price. Look out for this one Samsung S243550H.

I'd recommend that CPU too, just because he has a Z87 board.

I wouldn't get a WD Green over a Blue. The spin up times on those green drives are much slower, plus the Green drives have 3 platters in a 1tb HDD, compared to Blue drives only have 1 platter in a 1tb drive. The latest 1TB Blue drive has 64mb cache and 7200rpm.

Corsair PSUs are top stuff, and the GS series are great. I wouldn't recommend him an SS X-series PSU, it's in a totally different price range. I bought my friend a similar PSU to the GS600 (I got him the GS800), and it's really good for the price. The fan would rarely spin up during gameplay, but on lower watt models this probably isn't the case.

Hi guys

I'm on a budget - but I'm hoping this PC will be ok...will it run on high?

AMD FX-6300 Six Core CPU (3.50GHz/8MB CACHE/AM3+)

ASUS® M5A78L-M/USB3 (M-ATX, DDR3, USB 3.0, 3Gb/s)

4GB KINGSTON DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 4GB)

2GB AMD RADEON™ HD7850 - DVI,HDMI,DP - DX® 11, Eyefinity 3 Capable

120GB KINGSTON V300 SSD, SATA 6 Gb (450MB/R, 450MB/W)

Thanks

Switch to an Intel i3 (like an i3 3220), it's a much better choice at this price range for Total War games

You'd need to switch that motherboard if you went Intel too, I'd suggest an ASUS P8H77-M PRO for that CPU.

Make sure that RAM is 1.5v and NOT 1.65v, and getting dual channel 8GB kit is probably a better idea. If you can if course.

That graphics card isn't bad, but trying to get a 7870 will definitely be worth it, because it performs 20-25% better in Total War than the 7850, and only cost about an extra $20 (depends where you live I guess) (Powercolor 7870 Myst Edition is probably the best 7870 out there, it uses the 7900 cards PCB, and I don't think it cost any more than a normal 7870). Nvidia cards perform about the same in this price point, but if you can get the new 760 at a similar price, then that's a great deal.

That SSD is ok, but for the price a Samsung 840 120GB is better.