Asking for some help in deciding next gaming PC

[Serenity2]

Hello.... Ive been mulling over a few potential builds for my next gaming PC. I have about £1k to spend in total. And some questions regarding some components.

Build


Case: SHARKOON VG4-W GAMING CASE (Green LED)
Processor (CPU): Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-4790k (4.0GHz) 8MB Cache
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z97P-D3: ATX, LG1150, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM): 8GB Kingston DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card: 4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 960 - DVI, HDMI, 3 x DP - 3D Vision Ready

1st Hard Disk: 250GB Samsung 850 2.5" EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk: 1TB SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 32MB CACHE

1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive: 24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM

Processor Cooling: CoolerMaster Hyper 212 EVO (120mm) Fan CPU Cooler (£29)
Power Supply: CORSAIR 550W VS SERIES™ VS-550 POWER SUPPLY
Thermal Paste: STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Extra Case Fans: 1x 120mm Apache Black Quiet Fan (fitted to extract from rear/roof) (£15)

Sound Card: ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking: 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB Options: MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Power Cable: 1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Operating System: Genuine Windows 10 Professional 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£109)
Warranty: 3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery: STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time: Standard Build - Approximately 9 to 11 working days

COST: £954.00 inc VAT


GOAL: Objective is to build a Gaming Machine capable of running games comfortably such as: Dying Light, Just Cause 3, Fallout 4, Ryse: Son of Rome at max or near max settings, 1920x1080, wont be overclocking or streaming (much).

Q1: Will this case be sufficient for the parts, cooling but also be virtually silent? Is a good one to keep out as much dust as possible?

Q2: Is it better to swap CPU & GPU for Core i5 4690K & GTX 970 4GB?

Q3: Will the RAM suffice or if I go for the i5/970 should I go for 16GB? It will take me just over my budget (build above) but not by much.

Q4a: In terms of storage Ive gone for that combo because the 2nd drive will be for data storage only. Possibly running very old games from it PG2 for instance.

Q4b. Or should I go for a 500GB WB Black in case the primary 250 SSD isnt enough to play the games I want? Im thinking 100GB for windows 10 and programs. and <100GB for a few games. 50 GB free space for caching/pagefile/system stuff.

Q5. In terms of PSU 550W should be enough right? No sli planned... maybe an upgrade to a GTX980 if reqd in 1-2 yrs.

Q6. Gone for the coolmaster, standard paste and a rear mounted fan to keep components cool. Will this suffice? I dont plan to OC. I want as quiet a system as possible.


Any feedback is appreciated!
My thanks

 

[SpyderTracks]

Q1: Will this case be sufficient for the parts, cooling but also be virtually silent? Is a good one to keep out as much dust as possible?
No, you'd need a case £45 or up to cope with that build
Q2: Is it better to swap CPU & GPU for Core i5 4690K & GTX 970 4GB?
Yes, i7 will offer very little performance over i5 whereas the jump to gtx970 is significant.
Q3: Will the RAM suffice or if I go for the i5/970 should I go for 16GB? It will take me just over my budget (build above) but not by much.
8gb will be fine.
Q4a: In terms of storage Ive gone for that combo because the 2nd drive will be for data storage only. Possibly running very old games from it PG2 for instance.
Best way to do it, but up the hdd to a caviar black as they're faster drives.
Q4b. Or should I go for a 500GB WB Black in case the primary 250 SSD isnt enough to play the games I want? Im thinking 100GB for windows 10 and programs. and <100GB for a few games. 50 GB free space for caching/pagefile/system stuff.

Q5. In terms of PSU 550W should be enough right? No sli planned... maybe an upgrade to a GTX980 if reqd in 1-2 yrs.
550 should be fine.
Q6. Gone for the coolmaster, standard paste and a rear mounted fan to keep components cool. Will this suffice? I dont plan to OC. I want as quiet a system as possible.
The noctua runs quieter and is more efficient

I would take the above suggestions and respec the build on a skylake platform (6th gen cpu). Your build will be harder to upgrade in the future as its older architecture.

 

[jerpers]

For a quieter PC, go for the CS series PSU, I know its 650w but runs quieter, better components and it's modular

 

[Serenity2]

Thx SpyderTracks and jerpers for the responses.

Ive changed:
- case to: InWIN G7 BRUSHED EFFECT DARK GREY CASE
- 2nd HDD to: 500GB WD BLACK 3.5" WD5003AZEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)

However going for the Nocturna & CS 650w PSU would take me over my budget. Something I would consider.

Just one nagging question. Is it worth going for a 6th gen. build i5 6600K? At least in terms of future proofing.
I.e. going for an updated mobo/cpu and going for identical components except a cheaper gfx card for now and upgrading it later. Getting the exact spec. but with a 960 would be a few quid cheaper. I would then sell my old PC and use the cash for that towards a GTX970 or even a 980.

But the key question is - At what point will the current gen (4th) be obsolete for new releases? A year? Less?

 

[jerpers]

4th gen should be good for a few years yeat. If going for 6th gen, no need for the k series processor if not overclocking.

 

[Serenity2]

4th gen should be good for a few years yeat. If going for 6th gen, no need for the k series processor if not overclocking.

Great & thanks! If I go for the Nocturna CPU heatsink/fan do I need a case fan? Im not sure what dB that can go to... Im assuming 25 dB avg required RPMs. But is it need to keep components cool given the other stuff and case?

 

[jerpers]

You will always need case fans to keep the flow of air through the case. The Noctua is excellent and will keep your CPU lovely and chilled. Don't forget the other components in your PC need to stay cool to and keeping a steady flow of air through it maintains that. You can set profiles in carious different types of software to keep low RPM's for general browsing and to only speed up when under load. For me, my case has a built in fan controller. I keep it on position 1 when not gaming with a quiet fan profile set for my CPU cooler and up to position 3 with a performance profile set fir the CPU when gaming. Under general usage I cannot here a single thing despite the case being directly next to me and almost at head height.

 

[Serenity2]

You will always need case fans to keep the flow of air through the case. The Noctua is excellent and will keep your CPU lovely and chilled. Don't forget the other components in your PC need to stay cool to and keeping a steady flow of air through it maintains that. You can set profiles in carious different types of software to keep low RPM's for general browsing and to only speed up when under load. For me, my case has a built in fan controller. I keep it on position 1 when not gaming with a quiet fan profile set for my CPU cooler and up to position 3 with a performance profile set fir the CPU when gaming. Under general usage I cannot here a single thing despite the case being directly next to me and almost at head height.

Sounds overly complicated for me! Nice options to have though! Ill stick with the one case fan. Heres the final build. Im about to purchase so thanks for your help.

Case InWIN G7 BRUSHED EFFECT DARK GREY CASE

Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-6600 (3.3GHz) 6MB Cache
Motherboard Gigabyte Z170-HD3P: ATX, LG1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM) 8GB HyperX FURY DDR4 2133MHz (2 x 4GB)

Graphics Card 4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 970 - 2 x DVI, HDMI, DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
Free Item: FREE TOM CLANCY'S: THE DIVISION with select GTX 9 Series GPUs!

1st Hard Disk 250GB Samsung 850 2.5" EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk 500GB WD BLACK 3.5" WD5003AZEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM

Processor Cooling Noctua NH-D15S Ultra Quiet Performance CPU Cooler (£69)
Power Supply CORSAIR 650W CS SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET (£69)
Thermal Paste STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Extra Case Fans 1x 120mm Apache Black Quiet Fan (fitted to extract from rear/roof) (£15)

Sound Card ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB Options MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)

Warranty 3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Delivery STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days

Probably my only thoughts would be:
- MS Win 10 Home -> PRO
- a better mobo
- downgrading the processor to a 6500....

otherwise.... :scooter:

 

[jerpers]

Windows pro is really for business users, not sure you will see any benefit
The motherboard you have is great. As long as it has USB 3.1 you will be good for years to come.
If you can afford it, go for the better processor.