Help Wanted: Choosing Case & GFX

[Bvenged]

Hi all,

I'm looking to get a new computer, purely for gaming, but I'm having a hard time deciding between 2 GFX cards and a particular case to go with the new build.

Basically I am going to strip down and refurbish my current mid-range gaming PC to give to my brother so he can do video editing for college & uni. I on the other hand intend to buy a new computer, purely for gaming, to replace it. I have a work's laptop so this new build is almost exclusively for gaming with a little video editing on the side.

I am trying to cram as much Asus tech as I can into the build as I am highly satisfied with their quality and build standards. So the more Asus, the better as far as I'm concerned.


My budget is technically unlimited, but I am not going to waste money for little gains. I don't see any point to spending more than about £1300. Efficiency is preferred, low temperatures a strong preference, and I'm trying to do it without touching liquid cooling as I don't really intend to overclock for quite some time, and will install it when I do.

This is what I've come up with so far:


Case
COOLERMASTER CM STORM TROOPER - GAMING ENTHUSIAST CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-4790k (4.0GHz) 8MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® Z97-A: ATX, USB3.0, SATA 6GB/S, SLi, XFIRE
Memory (RAM)
16GB KINGSTON HYPER-X FURY DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
-
1st Hard Disk
120GB KINGSTON HYPERX 3K SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 555MB/sR | 510MB/sW)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W CS SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Processor Cooling
CoolerMaster Hyper 212 EVO (120mm) Fan CPU Cooler
Extra Case Fans
2 x 12CM Black Case Fan (configured to extract from rear/roof)
Sound Card
Asus Xonar DGX 5.1-Channel Gaming Audio Card
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence
...and £5 warranty.


From the above, I'll also be adding:

• 500GB 3.5" HDD
• 1TB 3.5" HDD
• Asus GTX 970 4GB / R9 290

My concern is that a large GFX card will take up HDD slot space of a mid-tower preventing me from hooking up my old drives to the machine, and the above cas eis too massive or overkill for what I actually want.

I suppose my questions are:

- Asus GTX 970, or R9 290 graphics card?
- Will all mid-towers allow me to mount my 2 HDD's with a large GFX card installed, or will I have to be careful?
- Are there any final tweaks I can make to the specs?
- What cases do you recommend ( I have a really big softspot for dust filters, good air flow and cool looks)?

Thanks.

 

[keynes]

Budget unlimited? That goes against everything I learned at uni in terms of scarcity
Just for gaming? The gtx 970 would be better imo and I don't think a soundcard is needed if you are happy with onboard audio. The case is fine as well, pretty good looking case and the HDD slots are not obstructed by the gpu. If you plan to sli you may want to consider 850w psu.

 

[Bvenged]

Hi Keynes, thanks for the prompt response.

I finished Uni about 6 months ago, and now have a job. I'd rather not break the bank, basically, and I'm enjoying not being scarce for once

Is the case I chose not a little excessive? Basically I won't be using more than about 2-4 disks ever, and I never intend to SLI/Crossfire as I will just upgrade to the latest gen of GPUs.

If I can go with a smaller, leaner case with the above setup than I would. Do you have any case recommendations, or is there the risk that I won't be able to fit my HDD's in?

GTX 970 seems good.

Also, I plan on picking up some nice 2.1 speakers so do you have a particular sound card to recommend, or will on-board do fine?

 

[keynes]

Cooler master 690 if you don't plan to sli and you could downgrade to 650w psu and you could also save money by going to the gigabyte hd3 motherboard since the one you selected supports SLI. If it is just gaming 8gb ram will also be sufficient

 

[Bvenged]

Thanks!