Help in making first ever gaming rig

[grimr3aper]

Hey guys,

I've been predominantly a console gamer for most of my life but now I'm thinking about building a proper gaming machine and join the "dark side" if you may haha . I have a few questions pertaining to that which I'm going to list below and hope that you guys can answer my queries.

1) In my research, I've come to the conclusion that I can go with an i5 6600K instead of an i7 processor. This would allow me to direct more funds towards the GPU.

2) I've zeroed in on the 980ti, however, I'm not sure if it's going to be overkill for the requirements. 4k monitors, from what I can gather are quite expensive and I might just have to wait a bit before I can buy one, instead resorting to a 1080p monitor for the moment. I was just thinking about this particular GPU for some degree of future proofing. (If anyone has suggestions otherwise please feel free to guide me properly)

3) lastly, and perhaps more importantly, there's a big differential between pc parts here in Pakistan and in the US. Now, my question is, do you guys source your parts from local vendors, and if so, can you direct me towards one who provides competitive rates in Lahore/Islamabad. Alternatively, if you guys get stuff imported from abroad can you please point me in the right direction.

Looking forward to hearing from you guys and I greatly appreciate any help rendered to me in this regard. Cheers boys

 

[neox3d]

1. nice decision i6600k is great but if you are not going to overclock then you might save some money and get the non-k edition.

2. 4k monitors are quite expensive, not to mention no single GPU as of this moment can run the majority of AAA game with full bells and whistles at 4k, so you would need multiple GPU solution for that. 1080p gaming can be easily done on a single GTX 970, it's a very powerful card. Also in the middle of this year, Nvidia is releasing its new card based on the Pascal architecture which are said to be a lot faster than the maxwell architecture of the current nvidia lineup.

3. You can source parts from abroad but they come without warranties, that is the only issue you might have with it. Here in lahore I'd just go to Galaxy computers at Hafeez center, they have a reputed name.

4. You didn't ask for this, but since you are going with Skylake you should get DDR 4 ram, get at least 16gb of it. Games these days, such as BLOPS3, Arkham knight, and AC syndicate just love more than 8gb of ram, its more future proof.

 

[grimr3aper]

1. nice decision i6600k is great but if you are not going to overclock then you might save some money and get the non-k edition.

2. 4k monitors are quite expensive, not to mention no single GPU as of this moment can run the majority of AAA game with full bells and whistles at 4k, so you would need multiple GPU solution for that. 1080p gaming can be easily done on a single GTX 970, it's a very powerful card. Also in the middle of this year, Nvidia is releasing its new card based on the Pascal architecture which are said to be a lot faster than the maxwell architecture of the current nvidia lineup.

3. You can source parts from abroad but they come without warranties, that is the only issue you might have with it. Here in lahore I'd just go to Galaxy computers at Hafeez center, they have a reputed name.

4. You didn't ask for this, but since you are going with Skylake you should get DDR 4 ram, get at least 16gb of it. Games these days, such as BLOPS3, Arkham knight, and AC syndicate just love more than 8gb of ram, its more future proof.

Thank you so much for your help bro. I really appreciate it. I have a few more queries I'd like you to help me with.

1) After posting this thread I researched 4k monitors and indeed they are too expensive, so I was wondering if I could scale back the 980ti and just go the GTX 980 route. Later on I could add another and have two of them in SLI when the need arises. What are your thoughts on that?

2)I was going for DDR4 memory sticks, since the budget got stretched because of the 980 ti I was opting for a single 8gb 2400 mhz stick. But I guess I should go for 16 gigs and then add more later on when needed.

3) Can you point out the price differential if I were to buy a rig from here to what it would cost me if I get stuff imported from America. Also, are you aware of any services which import stuff.

4) lastly, should I wait for the new cards to come in then? Or should I give in to impatience

Again, I highly appreciate your help man, means the world to me. I can't wait to become a part of the fabled "PC master race " hahahaahah

 

[grimr3aper]

[MENTION=124622]neox3d[/MENTION] I'd also like to point out that my budget is somewhere in the region of 180-200k Rs. I dunno if that helps or not but just thought that I should mention it

 

[neox3d]

Thank you so much for your help bro. I really appreciate it. I have a few more queries I'd like you to help me with.

1) After posting this thread I researched 4k monitors and indeed they are too expensive, so I was wondering if I could scale back the 980ti and just go the GTX 980 route. Later on I could add another and have two of them in SLI when the need arises. What are your thoughts on that?

2)I was going for DDR4 memory sticks, since the budget got stretched because of the 980 ti I was opting for a single 8gb 2400 mhz stick. But I guess I should go for 16 gigs and then add more later on when needed.

3) Can you point out the price differential if I were to buy a rig from here to what it would cost me if I get stuff imported from America. Also, are you aware of any services which import stuff.

4) lastly, should I wait for the new cards to come in then? Or should I give in to impatience

Again, I highly appreciate your help man, means the world to me. I can't wait to become a part of the fabled "PC master race " hahahaahah

No problem bro.

1. There are three things to consider:
a. You are going for 4k later this year...if yes then get a gtx 970 (may be even used @34-35k) now and wait until Nvidia releases Pascal, then get a dual config of the latest card to go with your 4K.
b. you don't go for pascal, but you go for 4k, then you stay with maxwell and get two 980ti...the reason I say 980ti is that it has 6gb vram which 980 doesn't, at 4k, you will benefit from a higher buffer than 4gb. Will 980 work? sure but at 4gb. also please note that adding a second card in SLI doesn't add the vram of the two cards together in the case of 980 sli the computer will only recognize 4gb of vram. Hence the 980ti is the better than 980 for 4k since it has 6gb vram buffer.
c. you don't go for 4k but may 1440p gaming, which is quite fun and then sure, two 980 will be like super great, but even one 980 may suffice.

2. Get 8gb to start with, if budget is getting narrow, you can always add another stick. Not all games will need that much ram. So 16gb is great but not absolutely a must purchase initially.
3. @amaga @DSM1 both reputed PG members and sellers who import stuff in Lahore. They can give you a better estimate.

4. To be honest I feel the impatience. But we are talking top dollar here so my suggestion would be to wait for like 6-7 months for the new cards which promise a hell lot of more performance. and until then just go with a 970 or a 280x both excellent cards for 1080p until you get 4k.

Cheers.

 

[grimr3aper]

No problem bro.

1. There are three things to consider:
a. You are going for 4k later this year...if yes then get a gtx 970 (may be even used @34-35k) now and wait until Nvidia releases Pascal, then get a dual config of the latest card to go with your 4K.
b. you don't go for pascal, but you go for 4k, then you stay with maxwell and get two 980ti...the reason I say 980ti is that it has 6gb vram which 980 doesn't, at 4k, you will benefit from a higher buffer than 4gb. Will 980 work? sure but at 4gb. also please note that adding a second card in SLI doesn't add the vram of the two cards together in the case of 980 sli the computer will only recognize 4gb of vram. Hence the 980ti is the better than 980 for 4k since it has 6gb vram buffer.
c. you don't go for 4k but may 1440p gaming, which is quite fun and then sure, two 980 will be like super great, but even one 980 may suffice.

2. Get 8gb to start with, if budget is getting narrow, you can always add another stick. Not all games will need that much ram. So 16gb is great but not absolutely a must purchase initially.
3. @amaga @DSM1 both reputed PG members and sellers who import stuff in Lahore. They can give you a better estimate.

4. To be honest I feel the impatience. But we are talking top dollar here so my suggestion would be to wait for like 6-7 months for the new cards which promise a hell lot of more performance. and until then just go with a 970 or a 280x both excellent cards for 1080p until you get 4k.

Cheers.

Bro thank you so much for your suggestions, I highly appreciate them. Okay, so the gist of it is, I ditch my plans of getting a 980 ti, keep everything else the same and just go for a 970 for 1080p gaming right now. Eventually when the pascal cards start rolling in, I ditch the 970 and then go for a higher end pascal card. In your opinion, and I'll look at some benchmarks as well, is the 970 capable of running games at ultra settings on 1080p? I think what you've said is highly sensible, that is too keep gaming for the moment with the 970 and then eventually get the newer tech. Thank you so much for all your help man, I highly appreciate it and I might keep on bothering you about more stuff.

One last question, what would you suggest as a decent mobo, I was thinking of getting the MSI Z170A M5 mobo. Perhaps you have a better suggestion?

 

[neox3d]

Bro thank you so much for your suggestions, I highly appreciate them. Okay, so the gist of it is, I ditch my plans of getting a 980 ti, keep everything else the same and just go for a 970 for 1080p gaming right now. Eventually when the pascal cards start rolling in, I ditch the 970 and then go for a higher end pascal card. In your opinion, and I'll look at some benchmarks as well, is the 970 capable of running games at ultra settings on 1080p? I think what you've said is highly sensible, that is too keep gaming for the moment with the 970 and then eventually get the newer tech. Thank you so much for all your help man, I highly appreciate it and I might keep on bothering you about more stuff.

One last question, what would you suggest as a decent mobo, I was thinking of getting the MSI Z170A M5 mobo. Perhaps you have a better suggestion?

Yup, that's my advice, get a 970 till you go for 4k, 970 is basically a 1440p card and will easily run a lot of games on 1080 ultra. When pascal arrives sell the 970, get the latest high end card.
MSI Z170A M5 is a great board, good choice IMO.

 

[grimr3aper]

Yup, that's my advice, get a 970 till you go for 4k, 970 is basically a 1440p card and will easily run a lot of games on 1080 ultra. When pascal arrives sell the 970, get the latest high end card.
MSI Z170A M5 is a great board, good choice IMO.

alright perfect, then I guess it's done. Now to scour the market and find these parts man hahaha.

 

[grimr3aper]

[MENTION=124622]neox3d[/MENTION]: Do you think a used 290x would be a good choice

 

[neox3d]

@neox3d: Do you think a used 290x would be a good choice

Pm'd you. 290x is not bad but you will need a cooler to play for longer gaming periods as this baby heats a lot. 970 imo is still the better choice.

 

[Zeus MK]

@grimr3aper, A used 290x is not a good choice because it is too hot 95c is normal for it and that's imo not a good longterm operatable efficient temperature.
on the other hand you can consider the massive 8GB VRAM of R9 390 too. Really beneficial for the near future

 

[grimr3aper]

@grimr3aper, A used 290x is not a good choice because it is too hot 95c is normal for it and that's imo not a good longterm operatable efficient temperature.
on the other hand you can consider the massive 8GB VRAM of R9 390 too. Really beneficial for the near future

Thanks for the suggestion bro. As neo mentioned earlier, I believe that I should wait for the Pascal line of GPUs and in the meantime purchase a 970 on an interim basis. I was looking to go for a 980ti but again, I think it would be better if I wait and then invest once the new line of GPUs come into play. What do you think?

 

[Zeus MK]

Thanks for the suggestion bro. As neo mentioned earlier, I believe that I should wait for the Pascal line of GPUs and in the meantime purchase a 970 on an interim basis. I was looking to go for a 980ti but again, I think it would be better if I wait and then invest once the new line of GPUs come into play. What do you think?

Provided the expected arrival of pascal is due in the late 16, this looks like a sound strategy.
though along with 970 you can consider R9 390 too.

 

[grimr3aper]

Provided the expected arrival of pascal is due in the late 16, this looks like a sound strategy.
though along with 970 you can consider R9 390 too.

Again, from what I can gather, the red cards have a fair number of problems, least of which is low thermal efficiency. From what I can gather, on average they give less performance owing to either 1)heat issues, or 2) unoptimized drivers. I'd be glad if you were to give your views in this matter.

 

[Zeus MK]

Again, from what I can gather, the red cards have a fair number of problems, least of which is low thermal efficiency. From what I can gather, on average they give less performance owing to either 1)heat issues, or 2) unoptimized drivers. I'd be glad if you were to give your views in this matter.

Well as far as i can say with my experience. I personally have used more AMD cards then the Green ones.
yes the drivers do get optimized sometime but very rarely did i ever face any problem associated with driver optimization issues (since 2010), while AMD do offers better value for performance (for the same price)
Nvedia on the other hand (that i am using right now) is i believe a very consistence performer but it matters from model to model. In reality RED and Green can not be compared wholly and solely because each model has a different story some times a Red model is better than Green and vice versa.
imo both 970 and 390 are good choices. now it comes down to your own personal preference.

 

[grimr3aper]

Well as far as i can say with my experience. I personally have used more AMD cards then the Green ones.
yes the drivers do get optimized sometime but very rarely did i ever face any problem associated with driver optimization issues (since 2010), while AMD do offers better value for performance (for the same price)
Nvedia on the other hand (that i am using right now) is i believe a very consistence performer but it matters from model to model. In reality RED and Green can not be compared wholly and solely because each model has a different story some times a Red model is better than Green and vice versa.
imo both 970 and 390 are good choices. now it comes down to your own personal preference.

As you can imagine, I'm quite the PC pleb. If it were upto you, which one would you go for?

 

[Zeus MK]

As you can imagine, I'm quite the PC pleb. If it were upto you, which one would you go for?

Id choose 390.
but if the price would have been rather equal then id have given a thought to consider 970 too.
imo 4GB VS 8GB matters alot too. especially in games with Ultra HD texture option (shadow of mordor). a bit of future proofing just in case regardless of my plans to buy pascal ahead.

 

[grimr3aper]

Id choose 390.
but if the price would have been rather equal then id have given a thought to consider 970 too.
imo 4GB VS 8GB matters alot too. especially in games with Ultra HD texture option (shadow of mordor). a bit of future proofing just in case regardless of my plans to buy pascal ahead.

Makes a lot of sense man, thanks for the info