Best gaming desktop i can get or build for $1500 or less?

"

"

Rowen_Edge wrote:

I get that, I do. If you're adamant on having to have the mass amount of RAM and the twin cards you're going to have to sacrifice somewhere to stay on budget.

I must say I'm curious what exactly you're playing that you feel you need SLI'd 970's for anyway?

Partly for gaming, partly for game development. I wanna be prepared lol.

Xav's post right above mine explained what I was going to tell you, so yeah. Any of the 980 architecture will be better value for what you're doing.

"

Xavderion wrote:

Ok I suppose this is a gaming pc so my feedback: You should use a K-processor instead of a normal one because the K ones are very overclockable. Since i7 isn't really necessary for gaming I'd go with a i5-4690K, you can easily overclock that baby to 4 GhZ and even more with a better cooler.

As for the graphics cards, the GTX 970 is very limited in its VRAM (3,5 GB real VRAM) and VRAM doesn't add up with SLI so you're stuck with 3,5 GB which is already too little for some games and for some resolutions. This might change with DX 12, there are rumors that with DX 12 VRAM in SLI indeed does stack but it will take another year until there are a couple of DX 12 games out there. Also for almost the same money as two GTX 970 you can get a GTX 980Ti which has 6 GB of VRAM, is almost as fast as two GTX 970, produces less heat and you will have no issues because of SLI profiles, micro stuttering and so on.

Also you really don't need 32 GB of RAM, 16 are enough.

But will it blend?

"

Rowen_Edge wrote:

"

Anyone got anything that's actually constructive and not off-topic to post?

Still hoping for some guidance on the OP.

Your parts list looks fine.

You may know this already but I believe that MB only supports dual channel RAM so you'd lose a little performance there even though those particular sticks can run in a dual or quad configuration. Frankly, 32 gigabytes is overkill anyway.

My personal suggestion would be to spend a little more on your case. That comp will probably run a little on the warm side especially with the graphics cards running on that silent setting they have. Grab a larger, sturdier case with a 240 exhaust and it would be a good idea to reseat your fans in a push/pull setup. If you stick with the smaller case it's going to be a squeeze.

On most of the builds I do for clients, I'll use an Obsidian series case from Corsair. Especially useful if you decide to run the CPU on liquid. They have a lot of headroom.

kk, completely off topic, but your name is surprisingly similar to mine

After more research it seems 2x 970's in SLI (even with only having the 3.5GB of VRAM) performs about the same as a Titan and microstutter doesn't really seem like it happens much anymore, like it did 8 years ago.

I've also decided on a few different items from the list in the OP. I decided on a case that is only $40 USD, 32GB of RAM for $140 USD (G.Skill name brand), 2x ZOTAC GTX 970's (that's what is on sale now on newegg for $289.99 USD each), a $50 USD 1TB HDD and a 750W rosewill power supply that's $79.99 USD with a $20 rebate card.

I'm going to get the motherboard and CPU from a local microcenter due to getting $40 off when purchasing both there. I'm going with the i7-4790 at $249.99 USD and a Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 3 LGA 1150 ATX Intel Motherboard that's listed for $139.99 USD.

Furthermore I decided I'm going to take the SSD out of my laptop (Samsung 850 Pro) and use it for a boot drive on my new rig to save money.

After all of this and the OS I'll be at a grand total of $1300 USD spent and I think that's the best it's going to get, especially when looking at other PCs around the same price anywhere else.

What in the hell do you need two GTX 970s for? I can't see a tier of gaming or game dev work that would require such.

I've got a singular GTX 770 and I can play most things on high, so I'd argue that two 970s is complete overkill.

You're not going to be able to build something for 1500 with specs that insane. Gotta moderate.


EDIT: Reading through the build you have above, that's probably the best deal you're going to be able to manage for what you want to spend. Hope you don't get any lousy parts.

"

Stormquake wrote:

What in the hell do you need two GTX 970s for? I can't see a tier of gaming or game dev work that would require such.

I've got a singular GTX 770 and I can play most things on high, so I'd argue that two 970s is complete overkill.

You're not going to be able to build something for 1500 with specs that insane. Gotta moderate.


EDIT: Reading through the build you have above, that's probably the best deal you're going to be able to manage for what you want to spend. Hope you don't get any lousy parts.

I actually just ordered the parts from newegg today and should get them by Friday, which is the same day my friend will be taking me to microcenter to get my CPU and motherboard and then he will help me put it all together since last time I tried to put together a desktop it wouldn't turn on xD

I'm super excited about this computer and I wanted 2x 970's because there's a lot of reviews and information that seem to suggest just one of them isn't enough for a constant 60 FPS in more demanding games.

"

"

Stormquake wrote:

What in the hell do you need two GTX 970s for? I can't see a tier of gaming or game dev work that would require such.

I've got a singular GTX 770 and I can play most things on high, so I'd argue that two 970s is complete overkill.

You're not going to be able to build something for 1500 with specs that insane. Gotta moderate.


EDIT: Reading through the build you have above, that's probably the best deal you're going to be able to manage for what you want to spend. Hope you don't get any lousy parts.

I actually just ordered the parts from newegg today and should get them by Friday, which is the same day my friend will be taking me to microcenter to get my CPU and motherboard and then he will help me put it all together since last time I tried to put together a desktop it wouldn't turn on xD

I'm super excited about this computer and I wanted 2x 970's because there's a lot of reviews and information that seem to suggest just one of them isn't enough for a constant 60 FPS in more demanding games.

Only a concern for the highest 4k resolution gaming. However, I'm glad you're excited about the new comp. New toys are fun.

One piece of advice, I'd have your friend that is building the machine make sure those fans on the cards are on properly. ZOTAC has a reputation for very flimsy fans and haphazard production.

"

Rowen_Edge wrote:

Only a concern for the highest 4k resolution gaming. However, I'm glad you're excited about the new comp. New toys are fun.

One piece of advice, I'd have your friend that is building the machine make sure those fans on the cards are on properly. ZOTAC has a reputation for very flimsy fans and haphazard production.

Thanks I'll mention it, although he's built hundreds of computers before and really knows what he is doing so I'm sure it's in good hands :P

I'll be getting most of my new toy today, and the rest friday. so hyped! :D