GPU Help, building a new Rig

[RaptorIII]

I need help, my decision making abilities have run away to a nearby town. I'm building a new rug, my current one seems to be kicking the bucket. I can't fire up from a cold start (turns off when windows starts to load) without clearing the CMOS or changing BIOS'. I digress, I apologise- I've ordered my motherboard, cpu, memory, cooler and SSD. I don't have a GPU yet. I wanted the Gigabyte R9 270x but it's no longer available.
Previous/current set up:
-Corsair Carbide R500 Arctic White
-i5 3570k 3.4Ghz (4.2Ghz with OC Genie II)
-MSI Z77A-GD65
-Kingston Blue 16GB DDR3
-Raidmax 850watt 80plus Gold
-1TB Sata3 Seagate HDD (will keep my HDD)
-Gigabyte ATI HD7770 OC

My new set up will be:
-Corsair Carbide R500 Arctic White (keeping the case)
-i5 6600k 3.5Ghz
-Corsair H100i Closed loop liquid cooler
-MSI Z170a Krait Gaming Edition
-Kingston HyperX Black 8GB DDR4
-OCZ Vector 180 120GB
-Maybe a Corsiar 750watt power supply

My graphics card options are:
-MSI GTX960 4GB
-Gigabyte GTX960 4GB
-Gigabyte R9 380 4GB

I apologise for the lengthy post but Any takes on a GPU?

[aPhantomKnight]

I need help, my decision making abilities have run away to a nearby town. I'm building a new rug, my current one seems to be kicking the bucket. I can't fire up from a cold start (turns off when windows starts to load) without clearing the CMOS or changing BIOS'. I digress, I apologise- I've ordered my motherboard, cpu, memory, cooler and SSD. I don't have a GPU yet. I wanted the Gigabyte R9 270x but it's no longer available.
Previous/current set up:
-Corsair Carbide R500 Arctic White
-i5 3570k 3.4Ghz (4.2Ghz with OC Genie II)
-MSI Z77A-GD65
-Kingston Blue 16GB DDR3
-Raidmax 850watt 80plus Gold
-1TB Sata3 Seagate HDD (will keep my HDD)
-Gigabyte ATI HD7770 OC

My new set up will be:
-Corsair Carbide R500 Arctic White (keeping the case)
-i5 6600k 3.5Ghz
-Corsair H100i Closed loop liquid cooler
-MSI Z170a Krait Gaming Edition
-Kingston HyperX Black 8GB DDR4
-OCZ Vector 180 120GB
-Maybe a Corsiar 750watt power supply

My graphics card options are:
-MSI GTX960 4GB
-Gigabyte GTX960 4GB
-Gigabyte R9 380 4GB

I apologise for the lengthy post but Any takes on a GPU?

Hey man, I'm gonna have to be honest with you and notify you of a few flaws in your build. There's a few things you're looking at, that are unnecessary.

Remove "i5 6600k"
-Add i5 4690k (why? because there isn't a huge performance difference, and the 4690k is phenomenal, and invest in a mid range heat sink like this one here. Save the money and use it towards something else, you likely would have bought a CPU cooler anyways, as the stock one can only do so much. Plus, why not give your $250 investment a little more bite, and protection from heat?)

Remove "Corsair H100 closed loop liquid cooler"
-Add Evo 212 the CPU cooler linked in my previous statement. You don't need a water cooler, plus they are risky. Although the H100 is very good, and I've rarely seen people complaining of leaks. There's always the possibility. And, unless you're just gonna be stress testing, benchmarking, or rendering AutoCAD files ALL DAY LONG. There's not much of a point to get water cooling units. $$$ SAVE THE CASH $$$

Remove "MSI Z170a Krait Gaming Edition"
-Add Asus Z97A, this is the MOBO I have in my rig, it is more than enough! It's fucking badass mate! The MSI board you listed has gotten MANY bad reviews and doesn't seem all that great. The ASUS board has plenty of features, a good integrated audio chip, USB3.1, (there is a Bluetooth version), and it's roomy and has well designed placement of it's slots and components.

Remove "Kingston HyperX Black 8GB DDR4"
-Add HyperX Fury 16GB 1866, with the steadfast advancement of technology... 16GB will become necessary in the not-to-distant future. Make the small investment now, so you don't have to worry. Article explaining why DDR4 isn't ready for the market yet.Article

SUGGESTION
The SSD you picked out looks fantastic, and there's no reason for you to change brands/pick another one. OCZ is a great choice! But 120GB won't be enough. Trust me! I have the 240GB Samsung 850 Pro and IT IS NOT ENOUGH! If I had to do it again I would buy this! Crucial is an amazing brand, and their mx200 series goes head-to-head with OCZ, Samsung, and HyperX. It actually beats some of them in certain areas. AND IT'S CHEAPER!!! (obviously the specific SSD in the link is 500GB, and larger so therefor more tha your 180GB, but by only $60. $60 for 320 more GB?!?! THAT'S FCUKING AWESOME! again, only a suggestion mate.

POWER SUPPLY SUGGESTION!!!
-I have the Corsair CX750M or whatever, (the one that is semi-modular). DON'T BUY IT. There are way better options out there man. BUT if you're stuck on going Corsair, then invest in THIS PSU. TBH unless you're going to get two cards you will NEVER need more that like ~600 WATTS for a single card, even with overclocked CPU. But all PSUs give better idle loads and capacity loads when they aren't nearing their WATTAGE capacity. I.e. (A 1000W PSU would have a higher general idle usage then a 750W, but under 700W of load, the larger PSU will be WAY more efficient than the 750W) If you want to go a different route than Corsair, I suggest this PSU. Cooler Master is a great brand. Period.
AND IF YOU WANNA GO HIGH ROLLA!!! GRAB THIS BAD BOY!

NOW TO ANSWER THE QUESTION YOU ACTUALLY ASKED! xD

Out of the choices you listed. I would honestly have to say go for the MSI R9-380 >>>>4GB<<<<< NOT THE 2GB. And when you get the chance. BUY ANOTHER! You will be set for a long while!

PRICING DIFFERENCES BASED OFF THE CHANGES I MADE!

i5 6600k > i5 4690k (-$50 on average) SAVED MONIES!!! YAAAAY
H100 > EVO 212 (-$80 on average) SAVED MONIES!!! AGAIN!!!
MSI Krait > ASUS z97-A (SAME on average) but you get a better board IMHO
DDR4 > DDR3 (that 8GB DDR4 really varies in price. weird. Up to $75 from 61 (if 8GB stick DDR4) if 2x4GB stick (down from $90) WEIRD!
OCZ 120GB > crucial 500GB (+ ~$60) WURF
Power Supply: IF cx750 > cooler v750 (+$15), IF cx750 > ax760(+60), IF cx750 > v1000(+120)
ONE R9-380 (+ ~250) or TWO r9-380 (+ ~500)

Total change in investment minimum(+120 INCLUDING GRAPHICS CARD) w/v750
MAXIMUM CHANGE IN INVESTMENT (+490 INCLUDING ONE CARD) w/additional MSI CARD, and v1000

This is as much as I think I can do to help mate. Goodluck!

[RaptorIII]

-Let's start from the top, for some unapparent back to front reason I can buy an i5-6600k is for almost the same price as the i5-4670k in South Africa (my exchange rate math suggests that the 6600k is $265 and the 4670k is $271). I don't quite know why...

-I had a coolermaster V8 on my i5-3570k, I loved it- replaced the standard fan with the coolermaster excaliber... Might be a stupid question- how does the motherboard deal with that weight? I know it has a back plate, but i move my case around (going home for holidays, I do pack it back in the box and cushion it nicely to limit road vibration). I can't source an Evo 212 locally... The V8 GTS is ~$45 less than the H100i... Should I revert back to air?

-I neglected to mention that as for the Krait and HyperX- there's nothing I can do about it- it's being sent by the computer shop who submitted the assessment report to the insurance company. I do apologise for all your typing- but I promise to pass on the advice

-SSD's, here I'll need help. OS goes on them I know, but do your games too? If so I might have problems since the rand/dollar exchange isn't helping my cause much- sigh. Don't even talk about the british pound... Prices start climbing very steeply after 120GB... Can't I add another SSD later?

-Power supply wise I was looking at the Corsair HXi750? If i converted the prices of any of the mentioned power supplies to dollars you might just pass out... So I'll refrain lol. I swear this is the only country where your computer appreciated as opposed to depreciating.

- Back to GPU- is the MSI R9 380? Your bet? (my exchange math here again, the said card is $352)

[Frankgt3]

You guys are talking Mandarin to me, all I know about computers is turning it on and off.

(Not literally, I can mount and dismount but still.

[battlemylog]

Raptor,

I agree with phantom. Don't scrimp on the GPU over CPU, barring that you want to stream your games. It is the single most important component for game performance. Period.

Save as much money as you can on CPU and CPU cooler and spend it on a better graphics card. If 6600k is the same price as your other option, go for it. But don't spend too much on cooling unless your house is 90F every day (how's your air conditioning in South Africa?). A better GPU will make a much bigger difference in your gaming experience than a few extra hundred MHz on CPU, or a few degrees cooler running CPU. Can you use the air cooler from your old computer? For transportation, lay the computer down with the motherboard flat so the CPU cooler is not applying torque to the mounting bracket.

A 120 GB SSD is definitely enough to get you started, but I would look around for deals on 240 GB. 120 GB is enough for your operating system, your programs, and a couple of your favorite games. Just having the computer, browser, and your favorite game boot 5x faster is worth buying a 120 GB.

For power supply, I ran your computer through the outervision.com power supply calculator. Your load wattage will be 365 watts with a GTX 970 and 6600K, recommended power supply wattage is 415 watts. You might be able to save money or get a better unit by going with a 500W or 550W power supply. Unless you are committed to doing SLI later (which is usually not worth the money), that would be the way to go. For researching power supplies, I usually try to find a website that has done a rigorous power load test on the one I want before buying (e.g. jonnyguru.com type of evaluation). Seasonic is a solid brand, but go with what you can find. As far as efficiency vs. power load curves go, here is the curve for my Seasonic 550W:

https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Sea ... _V2/6.html

I would definitely recommend that PSU, the Seasonic G Series 550W, to you as well. It runs a 90% efficiency average in the load range, 85% in the idle range, and has modular cables (F yea!). I have owned it year years. It is cheaper than the Corsair 750 W PSUs, at least here in the states.

Buy an MSI card with the TF cooler. They are in general a quieter and cooler running card than most others, and leagues ahead of the default Nvidia design. I have owned 3 of them, and loved them all.


Long story short, skip the liquid CPU cooler, go with air, and buy an overclocked MSI GTX 970 with their aftermarket cooler instead of a 960, because it will make a much bigger difference in your framerate than an overclocked processor with a fancy CPU cooler:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... lsrc=aw.ds




ctd

[RaptorIII]

lol! The only air conditioning I see are the labs I'm in or the car's climate control... Don't have an aircon at home or in my apartment. I don't know what happened from 2012 until now but the air cooler vairety has diminished. I shall attempt to prioritise. The CPU, Mobo and RAM are cast in stone. The SSD just needs to hold windows, office and BF3 - casue what would life be without you guys - for the time being. BF4 and everything else aren't that important. So second to the SSD is the GPU, then watts left (sorry ), budget wise, will be the CPU cooler and then lastly the PSU... I think my 850 is fine still... I just wanted a corsair, not sure if i need it. I'll pop up with a list of GPU candidates shortly... Oh I should mention, I'm probably going to be running 1920x1080 for a long time...

[battlemylog]

Well in that case, scrap everything you can from your old computer, buy that graphics card or something similar to it, and get this monitor with the leftover cash:

http://www.amazon.com/VG248QE-1920x1080 ... B00B2HH7G0

[RaptorIII]

I'll probably be shot for saying this, but a new monitor isn't too high up on my list. I can live with mine albeit 60Hz. Hell, at the moment, nearly anything that can keep me at 60fps will make me a happy guy. I crunched some numbers and did some market research, if I drop the H100i go for something smaller, It really only saves R800, which means I then have R5600 ($400) to look at a GPU. with that the candidates are:
-Gigabyte Nvidia GTX 970 OC WF3 Edition 4GB
-Gigabyte R9 390 8192MB Gaming G1
-MSI nVidia GeForce GTX970 Armor PCI-Express x16 4GB

in addition to those previously mentioned.
These are all $440 and up, I know $40 may not seem like much but in the greater scheme of things it's... enough...
-MSI AMD Radeon R9 390 GPU 8GB
-Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 G1 Gaming Edition Graphics Card - 4 GB GDDR5
- MSI Geforce GTX 970 Graphics Card - 4GB
These will be breaking the bank... Is all this necessary if I'm only going to be 1920x1080 for quite some time? can't I just add crossfire a R9 380 4GB when the time comes to move up?

[RaptorIII]

Okay brief update:
-I've placed the H100i on ice.
-I've got a corsair AX760 inbound (I hear it's built by seasonic?)
-My OCZ Vector is inbound.
-Graphics card options are now open to a MSI Gaming 4GB GTX970 or an MSI Gaming 8GB ATI R9 390..

[battlemylog]

I just found out about this:

http://www.evga.com/Products/ProductList.aspx?type=8

Evga has a bstock sale. Get a scratched 980 for $360. I don't know if that's available to you in SA.


As for which card to get, the benchmarks seems to be back and forth for performance on 1080p. If you ever go about 1080p, the 390 will be a better card because of the 8GB vram. The downside is the card draws about 2x as much power, and consequently will give off a ton of heat and sound like a vacuum cleaner in your computer. Either way, I agree MSI TF coolers are the way to go, unless you can get a really cheap EVGA 980.



ctd

[RaptorIII]

I too noticed that the benchmarks weren't particularly convincing to either party. I think I could have one brought in, but I'm not sure how much shipping will cost? However what ultimately swayed me to the R9 despite the HDMI 1.4a pitfall was the 8GBVram as opposed to the 3,5GB+0,5GB of the GTX980... Was really tough though cause the GTX has HDMI 2.0- it's kinda like deciding if a zebra is black on white or white on black. Also ATI still seems to be cheaper down here... So I've called on the services of the MSI R9 390... Just need to get through these two weeks of academic misery, then I'll assemble my computer and be back on the battlefield... Hopefully I can still aim

[battlemylog]

Sweet, man! Have fun!