So i have finally decided on a new PC rig

[RustlessPotato]

Hello all. I've been doing some research now and I have finally decided on a rig. I'd like to hear the Escapist's opinion.

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K Box, LGA1150
Motherboard: ASUS Z87-Expert, Intel Z87, Sockel 1150, ATX
RAM: 8GB-Kit Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 MHz CL9
Case: FRACTAL DESIGN Define R4 Titanium Grey
GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB DDR5, PCI-Express
Power Supply: Corsair Gaming Series GS700 2013 Edition 700W
Harddisk: WD AV-25 1TB, 16MB Cache, SATA II
CPU Fan: Thermaltake Frio Extreme

Also, I was wondering if the producer of a part had any influence on performance ? For example: The GPU comes from EVGA, yet I have seen the same made by ASUS. It is something I have been wondering for a while.

 

[Hazy992]

Well yeah if its a graphics card there will be differences between manufacturers, even if its the same card. Differences in PCBs, clock speeds, temperature etc which will affect performance somewhat. Just look up benchmarks and decide if the small differences are worth the extra money.

But yeah the rig seems fine. The power supply is probably a bit high, but its better to have too much power than not enough, plus it gives you some headroom.

 

[RustlessPotato]

Well yeah if its a graphics card there will be differences between manufacturers, even if its the same card. Differences in PCBs, clock speeds, temperature etc which will affect performance somewhat. Just look up benchmarks and decide if the small differences are worth the extra money.

But yeah the rig seems fine. The power supply is probably a bit high, but its better to have too much power than not enough, plus it gives you some headroom.

That's what I thought, but when I built my first rig, i didn't think of it that much (That was when the GTX 7600 was considered a pretty good card. I think I was 12 back then. Still using that rig actually xD). The thing is, I want to be able to futureproof it as much as I can.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

yep that rig is great, the only thing you'll probably wanna upgrade in 3-4 years is a graphics card and maybe getting a SSD for your OS

 

[AnthrSolidSnake]

I have a similar rig, maybe about 20% less powerful. Maybe a 5 FPS difference at most in most cases. I have a 670 instead of the 770, and an 8 core AMD. As far your question about different manufacturers, there are differences, but they are usually pretty small. EVGA is definitely a great one though. They have the best quality as far as my experience goes. I've had two GTX 480s, and my EVGA one seemed to perform a bit better and didn't die like the other did.

 

[The White Hunter]

Hello all. I've been doing some research now and I have finally decided on a rig. I'd like to hear the Escapist's opinion.

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K Box, LGA1150
Motherboard: ASUS Z87-Expert, Intel Z87, Sockel 1150, ATX
RAM: 8GB-Kit Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 MHz CL9
Case: FRACTAL DESIGN Define R4 Titanium Grey
GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB DDR5, PCI-Express
Power Supply: Corsair Gaming Series GS700 2013 Edition 700W
Harddisk: WD AV-25 1TB, 16MB Cache, SATA II
CPU Fan: Thermaltake Frio Extreme

Also, I was wondering if the producer of a part had any influence on performance ? For example: The GPU comes from EVGA, yet I have seen the same made by ASUS. It is something I have been wondering for a while.

Replace the HDD with a Seagate Barracuda of at least 2TB, they're big, cheap and fast and about the same as WD's products. And Consider a 128 GB SSD for the boot drive and key programs for the sake of outright boot speed and reduced load times.

Everything else is a pretty good choice except Corsair have cheaper lines of PSU that actually perform the same, you're paying more for lighting effects, even if it is only a few quid (don't worry, I paid more for the exact same GPU, them lighting effects are the only ones in there.)

Also! Fractal! Fuck yes!

Consider though the humble Fractal Arc Midi R2, your choice is very highe nd and definately quieter, but the arc midi r2 is a bit cooler and a littl bit more flexible with your coolin g and cable routing, it also looks better in my opinion but that can be completely discounted as looks are purely opinion based.

Overall though it pretty much reminds me of mine.

And if you have the cash replace that fan/heatsionk with a Corsair water system, paqrticularly if you are overclocking, if not don't bother and cut down to a £20 coolermaster heatsink or something because it's fine.

 

[Angelous Wang]

Also, I was wondering if the producer of a part had any influence on performance ? For example: The GPU comes from EVGA, yet I have seen the same made by ASUS. It is something I have been wondering for a while.

From EVGA they will have standard factory status unless they specifically put ether "Performance Boost" or "Superclocked" in the name.

 

[Hazy992]

Well yeah if its a graphics card there will be differences between manufacturers, even if its the same card. Differences in PCBs, clock speeds, temperature etc which will affect performance somewhat. Just look up benchmarks and decide if the small differences are worth the extra money.

But yeah the rig seems fine. The power supply is probably a bit high, but its better to have too much power than not enough, plus it gives you some headroom.

That's what I thought, but when I built my first rig, i didn't think of it that much (That was when the GTX 7600 was considered a pretty good card. I think I was 12 back then. Still using that rig actually xD). The thing is, I want to be able to futureproof it as much as I can.

You don't have to worry about that, even a reference 770 is one of the best cards on the market and will absolutely destroy the PS4 and Xbox One. Besides, I dont think non reference cards offer that much more, maybe a few more FPS, which if you're on a 60Hz monitor you won't notice anyway. like I said before I'd check benchmarks and decide if it's worth it.

 

[Ryan Hughes]

SNIP
Also, I was wondering if the producer of a part had any influence on performance ? For example: The GPU comes from EVGA, yet I have seen the same made by ASUS. It is something I have been wondering for a while.

For GPUs, the chips are all made by nVidia or AMD/ATI, the main difference is the cooling fan or fans, heatsink, and bus. paying attention to the bus is important, because anything less than 128-bit will bottleneck a GPU like the 770. EVGA has a good reputation, so I doubt there is much to worry about in terms of the fans or heatsink.

ASUS is a decent brand as well, I have never used them, but again they are reasonably well-respected.

Overall this seems to be a more than solid gaming build. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

 

[GoaThief]

As the post above says, if it's a reference card then there will be no real difference between manufacturers so go for the cheapest you can find. If it's non-reference (I'd go with with reference if I were contemplating the 770) then a purchase depends on how much extra bang for your buck you're getting. Some custom cards offer terrible price for performance gains and you'd be better off with stepping up a rung on the ladder entirely.

Overall it looks a great build, like a more modern version of mine with a i5 2500k (@4500), z68, 8gb Vengeance, 480 Gtx, Define R3,etc... I'm in two minds over it. Sell it now for more cash and build an almost identical one to yours or just get a 770.

 

[DarkhoIlow]

The rig is fine...but if you decide to go for such a high end graphics card then you should go the full mile and get 32GB of RAM.

If you do that, I think you won't have any issues running any games on high/ultra for at least 7+ years to come with those specs.

 

[RustlessPotato]

SNIP
Also, I was wondering if the producer of a part had any influence on performance ? For example: The GPU comes from EVGA, yet I have seen the same made by ASUS. It is something I have been wondering for a while.

For GPUs, the chips are all made by nVidia or AMD/ATI, the main difference is the cooling fan or fans, heatsink, and bus. paying attention to the bus is important, because anything less than 128-bit will bottleneck a GPU like the 770. EVGA has a good reputation, so I doubt there is much to worry about in terms of the fans or heatsink.

ASUS is a decent brand as well, I have never used them, but again they are reasonably well-respected.

Overall this seems to be a more than solid gaming build. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

Thank you for your reply. I do have another question. To cool my CPU, should I buy some thermal paste or will the fan be enough ? I have built a rig before, but that was so long ago and never bothered about different manufactures or whether thermal paste was necessary.

 

[GoaThief]

To cool my CPU, should I buy some thermal paste or will the fan be enough ? I have built a rig before, but that was so long ago and never bothered about different manufactures or whether thermal paste was necessary.

ALWAYS use thermal paste, unless your fan comes supplied with it already applied. Fortunately, a lot do and you just have to peel off a protective sticker and attatch it to the MOBO.

It's essential for the heat transfer process, your CPU could easily cook without it.

 

[direkiller]

SNIP
Also, I was wondering if the producer of a part had any influence on performance ? For example: The GPU comes from EVGA, yet I have seen the same made by ASUS. It is something I have been wondering for a while.

For GPUs, the chips are all made by nVidia or AMD/ATI, the main difference is the cooling fan or fans, heatsink, and bus. paying attention to the bus is important, because anything less than 128-bit will bottleneck a GPU like the 770. EVGA has a good reputation, so I doubt there is much to worry about in terms of the fans or heatsink.

ASUS is a decent brand as well, I have never used them, but again they are reasonably well-respected.

Overall this seems to be a more than solid gaming build. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

Thank you for your reply. I do have another question. To cool my CPU, should I buy some thermal paste or will the fan be enough ? I have built a rig before, but that was so long ago and never bothered about different manufactures or whether thermal paste was necessary.

intel fans come with thermal paste pre applyed, most of the time it is a ugly application though so I would not use it.

I would pick some up it's an extra $10 and it never hurts and will more often then not help CPU temps, you will need to clean the old stuff off .

 

[Ryan Hughes]

Thank you for your reply. I do have another question. To cool my CPU, should I buy some thermal paste or will the fan be enough ? I have built a rig before, but that was so long ago and never bothered about different manufactures or whether thermal paste was necessary.

Always use the heat dissipation paste, but there is a catch. All the stock fans come with some applied, but since you have an after-market fan, some of those come with paste and some do not. That Thermalake seems to come with a paste application after a quick google, and if it does not, well, you should pick some up.

There are any number of videos on youtube that will show how to apply the paste. However, it is not as difficult as you might think, especially because that fan will cinch down and make a strong contact with the CPU. Newegg did a nice video a couple of years back on building: