ATTN gamers--seeking advice

[adam1991]

I'm not a gamer, but I know someone who is. He's on a mission to build his next rig, and so far it's virtually a case of cost is no object.

But even so, one hates to waste money. At some point, you don't get the return for your dollar.

Anyway, he's specified the following components (see attachment). Any advice on these components and/or this build in general from seasoned gamers is welcome.

[leroys1000]

Would be easier if you could post the links here.
I just get a text file where I would have to copy and paste everything into a browser.
If you post the links in a quick reply,they are usually automatically formatted so they are clickable.

[adam1991]

yeah, can't post more than a couple links per post.

I can do that, though.

Video card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814130899

CPU: http://www.microcenter.com/product/4132 ... _Processor

RAM: http://www.microcenter.com/product/3875 ... Modules%29

[adam1991]

Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813128594

SSD: http://www.microcenter.com/product/3827 ... tate_Drive

Case: http://www.microcenter.com/product/3555 ... tion_White

[adam1991]

Power supply: http://www.microcenter.com/product/3568 ... wer_Supply

He wants three of these monitors: http://www.amazon.com/Asus-VS238H-P-23- ... s+monitors

CPU cooler: http://www.microcenter.com/product/4049 ... CPU_Cooler

[adam1991]

Spinning drive: http://www.microcenter.com/product/3863 ... T2000DM001

WiFi adapter: http://www.microcenter.com/product/3839 ... ss_Adapter

USB card: http://www.microcenter.com/product/1785 ... apter_Card

[leroys1000]

It's close on the titan vs the GTX 690.
Looks like the 690 has a bit less memory and a faster clock speed at the same price.
Both are a bit overkill but good for some future proofing.
The titan says not available so probably have to look around if it is in production yet.

Everything looks good but he is going to need a DVD drive and a windows install disk.
Also a keyboard mouse combo if he doesn't have what he wants.
Looks like a very nice system and everything is compatable as far as I can see.
Check the video card specs to see what is required to run all three monitors.
Some cards require connection on the DVI/display port/HDMI to do that.
So your monitors may need all three.

[adam1991]

yeah, he'll prob repurpose a DVD drive. I did mention Windows to him, but that's a given.

Good catch on running all three monitor simultaneously.

[LuckyDay]

PSU is huge overkill, the i7 is also overkill unless he's doing video editing or something that needs the multi-threading. The i5 is going to give every bit of performance he needs and he'll be able to overclock if he wants to get more. If he wants to just chuck money at the CPU it's fine, but he won't see a huge difference in most gaming from i5 to i7.

And for the triple monitors, DVI or Displayport is all you need. On most current gen cards you can use all DVI and it works perfect. Avoid HDMI if possible.

[Shackleford]

I agree with luckyday also I think 32gb RAM is overkill 16Gb is more than enough for gaming. Also instead of going with 1 titan graphics card he might see similar performance from a card like the gtx 780 or better yet SLI 780.

[LuckyDay]

I agree with luckyday also I think 32gb RAM is overkill 16Gb is more than enough for gaming. Also instead of going with 1 titan graphics card he might see similar performance from a card like the gtx 780 or better yet SLI 780.

Yeah, 16GB RAM is plenty.

780s are great cards, much more inexpensive and comparable to the 690s. Although I would say if money isn't an issue staying away from SLI is always good. Great for some greats, headaches for others.

[adam1991]

Thanks, guys. I thought that PSU was way overkill; glad to have that confirmed. Didn't realize about the i7, although that makes sense; all the work is being done in the GPU.

This kid (13 year old nephew) really wants a Haswell setup. Can't wait to build one. But if gaming is his thing, I don't think that's relevant. Opinions?

[leroys1000]

I just figured from the parts list,that you were trying to max the system
out and make sure it was usable for a few years.
Although the power supply may be overkill,the system will only draw what it needs.
The overhead would make the power supply that much harder to kill as you won't
even approach peak.
As far as the video card,you don't have to setup SLI.
Both the titan and 690 are already built in SLI mode on the card.
You might want to check if the 7XX version of the card is out yet though.

[Shackleford]

Although the power supply may be overkill,the system will only draw what it needs.
The overhead would make the power supply that much harder to kill as you won't
even approach peak.

While this is partially true it is still a waste of money and efficiency for a single gpu.

As far as the video card,you don't have to setup SLI.
Both the titan and 690 are already built in SLI mode on the card.
You might want to check if the 7XX version of the card is out yet though.

Yes the 780 is out and performs very close to the same as these cards for less money. The titan and 690 are last gen. The 690 is a dual gpu card. If you're trying to get the absolute best graphics performance especially running 3 monitors at 1080p SLI will be best. It will require more power though making the power supply you picked more ideal and obviously cost more.

If it were me building and cost wasn't an issue I'd use 2 780's in SLI to make sure I was ready for the future.