Building a new gaming PC, in need of advice. 1500 GBP Budget

[normal boy]

Hello Facepunchers.

So I've decided to build my self a new computer since my old one wouldn't even be able to compete against a toaster.
I'm pretty new to the whole "build" scene and I've only scratched the surface when it comes to parts that are required to actually build a functioning PC.

I live in Sweden, but I've decided to order from Amazon.co.uk. My budget is approx. 1500 GBP, or 2260 US Dollars. I'm not in need of a new monitor, keyboard, mouse or headset.

I'm planning to play on 1900x1080 since it's the highest resolution my Tv-monitor can handle. I plan on playing games like Far Cry 3, Hitman: Absolution, sleeping dogs, BF3 & 4, GTA 5 (when it comes out) and bioshock infinite.

[B]GPU:[/B] 2x Nvidia GTX 680's [URL]http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=gtx+680[/URL]
As you can see there are multiple brands, which one is the best? Also, are 2x Radeon HD 7970's in crossfire better?
[B]
CPU: [/B]Intel i5-4670K [URL]http://www.amazon.co.uk/CORE-I5-4670K-3-40GHZ/dp/B00D13R8B2/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1370181883&sr=1-1&keywords=4670k[/URL]
[B]
OS: [/B]Windows 8 [URL]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Microsoft-Windows-WN7-00403-English-Version/dp/B009HI2W66/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1369836945&sr=8-4&keywords=windows+8[/URL]

[B]SSD: [/B]SanDisk SDSSDP-128G-G25 128GB [URL]http://www.amazon.co.uk/SanDisk-SDSSDP-128G-G25-128GB-SATA-Internal/dp/B007ZW2LY4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1369837094&sr=8-2&keywords=ssd[/URL]

[B]HD:[/B] Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB [URL]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Western-Digital-internal-Hard-Drive/dp/B0088PUEPK/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1369925924&sr=1-1&keywords=Western+Digital+blue[/URL]
[B]
Case:[/B] Fractal Design R4 [URL="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fractal-Design-Define-R4-Case/dp/B008NFWGXI/ref=sr_1_2?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1369926059&sr=1-2&keywords=fractal+design+r4#productDetails"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fractal-Design-Define-R4-Case/dp/B008NFWGXI/ref=sr_1_2?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1369926059&sr=1-2&keywords=fractal+design+r4#[/URL]

[B]PSU: [/B]Corsair TX750 [URL]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-TX750V2-Enthusiast-Series-Bronze/dp/B004O0P9VC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370082413&sr=8-1&keywords=corsair+tx750[/URL]

[B]Motherboard:[/B] No clue, didn't Haswell require a special socket?

[B]Ram: [/B]Corsair vengance 8GB [URL="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9-1600MHz-Vengeance-Memory/dp/B004CRSM4I/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1369838033&sr=1-1&keywords=ram+8gb#productDetails"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9-1600MHz-Vengeance-Memory/dp/B004CRSM4I/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1369838033&sr=1-1&keywords=ram+8gb#[/URL]

[SmallieBiggs]

The 680 and 7970 are on par with each other, i'd get a 780 rather than going with two cards though.

[rhx123]

+1 for the 780, and what screen resolution do you intend to game at?

[editline]29th May 2013[/editline]

And yes the new Socket 1150 board will be out at the same time as Haswell.

[editline]29th May 2013[/editline]

Lastly, are you just gaming or doing video/streaming work too?

Because if it's just gaming you'd be fine with the relevant Haswell unlocked i5.

[normal boy]

Looking at recent game benchmarks the GTX 680's are about a 1/3 faster than a GTX 780.
But then again the games might not have supported the card at that time.

Also, was the PSU and the case good?

[rhx123]

PSU is fine, case doesn't have much in the way of cable management by the look of things so it'd be best to invest a bit more in a better case.

It would be very helpful if you can tell us the resolution you intend to play at and what else you intend to use the rig for so we could give you GPU/CPU advice.

[normal boy]

Alright then. I guess I'm going to play on 1900x1080 since it's the highest resolution my Tv-monitor can handle. I plan on playing games like Far Cry 3, Hitman: Absolution, sleeping dogs, BF3 & 4, GTA 5 (when it comes out) and bioshock infinite.

Any recommended cases?

[TheLolrus]

I know the Cooler Master HAF cases get used in a fair amount of builds.

[rhx123]

The 780 will be fine for you at that res, I run a single 7950 at 2560x1440 and that's passable on medium high, a 780 at 1920x1080 will be superb.

Going down the single card route means that you don't have the risk of SLI problems, and also if you do need to upgrade because of getting a higher res screen in the future you can just drop another 780 in.

A for cases, it does come down to personal preference, but if silence is your thing I do recommend the Fractal Design Define r4, however I'm not that well versed in cases - I only look in the silent end of things as I'm very noise sensitive.

[editline]30th May 2013[/editline]

Also you may want to change from a WD Green to Blue.

[normal boy]

You sure everything would fit in the R4?

I'm still more on the 680 SLI side of the fence though.

[rhx123]

[QUOTE=riki2cool;40840410]You sure everything would fit in the R4?

I'm still more on the 680 SLI side of the fence though.[/QUOTE]

I have a Single 7950 in my Define Mini without having to take the drive cage out.
You certainly won't have a problem with two cards in the R4.

Two 680's is seriously overkill for your resolution.
You will never utilize that much power at 1920x1080@60Hz.

Going for the Single 780 means:
•Less Power Consumption so
•Less Heat
•Less Noise
•Better upgrade path
•No problems with games that don't support SLI/sli not working (eg crysis 3 name change debacle)
•No chance of microstuttering (even though that's almost perfect now)

[normal boy]

I'll think about it...

[normal boy]

Should I switch to a Corsair TX750? I just read about CX "coil whine".

[RandomGamer342]

I personally had a terrible experience with the R4, having to glue-gun the PSU feet back to the case and having issues with the PCI slots(amongst various things)

It's certainly not the most user friendly case in my opinion, although i might've had bad luck

You should definitely go for a 780 instead for the reasons others mentioned. I'd recommend a gainward phantom one, but EVGA/ASUS also make good cards

[normal boy]

[QUOTE=RandomGamer342;40854808]I personally had a terrible experience with the R4, having to glue-gun the PSU feet back to the case and having issues with the PCI slots(amongst various things)

It's certainly not the most user friendly case in my opinion, although i might've had bad luck

You should definitely go for a 780 instead for the reasons others mentioned. I'd recommend a gainward phantom one, but EVGA/ASUS also make good cards[/QUOTE]

What do you think I should get instead of a Define R4 then?

Wouldn't it be better to get a GTX 690 instead of a 780, considering that I do have money for it?

[Taipan]

Thats so much money for so so little gain. And you are buying an older generation card in the process.

[normal boy]

Because 20-30 FPS is a little gain.

[Killervalon]

as sad as it may seem, he's right
[url]http://gpuboss.com/gpus/GeForce-GTX-780-vs-GeForce-GTX-690[/url]

[rhx123]

And what good is an increase of 71 to 87fps on a 60Hz screen?

[editline]1st June 2013[/editline]

Still, its your money and if you want to spend it on a 690 be our guest.

Still, in the end it upto you, but if you know what you are going to get you might as well mark this thread as solved now (after the case is decided upon)

[normal boy]

I talked with a guy who tests GPU's and he said that he hasn't experienced any problems with GTX 680 SLi.

Though he did say that there was a small issue when Crysis 3 came out, but it was resolved quickly.

[RandomGamer342]

Higher framerates don't always correlate to better performance, the titan has a little lower FPS than the 690/680 SLI but doesn't mean gameplay feels smoother. I'd rather spend the extra money on an upgrade to a samsung 840 PRO SSD with 256GB

Techreport did a good article about this when reviewing the titan, and i've been running a 680 system and upgraded it to 3x680 after a huge monitor upgrade, and i notice the loss of smoothness(and general SLI issues even if it's not a lot)

The reason i'm comparing with a titan is that the 780 is a barely slower version of it, and a single card is generally better than SLI unless the SLI beats the single performance wise by a lot more than the 690 does

I don't really have any personal experience with more "clean design" cases like the R4, but a case i really loved working with was the 830 Phantom(very easy to work with, tons of fan placements and tons of room)

[normal boy]

Guys, the haswell series is out now.

Which motherboard should I choose? (Needs to have socket 1150)

Also, If I do 680 in SLi, will I need a second/better PSU?

[Humor]

There is no reason not to do 770 SLI if you really need two cards, better performance than 680's and much cheaper.

[Taipan]

[QUOTE=riki2cool;40876114]Guys, the haswell series is out now.

Which motherboard should I choose? (Needs to have socket 1150)

Also, If I do 680 in SLi, will I need a second/better PSU?[/QUOTE]

Depending on what you want: I really the MSI z87 g45 It has great sound, supports full speed CF and SLI, and has some overclocking features that are pretty nice for a very low price.
Only think I think it really lacks is a bios error code hex display.