New PC Build - Hardware & Software

So I ordered all my shit for christmas. Current build is a shitty Mini-ITX i3. What do you guys think? Keep in mind these parts are designed for a hackintosh (a custom-built pc designed to run osx) dual boot with windows. [URL="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00D94X6AK/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1"]Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87-HD3[/URL] [URL="http://www.amazon.com/Intel-i5-4430-Quad-Core-Desktop-Processor/dp/B00CO8T9VC/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1387674745&sr=1-1&keywords=intel+core+i5+4430"]Processor: Intel Core i5-4430[/URL] [URL="http://www.amazon.com/GTX760-DC2OC-2GD5-GeForce-256-bit-PCI-Express-OC-selected/dp/B00DBPKEOI/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1387674990&sr=1-1&keywords=asus+gtx+760"]GFX Card: Asus GTX760[/URL](Side note: I got this card over the EVGA Superclocked version, which was the same price basically, cause it looked prettier.. :P, think the performance will differ? [URL="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003ZDJ42O/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=tonymacx86com-20"]Ram: Some Corsair shit from my last build. 8GB[/URL] [URL="http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Hyper-212-RR-212E-20PK-R2/dp/B005O65JXI/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1387675371&sr=1-1&keywords=cooler+master+hyper+212+evo"]CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO[/URL] [URL="http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Modular-Bronze-ATX12V-CX600M/dp/B00ALYOPSS/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1387675504&sr=1-1&keywords=corsair+600w+modular+power+supply"]PSU: Corsair 600M (600w)[/URL] [URL="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004WK3KKQ/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1"]Case: Cooler Master Storm Trooper Mid-Tower[/URL] Storage: OCZ Agility 3 120GB and 2TB Seagate Barracuda Operating Systems: Mac OS X 10.9 Mavericks and Windows 8 How do you like the build, guys? Any good? In retrospect I wish I would have gotten a bit better processor, but too late for that.

What's your budget?

Around 1k.

The only thing to critique is the choice in motherboard. There is no reason to buy a Z87 motherboard unless you want to use SLI or CFX and that motherboard doesn't support SLI or x8/x8 CFX, so there's no real point in it because you bought a processor that can't be overclocked. That being said at least you bought something too high end, your performance won't suffer and you've got more upgradeability. The EVGA superclocked version would have given you better performance in two ways: ACX offers better cooling than DirectCU II, and the overclock on the EVGA card is higher. That being said the difference will be mostly negligible (maybe 5 FPS at most), so buying it for the aesthetics is at least not too bad of a decision. [editline]21st December 2013[/editline] [QUOTE=Death_God;43267345]What's your budget?[/QUOTE] He already ordered these parts.

How many fps should I expect on max settings in Minecraft and BF4, both while and while not recording?

Don't really know why he would ask here if he already bought them... I honestly doubt you're going to get max settings on Battlefield 4, but on Minecraft you'll probably be able to comfortably max it. While recording, it will [i]probably[/i] be fine for Minecraft but not too great for Battlefield 4.

[QUOTE=Th3applek1d;43267409]How many fps should I expect on max settings in Minecraft and BF4, both while and while not recording?[/QUOTE] Keep in mind: Battlefield 4 is an unoptimized piece of shit, and minecraft is an unoptimized piece of shit that just happens to not require much in the way of processing power because of 16 x 16 textures rendered on cubes. These two games are not representative of any performance bracket. Just because you get bad FPS on these doesn't mean you will get bad FPS on games in general. Since you have shadowplay, you won't have much performance hit while recording at all assuming you do actually use the technology (which has it's limitations, so there may be valid reason not to use it). Although honestly a 760 is a decent card, so you can expect a pretty game frame rate with both games assuming Battlefield 4 doesn't do something retarded like use more than 8 GB of system RAM somehow which is a possibility.

Is a 500w PSU enough? Do I need to send it back and get a better one? Also, fps wise would it be worth it to send back the CPU and order another which features overclocking? If I have to send the PSU back I'm sending the CPU as well. But if not is it still worth it? Any way I can overclock with it? I can either send it back and not get it for a few more days or just stick with it and upgrade my CPU to an i7 and my PSU to like a 750w in 6 months.

Isn't the only difference between an i7, and i5 the hyperthreading? I'm pretty sure you don't need that for gaming either. Don't quote me though.

[QUOTE=Exigent;43293823]Isn't the only difference between an i7, and i5 the hyperthreading? I'm pretty sure you don't need that for gaming either. Don't quote me though.[/QUOTE] That's completely correct. Hyperthreading can help in some games by a few FPS, but it can also hurt others, so the extra $100 an i7 costs isn't worth it. You can't overclock that CPU at all. You can only overclock unlocked "k" models; although, a 500 watt PSU will be sufficient for overclocking.

[QUOTE=flayne;43295602]That's completely correct. Hyperthreading can help in some games by a few FPS, but it can also hurt others, so the extra $100 an i7 costs isn't worth it. You can't overclock that CPU at all. You can only overclock unlocked "k" models; although, a 500 watt PSU will be sufficient for overclocking.[/QUOTE] So, that being said, would you say I should send it back and get a K cpu? Keep in mind I have never overclocked before.

High end overclocking yields about a five FPS improvement. So if you want to invest in a high end air cooler (around $60) or a water cooler (around $100 for one that will beat the air cooler and be worth the price), to get that improvement go ahead and do it. It's also nice to have the option when your rig is performing badly because of newer games and older hardware. It'll give you a little extra lifespan until you have to replace it (and of course you don't have to buy a cooler until then). You could also go for a lighter overclock with something like an H212 evo ($30). I'd say maybe expect 2-3 FPS better, as well as an improvement in the speed of basic computer operation (i.e. not games). BTW a lot of places won't let you return CPUs.

[QUOTE=flayne;43297779]High end overclocking yields about a five FPS improvement. So if you want to invest in a high end air cooler (around $60) or a water cooler (around $100 for one that will beat the air cooler and be worth the price), to get that improvement go ahead and do it. It's also nice to have the option when your rig is performing badly because of newer games and older hardware. It'll give you a little extra lifespan until you have to replace it (and of course you don't have to buy a cooler until then). You could also go for a lighter overclock with something like an H212 evo ($30). I'd say maybe expect 2-3 FPS better, as well as an improvement in the speed of basic computer operation (i.e. not games). BTW a lot of places won't let you return CPUs.[/QUOTE] Think i'll just stick with what I have. Got a hyper 212 EVO but i'm not going to use it for the time being because I have to transport the computer a lot and I don't trust that heavy hunk of metal moving around a lot. I'll just go stock plus some case fans for the time being. Thanks for all your help, flayne.

I have to transport my computer on an hour long drive to my college regularly. The roads around my college are horribly bumpy and my computer (which also has an H212 evo and a similar tier motherboard (the Z87X-D3H)), has held up fine on four rides so far with absolutely no trouble. I know it seems like something like that should be able to just tear parts of the motherboard off, but it's actually really durable. These motherboards are designed with this kind of stress in mind.

Holy hell, minecraft gets 225fps on average with a dual monitor setup.

[QUOTE=flayne;43297779]High end overclocking yields about a five FPS improvement. So if you want to invest in a high end air cooler (around $60) or a water cooler (around $100 for one that will beat the air cooler and be worth the price), to get that improvement go ahead and do it. It's also nice to have the option when your rig is performing badly because of newer games and older hardware. It'll give you a little extra lifespan until you have to replace it (and of course you don't have to buy a cooler until then). You could also go for a lighter overclock with something like an H212 evo ($30). I'd say maybe expect 2-3 FPS better, as well as an improvement in the speed of basic computer operation (i.e. not games). BTW a lot of places won't let you return CPUs.[/QUOTE] Overclocking in a CPU heavy game yields huge benefits though. I can max out GW2 with my gts 250 with my 4670k at 4ghz

[QUOTE=Levelog;43310524]Overclocking in a CPU heavy game yields huge benefits though. I can max out GW2 with my gts 250 with my 4670k at 4ghz[/QUOTE] GW2 is CPU heavy? Wouldn't the game load the most intensive CPU operations onto the server; thusly, making sure most CPU operations never even ran on the client. I wouldn't expect to hear that an MMO is CPU heavy. I'm interested to see why if it is though.