Desktop Computers

Hopefully others more knowledgeable than I can comment on the power supply. It's the right brand, I know Seasonic are like amazing for power supplies, but is the wattage enough for a 980? I don't know.

Going 16gb RAM I think future proofs you pretty well, and just in case you decide to 16box EQ, you'll be set and ready to go! Nice pick on the SSD. Samsung, similar to Seasonic for power supplies, are just bad ass for SSDs.

As for brand of RAM, I think that's fine. RAM has gotten so expensive, that seems like a dang good price for 16gb, and I don't think the brand is bad. How are Newegg or Amazon reviews on it?

For motherboards, 3 years ago when I built my computer, I had gone with a ASRock motherboard. This was purely from a price vs reviews standpoint, and I've been pleasantly surprised. Held up very well, and since then I've seen a lot of positive reviews, and users about them. But I think you could find the same thing for Gigabyte as well. So you are probably ok?

meStevo_sl said:

I was going to dig in a little more into reviews of similar products when it came time to purchase. I'll probably get overkill for a PSU, that was just the recommended one from the site/build I'd started with. Partpicker has that build at 97-376W.

I've got an ASUS motherboard in my machine now now that's been pretty good to me, I just grabbed one that was full ATX, not an awful price, a brand I knew and the z97 chipset and plugged it in. Price per gb pretty good on that 500gb SSD so went w/ that over the 250 equivalent of the Crucial.

Edit: Oh, guess I could go w/ the faster M2 SSD w/ a z97 board? Spiffy.

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You could, but not sure I would switch from Samsung SSDs. Those are pretty entrenched as the best. But maybe M2 is comparable. Your research will tell ya.

I think most people go overkill on the PSU. That's pretty normal, so you'll probably be ok, as Parkpicker isn't gonna lie.

Shop around. Quick search on Newegg and the Gigabyte z97x gaming 5 is $40 cheaper than the 7. Are you really getting $40 bucks worth in the difference.

I also go a bit overkill on PSUs and usually pay the same amount. Waiting for rebates or sales and you can often get a step or two higher wattage for the same price, or the same wattage for cheaper. I've read a lot about the benefits of headroom on PSU's, keeping load down, reducing heat, etc. But shrug.

Is 16gb really needed these days? I got 8 in my last system late 2013 and have yet to have any issues, and I'm a chronic minimizer, so I'll sometimes load a game, minimize, load internet, min, load a movie, min, then load a new game and never notice a difference. (will say, this is with an i7 which probably makes a difference?)

The concept of future proofing isn't as relevant as it used to be, imo. The product cycles are pretty short and they keep using new sockets and shit. I always recommend people shoot for a respectable mid-high point in parts, avoiding the best of the latest generation. Spend half as much and build a new system twice as often. Or something like that. Spend 3/4ths as much, then build a new system in 3 years instead of 4. What happens is people end up spending more than they needed to under the idea of 'future proofing' and then never get the most out of their system and want to upgrade for all the new tech anyways before they do. You don't wont to hamstring yourself on a new build, but it's hard to do that any level of respectable budget.

Never buy the best of the latest generation unless you just have money to burn and want the best every 2 years, but then the only reason to ask for recommendations is to brag

Crone_sl said:

Hopefully others more knowledgeable than I can comment on the power supply.

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Above all else I would recommend a modular PSU. Prices are half what they were 2 years ago. Stevo, splurge the extra 10$ for something likethisand save yourself the headache of having a dozen unused power cables knotted up in the bottom of your case. If you plan to SLI in the future get an equivalent (modular + gold certified or better) in 850W or so.

popsicledeath_sl said:

Is 16gb really needed these days?

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Depends on if you plan on having more than 3 tabs of Chrome open at once or not.

Don't most people keep at least 10 tabs open ? Haha.

While I agree that 16 is better if you are budgeting, Ram is one of those things you can always add more of, I started with 8gb (2X4gb) and then added another 8 later, but also could have added (2X8) for 24gb.

Yet oddly enough, right now might be the cheapest time to buy RAM, going forward. While RAM prices have plateaued a bit recently, it's still nowhere near as cheap as it was a couple years ago, and DDR3 productions rates should steadily decrease going forward as more people move over to newer DDR4, making DDR3 more expensive. I bought 32GB of 1866 DDR3 for ~$120 in late 2012.

Now get Witcher 3 AND Batman:Arkham Knight for free when you buy an Nvidia 970 or 980

Damnit, now I'm tempted to buy a 2nd 970

Nvidia offers Witcher 3, Batman: Arkham Knight free with video card purchases - PC Gamer

Dan that is a good deal.

Another deal if you want a 970 and free ssdGALAX NVIDIA Geforce GTX 970 OC + FREE Gamer 120GB SSD Bundle

You won't get the games sadly.

I'm a big Galax fomerly galaxy and if you are building a small comp this might be a good deal.

I bought my 970 two weeks ago, those fuckers. Hopefully NCIX will be able to toss me a Batman key in addition to my Witcher 3 key.