Question guys, how much money do I have to spend on a (CPU only) rig that will max the most graphics intensive games today and in the near future (maybe watch dogs, gta5, these kind of games?)

Will 3-4k be enough or will that only get me a medium gaming rig?

Thanks! I would like to keep it below 4k if possible. I only need the CPU as I can recycle my screen, keyboard, etc from my current PC.

Oops... sorry, when I said CPU, i meant the entire CPU tower.. the "rig" itself. As far as recycling the rig parts, I can only recycle the SSD from the laptop (it is a Crucial M4 128 GB, I think should be compatible with the new rig?)

Also thanks for quick suggestions, going through them 1 by 1 atm

@Zgames @Human10 @Minecrafter

Will the components suggested fit in the smallest case in the picture below? I prefer the rig to be as small as possible (sorry for omitting this previously). Also, I won't be OC'ing my PC.

The term used for the 3 casings were Micro Tower, Mid Tower and Full Tower. I prefer the Micro Tower size.

Thanks. So if I get this (below), the length is 15.16" which is about 385mm, it will be large enough?

Where did you guys get the price btw... for example, I can't find Asrock H97 Pro and the i5-4460 from the Viewnet price list

http://images-cdn.lowyat.net/pricelists/PC...are-viewnet.pdf

I wanted to ask this also, is now a good time to get a new rig, i.e. no new "upgrades" coming out soon (like last time Haswell CPU and etc)?

Also @Zgames, what mobo would I need to change if I want to fit everything in a Micro Tower case?

This was the recommendation yesterday:

Hi sifus,

How much "real" difference will I be able to see with a Zotac GTX780 Ti Amp! with a "standard" GTX780 card? I'm seeing some replies here saying the standard GTX780 going as low as RM1670 which is so much cheaper than the Ti Amp! version which is around RM2300 (savings can go to a better processor). From xbitlabs it seems to be about ~5FPS difference on the few games they tested.

I'm not sure if the Ti Amp will fare better with newer "next gen" games or the performance increase is negligible. Maybe you can advice to spare me any potential regrets with skimping on the card now



Also @Zgames I've modified your recommended build slightly based on Logical Increments Guide for a "balanced" build (others who are looking to build a PC, check this out too, the site is really helpful)

Proc - i5-4460 i5-4690 or i7-4790
Mobo - ASrock H97 Pro4 ASrock H97m Pro4 (I want to fit this inside a Micro ATX)
RAM - 8GB Value RAM
PSU - Seasonic S12II 620w
GPU - Zotac GTX 780 Ti AMP! or "standard" GTX 780
HDD & SSD - recycle
Casing - maybe bitfenix or fractal design 1000

To recap, I want a gaming rig (only) that will allow me to max out graphics and as future-proof as possible within a RM4k budget +-

Any critique / comment to help me fine tune and finalize my build is very much appreciated!

This post has been edited by phoenixxx: Jul 21 2014, 11:09 PM

Thanks for the quick response. Do you have any input on the graphics card? I'm not sure if the extra RM700+ is worth it or not. How would you build your RM4k rig based on my tldr post above?

I've heard a bit about Xeon too. Will I need any special knowledge to use it or can just plug in like any i5 proc?

Thanks for all your inputs. Upon further reading, I agree that the i5-4460 is a good pair for the GTX 780 Ti card.

There is no clear winner between Xeon and non-Xeon so I will just go with the cheaper option, since the Hyperthreading function offered by Xeon is not (yet) utilized very much in gaming. Plus, I think Xeon doesn't come with a cooler

Therefore, after all the fuss, the end rig is... exactly the same as initially suggested at least I gain some side info from all the reading...

CPU - Intel i5-4460 RM 569
Mobo - ASrock H97m Pro4 RM 349
RAM - Corsair 8GB Value RAM RM 244
PSU - Seasonic S12II 620w RM 299
GPU - Zotac GTX 780 Ti AMP! RM 2,300
Soundcard - Creative Soundblaster X-Fi XtremeMusic 7.1 - recycle
HDD - recycle (old WD Green or something)
SSD - Crucial M4 128gb - recycle
Monitor - Samsung 226BW 22" - recycle
Casing - undecided

Total: RM 3761 + RM250+- for casing ~ RM4k

Just some fun facts, my upgrade cycle seems to be around 3-4 years, hoping to push 5+ years with this rig (games are looking better and better even on low settings nowadays)




This post has been edited by phoenixxx: Jul 22 2014, 01:20 AM

Thanks a lot for the recommendations Didn't know cases nowadays come with all these bells and whistles. Also, I'm a bit confused because the Mobo already has USB ports (6 front and 6 back), but these cases also come with USB ports? Where are the mobo ports going to fit/appear on the case?

What say you if I want a case:
- that is small - ie Micro ATX (for the H97M board)
- has dust filters
- sleek modern design without too much alien / stylo-mylo kinda things
- some external and/or internal LED lighting
- window (optional)

I narrowed down to a few:


Ghost is nice but too big


Shadow does not have green LED to match my dumb green colour keyboard. Plus too big


Colossus Micro... my favourite so far but has no dust filters


Phantom - Nice but too big


CM Silencio 352... seems the best spec-wise but looks very old fashioned


I guess if I can get a Colossus Micro that comes with removable dust filters.. then it'd be a winner. Any suggestions?

Too bought in by the silky smooth matte-black type design offered by Bitfenix, which is why I'm also using a Razer Blackwidow despite what people say about Razer products.

So far I like Colossus M and Phenom M best... yup, both by Bitfenix

But both doesnt come with removable dust filters

EDIT: Actually I think it does... just caught it on one of the paragraphs on the website (its not specifically mentioned in the spec sheet). Will have to check it out at LYP.

This post has been edited by phoenixxx: Jul 23 2014, 01:40 AM

Sifus, some updates - I approached one of the online sellers here with the recommended spec but they came back with this. Any thoughts on this? The bolded parts are the original recommendation.



The Fractal Design Node 804 is quite a bit bigger (wider) than what I prefer (Colossus M)... but as per above it seems the parts won't fit... thoughts? Plus I don't really like the design.

Fractal Design Node 804 http://www.fractal-design.com/home/product...series/node-804
Case dimensions (WxHxD): 344 x 307 x 389 mm
Net weight: 6 kg


Bitfenix Colossus M http://www.bitfenix.com/global/en/products...ro-atx#overview
Case dimensions (WxHxD): 250 x 330 x 374mm

There's further changes to my rig due to unavailability of motherboard... is the one recommended by the seller ok? TQ sifus, almost finalizing rig already.

i5-4460 - RM5xx
ASUS H97M-E - RM3xx
G.Skill Value Ram 1600mhz 1x8GB - RM2xx
SF HX600W Gold 80+ Modular PSU (5 Years 1:1) - RM2xx
Zotac GTX780Ti AMP! Edition 3GDDR5 - RM22xx
Fractal Design Node 804 - RM3xx
RM4050

Thanks. Order placed, now just waiting

Definitely, and I will tag you if you if you teach me how to because for the life of me I can't seem to tag @Zgames

Thanks in advance all sifus, jelly pictar will be coming soon

EDIT: Another sifu taught me how to tag via PM Minecrafter Zgames

This post has been edited by phoenixxx: Jul 25 2014, 04:12 PM

Got my rig yesterday, spent some time fixing and tidying the rig, here are some pictures I took in terms of graphics, maxing everything including watch dogs + theworse graphics patch so far... very pleased with the rig TQ again all sifus

My old creative sound card was dunno PCI 1.0, and couldn't fit in the mobo. So have to use external USB soundcard.

The fractal casing is big. Look like a mini fridge