Gaming Build 1k - 1.5k (Inc. Monitor)

B_Sharp

I've researching my first build for a bit and I've come up with something along these lines. Ideally, I'd prefer the whole thing to come in €200-300 cheaper than this and I'd be happy to make some changes/compromises based on the advice I get here.

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor (€192.84 @ Mindfactory)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (€35.53 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Motherboard: MSI Z97 PC MATE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (€89.89 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (€49.64 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (€75.67 @ Mindfactory) *Add a 500GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD from my laptop
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 390X 8GB Video Card (€456.76 @ Mindfactory)
Case: NZXT S340 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case (€86.45 @ Mindfactory)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (€79.90 @ Caseking)
Monitor: Acer XG270HU 144Hz 27.0" Monitor (€464.24 @ Amazon.it)
Total: €1530.92

I have a few questions, although 1, 2 & 3 are all along similar lines regarding the best monitor and GPU pairing.

1. 390x v 390/GTX 970
The 390x is aobut €100 more expensive than the other two and while it's not miles better, I think it's probably my best option for 1440p. Does anyone disagree?

2. 144hz v 60hz
Image quality is more important to me than smoothness so I'm not going to get near 144fps in any new games at Ultra/High settings. I'm wondering if the monitor above is overkill in that case, would a normal 24" 1440p one do me? Ideally I'd love a 24" 1440p monitor with Freesync/Gsync but they don't exist? Am I missing something as to why this is the case?

3. 1440p v 1080p
What I want here really is people to tell me the jump from 1080p to 1440p is worth it! If I stayed at 1080p I'd be able to shave a decent amount off the GPU and monitor but when I'm spending at least a grand anyway, I kind of want that 'wow factor'. As this is my first build, I won't be upgrading to 4k anyway for a long while.

4. Best place to get a Windows key?
Are the ones on Reddit straight up illegal or are they in a 'grey area'? Still have to factor in a mouse/keyboard so if I could save €80 on a Windows key that'd be great but if they're dodgy, I'd rather avoid.

I know some of this just comes down to whether I want to spend the money but I'm new to all this and any and all advice/reccomendations are appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Redfox25

Hi. The 390x is a beast of a card and is very good. If you wanted to save a few quid you could drop to 390 for not much loss in fps.

That monitor is pretty steep atm. If your not buying on the next day or two wait till jan sales. I was going to get that screen 3 months ago and it was 300stg at the time.
Double check that psu as well. Not sure if the cx brand are the good ones or the crappy ones. Bequiet psus are god too or the berlin thermaltake one. Was a bit cheaper too.
On phone so cant check but is that not an oc mobo? As its not a k model cpu too.

Xenoronin

Don't know about the 1080 to 1440p jump but I can say that IPS/PLS/VA panels are the way to go for colour accuracy in a monitor, the downside is screen tearing due to the high response times (>5ms) so you have to use vert sync. The graphics you are going for will push 1440p quite easily so it is a good idea to go for that resolution. Having said that, some TN panels have come along a lot in colour accuracy. The viewing angles are what really let TN panels down.

The 390X seems to be the way to go for 1440p gaming tbh.

An alternative version of your build is go with the GTX 970, drop to 1080p but get a 24" 144Hz GSync monitor. Should work out a little bit cheaper.
Edit: Man, i forgot about the cheapness of FreeSync. Go for the 390X with that monitor. That is silly good for the money.

Reddit are still grey. If all goes well and you get a windows 7 or 8 key that is valid, you can upgrade to windows 10 and be issued a new key. Removes the worry of being deactivated (I think anyway).

Digital Solitude

Drop the cooler and get a cheaper board.

At 1440p60, a 390 should be cool

If you want well over 60, I'd have a look at the 390X there.

Redfox25

Or do you want to oc?
With that 144hz monitor you really should go for the 390x and be done with it. There maybe cheaper ones about. I can vouuvh for the xfx one and its good. Not sure if it oc well as havent done it yet

Sneak

Are you coming from the "next gen" consoles? Because if you are you'e definitely going to get that wow factor you're searching for. As suggested above drop the cpu cooler and get a cheaper mobo. I'd also get the case elsewhere as mindfactory charge another 30 for delivery as it comes from a seperate warehouse. Maybe also drop to a 1tb hdd if you're really trying to get the price down.

grindle

There are definitely cheaper ones about, the Sapphire Nitro is €400 on Mindfactory.

The case should be gotten from Amazon UK or ES, both cheaper and you won't get hit with an extra €30 delivery charge.
All the innards should be gotten from Mindfactory, you have enough in your budget to get a nicer PSU and HDD and still be under €1500 delivered.

B_Sharp

Cheers for the advice so far lads (or lassies!). If I go for a B85 board, is there any difference between manufacturers?

Regarding dropping the CPU cooler, would that have the knock-on effect of making the rig any louder? I'd like to keep it as quiet as possible and if dropping 40 quid on a cooler achieved that, I could live with it. If they're purely for overclocked CPUs, I'll happily drop it.

Won't be putting all together until after Christmas so I'll be keeping an eye on prices but should things be cheaper in January? Is there the equivalent of January sales in the German PC component world??:P

ponzook

I'd probably swap the 2*4 gb to an 8gb stick as well. We are not far away from needing 16Gb of ram.

Redfox25

Hi
If it was me i would be looking to oc my cpu at least.
Yes its a bit more expensive but its worth it in my view.

Sales wise. Maybe not in germany but amazon and the other sites will have sales. Worth keeping an eye on.

RoyalMarine

if I were dropping 1.5k on a gaming PC, I'd stick 2 x 8gb sticks of ram in there rather than 2 x 4. It will make an improvement, and it will allow easier upgrade in the future. the mobo has 4 channels, allowing you to simply add another 2 x 8 if you ever needed it.

Ram is easy to find in good offers such as this
http://www.amazon.co.uk/HyperX-FURY-DDR3-Memory-Module/dp/B00J8E8ZOC/ref=lp_430511031_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1449601421&sr=1-1

Digital Solitude

4x4gb is a little faster on Dual channel boards irrc, so I'd go for 2x4 now.

Over clocking your CPU won't be necessary for at least a couple of years, and even then its going to be optional to squeeze the best out of it.

I never had a problem with Intel's stock cooler, one I had buzzed when the PC started (it ran at 100% for 2-3 seconds) and the other, I can't tell the difference between it and the Hyper Evo I have on it now

Redfox25

If your not plann8ng to oc you wont need a cooler. Good luck with build.

Dcully

I have both a 27" 60hz IPS 1440 monitor and a 24" 144hz 1ms Gsync side by side and there is no comparison.
For gaming the 144hz wins everytime, the difference between 1440 and 1080 is nowhere near as much as the difference between 60 and 144 hz.
For productivity the 1440 wins everytime.

moc moc a moc

1. 390x v 390/GTX 970
The 390x is aobut €100 more expensive than the other two and while it's not miles better, I think it's probably my best option for 1440p. Does anyone disagree?

I'm currently running a 970 and it handles 1440p no problem (I even run some stuff at 4K on my secondary monitor). Having said that, I'm willing to drop graphics quality a little for the sake of framerate if I have to. You may want to futureproof a bit and get the more powerful card. Alternatively, get a cheaper card now and plan for SLI in the future - I forsee a big dump of GTX 970s and 980s next year when Pascal cards are released.

2. 144hz v 60hz
Image quality is more important to me than smoothness so I'm not going to get near 144fps in any new games at Ultra/High settings. I'm wondering if the monitor above is overkill in that case, would a normal 24" 1440p one do me? Ideally I'd love a 24" 1440p monitor with Freesync/Gsync but they don't exist? Am I missing something as to why this is the case?

I don't think there is much point in looking at 1440p at 24", you would want to go to 27" at least in order to be able to see a difference. I'm a framerate whore, so 120Hz or higher is a must for me (particularly as I occasionally game in 3D). G-sync is a gamechanger (and presumably also freesync, although I haven't tried this personally). I would go with the higher refresh plus G/freesync to smooth out any sub-optimal framerates. You can't make a 60Hz monitor run at 144Hz obviously, but you can make a 144Hz monitor run at 60Hz, so why limit yourself there.

3. 1440p v 1080p
What I want here really is people to tell me the jump from 1080p to 1440p is worth it! If I stayed at 1080p I'd be able to shave a decent amount off the GPU and monitor but when I'm spending at least a grand anyway, I kind of want that 'wow factor'. As this is my first build, I won't be upgrading to 4k anyway for a long while.

As above, only on a larger monitor, and even then I would place more importance on a higher refresh rate and G-sync/freesync.