High-Ultra settings Gaming Desktop PC for next 3-4 years.

[Fantana]

I basically want a powerful machine, capable of comfortably doing extreme gaming within a £2000 pound budget.

Thoughts and advice are appreciated.

This is the setup I'm considering -

Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-4790k (4.0GHz) 8MB Cache
Case CORSAIR CARBIDE SERIES™ AIR 540 GAMING CASE
Motherboard Gigabyte Z97X Gaming 3: ATX, LG1150, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs, XFIRE/SLI
Memory (RAM) 16GB KINGSTON HYPER-X BEAST DUAL-DDR3 2133MHz X.M.P (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card 4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 970 - 1 DVI, 1 mHDMI, 3 mDP - 3D Vision Ready
2nd Graphics Card 4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 970 - 1 DVI, 1 mHDMI, 3 mDP - 3D Vision Ready

1st Hard Disk 240GB KINGSTON HYPERX 3K SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 555MB/sR | 510MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk 3TB WD CAVIAR GREEN WD30EZRX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE

Power Supply CORSAIR 650W CS SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET >> Changed to 750W after advice.
Processor Cooling Corsair H100i Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Extra Case Fans 2 x 12CM Black Case Fan (configured to extract from rear/roof)
Thermal Paste ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND

I mainly play on one monitor and want to be able to max out all graphics and texture settings up to at least 1080p on current and upcoming games for at least 3 years. I'm hoping that it being SLI will negate any of the Nvidia vram scandal implications.

 

[Jackversion9]

I'd opt for a few changes.
1. If you plan on SLI you'd need a more powerful PSU, I would push for the gtx 980 as well.
2. If you also plan on overclocking the i5 4690k would be more than fine.
3. 8gb of RAM is more than plenty for gaming and you can always add more in the future.
4. Opt for a caviar black as secondary drive and finally at least the silver warranty

 

[Fantana]

I'd opt for a few changes.
1. If you plan on SLI you'd need a more powerful PSU, I would push for the gtx 980 as well.
2. If you also plan on overclocking the i5 4690k would be more than fine.
3. 8gb of RAM is more than plenty for gaming and you can always add more in the future.
4. Opt for a caviar black as secondary drive and finally at least the silver warranty

I considered SLI 980's but they're way beyond my budget. I think the 970's are in a sweet spot at the moment in terms of price and performance.
Also I use only one monitor, so I think 2 GPU's for one screen will be strong. What do you think?
I do a lot of 3D modelling so I think the RAM will be handy.
Would have chosen caviar black but trying to keep costs down and reviews for the WD Green seem generally alright. I doubt it'll impact gaming performance by much.

 

[Jackversion9]

970's SLI on one 1080p display seems overkill, but that depends if that's what you want to do. If so the i7 and RAM would be handy. The WD Green is good but the black does perform better, but again that's down to what you want to do

 

[Fantana]

970's SLI on one 1080p display seems overkill, but that depends if that's what you want to do. If so the i7 and RAM would be handy. The WD Green is good but the black does perform better, but again that's down to what you want to do

Yeah I agree, it's a bit over the top for one screen, but I've always preferred one huge screen over multiples, and the 970's SLI seems pretty good for up to 2K gaming according to online reviews. I mainly want to be able to max out all graphics and texture settings up to at least 1080p on current and upcoming games for at least 3 years. I'm hoping that it being SLI will negate any of the vram scandal implications I'm sure you're aware of. You think 970's SLI is a reliable investment with that expectation ?

 

[Jackversion9]

You could do, SLI would be more beneficial at 2k / 1440p since you seem to be going down that route but just for ordinary 1080p a single card would be more than fine despite the whole vram issues. A second card can always be added on later!

 

[GeorgeHillier]

I'm hoping that it being SLI will negate any of the Nvidia vram scandal implications.

This isn't the case. With SLI you only get the VRAM of one card, they don't stack. So you effectively have double the GPU power in everyway other than the VRAM, which if anything would cause the issue to be more prominent.

If I were you i'd go with a 980

 

[GeorgeHillier]

Also, you could get 2x 980s for your price:

Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-4790 (3.6GHz) 8MB Cache
Case CORSAIR CARBIDE SERIES™ 200R COMPACT GAMING CASE
Motherboard ASUS® Z97-A: ATX, USB3.0, SATA 6GB/S, SLi, XFIRE
Memory (RAM) 8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X FURY DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card 4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 980 - 1 DVI, 1 mHDMI, 3 mDP - 3D Vision Ready
2nd Graphics Card 4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 980 - 1 DVI, 1 mHDMI, 3 mDP - 3D Vision Ready
3rd Graphics Card NONE
1st Hard Disk 250GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk 2TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD2003FZEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
3rd Hard Disk NONE
4th Hard Disk NONE
RAID NONE
M.2 SSD Drive NONE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
2nd DVD/BLU-RAY Drive NONE
Memory Card Reader NONE
Power Supply CORSAIR 1000W RM SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Processor Cooling CoolerMaster Hyper 212 EVO (120mm) Fan CPU Cooler
Extra Case Fans 2 x 12CM Black Case Fan (configured to extract from rear/roof)
Thermal Paste ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Fan Controller NONE
Sound Card ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
Wireless Router/HomePlugs NONE
USB Options MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Firewire NONE
TV Card NONE
Power Cable 1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Operating System Genuine Windows 8.1 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence
Windows 10 Upgrade FREE Upgrade to Windows 10 with all Windows 7 & Windows 8.1 Purchases
DVD Recovery Media Windows 8.1 (64-bit) DVD with paper sleeve
Office Software NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Monitor NONE
2nd Monitor NONE
3rd Monitor NONE
4th Monitor NONE
Monitor Cables NONE
Eyefinity Adapter / GeForce 3D Vision NONE
Keyboard & Mouse CM Storm Devastator Keyboard and Mouse
Mouse NONE
Gaming Mouse Pad NONE
NVIDIA SHIELD™ NONE
Speakers NONE
Webcam NONE
Headsets NONE
Surge Protection NONE
Cable Tidy NONE
Printer NONE
External Hard Drive NONE
Warranty 3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Home Installation NONE
Delivery STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days
Promotional Item FREE WITCHER 3: WILD HUNT Game with Select GTX 9 Series GPUs!
Pricing Information
Price (excluding VAT) £1,665.00
Price £1,998.00

 

[Fantana]

This isn't the case. With SLI you only get the VRAM of one card, they don't stack. So you effectively have double the GPU power in everyway other than the VRAM, which if anything would cause the issue to be more prominent.

If I were you i'd go with a 980

I think I might scale it back to one 980, and add another one later. Is it difficult or complicated to add another graphics card for SLI oneself?

 

[SpyderTracks]

I think I might scale it back to one 980, and add another one later. Is it difficult or complicated to add another graphics card for SLI oneself?

Very easy, you just plug in the card itself, the pop on the SLI bridge that bridges the two cards, then adjust some settings in the display driver.

 

[GeorgeHillier]

I think I might scale it back to one 980, and add another one later. Is it difficult or complicated to add another graphics card for SLI oneself?

Very Easy, just make sure you get a PSU and motherboard suitable for two 980s.

And check out the spec I posted, you can get 2x 980s with your budget anyway