New PC for Oculus Rift (Purchased!)

[Tbone]

I figured I would start a new thread for my own build. I gotta find the cash (most of which I can hopefully get from selling my laptop), but if anyone has any other ideas for some quick cash, let me know. I'm updating this as I go to get the best bang for my buck when I finally pull the trigger.

Updated: July 5th

Build List

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($184.98 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H55 57.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($49.99 @ TigerDirect)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97MX-Gaming 5 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($120.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 8GB (4 x 2GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  (Purchased For $0.00)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (Purchased For $0.00)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (Purchased For $0.00)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 290 4GB Video Card  (Purchased For $0.00)
Case: Silverstone PS07B MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 750W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer  ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $635.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

[Zero]

What did you change? I was literally just looking at this a few minutes ago, ha ha. Is it the CPU?

[Lithium]

In my opinion a gaming rig should have at least a core i7 if you are going the Intel route.

[Zero]

In my opinion a gaming rig should have at least a core i7 if you are going the Intel route.

Why do you say that? I was under the impression that there was minimal performance increase from i5 to i7 for gaming.

[Lithium]

Because you don't want the CPU to bottleneck the GPU. The i7 should have additional threads which should reduce the risk of bottlenecking. Personally, I build AMD rigs to keep the cost down but utilize the best processor they have.

[Tbone]

What did you change? I was literally just looking at this a few minutes ago, ha ha. Is it the CPU?

I messed around with upgrading the CPU, but it would require a new cooling unit since the other CPU I was looking at was mainly for overclocking. Doing research, both overclocking and i7 produces very minimal results for gaming. Everything I've seen has stated that your GPU will bottleneck before your CPU, even when using i5.

I upgraded the motherboard from a Z87 to a Z97 and chose the MicroATX version so that I could get a smaller case. This is mainly to future proof the device. Z97 will be compatible with the newer architectures.

I upgraded the storage from 120 GB to 250 GB. It's an extra $50 but it's more than double the storage. If I need to, I can downgrade back.

I upgraded the case from an ATX Mid tower to a MicroATX. It's a smaller case, so there's less room, but my theory is that everything is getting smaller, not bigger, so having a massive PC tower is gonna be pretty silly in a few years. I'd prefer something that's easier to move around, so there ya have it.

As much as I want an Nvidia card, the extra VRAM for the 280x apparently allows it to benchmark better at higher resolutions than the 770 even while the price is significantly lower. For the Rift, this will be pretty important. We'll see what the prices look like when I pull the trigger, though.

I use Tom's Hardware monthly guides to tweak this. I also use Logical Increments and /r/buildapc to look at discussions. Here you can see the 4590 has great performance and is definitely the best bang for your buck.

Here you can see the 280x is a very good lower high-end choice. If I had the money, I'd get for the 290 or the Nvidia equivalent, but I'd rather not shell out over $300 for a video card.

[Zero]

You're right about everything getting smaller. I'm amazed how much smaller my pc is from the "blue monster" I inherited from you. And mine is regular atx. But I don't think atx will be phased out before I would need to completely upgrade anyway.

I noticed that the SSD was 250 gig earlier, and I was thinking "I thought for sure he was getting the 120!" Probably a good upgrade for 50 dollars.

Oh, I noticed there's no ram on the list. Are you pulling from your current desktop?

[Tbone]

"RAM - 8 gigs (4x2GB) DDR3-1333 Triple Memory Module Corsair XMS3 Dominator w/DHX technology"

I'm pulling 2gig sticks out of my current computer. I assume it'll be compatible (please someone tell me if it isn't). Apparently there's not a big difference between 1333 and 1600. Ideally I'd use 4 gig sticks so that I could have room to upgrade to more RAM, but I already own six 2 GB sticks, so...

I can also probably pull out the HDD as well as keep using my external.

[Tbone]

Should I buy? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Gigabyte-AMD-R9-290-4-GB-GDDR5-Graphics-Card-Sequential-Numbers-/191232412026?pt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item2c8657097a

Really cheap price for a great card...

Edit: Impulse buy - I bought it. Huge upgrade for the same price I was gonna pay for the 280x.

[Tbone]

Does anyone have any advice about a Micro ATX? My only fear is that components may not fit right. For instance, I'm worried that my HDD may block some of my RAM ports (I need all four since I have 2 GB sticks). I read that happened to someone else, but I think it was a different case and a different mobo.

[Tbone]

I probably should have done a bit more research on the 290 I bought. It's one of the originals based on the reference design. The original design came with an extremely loud fan that's not good at keeping the card cool. Almost everyone recommends getting an aftermarket cooler and installing it, which of course costs more money and would probably take up more room. I'm debating just dealing with the noise and seeing if it's tolerable.

[Zero]

I read some reviews on the case, and I number of people said it was nice and roomy inside. You can look at this guy's build with that case to see what how it might look with everything in it. http://pcpartpicker.com/b/ZrxYcf

It's interesting to me that that case makes everything upside down, ha ha.

[likwidtek]

I'm going with this case simply because my build is centered around the DK2 but it will be in the living room entertainment center and double as our new HTPC and couch gaming machine

http://www.amazon.com/Silverstone-Tek-GD05B-USB3-0-Aluminum-Computer/dp/B008J0ZOV8/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1403965771&sr=8-3&keywords=computer+case+htpc

[Tbone]

Dago is gonna buy my laptop from me, and I've already purchased the video card, so I'm hoping to pull the trigger on this tonight or tomorrow. I'm looking for advice here:

http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/29xbs0/build_ready_microatx_for_oculus_rift_dk2cv1_w/

[Maglorius]

What is your current budget or what are you looking to spend?