Gaming PC setup focused on competitive titles like CS GO.
Gaming PC setup focused on competitive titles like CS GO.
This setup is genuinely forward-thinking and easily enhanced over time.
You might save half for a smart build (still effective for current titles) and keep the rest in a savings account or similar, using it later to upgrade to a better system. It’s a bit unrealistic to plan for a future-proof setup since we can’t predict what games or hardware will be available then.
Looking for the top-end i5 CPU that fits your socket? All games will work fine. I tend to skip DDR4 options—it won’t matter much for gaming soon. A 16GB RAM at 1333MHz is more than sufficient and it won’t be too expensive for real needs. Your graphics card will be the key factor; if you can justify a 980, go for it. The Samsung 840 EVO SSDs provide enough speed for a system I’ve used before—Windows boots in about 10-15 seconds. A single WD Black drive will handle HDD loading quickly, so I don’t need anything faster. Your cooler looks good, and it’s not overkill for this build. I left out the motherboard since I’m unsure if you’re committed to DDR4 and didn’t want to waste time on DDR3 research.
You're asking for advice on choosing the right power supply unit and upgrading your PC. It's a common concern, especially when balancing performance and cost. For your current setup with a GTX 680 I7 3770K, you likely have a solid base. If you're looking at a GTX 980 I5 or I7, the PSU size depends on the power draw of your graphics card. Check the manual or specs to see how much power it consumes. Upgrading to a better PSU can help with stability and future upgrades. Regarding your games, I5 processors are generally more efficient for single-core tasks like Counter-Strike, while I7 offers better multi-core performance. If streaming is part of your routine, ensure your system can handle both gaming and streaming smoothly. It might be worth waiting if you're not ready to invest yet, but consider upgrading when you feel confident it's needed.
If you are not noticing your system pissing you off in any meaningful manner I wouldn't bother im running a slightly better comp but I can tell you that iom perfectly content with how mine is performing. i7s have whats known as hyperthreading where it basicly makes "fake cores" on your cpu they are virtual core so some programs can see a 4 core as an 8core. But near no games use it ARMA3 does...I ran benchmarks and seen literally a 1fps gain with hyperthreading on. As for steaming I dunno to be honest I dont do it others could answer that question for you but I imagine it would be fine. Personally from what I see an upgrade isnt needed at all though tbh
I7 essentially functions like an i5 with hyperthreading and four additional cores, exceeding six cores for gaming. Use a Haswell CPU and a Z97 motherboard that supports Broadwell CPUs. Only the 5th generation i7s come with six cores; a 4790K offers four. For streaming, opt for Nvidia ShadowPlay. H.264 encoding will handle it. A 980 series board should suffice, around 850W power is sufficient, and roughly 600W would work as well.
It's great to hear you've gained a lot from us so far. Thanks for all the help! I'm still thinking about the overkill build, but I appreciate every answer. I might return with more questions anytime. For now, I got exactly what I needed. Much love! //XaZor^