first PC build for 120fps gaming!

[svenproud]

Hello guys :)

I'm new to Steam and the world of PC gaming. I am coming from the Playstation 3 and 4 and decided to buy myself my first gaming PC. The main reason for buying a PC is because I want to play on 120 frames per seconds which is in my opionion the biggest difference to console gaming. When it comes to picture quality, I am statisfied with my PS4 but after seeing people playing on 120fps my PS4 with 30fps is just a pile of ♥♥♥♥...

But you might know for beginners there aren't enough questions when it comes to PC hardware.
My PC build so far looks like this:

Geforce GTX 970 4GB
16GB DDR3 Ram
MSI H81M - E34
1000GB SATA3
bequiet power supply with 550W
120Hz Monitor BENQ XL 2411 Z

But I am not sure about the CPU. I want to run each possible game in 120fps, do I need a i7 or a i5 for that. I looked the prices up and this would make a difference of 100USD/€ which isn't thaaaaaaat much but noticeable for a student. My priority is on 120 frames per seconds in a 1080p resolution, if its possible I would not mind to play in 1440p as well, but this is something I dont care about that much. Furthermore I red about Hyperthreading of the i7 which is not good for gaming... Can somebody help me out here?

So what do I want?
120fps gaming on 1080p, is 1440p even possible with only 1x gtx970 or would 1440p take all the fps down to 60 or even 30??

Which games?
Borderlands 2, CSGO, Battlefield 4, Shadow of Mordor, GTA 5, Far Cry 4, maybe Bioshock or Crysis.

Question: Which CPU do I need for my wishes? Is a i5 fine or do I need the i7? How about 1440p??

I do play on twitch and youtube as well, maybe this is something which is important to know. It is not that I do this full time or try to do this full time, it is just for fun which I wanna do for a couple of times. The point is here I allready have a good microphone, camera and Headset so I can just use the stuff.

Thanks guys for helping :)

[rojimboo]

970gtx won't get you 1440p@120fps with an i7 for those games, not even a single 980 can do that, or a 970sli setup

http://techreport.com/review/27067/nvidia-geforce-gtx-980-and-970-graphics-cards-reviewed/11
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/geforce_gtx_970_sli_review,16.html

If you play at 1080p (which you should, it's the native res) then a 970sli will do you good with those games, i.e BF4 with single 970 ~75fps and with sli ~130fps with an i7 @4.2ghz:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_970_SLI/6.html

A 970sli setup can be bottlenecked by cpu so if you do get an i5, you will need to OC it. Probably same with i7. Get a K version and OC with a decent cpu cooler.

Hyperthreading does cause issues in some games, but is useful for some applications. It can always be turned off for some games if needed, don't worry about it too much.

[bmac1191]

The gpu is going to be more important, not the cpu. i5 is fine.

I don' think you will be happy with one 970. 1440 is out of the question imo. I'm sure it may be able to hit 120hz+ but not constant and not on med/high settings. With a high hz monitor, you want it to stay at the target hz as much as possible. I would plan on running something in sli. I would get one 980 and get another later if you can't get two now. You want to be future proof for a little while.

[bmac1191]

rojimboo eredeti hozzászólása:

A 970sli setup can be bottlenecked by cpu so if you do get an i5, you will need to OC it. Probably same with i7. Get a K version and OC with a decent cpu cooler.

Yeah it will make a difference, its really not worth the price. Stock i5 4690k vs overclocked 4790k @ 4.8 you might be talking 5-10 fps.. the extra threads won't even be used. Gpu is 90% of the equation imo. You'll get MUCH greater return spending that money on another gpu.

Hyper threading issues? Whut? I've never once even heard of this... What issues?

[svenproud]

Thank you for the quick responses. Okay so I forgot about 1440p, I was just curious about it.

But I'm suprised about the frame rate, so a single GTX970 is not able to give me 100-120fps. Do I need the good monitor then? If the single 970 runs lets say at 70-80fps, is a normal monitor with no refresh rate of 144Hz able to give me the 70-80 fps or do I still need the 144Hz monitor??

The point about getting 2 graphic cards is problematic, I am a student and my money is pretty limited, I can afford decent gaming PC but not the real expensive ♥♥♥♥.

So I am still statisfied with 80fps average with High quality graphics. Do I need a 144Hz monitor for that??

and the CPU: So i doesn't really matter about the i5 vs. i7? I guess I just look for good offers and decide then...

[gleofrocga]

I am running an i5 3570k without an overclock with a 970, and on Battlefield 4 maxed @1080p, (including 100+ degree FOV) I can get from 60-70FPS to 130FPS (excluding looking into the sky). You don't need an i7 at all.

That being said, I am using a 60hz monitor, so it's fine for me, but if you're looking at a 120hz model, then I can only imagine that going from 60-120FPS may be as problematic as 30-60.

[videogames]

A 970 is definitely enough for 1080p, even at 144hz. It's enough for 1440p/60 as well. You don't have to play everything at max settings.

[rojimboo]

144hz monitors like the one you mention can also run at lower Hz that is still greater than 60hz, like 100hz. But at that point you should ask yourself whether it is worth buying a 144hz monitor and not a normal 120hz with Nvidia Gsync, if the rest of your setup is not up to it. Both these options are pretty extreme, and you will need extreme hardware accordingly.

But a single 970 just won't cut it for those new games unless you start reducing settings. Which is a shame with a 970.

A good i5 K version like i5-4690K won't bottleneck you probably even in SLI, just don't go for the slower ones, and OC later if needed with an aftermarket CPU cooler.

TL DR; 144hz is really expensive for new games (apart from CS GO maybe), maybe not worth it.

[bmac1191]

Gsync is a great option but still an extra 200-250 more than a monitor without. It is truly amazing though.. rocking the xb280hk here. 40-60 fps is smooth like silk. I would take it over a high hz monitor any day.

You could get by with a 970 and gsync for a little while.

[Ralph]

Looking for a new system myself, mind if I copy that set-up? Seems beastly :-)

[svenproud]

Ralph eredeti hozzászólása:

Looking for a new system myself, mind if I copy that set-up? Seems beastly :-)

go for it buddy ;) Im reading all about PC hardware for 2 month and still I dont know ♥♥♥♥, so better you inform yourself a little bit as well because I could be wrong :P

I'll cut the i7 which you all say is not necessary and take the almost 80€ cheaper i5 4690K, so I save a little bit money here :)

When it comes to my main question about fps and graphics:
Even its true what youre saying here Im a little bit disappointed. I already upgraded from the GTX 760 4GB to the 970 because people told me the 970 is way better (and plus 100€)... It is allready quite expensive for a student though but I thought the 970 is for gaming beastly.
But I see I can still get problems with fps etc. while playing on high settings, not even mentioning Ultra... I just didnt know that, I have still to learn sooo much ^^

Lets put it this way: For games like Far Cry 4, BL2 or Shadow of Mordor I am statisfied with a minimum of fluently 60fps on High settings, I should be good here with a single gtx 970?? And for this the normal 60Hz monitor should work just fine...
For Counter-Strike GO I actually need more fps, but this game doesnt need that much for graphics so I think it is possible as well?? If this is the case I could upgrade to the 120Hz-144Hz monitor.
When it comes to G-Sync I have absolutely NO WAY to pay for it, it is over 400€ this is way to much for me, my budget limit for a monitor is 250€.

So Im still not sure if its worth it or not... How big are the tearing effects on 60Hz monitors while handling more fps, lets say 80? Sorry for all this questions guys but I am trying to get an expert in 2 month and this is quite hard :D :D

[76561198146916803]

The i5-4690K is a great gaming CPU. I have the slightly older i5-4670K and my system feels so fast and smooth. Gaming is great. It can handle the most demanding games when paired with a good graphics card. The 970 gets pretty good fps on high settings in just about every game. When it's not getting great fps it's because anti-aliasing is cranked up. You could keep that low or off. A 144hz monitor would be good with the 970 and great for Counter Strike or any multiplayer. My monitor is the Asus VG248QE without g-sync and I almost never see screen tearing even in intense scenes that would tear like crazy on my old 60hz. The old 60hz monitor would tear at everything including scrolling up and down webpages.