Vexzarium

Edit: Not worth the drama

That's what I've heard. I also chose the 290x that I chose do to OC potential(seen a video where a guy got a +1600 mhz on the memory clock) and the custom PCB. The Gigabyte 980 just has a clean quality feel to it. And that backplate is nice. Oh yes, and the "Windforce" light on the side is sharp and can integrate well with most builds. Trust me, I was eying that same GPU that you've chosen. But I was on a full system build budget, and I would have had to sacrifice somewhere within my budget to get it. It appeared that I would've had to go with a FX-8320 instead of the i5-4690k. And greatly reduced my case costs and choose one that isn't even fit to supply shelter to a donkey. I also would've had to leave out a cpu cooler and choose a much cheaper PSU. Granted, for that GPU, may have been worth it. But I figured the i5-4690k with the R9 290x Lightning was a better balanced system. The FX-8320 would have likely choked the GTX 980 to death anyway. You have made a wise GPU choice. I'd be excited to see what your rig could do with two of them...

Thank you for the tip. I expected as much, and am unbelievably excited for the rest of my components to arrive. Cord management is my thing anyway, I've got massive OCD when it comes to cords. I'm never without a supply of black zip ties, put it that way. And my current system has all the wires from the desktop going down to the pc, router, and DirecTV box, all in one neat, zip tied strip. ;) I am a bit nervous about not adding an optical drive into this build and hope that I do not need it to get the initial drivers installed. In other words, I hope I can even get to Windows and start downloading the needed drivers... Edit: just got all the driver downloaded ahead of time and placed on another HDD so I'll have them with no need for disks. See, my issue is this, I'm having a hard time figuring out what to do with myself until the rest of my parts get here and that beautiful GPU is sitting behind me calling my name in erotic whispers... I'll keep the OP updated with photos along the way.

My Newegg order has arrived. I still have to wait for the Case, the CPU, the SSD, and the extra Case Fans from Amazon. :( Links to photo's added to the OP.

Hey, don't take what I said as a jab at EVGA. I'm sure their stuff is great. I suppose I should have clarified that it was just my own opinion and by no means a declaration of superiority. Speaking of the devil, my Newegg side just came in ;) GPU MOBO PSU RAM CPU-Cooler Now just have to wait for Amazon's side: Case, the cpu, the ssd, and the extra case fans :(. And back on topic, my apologies. When I was putting together the parts list for this rig, I was torn between Nvidia and Radeon. And when I was considering Nvidia, both the Gigabyte and EVGA cards were at the top of my list. Sadly, the GTX980 was a bit out of my budget so that left me with the GTX970 and I just couldn't convince myself to jump on it due to the 3.5 soft cap. I'm sure I'll regret it later, hope my first delve into Radeon isn't a disaster.

Oh man, a nice keyboard with no GPU to use it with?! That is bullocks. On the shipping topic, I'm in the same boat, the rig you see in my "SystemSpecs" was ordered two days ago from two places... Amazon and Newegg. Newegg shipped everything, Mobo, GPU, PSU, RAM, & CPU cooling, and it will be here in a few hours. Amazon is taking their sweet time with the CPU, the case, extra case fans, and the ssd. Those wont be here until Monday-Wednesday! How am I to build my rig without the cpu and case?!

Seems to me that Gigabyte or EVGA are the way to go for Nvidia cards. But from what I've heard/seen, EVGA'a are not quiet as good as the Gigabyte cards and the EVGA's are much louder. But I think the Gigabye cards might be a bit longer as well, at least for the Windforce. Sapphire or MSi are the way to go for Radeon cards. But, some say go Sapphire, I prefer the MSi cards for there build quality.

I agree with phazer, get a single 980 (preferably the Gigabyte G1) and wait for the price to drop to go add another. I'm sure "only" one GTX 980 will be plenty for now.

Too late, already purchased everything. I opted for no disk drive as seen in the current Parts List link above... where everything is all marked "Purchased" now. It was an odd feeling, a good one, hitting that "Order" button for my own PC components for the first time.

Thank you very much, also thanks for the SSD recommendation. I'm proud to say that after many hours stalking the internet, I have finally finalized the build: Meet "Uthgerd" Grand Total: $1189.01 (U.S.D.) Thank You to all that had a say and input along the way. Edit: Had to make a few changes right before ordering. Updated the link above. This should be a beautiful system.

The time has come to buy, and to choose. I've narrowed it down to two builds that slightly differ, mostly in CPU. https://pcpartpicker.com/user/Vexzarium/saved/

I just happen to be in the market for a new PC right now and I'm not really looking to exceed 1920x1080 just yet. I've looked hard at the GTX970 for my needs but the 3.5 cap(3.5 full speed/.5 reduced) and just the moral of the whole thing(i.e. buying a product from a company like that) has kept me away. So naturally I've decided to "never settle" (lol) and opt for the 290x Lightning. For those of you looking for two cards in tandem, maybe the R9-290x2 would suite your needs? And no, I am not an AMD or Intel or Nvidia fan by any means. I'm just a consumer who is on the market for Gaming PC components who is just as frustrated by Nvidia as the rest of you. Gaming benchmarks I've seen place the R9-290x slightly above the GTX 970 while both of them seem to trade blows. The R9-290x2 seems to top the charts over a single GTX 980 by a long shot, but that would not be the case if you were to run two GTX 980's... actually, that would be just flat out insanity! The world of UHD and/or 4k+ is a very costly one I see, I'll stay under my little bridge for now and wait for the prices to level out.

Wow, nice find for the 850. I've not started buying yet, still making a few tweaks here and there. I've been updating the OP with each change in-case anyone out there happened to take a peak ;) I'm likely to start buying some time in the next 12 hours. Since I have to purchase from multiple retailers it might take me awhile to sort everything out. I'm very satisfied with my current component line-up. The only thing is the GPU, not sure if I need the more expensive R9 290X like I've selected or if a more base model would perform the same.

"Uthgerd" Is alive and kicking, at least her concept is. I believe I've finally completed this build and it looks like this PC will have no issues with just about anything you can throw at in the near future on my 1920x1080 27" Asus monitor. I didn't go insane on the components, but I feel that I did not skimp on any part either. Updating OP now. Edit: OP Updated.

I can see this as a very valid point.

The price is good and it is Gold rated. Also it provides the ability to upgrade with ease in the future.

Thanks! We have two options, either build one solid PC and play games like TES:V together(turn taking) or build two rubbish PC's for a $500-$600 budget per PC. We both agree, she doesn't play enough, hardly ever, to waste our money on two crap PC's when the money could have build one solid one. The MSi GTX 970 is factory OC'd as well. I don't remember ever adding any 2133mhz RAM, lol. The Intel build is using 1600mhz and the AMD build is using 1866mhz. I just revised both builds a bit to cut some costs, I'll take a look at your link there and see what I can use. ;) Edit: You meant the RAM in the wee-little console? Yeah, I selected DDR3/2133mhz because it's using an APU for graphics and it actually does increase FPS dramtically due to the GPU cores using system ram for VRAM. I pieced that together for a friend, but she decided to buy my current system instead. Figured I'd leave it up there as "Just another PC wanting to be a console" build.

So, things changed. Refer to Post one for the good news. ;)

I might be able to save $20 on the Nvida based builds by going with this case: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129024 It includes an: EarthWatts EA 500D Green power supply (80 PLUS® Bronze certified) that PSU is highlighted on the suggested PSU site you've led me to. But naturally, I've avoided cases w/ integrated PSU's. Even if this one is an acceptable PSU, there appears to be issues with fitting larger GPU's in the case. But it could be used in all of the Nvidia based builds. For the AMD CPU builds, I could switch the CPU to the FX-8320E model for less TDP. But, over a Gold 500w PSU and a cheap case, the integrated case is not much of a savings and makes me nervous.

I might need a bigger monitor, mine is 24", I can't make out what's in those photos. I can kind of see the prices though and I think you're getting lower prices than I'm getting.

We must be getting different prices somehow, the R9 290 you link is $70 more than the GTX 960. I'd have to take the "Most Compromise" and compromise some more somewhere. In order for me to run the i5 4690k, my GPU budget can be no more that $210, which the R9 290 is much higher than. So I'd have to take the 4690k and go with a cheaper i5 or swap it out for a FX-8320... which kind of leads me to thinking at that point, the AMD build in the OP might be the only way to go if I want pure performance for my budget.

Thanks to you all, I have narrowed it down to two builds. And here we go, the old fire is still burning. A cliché rivalry is what I must choose between ASAP so I can place the order(s). You'll find the builds in the OP (Page 1, Post 1). Please have a look and let me know your thoughts. There may be components left out or shortchanged a bit, but I did the best that I could with what I have for a budget, and what I've learned here, and from this entire hunt of mine. I took what I could from what I learned in this thread and applied it(i.e. I only used PSU's from the site I was directed to by phazer11) but had to leave out what was not possible for my budget. I'll add more fans, CPU cooling methods, RAM, and many other things as upgrades in the future. These builds are just a starting point.

I've heard the reference version is plagued by the 3.5GB cap. Have not heard about the other versions of it like the MSi Twin Frozr that I've selected. If so than I really need to look elsewhere for my GPU option. But if I can keep the other components down in cost like my latest AMD Build and still have an effective set-up, my GPU Budget is around $350.

You know, the whole thing that happened with this GPU kinda scares me a bit too. I actually avoided it until now and kept looking at the GTX960(GTX 980 is WAY outta my range) or the R9 290x. On a side note, to those that have been assisting me along, I'm willing to purchase things from multiple retailers using PCPartPicker... I've begun to notice that Amazon can either have a great deal or absolutely rip you off. And right now, every dollar matters, Amazon can be the difference between getting a solid build for my budget or having to settle for much less because I refused to use other merchants.

Is the difference between Intel and AMD really that dramatic? If so, damn it. I keep looking into an Intel build but the cheap FX-6300 allows me to fit a GTX 970!