$1200 Intel Build

[TheGrambo]

I am building a PC going mostly by the PC Gamer Mid-Range Build.

http://www.pcgamer.com/pc-build-guide-recommended-mid-range-gaming-pc/

Now I've selected a few different items to tweak and save some money. But I'm concerned that it may not all be as good as it can be. I'm hoping I've done well enough but I would like some opinions on my build to see if I can improve it while staying around the $1200-$1400 range.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($238.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($31.24 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 EXTREME6 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($161.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($104.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card ($352.98 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (Black/Orange) ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($18.29 @ Amazon)
Total: $1195.44
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-01 17:14 EDT-0400

 

[Gracodana]

Running two ssd's in raid isn't better then a single nvm ssd. Sure it's more cost effective to run two ssd's and get roughly 900mb of read and 700mb of write. But a single nvm card would give you 1.8 gigs read and write. Granted theirs a pretty big premium at the moment, but for a production pc, i'd imagine it'd be a lot more useful. As the tech goes on i expect it to drop in price significantly.

You do understand what RAID 0 does do you?

Putting data between two drives in strips to improve overall drive performance. But at the same time, causing a higher chance of failure if one drive goes you're out of data. Unless thats a different raid i'm thinking about?

Ohh my mistake I missunderstood you were talking about a PCI slot SSD my bad. They are about 3-4 times the price of a regular SSD and you have to use pci slot's which depending on your MOBO might not be in huge supply. I would agree that RAID 0 is a bit risque and I wouldn't personally do it but I guess it's up to the person building and howw risky they are willing to be.

 

[fudgecakes99]

True true, each has its own short comings. you could probably put a raid 10 setup for less then a single NVMe ssd. But you wouldn't get the speed of a single pice ssd. Really it's down to personal preference and how you use the ssd. Though i'm pretty sure you can also get pcie m.2 ssd's. Maybe 2 m.2 to pcie ssd's with a raid 1 setup would be the most ideal? Though you'd need a rig with a lot of pci'e slots to work and that could cut into other peripherals. Only time will tell i guess.

 

[Gracodana]

Yeah I would agree with that, there is no real perfect solution.