$5k overkill system build. Want opinions.

[geeknation]

Alright, so I'm planning on building a computer for $5000. The idea is to build an overkill system now and not have to worry about upgrading any hardparts for years to come. I've compiled two possible builds, one consists of large amounts of RAM and physical storage, the other cuts all that storage in half in favor of an added graphics card.
I will need an OS (debating win7 vs win8)
I may need an ODD (I have blu-ray drive given to me by my dad's friend who didn't need it. It was never installed so I don't know if it works.)
I have a decent monitor laying around now, so I won't need that.
Not sure what periphrials I'll be going with, they are only listed in one build.
Will need a PSU
Will Overclock
Need tips on water cooling, first build I'll be doing it on, I want an open flow.
Uses: Gaming, workstation, CAD, etc.

I probably missed a few key points, I am trying to keep this short to avoid loosing interest. If you need to know something, ask away.

First build (high memory) [SSD ran in RAID 0, HDD ran in RAID 1]
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2KCou

Second build (half memory) [SSD ran in RAID 0, HDD ran in RAID 1]
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2LLxT

 

[g-unit1111]

What's the build going to be used for? If it's gaming then you definitely don't need a i7-4930K. You could get way less of a CPU. And second, what are you going to do with 8TB of storage? The sound card is a waste of money as well.

 

[geeknation]

8Tb is really 4Tb since it will be run in RAID1. There isn't really a need for it, but I figured I wouldn't need to add another HDD for awhile.
I could downgrade the CPU, but I doplan on using this for CAD and other modeling programs as well as rendering. I suppose I could upgrade later, but that deafeats the purpose. I don't want to have to upgrade for years.
Why is the sound card a waste? Is it bad quality, because I heard otherwise. Or is it because the onboard sound processor is already good, I know it can power 600ohm headphones, which is great since I have several pairs that are that high.

The main priority now, I suppose, will be gaming and watching movies and other leisure activities until I'm done with college.

 

[rymu2000]

The mobo has an integrated high end sound card so no need a sound card, and if you do not go for the 4930k use a 4770k

 

[g-unit1111]

The main priority now, I suppose, will be gaming and watching movies and other leisure activities until I'm done with college.

You definitely don't need to spend $5K for that purpose, spend about 1/2 that and put the rest in the bank. Even for CAD and rendering you don't need that much horsepower. I run AutoCAD 2014 on an i5-3450 and it works perfectly fine.

Maybe do something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($319.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Thermaltake Water 3.0 Extreme 99.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme6 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($168.49 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Z Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($114.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($174.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Video Card ($699.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Titanium Grey) ATX Mid Tower Case ($110.98 @ Best Buy)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($156.66 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($23.21 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit - OEM (64-bit) ($99.98 @ Best Buy)
Total: $2149.26
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-02 14:12 EST-0500)

 

[mastrom101]

What is your monitor setup?

 

[Guest]

Hi geeknation, if this is something you can easily afford,
and this is something that you want, I would suggest
that you get what you want, as long as you can afford it.

I find that some criticism on forums really is a bit more like "PC envy".

If you have way more than enough money, combine the best of both.

If you want to, do both large amounts of RAM and storage, and also
do the added graphics cards, a high end graphics card, or two, even.

You are the one person that your own PC needs to be good enough for, no-one else.

If you come in here and talk about a high end rig, better than other members,
they will knock you for having something better than they do. That's PC envy.

 

[g-unit1111]

If you come in here and talk about a high end rig, better than other members,
they will knock you for having something better than they do. That's PC envy.

Yeah it is ultimately *YOUR* PC but there's just flat out zero reason to spend that much. You don't need a $200 sound card, 9TB of storage, or a 1KW power supply, you're just spending money that you don't have to. That's what this forum is here for, to offer suggestions and to help with troubleshooting when the build is finished. If you can save $2,000 on a rig then why not? After dual 780TI, there's no reason to go higher, you're just wasting money. The best thing to do would be to get a $2K desktop and a $1K laptop, then you get the best of both worlds. It's what I did.

 

[geeknation]

Lawrence, thank you for the support, however I posted on here in hopes of people like g-unit giving me their opinion.

As for you g-unit, you make a valid argument. The motherboard does seem to have an already amazing soud processor on board, so that card would just be a waste. And again, with a third GPU, it is a waste of money, I looked at some benchmarks, and unless I run 6x 4K displays are full resolution, it won't be a worthwhile expendature. I do agree, 9Tb is a tad too much, I can certaintly start with a much lower amound and increase it as I need more. The 1KW PSU was mostly because I suck at calculating how much power I will actually need. (I originally had duel 1KW PSU!!!) So far that cuts about $1.5k. As for the CPU, I kind of wanted to stay with the LGA2011 platform, mainly for the ASUS R4EB. My main concern here, and the reason I'm willing to spend so much, is that I don't really want to have to worry about my system becoming so outdated that it needs to be upgraded before I complete college (freshman year, 6+ year course depending on which degree I go for). Let me go and set up another build taking all this into account and we'll go from there.

 

[geeknation]

What is your monitor setup?

Right now, I only have 1 24" monitor @ 1080p,but if I cut my budget in half like g-unit suggested, I would like to go with at least 3 full HD screens about the same size.

 

[g-unit1111]

Lawrence, thank you for the support, however I posted on here in hopes of people like g-unit giving me their opinion.

As for you g-unit, you make a valid argument. The motherboard does seem to have an already amazing soud processor on board, so that card would just be a waste. And again, with a third GPU, it is a waste of money, I looked at some benchmarks, and unless I run 6x 4K displays are full resolution, it won't be a worthwhile expendature. I do agree, 9Tb is a tad too much, I can certaintly start with a much lower amound and increase it as I need more. The 1KW PSU was mostly because I suck at calculating how much power I will actually need. (I originally had duel 1KW PSU!!!) So far that cuts about $1.5k. As for the CPU, I kind of wanted to stay with the LGA2011 platform, mainly for the ASUS R4EB. My main concern here, and the reason I'm willing to spend so much, is that I don't really want to have to worry about my system becoming so outdated that it needs to be upgraded before I complete college (freshman year, 6+ year course depending on which degree I go for). Let me go and set up another build taking all this into account and we'll go from there.

Most of the power supply wattage calculators out there are grossly inaccurate. They fail to take into account actual real world wattage draw vs. perceived usage due to poorly constructed power supplies. But you don't have to worry about your system becoming outdated - the GTX 780TI is top of the line, and quad core is pretty much the defacto standard for CPUs. There's no games and very few programs that take advantage of hex and octo core CPUs, and they won't for several years. And the storage solution is quite a bit overkill. Putting SSDs in RAID 0 only sets the drives up to fail more than running them independently.

 

[geeknation]

Putting SSDs in RAID 0 only sets the drives up to fail more than running them independently.

I know RAID 0 is less stable, but it would be faster. To be honest, my inspiration for most of this build came from this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtHDqdo5pR0

 

[rymu2000]

Use 2 780tis

 

[geeknation]

Use 2 780tis

That's what I'm doing in this new renduring. I'm cutting a few other things as well, but yeah, that third GPU wouldn't make a difference unless I was going for benchmarks.

 

[geeknation]

Okay, here's what I've got so far. I've kept with the $5k budget, but I spread it out more. I no longer have any RAID setups, or pointless sound cards. I also kept with just 2 GPUs and 16Gb of RAM (though I'm not sure about the brand, just chose it for price filler). With all the money I saved on hardware, I invested it in a few HD monitors as well as peripherals. I still need a cooling system however. I want to do water cooling, but I've never done it before.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2MipX

 

[g-unit1111]

Okay, here's what I've got so far. I've kept with the $5k budget, but I spread it out more. I no longer have any RAID setups, or pointless sound cards. I also kept with just 2 GPUs and 16Gb of RAM (though I'm not sure about the brand, just chose it for price filler). With all the money I saved on hardware, I invested it in a few HD monitors as well as peripherals. I still need a cooling system however. I want to do water cooling, but I've never done it before.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2MipX

That looks a lot better but $300 for a keyboard is pointless. Get one of these instead: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823334013

The Cooler Master V Series is decent, I think they're rebranded Seasonic units. Get the EVGA SuperNova 1KW instead: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438013

And why two headsets?

 

[geeknation]

As for the Keyboard, yeah it is excessive, I just threw it in there because I liked it. I like flashy LED displays and all that blingy stuff. I still need to do some research on keyboards, so it's all subject to change. As for the two headsets, well I must have accidently added two, I only wanted one.
Also, the PSU you linked isn't available.

 

[geeknation]

Oh, do you have any recemendations for cooling systems? I've been doing some research on it, but still at a loss for water cooling. I can't seem to find a place to buy the stuff, Newegg seems to just have the CPU coolers not the full systems.

 

[g-unit1111]

As for the Keyboard, yeah it is excessive, I just threw it in there because I liked it. I like flashy LED displays and all that blingy stuff. I still need to do some research on keyboards, so it's all subject to change. As for the two headsets, well I must have accidently added two, I only wanted one.
Also, the PSU you linked isn't available.

Yeah the keyboard I have is one of the best, and I like the full backlight. If that PSU isn't available go with this then: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151105

Oh, do you have any recemendations for cooling systems? I've been doing some research on it, but still at a loss for water cooling. I can't seem to find a place to buy the stuff, Newegg seems to just have the CPU coolers not the full systems.

Depends if you want to go air or water. If you're going air nothing beats a Noctua D14. It's the best dollar for dollar cooler on the market and even outlasts most liquid loops. Although if you want to stick with LGA 2011 then there's a special version of the D14 made just for LGA 2011. If you want to go for a water cooling unit go for the Thermaltake Water 3.0 Extreme or the Swiftech H220. The Corsair H100i is overrated, the NZXT Kraken X60 is better.

 

[geeknation]

Alright! Thanks everyone! Apart from a few things, I think this build is done. I should be bale to buy it in a month, but my car may need some attention so it may be longer! You guys are always helpful!

 

[cst1992]

Do post your final build; I'm curious.

 

[geeknation]

Do post your final build; I'm curious.

I certaintly will!

 

[chrisso]

honest opinion? Leave 35 hundred in the bank.

 

[cst1992]

Guys, the discussion has already taken a different turn.

 

[geeknation]

Alright, well it's nice to see some activity still, especially since I was doing some reasearch on OC (which is where a lot of the money is being put on this build). Is OC really worth it, as far as performance increase goes? According to this guy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRiEStzOYeo) it's not, and that has me a little concerend. I've been under the impression it was, so I figured the splurge in the MoBo engineered for extreme OC would be worth it, but if I am under the wrong impression, well I could definitly knock out $1k from the build. I figured the OC potential would help keep the build relevent longer.
My reasoning for not wanting to worry about upgrading for awhile is that have other projects I want to do, and they are more time and money cosuming. I don't want to have to cut into their budget when it comes time to do them, simply because my computing experience is falling behind.