Advice requested for new build (1080p gaming and number-crunching)

[JRWKPhoenix]

Approximate Purchase Date: Late July / early August 2015
Budget Range: £1100
Location: UK, no preferred retailer
System Usage: Gaming on one 1080p monitor (DA:I, Civ:BE), number-crunching large datasets
Monitor: Already have 2x BenQ GL2250HM, keyboard / mouse / speakers.
OS: Need to buy, Windows 8.1
Overclocking: No
SLI / Crossfire: No


Hi all. I'm looking to upgrade from a trusty but abused five-year-old desktop PC (AMD Athlon II quad core, R9 270 graphics, 8GB RAM) that I currently use as a gaming and multimedia platform. The abuse comes from running large simulations and dataset analyses that have grown to the point that it can't handle them any more.


My original thoughts were along these lines:

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor (£154.92 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£24.98 @ Novatech)
Motherboard: MSI Z97-GAMING 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£106.76 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£79.80 @ Ebuyer)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£76.59 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£50.99 @ Aria PC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£50.99 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card (£279.70 @ Aria PC)
Case: BitFenix Shinobi ATX Mid Tower Case (£47.62 @ CCL Computers)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (£63.31 @ Amazon UK)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit) (£75.37 @ Scan.co.uk)
Case Fan: BitFenix BFF-SCF-12025KK-RP 43.5 CFM 120mm Fan (£5.90 @ Amazon UK)
Case Fan: BitFenix BFF-SCF-12025KK-RP 43.5 CFM 120mm Fan (£5.90 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £1022.83


However, inspired by the recent System Builds and bearing in mind a desire for an i7 core, I came up with this alternative as well.

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor (£274.98 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£24.98 @ Novatech)
Motherboard: MSI X99S SLI Plus ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard (£158.39 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR4-2666 Memory (£127.05 @ Ebuyer)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£76.59 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£50.99 @ Aria PC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£50.99 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card (£279.70 @ Aria PC)
Case: BitFenix Shinobi ATX Mid Tower Case (£47.62 @ CCL Computers)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (£63.31 @ Amazon UK)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit) (£75.37 @ Scan.co.uk)
Case Fan: BitFenix BFF-SCF-12025KK-RP 43.5 CFM 120mm Fan (£5.90 @ Amazon UK)
Case Fan: BitFenix BFF-SCF-12025KK-RP 43.5 CFM 120mm Fan (£5.90 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £1241.77


Do any of the kind and venerable souls here foresee any problems with the above, or have any other criticism? I'm rather fond of the Shinobi chassis, don't plan to overclock or liquid cool, and rather need the large storage drives.

Would you advise pushing for the latter build, and is it possible to trim a little from the price (for example, by holding on a little longer until Skylake is inbound)?

Thank you very much in advance for your help!

 

[sadams04]

Since you don't plan to overclock or run SLI, the Z97 motherboard in your first build is a bit of overkill as is the CPU cooler. That build should be using the H97 chipset. ...not overclocking also makes the combo in the second build less attractive. The extra cores are nice, but the 5820k really shines when overclocked. Couple that with the expensive X99 motherboard and DDR4 memory and it is less appealing. Instead, consider something like the build below. The Xeon will perform like an i7 with hyperthreading enabled.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£196.93 @ Scan.co.uk)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£69.56 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£74.60 @ More Computers)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£76.59 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£50.99 @ Aria PC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£50.99 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card (£257.99 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case (£59.98 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply (£54.53 @ CCL Computers)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer (£10.06 @ CCL Computers)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit) (£75.37 @ Scan.co.uk)
Total: £977.59

 

[JRWKPhoenix]

Thank you for the advice - I'd completely overlooked the Xeon line. The CPU - motherboard combination looks very nice indeed, although I may still buy the CPU cooler for peace of mind...

May I ask if there were particular reasons why you changed the memory and case? Also, may I ask your thoughts on whether it's worth waiting for Skylake, or whether this build should be powerful enough for the foreseeable (3+ years) future?

Thank you very much once again in advance!

 

[sadams04]

...although I may still buy the CPU cooler for peace of mind...

May I ask if there were particular reasons why you changed the memory and case? Also, may I ask your thoughts on whether it's worth waiting for Skylake, or whether this build should be powerful enough for the foreseeable (3+ years) future?

There is no need for the CPU cooler. The stock Intel cooler is more than sufficient and is relatively quiet. You can replace it, but don't really need to...

The GSkill and Kingston memory both have the same specs at DDR3-1866 CL10 1.5v, however I am not a big fan of tall heat spreaders. They aren't needed, can impede airflow and can interfere with clearance on aftermarket CPU coolers. Not that this will be a problem for you (not overclocking and no aftermarket cooler), but it is just best to avoid them. ...and the Kingston modules are a little cheaper.

I changed the case because the 300r has better airflow and is a bit more polished. You would be fine with the BitFenix. This is more of a personal preference thing... Just be sure it has a bottom mounted PSU, front USB 3.0 and can support long video cards without having to remove the drive cage.

Wait for Skylake? No. You won't realize a significant performance increase if you wait. Haswell Refresh (Broadwell) is pretty potent as-is. If you were working on a low power consuming build, then Skylake may be worth waiting for as it is more efficient...

 

[JRWKPhoenix]

Understood! Thank you very much for your advice, it's very much appreciated.