Building a gaming PC, need advice on selected parts!

[samb335]

Hello, my name is Sam and I have decided to finally build my gaming PC. I have looked at and researched each of the parts individually (I'm hoping they're all compatible!) and I am very much looking forward to the finished outcome. I wonder if you could tell me if these are good choices for parts, whether they are compatible or not and if I am missing anything. And also what equipment I will need when it comes to assembling the parts!

Case: Corsair Obsidian 750D Full Tower ATX Case
Motherboard: ASUS Z87 Pro
CPU: Core i7 4770k
Memory: Corsair 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600Mhz CL9 Vengeance Blue Performance Desktop Memory Kit
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 760 1006MHz 2GB PCI-Express 3.0 HDMI DirectCU II OC
PSU: Corsair 550W RM550 RM Series Power Supply
Heat sync: Using the one supplied with processor, and case comes with 2 or 3 pre-fitted fans
Hard Drive: WD 1TB Blue SATA 6GB/s 7200RPM 64MB 3.5" Hard Drive
Sound Card: Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio PCI-Express OEM
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64bit - 1pk - OEM - DVD (Although I'm considering going for Windows 7)


Thank you very much in advance!

Sam

 

[TheMagicalWallaby]

Do NOT get the 750D. I have it and I hate it. The airflow is so poor and the dust filters are crap. look at any other corsair case besides the 750D (and the obsidian series in general).

 

[taylor225]

Windows 8 was orginally designed for touch screen and they only changed a few things around before releasing it to pc i would stick with windows 7.. im waiting for windows 9 to hopefully come out next year

 

[TheMagicalWallaby]

Windows 8 was orginally designed for touch screen and they only changed a few things around before releasing it to pc i would stick with windows 7.. im waiting for windows 9 to hopefully come out next year

There is a big difference between 8 and 8.1

8.1 is fine and gives him a performance boost too. I have 8.1 and I never see metro and I disabled all of the tablet features. So it feels like a snappy version of 7.

 

[EpicStarman]

Well, to be truthfully honest I don't see as you really need a sound card. These days onboard sound plus a DAC will do you just fine. I would stray away from the sound card and get a better GPU if you are going to do some gaming. If you decide later that you want better sound you can always get something like this: http://www.amazon.com/FIIO-E17-Alpen-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B0070UFMOW/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1402361346&sr=1-4

This will work very well if you want better audio quality. But since this is a gaming build that is what I would suggest. Also will you be doing any recording or streaming? If not you really don't need the Hyper threading capabilities of the 4770K. It will help during intense editing and 3D rendering, but if you don't need any of that you can always get the i5 4670K which will do just as good for you if you are just gaming.

 

[samb335]

Well, to be truthfully honest I don't see as you really need a sound card. These days onboard sound plus a DAC will do you just fine. I would stray away from the sound card and get a better GPU if you are going to do some gaming. If you decide later that you want better sound you can always get something like this: http://www.amazon.com/FIIO-E17-Alpen-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B0070UFMOW/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1402361346&sr=1-4

This will work very well if you want better audio quality. But since this is a gaming build that is what I would suggest. Also will you be doing any recording or streaming? If not you really don't need the Hyper threading capabilities of the 4770K. It will help during intense editing and 3D rendering, but if you don't need any of that you can always get the i5 4670K which will do just as good for you if you are just gaming.

Thanks for the advice about sound card I will look into this, that is very helpful! Also, do you think the graphics card that I have chosen isn't ideal? I wasn't sure which one to go for. Yes I will hopefully be live streaming the games I play, so hopefully that warrants getting the 4770k.

Thanks for your help!

 

[EpicStarman]

No, your GPU will be fine. However if you wanted to get some better framerate you could swap the CPUs that I have listed previously and step the GPU up to a 770. Hyper threading may not do too much, but it is your choice!

 

[EpicStarman]

It may not matter much to you. By the way for GPUs you are spot on with the company. The best ones in my opinion are Asus, EVGA, Gigabyte and MSI. I like to call 'em the big four. Also, why are you using a Full tower? Will you do any liquid cooling?

 

[samb335]

It may not matter much to you. By the way for GPUs you are spot on with the company. The best ones in my opinion are Asus, EVGA, Gigabyte and MSI. I like to call 'em the big four. Also, why are you using a Full tower? Will you do any liquid cooling?

Okay thats great news about video card, I did a little research into it and seemed pretty good for my price range. Stepping up to a 770 and stepping down to the i5 does make sense, although will i be able to stream games with it? I'm not too clued up on this stuff! Yes I also wasn't sure about the tower, but I wasn't sure which one I should go for, I looked at quite a few and this seemed to have very good reviews and aesthetics, but the full tower did seem a little too big for the components I have selected. Any recommendations are welcomed!

 

[EpicStarman]

Honestly from what I see a Mid Tower will do you fine! If you want silence optimization get a Fractal Design Define R4 and if you want get the windowed version. But if you want some air flow effieciency the. The HAF series by Cooler Master is great as well as NZXT Phantom series. You can also check out pcpartpicker.com for compatibility checks and other builds. If you do choose the i5 and the 770 I don't see much difference in the streaming, however your gameplay will be supreme. See if you can get the ACX cooling EVGA 770, it is a great card and will withstand basically any game you throw at it!

 

[samb335]

Honestly from what I see a Mid Tower will do you fine! If you want silence optimization get a Fractal Design Define R4 and if you want get the windowed version. But if you want some air flow effieciency the. The HAF series by Cooler Master is great as well as NZXT Phantom series. You can also check out pcpartpicker.com for compatibility checks and other builds. If you do choose the i5 and the 770 I don't see much difference in the streaming, however your gameplay will be supreme. See if you can get the ACX cooling EVGA 770, it is a great card and will withstand basically any game you throw at it!

I've just taken a look at the NZXT Phantom series and they're absolutely beautiful, with great airflow and awesome design, thanks for the recommendation! Yes I've been using pcpartpicker, it's an absolute dream! I'm considering going for the i7 as well as the 770, although the EVGA 770's look fairly pricey, I'm wondering if the 770 version of the 760 I went for is just as good (or nearly as good).

 

[EpicStarman]

EVGA is in my opinion the best GPU company I can recommend. If you use any GPU it should at least be in the big four. My build that I am saving up for has the I7 and the 770, but then again I am spending more on it. NZXT or Cooler Master are good choices as far as airflow optimized cases go. I wish you good luck on your build and hope I have been helpful!

 

[samb335]

EVGA is in my opinion the best GPU company I can recommend. If you use any GPU it should at least be in the big four. My build that I am saving up for has the I7 and the 770, but then again I am spending more on it. NZXT or Cooler Master are good choices as far as airflow optimized cases go. I wish you good luck on your build and hope I have been helpful!

Thank you very much for your help you have been incredibly helpful!!

 

[TheMagicalWallaby]

Honestly from what I see a Mid Tower will do you fine! If you want silence optimization get a Fractal Design Define R4 and if you want get the windowed version. But if you want some air flow effieciency the. The HAF series by Cooler Master is great as well as NZXT Phantom series. You can also check out pcpartpicker.com for compatibility checks and other builds. If you do choose the i5 and the 770 I don't see much difference in the streaming, however your gameplay will be supreme. See if you can get the ACX cooling EVGA 770, it is a great card and will withstand basically any game you throw at it!

I've just taken a look at the NZXT Phantom series and they're absolutely beautiful, with great airflow and awesome design, thanks for the recommendation! Yes I've been using pcpartpicker, it's an absolute dream! I'm considering going for the i7 as well as the 770, although the EVGA 770's look fairly pricey, I'm wondering if the 770 version of the 760 I went for is just as good (or nearly as good).

What do you mean by 770 version of the 760? Do you mean reference styled cooler?

 

[samb335]

Honestly from what I see a Mid Tower will do you fine! If you want silence optimization get a Fractal Design Define R4 and if you want get the windowed version. But if you want some air flow effieciency the. The HAF series by Cooler Master is great as well as NZXT Phantom series. You can also check out pcpartpicker.com for compatibility checks and other builds. If you do choose the i5 and the 770 I don't see much difference in the streaming, however your gameplay will be supreme. See if you can get the ACX cooling EVGA 770, it is a great card and will withstand basically any game you throw at it!

I've just taken a look at the NZXT Phantom series and they're absolutely beautiful, with great airflow and awesome design, thanks for the recommendation! Yes I've been using pcpartpicker, it's an absolute dream! I'm considering going for the i7 as well as the 770, although the EVGA 770's look fairly pricey, I'm wondering if the 770 version of the 760 I went for is just as good (or nearly as good).

What do you mean by 770 version of the 760? Do you mean reference styled cooler?

I meant going with the Asus DirectCUII OC again, sorry should have clarified!