Building a new pc! Looking for additional Advice!

[Kraizer]

Alrighty, so, let me start off by saying this will be my first time building a pc. I've got video tutorial lined up to assist me a long the way. With that said, I would like to ask a favor of you hardware folks. I would like to lower the price while keeping the same performance. I started off with a build that cost $1500, and got it down to $1,200. So far it looks like it will suit my purposes. However, I would greatly appreciate some input from more experienced users!

Here is the build

Below I will list the purposes of this pc so you will have an idea as to how much power I will need. Keep in mind I do not need to run Batman on extreme settings @ 120fps.

1. Must have lots of USB ports, at least 6. I'm a work at home agent so I have a lot of equipment plugged in and I do a lot of file transferring.

2. Should be able to run games such as Planetside 2, RIFT, WoW, Defiance, Minecraft, L4D2, ect.. on High or ultra settings @ a solid 60 frames. As far as I know, the GPU I selected covers that. But there's no sense in spending money I don't need to 😛

3. I edit/render videos in my spare time. So I'm recording/rendering @ 1080p. I would like to complete a video @ 1080p and 8 minutes long in about 30-45 minutes. I choose an Nvidia GPU to try out Shadowplay, but I'm extremely satisfied with Dxtory. So if there's an AMD counter part that would be cheaper, I'm all for it.

4. Must support dual monitors (in extended desktop mode) so I can move programs from one monitor to the other. I'm not looking to play games in resolutions higher than 1080p.


Thanks for any advice!

 

[Darkbreeze]

To start with, if you do a lot of file transferring, video editing and rendering and you also want to game at ultra settings with 60fps@1080p, this configuration is not going to work out well for you. i5 and i7 CPUs kick the shit out of AMD when it comes to both gaming and rendering. You don't want a mechanical hard drive if you do a lot of file transferring. The read, write and seek times of a mechanical hard drive, even the fastest ones out there, can never compare to even a run of the mill SSD. And that video card is not going to be sufficient for what you want to do with it and will fall especially short if you use dual monitors to game, or even plan to game on a single 1080p monitor.

You might seriously think about revising your budget. The budget you have outlined is a good number for a decent machine, if you left out the monitors and the OS. Which by the way, I don't see. Do you already have an OS you plan to use?

 

[jerryvaberry]

Had a lot of issues with your build. Here is what I came up with:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($87.99 @ Mwave)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($79.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 285 2GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($214.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($68.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG WH16NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($49.99 @ Micro Center)
Monitor: BenQ GL2460HM 60Hz 24.0" Monitor ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Monitor: BenQ GL2460HM 60Hz 24.0" Monitor ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Keyboard: SteelSeries APEX Wired Gaming Keyboard ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Mouse: SteelSeries Rival Wired Optical Mouse ($49.19 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1256.06
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-03 00:59 EST-0500

You have to go with intel cpus, they are just better. And I changed the gpu because I think the 760 is still overpriced, and the 285 is worth way more than just fifteen dollars relative to the 760. And lastly, that psu you listed is of poor quality.

Edit: Noticed the 285 that I put in only has 2 gb of vram...which is fine. But if you want to go with an r9 280/r9 280x you can get 3gb for a little bit less or more, depending on which one you go with.

 

[Kraizer]

To start with, if you do a lot of file transferring, video editing and rendering and you also want to game at ultra settings with 60fps@1080p, this configuration is not going to work out well for you. i5 and i7 CPUs kick the shit out of AMD when it comes to both gaming and rendering. You don't want a mechanical hard drive if you do a lot of file transferring. The read, write and seek times of a mechanical hard drive, even the fastest ones out there, can never compare to even a run of the mill SSD. And that video card is not going to be sufficient for what you want to do with it and will fall especially short if you use dual monitors to game, or even plan to game on a single 1080p monitor.

You might seriously think about revising your budget. The budget you have outlined is a good number for a decent machine, if you left out the monitors and the OS. Which by the way, I don't see. Do you already have an OS you plan to use?

Good thing I asked xD. Yes, I do have an OS ready to be used. I can reconsider my budget at a later date, but as of now this is what I can work with. What changes would you suggest for this current budget that would get me closer to what I'm trying to achieve?

Had a lot of issues with your build. Here is what I came up with:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($87.99 @ Mwave)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($79.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 285 2GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($214.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($68.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG WH16NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($49.99 @ Micro Center)
Monitor: BenQ GL2460HM 60Hz 24.0" Monitor ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Monitor: BenQ GL2460HM 60Hz 24.0" Monitor ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Keyboard: SteelSeries APEX Wired Gaming Keyboard ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Mouse: SteelSeries Rival Wired Optical Mouse ($49.19 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1256.06
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-03 00:59 EST-0500

You have to go with intel cpus, they are just better. And I changed the gpu because I think the 760 is still overpriced, and the 285 is worth way more than just fifteen dollars relative to the 760. And lastly, that psu you listed is of poor quality.

Edit: Noticed the 285 that I put in only has 2 gb of vram...which is fine. But if you want to go with an r9 280/r9 280x you can get 3gb for a little bit less or more, depending on which one you go with.

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll add those to the list.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Here is what I would recommend, at minimum, for what you want to do. I'm assuming you don't want this system to become irrelevant in two years time so I'll factor that in. Keep in mind, this is at the minimum. Anything less and you are likely to experience a shocking learning curve while discovering you are highly upset by the fact that the system you just spent 1200.00 on does not actually perform at the level you had expected.

I've upgraded the build to faster memory, added an SSD, changed the cpu and motherboard to better models, changed to a higher tiered PSU, changed to a slightly numerically lower GPU model that has more VRAM and will help with the dual monitor setup plus has a faster base clock speed.

I also dumped the gaming keyboard and gaming mouse, and substituted cheaper versions. If you want to and can afford it, feel free to add them back in, otherwise they are items that can be added down the road. Focus should be on the core of the system now with peripherals that will still allow you to perform the bulk of your intended tasks, not high end feel good items that don't really help you in the long run. Of course, feel free to say, screw you dude, I need those extra buttons, if you wish. Heh.

Anyhow, here is what I came up with. Even better, by far, especially for the video work (As the i7 performs better) but also due to the fact that it has a 500mhz faster clock speed, would be to swap out the i5 4690 for an i7 4690k, the k being important not because it's an unlocked model that can be overclocked, but for the additional clock speed which the i7 4690 non-k does not bring to the table.


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($214.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus H97-PLUS ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($108.99 @ Mac Mall)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($128.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280X 3GB Black Edition Double Dissipation Video Card ($239.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec TruePower Classic 750W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($60.00 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG WH16NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($49.99 @ Micro Center)
Monitor: BenQ GL2460HM 60Hz 24.0" Monitor ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Monitor: BenQ GL2460HM 60Hz 24.0" Monitor ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm Devastator Gaming Bundle Wired Gaming Keyboard w/Optical Mouse ($26.85 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1353.73
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-03 01:48 EST-0500

 

[Kraizer]

Actually, I quite like the keyboard/mouse you picked out. I'll start adding some changes.

A question though, may I ask why you chose the Asus H97-PLUS over the ASRock H97 PRO 4? The only difference I can see is that the PLUS supports crossfire. (I hope that didn't come off as snobby, I'm just curious is all).

Thank you both for the help!

 

[Darkbreeze]

Because the board I saw on your build was not ASUS, it was ASRock. ASUS tends to have higher quality motherboards.

 

[Kraizer]

Because the board I saw on your build was not ASUS, it was ASRock. ASUS tends to have higher quality motherboards.

Ah, I had a typo, sorry for that. The build looks awesome! Any last suggestions for the build? Or am I good to go (for now).?

 

[Darkbreeze]

I'd say that rig is good to go. Have fun with it.