Building my first desktop. please check parts compatibility, and any advise would be appreciated

[todd jones]

Hello Everyone. I am a building my first gaming desktop and would appreciate any advise. I specifically want to make sure that I buy compatible parts. My grandson in Afghanistan has been giving me advise and I have gradually getting myself familiar terms but I have much to learn.

Here are the parts list I have compiled:

Intel i7 4790K chip
Corsair Hydro Series Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler H100i
Asus Sabertooth Z87 LGA 1150 Motherboard
Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB 2x8GB DDR3 2400MHz
2x EVGA GeForce GTX780 SuperClocked w/EVGA ACX Cooler 3GB in SLI
Samsung Electronics 840 EVO-Series 1TB 2.5-Inch SATA III
Seasonic M12II-850 BRONZE ATX 850 Power Supply
WD Blue 1 TB Desktop Hard Drive: 3.5 Inch, 7200 RPM, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64 MB Cache
Samsung SATA 1.5 Gb-s Optical Drive
Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64bit, System Builder OEM DVD 1 Pack (New Packaging)

I am also new at chat groups so I apologize if this is not the right forum to post on. Thanks for any advise, help and criticism

Todd

 

[Outlander_04]

Lots of your build is overkill

Use a Z97 chipset mb . The Z87 might need a BIOS update to work
A 4690K will perform as well in games
The cooler is nice , but not needed when a $30 CM Hyper 212 can do the job well
Gaming builds only need 2 x4 gig of RAM
Use the newer GTX980 . One will be fine if you have a single 1080p monitor
Use windows 8 . Its faster , you get a better license , and its simpe o add a start button using classic shell or start 8

 

[smorizio]

Hello Everyone. I am a building my first gaming desktop and would appreciate any advise. I specifically want to make sure that I buy compatible parts. My grandson in Afghanistan has been giving me advise and I have gradually getting myself familiar terms but I have much to learn.

Here are the parts list I have compiled:

Intel i7 4790K chip
Corsair Hydro Series Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler H100i
Asus Sabertooth Z87 LGA 1150 Motherboard (pick up the newer z97 so you can latter use a brodwell cpu)
Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB 2x8GB DDR3 2400MHz 16g over kill 8g is fine most time.
2x EVGA GeForce GTX780 SuperClocked w/EVGA ACX Cooler 3GB in SLI (swap them for the newer 970/980)
Samsung Electronics 840 EVO-Series 1TB 2.5-Inch SATA III (use a smaller ssd a 256g good for most games and aps).
Seasonic M12II-850 BRONZE ATX 850 Power Supply (2 high end gpu use a 1000w unit for safty.)
WD Blue 1 TB Desktop Hard Drive: 3.5 Inch, 7200 RPM, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64 MB Cache (use a larger drive as data drive. )
Samsung SATA 1.5 Gb-s Optical Drive
Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64bit, System Builder OEM DVD 1 Pack (New Packaging)

I am also new at chat groups so I apologize if this is not the right forum to post on. Thanks for any advise, help and criticism

Todd

 

[Jaxem]

It all looks just fine to me, and i'll say, that will be one beastly gaming machine. There will be some input you'll get on different/better choices, but it will work great as you currently have it.

What kind of budget are you on? because there's a few things you could change that would save some money and not affect performance...and is this for gaming only?

 

[Outlander_04]

It all looks just fine to me, and i'll say, that will be one beastly gaming machine. There will be some input you'll get on different/better choices, but it will work great as you currently have it.

What kind of budget are you on? because there's a few things you could change that would save some money and not affect performance...and is this for gaming only?

and when it doesnt boot because it would need a BIOS update ?
and the psu turns out to be inadequate , or perhaps just marginal ?

 

[todd jones]

Thanks Outlander for your answer. i was wondering if the ASUS Z97M-PLUS LGA1150 be a better mb choice? I do not fully understand what you said about the BIOS, but I thought the sabertooth was z79. I have seen the water cooler you mentioned and read that it was really good, my grandson gave me the spec for using the corsair. Hard to believe the CM Hyper 212 is so cheap compared to other coolers. You really think a new gtx 980 is goint to be better than two gtx 780's? Two gtx 980's are a bit too expensive. I really do not like windows 8, which is why I hoped window 7 would be ok. I do not mind going with a 1000w ps if that is what i need.

@Jaxem

thank you for your post. Was hoping to keep computer around $3000. Be happy to spend less. pretty much for gaming, and internet

 

[Outlander_04]

Thanks Outlander for your answer. i was wondering if the ASUS Z97M-PLUS LGA1150 be a better mb choice? I do not fully understand what you said about the BIOS, but I thought the sabertooth was z79. I have seen the water cooler you mentioned and read that it was really good, my grandson gave me the spec for using the corsair. Hard to believe the CM Hyper 212 is so cheap compared to other coolers. You really think a new gtx 980 is goint to be better than two gtx 780's? Two gtx 980's are a bit too expensive. I really do not like windows 8, which is why I hoped window 7 would be ok. I do not mind going with a 1000w ps if that is what i need.

@Jaxem

thank you for your post. Was hoping to keep computer around $3000. Be happy to spend less. pretty much for gaming, and internet

BIOS is a set of instructions on a memory chip on the mb that tells it how to run the processor [ and other devices] properly . Because the processor is newer than the motherboard the board wont have the correct instructions out of the box . You can flash the BIOS and that would work , but many motherboards need an older compatible processor in them so you can do the flash .
The smart move is just to buy a Z97 board because you know the processor will drop in and run .

The Z97M is a shorter micro-ATX board and can not run two graphics cards .
You can just swap in a Z97 sabertooth though
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-sabertoothz97mark2

The watercooler is excellent . It can cool a 150 - 180 watt processor , so its overkill for an 84 watt processor unless you plan to overclock which will push up heat and power levels .If you are going to run at stock speeds the 212 is more than enough .If you are going to OC moderately the 212 is enough .

How much graphics horsepower you need really depends on the resolution of your monitor . More pixels = more work for the graphics card to do. If you have a single 1080p monitor then a singel GTX 980 will play any game at ultra settings . It will be quieter , cooler and less fussy to set up than an SLI rig .

I dont like windows 8 either . Not many people do . But once you get past the front end its got a few nice improvements. And once you install classic shell you can make it look and behave exactly like 7, vista, xp or even win98 .

 

[todd jones]

ASUS Z97-PRO Desktop Motherboard - Intel Z97 Express Chipset - Socket H3 LGA-1150 / Z97-PRO

would this mb work with the 4790k chip

 

[Outlander_04]

Yes . It looks like a very good quality board with nice features