Component advice building pc

[robinrtb]

Hello,

A friend asked if I could take a look at the components he has selected for the gaming pc he wants to build. I had some suggestions, but I know there are people here who know much more about this than I do!

His list at the moment:
CPU: Intel i7 4790k
GPU: MSi GTX 970 GAMING 4G
Motherboard: Asus Z97-Pro Gamer
HDD: 1TB WD Blue WD10EZEX
SSD (250GB): Crucial BX100 SSD
RAM: Kingston HyperX Fury Black
Fan: Noctua NH-U12S
Power Supply: Seasonic S12G- 650
Case: NZXT Crafted Series Phantom 410 White

This brings it to a total of €1352. The monitor is not included. He's trying to build a nice gaming PC, but I'd say this is somewhat his budget and it shouldn't get much more expensive. So we'd like advice on what's best, but would like to keep it in this price range.

Though I'm not sure, I don't think he's interested in overclocking. This makes me think he could use an i5 4690 or i7 4790 as CPU without losing too much performance. Secondly, I think a Cooler Master Hyper Evo 212 is better and also cheaper as cooling. I was also wondering whether he needs 650 Watts or could settle for a Cooler Master V550 Semi-Modular.

Any advice is welcome!

 

[neo_classical]

Hi robinrtb,
Could I ask, what resolution will you be gaming at?
I would agree that usually just for gaming, an i7 is not necessarily needed and an i5 will do.
But yes, if you could let us know of the monitor resolution, we can advise further
JT

 

[robinrtb]

He will be playing at 1920x1080!

 

[neo_classical]

Hi,
Just another couple of questions:
1) Have you figured in Windows into this? Or do you already have a license key?
2) A query about the SSD. Just looked on http://ssd.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Samsung-850-Evo-250GB-vs-Crucial-BX100-250GB/2977vs3145 and although the Crucial and Samsung are very close, it looks like the Samsung has the edge. Wondered what you thought?
3) Is he doing anything else other than gaming that might warrant an i7? E.g. Video editing. Because if he doesn't, the money you save could be used for:


4) An optical drive? DVD drive? Or Blu-ray drive? (I use my blu-ray drive for hard back-ups)
5) What about sound? You have a great budget here and wondered what peripherals your using? I'm just trying to think about the experience - graphics alone can completely outshine consoles, but there are other suggestions:
5a) A decent sound card?
5b) Decent speakers - 5.1? 7.1?
5c) Novelty peripherals - ever come across these? ( http://www.ambx.com/product/cyborg-gaming-lights ) I love them - stuck them behind my monitor facing the wall and they work great.
5d) A decent mouse/keyboard. I moved from my cheap mouse to a logitech laser mouse and again I love it. More expensive sure, but the speed I work at - purely from the 'Back/Forwards' side buttons has been worth every penny.
JT