Desktop for College - Comp-sci/Math Major, occasional gaming.

[dj3ntz]

I'm going to college and want to have a desktop workspace in addition to a school-only laptop.

This will be my first build so I'm just double checking all the components and am asking the community to help me verify that everything I have selected below is

compatible (I'm pretty sure it is). Also, some recommendations from the community would be welcomed with regard to the intended usage posted below).


Indented Usage:
OS: The desktop will either be dual booting Win7 and some Linux distro or running windows 7 and using a virtual machine to run linux (not sure yet). If possible I want

to avoid windows altogether but I do need the capability of opening Microsoft office documents to be worked on on the desktop without problems, and I'm not sure how

compatible Libre Office is with Microsoft products. As I will not have much time to devote to managing the PC I really need a simple solution that avoids issues with

compatibility, as I won't have much time to trouble shoot. That being said, I'd still prefer Linux/GNU as the only OS if there aren't any compatibility issues

mentioned above.

Usage: - I'm interested in getting familiar with linux/GNU to learn the shell as well as to run my own cloud storage set up via OwnCloud and work on various other

projects.
- Other usage of the desktop will include music creation software like Ableton, any intensive programs required for comp-sci classes, math programs like wolfram

software, and the occasional game.
- Gaming: Most of the games I imagine I'll be playing will either be Source games or older games, so I'm holding off buying a GPU for now. However, I want the system

to be future-proofed to give me the opportunity to add GPU down the line, hence the 600w psu. Also, I intend to upgrade this system to play Star Citizen when it comes

out, so I'd like it to require minimal upgrades from where it is now (excluding a GPU of course).
- Will probably have a 1920x1080 resolution screen, perhaps two if possible (but only if the current processor can handle it).

Components:

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($224.67 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 EXTREME4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($143.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Storage/Boot Drive: 128gb Samsung 830 SSD (already own)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($57.24 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($107.99 @ Best Buy)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($68.94 @ Amazon)
Total: $727.81



Thank you (and thank you PC Part Picker)

 

[Scoutdrago3]

Your build looks pretty awesome, I think only one of the things should be upgraded(I will state what needs upgrading later in my post) excluding the GPU. Now as for the whole Windows/Linux compatibility issue, you can always use Google Docs which allows Collaborative editing which may be useful in college. All you have to do is make a Google+ Account and you can make documents with Google Docs and save them to your Google Drive and then you can easily email the file to a friend or professor with Google Gmail. Also it is completely compatible with Microsoft Office Word, Powerpoint, Excel and I believe there was one more file type.

The build will last you a while.
-CPU can be overclocked and Aftermarket cooler is good enough for overclocking.
-GPU can be easily added when you get the money(If you need some GPU suggestions, tell me your price range and I can find one for you).
-Motherboard is nice.
-RAM should last you a good while so no need to worry about that.
-1TB is a good starting point but if you want to keep this PC for more than 2-3 years you might want to invest in a little more storage. I recommend getting another 1TB hard drive while your getting a GPU.
-PSU should be able to handle a entry to mid-level GPU.

Thats about it.
Hope I helped you out

 

[P4RK3R_543]

What temps are you getting idle and with load with that CPU and cooler? I have the i7-4790k with stock cooler but am looking into this cooler!

 

[Scoutdrago3]

Well your looking at temps definitely less that 40-50C Idle which is mostly a educated guesstimate. But i do know that with a good chip you can go up 4.8GHz staying within the safe boundaries of temps. What I mean by with "good chip" is that every that is made in a factory will probably be either slightly better or slightly worse due to slight differences in material quality across the CPU's wafer surface during the creation of the chip, there are some other factors but i think this one might be the biggest factor. Its known as the silicon lottery. You either get the chip good or bad. Now when I say bad, I don't mean "you can never play any video game" bad but its just not as good. Anyway, with a good chip 4.8GHz is probably the max you want to go to, and I would recommend only overclocking to around 4.4GHz.

Sorry for putting in so much information that you didn't ask for, but I hope I helped.

 

[dj3ntz]

Your build looks pretty awesome, I think only one of the things should be upgraded(I will state what needs upgrading later in my post) excluding the GPU. Now as for the whole Windows/Linux compatibility issue, you can always use Google Docs which allows Collaborative editing which may be useful in college. All you have to do is make a Google+ Account and you can make documents with Google Docs and save them to your Google Drive and then you can easily email the file to a friend or professor with Google Gmail. Also it is completely compatible with Microsoft Office Word, Powerpoint, Excel and I believe there was one more file type.

The compatibility issue is concerning only my own files. Basically I plan on bringing the windows laptop to class for notes etc, but if I need to write a paper or do some heavy excel work I'm just going to download the files onto the desktop from my cloud or transfer them via external hdd. The real question is whether I need windows at all; if I can get away with using just linux and opening/exporting documents from Libre Office, then that would mitigate my need for windows. I don't however think that will work too well. But this less of a hardware question so I won't bother you with it

As far as drive set up goes though, do you think I should use windows as a primary OS on the SSD and then run linux through a VM, or should I partition the SSD? I feel that partitioning the SSD would be a messier affair as I'm not sure which OS to install first.

The build will last you a while.
-CPU can be overclocked and Aftermarket cooler is good enough for overclocking.
-GPU can be easily added when you get the money(If you need some GPU suggestions, tell me your price range and I can find one for you).
-Motherboard is nice.
-RAM should last you a good while so no need to worry about that.
-1TB is a good starting point but if you want to keep this PC for more than 2-3 years you might want to invest in a little more storage. I recommend getting another 1TB hard drive while your getting a GPU.
-PSU should be able to handle a entry to mid-level GPU.

The motherboard is really the one thing I wasn't sure about. CPU and GPU's I can handle, but I'm totally at a loss when it comes to mother boards. I wasn't really sure what mix of things I needed from the mobo other than the essentials, so I kind of arbitrarily chose the ASRock one, but also because it's got a decent price range and was recommended by this site. Are there other things I should have considered about mobo's before selecting one?

Also, I wasn't sure what kind of motherboard I needed. I know there are some 'gaming' one's that range from $160 - $200 but I didn't know whether I needed one of those, and also if I do want to game will this ASRock motherboard be sufficient?

Also, is ASRock a reputable company? Have you had any experience dealing with them?

As far as drives go I have plenty of 500gb hard drives lying around that I could throw in when I need them. The 500gb HDD and the SSD I have however were used in my laptop; what size does this make them? 2.5 inches? That should be compatible with the case/mobo, right? (I think so).

For GPU's, I mainly don't want to get one now in order to discourage myself from gaming when I'm at school (XD). But I was thinking of a 770 if I would get one at all. The harder choice is which manufacturer to get it from; EVGA seems to be pretty reliable.

Thats about it.
Hope I helped you out

Thank you so much for your help!

 

[Scoutdrago3]

Hi,
LibreOffice doesn't support Microsoft Office formats that well, so you are going to have a problem if you want to use LibreOffice. Again as I stated earlier your best(and free) choice should be Google Docs and you wont need Windows OS. There is also a good program that should work with Microsoft Office formats. Heres the link if you dont want to use Google Docs or Windows:
https://www.openoffice.org/

If you do want to go with MOffice then I would think putting Windows OS on the SSD before installing Linux would be the best. You can look up some tutorials on this. And putting both on the SSD would be the best solution.

ASRock used to be a really bad manufacturer but they really did turn themselves around, and now a lot of people actually favor ASRock. I personally tend to consider Gigabyte motherboards. Also the motherboard you picked should be more than good enough, with nice overclocking capabilities and a pretty good sound card they always show off . Gaming motherboards are called "gaming" mostly because they have a slightly better on-board ethernet card and on-board sound card. There are also some other features like easier cooling and really not much else. I will provide a couple of links to other good motherboards if you want to read up on them and compare. Otherwise, if you want to keep your current motherboard, skip the linkk following this line :
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/mainstream-gaming-z97-motherboard,3824.html
This link will provide you with some motherboards that Toms Hardware recommends. You should fine some nice motherboards in there

EVGA is pretty much the best and most famous manufacturer of NVidia Cards. The 770 is a nice choice but if you are interested in seeing the competition, this is AMD's answer to the 770.
R9 280X: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202046&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=
NOTE: 280x comes with 3 free video games of your choice.

Anyway, if you choose to stay with 770, its a good card.

Thats about it I guess. Hope I helped

 

[LukaBoki]

I would change the PSU.It's really low quality.
Something like a Rosewill Capstone 550/550M or 650/650M should do the job.

 

[Scoutdrago3]

The capstone is fine, but Rose will is the king of bad PSUs...
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/333705-28-rosewill-good-maker

I would just completely veer away from them, including the cases.

 

[LukaBoki]

The capstone is fine, but Rose will is the king of bad PSUs...
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/333705-28-rosewill-good-maker

I would just completely veer away from them, including the cases.

Then an XFX Core 650W?

 

[Scoutdrago3]

Yeah, XFX is very good, since they get there parts from SeaSonic, which is also a really awesome brand. Some other really nice brands are EVGA(sometimes super expensive and sometimes super cheap), Corsair, Cooler Master, and a couple others.

 

[LukaBoki]

Yeah, XFX is very good, since they get there parts from SeaSonic, which is also a really awesome brand. Some other really nice brands are EVGA(sometimes super expensive and sometimes super cheap), Corsair, Cooler Master, and a couple others.

Yea,I know.
The Rosewill Capstone series is the ONLY good Rosewill PSU?

 

[Scoutdrago3]

Pretty much... as far as most everyone on toms hardware says, thats 100% true. Sorry lol.

 

[LukaBoki]

Pretty much... as far as most everyone on toms hardware says, thats 100% true. Sorry lol.

SR-71 Blackbird said that Rosewill Capstone,Lightning and Tachyon series are recommended and very good.

 

[Scoutdrago3]

Yeah, I guess but you can go look some reviews your self and see that its best to safer and not sorry. Rosewill has its ups and downs, but sadly they just have more downs

P.S. When I first got into PC hardware I was really into Rosewill PSUs, but my friend got a 600W Rosewill and it failed on him 3 and a half weeks later. I really don't recommend Rosewill cases or PSUs, and if you are gonna buy one just know the risk and read the reviews.

 

[dj3ntz]

I would change the PSU.It's really low quality.
Something like a Rosewill Capstone 550/550M or 650/650M should do the job.

Pretty much... as far as most everyone on toms hardware says, thats 100% true. Sorry lol.

Yeah, I guess but you can go look some reviews your self and see that its best to safer and not sorry. Rosewill has its ups and downs, but sadly they just have more downs

P.S. When I first got into PC hardware I was really into Rosewill PSUs, but my friend got a 600W Rosewill and it failed on him 3 and a half weeks later. I really don't recommend Rosewill cases or PSUs, and if you are gonna buy one just know the risk and read the reviews.

I would change the PSU.It's really low quality.
Something like a Rosewill Capstone 550/550M or 650/650M should do the job.

Hi, two more questions:

1) is the PSU I have alright? Another user raised some concerns.

2) I've been thinking of changing the RAM to the G.SKILL Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) Desktop Memory Model F3-14900CL9D-8GBSR . The specs seem identical so I guess the only difference is the profile of the RAM?

Thanks