First Build Advice

[Voisier]

Hey everyone, i decided i'm just gonna build a new PC for the year instead of changing parts around with my current Alienware Aurora R2 which is pretty dated now but since i have never done this before i'd be grateful for some of you guys thoughts / suggestions on the build i plan to make.
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/2w0Cv

That's what i have come up with currently. I'm wondering if i could just use my current liquid cooler and case.

http://images.bit-tech.net/content_images/2010/01/alienware-aurora-alx-pc-review/08.jpg
This is exactly what the inside of my PC looks like just a lot lot cleaner.

 

[Sakkura]

The 1200W PSU is massive overkill for that system. Network card is superfluous, arguably the sound card too.

 

[St0rm_KILL3r]

You should buy an i5 4670k than i7 3770k if you do gaming. 4670k is just an 4770k in gaming. You still don't need 4x8 gb ram to max out games unless you do video editing.
Rest all is good and is enough to max out games on UHD res.

 

[prf007]

Yeah, you wont need that PSU, you'd be happy with an 850W and I would personally ditch the network card and sound card. Looks pretty awesome though.

 

[ScrewySqrl]

here's my tweaks to your build:

I removed the overkill psu, the unnecessary sound and network cards, and upgraded you to a Haswell i7 and mtherboard. I added in a 256GB SSD for boot ad programs, and set up a PSU more appropriate to your needs. 1200W is overkill when you use only 462W. I put in a much less expensive 550W unit. given the 780ti you already have, I doubt you're going to SLI any time soon, so 550W is all you need. Save over $140 from your initial build. You probly don't NEED 16 GB of RAM, but I left it in there for now.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£250.43 @ Ebuyer)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (£87.99 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme6/ac ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£125.95 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£64.97 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£64.97 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra Plus 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£112.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£60.00 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Video Card (£565.49 @ Ebuyer)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case (£79.99 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£49.36 @ Aria PC)
Optical Drive: LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer (£49.95 @ Amazon UK)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) (£78.50 @ Ebuyer)
Total: £1590.59
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-05 14:52 GMT+0000)

 

[Voisier]

Oh are sound and network cards not needed then? >-< Cheers for the assistance.

 

[geofelt]

My thoughts:

1. Few games can use more than 2-3 cores, so the hyperthreads of the i7 will go largely unused. A i5 would be equally good.
A i5-4670K would be a more up to date cpu and the associated Z87 chipset is a bit better. It should cost no more.

2. Ram is sold in kits for a reason.
Ram from the same vendor and part number can be made up of differing manufacturing components over time.
Some motherboards can be very sensitive to this.
That is why ram vendors will NOT support ram that is not bought in one kit.
Although, I think the problem has lessened with the newer Intel chipsets. Still,
it is safer to get what you need in one kit.
Buy a single 2 x 8 gb kit.
3. A build of this quality demands a ssd for the "C" drive. I suggest a 240gb Samsung evo.
4. All motherboards will include at least one Ethernet adapter. Do you need two?
5. Love the EVGA GTX780ti. You will get fair value from the factory overclocked superclocked version. Love the titan cooler.
6. Motherboards will include very good 7.1 HD sound. I might try onboard first.
7. 650w would be sufficient for a GTX780ti. Even if you were planning on sli, 950w is enough.
8. I can't imagine the need for sli on a single monitor. By the time you want triple monitor gaming or a 4k monitor, Maxwell and amd 9000x single gpu cards should be available.
9. I am not much of a fan of liquid cooling, but since you already have one, and are experienced with it, then ok.
10. If you are disassembling your old pc, can you reuse some parts like the OS?

 

[Voisier]

My thoughts:

1. Few games can use more than 2-3 cores, so the hyperthreads of the i7 will go largely unused. A i5 would be equally good.
A i5-4670K would be a more up to date cpu and the associated Z87 chipset is a bit better. It should cost no more.

2. Ram is sold in kits for a reason.
Ram from the same vendor and part number can be made up of differing manufacturing components over time.
Some motherboards can be very sensitive to this.
That is why ram vendors will NOT support ram that is not bought in one kit.
Although, I think the problem has lessened with the newer Intel chipsets. Still,
it is safer to get what you need in one kit.
Buy a single 2 x 8 gb kit.
3. A build of this quality demands a ssd for the "C" drive. I suggest a 240gb Samsung evo.
4. All motherboards will include at least one Ethernet adapter. Do you need two?
5. Love the EVGA GTX780ti. You will get fair value from the factory overclocked superclocked version. Love the titan cooler.
6. Motherboards will include very good 7.1 HD sound. I might try onboard first.
7. 650w would be sufficient for a GTX780ti. Even if you were planning on sli, 950w is enough.
8. I can't imagine the need for sli on a single monitor. By the time you want triple monitor gaming or a 4k monitor, Maxwell and amd 9000x single gpu cards should be available.
9. I am not much of a fan of liquid cooling, but since you already have one, and are experienced with it, then ok.
10. If you are disassembling your old pc, can you reuse some parts like the OS?

Ahh i never knew most of the things you just stated ty for teaching me something new ^-^. I'm not sure if i can use the OS since it all came on the hard drive i literally just plugged it in and played and also i wouldnt say im experienced with liquid cooling it was just on the pc when i bought it so i assumed it was the way forward?

 

[geofelt]

If the os was a OEM version, the license is tied to the motherboard, so you can't transfer it.

If you will give/sell the old pc, then you might as well leave the H100 installed.
Normally, you will get more on ebay by disassembling the pc and selling the parts individually than you wil by selling the complete pc.

The reason for aftermarket coolers is twofold.
1. stock cooler fans are small and tend to get noisy when the fans spin up under load.
If you use an aftermarket cooler with a slower turning 140mm fan, it will be inaudible when spinning around 900 rpm.

2. When overclocking a cpu, the voltage is increased, and that causes heat which must be dissipated. Record seeking overclockers will use liquid nitrogen to get the last bit of oc possible. You and I do not need that to get a conservative oc of perhaps 20% For that, a good air cooler with a 140mm fan will do the job. Look for one from noctua or phanteks.
A H100 will work, but I have heard of too many tales of woe when such a unit leaks. Google "H100 leak"

 

[Voisier]

here's my tweaks to your build:

I removed the overkill psu, the unnecessary sound and network cards, and upgraded you to a Haswell i7 and mtherboard. I added in a 256GB SSD for boot ad programs, and set up a PSU more appropriate to your needs. 1200W is overkill when you use only 462W. I put in a much less expensive 550W unit. given the 780ti you already have, I doubt you're going to SLI any time soon, so 550W is all you need. Save over $140 from your initial build. You probly don't NEED 16 GB of RAM, but I left it in there for now.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£250.43 @ Ebuyer)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (£87.99 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme6/ac ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£125.95 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£64.97 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£64.97 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra Plus 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£112.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£60.00 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Video Card (£565.49 @ Ebuyer)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case (£79.99 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£49.36 @ Aria PC)
Optical Drive: LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer (£49.95 @ Amazon UK)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) (£78.50 @ Ebuyer)
Total: £1590.59
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-05 14:52 GMT+0000)

With this build will i need to purchase any Thermal paste or additional wiring?
Also according to http://www.geforce.co.uk/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-780-ti/specifications the 780 ti requires a minimum of 600W system power.