First Build Complete - Thoughts?

[mwilli22]

After many weeks of research, this is my first completed build. Will be used solely for gaming...not so much a question here but wanted to try and get some thoughts on what I could have done better perhaps. Thanks!

Here's the PC Part Picker link : http://pcpartpicker.com/b/zvjcCJ

 

[MasterDell]

At that budget I would not have gotten an SSD at all. I would have took that money and put it into a more reliable PSU and a better GPU. With that budget my build would have looked like this: PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($72.00 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.99)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($378.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($15.99)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (32/64-bit) ($97.99)
Keyboard: Corsair Vengeance K70 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($99.99)
Mouse: Corsair Vengeance M65 Wired Laser Mouse ($53.30)
Headphones: Corsair Vengeance 1500 v2 7.1 Channel Headset ($74.82)
Total: $1311.03
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-30 16:15 EDT-0400
I am not sure if you forgot to add it, but you need a CPU Cooler to OC the 4690k. Please take this all as constructive criticism!!

But honestly right now that's a pretty solid build and you didnt do that bad of a job picking your parts!

 

[mwilli22]

At that budget I would not have gotten an SSD at all. I would have took that money and put it into a more reliable PSU and a better GPU. With that budget my build would have looked like this: PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($72.00 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.99)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($378.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($15.99)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (32/64-bit) ($97.99)
Keyboard: Corsair Vengeance K70 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($99.99)
Mouse: Corsair Vengeance M65 Wired Laser Mouse ($53.30)
Headphones: Corsair Vengeance 1500 v2 7.1 Channel Headset ($74.82)
Total: $1311.03
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-30 16:15 EDT-0400
I am not sure if you forgot to add it, but you need a CPU Cooler to OC the 4690k. Please take this all as constructive criticism!!

But honestly right now that's a pretty solid build and you didnt do that bad of a job picking your parts!

Thanks for the insight! I really went back and forth on that exact idea but many people I talked with said the SSD, when loaded with my game of the moment, would render loading times almost nill, which I liked. The GPU will definitely be the first thing I upgrade down the road, but I think this will play most games now with ultra and 1080p.

I'm curious to know why you think the power supply is unreliable?

 

[MasterDell]

I dont think that.. I know that, B series PSUs from EVGA are listed as tier 3. The PSU I chose is not much more and it is a tier 2a!
Just as a rule of thumb, if you pick a Antec, Seasonic, or XFX PSU you will be safe. Just exclude the Basiq PSUs from Antec. They arent very good

Here are some PSU tiering lists:
https://community.newegg.com/eggxpert/computer_hardware/f/135081/t/45344.aspx
http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1804779/power-supply-unit-tier-list.html