My first build. Advice appreciated

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Erotaku

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Dec 15, 2014
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Hello ladies and gents =)

This is my first build:
http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Otakami/saved/bN8KHx

Now I'm considering doing mild overclocking. Nothing crazy!

Firstly I'm not sure about my CPU cooler. I think it's good but I could have done better. Considering I'm trying to avoid water-coolers as they scare the hell out of me. One water leak and everything is toast. I think this one will do with mild overclocking right? I just hope it will cool perfectly because every laptop I owned for the last 8 years did overheat and it's my eternal nightmare.

You can also give me options for any cooler even if it's water but please be extremely sure about it! Don't care much about the noise of the cooler also 😛

Everything looks great. I hope the PSU has enough watts. I also choose the formula mobo instead of the hero for the wifi/bluetook and extra pci slots (not to mention the other awesome additions). other than that. Everything good? :)

Thank you and appreciated
 
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depending on what you are transitioning from, i can almost guarantee that you will be happy with the 4790k. i just got mine (transitioning from an amd 970 BE) and i will probably never go back to AMD. i love this processors speeds/capabilities. i would venture to say that you will be happy with it for at least 3 years or more
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it looks to be a great build. you will probably get plenty of opinions on what you should/shouldnt get, but overall i like this build. i am not sure on the quality of the PSU, so you will probably get someoen that says to get a seasonic, xfx, or another quality unit. i personally have never had any issues with corsair PSU's.
for water cooling, it is not a big scary monster as it sounds. the closed water cooling systems are very easy to install, and should not have any leaks. obviously, they could leak, but i havent encountered that yet.
i have the corsair water cooling system on that CPU and works fine. Corsair closed loop cooling systems arent the quietest, so if you are looking for quiet, you may want to look elsewhere. depeding on your OC amount, air cooling may do the trick, but you could look into water cooling if you wanted to give it a shot. trust me, its easy and takes like 5 minutes or less to install.
 
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First - the 4790k is a waste of money for gaming purposes ... no noticeable difference between an i7 and the ($100 cheaper) i5 equivalent 4690K.

Second - really no need to overclock that CPU or a 4690K for at least a few years. The stock performance will be above and beyond what any program needs. If you do overclock at some point, the cooler you have is the go-to price/performance winner for what you described, moderate with nothing crazy.

Third - You do not need a $300 motherboard unless you are planning extreme overclocking or a multi-GPU setup, and in that price range, we're talking three-card Crossfire or SLI. Again, that would be overkill unless you have a huge multi-monitor setup or are trying to be the new benchmark king. Any decent Z97 motherboard in the $100 range should do and you will notice literally zero difference. You won't be using those extra PCIe x16 slots anyway without a bigger power supply. Features like WiFi and Bluteooth and the rest are nice, but not worth an extra $200. If you really need WiFi and Bluteooth and whatever other mobo you choose doesn't have it, you can get a plug-in card for much less.

Fourth - Forget water cooling unless it is something you want to do just for the challenge, and it doesn't sound like that's the case. A decent air cooler will tie the low-end water coolers, and a good one will beat them. Unless you are willing to spend a few hundred dollars on water cooling - a pretty questionable move considering the CPU will cost less than that and you are squeezing at most 20% more performance out of it - you will do as well or better with air.

Fifth - the PSU has enough watts; 500W is enough to run that system, 550W if you want to be on the safe side. Corsair is fine as long as you stay away from their CX series. A couple options at around half the price of the one you have - first one if you just want to run the one card, second if you may want SLI one day:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207013
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182073
 
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taco, im pretty sure gaming was not mentioned for the build, but may be a good assumption.
OP, if you are going to be doing gaming, taco is correct. however, if you are going to be doing editing, then this would work well.
based on your wants, the mobo is fine, but as he mentioned, may not be worth the extra money unless cost does not matter to you.

water cooling these days, unless you are doing a custom system, is not as expensive as he says. the closed/manufactured water cooling systems average around 100-130$ if i remember correctly.
 
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Agree that mobo is wasted money - I'd recommend something in the $120-$150 range.

The thermal paste is overkill bad. No appreciable difference at much less cost:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186038&cm_re=MX-4-_-35-186-038-_-Product

I'd stick with cheap air for a mild overclock and get low profile vengeance RAM so as not to interfere with the Evo's fan. Also, the faster RAM won't get you more frames than 1866/1600 CAS 9 and costs more.

If just gaming, ditch the HDD and get a 500GB 840 Evo (pro doesn't help in normal desktop/gaming situations).
 
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Well Firstly, Yes I'm planning to game but that's not all. Mainly gaming but want to get in video encoding as well. Also please correct me if I'm wrong. Rog maximus series are better for gaming than maybe a z97 pro right? If yes then formula and hero are the choice. Just went with formula because of wifi/bluetooth as I mentioned. Also saw some bad reviews about the sound from the hero. That's why I choose formula.

Secondly, i7 is a must for me because as I said it would be better for video encoding but I didn't go crazy with the cores. So i'm happy with what I choose.

Thirdly, I'm no where an expert in overclocking but correct me again please. If I do mild overclocking ,as i mentioned, wouldn't that squeeze some extra fps in my gaming? If I'm wrong then I won't overclock!

Also to explain why I choose this build. This is going to be a one time thing. I don't think I will be able to buy anything else for a long time. I want my build to last me a long while and not becoming outdated.

great to hear about the air cooling. I will stick with that and I will feel much safer :) Thank you !
 
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overclocking, although it could increase FPS, would not be noticable enough to make it worth it. You will have many people put their 2 cents in on this one, but in the end, is really it. with that setup, you wont be blowing minds with insane FPS that is higher than someone with the 4790k as an example. overclocking will get a few more fps but again, nothing that would make it worth it. you could easily do the same build and keep it stock, and have FPS that suits everyones needs. at some point, extra FPS stops being noticable.

if you want to do encoding, the i7 chips are good for it, but for gaming, it does not benefit enough to constitute the extra money.

without overclocking the same chip, and a 970gtx, i get between 60-100 fps on a badly optimized game like dayz/arma. (depending on which server). overlocking might get you an extra 5fps ish
 
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I would actually do something like this, which would give you the most bang for your buck:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($249.99 @ Micro Center)
CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC14PE_RD 78.1 CFM CPU Cooler ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD3H-BK ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Mushkin Redline 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($134.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($164.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.57 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($359.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($359.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Rosewill BLACKHAWK-BLUE ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($18.89 @ Directron)
Monitor: Acer K272HULbmiidp 60Hz 27.0" Monitor ($309.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $2028.36
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-17 15:15 EST-0500
 
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Great advice. Thank you so much! I'm still deciding whether I should really ditch the HDD because I'm sure I will have a lot to store (already have 3 TB externals full). I changed to evo though.

Could you also please suggest me such cooler? Anything that will ensure secure temps will be great :)

@melonhead: That's great to hear. Wasn't too fond of overclocking myself. I guess I won't have the need then. Thanks for the great info !
 
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If you're not overclocking, this is the build to get:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor ($249.99 @ Micro Center)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD3H-BK ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Mushkin Redline 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($134.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($164.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.57 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($359.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($359.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Rosewill BLACKHAWK-BLUE ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($18.89 @ Directron)
Monitor: Acer K272HULbmiidp 60Hz 27.0" Monitor ($309.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1968.37
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-17 15:21 EST-0500

Also, even if you're not going to overclock, the 4790K would be better as it has higher stock clocks than its locked counterpart.
 
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Few points:
Sorry I'm not really knowledgeable about 2 way sli. It's kinda too hardcore right? 😛 Do I really need 2 graphics cards?
Why Mushkin ram over corsair if they are the same 2133?
same goes to seagate. I'm a fan of WD. I have about 6 external drives from them. They are great. Any reasons behind that change?
I saw better reviews on MSI gtx 970 and better cooling but doesn't matter much

I will be looking at the other parts so thank you :)
 
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OK, well if you're working with video, the i7 WILL give you a noticeable difference, so go for that.

The more expensive motherboard is not "better for gaming." There will be literally no difference unless you do other things like high overclocking or SLI, which at this point would just be overkill. You may raise your FPS by a few with an overclock, but odds are it's already going to be well above the point where it would be noticeable to the human eye. And in most games, I think the GPU is going to be the limiting factor anyway; CPUs are far ahead on a relative scale.

As for the "future-proofing" aspect ... the best $2,000+ computer you can build is to build a $1,200 computer and then put the rest of that money in the bank. Then get a new video card in it in three years, or better yet build another $1,200 machine that will be far superior to the three-year-old $2,000 one (and sell the old one to get half your money back). There is always something 12 to 18 months down the road that obsoletes what you have today, so basically unless you have some kind of special situation, when you're above the $1,200-$1,400 threshold, you're just spending $3 for every $1 you save in the future. My 2 cents anyway.
 
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No, I will listen of course. No one wants to spend money for nothing.
Okay so I checked another one: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-z97a (Asus Z97a) It's less than half of the formula's price. So I hope it will be as good for gaming as you mentioned. What do you think?

Also what do you think about the CM hyper 212 evo? Very cheap but J_E_D_70 mentioned that it will be interfere with my RAM sticks. Anyone could weigh about this issue?

Thanks again. Very great help 😀
 
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I meant to post earlier, but for some reason, my internet didn't post what I wrote, so I'll reply to your concerns:
-2-way SLI is none too hardcore. In fact, it's the sweet spot between price and performance. Imagine 4-way SLI with GTX 980s😀
-The Mushkin RAM is cheaper
-Seagate has one of the only cheap 2 TB drives. WD's offerings are Black, Red, Green and Purple drives, which are all overpriced (Green drives spin at a slower speed, so it'll be somewhat slower)
-The Gigabyte card is better for many reasons:
1, It has three fans, which all but high end cards that cost 400$ have
2, It has a higher factory overclock
3, It is binned and ''hand selected'' (I doubt it, but just in case, if it's true) by the ''GPU Gauntlet''
4, It has a backplate
5, It has an awesome review here: http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/gigabyte_geforce_gtx_970_g1_gaming_review,1.html
6, The sample's boost clock went up to 1516 MHz in the review sample!
The Asus Z97-A is a very good board, but the Gigabyte Z97X-UD3H-BK would be better for less.
The Hyper 212 EVO's fan can be moved upward a few milimeters to have better RAM clearance.
 
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i have the same video card, and picked it because of teh stock speeds being higher over its other 970 competitors. there is obviously personal preference and opinion depending on who you ask. the G1 card is great for stock speeds. heat is probably its biggest issue because of the power consumption that it can handle. it has the highest power input and is part of the heat issue. and dont take the term "heat issue" as a flaw. it is just that the cooling on the card is not as good as the MSI card as example. if you arent overclocking, the heat probably wont affect you.
 
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not necessarily. the benchmarks between the evga,msi, and the G1 still show higher temps even with 3 fans. amount of fans, although in most cases cools better, it is not always the case.

out of the 3, the MSI has better cooling from what i have read. i will see if i can find the comparison
 
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hahaha 4-way SLI GTX 980 Would be scary OP! I will give the 2 way SLI GTX 970 a thorough thought :3
I have seen a lot of people praise the black series WD for its efficiency over seagate but the whole storage section might be changed. I might get 1 TB SSD and that's it. Good tip though.

About the motherboard. I have never actually seen anyone prefer gigabyte over an asus mobo. I have even seen a moderator here recommend an asus. Though I always see DOA reviews on asus. If gigabyte doesn't suffer from that then this will be a huge plus for it. Thanks a lot for info again :)

About the graphics. It's true that MSI has better cooling and I would feel much safer about that. They are all great so it's fine.
 
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I think that motherboard will do what you want and you should not notice much if any difference from the $300 kind.

The Hyper 212 EVO is one of the best values on the market; it gives the performance of a solid mid-range cooler that you would normally find for $50 or so. Hard to say whether it will interfere with the RAM ... I have that exact cooler in one of my systems and it's not the widest thing in the world, so it doesn't overlap the RAM slots at all and I've got four sticks of high-profile RAM in there working fine. However, that's an older LGA775 system and the motherboard layout is probably slightly different. If you're worried about it, you could always get lower-profile RAM without the big fins on top.


edit: as for SLI, the smart thing would be to get a single card, see if you're happy with the performance, and then if not consider SLI. If you're OK with one card (and 99% of the time you will be if you're using a single monitor) then you've saved yourself $300+, a bunch of potential headaches from SLI not playing nice with some programs/itself, and a lot of money on your electricity bill. Never start with SLI; add it if you're unhappy with the performance of the best single card you could afford in your initial build.
 
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I guess I will go with 1 Video card. I feel it's enough too. I will go with that cooler then. Everything sounds great.

Just one last question. I just noticed that my processor is LGA 1150 and that's kinda bad interms of future proofing. A quote from this forum "However socket 1150 will be replaced with socket 1151 in 2015/2016. Motherboards usually remain supported by Intel for 2/3 years, until the next tock CPU is released (Intel's tick-tock strategy)." Does that mean I better replace my processor?

Sorry for all the trouble everyone and thank you so much :)
 
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well, there is no such thing as future proofing computers. can the 1150 last you a few years before you have to upgrade? of course. however, at some point, you will probably need to upgrade. you could wait until 2015 to wait for the next line of processors, which would last even longer than current ones in regards to "future proofing", but that is simply because it would be a newer chip and would need to be replaced in the future. if it is a huge concern for you, you could wait until the 2015 model comes out since it isnt too far off.
 
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hehe time is of the essence. Don't think it's a good idea for my situation. It's better for me to catch all the Christmas discounts. Plus even if I wait. It would be probably hella more expensive.

I was thinking maybe a 1155 or above which is as good as the 4790k or better? I have no idea. If it comes down to it. I won't be bothered much by the 1150. Just making sure though =D
 
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