New System Overkill?

[SiNJiN76]

Need some advice...but I bet I'm going to be answering my own questions while typing this out...

I'm not going to be gaming a lot on this PC (that's what I say now 😉), but will do some (console gamer, for now 😀).

I first had order a 4K Dell bundle from Costco, but returned it because in order to get 4K@60hz, I had to remove/disable/replace the discrete card that came with the system. Which, if I'm paying with my left ARM to get this system, expect everything to be working optimally without my interference.

So, now I've put together a list of parts (all from Amazon, because it's simpler and prices are competitive to other online vendors). What I want out of this system is speed. Especially when viewing Photos and Videos and transferring files.

I'll probably end up doing some editing or more, depending on the systems competence. Now this is all for leisure. Not a profession. It's just that I've been using a Core 2 Duo laptop for almost a decade! And that thing can't do much without waiting minutes over minutes to get something done or to open a program such as Visual Studio.

BTW, I'm not going to be doing any OVERCLOCKING. Seems a lot is marketed towards gamers.

So here's the list:
Gigabyte UD3H or UD5H - Thinking 3H is good enough (Can I save $$ by going with something else?)
i7 4790K - Because it's only $20-$30 more and is 4.0 vs 3.4Ghz
Gigabyte GTX 970 G1 (Is this overkill for a current Non-PC gamer?) (Can I save $$ by going 960 or 750ti?)
16GB of 2400MHz C11 RAM by a company called Silicon Power (looked at 1600Mhz C9, price was the same)
550W Sentey Power Supply
NZXT H440 Mid Tower (So many options for cases! Makes my head swell)
Acer G276HL Monitor (1080p, 27") going with 27" for productivity.
Seagate 1TB HHD (Should I save some money on the MB & GPU to go with a 120GB SSD? Is SSD really worth it? What about their reliability?)


Dell came with a nice 27" 4K monitor (P2715Q)....but didn't feel like it was 4K because of the matte finish...I never got that visual POP and Jaw drop that I get when viewing a 4K with a glossy finish. Or maybe it was the GTX 745 they included with it.

Now the question is, is this too much PC for just a casual gamer? I know that I'm getting WAY more for the money than what came with the DELL (minus the 4K monitor) The more I find this setup is capable of doing, the more that I'm probably going to end up doing with it.

Is there something that I can scale down on or upgrade to since I've already sold my kidney to pay for this?
Since I'm not going to be doing a lot of gaming, I'm not upgrading the cooling. Just going with what comes with the CPU and the Case.


Approximate Purchase Date: Next Week

Budget Range: $10 - $1800
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Not sure - Had a pretty low spec laptop so couldn't do much...Photos - Videos - VM - Games

Are you buying a monitor: Yes


Parts to Upgrade: ALL

Do you need to buy OS: No
Please note that if you're using an OEM license of Windows, you will need a new one when buying a new motherboard.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Amazon

Location: City, State/Region, Country - L.A County - CA, USA

Parts Preferences: Name Brand preferred for the important/expensive parts.

Overclocking: No / Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: No

Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional Comments: Quiet - Don't need Windows or Lights on the Case.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: Need a new computer that can do it all with speed.

TL;DR?

 

[bsod1]

so, 4k or 1080p??

and what's your budget?

it would be easier for us to help you if you filled in the questionnaire. the link is in my signature.

 

[TofuLion]

if you wont be overclocking or gaming, don't go with the 4790K. yes, it has a higher clock speed, but at a much higher price than the Xeon (which is essentially the same thing minus the integrated graphics and higher speed). also, the 4790K runs way too hot for the intel stock cooler and you would end up either underclocking it to keep the temps comfortable, or buying an aftermarket cooler.

gtx 970 is a great card, but not if you won't be gaming really. it seems like a huge waste to spend so much on a card that won't have it potential realized anyway. the 960 is enough for even moderate gaming. the r9 280X is around the same price and usually performs better in games, but at the cost of more power and heat.

the SSD is a must for a system like this. you will notice a HUGE improvement in load times and general file I/O compared to a standard hard drive. samsung is a very reliable brand in everything they make, and is at the top in SSDs.

and finallly, the phanteks enthoo pro is a nice case at this price point and you'll find it has exceptional cooling. it's also a full tower, which means it's bigger and this could be a good thing (for cooling and general room to work), or bad (if you have limited space for the tower itself).

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($255.25 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte G1.SNIPER H6 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($96.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Redline 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($76.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 2GB SuperSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($209.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($61.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1011.16
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-19 12:36 EDT-0400

included prices from newegg since they are also very competitive and just as good as amazon for customer service and reliability.

 

[SiNJiN76]

so, 4k or 1080p??

and what's your budget?

it would be easier for us to help you if you filled in the questionnaire. the link is in my signature.

Thanks, added to OP.
4K is nice, but I think I'll wait.

if you wont be overclocking or gaming, don't go with the 4790K. yes, it has a higher clock speed, but at a much higher price than the Xeon (which is essentially the same thing minus the integrated graphics and higher speed). also, the 4790K runs way too hot for the intel stock cooler and you would end up either underclocking it to keep the temps comfortable, or buying an aftermarket cooler.

gtx 970 is a great card, but not if you won't be gaming really. it seems like a huge waste to spend so much on a card that won't have it potential realized anyway. the 960 is enough for even moderate gaming. the r9 280X is around the same price and usually performs better in games, but at the cost of more power and heat.

the SSD is a must for a system like this. you will notice a HUGE improvement in load times and general file I/O compared to a standard hard drive. samsung is a very reliable brand in everything they make, and is at the top in SSDs.

and finallly, the phanteks enthoo pro is a nice case at this price point and you'll find it has exceptional cooling. it's also a full tower, which means it's bigger and this could be a good thing (for cooling and general room to work), or bad (if you have limited space for the tower itself).

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($255.25 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte G1.SNIPER H6 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($96.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Redline 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($76.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 2GB SuperSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($209.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($61.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1011.16
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-19 12:36 EDT-0400

included prices from newegg since they are also very competitive and just as good as amazon for customer service and reliability.

Awesome! Thanks for your input. I'm definitely going to be getting the Samsung Evo 250 SSD. Will look through the parts list you recommended. Really appreciate the time you took to make it!

BTW. I haven't been getting emails for this thread when replies are posted. Email is checked.

 

[bsod1]

I am posting a build with a 1440p monitor for productivity. Nice balance b/w a 1080p and a 4k. This is overclock ready but you don't need to overclock it.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($328.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.50 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-G1.SNIPER Z97 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($121.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($104.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($97.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($329.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Fractal Design Define S w/Window ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($104.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit) ($87.88 @ NCIX US)
Monitor: Acer K272HULbmiidp 60Hz 27.0" Monitor ($329.99 @ Micro Center)
Total: $1673.67
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-20 01:04 EDT-0400

 

[SiNJiN76]

I am posting a build with a 1440p monitor for productivity. Nice balance b/w a 1080p and a 4k. This is overclock ready but you don't need to overclock it.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($328.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.50 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-G1.SNIPER Z97 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($121.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($104.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($97.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($329.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Fractal Design Define S w/Window ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($104.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit) ($87.88 @ NCIX US)
Monitor: Acer K272HULbmiidp 60Hz 27.0" Monitor ($329.99 @ Micro Center)
Total: $1673.67
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-20 01:04 EDT-0400

This really is Solid. Thanks. I jumped the gun yesterday and ordered the Monitor/Case/MB. I'll definitely be returning the Monitor. What do you think about the Case/MB that I ordered? Keep it or return and get the parts you recommended? Also, I'm assuming that these vendors from PCpartspicker are all reputable.