New to building PCs, looking for recommendations

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TomcaT112

TomcaT112

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Nov 24, 2014
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Hello,

I am new to building a desktop PC and am hoping for some recommended builds to give me a starting place for research. Currently I am running with an HP Pavilion Elite HPE-150f (Stock), and it is greatly showing it's age, thus I am looking for a better, faster, more reliable, and customizable workstation/gaming PC.

The software I am looking to run flawlessly (for the most part) are programs like:
-Adobe Creative Cloud Applications (After Effects CC, Photoshop 64bit CC, Premiere Pro CC etc)
-Unreal Engine 4 Editor
-Autodesk 2015 Lineup (Maya 2015, 3DS Max 2015, AutoCAD 2015, SoftImage 2015, etc)
-Unity 5 Game Engine Editor
-Blender
-Visual Studio 2013
and so on.. Many of these run "okay" on my system at the moment, but others like UE4 simply overload it and crash/ fail to run adequately. I would like to have a system that can run a couple of these at a time, or at least one of them and Chrome in the background.

As well as being able to run modern games at a decent calibre.

My price range lands up to 2000.00$CAD give or take a few hundred.

Any recommendations in the way of a full build or just parts would be greatly appreciated.

-Cheers :)
 
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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($348.98 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($154.98 @ DirectCanada)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($169.04 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($139.89 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.85 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($398.75 @ Vuugo)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Canada Computers)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($109.99 @ NCIX)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($17.09 @ DirectCanada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) ($108.34 @ TigerDirect Canada)
Total: $1576.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-24 23:08 EST-0500
 
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Do you need a monitor, operating system, keyboard or mouse with the new pc?
 
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Well here would be a complete build with everything you would need to start working as soon as you got it all put together. I was even able to throw in a nice 4k monitor. But that monitor will only be that price for the next two days. Let me know what you think.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($299.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI Z97-GAMING 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($144.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: A-Data XPG V2 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2400 Memory ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($124.67 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($124.67 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($349.99 @ Directron)
Case: NZXT Phantom 530 (Red) ATX Full Tower Case ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($13.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) ($92.99 @ Directron)
Monitor: Acer B286HK ymjdpprz 60Hz 28.0" Monitor ($349.00)
Keyboard: Logitech K120 Wired Standard Keyboard ($13.99 @ Amazon)
Mouse: Zalman ZM-M300 Wired Optical Mouse ($10.99 @ Directron)
Total: $1990.23
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-24 23:44 EST-0500

And if you don't mind spending a little more, I would throw on a nice CPU cooler so you wouldn't have to add anything except maybe another 970 in a few years when you want more graphics power. Here would be my suggestion.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Nepton 280L 122.5 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $119.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-24 23:47 EST-0500

And if that is a little much, maybe this.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 CPU Cooler ($73.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $73.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-24 23:49 EST-0500

Otherwise you could always just throw on a Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo for only $30, and still get a decent overclock.
 
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Yea, I guess. But judging by the programs OP is going to be using, the files could get rather large. I just figured he/she would want to have everything backed up twice in case one drive fails. But he/she might also use a cloud service or an external drive or something. I suppose OP can make the decision to either keep the HDD's or not depending on preference.
 
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I would go this,nice cooling and 2-way sli would be best on game develop or other 3d develop.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($299.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H55 57.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z97-GAMING 7 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($109.96 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.49 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($349.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($349.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec TruePower Classic 750W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ Mac Mall)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro (OEM) (64-bit) ($128.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1847.84
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-25 00:30 EST-0500
 
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Thanks for the in depth info! I don't need any accessories, I already have two Samsung S24D390HL 23.6" screens, a Logitech mechanical keyboard and a less than stellar mouse, so maybe that but that can come later. As for needing the HDD I only really need a 2TB drive, I regularly backup my projects to 1TB externals.
 
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You are very welcome. So after learning more of what you have, and your needs, I came up with this build.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($299.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Nepton 280L 122.5 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus MAXIMUS VII HERO ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($199.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($339.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($569.95 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT Phantom 530 (Red) ATX Full Tower Case ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($56.13 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit)
Total: $2026.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-26 00:06 EST-0500

What do you think of this build. It seems like a few of those programs you listed would benefit from more ram, so I upped that. But I am not all that familiar with all those programs.

I also went with the 980 GPU, a little better motherboard, a blue ray burner, and the best CPU cooler on the market.

Let me know what you think.
 
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That price is pushing my range a little but I did like some of the additions (cooling for example). I think I'll go with a mix of the two, leaning more towards your previous build. I added the cooling from the new one, changed the case color. This here:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($344.98 @ DirectCanada)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Nepton 280L 122.5 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
Motherboard: MSI Z97-GAMING 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($174.95 @ Vuugo)
Memory: A-Data XPG V2 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2400 Memory ($199.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($119.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($133.98 @ DirectCanada)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($392.98 @ DirectCanada)
Case: NZXT Phantom 530 (White) ATX Full Tower Case ($139.99 @ Memory Express)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ NCIX)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($17.09 @ DirectCanada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) ($108.34 @ TigerDirect Canada)
Total: $1692.27
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-27 09:36 EST-0500

That being said I have one last question, what is the difference the motherboards make in the computers performance?
 
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Same performace.
 
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That looks good. The performance between the two motherboards are the exactly same. I just think Asus makes more reliable boards than MSI...however this is simply my opinion. It really ends up being luck. Any company can and do make faulty boards. So you could get a bad board even from a company with the very best failure rates...it's just luck of the draw.

Here is the build you listed, except I exchanged the 970 for the 980.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($344.98 @ DirectCanada)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Nepton 280L 122.5 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
Motherboard: MSI Z97-GAMING 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($174.95 @ Vuugo)
Memory: A-Data XPG V2 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2400 Memory ($199.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($119.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($133.98 @ DirectCanada)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 980 4GB Twin Frozr Video Card ($639.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Case: NZXT Phantom 530 (White) ATX Full Tower Case ($139.99 @ Memory Express)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ NCIX)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($17.09 @ DirectCanada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) ($108.34 @ TigerDirect Canada)
Total: $1939.27
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-27 14:33 EST-0500

It comes out to $1939. I'm not sure if that is a more comfortable budget, or if that is still a little higher than what you would like. You could always very easily add another stick or two of 8gb ram whenever you find you need more. Also, a blue ray burner is very easily added if you find the need for that as well.
 
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Solution


I may swap a few things out but I like this rig, looks perfect for what I need to do!
Thanks everyone for the recommendations and advice! :)
 
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