PC Build Review (2nd Computer, need thorough input)

[Ruefio]

This is my second computer I am looking to build. I built my first 3 years ago and I really didn't know what I was doing then. I don't feel I know much more now but I definitely have a handle on what I need. My problem is, does this hardware fit my needs? Does it all go together WELL? What are some improvements I can make to improve the system as well as reduce costs? I am willing to spend upward of $3000 but I see so many "gaming builds" online that barely go over $1600. I looked at boutique companies such as DS, Origin, and even a local custom shop and all marked up their pc's by a minimum of 1600 for the pc strength I was looking at. For my needs I need to be able to run two 24 inch monitors at 1960x1280 resolution and I have hopes to be able to stream at 1080p in the future. My main games are sc2, LoL and Hearthstone but I would like to be able to current games like Titan Fall, BF4, Wildstar and future games to come (IE Crysis). As is, I can't play wildstar on my current rig without it crashing nor can I play any of the games listed above low settings. I tend to run skype or something similar, at least have 1 internet screen open, and music running. A lot of my friends are dying for me to stream.

On a lot of forums I have read about 1150LGA Mobo vs 2011 mobo and the 4th gen i7 CPU. From prior research all over these forums I have seen a resounding "NO" to hex-cores, so I know that much. I wanted to get a SLI gtx 780 but could only find the 770 with 4gb VM. I have no clue how much of a PSU I need and I have concerns about the cooler I chose. In my current rig I always have had a prompt screen that tells me to hit f1 after it warns me that my fans do not run high enough. On my desktop I have software that tells me the temperatures are fine until I get into a game with med - high graphics and I have TONS of graphic tearing and blacking out. I have gone through multiple GPU's after making the mistake (twice!!!) of ordering OC versions. I know I need processing power, I am a big fan of RTS's. For games like Wildstar, WoW, and titan Fall I would like to be able to experience those at Max settings without crashing my computer. I am not Post-Bachelor's, I hope to have enough time to learn about them but not for now. Last but not least, my research for my first build led me to get the Antec 1200 and it is HUGE! I need something I can put on my desktop, out of the reach of my dogs, so I have chosen a mid sized tower. (TL;DR below)


1) GPU: gtx 770 4gb gpu - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130948

2) Case: Corsair 600t Graphite Mid Tower - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139007

3) RAM: 4x4GB (16gb) 1866mHz - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231539

4) Cooler: EVGA Air cooler: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835288003

5) PSU: 850W EVGA - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438018

6) HDD1: 2x500gb SSD (Looking to raid 1 these) - www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147249

7) MOBO: ASRock z97 1150 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157500

8) Optical Drive: www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135304

9) CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K Haswell Quad-Core 4.0GHz - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117369

10) HDD2: WD 1tb - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA0AJ1MP1993

11) Sound Card: Sound Blaster Z - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102048

12) OS: Win7 Pro 64bit - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832416804

TL;DR:

1) gtx 770 vs gtx 780 is it worthwhile? SLI worth my time? Do I really need SLI for two monitors, effectively, as my friends have lead me to believe? (Trying to run skyrim mods which recommend 780 base)

2) PSU size: Is mine appropriate?

3) Mid Sized tower a good choice? Will it hurt me vs a Full Tower?

4) i5 vs i7? Is i7 going overboard?

5) 1600 vs 1866 ram, Is 1866 a good choice or am I safer with 1600? Additionally, should I be using 4x4gb or 2x8gb sticks?

6) Looking to get the best bang for my buck, right before the cut-off where extra money doesn't mean squat. I don't need bragging rights about my 4xgpu, all under water system.

7) Are any of the bundle deals on Newegg worthwhile or am I better off piecing it as I have? Any recommendations for reducing my costs?

That is it, that is all I have for now. I am humbly await experienced help on my questions as well as any I might not be thinking of. Thank you

 

[Iron124]

That rig does seem compatible, and will definitely do what you mentioned and then some, but you did mention "bang-for-your-buck" and things like the 770 and 4x4GB is not exactly that. If you aren't terribly attached to those parts, I believe this build will serve you very well. $3000 is a lot to spend on a PC, and you should always get the best you can with the budget you have.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($319.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Z97 Killer ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($148.50 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($212.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($212.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 290X 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($497.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair 500R Black ATX Mid Tower Case ($114.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 760W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($132.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG WH16NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($147.26 @ OutletPC)
Total: $2102.64
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

I find it hard to justify spending much more than this. Yes, you could up the ram to 32GB, add in another GPU, or even get one of Intel's ridiculious $600 CPU's, but all of those are going to be yielding diminishing returns the more you add. This is an incredibly solid system, everything serves a purpose and will give you that performance-per-dollar sweet spot. I chose the 290x over the 770 you had. The 290x is an absolute beast and will have no problem driving 2 monitors in full HD. Hell, it could drive 4 if you really wanted it to.

No liquid cooling for this build, as that can be messy, time consuming, and dangerous. If you really want to, you could go with it and get a higher overclock on that i7, but I doubt it will be necessary. Typically nowadays, sound cards aren't really needed either unless you do a lot of intense audio fabrication.

Cosmetic adjustments like the case can be made to whatever you prefer of couse, I just went with that one because it was a roomy mid tower with good cooling and cable management options. Of course, this is all a suggestion anyway. Let me know if I can help in any other way, or you have any questions.

 

[Ruefio]

I am not very experienced with AMD. How are they compared to NVIDIA? What is comparable to this card? I was under the impression that NVidia went with intel and vice versa. How did you know how much of a PSU you needed?

 

[Ruefio]

That rig does seem compatible, and will definitely do what you mentioned and then some, but you did mention "bang-for-your-buck" and things like the 770 and 4x4GB is not exactly that. If you aren't terribly attached to those parts, I believe this build will serve you very well. $3000 is a lot to spend on a PC, and you should always get the best you can with the budget you have.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($319.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Z97 Killer ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($148.50 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($212.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($212.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 290X 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($497.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair 500R Black ATX Mid Tower Case ($114.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 760W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($132.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG WH16NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($147.26 @ OutletPC)
Total: $2102.64
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

I find it hard to justify spending much more than this. Yes, you could up the ram to 32GB, add in another GPU, or even get one of Intel's ridiculious $600 CPU's, but all of those are going to be yielding diminishing returns the more you add. This is an incredibly solid system, everything serves a purpose and will give you that performance-per-dollar sweet spot. I chose the 290x over the 770 you had. The 290x is an absolute beast and will have no problem driving 2 monitors in full HD. Hell, it could drive 4 if you really wanted it to.

No liquid cooling for this build, as that can be messy, time consuming, and dangerous. If you really want to, you could go with it and get a higher overclock on that i7, but I doubt it will be necessary. Typically nowadays, sound cards aren't really needed either unless you do a lot of intense audio fabrication.

Cosmetic adjustments like the case can be made to whatever you prefer of couse, I just went with that one because it was a roomy mid tower with good cooling and cable management options. Of course, this is all a suggestion anyway. Let me know if I can help in any other way, or you have any questions.

I am not very experienced with AMD. How are they compared to NVIDIA? What is comparable to this card? I was under the impression that NVidia went with intel and vice versa. How did you know how much of a PSU you needed? Would you consider this the performance per dollar break point? I read up on the Radeon 290x and noticed it does tend to run a litter hotter/louder than the nvidia gtx 780. Would you recommend more cooling that we have listed?

 

[Iron124]

That rig does seem compatible, and will definitely do what you mentioned and then some, but you did mention "bang-for-your-buck" and things like the 770 and 4x4GB is not exactly that. If you aren't terribly attached to those parts, I believe this build will serve you very well. $3000 is a lot to spend on a PC, and you should always get the best you can with the budget you have.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($319.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Z97 Killer ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($148.50 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($212.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($212.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 290X 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($497.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair 500R Black ATX Mid Tower Case ($114.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 760W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($132.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG WH16NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($147.26 @ OutletPC)
Total: $2102.64
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

I find it hard to justify spending much more than this. Yes, you could up the ram to 32GB, add in another GPU, or even get one of Intel's ridiculious $600 CPU's, but all of those are going to be yielding diminishing returns the more you add. This is an incredibly solid system, everything serves a purpose and will give you that performance-per-dollar sweet spot. I chose the 290x over the 770 you had. The 290x is an absolute beast and will have no problem driving 2 monitors in full HD. Hell, it could drive 4 if you really wanted it to.

No liquid cooling for this build, as that can be messy, time consuming, and dangerous. If you really want to, you could go with it and get a higher overclock on that i7, but I doubt it will be necessary. Typically nowadays, sound cards aren't really needed either unless you do a lot of intense audio fabrication.

Cosmetic adjustments like the case can be made to whatever you prefer of couse, I just went with that one because it was a roomy mid tower with good cooling and cable management options. Of course, this is all a suggestion anyway. Let me know if I can help in any other way, or you have any questions.

I am not very experienced with AMD. How are they compared to NVIDIA? What is comparable to this card? I was under the impression that NVidia went with intel and vice versa. How did you know how much of a PSU you needed? Would you consider this the performance per dollar break point? I read up on the Radeon 290x and noticed it does tend to run a litter hotter/louder than the nvidia gtx 780. Would you recommend more cooling that we have listed?

AMD vs NVIDIA is a hard thing to simplify, some will swear by one company or the other, both make great GPU's but in different ways. NVIDIA tends to be more expensive, and their price-per-performance ratio is a bit lower, but they do run cooler and a bit more quiet than AMD, as well as usually using less wattage. AMD, in m opinion, basically goes for power, power, and more power, and screw everything else. This results in a cheaper card with more performance for less money, but at a cost at being less efficient and runs hotter. (The 290x will exchange blows with the 780). I, personally, don't mind a card that's a bit hotter and louder, if this is extremely important to you, you can pay more for the NVIDIA card.

PcPartsPicker has a built in estimated wattage, and it came out to 512W for the build I recommended. For future upgrades, I went with a quality PSU that was a couple hundred watts higher for overhead room.

More cooling can be added in the form of more case fans quite easily. Read the specifications provided by the manufacturer:

"Cooling Capability

Multi-channel fan controller
Six 120mm/140mm fan mounts
Four 120mm fan mounts
200mm side panel fan, two front-mounted 120mm fans, and one rear 120mm fan are included
Supports most 240mm dual radiators (15mm spacing)"

 

[Ruefio]

okay, last question: do you see a real performance gain from using the Core i7- 4790 or is that overboard? The 4.0 is an appealing thought to me but I am already upgrading from a 2.8 and for 20 dollars more I thought it would not be too bad. Thank you for all your help. After we're done, I assume I just select solved when done?

 

[Iron124]

okay, last question: do you see a real performance gain from using the Core i7- 4790 or is that overboard? The 4.0 is an appealing thought to me but I am already upgrading from a 2.8 and for 20 dollars more I thought it would not be too bad. Thank you for all your help. After we're done, I assume I just select solved when done?

It might be worth the extra $20, really, that's entirely your decision. Because you have so much more room in your budget, what the heck, I'd say go for it. Performance difference might not be very noticeable, but you start out that much higher for an overclock.

And yes, if you have no further questions, you can mark the thread as answered by selecting a solution.

 

[Ruefio]

Thanks again, if you have any suggested reads to help educate myself about pc building I would appreciate it. Always looking to increase my knowledge base.

 

[Iron124]

Thanks again, if you have any suggested reads to help educate myself about pc building I would appreciate it. Always looking to increase my knowledge base.

Sure thing!

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/build-your-own-pc,2601-10.html

Best of luck with you build.