Please help critique/modify, and answer questions for 1st attempt at gaming build.

[adeluca]

I am in the process of researching and building my first PC. I will not hesitate to say that my knowledge is minimal at best, but I am working on educating myself the best I can. This is what I have come up with so far:


CPU Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core $219.99
CPU Cooler Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing $28.75
Motherboard Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 $129.99
Memory Team Zeus Yellow 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 $58.99
Storage Crucial M550 128GB 2.5" SSD $54.99
Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM $52.85
Video Card Zotac GeForce GTX 970 4GB $324.99
Case NZXT Source 210 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower $43.99
Power Supply CoolMax 700W ATX12V / EPS12V $39.99
Optical Drive Samsung SH-224DB/RSBS DVD/CD Writer $17.98
Operating System Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) $ 89.98
Total: $1062.98
This was taken from pcpartpicker http://

Approximate purchase date: within 2 weeks
Budget range: $1100. This is after all is said and done... shipping, taxes, etc.
System usage from most to least important: Online gaming, streaming video (youtube, netflix), word processing & research
Are you buying a monitor? No but will within first 6 months at which point I would like to setup a dual monitor display
Do you need to buy an OS? Yes
Preferred Websites for Parts: Whatever is cheap and reputable
Location: South Florida
Overclocking: Probably, but not planning on doing so initally
SLI or Crossfire: I would like the option as a future upgrade (years down the line)
Monitor Resolution: 1080p, will upgrade to 1440 within a couple months and would like to use two monitors
Additional Comments: I would want to include a gaming keyboard and mouse into this parts list while still staying under budget. I also need a headset with mic that can be used for gaming but I am not factoring this into my budget

So far this planning process has been a little intimidating. I really would like to stick to my budget, lowering it by $100 would be even better if possible. Ideally this PC would be able to run current games on the highest or close to the highest settings and not need to be upgraded for 4 years. I have several questions:

I know this CPU is commonly overclocked; what, if any, are the risks of overclocking these days? Will it decrease the longevity of my CPU in the long run? I was almost planning on waiting a couple years as games become more demanding to overclock it. I have no idea if this is a reasonable thing to do...

Are there parts comparable to this CPU, GPU, and MOBO that will not sacrifice performance but save me money?

Please feel free to give me any thoughts or suggest modifications you may have. Sorry if this was a long post. Thanks guys.

 

[popatim]

Sorry but your budget needs to go up to accommodate a better psu I think.
Still for about $1100 you have a nice build.

 

[adeluca]

Sorry but your budget needs to go up to accommodate a better psu I think.
Still for about $1100 you have a nice build.

Thanks for the feedback. The PSU is a 700W bronze rating. Are you saying to upgrade the wattage or just pick something that is of better quality?

 

[benurmston]

Hmm. I bought a very similar rig to yours a few months ago... My thoughts are:

CPU & cooler: identical, happy with both. Maybe go for bigger air or water-cooling though? my OC to 4.4GHz, 4.6 for minutes!
Faster RAM (G.Skill Sniper 2133: CAS 9, should OC)
SSD: I got the MX100, but I see the M550 is somewhat cheaper in the US!
HDD: Samsung, Toshiba or WD fine, avoid Seagate these days! Still got old Samsung & Tosh drives running.
GPU: Couldn't afford more than a 270x, I know what you'll say. However, the mobo takes SLI/Xfire...
PSU: Corsair CS550m: semi-modular 80+ Gold power, probably more than you'll need at constant
Case: Your choice, my friend! I hear good things about Antec, Fractal, etc. Went with Zalman, maybe regret that?!

OC thoughts... Haswell is not noted for top OC performance, although the ASUS mobo makes it easier. You'll probably need to tweak a couple of settings to get it running fine (ambient temps in the UK may be lower than Florida). If you just want fast gaming, go for one of the normal i5 processors (4460 is cheapest) and save $40; upgrade later and use the money to buy a faster GPU. However, I got about an extra 1GHz out of mine before it stalls; maybe I just need to change the thermal paste (it was my first time, I maybe didn't put enough on in the right parts, okay?)

In summary, the ASUS z97-A is a great mobo for later SLI/Xfire upgrades, it supports an OC CPU if you get one but will be fine in the meantime; it looks awesome when planted in the case and delivers a good dose of tinkering if you want to get your hands dirty. Just buy a decent sized SSD, some good RAM and spend the rest on Steam (or some good craft beer).

Cheers,

Ben

 

[leeb2013]

better quality psu definitely. You don't want to risk that nice build with a cheap PSU

 

[benurmston]

better quality psu definitely. You don't want to risk that nice build with a cheap PSU

Hey leeb,

I've not reviewed loads of PSUs, but did you mean that Corsair is a cheap brand? The CS modular I bought seems solid and the soldering looks good when the lid is off. I've heard both good and bad things about EVGA, XFX, SuperFlower; do you have good info?

 

[adeluca]

better quality psu definitely. You don't want to risk that nice build with a cheap PSU

Thanks, I have no issue spending more to upgrade the quality of the PSU. Do you have any suggestions on specific ones or brands to look into?

 

[benurmston]

My Corsair was easy to install, has been providing all of the watts I need and backs off to low power when it's not needed...

Work out what power you need (idle vs max) and buy a PSU rated just above the max you need most of the time.

I run some CAD & GIS software, plus some compression; my CPU rarely gets to over 70% and my GPU gets to run really hot when I'm not working but gaming. My GPU & CPU pull around 400W-500W from the wall; my CPU is rated for 550W at 80%.

Don't buy 800W or 1kW just because you saw it on a forum!

 

[adeluca]

Hmm. I bought a very similar rig to yours a few months ago... My thoughts are:

CPU & cooler: identical, happy with both. Maybe go for bigger air or water-cooling though? my OC to 4.4GHz, 4.6 for minutes!
Faster RAM (G.Skill Sniper 2133: CAS 9, should OC)
SSD: I got the MX100, but I see the M550 is somewhat cheaper in the US!
HDD: Samsung, Toshiba or WD fine, avoid Seagate these days! Still got old Samsung & Tosh drives running.
GPU: Couldn't afford more than a 270x, I know what you'll say. However, the mobo takes SLI/Xfire...
PSU: Corsair CS550m: semi-modular 80+ Gold power, probably more than you'll need at constant
Case: Your choice, my friend! I hear good things about Antec, Fractal, etc. Went with Zalman, maybe regret that?!

OC thoughts... Haswell is not noted for top OC performance, although the ASUS mobo makes it easier. You'll probably need to tweak a couple of settings to get it running fine (ambient temps in the UK may be lower than Florida). If you just want fast gaming, go for one of the normal i5 processors (4460 is cheapest) and save $40; upgrade later and use the money to buy a faster GPU. However, I got about an extra 1GHz out of mine before it stalls; maybe I just need to change the thermal paste (it was my first time, I maybe didn't put enough on in the right parts, okay?)

In summary, the ASUS z97-A is a great mobo for later SLI/Xfire upgrades, it supports an OC CPU if you get one but will be fine in the meantime; it looks awesome when planted in the case and delivers a good dose of tinkering if you want to get your hands dirty. Just buy a decent sized SSD, some good RAM and spend the rest on Steam (or some good craft beer).

Cheers,

Ben

I am a little unsure still about overclocking so I may wait on that and stick with the hyper cooler. The faster RAM was something I was thinking about and the one you suggested is only $10 more so I'll most likely upgrade.

You also bring up another thing I was thinking about which was downgrading the CPU to another in the i5 series. Will that make much of a significant difference in performance?

 

[benurmston]

Hmm. I bought a very similar rig to yours a few months ago... My thoughts are:

CPU & cooler: identical, happy with both. Maybe go for bigger air or water-cooling though? my OC to 4.4GHz, 4.6 for minutes!
Faster RAM (G.Skill Sniper 2133: CAS 9, should OC)
SSD: I got the MX100, but I see the M550 is somewhat cheaper in the US!
HDD: Samsung, Toshiba or WD fine, avoid Seagate these days! Still got old Samsung & Tosh drives running.
GPU: Couldn't afford more than a 270x, I know what you'll say. However, the mobo takes SLI/Xfire...
PSU: Corsair CS550m: semi-modular 80+ Gold power, probably more than you'll need at constant
Case: Your choice, my friend! I hear good things about Antec, Fractal, etc. Went with Zalman, maybe regret that?!

OC thoughts... Haswell is not noted for top OC performance, although the ASUS mobo makes it easier. You'll probably need to tweak a couple of settings to get it running fine (ambient temps in the UK may be lower than Florida). If you just want fast gaming, go for one of the normal i5 processors (4460 is cheapest) and save $40; upgrade later and use the money to buy a faster GPU. However, I got about an extra 1GHz out of mine before it stalls; maybe I just need to change the thermal paste (it was my first time, I maybe didn't put enough on in the right parts, okay?)

In summary, the ASUS z97-A is a great mobo for later SLI/Xfire upgrades, it supports an OC CPU if you get one but will be fine in the meantime; it looks awesome when planted in the case and delivers a good dose of tinkering if you want to get your hands dirty. Just buy a decent sized SSD, some good RAM and spend the rest on Steam (or some good craft beer).

Cheers,

Ben

I am a little unsure still about overclocking so I may wait on that and stick with the hyper cooler. The faster RAM was something I was thinking about and the one you suggested is only $10 more so I'll most likely upgrade.

You also bring up another thing I was thinking about which was downgrading the CPU to another in the i5 series. Will that make much of a significant difference in performance?

Hey,

I reckon you won't see a difference; do you really need to overclock?

If not, you still get fast compression/decompression of video and jpeg without the extra -K brand. Something like an i5-4460 with knock the spots off any AMD chip, also if you don't overclock you can lose the Hyper-Evo cooler and stay with the stock fan.

Save $50 and get more storage... Seriously, the biggest difference I've found is putting an SSD in an old PC; you'll save many more minutes of your life doing that than overclocking anything!

B

PS you could get away with a cheaper H97 mobo unless you plan to upgrade in the future; save some more or invest?

PPS http://pcpartpicker.com/p/4tkhdC That's cheaper already, go with Linux, lose the SSD & DVD, you're looking at $750 or so...