Seeking reviews and advice on my first build for work and play

[volcanoscout]

I've spent many days reviewing articles and posts in order to configure a desktop. I'm looking at this configuration posting as my semi-final exam (my final will be actually building the machine), so any feedback at all would be much appreciated.

Here is the component list: http://pcpartpicker.com/user/TedT/saved/3l3I

This rig will be 50/50 work and gaming. Work will mostly be Office 2013 applications, with photo and (very basic) video editing. Gaming will be single monitor, 1080p, first-person shooter and flight simulators. Overclocking will be mild (to start). Budget is $3K.

The two 120mm Noctua fans will replace the H100i stock fans, and the 140mm fans will replace the stock case fans. I don't plan to SLI near-term, but would like to retain the option to add a GPU and one or two additional monitors.

My goals, in order of importance:
1. Reliable
2. Fast
3. Quiet
4. Reasonably able to upgrade CPU and GPU (components and config) without needing new MB, PSU, etc, for at least a few years.

Some questions:

What pieces/parts/materials do you recommend to have on hand when building, that are not normally supplied with the components?

Any compelling reasons to go with a larger OS drive than 256 GB?

 

[ingtar33]

LN2 something you pour directly on the motherboard/CPU its for extreme overclocking and often destroyes the CPU and the motherboard... hence the thermal armor on the sabretooth.

Like the updated build... As for the wattage of the PSU... seasonic PSU often are good for another 100-250watts over their official rating. 2 770s in SLi will eat up 450w max... and that Haswell wont touch 250w under overclock. You should be good to go.

 

[realchaos]

Your changes are great. I would feel uneasy with a 760w psu for SLI 770s and overclocking everything, especially when you do a high overclock on the processor with the NH-D14. A single GTX 770 consumes 250w under full load, so SLI would make that 500w. Overclock those and both of them could consume about 600-650w. The i7-4770k will take up 84w on stock settings, overclocked I would give it about 100-120w. As you can see, you'll probably be cutting it very close. You might want to consider this psu: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-power-supply-p1850bbefx
It's a bit more, but it's still Seasonic quality since the OEM of all XFX psus are from Seasonic. It may only be 80+ Gold and not Platinum, but that shouldn't be a deal killer as the advantages are only minimal. The Seasonic one you listed would probably work, but it would probably be under a lot of stress, which could reduce the life-time of it. Better safe than sorry, in my opinion. Especially when it's only an extra $5.

You can save $35 by going with this RAM: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/crucial-memory-bls2kit8g3d1609ds1s00
It may only be CAS 9 instead of 7, but the difference isn't too huge. Especially since you're using a Noctua NH-D14, the G.Skill Trident X you listed won't fit. In order for the Trident X to fit, you'll need to remove the top heat spreader, but with that removed you may not be able to reach the specified speeds. Here's the compatibility list: http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=compatibility_ram_gen&products_id=34&lng=en


The monitor is expensive. If you really want a 1980x1200 resolution for the 16:10 aspect ratio, then you can go for this one: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-monitor-vs24ahp
You save around $70 and it will still be about the same. The only difference, as far as I can tell, is that it lacks a display port and the stand isn't as good. The stand on the one you listed is much better, but that's the only main difference. If you're fine with a 16:9 aspect ratio, you can go with an even cheaper monitor that's still high quality.

 

[volcanoscout]

My apologies for the long delay - was traveling for work. I'd like to thank everyone for your advice and insight - it was extremely helpful. I bought and built:

http://pcpartpicker.com/b/M1B

It's within $5 of the price tag for my original build proposal, but based on everyone's input, I was able tweak the components enough to add in a better monitor, a more appropriate CPU and MB, two additional GB of storage, and an additional GTX 770. Overall, I'm pretty happy with it. I was a little worried about the PSU capacity, but I got a Corsair RM750 at a great price and it's working fine. I haven't had any stability issues with the hardware or software (knock on wood), it is extremely quiet, keeps good temps even with the front door closed, and it screams through games like an ape on fire. (It also handles my productivity programs very well, but who cares, right?)

 

[ingtar33]

very powerful. looking good to me.

Hope you enjoy it, that one will rock for years to come.

 

[volcanoscout]

very powerful. looking good to me.

Hope you enjoy it, that one will rock for years to come.

Again, thanks for the assist. The advice from realchaos, ssdx, and yourself was invaluable.

I still have the two original Silent Series R2 case fans that I removed in favor of the Noctuas - for the next little bit I'm going to play around with airflow and fan configurations. I know most of that has already been tested and mapped, but I've avoided those articles so I can have fun figuring it out for myself.

 

[ingtar33]

very powerful. looking good to me.

Hope you enjoy it, that one will rock for years to come.

Again, thanks for the assist. The advice from realchaos, ssdx, and yourself was invaluable.

I still have the two original Silent Series R2 case fans that I removed in favor of the Noctuas - for the next little bit I'm going to play around with airflow and fan configurations. I know most of that has already been tested and mapped, but I've avoided those articles so I can have fun figuring it out for myself.

I'll give you a little tip about airflow.

Heat rises, and having more "outflow" sucks air into the case from places without a dust screen. if you don't want to dust the inside of your case every 3 weeks make sure you have more fans providing "intake" then you have fans providing "exhaust"