Upgrades #1 of 2

[ddbtkd456]

Build 1


Uses: Heavy encoding, music/video hub for my house, gaming, always running, mass storage.
Budget: Around 2k USD
Need: Everything (mouse, keyboard, speakers, monitor ect.)



PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($299.58 @ Micro Center)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H110 94.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver 3.5g Thermal Paste ($6.89 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus MAXIMUS VII HERO ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($209.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($85.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.80 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($494.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 760T Black ATX Full Tower Case ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($94.99 @ NCIX US)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WDN4800 802.11a/b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($37.24 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Rosewill Hyperborea 89.5 CFM 140mm Fan ($13.29 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Rosewill Hyperborea 89.5 CFM 140mm Fan ($13.29 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Corsair SP140 49.5 CFM 140mm Fan ($15.59 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: Corsair SP140 49.5 CFM 140mm Fan ($15.59 @ OutletPC)
Fan Controller: NZXT SENTRY 3 Fan Controller ($29.99 @ Directron)
Monitor: Asus VN248H-P 23.8" Monitor ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Corsair Vengeance K70 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($119.95 @ Amazon)
Mouse: Corsair Raptor M45 Wired Optical Mouse ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Speakers: Logitech Z506 155W 5.1ch Speakers ($62.82 @ Best Buy)
Total: $2204.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-20 09:38 EDT-0400

 

[logainofhades]

The GTX 980 is not that great of a card, price/performance wise. An R9 390x is a better buy. Nearly identical performance, and cheaper. I would recommend a 5820k, also, due to the non gaming tasks you intend to do. Made some changes, and managed to get price similar to yours, without including any mail in rebates. 😀

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor ($378.00 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Nepton 280L 122.5 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($98.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: MSI X99A SLI PLUS ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($199.49 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.80 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 390X 8GB Video Card ($429.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($98.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA 1050W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($149.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($94.99 @ NCIX US)
Wireless Network Adapter: Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I 802.11a/b/g/n/ac PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($29.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case Fan: Rosewill Hyperborea 89.5 CFM 140mm Fan ($13.29 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Rosewill Hyperborea 89.5 CFM 140mm Fan ($13.29 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Corsair SP140 49.5 CFM 140mm Fan ($15.59 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: Corsair SP140 49.5 CFM 140mm Fan ($15.59 @ OutletPC)
Fan Controller: NZXT SENTRY 3 Fan Controller ($29.99 @ Directron)
Monitor: Asus VN248H-P 23.8" Monitor ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Corsair Vengeance K70 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($119.95 @ Amazon)
Mouse: Corsair Raptor M45 Wired Optical Mouse ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Speakers: Logitech Z506 155W 5.1ch Speakers ($58.98 @ Best Buy)
Total: $2201.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-20 09:57 EDT-0400

 

[blasc]

I would go with the build of the OP, but:

- bring the motherboard down a notch to ~120$
- exchange the 980 for 2x970 SLI, Gigabyte G1 models.

 

[geofelt]

Your build will work.
I have some thoughts:

1. For a build with your budget, consider a better monitor. Look for a 27" 1440P monitor.
2. I7-4790K is a good balance between multithreading and gaming performance. A 6 core build would encode better, but will not game as well.

Actually, I would make a Skylake build using a i7-6700K and a Z170 based motherboard. Prices are comparable, but Z170 will better enable the use of faster ssd products that are coming.

3. 16gb is fine. If you do a large amount of multitasking, consider a 32 gb kit.

4. I would avoid liquid coolers if you are using a good case like the 750T
My canned rant on liquid cooling:
------------------------start of rant-------------------
You buy a liquid cooler to be able to extract an extra multiplier or two out of your OC.
How much do you really need?
I do not much like all in one liquid coolers when a good air cooler like a Noctua NH-D14 or phanteks can do the job just as well.
A liquid cooler will be expensive, noisy, less reliable, and will not cool any better
in a well ventilated case.
Liquid cooling is really air cooling, it just puts the heat exchange in a different place.
The orientation of the radiator will cause a problem.
If you orient it to take in cool air from the outside, you will cool the cpu better, but the hot air then circulates inside the case heating up the graphics card and motherboard.
If you orient it to exhaust(which I think is better) , then your cpu cooling will be less effective because it uses pre heated case air.
And... I have read too many tales of woe when a liquid cooler leaks.
google "H100 leak"
-----------------------end of rant--------------------------

Your pc will be quieter, more reliable, and will be cooled equally well with a decent air cooler.

5. AS5 is good, but really, the paste that comes with any cooler does equally well.

6. Fans make noise. I would try out the supplied case fans and see how you do. One can always add or replace fans to get more airflow, but at the cost of more noise.
Noise is not a good thing if your pc is anywhere near where you are watching movies.

7. I like the GTX980, it will do very well, even at 1440P. If budget is a big issue, the less expensive GTX970 would suffice. If you are ever going to go to 4k resolution, consider a GTX980ti up front.