Hello Caden, I would be happy to weigh in on your thread. I too had a pretty hard time getting feedback on my RVZ01B build. My initial questions: are you willing to purchase from a few different reputable vendors to bring your total build cost down? What is your maximum budget (for just the pc)? I love the RVZ01B and the ML07B. The RVZ01B looks like a console while the ML07B is looks like a HTPC. Internally they are identical so this choice is entirely personal. I prefer the ML07B for it's clean look and lower price tag. I'm also excited that the RVZ02B is soon to be on the market!
RVZ01B vs ML07B and the
RVZ02B
CPU and Mobo: An i5 would be great but I assume you want an i7 because....i7. The Asus Z97I-Plus is capable of overclocking, but you didn't get the i7 4790k. The main difference between the
i7-4790 and 4790k is the ability to overclock. If you want to o.c. you need the "K". You should consider what o.c. you can expect to achieve in this case. You won't get an extreme o.c., but you can achieve a modest one. Originally only Z motherboards could be overclocked on but thanks to the G3258 Intel has issued a bios update that now allows H boards to overclock. The H boards are just capped at a CPU voltage of 1.2v. That is absolutely perfect if you want a small overclock in a tight form. So either way you won't need a Z motherboard. Seriously consider the i5-4690k. The i7 serves no real advantage unless you render professionally and that extra money could be better spent elsewhere in the pc.
I like the fact that you chose an Asus board, they are my favorite. Asrock, the daugher company of Asus also makes great boards. Give this one some consideration: the
Asrcok H97M-ITX/AC. It is an excellent well reviewed board with built in wifi just like the Asus Z97I-Plus but is less expensive. I would of suggested the Asus H97I-Plus but it does not have built in wifi, which I think on a pc this portable is a no brainer.
When it comes to memory the cheapest 8GB 1866 Cas 9 kit is the sweet spot for performance to dollar. Speeds above 1866 and the Cas latency begins to rise. As this happens the performances balances out so the more expensive higher speeds don't equate to higher performance. I chose the
G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory. It's low profile, extremely well reviewed, cheap and looks awesome.
For storage I am a broken record. Western Digital is of a higher quality that Seagate and I strongly discourage hybrid drives for a variety of reasons. Pairing an SSD and traditional HDD's is the tried and true choice. I recommend a single
WD Black Series 2TB 3.5" HDD paired with an SSD. Or even more fun, twin
WD Black Series 750GB 2.5" HDD's paired with an SSD. Your chosen SSD is very good, but consider 240-256GB for your main OS drive as 120GB fills up really quick and keeping it from filling up is a chore even with only a few games on it. Here are some
SSD's to consider. I personally would go with the Crucial and save my money.
I like your cooler choice. It is going to allow you to achieve a decent overclock. Consider also the
Corsair H55. This Cooler is less expensive, will fit in the case and do an even better job of removing that hot air from your CPU and venting outside of the case allowing you to bump up that overclock a little more.
EVGA's stellar customer service, reviews and high clock speed make it hard to recommend any GTX 970 other than the
EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Support Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card. This card will also breath better in this case.
For your power supply I say go with the
Silverstone Strider Gold 450W 80+ Gold Fully-Modular PSU instead of the 600w version because it is the better unit. This is because the Silverstone SFX series is LOUD, and the 450w is slightly less loud. It is also a little shorter making for better cable management. One thing to consider is that when the RVZ02B comes out Silverstone is also going to release a revised version of their SFX PSU line which should adress all its shortcomings.
You chose the wrong format of optical drive I am afraid to say. The RVZ01B and ML07B both require a Slim
Slot Load Rom drive. I chose the cheap
LG GS40N.
Sorry that was so lengthy, I just have a lot to say about this build as it is one I am particularly enthusiastic about. Here is my
ML07B Console Crusher build which I built on PCpartpicker. It comes in right at $1301 with the i7 or $1200 with an i5. All of the items were selected to be purchased from Amazon, Newegg and Superbizz, three reputable online vendors. This minimized your expense even when shipping is considered. Let me know what you think and if you have any more questions.
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