Gaming & Workstation Grade Future PC build

[PacMappy Solvalou]

I want help building a PC that can allow me to do the following:

A. AutoCAD and/or other drafting software

B. occasional video editing and gaming

C. mild overclocking

D. have a list of PC components ready if and when I have the necessary funds and/or when my current PC can no longer function

 

Here are the parts I am considering for a future build:

 

Windows 8.1 64-bit

Intel i5-4670K Haswell

ASUS DVD/CD combo drive

ASUS ROG Maximus VI Formula LGA 1150 Z87

ASUS Strix GTX 750Ti

G Skill Sniper Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3 1600

Corsair Force LS 120GB SSD

Corsair H100i Liquid CPU cooler

Corsair RM Series 650W PSU

Corsair Carbide 500R

WD Blue 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB cache

seven fans:

o one BitFenix Spectre 200mm w/ white LED

o two Corsair AF140 w/ white LED

o two Corsair AF120 w/ white LED

o two Corsair SP120 w/ white LED

 

With the aforementioned parts listed, I have these to ask:

 

1. Are all the parts satisfactory enough to build it? Which ones would be swapped for a better part and/or omitted?

2. Is 650W too much or go with a lower wattage PSU?

3. Are there any parts I listed that are overkill? Any recommendations which part to swap for a better part?

4. If I were to eliminate requirement (A) would the build be overkill at that point and require me to change (some) parts to satisfy the remaining requirements?

 

I plan on building this system sometime in the future. In the meantime however, I want to get as much feedback on this build and see if it is good enough. That way, I am not in a hurry scrambling for parts.

[thekeemo]

for this your going to want hyperthreading

[brob]

For the usage described an i7-4790K is a more fitting choice for cpu. If you eliminate the need to run AutoCAD and other drafting software then the i5-4670K would be a better fit. (A better gpu would then be a good idea as video editing and gaming could make use of the better performance.)

 

Get 2x8GB of memory, not 4x4GB. It will put less strain on the memory controller and keeps two memory slots available for future upgrade.

 

Don't invest so much in the motherboard and go with a z97 model. The Asus Z97-A or Z97-Pro will do a good job.

 

A larger ssd would be better. At least 256GB.

 

Please do not get an RM-650 psu. There are several better, competitively priced models available. You could go with a 500 - 550W psu, Something like Seasonic SSR-550RM or XFX P1-550B-BEFX.

 

I wouldn't bother with additional fans. If needed, they can always be easily added.

[Captain_WD]

I want help building a PC that can allow me to do the following:

A. AutoCAD and/or other drafting software

B. occasional video editing and gaming

C. mild overclocking

D. have a list of PC components ready if and when I have the necessary funds and/or when my current PC can no longer function

 

Here are the parts I am considering for a future build:

 

Windows 8.1 64-bit

Intel i5-4670K Haswell

ASUS DVD/CD combo drive

ASUS ROG Maximus VI Formula LGA 1150 Z87

ASUS Strix GTX 750Ti

G Skill Sniper Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3 1600

Corsair Force LS 120GB SSD

Corsair H100i Liquid CPU cooler

Corsair RM Series 650W PSU

Corsair Carbide 500R

WD Blue 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB cache

seven fans:

o one BitFenix Spectre 200mm w/ white LED

o two Corsair AF140 w/ white LED

o two Corsair AF120 w/ white LED

o two Corsair SP120 w/ white LED

 

With the aforementioned parts listed, I have these to ask:

 

1. Are all the parts satisfactory enough to build it? Which ones would be swapped for a better part and/or omitted?

2. Is 650W too much or go with a lower wattage PSU?

3. Are there any parts I listed that are overkill? Any recommendations which part to swap for a better part?

4. If I were to eliminate requirement (A) would the build be overkill at that point and require me to change (some) parts to satisfy the remaining requirements?

 

I plan on building this system sometime in the future. In the meantime however, I want to get as much feedback on this build and see if it is good enough. That way, I am not in a hurry scrambling for parts.

 

 

Hey there PacMappy30 and welcome to the forum

 

As @thekeemo suggested, for AutoCAD, editing and other demanding software, you'd want your CPU to have hyperthreading, something that the i5 doesn't have. I would suggest (if your budget allows it) to go for the i7 (4th k editions since that's what your MOBO supports). 

I would also consider 2x8GB of RAM instead of 4x4GB since your MOBO supports only Dual Channel, but not Quad and it'll give you space to add additional 2x8GB in the future.

If you are planning on adding a second GPU in the future, I would recommend checking out the GTX 970 and GTX980 as they deliver better results in SLI and are more energy-efficient. 

If you are going to work with large files, I would consider getting a larger SSD (250GB-256GB) since they tend to fill up pretty fast, need 12%-15% free space for optimal work and caching and you have quite a lot of programs, games and OS to load from the SSD.

Overall, depending on how long you'd want your build to last and your budget, I would consider a newer MOBO that supports 5th gen i7 CPUs, DDR4 with Quad channel and larger Maximum RAM supported.

 

Regarding the PSU, the way you described the build, it would consume about 300W-310W (before OCing). The PSU is a bit overkill but it is good to have more space for future upgardes, better handling of electricity and it could last you through more builds in the future. I would say go with it.

 

If you are not using drafting software, you'd still need a great processor for the editing part and good GPU and fast RAM for gaming. I'd say either way this build is good but you can do a little better if your budget allows it.

 

Hope this helps! Feel free to ask any questions that you might have

 

Captain_WD.

[PacMappy Solvalou]

I understand that the additional fans are an optional add in the future. But, would the stock fans that come with the H100i and the Carbide 500R suffice for airflow? Speaking of Corsair, has anyone bought a Corsair PSU, use the C-Link plug on the PSU, connect it to the mobo, and successfully used it? Or better yet, does it seem redundant to use two different devices (Corsair PSU & liquid CPU cooler) in a system that utilize the same software to monitor temperature and regulate fan speeds?

 

Thank you for the appreciated feedback everyone! Please continue providing feedback!

[brob]

I understand that the additional fans are an optional add in the future. But, would the stock fans that come with the H100i and the Carbide 500R suffice for airflow? Speaking of Corsair, has anyone bought a Corsair PSU, use the C-Link plug on the PSU, connect it to the mobo, and successfully used it? Or better yet, does it seem redundant to use two different devices (Corsair PSU & liquid CPU cooler) in a system that utilize the same software to monitor temperature and regulate fan speeds?

 

Thank you for the appreciated feedback everyone! Please continue providing feedback!

 

The case has 4 stock fans and the H100 adds another 2. This should be more than sufficient to provide adequate airflow.

[PacMappy Solvalou]

So any Z97 mobo will do. Suppose I narrowed it down to two ASUS Z97 motherboards; either the 'PRO' or the 'DELUXE'. Good?   :huh:

[Captain_WD]

So any Z97 mobo will do. Suppose I narrowed it down to two ASUS Z97 motherboards; either the 'PRO' or the 'DELUXE'. Good?   :huh:

 

Yes, either should work. The Deluxe version comes with a built-it WiFi card and 2 LAN ports as well as more USB3.0 ports and has some additional features. If you can go without all of this, go with the Pro version.

 

Captain_WD.

[PacMappy Solvalou]

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

 

Let's say that in addition to the previously mentioned computer specs that I plan to stream both computer and console games.

 

- What additional items would I have to consider?

- Because of the additional effort of the cpu to stream content, is it necessary to bump the i5 to an i7?

[brob]

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

 

Let's say that in addition to the previously mentioned computer specs that I plan to stream both computer and console games.

 

- What additional items would I have to consider?

- Because of the additional effort of the cpu to stream content, is it necessary to bump the i5 to an i7?

 

Even without this additional information, a hyperthreaded cpu would be the optimal choice.

[BillytheSkids]

PacMappy30,

As the others have suggested an i7 would be more ideal for video editing, however for Autodesk it depends on which suite in particular you intend to use (Inventor is single threaded pure Ghz dependent versus Maya is multi threaded). For streaming the additional threads will help, but I'd suggest utilizing Intel Quicksync which both are capable of. A better graphics card (GTX 970, etc) will only improve games and very slightly the Adobe suite (filters, etc). On top of that only games with SLI capability will be able to take advantage of SLI. So in summary what Autodesk application are you planning on using (to determine processor necessity) and how much do you want to invest to play games (how much to spend on a single graphics card)? I agree that a Z97 motherboard and 16 GB of RAM (2x8 GB) would be a good investment as well.

Hope this helps.