Is this too ambitious for a first-time build?

[AdmiralWen]

This will be my first time building a PC, so any suggestions are welcome. It's supposed to be an ultimate powerhouse rig, used for both work (heavy algorighms/data crunching) and gaming (Watch Dogs, Star Citizen, etc). Currently there is an $800 monitor there just as a placeholder for the ASUS ROG Swift PG278Q G-Sync when it comes out. Also, while I do have the cash to spend, any suggestions on reducing the overall price without compromising performance are welcome too.

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/GK6Fbv

 

Not quite sure where to put this, so if this belongs under another section I apologize.

[BonBon Scott]

I wouldn't say it's too ambitious, it's alot of bits and bobs to deal with but take your time and you will be fine.

[aricleather]

Are you going to put those two SSDs in RAID? Do you need the Blu-Ray optical drive?

[TheSLSAMG]

Not too ambitious, everyone has to start somewhere.

[chriscoolzap]

It's an amazing rig. 

[dragoon20005]

are you going for SLi later? If not go max 600 watts

 

the PSU is fine but I will pick a better model over the RM series

 

small casing IMO

 

go with 2x8GB sticks instead of 4x4GB

 

save on buying windows with just buying the product key

[Hecknologist]

Please don't get arctic silver 5, that stuff is ancient and not good. Get some Noctua Nt-h1 or Icy diamond etc. I'd also recommend trying to go for a wired internet connection(ethernet) rather than wireless but if it has to be wireless get a wifi card with 802.11 AC support. Apart from that, it is a bit pricey but nothing that would make it too complicated, so this would be okay as a first build.

(also it should be in planned builds)

[AdmiralWen]

Are you going to put those two SSDs in RAID? Do you need the Blu-Ray optical drive?

Yes, the two 840 Pros will be in RAID-0. No other forms of storage since I believe 1TB is more than enough for me. I back up my critical data to an external drive, so I'm somewhat protected against drive faulure. The optical drive is not "necessary", but just in case it comes up. I do have a few blue rays, and it's not that expensive compared to the overall thing.

[Altecice]

Please don't get arctic silver 5, that stuff is ancient and not good. Get some Noctua Nt-h1 or Icy diamond etc. I'd also recommend trying to go for a wired internet connection(ethernet) rather than wireless but if it has to be wireless get a wifi card with 802.11 AC support. Apart from that, it is a bit pricey but nothing that would make it too complicated, so this would be okay as a first build.

(also it should be in planned builds)

 

an AC card is useless without a Router that is also AC

[Cloud92]

I think you're spending too much,honestly. But hey,if that's what makes you happy why the hell not,personally,I'd switch to dual 290's in xfire instead of a single 780ti. But that's just me.

[dragoon20005]

I think you're spending too much,honestly.

well not all of us are born with the golden spoon

 

i only got a wooden spoon to use

[AdmiralWen]

are you going for SLi later? If not go max 600 watts

 

the PSU is fine but I will pick a better model over the RM series

 

small casing IMO

 

go with 2x8GB sticks instead of 4x4GB

 

save on buying windows with just buying the product key

 

Great suggestions, thanks.

 

I'll reduce the power supply, but what's wrong with the RM series? And why would you go for 2x8 on RAM instead of 4x4? I was under the impression that quad-channel is better?

[menendez1293]

Spending that much, I think it is worth the price jump to get the Sabertooth Mark1 board. Other than that, it looks like a great build

[dragoon20005]

Great suggestions, thanks.

 

I'll reduce the power supply, but what's wrong with the RM series? And why would you go for 2x8 on RAM instead of 4x4? I was under the impression that quad-channel is better?

RM are known to be one of the few PSU which use cheap capacitors in a gold rated PSU

 

Pick Seasonic, EVGA or CoolerMaster VSM series 

 

Z97 system only work with dual channels

 

only X79 can use quad channel RAMS

[APrettyCoolWalrus]

Go big or go home.

[TheRetiredSlave]

I'd say it's rather pricey for a first time build, but I don't see a reason not to buy it if you have the money, you're confident that you can build it, and you're sure you need the power..

 

In total, my first "real" rig was about $2800 (including monitors/etc).. 'Twas a great experience.

 

Great suggestions, thanks.

 

I'll reduce the power supply, but what's wrong with the RM series? And why would you go for 2x8 on RAM instead of 4x4? I was under the impression that quad-channel is better?

 

While quad channel is theoretically better (in practice it usually isn't much better), that motherboard/CPU only support dual channel.. There's nothing wrong with using 4 sticks, but they'll actually run in dual-channel, not quad.

[menendez1293]

RM are known to be one of the few PSU which use cheap capacitors in a gold rated PSU

 

Pick Seasonic, EVGA or CoolerMaster VSM series 

 

Z97 system only work with dual channels

 

only X79 can use quad channel RAMS

I wish I did some more research before I bought my RM750, so far it has been great and it might be its entire life but I could have had the EVGA SuperNova 750 G2 for the same price as my RM750.

[CoolBeans]

not to ambitious, but also not very balanced 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($339.98 @ SuperBiiz) 

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler  ($59.99 @ NCIX US) 

Motherboard: MSI Z97-G55 SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($116.99 @ Amazon) 

Memory: PNY XLR8 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($139.00 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($444.99 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.99 @ Amazon) 

Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card (2-Way CrossFire)  ($379.99 @ NCIX US) 

Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card (2-Way CrossFire)  ($379.99 @ NCIX US) 

Case: Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($99.99 @ NCIX US) 

Power Supply: SeaSonic X Series 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($163.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($89.98 @ OutletPC) 

Monitor: QNIX QX2710 Matte 60Hz 27.0" Monitor  ($343.99 @ Newegg) 

Keyboard: Ducky Zero Wired Gaming Keyboard  ($86.00 @ Mechanical Keyboards) 

Mouse: Razer DeathAdder 2013 Wired Optical Mouse  ($49.99 @ Amazon) 

Total: $2744.86

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-07-22 21:33 EDT-0400

[Najuno]

That system is fine! That´s actually a highly recommended built for what you have got on your mind.

 

But that downgrading of the PSU... man you are looking forward to buy that Asus RoG Swift monitor... a 144Hz! I´d rather skip that RM and get an 860AX PSU that you have a platinum (Seasonic) and put another GTX780 Ti in there. If you get that monitor in all reality you have to make sure to take advantage of the Gsync and with that being said AMD´s pretty pointless for that monitor.

[lucky74dog]

The only thing I'd consider too ambitious is watercooling, or a build over $2000, but what do I know? My PC once done is going to cost me more, and I tried to get good cable management in a case with no cable management!

[dizmo]

There's nothing complicated about the system just because of a high price. The only time it gets a little more complicated is when you're water cooling. Otherwise it's pretty much all the same.
It's super easy if you take your time. Just go slow and it all fits together like a really easy Lego set.

 

I'd avoid the thermal compound, the cooler comes with it applied already I believe. More than sufficient.

I'd get a cheaper BluRay player. I don't believe that one is worth the cost, they should be super cheap.

I'd save a fair bit of coin and grab a 780 Ti from EVGA's B Stock site.

Consider a Corsair keyboard.

Only wireless N? Seems like a waste on a system of this caliber. You should really be going for an AC router and applicable card. Perhaps upgrade the Mobo to one with build in AC wireless to kill two birds with one stone.

 

 

not to ambitious, but also not very balanced 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($339.98 @ SuperBiiz) 

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler  ($59.99 @ NCIX US) 

Motherboard: MSI Z97-G55 SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($116.99 @ Amazon) 

Memory: PNY XLR8 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($139.00 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($444.99 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.99 @ Amazon) 

Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card (2-Way CrossFire)  ($379.99 @ NCIX US) 

Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card (2-Way CrossFire)  ($379.99 @ NCIX US) 

Case: Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($99.99 @ NCIX US) 

Power Supply: SeaSonic X Series 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($163.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($89.98 @ OutletPC) 

Monitor: QNIX QX2710 Matte 60Hz 27.0" Monitor  ($343.99 @ Newegg) 

Keyboard: Ducky Zero Wired Gaming Keyboard  ($86.00 @ Mechanical Keyboards) 

Mouse: Razer DeathAdder 2013 Wired Optical Mouse  ($49.99 @ Amazon) 

Total: $2744.86

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-07-22 21:33 EDT-0400

 

QNIX monitors are absolutely awful for input lag.

 

Yes, the two 840 Pros will be in RAID-0. No other forms of storage since I believe 1TB is more than enough for me. I back up my critical data to an external drive, so I'm somewhat protected against drive faulure. The optical drive is not "necessary", but just in case it comes up. I do have a few blue rays, and it's not that expensive compared to the overall thing.

I'd look into a 1tb Pro. Going in RAID0 often has little to no performance gains in day to day use unless you're constantly moving large amounts of data around.

 

an AC card is useless without a Router that is also AC

If you're spending that much on a PC, and you're too cheap to shell out the money for a proper router, there's something wrong.

 

Great suggestions, thanks.

 

I'll reduce the power supply, but what's wrong with the RM series? And why would you go for 2x8 on RAM instead of 4x4? I was under the impression that quad-channel is better?

I believe populating all slots can cause lag. Not noticeable, system stalling lag but it makes it slower.

At least it used to.

[CoolBeans]

QNIX monitors are absolutely awful for input lag.

 

I have never experienced any problems with mine

[dizmo]

I have never experienced any problems with mine

They increase the input lag into the high 20's/low 30's. Not something I'd recommend at all, especially since budget is clearly not an issue.

[AdmiralWen]

This is more from me supporting new PC builds that over did it on their PCs. I would not go with raid on your first build and on your OS drive. and as someone who has 2 SSDs in raid 0 its just not worth it. just buy the 1TB SSD if you want that much space.

 

if you are a student and/or have access to an email address ending in .edu  you can get really good deals on windows though Microsoft's student discount program(just Google it). I got 2 copies of win 7 pro for $30 each that way.

 

Unfortunately I'm no longer a student. I've wanted to build my own high-end rig for years, but simply didn't have the money while I was in school. Now that I've graduated and am making good money, I guess it's time to satisfy all that waiting.

 

Why is raid-0 ssd not worth it? Because the theoritical speed benefits aren't as noticable in real-world daily use?

[Lazmarr]

This will be my first time building a PC, so any suggestions are welcome. It's supposed to be an ultimate powerhouse rig, used for both work (heavy algorighms/data crunching) and gaming (Watch Dogs, Star Citizen, etc). Currently there is an $800 monitor there just as a placeholder for the ASUS ROG Swift PG278Q G-Sync when it comes out. Also, while I do have the cash to spend, any suggestions on reducing the overall price without compromising performance are welcome too.

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/GK6Fbv

 

Not quite sure where to put this, so if this belongs under another section I apologize.

 

 

RM are known to be one of the few PSU which use cheap capacitors in a gold rated PSU

 

Pick Seasonic, EVGA or CoolerMaster VSM series 

 

Z97 system only work with dual channels

 

only X79 can use quad channel RAMS

XFX Pro Series PSU's are meant to be extremely good too

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/XFX-PRO-750-W-Black-Edition-Full-Modular-Power-Supply-Review/1695/13

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/XFX-PRO-750-W-Black-Edition-Full-Modular-Power-Supply-Review/1695/1