First actual build

[Ryuk]

Hello everybody, I am new here, but linus seems pretty cool Thought might as well join the community.

So, I want to build a PC for personal use (a little bit of everything - gaming, photo editing, coding). I also want it to last a couple of years without upgrading.

I am currently an university student, about to graduate. I own a HP dv6, which is a piece of junk I cannot wait to get rid of. A dilemma appeared when it came to changing the machine - should it be a MacBook pro 15, razer blade 14 or a desktop PC. The price for the last is, of course, the cheapest, but I will have to travel around, but I am willing to go with it. If anyone has any comments about it, let me know I will be in the US for the summer so I am going to get the build there.

 

After a little bit of research I came up with this build:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3G4Ww

Ok, so now I want your opinions
- Should I go with a Mini ITX? I am talking about the mb/case. I really want a, more or less, portable computer. Might as well go with a mid tower case, but I don't think I need the extra slots.
- 8GB or 16GB of RAM? Considering I don't want to upgrade it for a couple of years. And which brands should I avoid maybe? I want this build to last for a couple of years. 1600 good enough?(no OC)

- Which Video Card should I get? I am not sure which one will be enough - GTX 770 or 760. Also, which brand? I see people are happy with EVGA. I am currently not a heavy gamer (playing mostly League of Legends and CS:GO, trying new games every now and then), not doing any video editing.
- i7 or i5? I've done the research, I cannot, however, justify the big price difference between i5 and i7. Will hyper-threading make any difference for me? Also, I am probably NOT going to OC. Since an early age I never liked OC-ing. When I see "might reduce the lifespan" - just no. Do I need an unlocked version? What's the best here for me?
- I just want water cooling, but do I really need it if I am not going to OC? If not, what is a good quiet cooler?

These are just some initial questions, more will probably come up along the way

[Paralectic]

In your situation I would go mATX, 16GB Ram ( it's too much for now, but in a year or two it might be a necessity ) with a GTX 780 on a motherboard which supports SLI so you could ever add a second one.

For gaming only, get the i5 4670 ( not the K version as in your build because you are not overclocking ) it's the best Intel CPU for gaming at a normal price and get a H87 board as you won't be overclocking.

I also wouldn't go for AIO watercooling or even a custom loop if you don't want to overclock.

 

Also your PSU is overkill, a 550watts one with the 80 Plus bronze rating or better is more than enough.

[rhyseyness]

Pretty much agree with @Paralectic

I'd only add that the coolermaster hyper 212 evo would be a good choice of CPU cooler to keep the system quiet.

[Ryuk]

In your situation I would go mATX, 16GB Ram ( it's too much for now, but in a year or two it might be a necessity ) with a GTX 780 on a motherboard which supports SLI so you could ever add a second one.

For gaming only, get the i5 4670 ( not the K version as in your build because you are not overclocking ) it's the best Intel CPU for gaming at a normal price and get a H87 board as you won't be overclocking.

I also wouldn't go for AIO watercooling or even a custom loop if you don't want to overclock.

 

Also your PSU is overkill, a 550watts one with the 80 Plus bronze rating or better is more than enough.

 

How about this Intel Xeon E3 1240? It has the power of an i7 with hyper-threading at a price of i5. Also, it does not have the unnecessary integrated graphics. I am aware it is usually for workstations, but I don't see why not. It also has the same socket.

mATX sounds like a decent idea for the future, will look into it.

16GB - but it's so expensive ... Isn't it better to get 8GB now and later upgrade? I won't need 16 for 1-2 years probably.

GTX 780 - a lot of people told me that, not sure. I will be using a single monitor, most likely on 1920x1080. Isn't 780 a little bit of an overkill? Again, I am not sure, basing this on a couple of reviews, never worked with these.

All right, no WC sounds fine with me, but I don't trust the stock cooler. What is a great, quiet cooler? My research doesn't seem to be very successful

Thank you very much

Any comments on travelling with the tower, size of tower and screen on flight?

[Paralectic]

How about this Intel Xeon E3 1240? It has the power of an i7 with hyper-threading at a price of i5. Also, it does not have the unnecessary integrated graphics. I am aware it is usually for workstations, but I don't see why not. It also has the same socket.

mATX sounds like a decent idea for the future, will look into it.

16GB - but it's so expensive ... Isn't it better to get 8GB now and later upgrade? I won't need 16 for 1-2 years probably.

GTX 780 - a lot of people told me that, not sure. I will be using a single monitor, most likely on 1920x1080. Isn't 780 a little bit of an overkill? Again, I am not sure, basing this on a couple of reviews, never worked with these.

All right, no WC sounds fine with me, but I don't trust the stock cooler. What is a great, quiet cooler? My research doesn't seem to be very successful

Thank you very much

Any comments on travelling with the tower, size of tower and screen on flight?

mATX travelling by car have been fine for me, it's not too big.

The GTX 780 isn't really 1080 overkill anymore because new game engines.

Getting 8GB RAM now and adding 8GB RAM later is a perfect route, as long as the clockspeeds of the modules and the timings are the same as the other kit.

Also the Xeon is a good idea if you won't overclock and won't need any integrated graphics yes.

 

Also, you want a decent CPU cooler for mATX?

I'd take a look at Noctua's low profile CPU coolers ( Noctua NH L9i ).

[Guest]

How about this Intel Xeon E3 1240? It has the power of an i7 with hyper-threading at a price of i5. Also, it does not have the unnecessary integrated graphics. I am aware it is usually for workstations, but I don't see why not. It also has the same socket.

mATX sounds like a decent idea for the future, will look into it.

16GB - but it's so expensive ... Isn't it better to get 8GB now and later upgrade? I won't need 16 for 1-2 years probably.

GTX 780 - a lot of people told me that, not sure. I will be using a single monitor, most likely on 1920x1080. Isn't 780 a little bit of an overkill? Again, I am not sure, basing this on a couple of reviews, never worked with these.

All right, no WC sounds fine with me, but I don't trust the stock cooler. What is a great, quiet cooler? My research doesn't seem to be very successful

Thank you very much

Any comments on travelling with the tower, size of tower and screen on flight?

A Xeon 1230v3 is a great quad-core hyperthreaded CPU if you don't want to overclock. Just check the motherboard manufacturer's website to make sure it is compatible(in most motherboards it is).

 

mATX is a better option than mini-ITX because it gives you more options with what you can do later on.

 

8gb is good. If you want the option to upgrade and your motherboard only have 2 slots, just get one 8gig stick. Dual channel memory isn't that much of a performance increase.

 

A gtx 770 or a r9 280x will be plenty for 1080p IMO. Even a r9 270x can play Battlefield 4 Ultra 1080p at 45 fps so a 770 or 280x will play most games at ultra around 60 fps. If you want to be playing games like Crysis at max settings, get a 780 or r9 290.

 

Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo is a great, inexpensive cooler. It has become a PC enthusiast favorite. 

[Geekazoid]

In your situation I would go mATX, 16GB Ram ( it's too much for now, but in a year or two it might be a necessity ) with a GTX 780 on a motherboard which supports SLI so you could ever add a second one.

For gaming only, get the i5 4670 ( not the K version as in your build because you are not overclocking ) it's the best Intel CPU for gaming at a normal price and get a H87 board as you won't be overclocking.

I also wouldn't go for AIO watercooling or even a custom loop if you don't want to overclock.

 

Also your PSU is overkill, a 550watts one with the 80 Plus bronze rating or better is more than enough.

I pretty much agree with 95% of that. You really know your stuff mate . The ONLY thing that would not do is go for a H87 board but rather a regular Z87 board. Even if you're not OCing it's still worthwhile to go for a Z87 board because they usually have much better quality parts and are usually better bang for your buck. Apart from the Mobo, the rest is pretty solid advice.

[Ryuk]

(I think) I listened to your advice, guys, and this is what I got:

http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/partlist/

Anything about this?

[Ryuk]

bump