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Can you guys help me balance this build?

Midnight Robot
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Hey guys,

I'm building a semi silent gaming/workstation and I finally picked out all the parts. There are a few parts I'm unsure of but I want to see what you guys think of this build. It's a little more than what I wanted to spend, but I think it's worth it. I might swap the monitors though, and opt for a single 1440p or just different 1080p monitors because of issues I've heard recently with those monitors and Display Port. Here's what I've come up with so far.

 

 
CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V3 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($321.37 @ Newegg Canada) 
Motherboard: Asus H97-PLUS ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($125.99 @ DirectCanada) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($180.12 @ Newegg Canada) 
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (Purchased For $181.26) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB Dual Superclocked ACX Video Card  ($316.37 @ Amazon Canada) 
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($124.28 @ Memory Express) 
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($75.69 @ NCIX) 
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer  ($18.97 @ DirectCanada) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (32/64-bit)  ($121.11 @ DirectCanada) 
Monitor: Dell U2414H 60Hz 23.8" Monitor  (Purchased For $307.63) 
Monitor: Dell U2414H 60Hz 23.8" Monitor  (Purchased For $307.63) 
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WDN4800 802.11a/b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter  ($39.53 @ Canada Computers) 
Total: $2155.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
 
Things I'm considering.

1. Dropping to an i5 4690 even though I plan to render, because I'm not a pro and I don't think the speed difference without hyper threading is that significant if my videos are only 20-30 minutes. 
 
2. Going for a Radeon because of OpenCL support now in Adobe, as well as Vegas. I just don't know which one to get, or if I should switch at all. 
 
3. Changing the monitors for different ones.
 
4. Changing the PSU to a different one that's both very quiet and fully modular, and a different brand like Seasonic.
 
I also filled out the questionnaire thing in the pinned thread.

1. Budget & Location
Around $2000 Canadian, and I already went over a little but I draw the line around $2200.

2. Aim
Primarily gaming and medium use of Photoshop and Vegas. I'm a bit of a traditional artist and I want to expand into digital, so this is me doing that. I thought it would be cool to do speed drawings digitally of things that people like, and as I learn and get better at it expand into more diverse and complicated designs. By the time I'm really good I would have a much better understanding on what I need vs what is just wasted money, so I could upgrade again if I had to. When it comes to gaming my for sure games would be games like LoL, Sims/SimCity, Civilization and maybe even Minecraft. I Want to try some fancier games though, so I went for a higher end card that can handle 1080p well. 
 
3. Monitors
I originally planned on two at 1080p but I might switch that to 1440p and have a random 1080p or lower for browsing and media control. The only thing I'm picky with it I want a good IPS panel that I can also game on, that has close to 100% sRGB. I like the ASUS PB278Q but it's pretty expensive. :(

4. Peripherals
I need a mouse, mouse pad, keyboard, and the OS as well as deciding on if I should keep the Dell U2414H monitors or swap them.

5. Why are you upgrading?
I only have a laptop right now and although it's good, it can't do Vegas at all sadly so it stops me right in my tracks for YouTube.

If you need anymore info just ask. :)
 
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The i5 is still a pretty strong cpu, you should be fine with it. An AMD R9 280 would be a good graphics card if you want to go the AMD route

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The i5 is still a pretty strong cpu, you should be fine with it. An AMD R9 280 would be a good graphics card if you want to go the AMD route

That's what I've heard, plus it's about $70 cheaper and has an iGPU if my GPU ever tanked and needed to be RMA'd. Is there any particular brand of 280? I'm going for a quiet build too, so I don't want one that sounds like a jet.  My case can only reduce so much noise... :P

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Are you sure that build is worth $2155? It shows up as $1990 for me on ca.pcpartpicker.com.

 

I would buy Windows from G2A, which will save you $75. If you're worried about buying from other people, use G2A shield so if it doesn't work you get a full refund. Both my laptop and PC have Windows 8.1 Pro from G2A and I've never had a problem. Of course, you can still buy Windows "legit" if you want. I would get a R9 280 for $10 more, which has better performance. It has 3 fans, so they can spin at lower RPMs resulting in less noise. Plus, the Windforce cooler is very good:

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-video-card-gvr928wf3oc3gd

Build: CPU: Intel Core i5 4690k | CPU Cooler: Hyper 212 Evo | Motherboard: MSI Z97 Gaming 5 | RAM: 8GB G-Skill Ares 1600Mhz CL9 | Storage: 120GB Samsung 840 Evo + WD Blue 1TB 64MB Cache + Seagate Barracuda 2TB 64MB Cache | GPU: MSI GTX 960 | Case: Cooler Master Storm Enforcer | Power Supply: EVGA 600B Non-Modular | 

 

 

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That's what I've heard, plus it's about $70 cheaper and has an iGPU if my GPU ever tanked and needed to be RMA'd. Is there any particular brand of 280? I'm going for a quiet build too, so I don't want one that sounds like a jet.  My case can only reduce so much noise... :P

The Asus DCUII is pretty good

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Are you sure that build is worth $2155? It shows up as $1990 for me on ca.pcpartpicker.com.

 

I would buy Windows from G2A, which will save you $75. If you're worried about buying from other people, use G2A shield so if it doesn't work you get a full refund. Both my laptop and PC have Windows 8.1 Pro from G2A and I've never had a problem. Of course, you can still buy Windows "legit" if you want. I would get a R9 280 for $10 more, which has better performance. It has 3 fans, so they can spin at lower RPMs resulting in less noise. Plus, the Windforce cooler is very good:

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-video-card-gvr928wf3oc3gd

More fans =/= less noise or better cooling. I'm not saying the Windforce is bad but its not better than the others

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More fans =/= less noise or better cooling. I'm not saying the Windforce is bad but its not better than the others

 

According to http://uk.hardware.info/reviews/5106/5/gigabyte-radeon-r9-280x-oc-review-280x-with-windforce-cooler-cooling-noise-and-energy-consumption the only place the Windforce cooler fails is load noise. It cools considerably better than many other coolers.

Build: CPU: Intel Core i5 4690k | CPU Cooler: Hyper 212 Evo | Motherboard: MSI Z97 Gaming 5 | RAM: 8GB G-Skill Ares 1600Mhz CL9 | Storage: 120GB Samsung 840 Evo + WD Blue 1TB 64MB Cache + Seagate Barracuda 2TB 64MB Cache | GPU: MSI GTX 960 | Case: Cooler Master Storm Enforcer | Power Supply: EVGA 600B Non-Modular | 

 

 

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But you said that its less noisy. 

 

It is less noisy at idle, so my statement is technically true in that respect.

Build: CPU: Intel Core i5 4690k | CPU Cooler: Hyper 212 Evo | Motherboard: MSI Z97 Gaming 5 | RAM: 8GB G-Skill Ares 1600Mhz CL9 | Storage: 120GB Samsung 840 Evo + WD Blue 1TB 64MB Cache + Seagate Barracuda 2TB 64MB Cache | GPU: MSI GTX 960 | Case: Cooler Master Storm Enforcer | Power Supply: EVGA 600B Non-Modular | 

 

 

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@aricleather The build price you see for me includes the taxes and for some items the shipping. That's probably why it's a bit higher for me than you. I will probably get my Win key from there actually, either that or from /r/softwareswap which I've heard good reviews from. I can't help but wonder how legit these keys are though, cause I don't want to buy one and then get it revoked because my seller stole it from somewhere.

@vishnureddy17 Thanks. What about a 770 instead of a 760? There's a flash deal today where a 770 only costs about $30 more than a 760, both 2GB. How does that compare to a 280?

 

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@aricleather The build price you see for me includes the taxes and for some items the shipping. That's probably why it's a bit higher for me than you. I will probably get my Win key from there actually, either that or from /r/softwareswap which I've heard good reviews from. I can't help but wonder how legit these keys are though, cause I don't want to buy one and then get it revoked because my seller stole it from somewhere.

@vishnureddy17 Thanks. What about a 770 instead of a 760? There's a flash deal today where a 770 only costs about $30 more than a 760, both 2GB. How does that compare to a 280?

 

A 770 performs just about the same as a 280. By the way, thanks forshowing me /r/softwareswap

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A 770 performs just about the same as a 280. By the way, thanks forshowing me /r/softwareswap

No problem. :)

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