About to purchase a $2000 computer

[onyex]

This is really a continuation of this post:

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/186654-first-real-build/

 

This is my current parts list: 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/QWHFmG

 

I have already purchased and drooling at a i5-4690k.

I am just about to purchase everything. I still have $50 left in my budget and was wondering if anybody had any ideas for improving the build. Open to any and all ideas.

[Enderman]

Everything looks perfect except for that H100i. Are you getting it specifically because you want corsair link functionality?

Because you can get an H105 (or kraken x61 if you have 140mm mounting holes) and get better cooling

[brob]

Get a better psu. Perhaps SeaSonic SSR-650RM, EVGA 220-G2-0750-XR, SeaSonic X660 Gold, or Corsair HX650.

[Scouten]

you can throw in a budget sound card for like 25$ or perhaps 8gb more of RAM other than that its pretty good you will enjoy building in the 540 air

 

 

Edit: i recommend using a 5.25 adapter for the 3.50 HDD and then placing a metal plate or some form of sheet on the bottom of the case to cover the bottom unfiltered holes i am in the process of doing just that

 

 

not mine but same idea

[ForsakenLive]

The H100i is nice aesthetically and obviously cools the CPU nicely, but truth is it's not going to get you much different performance than something like a 212 Evo or a Shadow Rock 2. That is overspending right there, if you want it because you just want it, it's ok just not cost/effective at all.

Don't get the Noctua PPC fans, they are expensive thanks to their water/dust resistance, that doesn't make a difference on a PC case. The Noctua Redux 140mm fans are $12 bucks on NCIX, get those, quality is the same,  cooling results very similar and is less than half the price.

[onyex]

Everything looks perfect except for that H100i. Are you getting it specifically because you want corsair link functionality?

Because you can get an H105 (or kraken x61 if you have 140mm mounting holes) and get better cooling

I'm not really into the style of the internals. I checked the Air 540 and the top does have support for a dual 140 rad. So my current parts list is this: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/DPbYRB

 

Get a better psu. Perhaps SeaSonic SSR-650RM, EVGA 220-G2-0750-XR, SeaSonic X660 Gold, or Corsair HX650.

Curious as to why I need a different power supply. 650w is plenty of power. It has an 80+ gold. I don't see what these add that the cheaper PSU does not have

 

you can throw in a budget sound card for like 25$ or perhaps 8gb more of RAM other than that its pretty good you will enjoy building in the 540 air

 

 

Edit: i recommend using a 5.25 adapter for the 3.50 HDD and then placing a metal plate or some form of sheet on the bottom of the case to cover the bottom unfiltered holes i am in the process of doing just that

 

 

not mine but same idea

A few questions. One, I thought a sound card was mostly useless with modern motherboards. Is there any benefit to adding one? Two, I thought 8GB of RAM was excessive for gaming, what would adding another 8GB add? Three, why did you cover the holes in the bottom of the case?

[Enderman]

I'm not really into the style of the internals. I checked the Air 540 and the top does have support for a dual 140 rad. So my current parts list is this: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/DPbYRB

 

Ok good Also, add a stick of MX-4 to the list. It's less than 10 bucks

[onyex]

Ok good   Also, add a stick of MX-4 to the list. It's less than 10 bucks 

Question, is there a real difference in thermal paste? Is there a difference between MX-4 or IC diamond, heat conduction wise?

 

Edit: words

[Enderman]

Question, is there a real difference in thermal paste? Is there a difference between MX-4 or IC diamond, heat conduction wise?

 

Edit: words

A couple degrees between the good and bad thermal pastes. The good thing about high quality thermal paste is

1) non conductive, so nothing will happen if a little spills out from around your CPU

2) non curing so it wont dry out in a couple years l which would lead to high temps

3) you have extra in case you need to remount your CPU, because the AiO only comes with pre-applied TIM, and that's only good for one time

 

IC diamond and MX-4 will give you basically the same results, so either one is good.

[brob]

...

Curious as to why I need a different power supply. 650w is plenty of power. It has an 80+ gold. I don't see what these add that the cheaper PSU does not have

...

 

80+ ratings certify efficiency of a psu. They make no comment on the quality of the parts or their assembly. Nor do they reflect the quality of power delivered to the system.

 

Better psu deliver cleaner and more stable power to the system. This means longer lived components and better overclocking. They are built better using better quality parts and therefore last longer. If they fail they are designed to fail in a manner that does not imperil the components plugged into them.

[onyex]

80+ ratings certify efficiency of a psu. They make no comment on the quality of the parts or their assembly. Nor do they reflect the quality of power delivered to the system.

 

Better psu deliver cleaner and more stable power to the system. This means longer lived components and better overclocking. They are built better using better quality parts and therefore last longer. If they fail they are designed to fail in a manner that does not imperil the components plugged into them.

I understand. I was basing build quality off of ratings of the old PSU. Would a PSU like http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-120pg0650gr be better suited for the build?

[brob]

I understand. I was basing build quality off of ratings of the old PSU. Would a PSU like http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-120pg0650gr be better suited for the build?

 

http://hardocp.com/article/2014/05/16/evga_supernova_nex650g_650w_power_supply_review/9#.U_q0RGOiV5A.

 

I would suggest cutting out the two Noctua fans and putting most of the $60 savings towards the psu. Fans can easily be added later.

[onyex]

http://hardocp.com/article/2014/05/16/evga_supernova_nex650g_650w_power_supply_review/9#.U_q0RGOiV5A.

 

I would suggest cutting out the two Noctua fans and putting most of the $60 savings towards the psu. Fans can easily be added later.

For the sake of having a quality build, I am willing to spend more on components and go a little over budget.

 

This is my current build:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/pyktLk

 

Edit: Changed FLX fans to PWM

[brob]

For the sake of having a quality build, I am willing to spend more on components and go a little over budget.

 

This is my current build:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/pyktLk

 

Edit: Changed FLX fans to PWM

 

Looks good! The X61 comes with pre-applied thermal compound on the interface plate so the MX4 is not strictly necessary. Although it doesn't hurt to have some handy.

[onyex]

Ok, thank you everyone for your help. I'll be purchasing the components tomorrow thanks to everyone's help. Hopefully I'll end up posting to LTT build logs and r/battlestations soon. 

[Scouten]

A few questions. One, I thought a sound card was mostly useless with modern motherboards. Is there any benefit to adding one? Two, I thought 8GB of RAM was excessive for gaming, what would adding another 8GB add? Three, why did you cover the holes in the bottom of the case?

1. You will see an improvement with a sound card but it's 100% preference some people like them for setting up surround sound systems etc or if you get one with an amp so you can drive higher ohm headphones etc. It's true most on board is fine for the general user though.

2. RAM is cheap, you can make a RAMdisk run virtual machines etc if your just gaming purely 8 is fine

3. The holes are open and unfiltered you gpu fans will suck air up from the bottom as well as dust etc the inside of my 540 already needs some cleaning. You can resolve this mostly by having positive air pressure(more intakes than exhaust) though which I don't have at the moment. Alternatively you can just get some fine mesh and cover it or grab like a silverstone 240 magnetic fan filter or just ignore it entirely

I also endorse mx4 from that condo earlier it's just a very easy Tim to use