Just looking for some friendly build advice.

IAmBecomeLinus · August 29, 2014

Hello there everyone, after some research, consideration, and help from this forum in the past, I've finally come up with the Rig I think I want to build. I just wanted to ask your opinions on this build. Although I won't start building for a while (I want to wait for Black Friday/Cyber Monday Sales) I still would like some input.

This rig would be used primarily for gaming on high and ultra settings, however, I will be doing a very light amount of video editing/rendering. My budget for this rig is $2400 USD (and this is already over my original budget of $2000)

One of my main concerns is power consumption during overclocking. I wan't to push the 4790k to atleast 4.5ghz and my goal is 4.8ghz. I am just wanted to know if my power supply has enough power to supply to the chip @ that speed. I honestly believe it will be fine, but I still can't help but worry about it a little, so if anyone can help me with that, I would really appreciate it.

Another thing I want to say is that I am absolutely, positively, irrevocably set on the case. I just love the Thermaltake Level 10 GT case (Black Edition). Another thing is that the Corsair H100i does fit in the Lv 10 GT, Pcpartpicker's measurements were taken with the included top 200mm fan still on, it must be removed to gain access to the 240mm Rad bracket.

Well, here it is:

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/NaturalCarr/saved/Wynypg

Thank you all for your time and consideration in advanced.

Fulgrim · August 29, 2014

Personally i'd get a 750W at least. Also, that H100i does not fit in that case. Plus, it's fugly.

Archangel1994 · August 29, 2014

No point in getting 4x4 since the motherboard does not support quad-channel. I would replace that with 2x8GB so you still have room for expansion. As for the rest it looks pretty good and the PSU is more than capable enough. The only thing you might want to consider is to tone down on the motherboard and get a 2nd R9 290. You might not be able to play the newest titles on high/ultra on stable 60 fps. I would also recommend getting the Tri-x over the windforce. If you want to stick to a single card then I highly recommend the R9 290 Vapor-x from sapphire.

Personally i'd get a 750W at least. Also, that H100i does not fit in that case.

No need to get 750W, the 650W will be just fine. Also if you read the OP you would've seen that the H100i does fit if you remove the 200mm fan at the top.

Interfectorem · August 29, 2014

Hello there everyone, after some research, consideration, and help from this forum in the past, I've finally come up with the Rig I think I want to build. I just wanted to ask your opinions on this build. Although I won't start building for a while (I want to wait for Black Friday/Cyber Monday Sales) I still would like some input.

This rig would be used primarily for gaming on high and ultra settings, however, I will be doing a very light amount of video editing/rendering. My budget for this rig is $2400 USD (and this is already over my original budget of $2000)

One of my main concerns is power consumption during overclocking. I wan't to push the 4790k to atleast 4.5ghz and my goal is 4.8ghz. I am just wanted to know if my power supply has enough power to supply to the chip @ that speed. I honestly believe it will be fine, but I still can't help but worry about it a little, so if anyone can help me with that, I would really appreciate it.

Another thing I want to say is that I am absolutely, positively, irrevocably set on the case. I just love the Thermaltake Level 10 GT case (Black Edition). Another thing is that the Corsair H100i does fit in the Lv 10 GT, Pcpartpicker's measurements were taken with the included top 200mm fan still on, it must be removed to gain access to the 240mm Rad bracket.

Well, here it is:

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/NaturalCarr/saved/Wynypg

Thank you all for your time and consideration in advanced.

If you're going to be pushing your 4790K that hard, I would suggest getting the NZXT Kraken x61. It is a Dual 140 radiator, so I'm not sure if it will fit in your specified case. Otherwise, everything looks great.

Fulgrim · August 29, 2014

No point in getting 4x4 since the motherboard does not support quad-channel. I would replace that with 2x8GB so you still have room for expansion. As for the rest it looks pretty good and the PSU is more than capable enough. The only thing you might want to consider is to tone down on the motherboard and get a 2nd R9 290. You might not be able to play the newest titles on high/ultra on stable 60 fps. I would also recommend getting the Tri-x over the windforce. If you want to stick to a single card then I highly recommend the R9 290 Vapor-x from sapphire.

No need to get 750W, the 650W will be just fine. Also if you read the OP you would've seen that the H100i does fit if you remove the 200mm fan at the top.

I stand corrected on the cooler, i just remembered some reports of the H100 not fitting without some slight case modding.

Still stand by the 750W psu if he's gonna OC though. Leaves room for a 2nd gpu at a later date.

Archangel1994 · August 29, 2014

Still stand by the 750W psu if he's gonna OC though. Leaves room for a 2nd gpu at a later date.

OC isn't going to up the power draw by 100W you know. However if he wants to dual R9 290 then I suggest 850W (EVGA G2 850W, Corsair AX860 are both solid choices).

Fulgrim · August 29, 2014

OC isn't going to up the power draw by 100W you know. However if he wants to dual R9 290 then I suggest 850W (EVGA G2 850W, Corsair AX860 are both solid choices).

Doesn't hurt to have the headroom

Archangel1994 · August 29, 2014

Doesn't hurt to have the headroom

Only 750W is too much headroom for single GPU and not enough for double GPU (assuming AMD) so 750W is SHIIIIIIITE.....for AMD CF.

RevoltTrain · August 29, 2014

This is what I came up with in that $2400 budget, hope it helps:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/tCvBzy

IAmBecomeLinus · August 29, 2014

Wow @.@ I run to the bathroom and when I come back there's an explosion of posts.

IAmBecomeLinus · August 29, 2014

No point in getting 4x4 since the motherboard does not support quad-channel. I would replace that with 2x8GB so you still have room for expansion. As for the rest it looks pretty good and the PSU is more than capable enough. The only thing you might want to consider is to tone down on the motherboard and get a 2nd R9 290. You might not be able to play the newest titles on high/ultra on stable 60 fps. I would also recommend getting the Tri-x over the windforce. If you want to stick to a single card then I highly recommend the R9 290 Vapor-x from sapphire.

No need to get 750W, the 650W will be just fine. Also if you read the OP you would've seen that the H100i does fit if you remove the 200mm fan at the top.

I stand corrected on the cooler, i just remembered some reports of the H100 not fitting without some slight case modding.

Still stand by the 750W psu if he's gonna OC though. Leaves room for a 2nd gpu at a later date.

OC isn't going to up the power draw by 100W you know. However if he wants to dual R9 290 then I suggest 850W (EVGA G2 850W, Corsair AX860 are both solid choices).

Doesn't hurt to have the headroom

Only 750W is too much headroom for single GPU and not enough for double GPU (assuming AMD) so 750W is SHIIIIIIITE.....for AMD CF.

I think I'd probably get a 290x before I did a 290 Crossfire, this way I could just get another 290x next year, that being said, head room is a good Idea, so I think I might go for an 850W.

IAmBecomeLinus · August 29, 2014

If you're going to be pushing your 4790K that hard, I would suggest getting the NZXT Kraken x61. It is a Dual 140 radiator, so I'm not sure if it will fit in your specified case. Otherwise, everything looks great.

I've actually thought about getting the Kraken because there are only 2 other cases I like nearly as much as the Lv 10 GT and they both support a 280mm Rad (The CM Storm Trooper and Corsair 760T Black)

IAmBecomeLinus · August 29, 2014

No point in getting 4x4 since the motherboard does not support quad-channel. I would replace that with 2x8GB so you still have room for expansion. As for the rest it looks pretty good and the PSU is more than capable enough. The only thing you might want to consider is to tone down on the motherboard and get a 2nd R9 290. You might not be able to play the newest titles on high/ultra on stable 60 fps. I would also recommend getting the Tri-x over the windforce. If you want to stick to a single card then I highly recommend the R9 290 Vapor-x from sapphire.

No need to get 750W, the 650W will be just fine. Also if you read the OP you would've seen that the H100i does fit if you remove the 200mm fan at the top.

Sorry, I'm not too versed in computer knowledge yet, what would having a quad-channel board do?

brob · August 29, 2014

A 4.5GHz oc is not that much given that the i7-4790K top stock speed is 4.4GHz.

If you want to get closer to the original budget getting rid of the ~$75 of add-on fans is a good start. If you are willing to have a black motherboard without red accents you can go with a similar cost board that includes on-board ac WiFi and Bluetooth. If you want to stick with a red/black motherboard you might consider MSI Z97-Gaming 9 AC or Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming G1 WIFI-BK. But they will not save that much.

650W is a good size psu for the build, but a better quality model makes sense with the investment being made. 80+ ratings do not indicate quality. They simply certify electrical efficiency.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($329.98 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-PRO(Wi-Fi ac) ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($198.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($184.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($102.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($378.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow Edition ATX Full Tower Case ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($98.97 @ OutletPC)
Optical Drive: LG WH16NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($54.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Acer H276HLbmid 60Hz 27.0" Monitor ($249.98 @ OutletPC)
Keyboard: Corsair Vengeance K70 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($112.99 @ Amazon)
Mouse: Logitech G600 MMO Gaming Mouse Wired Laser Mouse ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $2147.81
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-29 19:07 EDT-0400

Archangel1994 · August 29, 2014

Sorry, I'm not too versed in computer knowledge yet, what would having a quad-channel board do?

Increase memory bandwidth, useful in editing but no effect in games. Currently only LGA 2011 has quad-channel boards (talking relevant tech)

IAmBecomeLinus · August 29, 2014

A 4.5GHz oc is not that much given that the i7-4790K top stock speed is 4.4GHz.

If you want to get closer to the original budget getting rid of the ~$75 of add-on fans is a good start. If you are willing to have a black motherboard without red accents you can go with a similar cost board that includes on-board ac WiFi and Bluetooth. If you want to stick with a red/black motherboard you might consider MSI Z97-Gaming 9 AC or Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming G1 WIFI-BK. But they will not save that much.

650W is a good size psu for the build, but a better quality model makes sense with the investment being made. 80+ ratings do not indicate quality. They simply certify electrical efficiency.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($329.98 @ SuperBiiz)

CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($89.99 @ Newegg)

Motherboard: Asus Z97-PRO(Wi-Fi ac) ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($198.98 @ SuperBiiz)

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($184.99 @ Amazon)

Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($109.99 @ Amazon)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($102.99 @ Amazon)

Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($378.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Case: Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow Edition ATX Full Tower Case ($179.99 @ Newegg)

Power Supply: SeaSonic 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($98.97 @ OutletPC)

Optical Drive: LG WH16NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($54.98 @ OutletPC)

Monitor: Acer H276HLbmid 60Hz 27.0" Monitor ($249.98 @ OutletPC)

Keyboard: Corsair Vengeance K70 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($112.99 @ Amazon)

Mouse: Logitech G600 MMO Gaming Mouse Wired Laser Mouse ($54.99 @ Amazon)

Total: $2147.81

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-29 19:07 EDT-0400

Thank you! That board is divine, read accents are awesome, but Wifi and Bluetooth are awesomer.

IAmBecomeLinus · August 29, 2014

Increase memory bandwidth, useful in editing but no effect in games. Currently only LGA 2011 has quad-channel boards (talking relevant tech)

Ok so, I switched to 2 sticks of 16gb DDR3, another question I have is, Is it better to have a 1600 ram set with 9 cas latency or a 2133 with 11?

Archangel1994 · August 29, 2014

Ok so, I switched to 2 sticks of 16gb DDR3, another question I have is, Is it better to have a 1600 ram set with 9 cas latency or a 2133 with 11?

The difference is not big but you can get G.SKILL RAM of 1866MHz with CAS 9 so that would be the best choice.

August 30, 2014

This is what I came up with in that $2400 budget, hope it helps:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/tCvBzy

Not a bad spec apart from the monitor. You want a 144Hz monitor to take advantage of 290 Crossfire.

RevoltTrain · August 30, 2014

Not a bad spec apart from the monitor. You want a 144Hz monitor to take advantage of 290 Crossfire.

I didn't think about that, I was thinking he may want to add a second monitor or even a third monitor in the future and this monitor has amazingly small bezels.