Improve my build

[Sokaz]

Hello, I'm new around here! 

 

So, I've been making a ton of changes to this build I've been saving up for but, I'm not a pro builder or anything like that. I'm here to see how this build can be improved while staying inside my budget.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($234.98 @ OutletPC) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($28.52 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: Asus Z87-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($124.99 @ Newegg) 

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($86.99 @ Newegg) 

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($86.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($129.99 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Western Digital AV-GP 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($99.98 @ SuperBiiz) 

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($369.99 @ Amazon) 

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($369.99 @ Amazon) 

Case: Corsair 500R White ATX Mid Tower Case  ($109.99 @ NCIX US) 

Power Supply: Corsair RM 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($129.99 @ Amazon) 

Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer  ($15.98 @ OutletPC) 

Monitor: Asus VS248H-P 24.0" Monitor  ($169.99 @ Amazon) 

Sound Card: Asus Xonar DG 24-bit 96 KHz Sound Card  ($17.98 @ NCIX US) 

Other: Nvidia SLI ($9.25)

Total: $1985.60

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-26 20:54 EDT-0400

 

Updated Build:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($234.98 @ OutletPC) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($28.49 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($137.99 @ NCIX US) 

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($159.99 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($129.99 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($82.98 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($369.99 @ Amazon) 

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($369.99 @ Amazon) 

Case: Corsair 500R White ATX Mid Tower Case  ($109.99 @ NCIX US) 

Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($114.99 @ NCIX US) 

Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer  ($14.99 @ Newegg) 

Monitor: Asus VS248H-P 24.0" Monitor  ($169.99 @ Amazon) 

Total: $1924.36

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-27 19:07 EDT-0400

[ThyFeared]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($234.98 @ OutletPC) 

CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X31 69.5 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($73.98 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-GAMING 7 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($169.00 @ Amazon) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Z Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($174.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($129.99 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Western Digital AV-GP 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($99.98 @ SuperBiiz) 

Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 980 4GB Video Card  ($559.98 @ NCIX US) 

Case: Corsair 500R White ATX Mid Tower Case  ($109.99 @ NCIX US) 

Power Supply: Corsair RM 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($129.99 @ Amazon) 

Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer  ($15.98 @ OutletPC) 

Monitor: Asus VS248H-P 24.0" Monitor  ($169.99 @ Amazon) 

Sound Card: Asus Xonar DG 24-bit 96 KHz Sound Card  ($17.98 @ NCIX US) 

Other: Nvidia SLI ($9.25)

Total: $1896.08

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-26 21:05 EDT-0400

[Sokaz]

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($234.98 @ OutletPC) 

CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X31 69.5 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($73.98 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-GAMING 7 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($169.00 @ Amazon) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Z Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($174.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($129.99 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Western Digital AV-GP 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($99.98 @ SuperBiiz) 

Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 980 4GB Video Card  ($559.98 @ NCIX US) 

Case: Corsair 500R White ATX Mid Tower Case  ($109.99 @ NCIX US) 

Power Supply: Corsair RM 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($129.99 @ Amazon) 

Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer  ($15.98 @ OutletPC) 

Monitor: Asus VS248H-P 24.0" Monitor  ($169.99 @ Amazon) 

Sound Card: Asus Xonar DG 24-bit 96 KHz Sound Card  ($17.98 @ NCIX US) 

Other: Nvidia SLI ($9.25)

Total: $1896.08

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-26 21:05 EDT-0400

 

 

Thanks for this! I'm still accepting builds!

 

I think my current build is more powerful though..

 

[Polyvalent]

Get a z97 if youre going to overclock.  And Im guessing you will, since you have a k series processor.

 

Im an idiot, I read z87 as h87.

[ThyFeared]

 

 

Thanks for this! I'm still accepting builds!

 

I think my current build is more powerful though..

 

EDIT: I am wrong.

[thekeemo]

saved you some money http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Mmvrpg

[Megazero]

Single 980 beats SLI 970's

Nope, the 970 SLI would beat a single 980 for sure. It wont beat the 980 only when the games dont support SLI/Crossfire, which is very rare for GPU-intensive game nowaday. For lesser GPU-intensive game, 1 970 is about 10% slower compare to a 980, while being 220$ cheaper, so yeah, I'd get 2 970 over 1 980.

@Sokaz: Is there any reason why you need a sound card? the sound chip on the Mobo nowaday is usually already good enough. Also some Mobo/GPU come with an SLI bridge, so you might not need to buy it separately.

Also forgot to mention something: I like ASUS's Mobo, but no the Z87-A though (BTW you will need Z97 instead of Z87 for an i5 4690k), so how about MSI Z97 G45 instead? or Gigabyte/MSI Gaming 3/5?

And for the Ram, if you go with 16GB, get 2x8 GB ram instead of 4x4GB

[ThyFeared]

Nope, the 970 SLI would beat a single 980 for sure. It wont beat the 980 only when the games dont support SLI/Crossfire, which is very rare for GPU-intensive game nowaday. For lesser GPU-intensive game, 1 970 is about 10% slower compare to a 980, while being 220$ cheaper, so yeah, I'd get 2 970 over 1 980.

@Sokaz: Is there any reason why you need a sound card? the sound chip on the Mobo nowaday is usually already good enough. Also some Mobo/GPU come with an SLI bridge, so you might not need to buy it separately.

I thought otherwise thanks for correcting me.

[Sokaz]

Nope, the 970 SLI would beat a single 980 for sure. It wont beat the 980 only when the games dont support SLI/Crossfire, which is very rare for GPU-intensive game nowaday. For lesser GPU-intensive game, 1 970 is about 10% slower compare to a 980, while being 220$ cheaper, so yeah, I'd get 2 970 over 1 980.

@Sokaz: Is there any reason why you need a sound card? the sound chip on the Mobo nowaday is usually already good enough. Also some Mobo/GPU come with an SLI bridge, so you might not need to buy it separately.

Also forgot to mention something: I like ASUS's Mobo, but no the Z87-A though (BTW you will need Z97 instead of Z87 for an i5 4690k), so how about MSI Z97 G45 instead? or Gigabyte/MSI Gaming 3/5?

And for the Ram, if you go with 16GB, get 2x8 GB ram instead of 4x4GB

 

Okay, thanks for the advice!

 

Also, why should I go with 2x8 instead of 4x4?

[Sokaz]

Here is my updated build: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/H8p623

 

Does anyone know if the Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard comes with an SLI cable?

[hao1437]

Actually the many Z87 board on the market already have a bios update that allows it to support haswell refresh. but since you can get the z97 A from Asus that's great and yes the z97 A does come with one sli bridge

[hao1437]

I suppose he's suggesting that you should go 2x8 GB ram for now because it gives you an option to upgrade to 32GB in the future if you ever want to

[brob]

 

Hello, I'm new around here! 

 

So, I've been making a ton of changes to this build I've been saving up for but, I'm not a pro builder or anything like that. I'm here to see how this build can be improved while staying inside my budget.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($234.98 @ OutletPC) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($28.52 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: Asus Z87-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($124.99 @ Newegg) 

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($86.99 @ Newegg) 

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($86.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($129.99 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Western Digital AV-GP 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($99.98 @ SuperBiiz) 

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($369.99 @ Amazon) 

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card (2-Way SLI)  ($369.99 @ Amazon) 

Case: Corsair 500R White ATX Mid Tower Case  ($109.99 @ NCIX US) 

Power Supply: Corsair RM 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($129.99 @ Amazon) 

Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer  ($15.98 @ OutletPC) 

Monitor: Asus VS248H-P 24.0" Monitor  ($169.99 @ Amazon) 

Sound Card: Asus Xonar DG 24-bit 96 KHz Sound Card  ($17.98 @ NCIX US) 

Other: Nvidia SLI ($9.25)

Total: $1985.60

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-26 20:54 EDT-0400

 

 

The memory will not fit under the Hyper 212 EVO fan in its nominal position. (The fan overhangs the closest memory slot.) Besides, it would be better to go with a 2x8GB memory kit. This puts less strain on the memory controller and leaves room for a future memory upgrade without having to replace the existing modules.

 

The hdd is designed for live capture of HD streams. It would be better to get a WD Blue or Seagate Barracuda drive.

 

I would suggest going with the Z97-A motherboard. It has good sound so you could eliminate the Xonar card. And, as has been previously mentions it comes with an SLI bridge, so that extra cost would also be eliminated.

 

The EVGA 220-G2-0850-XR psu is a better choice.

[natelliot123]

why not get i7??  future games might make use of more cores

[Sokaz]

The memory will not fit under the Hyper 212 EVO fan in its nominal position. (The fan overhangs the closest memory slot.) Besides, it would be better to go with a 2x8GB memory kit. This puts less strain on the memory controller and leaves room for a future memory upgrade without having to replace the existing modules.

 

The hdd is designed for live capture of HD streams. It would be better to get a WD Blue or Seagate Barracuda drive.

 

I would suggest going with the Z97-A motherboard. It has good sound so you could eliminate the Xonar card. And, as has been previously mentions it comes with an SLI bridge, so that extra cost would also be eliminated.

 

The EVGA 220-G2-0850-XR psu is a better choice.

 

I just updated my build. What do you think?

 

Scroll up.

[brob]

I just updated my build. What do you think?

 

Scroll up.

 

Good.

[Sokaz]

Good.

 

Any other suggestions?

[brob]

Any other suggestions?

 

Not really, although you might consider an IPS monitor.

[Sokaz]

Not really, although you might consider an IPS monitor.

 

The only reason I'm getting that one is because I already have one and I want two of them.

[brob]

The only reason I'm getting that one is because I already have one and I want two of them.

 

Makes sense.

[Sokaz]

Makes sense.

 

I suppose it does. 

 

Does anyone else have any input?