Nearly finalized build

[JonU]

I've been working on trying to decide what I wanted to do for a build around new years and have basically settled on all the parts and want to see what you guys have to say. I'm sticking with mITX and will be building two computers; one for me, which will be the first parts list and one for my nephew. Anyways, I'm looking for some input on anything that you may do differently.

 

1. Budget & Location
If you guys want to recommend changes use US $. I'm not super worried about the budget, but would like to keep it under $3k for my build and around $1k for the build for my nephew.

2. Aim
My computer will be used for gaming and some CAD/3D modeling work. My nephew's will pretty much only be used for gaming and multimedia/surfing the net.

3. Monitors

I'll be using my current monitor for my Nephew's computer and will be purchasing a new monitor for my computer. I'm considering having both plugged into a TV for use when watching movies or tv shows.

4. Peripherals
I've already got the bases covered for all the peripherals 

5. Why are you upgrading?
My current computer while running great is 5 years old and at this point an upgrade of one item requires upgrades of everything else.

 

My build is listed first, my nephew's is second

 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($322.98 @ SuperBiiz) 

Motherboard: Asus Z97I-PLUS Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($155.98 @ SuperBiiz) 

Memory: Mushkin Redline 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($169.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Crucial M550 256GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  ($155.98 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Western Digital Red 4TB 3.5" 5900RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($168.98 @ OutletPC) 

Storage: Western Digital Red 4TB 3.5" 5900RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($168.98 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB Video Card  ($594.95 @ B&H) 

Power Supply: SeaSonic Platinum 860W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($185.98 @ SuperBiiz) 

Monitor: Asus VG278HE 144Hz 27.0" Monitor  ($372.99 @ Amazon) 

Case Fan: Noctua NF-S12A PWM 120mm  Fan  ($14.99 @ NCIX US) 

Case Fan: Noctua NF-S12A PWM 120mm  Fan  ($14.99 @ NCIX US) 

Case Fan: Noctua NF-S12A PWM 120mm  Fan  ($14.99 @ NCIX US) 

Other: WD My Cloud EX4 Diskless ($349.99)

Other: Parvum Systems ITX case Black/white ($200 or so shipped)

Other: Alphacool 240mm Radiator ($60.00)

Other: EK GTX 980 waterblock ($127.00)

Other: Swiftech Apogee XL ($65.00)

Total: $3043.77

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-20 23:16 EDT-0400

 

 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($109.99 @ Amazon) 

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9i 57.5 CFM CPU Cooler  ($39.99 @ NCIX US) 

Motherboard: Asus Z97I-PLUS Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($155.98 @ SuperBiiz) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($70.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($74.98 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card  ($329.98 @ NCIX US) 

Case: Corsair Air 240 MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($79.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: SeaSonic X Series Fanless 460W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($119.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $981.89

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-20 23:45 EDT-0400

[connorpiper]

For the 2nd build. I would get the WD10EZEX (WD Blue 1TB) because it is better value. And basically as fast. 

Everything else is good there. That i3 is enough for the 970. 

[Vacsol]

you can cut the price of build 2 by about $70 if you go for a h97 board, also that PSU is a bit expensive for a situation where silence isn't crucial. also that case can fit a mATX mobo which would be better.

also I'd go for a Hyper 212 Evo as a cooler because you won't be overclocking that CPU

[EcoBoost]

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($109.99 @ Amazon) 

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9i 57.5 CFM CPU Cooler  ($39.99 @ NCIX US) 

Motherboard: Asus Z97I-PLUS Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($155.98 @ SuperBiiz) 

Case: Corsair Air 240 MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($79.99 @ Newegg) 

If you're going to get a Z97 board and OC then get a G3258, or if you don't want to OC then get an H87, B85, or even H81 board. 

 

Either way, in an Air 240 you don't need something as low profile as a Noctua L9i

[JonU]

you can cut the price of build 2 by about $70 if you go for a h97 board, also that PSU is a bit expensive for a situation where silence isn't crucial. also that case can fit a mATX mobo which would be better.

also I'd go for a Hyper 212 Evo as a cooler because you won't be overclocking that CPU

 

 I was going with a Z97 so that he could upgrade to one of the Haswell refresh CPUs w/o too much of a problem. I'm not so familiar with the h97 boards, but I'll go take a look at them. The Case is a place holder at the moment. I may or may not get a second Parvum case for the second one to go into. An Evo won't fit since the maximum CPU cooler height is only 120mm and the Evo has a height of 159mm (specs pulled from respective manufacturers product pages). Good point on the PSU, I'll go back and find a replacement.

If you're going to get a Z97 board and OC then get a G3258, or if you don't want to OC then get an H87, B85, or even H81 board. 

 

Either way, in an Air 240 you don't need something as low profile as a Noctua L9i

 

I'm leaving the OC choice to my nephew. If he wants to get into overclocking I'll help him get a new processor (or better yet find out before I purchase). If you guys have a better idea for a CPU cooler I'm all ears. The only thing is that it has to stay under 120mm. If he doesn't care about overclocking I'll definitely not spend the money on the Z97 board.

[asusfan]

would the Corsair 250D be a better case for the 2nd build? and a corsair semi-modular PSU would save money.

plus a H-87 or H-97 m/board would be better and put the saved money into an i5 cpu.

everything else looks pretty nice,

 

do you need 8TB of storage?

what about the Asus 970 strix with 6 gig or ddr5 ram instead of the Evga 4 gig card.

mayb e you can save a little on the PSU with a semi or fully modular with lower watts, unless you plan to go sli or crossfire in the future, i would check with a psu calculator and see if you need all 860 watts, maybe a 600 or 750 would save you a bit.

[JonU]

would the Corsair 250D be a better case for the 2nd build? and a corsair semi-modular PSU would save money.

plus a H-87 or H-97 m/board would be better and put the saved money into an i5 cpu.

everything else looks pretty nice,

 

do you need 8TB of storage?

what about the Asus 970 strix with 6 gig or ddr5 ram instead of the Evga 4 gig card.

mayb e you can save a little on the PSU with a semi or fully modular with lower watts, unless you plan to go sli or crossfire in the future, i would check with a psu calculator and see if you need all 860 watts, maybe a 600 or 750 would save you a bit.

 

I have changed out the PSU and mobo on the second build based on suggestions. I also had completely forgot about changing that PSU on my build. It won't even fit in the Parvum case, but I'll be swapping it out for a 600w SFX PSU. The 8TB will be put to good use holding music and movies as well as all my pictures (I shoot mostly in RAW format which eats up space quickly). I was staying with reference designs because I know it will be an extremely tight fit to get everything into the case based on the build of a prototype model over on the bit-tech forums. I will probably have to see if they can stretch the case some to fit the graphics card (which would have the added benefit of giving me some extra space on the backside for watercooling components). Here are some pictures so you can see just how small we are talking here:

 

 

[dizmo]

 I was going with a Z97 so that he could upgrade to one of the Haswell refresh CPUs w/o too much of a problem. I'm not so familiar with the h97 boards, but I'll go take a look at them. The Case is a place holder at the moment. I may or may not get a second Parvum case for the second one to go into. An Evo won't fit since the maximum CPU cooler height is only 120mm and the Evo has a height of 159mm (specs pulled from respective manufacturers product pages). Good point on the PSU, I'll go back and find a replacement.

 

I'm leaving the OC choice to my nephew. If he wants to get into overclocking I'll help him get a new processor (or better yet find out before I purchase). If you guys have a better idea for a CPU cooler I'm all ears. The only thing is that it has to stay under 120mm. If he doesn't care about overclocking I'll definitely not spend the money on the Z97 board.

You can overclock on some of the other series boards, you just have to put in some research to see which ones, and which BIOS versions allow it.

Honestly, if you're getting a low end CPU that can overclock like that one can, it's almost a crime not to.

 

Do you need to upgrade your PC now, or could you hold off?

Pascal. Worth waiting the year for, imo.

 

Love the look of those cases, btw.

My next build is definitely going to be mITX, likely something like the FT03 Mini.

[JonU]

You can overclock on some of the other series boards, you just have to put in some research to see which ones, and which BIOS versions allow it.

Honestly, if you're getting a low end CPU that can overclock like that one can, it's almost a crime not to.

 

Do you need to upgrade your PC now, or could you hold off?

Pascal. Worth waiting the year for, imo.

 

Love the look of those cases, btw.

My next build is definitely going to be mITX, likely something like the FT03 Mini.

I'm going to need to upgrade for school. I would love to be able to wait a year, but 5 years is long enough for this system. This computer will probably be retired to backup duties or for visitors that just need to get on the internet. I need to be able to run programs like AutoCAD/Inventor/Solidworks. My computer can run them, but just barely. These are rough specs since Speccy won't run on the Windows Technical Preview. I'll post up revised builds in a little bit.

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 810

GPU: 6 GB DDR2

Mobo: DFI Lanparty

Sound: SB XFI Titanium

[JonU]

Revised build for my computer, I still need to figure out what pump and reservoir I'll be using.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($322.98 @ SuperBiiz) 

Motherboard: Asus Z97I-PLUS Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($155.98 @ SuperBiiz) 

Memory: Mushkin Redline 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($169.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Crucial M550 256GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  ($155.98 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Western Digital Red 4TB 3.5" 5900RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($168.98 @ OutletPC) 

Storage: Western Digital Red 4TB 3.5" 5900RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($168.98 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB Video Card  ($594.95 @ B&H) 

Monitor: Asus VG278HE 144Hz 27.0" Monitor  ($372.99 @ Amazon) 

Case Fan: Noctua NF-S12A PWM 120mm  Fan  ($14.99 @ NCIX US) 

Case Fan: Noctua NF-S12A PWM 120mm  Fan  ($14.99 @ NCIX US) 

Case Fan: Noctua NF-S12A PWM 120mm  Fan  ($14.99 @ NCIX US) 

Other: WD My Cloud EX4 Diskless ($349.99)

Other: Parvum Systems ITX case Black/white ($100.00)

Other: Alphacool 240mm Radiator ($60.00)

Other: EK GTX 980 waterblock ($127.00)

Other: Swiftech Apogee XL ($65.00)

Other: Silverstone SX-600G ($139.99)

Total: $2997.78

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-21 02:25 EDT-0400

 

 

And my nephew's build

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($174.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9i 57.5 CFM CPU Cooler  ($39.99 @ NCIX US) 

Motherboard: Asus H97M-PLUS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($104.99 @ Amazon) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($70.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.98 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card  ($329.98 @ NCIX US) 

Case: Corsair Air 240 MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($79.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: Silverstone Strider Plus 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($74.98 @ SuperBiiz) 

Total: $925.89

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-21 02:29 EDT-0400

 

[dizmo]

I'm going to need to upgrade for school. I would love to be able to wait a year, but 5 years is long enough for this system. This computer will probably be retired to backup duties or for visitors that just need to get on the internet. I need to be able to run programs like AutoCAD/Inventor/Solidworks. My computer can run them, but just barely. These are rough specs since Speccy won't run on the Windows Technical Preview. I'll post up revised builds in a little bit.

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 810

GPU: 6 GB DDR2

Mobo: DFI Lanparty

Sound: SB XFI Titanium

Ah fair enough that system is definitely a little on the ancient side! My computer's pushing 4 years, but it's a 2700k so it still holds its own quite nicely.

I figured if you had a 2600k a simple overclock would tide you through.

[JoaoPRSousa]

For your nephew

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($69.99 @ Amazon) 

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9i 57.5 CFM CPU Cooler  ($39.99 @ NCIX US) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97MX-Gaming 5 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($116.97 @ OutletPC) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($70.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($53.98 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card  ($349.99 @ B&H) 

Case: Corsair Air 240 MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($79.99 @ Micro Center) 

Power Supply: SeaSonic X Series Fanless 460W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($119.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $901.89

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-21 10:29 EDT-0400

[JonU]

That looks pretty nice @JoaoPRSousa 

 

I've also updated my build since news of Gigabyte making an ITX sized 970 has been announced. To be honest a standard 970/980 was to big for that Parvum case. This though; this will be perfect!

 

updated with the new part

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($329.99 @ Amazon) 

Motherboard: Asus Z97I-PLUS Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($155.98 @ SuperBiiz) 

Memory: Mushkin Redline 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($169.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Crucial M550 256GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  ($155.98 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Western Digital Red 4TB 3.5" 5900RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($168.98 @ OutletPC) 

Storage: Western Digital Red 4TB 3.5" 5900RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($168.98 @ OutletPC) 

Monitor: Asus VG278HE 144Hz 27.0" Monitor  ($372.99 @ Amazon) 

Case Fan: Noctua NF-S12A PWM 120mm  Fan  ($14.99 @ NCIX US) 

Case Fan: Noctua NF-S12A PWM 120mm  Fan  ($14.99 @ NCIX US) 

Case Fan: Noctua NF-S12A PWM 120mm  Fan  ($14.99 @ NCIX US) 

Other: WD My Cloud EX4 Diskless ($349.99)

Other: Parvum Systems ITX case Black/white ($100.00)

Other: Alphacool 240mm Radiator ($60.00)

Other: Swiftech Apogee XL ($65.00)

Other: Silverstone SX-600G ($139.99)

Other: Gigabyte Mini-ITX GTX 970 ($329.99)

Total: $2612.83

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-22 00:50 EDT-0400

[JoaoPRSousa]

- snip -

You are missing a PSU and a decent CPU cooler

Those WC parts, what are they for?

[JonU]

You are missing a PSU and a decent CPU cooler

Those WC parts, what are they for?

 

 

The PSU is listed as other since pcpartpicker doesn't have it listed as an option; It's the Silverstone SX-600G. The CPU cooler is under the other parts as well. My original plan was to Watercool both the GPU and CPU, but with that mini 970, I highly doubt there will be a waterblock for it anytime soon. So I will only be using it for the CPU; which means I could probably drop it down to a 120 or 140mm radiatior. I still need to find a small pump and res that will fit in there as well as decide on hard or flexible tubing.

[JonU]

Well, I finally found something that pulls my full system info in Windows 10. I tried Speccy, but that has an incompatibility issue. I decided to purchase a personal copy of Aida64 so I can mess around with it before I start building and Oc'ing my computer in a month or so. Anyways here are the full specs on my current ancient computer and what I will be upgrading from, as you can see this thing is ancient and I'll be making a big leap forward no  matter what I do.

 

CPU: AMD Phenom II x4 810 2.6GHz

Mobo: Gigabyte

Chipset: AMD 790GX / AMD k10

RAM: 6GB DDR2 800MHz

GPU: Nvidia GTX280

Sound: SB X-Fi

HDD: WD Caviar Green 1TB (SATA 2)

and 2 generic DVD burners