1st time DIY build help

[WhiteRainX]

Hey there! First post as well like that other user from the Philippines. Hope to learn all kinds of things in this forum and hope to make some friends as well.

 

For this build I'm buying everything except for the peripherals, monitor and OS (just reinstalling my Windows 8.1 as i plan to turn my old pc into a Linux based HTPC). This will be my 2nd PC and 1st DIY PC as the first one was custom built. I've done some research for compatibility but I'd like some other more experienced input for peace of mind before i buy this as this build is quite pricey.

 

Budget & Location: ₱68,000 but I can probably bump it up to ₱73,000 Philippines (roughly $1500)

 

Aim: Gaming mostly along with some video and photo editing and light 3D modelling.

 

Monitors: Will be running a dual monitor setup. Main monitor runs at 1080p and a secondary at 1366x768 .

 

Peripherals: Have these already (as mentioned above). If anyone is curious i use the Razer Black Widow 2013 and SteelSeries Sensei Raw

 

Why are you upgrading?: I'm upgrading because my gpu can't keep up or rather cant run the new games that come out and my cpu is quite dated as well 1st gen i5 I belive. And I can't really just buy a GPU because my mobo can't support PCIe 3.0 so might as well buy a new rig.

 

Here's what I plan for the ₱73,000 build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($249.99 @ Micro Center)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Kingston Predator Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory  ($189.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($82.97 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($88.97 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card  ($369.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Arc XL ATX Full Tower Case  ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair RM 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1431.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-17 12:09 EST-0500

 

And here's what I plan for the ₱68,000 build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($179.99 @ Micro Center)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Kingston Predator Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory  ($189.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($82.97 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($88.97 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card  ($369.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Arc XL ATX Full Tower Case  ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair RM 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1361.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-17 12:09 EST-0500

 

Some questions to go along with the build:

Should i just go for the i5? Or go for the i7 because games are starting to make use of cpu threading and thus would somewhat futureproof my build?

Are the rest of the parts all good and compatible? or would you recommend another part?

What are some software that I should download as soon as I boot into windows? (stress test programs, monitoring programs and benchmark programs)

I plan to SLI in the future and will the 750w PSU be enough?

Any BIOS settings I should remember to apply when i first boot into it?

Should I also keep my HDD unplugged when first boot in and install my OS?

 

Hopefully I didn't miss anything and thanks in advance for any input you guys can provide

[cesrai]

First, use the export feature and select BBcode

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($329.97 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Kingston Predator Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory  ($189.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($82.97 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($88.97 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card  ($369.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Arc XL ATX Full Tower Case  ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair RM 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1511.85
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-17 12:01 EST-0500

 

And you don't need PCIe 3.0 for a new GPU but as you said I think buying a new GPU will cause a CPU bottleneck.

[JeffreyEagan]

For your i7 build, are you planning on upgrading to a second GPU any time soon? I ask because the GTX 970 only requires a 500 watt PSU.

I'd also go for the i7 for the workload that you're going for. You'll get more performance than the i5.

[WhiteRainX]

Oops I forgot that pcpartpicker could do that I'll edit it in.

 

Maybe not anytime soon for the second GPU. I'll only upgrade when i need more power because by then that GPU will probably be cheaper. (if that makes sense)

EDIT: The reason i'm getting a 750w PSU is also beacause it's the only fully modular PSU in the Philippines that i've found. If I find anything cheaper I'll go for that one instead.

[LemonSpice]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($329.97 @ OutletPC) 

CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X61 106.1 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($129.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($139.99 @ Amazon) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory  ($149.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($157.99 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Hitachi Deskstar 7K2000 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($65.49 @ Amazon) 

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

Case: Fractal Design Arc XL ATX Full Tower Case  ($109.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($59.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $1513.39

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-17 12:14 EST-0500

ps for future upgrades

[WhiteRainX]

Thanks for the input. However the price difference of the Kingston Predator to the other ram cards is quite large. The difference of the Kingston ram to the G. Skill is about $100 (converted directly from ₱).

 

There are no Hitachi drives here in the Philippines. Only WD and Segate and they are pretty much the same price. I'm leaning towards the WD drive because i've heard that segates tend to fail more than WDs?

 

I was originally planning to get the Kraken but the H100i is about $30 cheaper. And getting the Kraken would go over my budget (prices in the Philippines are usually more expensive than prices in pcpartpicker). This is also the reason for going for the 120GB EVO the 256GB PRO costs about $100 more here.

 

I'll try to look around for those parts if i can find them cheaper so i can fit it in the budget and if it fits I'll probably get those parts instead.