Feedback First Build

[qjanssen]

Hi guys,

 

This is my first time posting here and would like some feedback on my first build that I'm planning. I'm going to install Hackintosh on it, so my part options will be limited and I think this is a great solution for the hardware available for Hackintosh.

 

The main purpose for this rig is music production, web design, gaming and video editing. I'm on a €900 to €1200 budget, but some things like hard drives can be bought later.

 

I'm installing Hackintosh for use of Ableton Live 9, Adobe Muse and Dreamweaver, Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects, and some occasional Xcode. Besides Hackintosh I'm also going to install Windows on it for games.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($316.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Motherboard: Asus Maximus VI Gene Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($134.99 @ Newegg) 

Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($82.99 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($104.99 @ Adorama) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($77.85 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card  ($329.98 @ OutletPC) 

Case: BitFenix Prodigy M Arctic White MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($98.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($47.75 @ OutletPC) 

Total: $1194.53

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-02 11:25 EST-0500

 

These are my parts.

 

I'm going to use the 256GB Crucial SSD and the 2TB Seagate drive to install OS X on and using it as a Fusion Drive (I've seen on YouTube that you can "trick" OS X into thinking it's a Fusion Drive) and I'm going to purchase an additional Crucial MX100 SSD and a 2TB Seagate SSHD to install Windows on. I know the PSU wattage is a bit big for this build, but I'm buying a bigger PSU now for future upgrades.

 

So what do you guys think? Is this a good build for my needs?

 

Love to hear some feedback!

[c0d0ps]

 

The main purpose for this rig is music production, web design, gaming and video editing. I'm on a €900 to €1200 budget, but some things like hard drives can be bought later.

 

Total: $1194.53

 

I only have 1 question, why do you have the total cost in dollars when you are using Euros? Can you not switch to euros on partpicker?

I am pretty sure it has an English (England) version.

 

Jk I have more than 1 question; What resolution (and hz) do you play on?

And why no non stock cpu cooler?

 

Rest is pretty good.

[ForsakenLive]

When using PCPartPicker select the appropriate region, you went with a US part list and I imagine you are after the UK one?. Price and availability as well variety changes over regions.

However the core components (CPU, GPU, etc) you choose were pretty good.

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/LGFJP6
Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/LGFJP6/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  (£244.94 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock 3 113.8 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler  (£45.59 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97MX-Gaming 5 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  (£109.16 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: Kingston Fury Black Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  (£108.14 @ More Computers)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (£79.00 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Toshiba  2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (£48.96 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: GALAX GeForce GTX 980 4GB SOC Video Card  (£409.55 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Case: Fractal Design Arc Mini R2 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  (£64.99 @ Novatech)
Power Supply: Corsair CSM 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  (£61.19 @ Aria PC)
Total: £1171.52
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-02 16:46 GMT+0000

 

I changed the components and went with a pretty good GTX 980 (honestly I don't know how much vram will be used with your workload with GPU acceleration, the 970 could be just fine or not). The motherboard is listed on the compatible motherboard list from Tonymac (http://www.tonymacx86.com/building-customac-buyers-guide-january-2015.html#Motherboards) So you know it's going to work with OSX. Added a beast cooler, better PSU, and picked a case. Go with the Prodigy M if you want, but this is a far better choice to be honest.

[qjanssen]

I only have 1 question, why do you have the total cost in dollars when you are using Euros? Can you not switch to euros on partpicker?

I am pretty sure it has an English (England) version.

 

Jk I have more than 1 question; What resolution (and hz) do you play on?

And why no non stock cpu cooler?

I noticed that as well on PC Part Picker, but Pounds are not the same as Euros and I also noticed for example on the German PC Part Picker the prices were quite different (even with the exchange rate in mind), but the Dutch prices were pretty much equal on a site I found, it was literally the same (so eg. $1000 = €1000).

 

I'm playing on a 1080p 60Hz BenQ monitor right now, because I got it as a git, but I'll be upgrading this monitor to a 1440p 120 or 144Hz monitor, or even a 4k one if there's a cheap one that's not shit.

 

Btw I didn't know how to reply directly, so I just quoted pretty much your entire comment.

[brob]

@qjanssen,

 

You might consider going with a 512GB ssd that can be partitioned for the two o/s.

 

Instead of getting an SSHD when adding Windows, I would suggest a regular hdd. You can use a small partition on the ssd and Intel Smart Response Technology to achieve better hdd performance.

 

I believe the Asus Z97M Plus is also hackintosh compatible. Using it would free up budget.

[qjanssen]

When using PCPartPicker select the appropriate region, you went with a US part list and I imagine you are after the UK one?. Price and availability as well variety changes over regions.

 

and picked a case. Go with the Prodigy M if you want, but this is a far better choice to be honest.

PC Part Picker doesn't have a Dutch region, but on a Dutch pc part web shop, it had similar prices as the US version of PC Part Picker. So my budget is roughly $1000 - $1200. The design is what brought me to the Prodigy M. I don't find the looks of the Arc mini R2 very appealing. It doesn't have an eye-catching design. Does it have exceptional airflow or something that makes it extremely good? 

[qjanssen]

You might consider going with a 512GB ssd that can be partitioned for the two o/s.

 

You can use a small partition on the ssd and Intel Smart Response Technology to achieve better hdd performance.

 

I believe the Asus Z97M Plus is also hackintosh compatible. Using it would free up budget.

Thought about using one 512GB SSD, but I don't know if it works with that Fusion Drive trick. Haven't found anything on the internet about it.

 

Does that Intel Smart Response Technology yield a lot better performance or just a bit?

 

Saw that motherboard as well, but in the Netherlands the Z97M-Plus was only €10 cheaper than the Maximus and for €10 more I'm going with the Maximus for the nicer colours

[ForsakenLive]

PC Part Picker doesn't have a Dutch region, but on a Dutch pc part web shop, it had similar prices as the US version of PC Part Picker. So my budget is roughly $1000 - $1200. The design is what brought me to the Prodigy M. I don't find the looks of the Arc mini R2 very appealing. It doesn't have an eye-catching design. Does it have exceptional airflow or something that makes it extremely good? 

 

It has a fairly proven layout. Filtered intakes that blow in a efficient pattern, compatibility for most of the things out there, solid construction, plenty cable management room, modular hard drive cages that allow for all sorts of configurations and provide an anti-vibration mount, You can use it on a simple system or a custom water cooled rig. It's the classical approach with an execution aimed to simplify and be practical. Hard to not recommend, and the price fits.

 

On the other hand, the Prodigy, while very aesthetically appealing has it's upside downs. The hard drive mounting they use has two different possibilities, let the drives hang on the vertical mount, which works perfectly fine, but it's annoying as they need to be removed first if you need to open the case and tweak/add/replace something. The other way is in the bottom, which is certainly an airflow restriction. While it does have space for cables at the back, it's easy to end with cluttered wires everywhere, crossing between components and sometimes just hang in the middle of the system. It lacks fan filters, specially for the PSU that it's going to be hard to remove to clean. Finally the airflow is wonky, it doesn't really have an intended design IMO, it's just different openings that you have to play with.

 

If I were to configure a Prodigy M without modding, I'd go with 2x 120mm fans in the top as intake (luckily the only filter is there), have the PSU intake from the outside (front), and just deal with the dust there, each time, before it blocks the fresh air. Toss the 'heat shield' out of the window, mount drives in the bottom but leave one of the fan mounts available, which would be filled with an 120mm as exhaust. The rear 120mm would be exhaust as well. Ending up in a inverted airflow configuration with dual 120mm intake and dual 120mm exhaust; providing fresh air to the GPU and getting all the heat off the CPU area as fast as possible. Inverted (forcing heat down instead of allowing the natural path for it) does work, it's just a bit less efficient. For the CPU cooler a tower air cooler would work perfectly fine.

[qjanssen]

It has a fairly proven layout. Filtered intakes that blow in a efficient pattern, compatibility for most of the things out there, solid construction, plenty cable management room, modular hard drive cages that allow for all sorts of configurations and provide an anti-vibration mount, You can use it on a simple system or a custom water cooled rig. It's the classical approach with an execution aimed to simplify and be practical. Hard to not recommend, and the price fits.

I was also thinking about a Fractal Design Node 804 and a mini ITX build in an In Win 901. I know the airflow and functionality in this case is horrible, but I was so amazed by the design of it. And thank your also giving me tips if I'm going with the Prodigy M.

[ForsakenLive]

I was also thinking about a Fractal Design Node 804 and a mini ITX build in an In Win 901. I know the airflow and functionality in this case is horrible, but I was so amazed by the design of it. And thank your also giving me tips if I'm going with the Prodigy M.

I like cube cases aesthetically, but I don't really know what to do with them, in a sense of placement; I don't want a cube just sitting on my desk, as I feel the footprint size is way too negative; they'd feel silly on the floor and awkward if it were hanging. And If I'm using some sort of pedestal for it, the efficient space internal design would be meaningless, as even a full tower would be smarter.

 

I feel the same about the 901, it's a beautiful case, but I feel unless one goes crazy on modding, it can't really handle a proper powerful system. And even if you do it's hard to maintain the original aesthetic design.

 

My gripe with the prodigy line up is the front panel. The solid ones look amazing, and while the gaps allow for some air to pass, you really need a clean environment to prevent dust to get trapped, or clean the case often, which requires to remove said panel constantly. The midnight model (black), is the only one with proper ventilation, but that black mesh is the one that typically turns grey even in a couple days; leaving that circle of trapped particles; it feels like it really runs the show the design intended. The only ones that please me are all the modded prodigies (both M and classic). And what do most prodigy mods have in common? The damn front panel! They drill it, replace it, make custom ones, add grills, etc, everything to make it worth it.

 

Enough rant , the reason I choose the layout I suggested was to make it look clean and also work. You see, the main cable clutter the case can have is the 8 pin CPU power connector, and the Sata power and data. If you get a big fan, you can't route the 8 pin with enough clearance.

 

Here are some tips, extended edition lol.

 

 

This exactly is the problem, clearance with big fans:

 

 

 

There is not enough space, even with an AiO, to get the cable there with big fans.

 

On the other hand, this works:

 

 

You can install that fan in the left or right mounting spot (I'd suggest the one closer to the rear (unlike the picture), as that way the airflow gets directed towards the same angle. Also there is a shorter path for the drive cables this way.

As you may have noticed, this config also allows you to pass the 8 pin between the fan and the motherboard, without crossing it to the front.

 

 

I'd really recommend 1 hard drive and 1-2 ssds; so you can ditch the vertical bracket, that is ugly! Just look at this, it's awful!

 

And supposedly it was built by 'professionals' -.-"

 

The ssd can be crammed everywhere, with tape, Velcro, or even nothing. I'd put it in the slot the side panel has, but It can go at the side of the PSU, on the PSU top (towards the rear of the case). Or on top of the hard drive (stacked), it should be no problem really.

 

Finally, I'd consider this, the optimal Prodigy M:

 

 

It can't be seen easily, but there are two fans in the top slots getting air in. The cable management is clean and subtle. A Semi or Fully modular PSU is almost mandatory. Big bulky coolers work the best here, IMO even better if the bottom fan is on the right side (from this angle), so the big coolers like this get even better exhaust from between the aluminium fins. This build log can be found here (http://www.sweclockers.com/recension/17720-bitfenix-prodigy-m), and it shows the back panel, and cable management better, as well as the SSD placement.

 

 

Hope your build turns out the best!

[brob]

Thought about using one 512GB SSD, but I don't know if it works with that Fusion Drive trick. Haven't found anything on the internet about it.

 

Does that Intel Smart Response Technology yield a lot better performance or just a bit?

 

Saw that motherboard as well, but in the Netherlands the Z97M-Plus was only €10 cheaper than the Maximus and for €10 more I'm going with the Maximus for the nicer colours

 

Smart Response Technology is the rough equivalent of Apple's Fusion drive. But it requires the controller to be in RAID mode which may be an issue on the mac side.

 

The difference in motherboard costs in N.Am. is greater.