build critique before I finally buy everything

[callmecars]

so yeah title says it I guess... just one last check for the build I'm planning for before I get it, just to see if anybody has more input in it, or if something doesn't look like it fits (not literally), please just tell me...

and just a heads up, I'm from the Philippines so just keep in mind that there might be some better choices that you guys would suggest but they might not be as available here as it is wherever you are (like the Hyper 212 EVO)

and I'm gonna use this for video editing, gaming, as a media center, and just general productivity. (most to least use from left to right)

COOLER - Noctua NH-D14 CPU Cooler

CPU - Intel Core i5-4690K

MOBO - lga1150 Asus Z97-A

RAM - Crucial Ballistix Elite 16GB 2x8GB DDR3 1866 CL9

SSD - Crucial MX100 512gb sata  

HDD - Seagate 3TB 7200RPM 64MB, ST3000DM001 (SATA 6 Gb/s) - I'm considering getting 2 of these, or 1 WD 4TB Black, because they're almost the same price (with the 2 Seagate being cheaper)

PSU - Cooler Master V750S 80Plus Gold Semi-Modular Power Supply

CASE - Corsair Carbide Air 540 Airflow ATX Cube Case

GPU - MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G Gddr5 256Bit

KB - Das Keyboard 4 Professional

MOUSE - Mionix Naos 3200

[JRuss16]

looks good but 4 cores is a tad low for video editing

[callmecars]

looks good but 4 cores is a tad low for video editing

the original CPU I had in mind (about 4 months ago lol) was an AMD that had more cores, but I was advised here in the forums that the 4690k, even though having less cores, would still perform better since every single core was much faster... but I didn't really do much research on it anymore after that.

do you think that i'll waste the 16gb RAM that I'm getting with the 4690k? is it better to save up on the RAM and get 8gb then get a 4790k?

[brob]

The NH-D14 is a great cooler. If you would like something less expensive consider the Hyper 212X or Hyper 212 Plus.

[JRuss16]

the original CPU I had in mind (about 4 months ago lol) was an AMD that had more cores, but I was advised here in the forums that the 4690k, even though having less cores, would still perform better since every single core was much faster... but I didn't really do much research on it anymore after that.

do you think that i'll waste the 16gb RAM that I'm getting with the 4690k? is it better to save up on the RAM and get 8gb then get a 4790k?

if you can get both that would be best but if you do not have the money for both i would say go with the i7 and the 8GB of RAM and add more RAM later

[Faceman]

@callmecars

 

Go with something like this if possible:

 

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

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($324.98 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Nepton 240M 76.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($98.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-AR ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory  ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($199.99 @ Adorama)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($71.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($71.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB SSC ACX 2.0 Video Card  ($329.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case  ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($114.99 @ Micro Center)
Total: $1527.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-06 02:09 EST-0500

 

I have heard that HDDs larger than 2TB have a higher fail rate.  Not sure if true or not, just something I remember hearing.

 

RAM can always be added at a later date, but CPU is harder to replace, and it makes a much bigger impact on performance in gaming and rendering.  Start with 8GB, upgrade to 16GB later.  Just make sure that it is the exact same model of RAM.

[callmecars]

The NH-D14 is a great cooler. If you would like something less expensive consider the Hyper 212X or Hyper 212 Plus.

thanks! the place I'm gonna buy from actually has the Hyper 212X on their list of items but when I actually asked them they said it's unavailable... it was also for half the price of the NH-D14.

how much better is the NH-D14 as compared to the Hyper 212X?

[callmecars]

@callmecars

 

Go with something like this if possible:

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/FCssBm

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/FCssBm/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($324.98 @ OutletPC)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Nepton 240M 76.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($98.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Motherboard: Asus Z97-AR ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($149.99 @ Amazon)

Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory  ($64.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($199.99 @ Adorama)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($71.98 @ OutletPC)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($71.98 @ OutletPC)

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB SSC ACX 2.0 Video Card  ($329.99 @ Newegg)

Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case  ($99.99 @ Amazon)

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

Total: $1527.87

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-06 02:09 EST-0500

 

I have heard that HDDs larger than 2TB have a higher fail rate.  Not sure if true or not, just something I remember hearing.

 

RAM can always be added at a later date, but CPU is harder to replace, and it makes a much bigger impact on performance in gaming and rendering.  Start with 8GB, upgrade to 16GB later.  Just make sure that it is the exact same model of RAM.

thanks for that! with what I wrote in my disclosure at the start all of those recommended parts might not be available from where I'm from, but I did check right now on which are available and it's a good thing most of them are, so I'll just post here the parts that you posted with their prices here from the seller that I'm planning to buy from(because we don't really have a search system here that provides the cheapest seller for every part)

so since not all of the parts being available, I just substituted some of them for some parts that I saw had a similar name so forgive me for that, and for some that absolutely don't have any other parts with the same name (like the Phanteks Enthoo) I just used the one I originally wanted okay.

Processor lga1150 Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz - 4.40GHz (Quad Core) Haswell Refresh - PHP 15450.00 - USD 350.30

Cooler Cooler Master Nepton 140XL Hybrid CPU Cooler - PHP 4920.00 - USD 111.55

Motherboard lga1150 Asus Z97-A - PHP 8450.00 - USD 191.59

Ram Gskill Sniper 8GB 4gbx2 DDR3 1600 CL9 (F3-12800CL9D-8GBSR2) - PHP 4500.00 - USD 102.03

Hdd SSD Crucial MX100 512gb sata (CT512MX100SSD1) - PHP 10800.00 - USD 244.87

Hdd Internal Seagate 2TB 7200rpm 64mb, ST2000DM001 (SATA 6 Gb/s) - PHP 3900.00 - USD 88.42

 - USD

Hdd Internal Seagate 2TB 7200rpm 64mb, ST2000DM001 (SATA 6 Gb/s) - PHP 3900.00 - USD 88.42

Vga EVGA GTX 970 SSC ACX 2.0 4Gb 256Bit Gddr5 (04G-P4-3975) - PHP 19500.0 - USD 442.12

Casing Corsair Carbide Air 540 Airflow ATX Cube Case - PHP 6400.00 - USD 145.11

Psu Cooler Master V750S 80Plus Gold Semi-Modular Power Supply - PHP 4950.00 - USD 112.23

sorry I just copy pasted the info from their website, so it's kinda weird looking along with the PHP price, but it already took me so long to do it like this...

so the total for that is USD 1,876.64 while the original build I had in mind was for USD 1,749.21 (this is with the 3tb Seagate only) (I didn't put the price in PHP anymore coz I don't know if you'll need)

I just have some questions with the build you had in mind, I already understand the 4790k + 8gb deal, but why gskill? my research on ram ended me with the crucial that's why I went with them, like I read that when it comes to storage and memory, crucial is one of the best.

and also the same with the EVGA 970, my choice for MSI was just the result of minor research as well. originally I wanted to get Gigabyte but they don't have it in stock anymore, I don't mind the noise (I think) as long as it's not broken technology noise. and here the EVGA 970 is just about $5 cheaper than the MSI 970 (just in case you chose EVGA because it's cheaper there).

and I just chose my case because of preference, since I'm not planning on changing cases then I hoped to get one that I would personally like even though it might cost more.

and lastly with the PSU, do you think it's okay to go right now with a 750w or 850w if I'm just under the idea of buying another 970 to SLI probably in the future? or is it better to just get a cheaper 500w now and buy a bigger PSU when I'll actually but another 970?

EDIT:

yeah one more thing, I just checked how much it'll be if I change up the 4690k to a 4790k and the 16gb ram to the same brand 8gb ram, and I saw that there is just a USD 26.07 increase

[Faceman]

@callmecars

 

RAM brand doesn't matter.  RAM has such an insignificant impact on performance.  Go with whatever is the least expensive kit of 8GB RAM that you can find.  If you do a lot of rendering, some higher frequency stuff is good.  You want a blend of high frequency, low CL.  Divide CL by frequency to get a number to compare different kits by.  The lower the number, the better/faster the RAM.

 

Go with EVGA not because it is cheaper, but that is nice to know, but because they provide the absolute best customer service.  When they sell you a product, they stand behind that product 100%.  I will forever buy EVGA because of how they have treated me, and if you ask most people on this forum, they will agree, EVGA is the best.

 

Go for whichever case you want, I just wanted to enter a different one that you might not have been aware of.

 

Yea, go with a 750W PSU instead of an 850W.  If possible, go for the EVGA G2 SuperNOVA 750W.  If not, that is ok, but the warranty, features, and price on the EVGA G2 is usually the absolute best in that price range, at least in the US and Europe.

 

Lastly, don't buy the Cooler Master Nepton 140XL.  If the Nepton 240M is not available, then go with the Noctua.  Unless if you want liquid cooling, then look into other options, but you want a 240mm radiator as a minimum for a CPU AIO.  Corsair H105 maybe if it is available?  Not the H100i!

[callmecars]

@callmecars

 

RAM brand doesn't matter.  RAM has such an insignificant impact on performance.  Go with whatever is the least expensive kit of 8GB RAM that you can find.  If you do a lot of rendering, some higher frequency stuff is good.  You want a blend of high frequency, low CL.  Divide CL by frequency to get a number to compare different kits by.  The lower the number, the better/faster the RAM.

 

Go with EVGA not because it is cheaper, but that is nice to know, but because they provide the absolute best customer service.  When they sell you a product, they stand behind that product 100%.  I will forever buy EVGA because of how they have treated me, and if you ask most people on this forum, they will agree, EVGA is the best.

 

Go for whichever case you want, I just wanted to enter a different one that you might not have been aware of.

 

Yea, go with a 750W PSU instead of an 850W.  If possible, go for the EVGA G2 SuperNOVA 750W.  If not, that is ok, but the warranty, features, and price on the EVGA G2 is usually the absolute best in that price range, at least in the US and Europe.

 

Lastly, don't buy the Cooler Master Nepton 140XL.  If the Nepton 240M is not available, then go with the Noctua.  Unless if you want liquid cooling, then look into other options, but you want a 240mm radiator as a minimum for a CPU AIO.  Corsair H105 maybe if it is available?  Not the H100i!

thank you for putting so much effort in replying!

with what you said about RAM, as I was making making my reply here I was actually confused and thought you meant to divide the frequency by the CL because that would contradict what you said that it would bear a lower number haha. But I actually fully got it now and thank you for that tip! 

do you think EVGA customer service would reach me here in the Philippines? I'm honestly just not sure about these things.

yeah I already knew about the Phanteks Enthoo because of Linus haha, I actually searched for it immediately after watching his video of it but sadly they did not supply it.

and okay I'll stick with the 750w PSU! sadly there is only one option for an EVGA PSU here, and it's the EVGA 500B 500W 80Plus Bronze Power Supply...

well I think I mentally prepared myself already to go with air cooling because of the case that I already plan on having, but thanks for the suggestions though!

[Faceman]

thank you for putting so much effort in replying!

with what you said about RAM, as I was making making my reply here I was actually confused and thought you meant to divide the frequency by the CL because that would contradict what you said that it would bear a lower number haha. But I actually fully got it now and thank you for that tip! 

do you think EVGA customer service would reach me here in the Philippines? I'm honestly just not sure about these things.

yeah I already knew about the Phanteks Enthoo because of Linus haha, I actually searched for it immediately after watching his video of it but sadly they did not supply it.

and okay I'll stick with the 750w PSU! sadly there is only one option for an EVGA PSU here, and it's the EVGA 500B 500W 80Plus Bronze Power Supply...

well I think I mentally prepared myself already to go with air cooling because of the case that I already plan on having, but thanks for the suggestions though!

 

Yea, I think EVGA customer service will reach you in the phillipines.  I know for a fact that MSI wont.  Someone earlier this year from the Phillipines had trouble with them, so avoid MSI.  You could try contacting EVGA directly and asking.  Their customer service is amazing, and they reply very fast.  If at all possible, I would definitely go for EVGA.

 

Yea, stick with whatever 750W PSU you have selected, it is still a very good one.

 

Stick with Air cooling, the Noctua NH-D15 is one of the best on the market in terms of noise and performance, you won't be disappointed.

[callmecars]

Yea, I think EVGA customer service will reach you in the phillipines.  I know for a fact that MSI wont.  Someone earlier this year from the Phillipines had trouble with them, so avoid MSI.  You could try contacting EVGA directly and asking.  Their customer service is amazing, and they reply very fast.  If at all possible, I would definitely go for EVGA.

 

Yea, stick with whatever 750W PSU you have selected, it is still a very good one.

 

Stick with Air cooling, the Noctua NH-D15 is one of the best on the market in terms of noise and performance, you won't be disappointed.

hmm thanks for that! and may I ask how they would compare in terms of performance? is the EVGA 970 more or less the same with MSI 970?

[Faceman]

hmm thanks for that! and may I ask how they would compare in terms of performance? is the EVGA 970 more or less the same with MSI 970?

All 970s are more or less the same. It comes down to silicon lottery how well a card will overclock.

[brob]

thanks! the place I'm gonna buy from actually has the Hyper 212X on their list of items but when I actually asked them they said it's unavailable... it was also for half the price of the NH-D14.

how much better is the NH-D14 as compared to the Hyper 212X?

 

There is not much hard data available on the 212X. Using the 212 EVO, its predecessor as a guide the NH-D14 should be about 25% cooler under load. There are a whole bunch of variables at play, so that number is a very rough estimate. If you plan on pushing the overclocking or the average ambient (room) temperature is relatively high (> 30C), the NH-D14 might make a difference. Otherwise the 212X will do just fine.