First build... thoughts? ($1700)

[RF007]

Hi there,

I realise this forum is full of multiple people creating multiple different computers, so am aware I might just be another nobody adding their voice to the list, but anyway...

 

 

I would really appreciate it if you would share any thoughts you had on my build (for personal and gaming use).

 

I hope this build will be able to run new games on high settings for a while to avoid upgrading too soon...

I'm probably going to leave everything at stock because over-clocking seems daunting, especially for a first build!

I'm a little unsure on the PSU wattage I've chosen, or if there are any weaker parts of the build (i.e. ram bottleneck), but apart from that, just looking for a friendly discussion.

 

 

CPU: Intel i7 4970k

CPU COOLER: Arctic Freezer i30

MOBO: MSI Gaming 5 (z97 chipset)

RAM: 2x4gb 2400MhZ Dual Channel Corsair Vengeance

GPU: MSI GTX 970 4gb

PSU: Corsair CX600 (600W)

DRIVES: 850 Evo Basic SSD

DRIVES: 2TB WD Black

OS: Windows 8.1

CASE: Corsair Carbide SPEC-03

CD DRIVE: Old one lying around

 

Love to see what you people think,

Kindest regards,

RF007

 

 

NB If people wanted I could do a build log...

[Flight1sim]

seems great, although you may want another PSU.. Preferably an evga or seasonic if you can 

[GzeroD]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($324.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Arctic Cooling ACFZI30 74.0 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler  ($32.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI Z97-GAMING 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($139.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2400 Memory  ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($124.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card  ($319.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($87.89 @ OutletPC)
Other: Spec-03 ($85.00)
Total: $1300.71
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-13 20:06 EDT-0400

 

This is your current list if I read that all right. are you in Canada or Australia because that doesn't add up too $1700 USD.

[RF007]

seems great, although you may want another PSU.. Preferably an evga or seasonic if you can 

 

Oh really, I was under the impression Corsair builder series was a popular and reliable psu option.

Any reason behind going for the other brands?

[Flight1sim]

Oh really, I was under the impression Corsair builder series was a popular and reliable psu option.

Any reason behind going for the other brands?

Well just for higher quality capacitors in general, but i actually have a corsair and it's been perfect for me. It's just that some people say that you should go with seasonic or evga over Corsair. But it's all right as far as I can tell

[Janssent11041]

Oh really, I was under the impression Corsair builder series was a popular and reliable psu option.

Any reason behind going for the other brands?

popular, not reliable...

It's what's on the inside that matters, and for Corsairs PSUs that isn't good.

[Flight1sim]

popular, not reliable...

It's what's on the inside that matters, and for Corsairs PSUs that isn't good.

They're still decent and tbh I've seen many corsair PSU's being reliable

[TechDookie]

Why go for the I7? Your not going to see much performance difference as exhibited by Linus's new video.

 

You could switch the I7 to I5 and use the money to up power supply and maybe get a better GPU.

[GzeroD]

Also if your in the US your budget allows you to get a second 970 if you upgrade your power supply.

[GzeroD]

Why go for the I7? Your not going to see much performance difference as exhibited by Linus's new video.

 

You could switch the I7 to I5 and use the money to up power supply and maybe get a better GPU.

He is using a 970, getting a 980 seems like a poor choice for an upgrade price/performance wise. also the I7 may handle DX12 better when we get games that support it.

[RF007]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($324.99 @ SuperBiiz)

CPU Cooler: Arctic Cooling ACFZI30 74.0 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler  ($32.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Motherboard: MSI Z97-GAMING 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($139.89 @ OutletPC)

Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2400 Memory  ($84.99 @ Amazon)

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($59.99 @ Amazon)

Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($124.99 @ Amazon)

Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card  ($319.99 @ Amazon)

Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($39.99 @ Newegg)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($87.89 @ OutletPC)

Other: Spec-03 ($85.00)

Total: $1300.71

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-13 20:06 EDT-0400

 

This is your current list if I read that all right. are you in Canada or Australia because that doesn't add up too $1700 USD.

 

I'm in the UK, and will be buying from one online supplier. I've got it all in a basket, and it comes to around £1,150 which I converted to dollars.

You're right, I'm not quite sure how that adds up but I figured doing pounds->dollars would work...

[GzeroD]

I'm in the UK, and will be buying from one online supplier. I've got it all in a basket, and it comes to around £1,150 which I converted to dollars.

You're right, I'm not quite sure how that adds up but I figured doing pounds->dollars would work...

Might want to check that cart.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  (£265.00 @ Amazon UK)

CPU Cooler: Arctic Cooling ACFZI30 74.0 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler  (£26.36 @ Amazon UK)

Motherboard: MSI Z97-GAMING 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  (£109.14 @ Scan.co.uk)

Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2400 Memory  (£56.98 @ Amazon UK)

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (£53.95 @ Amazon UK)

Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (£101.20 @ Aria PC)

Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card  (£272.99 @ Amazon UK)

Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  (£52.99 @ Amazon UK)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  (£75.37 @ CCL Computers)

Other: Spec-03 Case  (£53.00)

Total: £1066.98

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-14 01:23 BST+0100

 

almost 100 cheaper. then again I wouldn't get that ram 2400Mhz is too little gain and to high voltage for my taste.

[MRE Teck]

Seems good but there are a few things:

- If I buy 8gb I wouldn't go higher than 2133Mhz

- Not to sure about that cooler

- Try SLI if you can afford it

- I don't really prefer the low end 80+ bronze unless it's a really budget oriented build

Most of those aren't really that important so the build is pretty good!

[RF007]

Why go for the I7? Your not going to see much performance difference as exhibited by Linus's new video.

 

You could switch the I7 to I5 and use the money to up power supply and maybe get a better GPU.

 

 

Also if your in the US your budget allows you to get a second 970 if you upgrade your power supply.

 

The reason I have gone for the i7 is that the supplier has a MOBO+CPU bundle for 4690k (I'm assuming this was the i5 mentioned ) and 4790k (the i7) which only have a £25 difference.

I've found that benchmark wise the 980 is very high up, and is surrounded by much more expensive cards (a couple hundred more) which I can't quite justify.

[techguru]

Oh really, I was under the impression Corsair builder series was a popular and reliable psu option.

Any reason behind going for the other brands?

the corsair CX and CS models are junk psu's..

a seasonic black psu is much better built..and not too much more

corsairs higher end psu's are good..but if you are gonna pay for them..might as well just get a seasonic

[RF007]

Might want to check that cart.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  (£265.00 @ Amazon UK)

CPU Cooler: Arctic Cooling ACFZI30 74.0 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler  (£26.36 @ Amazon UK)

Motherboard: MSI Z97-GAMING 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  (£109.14 @ Scan.co.uk)

Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2400 Memory  (£56.98 @ Amazon UK)

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (£53.95 @ Amazon UK)

Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (£101.20 @ Aria PC)

Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card  (£272.99 @ Amazon UK)

Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  (£52.99 @ Amazon UK)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  (£75.37 @ CCL Computers)

Other: Spec-03 Case  (£53.00)

Total: £1066.98

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-14 01:23 BST+0100

 

almost 100 cheaper. then again I wouldn't get that ram 2400Mhz is too little gain and to high voltage for my taste.

 

I've had a look at this...

It seems that I might have confused myself between choosing 120gb or 250gb for SSD - I can't remember which I settled on.

This price doesn't include the case (it doesn't appear)

I was looking to buy from just one place as oppose to getting the cheapest from multiple places (I think...)

 

So RAM with a lower Mhz/Voltage maybe...

[RF007]

the corsair CX and CS models are junk psu's..

a seasonic black psu is much better built..and not too much more

corsairs higher end psu's are good..but if you are gonna pay for them..might as well just get a seasonic

 

Wow, it sure seems like there are lots of seasonic psu's with gold, platinum... any pointers?

[RF007]

Seems good but there are a few things:

- If I buy 8gb I wouldn't go higher than 2133Mhz

- Not to sure about that cooler

- Try SLI if you can afford it

- I don't really prefer the low end 80+ bronze unless it's a really budget oriented build

Most of those aren't really that important so the build is pretty good!

 

I'm avoiding SLI because I can't quite bring myself to buy two cards, seems a tiny bit excessive.

Coolers aren't quite my strongpoint, I tried to find one that would suit the cpu best...

I might start looking at lower RAM, PC partpicker seems to have queried voltages in relation to the CPU recommendation...

[RF007]

Why go for the I7? Your not going to see much performance difference as exhibited by Linus's new video.

 

You could switch the I7 to I5 and use the money to up power supply and maybe get a better GPU.

 

Can't seem to find this vid, any help?

[MRE Teck]

I'm avoiding SLI because I can't quite bring myself to buy two cards, seems a tiny bit excessive.

Coolers aren't quite my strongpoint, I tried to find one that would suit the cpu best...

I might start looking at lower RAM, PC partpicker seems to have queried voltages in relation to the CPU recommendation...

In the way of coolers try the corsair h80i

[GzeroD]

I've had a look at this...

It seems that I might have confused myself between choosing 120gb or 250gb for SSD - I can't remember which I settled on.

This price doesn't include the case (it doesn't appear)

I was looking to buy from just one place as oppose to getting the cheapest from multiple places (I think...)

 

So RAM with a lower Mhz/Voltage maybe...

That price does include case. the case was an addon because it was not in the pc part picker database its the last thing listed before the total.

 

I would go with some lower voltage ram. a 120 GB ssd is fine for an os drive or go for a  250 if you want to put your most played games on it.

[IrshaadH]

Go 4690k instead and get a better psu

[RF007]

In the way of coolers try the corsair h80i

 

Is this watercooled? I'm not quite sure what that entails...

Fans seem like a safer option (but I may be wrong!)

[GzeroD]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  (£265.00 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  (£25.31 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: MSI Z97-GAMING 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  (£109.14 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  (£95.95 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (£53.95 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (£101.20 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card  (£272.99 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  (£90.11 @ Amazon UK)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  (£75.37 @ CCL Computers)
Other: Spec-03 Case  (£53.00)
Total: £1142.02
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-14 01:52 BST+0100

 

Thats what I would go with. I am a heavy ram user so I went with 16Gb of slower ram, as well as a higher wattage well regarded PSU, that will allow you to go SLI later if you find the need for it. I also switched to the more reviewed Hyper 212 Evo cooler because I couldn't find any reviews for the one you listed and I know that the 212 is good for low to moderate overclocks.

 

CASE is listed just before the total price.

[GzeroD]

Is this watercooled? I'm not quite sure what that entails...

Fans seem like a safer option (but I may be wrong!)

That is a CLC (CLosed loop Cooler) they are safe and perform quite well. Weather the added expense is worth the improvement depends on the temps you want to keep at as well as how far you want to Overclock.