Light Editing and Gaming PC

[PauseTheCat]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/gzyTxr

 

I was wondering if everything looks alright for some light editing, a very small amount of animating, and gaming. Something that I'm concerned about is the length of the Gigabyte 970 in the Blackhawk. I would really prefer to not remove any of the drive cases if possible to keep it looking nice. If I have to, I can change the three fan 970 Windforce to the two fan. Don't worry about the keyboard I won't plan on keeping it for very long. I would eventually like to work up to the Blackwidow Chroma but it isn't a high priority. If you see any other improvements please tell me. For example, I'm pretty new and inexperienced with computer building and parts so I don't know what might be good for cooling. Thank you! Also, even though a lot of you consider Minecraft a joke, it is very strange with what it likes and I do enjoy playing it every so often, so if you have any suggestions/improvements based on that information I would appreciate it.

[AdamH96]

Looks good! Not sure about the size of that GPU in that case though.

 

Edit: looking through, that card is 310mm and that case can only fit 300mm cards in with the drive cages in, 420mm with out. check the compatibility not near the bottom of the page.

[PauseTheCat]

Oh well. I really liked the blue LEDs of the Windforce but I would rather have all of the drive cages in for aesthetics. For my whole setup I would like black as the main color with blue accents (LEDs mostly).

[brob]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/gzyTxr

 

I was wondering if everything looks alright for some light editing, a very small amount of animating, and gaming. Something that I'm concerned about is the length of the Gigabyte 970 in the Blackhawk. I would really prefer to not remove any of the drive cases if possible to keep it looking nice. If I have to, I can change the three fan 970 Windforce to the two fan. Don't worry about the keyboard I won't plan on keeping it for very long. I would eventually like to work up to the Blackwidow Chroma but it isn't a high priority. If you see any other improvements please tell me. For example, I'm pretty new and inexperienced with computer building and parts so I don't know what might be good for cooling. Thank you! Also, even though a lot of you consider Minecraft a joke, it is very strange with what it likes and I do enjoy playing it every so often, so if you have any suggestions/improvements based on that information I would appreciate it.

 

Why not an EVGA ACX 2.0 gpu? I believe there are blue accents on the GTX 970 models.

[PauseTheCat]

I changed the GPU to EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card. I don't think it has the blue LED but it will fit.

[PauseTheCat]

Okay, I see the blue accents now. That'll do I think.

[Weak1ings]

You will have to remove the HDD cage to fit that GPU inside the case.  However, this is easy thanks to them being remove-able.

 

Now for the EVGA, you will not have to remove the HDD cage.

Edited June 28, 2015 by Weak1ings

[PauseTheCat]

You will have to remove the HDD cage to fit that GPU inside the case.  However, this is easy thanks to them being remove-able.

 

Now for the EVGA, you will not have to remove the HDD cage.

I think I will just go for the EVGA ACX. It has some blue accents and I would prefer not to remove any drive cages for aesthetic reasons.

[stconquest]

Comparative build:

 

$1260

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($242.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! PURE ROCK 87.0 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($24.90 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($69.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($48.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($89.99 @ Adorama)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($47.99 @ Best Buy)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card  ($329.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 300R Windowed ATX Mid Tower Case  ($86.99 @ Mwave)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer  ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 OEM (64-bit)  ($85.75 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: LG 23MP57HQ-P 60Hz 23.0" Monitor  ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Logitech K120 Wired Standard Keyboard  ($9.99 @ Micro Center)
Total: $1230.44
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-28 00:20 EDT-0400

[Lotus]

Here's an option:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($242.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($69.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($89.99 @ Adorama)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($47.99 @ Best Buy)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 290 4GB PCS+ Video Card  ($242.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer  ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit)  ($86.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Asus VN248H 23.8" Monitor  ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Logitech K120 Wired Standard Keyboard  ($9.99 @ Micro Center)
Total: $1116.76
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-28 00:22 EDT-0400

 

 

If you want to do some editing/rendering, and still play games the Xeon E3 1231 V3 is basically a locked i7 with no iGPU, but since we have a dedicated GPU that's really no downside. It's way cheaper than an i7 too. I chose the R9 290 because it's almost as good as the GTX 970, yet is significantly cheaper. Overall this keeps the performance you had and increases the multi-threaded CPU performance for workstation tasks. Plus it's cheaper.

[PauseTheCat]

Comparative build:

 

$1260

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($242.99 @ SuperBiiz)

CPU Cooler: be quiet! PURE ROCK 87.0 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($24.90 @ Newegg)

Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($69.89 @ OutletPC)

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($48.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($89.99 @ Adorama)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($47.99 @ Best Buy)

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE 3X Video Card  ($329.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Case: Corsair Carbide Series 300R Windowed ATX Mid Tower Case  ($86.99 @ Mwave)

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($59.99 @ NCIX US)

Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer  ($12.99 @ Newegg)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 OEM (64-bit)  ($85.75 @ OutletPC)

Monitor: LG 23MP57HQ-P 60Hz 23.0" Monitor  ($119.99 @ Newegg)

Keyboard: Logitech K120 Wired Standard Keyboard  ($9.99 @ Micro Center)

Total: $1230.44

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-28 00:20 EDT-0400

That made me remeber another question; Is it better to have the i5, which is overclockable, or the xeon, which has hyperthreading?

[Lotus]

That made me remeber another question; Is it better to have the i5, which is overclockable, or the xeon, which has hyperthreading?

Depends on what you're looking for. overclocked i5 will have higher single-threaded performance, and the Xeon will have higher multi-threaded performance. Both will be able to max games out, but the Xeon 1231 V3 will do better in workstation tasks.

[stconquest]

What he said^^^

 

[PauseTheCat]

Here's an option:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($242.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($69.89 @ OutletPC)

Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($52.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($89.99 @ Adorama)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($47.99 @ Best Buy)

Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 290 4GB PCS+ Video Card  ($242.98 @ Newegg)

Case: Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($69.99 @ Newegg)

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($59.99 @ NCIX US)

Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer  ($12.99 @ Newegg)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit)  ($86.98 @ OutletPC)

Monitor: Asus VN248H 23.8" Monitor  ($129.99 @ Newegg)

Keyboard: Logitech K120 Wired Standard Keyboard  ($9.99 @ Micro Center)

Total: $1116.76

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-28 00:22 EDT-0400

 

 

If you want to do some editing/rendering, and still play games the Xeon E3 1231 V3 is basically a locked i7 with no iGPU, but since we have a dedicated GPU that's really no downside. It's way cheaper than an i7 too. I chose the R9 290 because it's almost as good as the GTX 970, yet is significantly cheaper. Overall this keeps the performance you had and increases the multi-threaded CPU performance for workstation tasks. Plus it's cheaper.

That is definitely something I will consider.

[PauseTheCat]

Xeon is probably my best choice then.

[stconquest]

That is definitely something I will consider.

 

Look at the other parts though.  Things like the PSU are better quality.  The monitor is an 23" IPS panel.  The BX100 SSD as well.