First build and looking for advice...

[rpcruab]

Hello folks.  I am getting ready to build my first PC and am having trouble deciding which CPU cooling solution I should go with.  I've been reading a lot of good reviews on Noctua air cooling units and the Corsair H100 for water cooling.  Can anyone offer their insight based on my parts list?  Should I go air, water, stock?  Feel free to give me pointers regarding the build itself if you see anything wonky, as this is my first go around.

 

Here's the list!

Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor

Asus MAXIMUS VI GENE Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard

Corsair Vengeance LP 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory

Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk

Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive

EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card

Corsair 350D Window MicroATX Mid Tower Case

Corsair 860W 80 PLUS Platinum Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply

Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer

Microsoft Windows 8 Professional (OEM) (64-bit)

 

Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[AraSarkisyan]

860 w psu is too much, if only gaming get a ASrock Extreme 4 and a i5. Wait till AMD Radeon HD 9XXX series that launches in October.

[rhyseyness]

Cooling depends on your use. If you're going to overclock, then a custom water loop, swiftech h220 or corsair H100i would all be pretty good choices.

Since this is your first build, I'd go for the H100i. I have one and it does a great job.

If you're air cooling, noctua is always a good choice, and you will still be able to overclock.

Also, what are you going to be using the pc for? If it's gaming, I'd get an I5 rather than I7. Those extra cores aren't going to help in current games.

That caviar black could be downgraded to a seagate barracuda, or a lower grade WD drive, and you'll see little loss in performace, especially since you have the SSD (As a cache or just os and key apps?)

Finally, that PSU does seem overkill. I have a Corsair HX650+ for a more power hungry system than yours (see my signature).

If that saves you enough money, upgrade the GPU to a 780 (if a gaming rig), if not, then a bigger SSD can never be a bad thing.

That case... I'm not good with cases, so someone else will have to let you know if it will support any of the coolers you/i've listed.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

 

Rhys

[coen113]

that PSU is overkill, 600 should be more than enough. and, a ASUS maximus is more than you need, unless you need all the fancy stuff and want a desk thingy

[WoodenMarker]

You could go for much cheaper parts that would do the job just as well.

What's the system being used for?

[rhyseyness]

that PSU is overkill, 600 should be more than enough. and, a ASUS maximus is more than you need, unless you need all the fancy stuff and want a desk thingy

Yea I missed that, that mobo could be downgraded a bit. I personally wouldn't have use for all the features.

If you think you will then obviously, go for it, but not a lot differentiates motherboards these days. VRM design and features.

Unless you're going for an insane overclock (which I doubt you are based on the coolers you're looking at), I would advise against buying such an expensive motherboard.

[coen113]

Yea I missed that, that mobo could be downgraded a bit. I personally wouldn't have use for all the features.

If you think you will then obviously, go for it, but not a lot differentiates motherboards these days. VRM design and features.

Unless you're going for an insane overclock (which I doubt you are based on the coolers you're looking at), I would advise against buying such an expensive motherboard.

yeah. 100 dollar mobos are fine, i use a GD55, and it has more than i need, for 120e

[Kiwiandapple]

You should read this before posting!

 

If you have any idea - 16gb off ram and an i7 are used for editing and will only help for doing that. If this is going to be used for gaming. Then you dont need that. 

[rpcruab]

860 w psu is too much, if only gaming get a ASrock Extreme 4 and a i5. Wait till AMD Radeon HD 9XXX series that launches in October.

 

 

Cooling depends on your use. If you're going to overclock, then a custom water loop, swiftech h220 or corsair H100i would all be pretty good choices.

Since this is your first build, I'd go for the H100i. I have one and it does a great job.

If you're air cooling, noctua is always a good choice, and you will still be able to overclock.

Also, what are you going to be using the pc for? If it's gaming, I'd get an I5 rather than I7. Those extra cores aren't going to help in current games.

That caviar black could be downgraded to a seagate barracuda, or a lower grade WD drive, and you'll see little loss in performace, especially since you have the SSD (As a cache or just os and key apps?)

Finally, that PSU does seem overkill. I have a Corsair HX650+ for a more power hungry system than yours (see my signature).

If that saves you enough money, upgrade the GPU to a 780 (if a gaming rig), if not, then a bigger SSD can never be a bad thing.

That case... I'm not good with cases, so someone else will have to let you know if it will support any of the coolers you/i've listed.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

 

Rhys

 

 

that PSU is overkill, 600 should be more than enough. and, a ASUS maximus is more than you need, unless you need all the fancy stuff and want a desk thingy

 

 

You could go for much cheaper parts that would do the job just as well.

What's the system being used for?

 

 

Yea I missed that, that mobo could be downgraded a bit. I personally wouldn't have use for all the features.

If you think you will then obviously, go for it, but not a lot differentiates motherboards these days. VRM design and features.

Unless you're going for an insane overclock (which I doubt you are based on the coolers you're looking at), I would advise against buying such an expensive motherboard.

 

 

yeah. 100 dollar mobos are fine, i use a GD55, and it has more than i need, for 120e

 

 

You should read this before posting!

 

If you have any idea - 16gb off ram and an i7 are used for editing and will only help for doing that. If this is going to be used for gaming. Then you dont need that. 

 

Wow!  Thanks for all the feedback!  I will attempt to respond to everything at once here.

 

This computer will be used for gaming AND intensive photoshop use.  I will be doing some conservative to moderate video editing, but the majority of my work will be with Adobe (Lightroom, CS6, Elements).  I typically take about 30GB-60GB of RAW (CR2) photos a week which I load into my Adobe workflow.  hope this helps you folks with suggestions.  Sorry Kiwi, I should have posted my usage in the first post. :lol:

From what I've gathered so far, I should downgrade my PSU, motherboard, and HDD?  Maybe upgrade to a 780 for gaming and a larger SSD for apps!  Based on you statement Kiwi, I should probably stick with the i7 and RAM so I can edit effeciently, correct?

 

Thanks again folks!  This computer building stuff is making me feel like an idiot! :lol:

 

[rhyseyness]

Wow!  Thanks for all the feedback!  I will attempt to respond to everything at once here.

 

This computer will be used for gaming AND intensive photoshop use.  I will be doing some conservative to moderate video editing, but the majority of my work will be with Adobe (Lightroom, CS6, Elements).  I typically take about 30GB-60GB of RAW (CR2) photos a week which I load into my Adobe workflow.  hope this helps you folks with suggestions.  Sorry Kiwi, I should have posted my usage in the first post. :lol:

From what I've gathered so far, I should downgrade my PSU, motherboard, and HDD?  Maybe upgrade to a 780 for gaming and a larger SSD for apps!  Based on you statement Kiwi, I should probably stick with the i7 and RAM so I can edit effeciently, correct?

 

Thanks again folks!  This computer building stuff is making me feel like an idiot! :lol:

 

Yea sounds like a plan. I mean you know how much storage space you'll need too.

You'll see huge improvemets running adobe applications like cs6 off of an ssd over a hdd.

I'm no expert, but I don't know if you'll need an i7 for photoshop use (let someone who knows more about it tell you).

I do however know that that 16GB of memory is probably about right.

The upgrades and downgrades you've listed above look good to me, and that's what I'd do in your use case :-) (with the possible exception of that cpu (I'd use an i5 instead))

[rpcruab]

Yea sounds like a plan. I mean you know how much storage space you'll need too.

You'll see huge improvemets running adobe applications like cs6 off of an ssd over a hdd.

I'm no expert, but I don't know if you'll need an i7 for photoshop use (let someone who knows more about it tell you).

I do however know that that 16GB of memory is probably about right.

The upgrades and downgrades you've listed above look good to me, and that's what I'd do in your use case :-) (with the possible exception of that cpu (I'd use an i5 instead))

 

So you think that the i5 is capable of intensive Adobe usage to the point that an i7 is unecessary?  This has been a struggle for me as I am compudumb at the moment and can't figure out what I'm doing and what I need. :lol:

[WoodenMarker]

This computer will be used for gaming AND intensive photoshop use.  I will be doing some conservative to moderate video editing, but the majority of my work will be with Adobe (Lightroom, CS6, Elements).  I typically take about 30GB-60GB of RAW (CR2) photos a week which I load into my Adobe workflow.  hope this helps you folks with suggestions.  Sorry Kiwi, I should have posted my usage in the first post. :lol:

From what I've gathered so far, I should downgrade my PSU, motherboard, and HDD?  Maybe upgrade to a 780 for gaming and a larger SSD for apps!  Based on you statement Kiwi, I should probably stick with the i7 and RAM so I can edit effeciently, correct?

Sounds like the right idea--maybe not the 780 though. It's not really a good value. There are probably better options.

What's your budget? Are you in a rush to make the system? The 9000 series is coming out in October and it'd be good if you could wait for them to come out for a more informed decisions as it may be better or will just lower the prices of existing parts.

So you think that the i5 is capable of intensive Adobe usage to the point that an i7 is unecessary?  This has been a struggle for me as I am compudumb at the moment and can't figure out what I'm doing and what I need. :lol:

It depends how serious your work is. The extra threads help with rendering scenes in CAD but an i5 sounds good if you're not too heavy on video editing or heavier rendering. Photoshop gets into diminishing returns as you add more cores/threads.

[rpcruab]

Sounds like the right idea--maybe not the 780 though. It's not really a good value. There are probably better options.

What's your budget? Are you in a rush to make the system? The 9000 series is coming out in October and it'd be good if you could wait for them to come out for a more informed decisions as it may be better or will just lower the prices of existing parts.

It depends how serious your work is. The extra threads help with rendering scenes in CAD but an i5 sounds good if you're not too heavy on video editing or heavier rendering. Photoshop gets into diminishing returns as you add more cores/threads.

 

My initial build list utilized an EVGA 770...plenty capable?  Is upgrading to 3GB 384-bit cards worth the extra money?  My ideal budget is around $1500...I could go as high as $2000, but would LOVE to build a highly capable PC for as little money as possible (obviously).  I would say that my work is "serious" in regards to clients depending on fast turnaround on large photography jobs, but I don't plan on doing 3d rendering/super intensive video editing at the moment.  Hope this helps.

[WoodenMarker]

My initial build list utilized an EVGA 770...plenty capable?  Is upgrading to 3GB 384-bit cards worth the extra money?  My ideal budget is around $1500...I could go as high as $2000, but would LOVE to build a highly capable PC for as little money as possible (obviously).  I would say that my work is "serious" in regards to clients depending on fast turnaround on large photography jobs, but I don't plan on doing 3d rendering/super intensive video editing at the moment.  Hope this helps.

As long as you're not heavy on After Effects, going AMD with a 7970 for OpenCL would be a more powerful and cheaper option.

 

Here's my recommendation: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1AD3b

Crossfire ready.

[rpcruab]

As long as you're not heavy on After Effects, going AMD with a 7970 for OpenCL would be a more powerful and cheaper option.

 

Here's my recommendation: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1AD3b

Crossfire ready.

 

Thanks for the info!  A lot to chew on for a bit.

[rhyseyness]

As long as you're not heavy on After Effects, going AMD with a 7970 for OpenCL would be a more powerful and cheaper option.

Here's my recommendation: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1AD3b

Crossfire ready.

This sounds like a good plan. I don't do any heavy photo editing or rendering work, so I wouldn't know, but I've heard open cl is somewhat better than cuda.

Also I'd go for the i5 based on what WM has said :-)

[LonliestofAll]

If you can wait for the 9XXX series of GPU's from AMD, wait as i think they will provide alot more power for the price to performance ratio than a GTX770. Other than that WoodenMarker's build looks pretty strong and cheap for the performance. 

[rpcruab]

I was looking into the Gigabyte board that WoodenMarker recommended and I'm hearing alot about random BSOD's among other issues.  Has anyone here used this board that can share their experiences?

[rpcruab]

Thanks for the feedback.  Will be looking into cuda vs opencl/nvidia vs amd more!

[WoodenMarker]

This sounds like a good plan. I don't do any heavy photo editing or rendering work, so I wouldn't know, but I've heard open cl is somewhat better than cuda.

Also I'd go for the i5 based on what WM has said :-)

OpenCL is basically cuda but open source and works a bit differently. It isn't restricted to AMD but AMD is substantially ahead of Nvidia in OpenCL and has more raw power in their gpus as well. 

Due to it being open source, everyone is moving towards it over CUDA.

I was looking into the Gigabyte board that WoodenMarker recommended and I'm hearing alot about random BSOD's among other issues.  Has anyone here used this board that can share their experiences?

Really, already? It's a rather new board.