First Build - Advice appreciated

[Roo]

1. Budget & Location

~£1200, UK

2. Aim

Gaming, software development & light CAD/3D modelling work.

3. Monitors

1x 1680x1050 (main, gaming)

1x 1440x900 (secondary, monitoring)

4. Peripherals

Sorted.

5. Why are you upgrading?

University.

Build

Primarily, I will be ordering from Scan.co.uk unless the same part is cheaper on Amazon and Prime eligible. Is there anything you would change or do differently about this build?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£183.78 @ Scan.co.uk)

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L12 37.8 CFM CPU Cooler (£43.67 @ Scan.co.uk)

Motherboard: Asus GRYPHON Z87 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£125.84 @ Scan.co.uk)

Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£134.59 @ Scan.co.uk)

Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£145.50 @ Scan.co.uk)

Storage: Western Digital WD Green 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive (£69.84 @ Scan.co.uk)

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card (£328.78 @ Scan.co.uk)

Case Fan: Noctua NF-F12 PWM 55.0 CFM 120mm Fan (£16.94 @ Scan.co.uk)

Power Supply: Corsair RM 550W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£88.26 @ Scan.co.uk)

Other: Silverstone SST-TJ08B-E (£84.64)

Total: £1221.84

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£178.79 @ Aria PC)

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L12 37.8 CFM CPU Cooler (£43.67 @ Scan.co.uk)

Motherboard: Asus GRYPHON Z87 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£119.05 @ Ebuyer)

Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£39.15 @ Amazon UK)

Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£39.15 @ Amazon UK)

Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£134.80 @ Amazon UK)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£64.94 @ CCL Computers)

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card (£258.99 @ Amazon UK)

Case Fan: Noctua NF-F12 PWM 55.0 CFM 120mm Fan (£16.94 @ Scan.co.uk)

Power Supply: Corsair RM 550W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£85.99 @ Aria PC)

Other: Silverstone SST-TJ08B-E (£84.64)

Total: £1066.11

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-30 06:44 BST+0100)

Thanks for reading

[Excon]

Pretty good I hope to see a build log. I still have to suggest you get the 7970 over the 770. Also get a Seagate Barracuda instead of a WD Green.

[CoolBeans]

You will probably want to upgrade one of those crap monitors to a 1080P one

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor (£141.59 @ Aria PC)

CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (£83.32 @ Amazon UK)

Motherboard: Asus SABERTOOTH 990FX R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£129.90 @ Amazon UK)

Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£81.81 @ Amazon UK)

Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£134.80 @ Amazon UK)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£50.00 @ Ebuyer)

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card (£258.99 @ Amazon UK)

Case: Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (£70.00 @ Ebuyer)

Power Supply: SeaSonic M12II 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£88.50 @ Scan.co.uk)

Monitor: Asus VW228TLB 21.5" Monitor (£136.24 @ Amazon UK)

Total: £1175.15

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-30 05:59 BST+0100)

[_ASSASSIN_]

Upgrade dem monitors if you are getting a beast like that

[helping]

 

What the hell is this? YOU ACTUALLY READ THE STICKY?

Revolutionary indeed, it's almost like it was put there for this purpose.

 

The RAM is a bit overpriced, 8350 would do better with CAD/Video work while performing the same if not better than the i5 on gaming, choice is up to you if you want to switch platforms or not. If you must buy now, I would strongly implore you to buy a 7970 instead since they're selling for stupidly cheap. If you can wait, put it off until mid October after R9 series release and come back to the forums to decide on a card.

 

Corsair ram overpriced, nothing new, your choice. Cooler is fine. Go with a barracuda, if not at least get a 7200 WD drive. Assuming that case is mATX, you're good on that. If you don't need SLI/CFX that PSU is fine as well.

 

@CoolBeans has a good build there, only thing I would consider changing is that H100i to either a Kraken x60 or NDH14 and working in 16gb kit if you can. Case is also arbitrary, just make sure your chosen cooler fits.

[Evan Owen]

The WD green is not a good drive, try upgrading to the blue version at least if you can't afford WD black.

[Jaybird]

the two opinions mentioned are you best bet. I stand by both of their position on the hardware. 

[Roo]

Pretty good I hope to see a build log. I still have to suggest you get the 7970 over the 770. Also get a Seagate Barracuda instead of a WD Green.

 

Thanks, I'm not completely decided on the GPU yet, I guess I'm waiting to see the prices on AMD's new series of cards.

 

Message received, don't get WD Green.

 

You will probably want to upgrade one of those crap monitors to a 1080P one

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor (£141.59 @ Aria PC)

CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (£83.32 @ Amazon UK)

Motherboard: Asus SABERTOOTH 990FX R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£129.90 @ Amazon UK)

Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£81.81 @ Amazon UK)

Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£134.80 @ Amazon UK)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£50.00 @ Ebuyer)

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card (£258.99 @ Amazon UK)

Case: Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (£70.00 @ Ebuyer)

Power Supply: SeaSonic M12II 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£88.50 @ Scan.co.uk)

Monitor: Asus VW228TLB 21.5" Monitor (£136.24 @ Amazon UK)

Total: £1175.15

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-30 05:59 BST+0100)

The monitors have lasted me this long, a bit longer wont hurt, also 16:10's are expensive . I'd rather keep it small stay mATX, I'm only going to have a GPU so I don't need the extra PCIe slots that ATX offers. I had considered the AMD route but they don't seem to have the same level of quality mATX boards available. I'm definitely going to change the RAM out now though, initially it was a cosmetic thing but now I seen how pointless it is.

 

What the hell is this? YOU ACTUALLY READ THE STICKY?

Revolutionary indeed, it's almost like it was put there for this purpose.

The RAM is a bit overpriced, 8350 would do better with CAD/Video work while performing the same if not better than the i5 on gaming, choice is up to you if you want to switch platforms or not. If you must buy now, I would strongly implore you to buy a 7970 instead since they're selling for stupidly cheap. If you can wait, put it off until mid October after R9 series release and come back to the forums to decide on a card.

Corsair ram overpriced, nothing new, your choice. Cooler is fine. Go with a barracuda, if not at least get a 7200 WD drive. Assuming that case is mATX, you're good on that. If you don't need SLI/CFX that PSU is fine as well.

@CoolBeans has a good build there, only thing I would consider changing is that H100i to either a Kraken x60 or NDH14 and working in 16gb kit if you can. Case is also arbitrary, just make sure your chosen cooler fits.

No no it's not like that, I swear!  I was about to post then I though 'there's probably a sticky I have to read..'

The WD green is not a good drive, try upgrading to the blue version at least if you can't afford WD black.

the two opinions mentioned are you best bet. I stand by both of their position on the hardware.

 

Message received, don't get WD Green & get 7970/wait for R9 series.

[ChicagoRAW]

I liked your initial build. Having had an AMD in my last build and Intel in my current, I prefer intel. I also prefer NVIDIA for gpu, i can see going with the 7970 because of price. But if I were you I'd definetly save up for a new monitor, nothing less than 24inches and 1080p is my standard. With that kinda beast rig, why limit yourself to a small monitor and not get the most full experience possible.

[WoodenMarker]

You will probably want to upgrade one of those crap monitors to a 1080P one

PCPartPicker part list

Edits: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/1JcuN

Crossfire ready. Replace stock h100i and case stock fans with sickleflows. 2 for h100i on top. Front 2 intake and rear 1 exhaust.