So I am building a "future proof", thoughts?

PAN1K · May 8, 2013

My component list
=====================

So in the image I have linked these are currently the components I have for my new PC.

I am a freelance graphic designer who also studies game design and to top it I also play competitive gaming too so this PC needs to fit all my needs and run practically anything as stable and long lasting as possible.

Based of research I have gone with these components so far but I want to get the opinion of a community with years more experience than I do with PC's.

If any changes could be made, what should be changed and keep it within a £1430 budget. ( INCLUDING P&P )

Thanks again.

edogawa · May 8, 2013

You don't need an Asus Xonar unless you have half way decent audio equipment.

For a single 1080p display a Asus GTX 670 with 2GB of VRAM is plenty.

Seasonic make high quality power supply units.

Samsung has reliable SSDs.

Black drive because of warranty and reliability.

I am not familiar with retailers outside of US so my help is limited.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£239.59 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (£89.98 @ Dabs)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V LK ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£98.39 @ Aria PC)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£77.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£105.54 @ Aria PC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£119.99 @ Ebuyer)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card (£343.47 @ Misco UK)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (Red) ATX Mid Tower Case (£96.05 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 760W 80 PLUS Platinum Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£154.58 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Optical Drive: LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 Professional (OEM) (64-bit) (£100.79 @ Aria PC)
Total: £1426.37
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-08 23:54 BST+0100)

truprecht · May 8, 2013

IMO, the component that is likely to become obsolete first is the GPU. For graphics and gaming you probably won't get much benefit from the i7-3770k over an i5-3570k, and unless you're really intent on overclocking past, say, 4.3Ghz, you would do fine with a good air cooler like a CoolerMaster Hyper 212 EVO. Those two changes will save you ~150, which you could use to upgrade the GPU to a GTX 680 or HD 7970.

[edit] I agree with edogawa that a GTX 670 is all you need now for 1080p. You seem intent on making it last, so I figured a little overkill on the GPU now will get you an extra year of usability down the road. However, I think over time you get the best value staying away from the very high end and just upgrading more often.

PAN1K · May 8, 2013

edogawa :

- What sort of overclocking could I do with this build and would it not be better to have ram which can be clocked to higher speeds?

- Would that SSD be enough to store multiple games and multi-media software, I use UDK, Autodesk and Adobe software frequently.

- Is the PSU powerful enough to support a PC with these sort of components?

- I decided to add in a sound card because of competitive gaming, I like clear,crisp audio which will play through my headset at a higher quality than a onboard. Plus recordings too are a lot clearer, but is that necessary or does this not affect overall audio significantly? Or would it be better to stick with my current decision on the motherboard and use that ones onboard?

That is a nice build though I have to say.

edogawa · May 8, 2013

truprecht :

I agree that the hyper 212 evo would be good, but if he wants something that isn't hanging off motherboard and can easily do 4.5ghz that's a good way to go.

Depending on the programs he uses hyper-threading may benefit him, but I'm not game designer, so I can't give a good answer there.

edogawa · May 8, 2013

PAN1K :

I did some adjusting, had trouble finding hardware for outside of US. XP

You can do 4.5ghz(no higher) easily with an H100i. Ram above 1600mhz for gaming basically gives you almost no performance gains, just not worth it. 9-9-9-24 1600mhz is optimal.

Anyways, if you want to store games and those various programs on the SSD I would have to say 240GB is what you will need then.

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/samsung-internal-hard-drive-mz7pd256bw

There are other SSD that size for cheaper, just look around at retailers in your country.

Games don't benefit to much from a SSD, so a mechanical hard drive is good. Just install steam onto mechanical drive.

The 760 watt power supply is easily more than enough. If you overclock never buy a cheap power supply.

On board on modern motherboards is a ton better than what it used to be, but it depends on what your using for audio. (Let me know what you're using.)

The maximus gene v is a good board too, but you can piratically choose any z77 board you like to be honest. You cannot SLI and use a sound card on the gene V too.

Keep in mind you may want to wait for three weeks for 700 series graphics cards so a 770 is what you will want, and same price as a 670 too. Not sure exactly if it will be three weeks depending where your from exactly.

Haswell releases June 4th too, but no significant improvements for those processors over ivy-bridge.

AustinS · May 8, 2013

I would have to agree with truprecht. You will not gain much from most modern games (save Crysis and many upcoming ones) from the 3770k over a 3570k as most games can only use 2 cores, as well as hyperthreading cannot be utilized. Although, Crysis has changed this. It is able to use as many cores as possible as it is highly optimized for it, but you would only gain maybe a few more frames, but no more than 4-5, if that.

One big thing in your build, is the power supply, you have an 800w psu there, but you would only need at most 600 watts. And even if you were to get a 680 or 7970 by going with the i5 3570k, and possibly a cheaper cooler. And yes, he is also right on the gpu becoming obsolete the quickest. It would not take long before you would have to start majorly dialing down settings and maybe resolution to be able to play at respectable frame rates, so I highly suggest bumping up the gpu power.

One suggestion that needs to be made, is about your memory choice, you have chosen quad channel memory, however, Z77/Socket 1155 only supports dual channel. Now, you could just use it in two dual channel solutions, but then you have no room to expand. If you ever were to want more memory, you would have to scrap the modules that you are currently using, so if you use a two module solution. You will have better memory speeds (more bandwidth per gig) and room to expand if necessary. Another huge point, is that unless you are doing heavy 3D work, having faster memory speeds above 1600mHz will not give you any benefit, meaning that you could save countless dollars by going with more moderate memory speeds like the Corsair Vengeance kit that edogawa posted. Corsair is very reliable and you will have no problems with the kit.

Austin

PAN1K · May 8, 2013

edogawa :

PAN1K :

I did some adjusting, had trouble finding hardware for outside of US. XP

You can do 4.5ghz(no higher) easily with an H100i. Ram above 1600mhz for gaming basically gives you almost no performance gains, just not worth it. 9-9-9-24 1600mhz is optimal.

Anyways, if you want to store games and those various programs on the SSD I would have to say 240GB is what you will need then.

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/samsung-internal-hard-drive-mz7pd256bw

There are other SSD that size for cheaper, just look around at retailers in your country.

Games don't benefit to much from a SSD, so a mechanical hard drive is good. Just install steam onto mechanical drive.

The 760 watt power supply is easily more than enough. If you overclock never buy a cheap power supply.

On board on modern motherboards is a ton better than what it used to be, but it depends on what your using for audio. (Let me know what you're using.)

The maximus gene v is a good board too, but you can piratically choose any z77 board you like to be honest. You cannot SLI and use a sound card on the gene V too.

Keep in mind you may want to wait for three weeks for 700 series graphics cards so a 770 is what you will want, and same price as a 670 too. Not sure exactly if it will be three weeks depending where your from exactly.

Haswell releases June 4th too, but no significant improvements for those processors over ivy-bridge.

Might save the GPU upgrading until then and stick with my GTX650 for a few more weeks see what the 770's are priced like and if not 670's will be much more cheaper.

Would my current 800w psu or any other 700-800w between £75-90 be fine for overclocking to 4.0-4.5 stably or would you suggest not overclocking it? If so what would be a suitable speed to run it at?

edogawa · May 8, 2013

That is a discontinued power supply and the reviews don't look to good. Anything marketed as for gamer like that is usually not as good as you think it is.

The amount of watts is actually not important, but the amps on the 12v rail too. Seasonic or Corsair(no low budget versions) are my recommend power supply providers.

PAN1K · May 8, 2013

edogawa :

Would the Corsair Enthusiast Series TX 750W V2 be suitable then?

edogawa · May 8, 2013

Yes it will be.

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So I am building a "future proof", thoughts?

PAN1K

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edogawa

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truprecht

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PAN1K

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edogawa

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edogawa

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AustinS

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PAN1K

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edogawa

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PAN1K

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edogawa

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