Haswell Build - $2000 budget

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foolycooly

foolycooly

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Dec 26, 2008
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So after my GTX 295 popped a couple of weeks ago (RMA on the way), I lost video signal again last night while using my temporary card. I'm not sure if it's the motherboard or the PSU failing, but I've decided to move on from my i7 920 system and dive into haswell. While I have a set budget of $2000, I think I can come in way under that considering the parts I will be saving from my current system. The motherboard and CPU are NOT purchased...I just wanted to reflect the price I will be getting from Microcenter.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (Purchased For $279.99)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Z87-PRO ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (Purchased For $169.99)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($125.99 @ Best Buy)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (Purchased For $149.99)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card ($659.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 650D ATX Mid Tower Case ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional Gold 850W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($175.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1771.91
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-10 11:45 EDT-0400)

While the primary use will be gaming, I decided to go ahead and go with the i7 over the i5 since budget is not really an issue. The SSD is coming from my current system.

Some sticking points are the motherboard and power supply. After a great run with ASUS, I'd like to stick with them...I'm just not sure which board in their Z87 lineup I want. With the microcenter discount, I'm comfortable with the Pro or Deluxe, but I think the Deluxe just adds features I won't use. As long as they all have the same quality/number of power phases etc., then it seems like the lower-end Pro is the way to go.

I want the PSU to be fully modular and the Corsair unit seems to fit the bill on quality. Aesthetics and cable management are important to me on this build, so I am going to try to stick to a black/gold theme with white LEDs.

All input is welcome. Thanks.
 
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CommentariesAnd More

CommentariesAnd More

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Apr 2, 2013
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How about the i7-3930K and a HD 7970 CrossFire ?
It will beat the Rig you suggested.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3930K 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($499.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H80i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($86.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock X79 Extreme6 ATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($228.49 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Dominator Platinum 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 750GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($349.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($349.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 600T Mesh (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional 750W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($104.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($17.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1913.38
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-10 12:24 EDT-0400)
 
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g-unit1111

g-unit1111

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Not needed for gaming. If there's multimedia authoring involved then I would suggest it, but otherwise no. You're paying way too much for cores that won't be utilized. Not to mention X79 requires 4 sticks of RAM to get the most out of a quad channel setup (not two), and never, ever pay the ridiculous premiums for Dominator Platinum, ever. Too much money for nothing more than a fancy heat sink.

This would be a better use of funds:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($36.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme6 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($63.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Vector Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($128.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($415.66 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($415.66 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($87.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: NZXT HALE 90 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1857.21
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-10 12:31 EDT-0400)
 
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CommentariesAnd More

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Apr 2, 2013
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Did you know that he as a 256GB 840. Also a SLI 770 is great but that i5 will never catch up.
 
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foolycooly

foolycooly

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I appreciate all of the input.

As for the platform, I am pretty set on Haswell. There is certainly a logical argument to be made to go for the 4670 vs. the 4770, but this may be one spot where I sidestep value a little bit and buy the extra power in a "just in case" scenario.

I am also pretty set on a single GPU (for now at least). While the issues with scaling in SLI may be overblown, it is a complication I can do without for now (not to mention I only game on a a single 24" 1900x1200 monitor with a second matching monitor for other programs/browsing).

I am honestly not too keen on ASrock until I see more reviews of the Extreme6. It showed very dishonest voltages in Tom's review of the board and I had some issues with unstable overclocking on the Extreme4 on an ivybridge build I did for my brother. ASUS was the only board with accurate voltages (per Tom's review) and I have always liked their BIOS layouts.

And yes, the SSD is coming from my old build, so I already have it. I also still have a 640gb caviar black that I'm using for storage as well as my old optical drive.
 
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g-unit1111

g-unit1111

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Catch up how? Please post something to prove your point, that's not from Tech Power Up. X79 is not needed for gaming, it's too much investment for practically no payoff. You're paying $300 more for a .00000001% improvement in frame rates. Not worth it if you ask me. The i5 will be a fine CPU.

You can leave the SSD off my build.
 
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CommentariesAnd More

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Apr 2, 2013
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I mean bottleneck , Not much but considerable.
 
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Marcopolo123

Marcopolo123

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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($249.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($178.49 @ Newegg)

Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($63.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($134.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($65.58 @ Outlet PC)

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card ($659.99 @ Amazon)

Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Titanium Grey) ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($109.99 @ Newegg)

Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)

Total: $1699.97
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-10 17:27 EDT-0400)
 
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