Comments on first Haswell Build.

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avacadobread

avacadobread

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Dec 27, 2012
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Good early morning, (as I write this).

My friend and I have collaborated on a first time build for him. It is a Haswell build and am looking for some feedback on the components that we have chosen. Nothing is set in stone, but he really has his heart set on the 4670K.

We were coming up with this build very late at night and finished very early in the morning, so I expect there will be some things that we may have missed or never even considered.

Like I mentioned earlier, I would love to hear the infinite wisdom of the more experienced community. We are open to all suggestions and comments.

A few things to note.
-He is trying not to spend too much more than the estimated 1200 USD.
-This is a "Gaming" machine.
-We are trying to shave off whatever features and or other parts that are not that necessary for a gaming build to keep the price down.
-Has a monitor and an OS.
-This may be a Haswell build, but that does not mean that other platforms are not perfectly suited for a fast gaming build.

Below if the PC Parts Picker list. Hope to hear from you guys soon.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/15UT7
 
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n1ghtr4v3n

n1ghtr4v3n

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Feb 27, 2013
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hey there. you got a pretty nice build already. but there are some tweaks you can do about it, for decreasing price and increasing performance some;
* there is difference between 7870 and 7870XT significantly for the same price, replaced to 7870xt
* replaced seagate to WD, more reliability and comes for cheaper price
* replaced 16gb memory to 8gb, its more than enough for gaming, you can always upgrade since there are enough slots
* added optical drive
* replace case with a similar looking similar cost another case, since your case do not have usb3 on front panel, while your mobo supports it
* replaced motherboard, the one you chose was too expensive, and unnecessary. Gigabyte **x-ud3h series or similar from asus/asrock/msi will do the same performance effect
* replaced power supply. there is no need for that much power on single gpu system. (unless you want SLI or XFire. OR 750W comes for a really cheap price. Plus Seasonic is one of the best choices for a psu and it is full modular for cable management)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($225.49 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($33.24 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($169.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($66.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($129.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 XT 2GB Video Card ($263.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Zalman ZM-Z9 U3 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 520W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($79.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($18.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1108.63
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-14 02:36 EDT-0400)

good luck...
 
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R

realchaos

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Jan 30, 2013
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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($225.49 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: Asus Z87-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($145.85 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($65.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($129.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($279.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1097.26
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-14 03:02 EDT-0400)

-Cheaper board. Still has the ability to overclock, crossfire, etc.
-8gb of ram is enough for gaming.
-Slightly cheaper HDD. No difference in performance.
-Switched out PSU to a better one at the same price. Upgrade from 80+ silver to gold, both very high quality.
-Case is up to you, but I'm just gonna throw in another option. The Corsair 200R is a very nice budget case.
-Upgraded gpu to the next level.
 
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johnnyb105

johnnyb105

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Feb 18, 2013
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you have over 1/2 of your budget on cpu motherboard and vid card now I wont bitch about that but is there a way to cut back on the motherboard? price or power supply because I don't see him sli or anything at this point I haven't done a intel system for some time but wouldn't a 500 watt power supply from like corsair with rebate surfice for now ? For example I am running a amd 5800 k cpu which is 100 plus watts and and a older 5870 radeon card which is power happy all on a cheap arse raidmax 530 watt power supply I thought intel chip was better with the amount of power they use you could shave a a few dollars in the power supplu and motherboard area if hes not going to sli.

mna
 
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avacadobread

avacadobread

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Dec 27, 2012
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I should have mentioned that he does plan on overclocking when he completes the build, but nothing crazy, and he is going with an ATI Card beacuse of the crazy value you get with the 4 free games. It's a good place to start for games, this is his first venture in PC Gaming.
 
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avacadobread

avacadobread

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Dec 27, 2012
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At the moment, he is keeping a higher wattage PSU to have some breathing room for the future, but I am also thinking that 750W is a bit much. However on the Asus Wattage Calculator thing, the minimum recommended Wattage was 600W.

I have also amended the Mobo of choice, I haven't even considered other similar performance, lower cost Motherboards.
 
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avacadobread

avacadobread

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Dec 27, 2012
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This works really well, I have added the Video Card (because of Mobo savings) and PSU to the new list, but I cannot figure out which Motherboard to choose. Either the Gigabyte or the Asus. Both are premium parts.

And I showed my friend the 200R as well and it was a no go, you are right on the personal preference part.
 
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avacadobread

avacadobread

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Dec 27, 2012
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-Good suggestion on the card, but we have moved up another level from there to the 7950.
-I did not even notice that we still had the Seagate Drive in the build, that was just a place holder. We were suppose to replace it with a similar WD 7200 RPM Drive.
-I forgot to note that I will be giving him my previous Asus optical Drive.
-I am really going to need some help choosing between the Gigabyte or the Asus Motherboard.
-SeaSonic and XFX are fabricated with the same high quality parts, but for future expandability we have stuck with the XFX beacuse of the desired higher wattage and higher rating (Gold).
-You suggestion on more ram sounds good, he will however add it a few weeks down the line.
 
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avacadobread

avacadobread

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Dec 27, 2012
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He is having a hard time choosing whether he will add another GPU later on or not, but just to be safe, he will be sticking with the recommended XFX 750
 
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avacadobread

avacadobread

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Dec 27, 2012
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Everything seems to be coming along really well.
Now the biggest issue is choosing between the two recommended motherboards. (Gigabyte or Asus). As always your suggestions are always welcome.
My question is, why should I go with one board over the other?

ASUS Pros:

-HDMI (preferred way of plugging into monitor which is a 22 inch Samsung LED TV)
-Fan Xpert 2 (perhaps the most useful fan utility I have ever used)
-RAID (Raid is not listed on Gigabyte board, but is no big deal really, just something this has that the other does not)
-6 SATA 6 (enough ports for this build)
-Turbo Boost Tech 2.0 (another feature that is not present on other board, again not a huge deal)
-Cheaper


GIGABYTE Pros:

-8 SATA 6 (A lot of SATA ports)
-Intel i217V (non-generic LAN Chipset)
-6 USB 3.0 (10 in total, but between the two of us, we don't even have that many USB 3.0 things)
-Dual Bios, UEFI Bios
-More ports than he could ever use.


 
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