First time build, ~$1800

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TallGuy314

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Jun 27, 2013
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Hello! I have been motivated for a while to replace my almost 10 year old dinosaur that has been clunking along slowly but surely. I've finally got some funds to play with for this baby, but I've been out of this game for so long, I've had to do some serious research the past couple weeks to try and brush up on the modern hardware options. That being said, I'm not a tech guru, but I am generally computer competent. I tend to game a lot, and do a fair bit of photo editing and multi tasking. We watch a lot of movies on our tv played through my current dinosaur, and will continue to do so, so in effect this machine will eventually probably be up on multiple monitors. So I've spent the last couple days putting together a very preliminary parts list based on some of the research I've done. Please please please tell me what's good, what's stupid, what's overkill, and what I'm missing. :) I would like this machine to be as future proof as possible, I don't plan on building a new one anytime soon, just upgrading this one as much as possible. Hence the Haswell rather than IB, it lets me get the newer set of motherboards. Also, I have large amounts of media, hence the very large HD. I have a external already that has most of it, a 2 TB that is mostly full. I'd like to be able to have this data directly on the machine as well as on the external, for backups sake. If you need more information, I'll do my best to provide it! Some of these parts I really don't know what I'm getting into, they looked "shiny" and my juvenile need for that came through. I tried to pick based on reviews and setups already on this forum, and through reviews from Newegg. Thanks for your help and time!!

-TG

Approximate Purchase Date: late July to early August

Budget Range: ~1800 USD, give or take.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: games, BOINC software, photo editing, multi tasking (i.e. watching videos on the tv while playing games on the main monitor.

Are you buying a monitor: Yes, one initially, probably another later on to run dual. Not immediately factoring this into the price atm though because I do have a working monitor, it's just older. It will do though till I find one I like to replace it.


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: not picky, but current build is all on Newegg

Location: Anchorage, AK

Overclocking: I don't know how, currently, past a brief idea of the concept. But I do plan on overclocking this system.

SLI or Crossfire: Not in the near future.


CPU: CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K Haswell 3.4GHz LGA 1150 84W Quad-Core

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 120mm & 140mm SSO CPU Cooler

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-Z87X-OC LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

Memory: CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)

Storage: SAMSUNG 840 Pro Series MZ-7PD256BW 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Storage: Seagate STBD4000400 4TB 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive – Retail Kit

Video Card: GIGABYTE GV-N770OC-4GD GeForce GTX 770 4GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready Video Card

Case: NZXT Phantom PHAN-002OR Newegg Exclusive Black Finish w/Orange Trim Steel

Power Supply: CORSAIR TX Series CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE

Optical Drive: ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM

 
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TallGuy314

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I've heard it's a big unit, I was reading through reviews though and saw someone who had the case I would like, and said this unit fit in it well. And good to hear, my house can get pretty warm sometimes (surprisingly so, for Alaska) and keeping stuff cool, especially when I start getting into OC will be important to me.

 
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Marcopolo123

Marcopolo123

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Jan 31, 2013
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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Swiftech H220 55.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($139.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G45 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($68.40 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($164.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($124.32 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card ($659.99 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT Switch 810 (Black) ATX Full Tower Case ($152.95 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III 850W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($18.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1809.59
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-27 15:40 EDT-0400)
 
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TallGuy314

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Thanks marco. Not sure I'm up for that GPU that's a spendy increase, but I can see where this build comes from. I hate to say it, but if at all possible, I'm keeping the case I have above, aesthetics are important to me, especially since this build will sit prominently in the living room. And your case just isn't very pretty. :) Why the giant power supply? I was under the assumption that in today's tech environment, you don't need anything over 650W. I appreciate changes to my list, but I'd like to hear reasons behind them, not just "do it this way." If you get my meaning.
 
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babernet_1

babernet_1

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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($349.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12S 55.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme6 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($174.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($189.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate 4TB 3.5" 5900RPM Internal Hard Drive ($169.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card ($659.99 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT Phantom (Black/Orange) ATX Full Tower Case ($129.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 650W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($127.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($18.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1896.87
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-27 16:05 EDT-0400)

Here is an excellent build that will be very fast with some future proofing.

4770K has hyperthreading which is just starting to be used by games (Crysis 3) and will help with rendering etc. And as time goes by, more and more apps will use it.

The excellent cooler is required if you want to do some overclocking in the future. Don't go water cooling for a first effort, too many things can go wrong.

Nice motherboard that has everything you need, avoids the thin board problem the Asrock extreme 4 has.

For multitasking and photoshop, you need more than 8G ram. This ram also has no heat spreader so it will fit nicely under most any CPU cooler.

The Samsung 840 will be fine for you, no need for the 840 Pro.

4TB HDD as you wanted.

The truth is, you cannot have too much graphics power. With your budget, go for a 780.

Your case

A top quality power supply. Get a 850W one if you want to go SLI in the future.
 
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vmem

vmem

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Feb 17, 2012
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that reminds me, there are new Noctuas in town that are smaller but almost the same performance :)

the noctua nh-u14s, and nh-u12s. both are EXCELLENT coolers.

as for the NZXT case, I thought the OP just liked that color option, but yeah, I'd say the 410 or 820 is the way to go

UPDATE: if aesthetics is important to you, have you considered Silverstone's all aluminum cases? they're truly things of beauty. look into the Silverstone TJ07 or the FT02
 
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TallGuy314

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I'll have to go back and check into the new recs. Thanks guys! As far as the case goes, yeah, I like orange :D SWMBO might end up with a say in that case selection too, I'll have to run it by her. I really dig the looks of the case I picked out, our house has some bright colors in it already. That being said, I'll go check out all the new case recs too here in a while after I settle down for the evening. Thanks for the prompt replies everyone!
 
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TallGuy314

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Well, as far as cases go, that 820 is gorgeous, but too spendy for me. I do like the 410's as well, I had gone back and forth between the 410 and the one I posted. I'm not very knowledgeable about case sizes and ability to fit parts, if the 410 would fit everything and be adequately ventilated I have no problems switching over to that. Do they have the goofy proprietary fans that the og phantom had? They have a new set of Phantoms coming out on Sept. 1st as well, but I didn't see an orange option in them :D Marco, you and I have very different tastes in cases :D.

As far as motherboards go, marco do you like that msi? I like the few parts I've had from MSI in the past, I'd certainly be willing to switch over to that one than the Gigabyte one, especially if it saves me 50$ and doesn't lose me anything performance wise.

Would it be better to get multiple smaller hard drives? How slow is slow? I'm coming from a dinosaur here, remember, so practically anything new will most likely seem fast to me. But if takes *ages* to read through a 4TB drive, I'm not opposed to other options. But I really do need that amount of storage.

I'll certainly consider upping the PSU, considering that maybe in a year or 2 I'd like to add another vid card to run SLI. I'll check into some 750W/850W options, see if I can't track down a good deal on one. I'm not in a huge rush to buy parts either, so I can afford to be patient.

Not sure if I should upgrade to the I7's baber, I did originally have an i7 pegged though, then dropped down to the i5. Also worth it to go with 16GB, RAM is relatively cheap, all things considered, so that is definitely an option.





 
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babernet_1

babernet_1

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Yes, 2X8GB is marginally better than 4X4GB. One reason is simply you have the ability to add more memory. Also you save a bit of power and I think the CPU is faster by an extremely small amount.
 
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babernet_1

babernet_1

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No hard answers on motherboards. I have been studying them for many months. The promotion looks good, you can't go wrong either way. Just avoid the ASUS Sabertooth, the shroud holds in heat and fills with dust. And as I said, sub ASROCK Extreme 6 has thin boards so they flex.
 
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mastrom101

mastrom101

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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($349.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Antec Kuhler H2O 620 Liquid CPU Cooler ($42.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Z87-PRO ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($199.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($118.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Plextor M5S Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($169.99 @ Microcenter)
Storage: Seagate Desktop HDD 4TB 3.5" 5900RPM Internal Hard Drive ($171.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($399.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair C70 Arctic White (White/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 850W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1599.88
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-28 14:56 EDT-0400)

As soon as editing comes into the picture, an i7 and 16 GB of RAM should be strongly considered.
I picked up a watercooling set, perfect for overclocking.
The difference between two SSDs is very hard to tell, unless you're looking at benchmarks.
I would strongly recommend a 3 Tb 7200RPM drive, but if you have to, then keep the 4TB
Changed the case.
If you wan't a future-proof rig, I would strongly recommend a PSu that can handle SLI. I picked a modular unit to avoid wire clutter.
 
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TallGuy314

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Well, here's what I've ended up with, the only thing I don't have purchased is the vid card and an optical drive. The optical drive I'll probably just pick up from a local store, and the vid card will end up being a GTX 780 (don't think I can wait for the shiny new AMD's to come out) not quite sure which company yet, but probably EVGA or Gigabyte. Got a good deal on most of these parts. Went ahead and ordered a monitor too because of a nice discount, and free shipping ( you have no idea how hard it is to try and get "free shipping" to Alaska -_- ) Also ordered a few more 140 mm case fans from NZXT, so I can get some good airflow through this case. Thanks for all the help everyone, greatly, greatly appreciated. And if you notice anything I've missed here (I *do* tend to order parts when I'm drunk :), which is not always a good plan) please feel free to chime in and let me hear about it. I guess my only remaining question is whether the factory OC gigabyte 780 (the windforce) is worth the extra money than the reference card. The extra fans and clock speed make a difference?

-TG

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K Haswell 3.5GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116901

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12S 55.0 CFM CPU Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608040

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-Z87X-UD3H LGA 1150 Intel Z87
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128592

Memory: CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233299

Storage: Corsair Neutron Series GTX CSSD-N240GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233398

Storage: TOSHIBA PH3300U-1I72 3TB 7200 RPM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822149396

Case: NZXT Phantom (Black/Orange) ATX Full Tower Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146092

Power Supply: CORSAIR HX Series HX850 850W Modular
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139011

Monitor: AOC e2752Vh Glossy Black Bezel 27" 2ms HDMI Widescreen LED Backlight LCD Monitor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824160080

 
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TallGuy314

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Jun 27, 2013
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Well, just ordered the EVGA ACX GeForce GTX 780 3GB card,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130918

so that's basically it for this build! When I get back from Greenland in a few weeks here I will have an epic un-boxing ceremony, then put it together. I'll probably get a nice mechanical keyboard after I get back and a new mouse as well. Only other thing to really consider is a possible sound card down the line. Thanks for the help everyone!

-TG
 
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