- Aug 5, 2013
- 2
- 0
- 10,510
Hey guys, this is my first post. I'm looking at building a haswell gaming PC and for the last two weeks and been scouring a lot of different websites in order to put together what i think will work best for me. Some things I was looking for:
-~$1200 for the tower. This is a rather hard limit.
-Use it for gaming and some CAD work. No adobe or video editing.
-Want it to be silent
-Maybe a mild overclock, like 15-25%.
-Wanted to use Haswell, as the mobo will then be compatible with new chips for the next few years
This is what i ended up selecting (note that the monitor is included here):
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 ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Z87-PRO ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($177.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra Plus 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($95.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($68.73 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($241.00 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Titanium Grey) ATX Mid Tower Case ($96.56 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($16.00 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.74 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Asus VS238H-P 23.0" Monitor ($149.48 @ Amazon)
Total: $1321.45
One thing to note:
-I am not near a microcenter but will take a trip out to Houston soon which will have one so I can pick up a part or two. It'll have to fit in airline luggage so definitely can't buy all the parts there and furthermore, if i get something that is faulty, i won't be able to return it. So risky items that are usually DOA are not an option.
-Future plans: eventually hook up the PC to a TV as well to use as almost a console too (steam's big picture mode really makes this possible and enjoyable). I'll probably get a sound card too and upgrade to a blu-ray drive when this happens, so i'll need the room for that.
Otherwise, i have two main questions...
1. Motherboard.
I feel like this might be overkill, especially because i'm not really that hardcore of a PC guy. I really liked the BIOS UI, different "states" (away, normal, gaming) ability, fanXpert2, the "intelligent processors". I'm sure that other mobos have these options too, its just that the more i looked at the Asus site, the professional website design slowly got to me and made it seem like the superior product. Also, for those that might try to play with my build, i do want wifi, so add an adapter back in if you swap something out.
That being said, I did look into boards from MSI (which general consensus was poor QC and customer support), ASRock (which general consensus was cheap and flimsy, though good - a "value" item), and Gigabyte (actually still considering this). I was looking at the UD4H from gigabyte and saw that it had "10k black caps" whereas the Asus I chose has 5k. Obviously, lifespan deals with more than just this part, though it got me wondering about the overall build quality between these boards (and more) and which one would be the best. Considering i'm putting down close to $200, i'd like it to last.
2. GPU.
Forums go back and forth on the GTX 760 and AMD 7950, with the GTX usually barely sliding out on top. That being said, I'm pretty intrigued by the game deal offered by AMD, so i'm really leaning that way. But i still had a question regarding the "future proofing" of both items. GPUs seem to increase in performance much more dramatically than any other item, so this question might be pointless, but considering that the AMD one is 3Gb over 2Gb and has a faster memory interface, will it be better in the long run? Keep in mind that i'll also be attaching this PC to a TV in the future, if this makes a difference.
That being said, I'm quite ready to pull the trigger on this, just wanted to double check with some more experienced guys first. Thanks for any input in advance! Feel free to say i'm thinking the wrong way about all of this too.
-~$1200 for the tower. This is a rather hard limit.
-Use it for gaming and some CAD work. No adobe or video editing.
-Want it to be silent
-Maybe a mild overclock, like 15-25%.
-Wanted to use Haswell, as the mobo will then be compatible with new chips for the next few years
This is what i ended up selecting (note that the monitor is included here):
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 ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Z87-PRO ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($177.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra Plus 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($95.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($68.73 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($241.00 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Titanium Grey) ATX Mid Tower Case ($96.56 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($16.00 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.74 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Asus VS238H-P 23.0" Monitor ($149.48 @ Amazon)
Total: $1321.45
One thing to note:
-I am not near a microcenter but will take a trip out to Houston soon which will have one so I can pick up a part or two. It'll have to fit in airline luggage so definitely can't buy all the parts there and furthermore, if i get something that is faulty, i won't be able to return it. So risky items that are usually DOA are not an option.
-Future plans: eventually hook up the PC to a TV as well to use as almost a console too (steam's big picture mode really makes this possible and enjoyable). I'll probably get a sound card too and upgrade to a blu-ray drive when this happens, so i'll need the room for that.
Otherwise, i have two main questions...
1. Motherboard.
I feel like this might be overkill, especially because i'm not really that hardcore of a PC guy. I really liked the BIOS UI, different "states" (away, normal, gaming) ability, fanXpert2, the "intelligent processors". I'm sure that other mobos have these options too, its just that the more i looked at the Asus site, the professional website design slowly got to me and made it seem like the superior product. Also, for those that might try to play with my build, i do want wifi, so add an adapter back in if you swap something out.
That being said, I did look into boards from MSI (which general consensus was poor QC and customer support), ASRock (which general consensus was cheap and flimsy, though good - a "value" item), and Gigabyte (actually still considering this). I was looking at the UD4H from gigabyte and saw that it had "10k black caps" whereas the Asus I chose has 5k. Obviously, lifespan deals with more than just this part, though it got me wondering about the overall build quality between these boards (and more) and which one would be the best. Considering i'm putting down close to $200, i'd like it to last.
2. GPU.
Forums go back and forth on the GTX 760 and AMD 7950, with the GTX usually barely sliding out on top. That being said, I'm pretty intrigued by the game deal offered by AMD, so i'm really leaning that way. But i still had a question regarding the "future proofing" of both items. GPUs seem to increase in performance much more dramatically than any other item, so this question might be pointless, but considering that the AMD one is 3Gb over 2Gb and has a faster memory interface, will it be better in the long run? Keep in mind that i'll also be attaching this PC to a TV in the future, if this makes a difference.
That being said, I'm quite ready to pull the trigger on this, just wanted to double check with some more experienced guys first. Thanks for any input in advance! Feel free to say i'm thinking the wrong way about all of this too.
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