Building a machine, need feedback

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Adephx

Honorable
Oct 8, 2013
21
0
10,510
Hi,

I'm currently building a new gaming machine, which is eventually going to get overclocked and I salvaged some of the old pieces out of my previous machine, so I got that covered.

Reused components:

CPU Cooler: Akasa Venom
PSU: Seasonic S12D 750W
HDD: WD Caviar Black 1TB
and an Atx Big Tower

I've been looking into these components, but I got a feeling that I'm spending unnecessary money, especially on the motherboard, also I'm not sure if I should pick the 3770k or the 4770k processor:

RAM: Corsair 16GB KIT PC3-14900 DDR3-1866 CL9 Vengeance Pro 2x8GB - 154,00€
MB: ASUS SABERTOOTH (C2) Z87 Sockel 1150 ATX DDR3 - 193,90€
SDD: Samsung 840 Pro Serie 256GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s MLC Toggle - 189,90€
GPU: Sapphire Vapor-X HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB GDDR5 - 339,85€
CPU: Intel Core i7 4770K 4x3.50GHz So1150 Box Haswell - 286,80€

Feel free to swap components around as you please, my budget (I don't mind going lower) is around 1200€ or 1600$ (but be aware that in EU pc components cost about 20% more)

Thank you for your help!

Rok
 
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geofelt

geofelt

Titan
Oct 9, 2006
54,374
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My thoughts:

1. Few games use more than 2-3 fast cores, making the hyperthreads of the 4770K or 3770K largely irrelevant.
Use a 4670K and spend the savings on a better graphics card.
2. I think the sabretooth line is overpriced. Any Z87 motherboard will perform equally well.
3. Love the Samsung ssd's, but the EVO will perform just as well in a desktop environment and be cheaper.
4. For gaming, buy the best graphics card you can afford. The 7970 is ok, but look for a GTX780 superclock, or perhaps the new R9 top end series.
 
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geofelt

geofelt

Titan
Oct 9, 2006
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No, it is not out, nor are there any legit benchmarks.
I don't know if it is hype or worthwhile waiting for.
I would hope that we would have seen something by now.


 
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A

Adephx

Honorable
Oct 8, 2013
21
0
10,510
RAM: Corsair 8GB KIT PC3-14900 DDR3-1866 CL9 Vengeance - 83,25€
MB: ASUS Z87-A (C2) Z87 Sockel 1150 ATX DDR3 - 119,90€
SDD: Samsung SSD 840 EVO 250GB Desktop Kit 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s TLC Toggle - 164,90€
(what's the difference between the Basic and the Desktop Kit version, I'm not paying 17€ more for an adapter right?)
GPU: Gigabyte Geforce GTX 780 OC Windforce 3GB GDDR5 - 592,95€
CPU: Intel Core i5 4670 4x3.40GHz So1150 Box Haswell - 183,95€

So you suggest something like this? It comes about 22€ cheaper than my previous system, tho I'm still completely lost when it comes to motherboards, is there a reason to stick to the 100€+ class or should I just pick the cheapest possible Z87 model with a C2 chip?
I'd really appreciate if you could elaborate a bit, as it's been a long time since I "left" the pc scene. I've read in another topic, that I should stick to 8GB of ram, as you don't gain anything by upgrading to 16GB?

Thank you for your help!

 
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geofelt

geofelt

Titan
Oct 9, 2006
54,374
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I like that build much better.
I think the desktop ssd version might come with a sata cable, and perhaps a 2.5" to 3.5" adapter.
Neither is necessary.
I would not worry much about a C2 revision, it only affects some usb3.0 sleep states which are easily avoided. Most will not even encounter the issue.
The motherboard you listed is fine. You could even look for a smaller M-ATX size which is usually cheaper.
 
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A

Adephx

Honorable
Oct 8, 2013
21
0
10,510
I think this will be my final build:

MB: Gigabyte G1.Sniper M5 Z87 Sockel 1150 mATX DDR3
CPU: Intel Core i5 4670 4x3.40GHz So1150 Box Haswell
GPU: EVGA Grafikkarte GeForce GTX 780 Dual FTW ACX 3GB GDDR5
DDR3: Corsair 8GB KIT PC3-14900 DDR3-1866 CL9 Vengeance
SDD: Samsung 840 Pro Serie 256GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s MLC Toggle

And by looking at your signature, I basically copied your build (we even own the same PSU xD)

It totals at 1.230€ or 1668$, which I can live with.

I'm still open to any changes when it comes to the Motherboards, so if anyone would be kind enough, here is the link to the website from which I'm planning to purchase (http://www.hoh.de/hardware/mainboards/intel/sockel-1150), so feel free to point out any MB that brings the best value/€

EDIT: Just noticed that the current MB only supports DDR3 in the values of 1600/1333, should I op for the cheaper (about 5€) 1600MHz DDR3?
 
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geofelt

geofelt

Titan
Oct 9, 2006
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The amount of ram you buy may be more important than the speed.
No game will use more than 2-3gb by itself. But... windows will keep code in ram, available for instant reuse.
I might consider a 2 x 8gb kit if budget is not a big issue.
Ram faster than 1600 will run. Ram will have several slower speeds that it will default to. This feature is needed so you can enter the bios where you can set higher overclocked speeds. I used a 16gb g.skil 1866 kit I had. But, I am lazy and just let it default to1333.
My unscientific impression is that things are a bit quicker.
Here is a recent article on haswell ram scaling. http://www.anandtech.com/show/7364/memory-scaling-on-haswell
Their conclusion is that 1866 ram is good, even 2400. It might improve your cpu by 5%.
Read all the gory details, and then decide.
 
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A

Adephx

Honorable
Oct 8, 2013
21
0
10,510


Might as well just buy the Sabertooth Z87 C2, it cost 20€ more, it looks better and there is less dust to clean.

Thank you both for your feedback. :)
 
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geofelt

geofelt

Titan
Oct 9, 2006
54,374
4,184
174,240

I thought about that.
In my particular situation, I needed a case that was not deep, perhaps only 16" long.
A M-ATX case will typically be smaller and fit in my space.
If I need more graphics power in the future than a GTX780, I have some options:
1. A GTX790 or 7990 is a single card.
2. Upcoming Maxwell cards and others will be available next year.
3. A good M-ATX motherboard will still support dual cards if needed. The main negative is that the cards will be next to each other making the top card more difficult to cool.
Past that, I do not foresee a need for other expansion cards.


 
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