Need Advice on this Gaming Computer Build

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peeeleeep

Honorable
Oct 21, 2013
8
0
10,510
INTRODUCTION
It has been a while since I last built my own computer (way back 2004), and now that I'm planning to build my own system again, I may need some advice from you guys here in Tom's Hardware. I will try to go straight to the point as possible to avoid any confusions.

BUILD
Budget: $1200 or lower as possible

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($339.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G45 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($74.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($174.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($249.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($58.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1183.92
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-10-21 13:07 EDT-0400)

  • Factors I considered on my build
    ■ CPU - I chose 4770k since in my normal computer usage, while I have my game on, I also have my browser open with many tabs in it. Sometimes I also do watch movies at the same time. The main factor I chose this is because I wanted to stream with good quality, and also from time to time I'll be using FRAPS to record my video and then use video editing programs.
    If this is reasonable enough, should I go with this CPU or go for 4670k instead?

    ■ CPU Cooler - I don't have any ideas on this one, this is my first time getting a discrete cooler. My room's temp goes from 70F-80F or if during the summer, will go up to 90F. All I know is Cooler Master 212 EVO is good and Corsair H100i is good too, but they are different from each other as the Corsair is a Liquid Cooler. Noob question Alert! Do I need to put water in H100i liquid cooler?
    What do you think should I get basing on how I use my computer and my room temp?

    ■ Thermal Paste - I am messy, so I want a good thermal paste that is not electric conductive. Any suggestions?

    ■ Motherboard - Right now, I do not have any plans for SLI/Crossfire.
    I am torn between ASUS, Gigabyte and MSI. Which one is the best?

    ■ Video Card - I will be playing in 1080p resolution while streaming or recording using FRAPS. I wanted a good price-performance ratio of video card, but at the same time, will not bottleneck and has excellent cooling. I am open to both AMD and NVIDIA.
    Any other suggestions on this one?

    ■ Case - I like this one because I can unmount/detach the hard disk bays so my GPU can fit on the case. I also like the overall look, as well as the cooling effectiveness of the case because it has front/side?/rear and top. I can only go up to $80 for case.
    Any other suggestions or is this one already good?

    ■ Power Supply - I only have two brands to select on this one; Corsair and Seasonic. My target watts is 750 or it can go higher if I can find a deal. The reason for this is that so I can have headroom when I upgrade or add parts.
    Are there other top brands beside Corsair and Seasonic or is this good for my system?
Your comments and opinions will be helpful and highly appreciated.

Thank you.
 
Solution
jimthenagual
I'd second the suggestion of getting the 4670k. If you have the dough to blow, keep the 4770k. There is some debate as to whether upcoming titles will actually make use of a 4770k, such as BF4. We won't know until it is released. But as of today, the 4670K keeps up with the 4770K in gaming peformance.

CPU cooler: I have the H100i and love it. No, you do not add water to it, it is self contained, 'closed loop' as they call it. This is also debatable, some like closed loop, some don't. I like it for it's aesthetics and ability to cool as well as any large air based cooler.

Thermal Paste: will already be on the heatsink you purchase, and it's usually good enough depending on what heatsink you buy. For the H100i, no need to purchase...
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tiny voices

tiny voices

Titan
Sep 6, 2012
34,175
5
99,965
GEt an i5. For what you do, there will be absolutely no benefit at all to an i7. Use teh saved money to put towards better GPU.

Get a 120gb SDD and a 1tb HDD.

650w would be more than enough for this build. XFX makes VERY good units. Most are rebranded Seasonics.

The stock thermal paste will be perfectly fine.

Get a coolermaster hyper 212evo. Closed loop water coolers are loud and don't cool much better or at all than air coolers.
 
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jimthenagual

jimthenagual

Splendid
Apr 8, 2012
4,005
16
29,365
I'd second the suggestion of getting the 4670k. If you have the dough to blow, keep the 4770k. There is some debate as to whether upcoming titles will actually make use of a 4770k, such as BF4. We won't know until it is released. But as of today, the 4670K keeps up with the 4770K in gaming peformance.

CPU cooler: I have the H100i and love it. No, you do not add water to it, it is self contained, 'closed loop' as they call it. This is also debatable, some like closed loop, some don't. I like it for it's aesthetics and ability to cool as well as any large air based cooler.

Thermal Paste: will already be on the heatsink you purchase, and it's usually good enough depending on what heatsink you buy. For the H100i, no need to purchase extra thermal paste, it's already applied to the heatsink.

Motherboard: Personally, I build on Asus. Look for a Z87 chipset board for overclocking.

Video card: Right now the r9 280x is the way to go. Nivida hasn't dropped their prices to match the performance offered by AMD. It's a no brainer at the moment.

Case: Personal choice, no experience with that particular one.

Power supply: You have chosen a good quality one, no issues there.

Good luck!
 
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Solution
P

peeeleeep

Honorable
Oct 21, 2013
8
0
10,510
Thank you tiny voices and jimthenagual for your replies. I have updated my parts based on your suggestions.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($227.48 @ Outlet PC)
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 ($139.98 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 280X 3GB Video Card ($316.13 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($58.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1162.50
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-10-21 23:06 EDT-0400)

I think this will be my final build.. I'll stick with the PSU since it is a sweet deal right now. Thank you so much for your help!
 
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