First Gaming/Performance Build - Opinions Needed

nuclear MnMs

Honorable
Jun 13, 2013
20
0
10,510
Hello all,

I am preparing to purchase the necessary parts for my very first custom build! I have been tweaking the following build for the past few days and was wondering if I could get some feedback. Really tear my build apart; I am open to all criticism and feedback :)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($309.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC14PE_BK 78.1 CFM CPU Cooler ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($124.98 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: A-Data Premier Pro SP900 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($82.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN881ND 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($17.99 @ Microcenter)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($84.98 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Rosewill Capstone 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Samsung S23C570H 23.0" Monitor ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Other: ASUS USB-BT400 USB 2.0 Bluetooth 4.0 Adapter ($17.99)
Total: $1210.85
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-23 00:57 EST-0500)


I am open to any suggestions for parts or if there are any good alternative parts that I should consider! I am planning to start purchasing parts on Black Friday and Cyber Monday as I search for as many good deals as possible. If there are any noticeable issues with having enough space in the case, please inform me. :D

Primary Uses
I plan to use my first build mainly for gaming and performance-based applications. I use Adobe Creative Suite, including large amounts of Photoshop, Lightroom, and Illustrator use. I also work on web sites and code on the side. I also need a monitor, which has been reflected in the part list.

I also included a wireless card and bluetooth adapter to keep my desktop versatile in any environment. If there are any other parts or configurations I need to consider to remain as flexible and future-proof as I can, please let me know!!

Budget
I am planning to spend up to $1300, but the cheaper and bigger bang for my buck, the better. I am also hoping to take advantage of some serious Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals. :)

CPU
I am open to over-clocking, which is why I have chosen the Ivy Bridge i7-3770K, but I am also open to the i5-3570K. I am still unsure of the true benefits of Intel i7 over Intel i5, and switching could save me about $110. What uses or applications would take advantage of the i7 core? Especially since I could over-clock the i5 to a similar clock speed of the i7.

Gaming
As for gaming, I am hoping to max out anything on the market this generation. I found a good deal on the Radeon 7870 and a friend of mine told me that I could over clock it to gain higher performance as well. I also found an Nvidia GeForce GTX 760 for only $100 more than the 7870. It comes with two games as well. Would this be an "upgrade" worth the $100?

Thank You!
I would like to thank you for taking the time to read and offer any sort of feedback. I will appreciate any responses and feedback and hope to come to a result soon! :)

Cheers!
 
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($299.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC14PE_BK 78.1 CFM CPU Cooler ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($117.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ B&H)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($82.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 280X 3GB Video Card ($299.99 @ NCIX US)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN881ND 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($17.99 @ Microcenter)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Samsung S23C570H 23.0" Monitor ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Other: ASUS USB-BT400 USB 2.0 Bluetooth 4.0 Adapter ($17.99)
Total: $1333.87
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-23 02:42 EST-0500)

-Newer Haswell chip.
-R9-280X maxes out anything at 1080p.
-Faster and more reliable SSD.
-Cheaper case, great for its price.
-Cheaper psu, slightly more watts.
-16gb of ram for your work programs.

If this is too high, you have three options:
-Go with a GTX 760 and save yourself $50. The higher end games will need some settings tweaked.
-Drop the SSD and save yourself $100. The loading and booting times won't be as fast.
-Go with 8gb of ram, which would save ~$40, and add more later when you have the budget.
 
Solution

nuclear MnMs

Honorable
Jun 13, 2013
20
0
10,510


I think I may merge the R9-280X into my build, thanks :)

I will also keep the previous NZXT Phantom case, in exchange for leaving my build temporarily at 8GB of RAM.

What are the benefits for moving to the newer Haswell i7? I have read in other Tom's Hardware threads that the Ivy Bridge can reach similar clock speeds when over clocked. And how much performance will be affected if I move down a step to i5? Where might I notice the changes?
 
The performance difference between Haswell and Ivy Bridge is very small. However, Haswell is newer and it's also cheaper right now, so might as well grab the newer one.

If you step down to an i5, you will notice no difference in games. However, you will be able to notice it in Adobe Creative Suite.
 

nuclear MnMs

Honorable
Jun 13, 2013
20
0
10,510


I think I will plan to step down to the i5. I currently do Adobe editing on my MacBook Pro and it is running a 2.4GHz i5. Having either processor should provide a noticeable bump.

I have updated my build and I am happy to be staying under my $1300 budget. :)

The first option is the Ivy Bridge build with an i5-3570k. I think I will be able to take better advantage of over clocking with the Ivy Bridge as they usually run at lower temperatures than the Haswell.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($197.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC14PE_BK 78.1 CFM CPU Cooler ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($124.98 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($82.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 280X 3GB Video Card ($299.99 @ NCIX US)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN881ND 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($17.99 @ Microcenter)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($84.98 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Samsung S23C570H 23.0" Monitor ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Other: ASUS USB-BT400 USB 2.0 Bluetooth 4.0 Adapter ($17.99)
Total: $1238.85
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-23 16:15 EST-0500)


The other option is to switch out the CPU and Motherboard for Haswell. I'm torn on whether I should upgrade to the latest or settle for the sheer power of the previous generation.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($225.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC14PE_BK 78.1 CFM CPU Cooler ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($117.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1259.86
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-23 16:19 EST-0500)
 

nuclear MnMs

Honorable
Jun 13, 2013
20
0
10,510



Thank you for all your help! I have finalized the build, but opted to go for the Ivy Bridge. The Z77 Motherboard just went on sale as well, so I got a good deal on it! I decided to stick with Ivy Bridge because it can get consistent overclock results compared to Haswell. But I took many of your recommendations as well. Thank you again!