[SOLVED] BIG THANKS :) - New system, need some opinions and help please

TheDude77 · Jan 9, 2014

First of all I wanted to say big thanks for all the help I already got by reading through this forum!

My name is Matt but that name was of course taken and after reading through some really interesting threads here I put together a nice system I'd like to purchase over the next 1-2 month.
As I'm quite a while away from all this now I'm a bit unsure and would like to read some opinions and ideas on the setup I'm preparing.

I'm currently living in Spain and will get most of the parts cheaper than estimated but better plan with the worst price.

The Budget is ~1500€ / ~1,240 Pound.

And here my wishlist:

UPDATE: Sapphire R9 290 Tri-X (5200 Mhz - Memory speed) - ~ 400€

i7 4770k Haswell - 290€
UPDATE: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo - 30€

Update: ASUS Z87-Pro (?? edition depending on the offer) - 100 - 200€

UPDATE: 16 GB Corsair Vengeance 4x4Gb 1600MHz - 176€

HDD's:
Samsung 840 Evo 120GB - 82€
Samsung 840 Evo 500GB - 300€

Tower:
UPDATE: Corsair Carbide 500R (black) - 100€

Old price: 1595€
NEW Price: 1572€

Power supply:
Enermax EMG800EWT Modu87+ 800W ATX23 - OWNED

Big thanks for all the great info here, it seems I found my system and will stay with it so far still counting on the V Edition of the mainboard...

Matt

ssddx · Jan 9, 2014

well with a build 1-2 months off you really cannot nail down a perfectly solid parts list as prices can and do change. you can get a generalized parts list right now but some things can change depending on what is on sale at the time (unless of course that doesnt matter to you).

you mention that you do not want to overclock and yet you have overclocking ready parts (and are paying extra for them). i will modify to what you should have below.

difference in motherboard chipsets.

Z87 is to top end chipset. Great for overclocking and SLI and other chipset features.
H87 basically the same as Z87 minus the overclocking abilities, and doesn't support triple SLI
H81 budget level, no overclocking, no sli, limited sata 6gb/s, limited usb 3.0

here is a modified parts list with comments.

intel i7-4770 (do not get the 4770k "k" series since that is the unlocked cpu for overclocking and costs more)
asus h87-pro (i picked h87 since it has good sata6 support and more usb3. could go cheaper with h81 if you wanted but its more limited)
major brand 2x8gb 1600mhz+ ram (i'd go with corsair, mushkin or gskill myself)
corsair 300r or 500r (the haf x is rather expensive for so-so construction quality)

as for the graphics card while the r9 290 is not bad card (it beats out the gtx780 and r9-280x but loses to the more expensive r9-290x and gtx780ti) it also does not yet have an aftermarket cooler model available. as it stands the card runs power hungry, hot and very loud. you do not want the reference cooler design so would either have to put one on yourself (likely voiding the warranty) or waiting until one comes out with a dual or preferably triple fan (typically i'd say go with asus or gigabyte cooler designs and cards). another option would be expanding your budget and going with a gtx780ti which already has better cooler designs out and its a cooler, lower power draw card which performs better as well. its not really as good performance per dollar but... its the top of the line card so not much you can do about that. your choice, either works.

as for hard drives... well a ssd is not really going to improve gaming performance. it will not increase fps numbers but levels might load faster by a little bit. i personally have all of mine on a ssd (i use just one large 512gb) but its not required. as far as 3d performance is concerned you might get some faster read/write speeds for saving/loading but actual 3d modeling/viewing performance is not likely to be affected. personally i would just use a larger boot drive and store all of your progams on that. either a 250 or 500gb main drive and use a storage drive for all of your files. i would also only trust either intel or samsung drives as the others are questionable in terms of reliability. i'd say go with a samsung 840 evo but if you were worried about longetvity then go with an 840 pro. as for your storage drive... remember that drives over 1tb have higher failure rates (i'm on my 6th rma!) so you will need to make sure you have your data backed up at all times.

the stock coolers are typically sufficient but run hot. my i7-920 stock with stock heatsink is running at 35c just browsing the web and it goes up to the mid 40's just watching a video. this is within tolerances but is a bit higher than i'd like. personally i'd suggest using a cheap aftermarket cooler like a hyper 212+ or 212 evo. for $20-30usd its worthwhile and it also is going to reduce noise levels a bit by going with a larger heatsink.

you say you already have a psu so i wont comment too much on it. i would have suggested something other than the enermax brand but it looks like its probably tier 2 quality as far as i can tell which isnt bad in terms of reliability so its probably fine in that regard. the wattage is more than good enough. what i'm worried about though is the fact that its a discontinued legacy model. how old is this psu?

if you wanted to know what good psus are... just a small reference list
http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/323050.aspx

Joniostis · Jan 9, 2014

Hey,

everything looks very solid.

Some thoughts:

What GPU exactly are you using? a reference one? If so consider looking at some after market models, the price is about the same but they cool much better and are often not as loud.
As far as your MOBO is concerned, i have no idea why the v-edition exists. as far as i can tell it seems to lack Bluetooth 4.0 and Wifi compared to the normal reference z87-pro. So i should switch to that one if i were you.
CPU: fine
RAM: fine but i prefer a dual slot as it puts less stress on your system becuz on a quad channel it has to read twice as much slots. However, the difference is negligible, i'd still take dual slot. Also in the future if you ever plan to upgrade you can simply but one or two more in, instead of having to "throw those other sticks away"
Storage: all good
case: fine
PSU: As you already own that power supply there's not much to say about it

but in the future try looking at seasonic or corsair or something. they got the best PSU's and are completely reliable.

Although you won't be overclocking, i recommend getting a Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo. it's like 20-30 bucks ans it's absolutely awesome.
Much more silent, cools very good and if your cpu starts to fall behind (wich it won't in the coming years

) you can oc without worries.
Don't do liquid cooling, that's only if you wanna go really extreme.

Anyway, even if you don't implement any of my suggestions it still is a really great build that will deliver an awesome experience. You picked your parts carefully and wise

However i felt like giving you these little tips as they may give you an edge

Good luck and enjoy your build

Joni

ssddx · Jan 9, 2014

@joni

yes, but the OP also stated that they wouldnt be overclocking.

[strike]i dont think there is a r9-290 non-reference gpu out yet. there is one (saphire) for the 290x and plenty for the 280x but none for the 290 as far as i've seen.[/strike] apparently they are just completely out of stock here so werent showing up

not sure i really agree with your statement on 4sticks vs 2sticks for wear and tear (it doesnt really matter) but agree that unless you get an awesome buy on 4 sticks over the price of just 2 that i'd stick with 2 sticks as it leaves you future expansion room.

Joniostis · Jan 9, 2014

ssddx :

http://azerty.nl/0-5829-668513/sapphire-r9-290-tri-x-4-gb.html
http://azerty.nl/0-5829-668511/gigabyte-gv-r929oc-4gd.html

It does.

Joni

Joniostis · Jan 9, 2014

ssddx :

As i said the difference is negligible, it's mainly for expansion room in the future indeed.
Check my previous answer concerning r9-290 non-reference gpu.
And I generally always recommend the 212 evo. It's cheap, good performing and just a lot better then the boxed cooler.

Cheers

Joni

ssddx · Jan 9, 2014

i suppose i'll have to eat my words there!

looks like they just werent showing up since they were completely bought up here in the usa almost everywhere (probably bit coin miners)

yes, i'd go with one of the triple fan designs. gigabyte is always good and the saphire is nice too.

Joniostis · Jan 9, 2014

ssddx :

haha indeed, they perform much better than the reference ones

Joni

TheDude77 · Jan 9, 2014

Well well, first of all big thanks ssddx for the really detailed and nice explanation I especially value the reasons behind the suggestions. *bow*

Also thanks to Joniosits for helping me out on the R9 290, I would love the 290X of course but to me it doesn't seem to be worth the extra money and yes there are better versions of it already.

...for some specific reasons I hate Nvidia and Nvidia hates me. I have tried 5 Nvidia cards so far from super high end to the most reliable there were and every single one failed, broke or burned out after a month latest so I will never lay hands on another one again... ever!

Regarding the PSU, I don't think of changing it right now, mine is barely 1 Year old now and running like a charm.

As addition to my statement in the main post, after reading further recommendations I might consider some overclocking in the future and would like to keep this build for quite some time as I'm getting too lazy to rebuild my PC every 6 month.

The CPU, I do agree that if I don't overclock the 4770 would seem a better offer but 10 -15 € up and down is not an issue and I'd keep the option of overclocking open in the future where it might be reasonable.

For the Mainboard, as I mentioned last time I really got the latest crap even though it was recommended but well... seems I have now another Monday model or so that's why I considered the better version here as well also regarding the amount of SATA and USB 3 slots it offers. Also currently I did occasionally added a second card to my system when I saw that games are not running anymore so more PCI slots are not to underestimate. Currently my mainboard is crap so the 2nd PCI is broken and... never mind.
Still I will read reviews about the recommended boards as I'm always eager to learn something new.

I will properly reconsider the RAM option as I also read that Corsair is working better together with the Haswell it's just I couldn't find a good set for now, I'll see and maybe update later on.

As for the CPU cooler the C M Hyper 212 Evo seems a good value for the price and would keep my options open and my noise level down...

Tower, I looked the Corsair 500r up, I saw it before and now after getting into it a bit more I do see the value in this product more then in the Haf X especially for the price & the dust filter on the bottom, I am allergic to dust so well... I kinda fell in love with the white version even if black and blue are quite nice as well. Main point is 2 USB 3.0 in front!

And at last the SSD... since I use one for my Windows and from time to time for games I desire a second one only for games. The one I have installed has half the MB/s and already reduces some game loading times down to a third. With those sweet little things I cannot even imagine how fast it might go.

Also I do a lot of graphic design in my free time so my C: drive is mostly overfilled with large files and program updates so there is no room for games anymore and just thinking of Deus Ex SSD vs. 7200 makes me wanna puke.

So I will reconsider and update the build + options up there. I know prices can change but that's mostly my strategy, I place a build + total costs, wait 1-2 month and then either get it cheaper or some better parts for the same price.

TheDude77 · Jan 10, 2014

So narrowing it down again, I'm still checking for a mainboard that really suits me but now the Graphic card wars have started again.

There are currently 2 OC models of the R9 290 which is more then sufficient for the price for my needs BUT...
...which one to take?

Both have a price range of ~400€ which makes them 5 - 10 € more expensive then the original AMD version but with a bit of overclocking and triple cooling:

The Sapphire, apart from the nice yellowish looks perfectly fitting to the maiboard (but who cares) offers a higher memory speed: 5200 Mhz instead of 5000
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-341-SP

The Gigabyte version, as usual very simple but impressive looking with no colors and a carbon like frame promises a higher core speed: 1040 Mhz instead of 1000 Mhz
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-133-GI

It seems I'm spending too much time on this again and get to obsessed not only with the parts but also with the greed for some tweaking again... this will end badly.

I do think the Sapphire would be the wiser choice as the AMD driver easily allows you to push the core speed and with already higher memory speed that might be a really nice option. I'm not sure if also the memory speed can be adjusted so easily or it it's healthy doing it your self.
I had very good experiences with both "tuners" Sapphire always gave me great AMD's while my Gigabyte Nvidia lasted the longest with almost 31 days.

What do you think would be the better choice, the Sapphire or Gigabyte?

Thanks!

Joniostis · Jan 10, 2014

i'd go with the sapphire cuz as you said 40mhz on the core is pretty much nothing and you can easily clock the sapphire card to 1040 and it would still be perfectly stable and still be able to overclock a lot. Also it looks better, and believe me it does give your build a much better look when the video card kinda fits with the mobo as far as colors go. So although you might not care, it is something to keep in mind.
According to benchmarks it performs a tiny small micropercent better than the windforce and it's almost 10 pounds cheaper

Joni

TheDude77 · Jan 11, 2014

Well thanks for confirming me that and yes as I want a windows again yellow fits better to gold... but now I guess I need again a black tower.

Regarding the mainboard, after reading a bunch of reviews of Z87 Pro vs Z87 Pro V I actually did not get to any conclusion... the V is the almost exact same board as the normal Pro but with less built in parts (no bluetooth and no WIFI) still costs more though.

In the end it's anyway a cost factor question and if I'm lucky the so desired sabertooth is in offer at the time who knows but I will decide that ad hoc.

Okay, big thanks again to the both of you it was really helpful and very informative to get all this great feedback and ideas and I will let you know as soon as I have the build ready with some pics.

...and hopefully a happy smile this time as suddenly my computer performs as expected for the price.

All the best,
Matt

Joniostis · Jan 12, 2014

please select a best answer so other people can see the solution to your problem or question when they're experiencing something similar

Joni

TheDude77 · Jan 14, 2014

Joniostis :

Well I tried now several times following this guide here from randomizer: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/34244-12-select-answer

But it wouldn't allow me to change the status to "Request solutions to this Question (not a discussion)". Everytime I check it and press Update it tells me that the topic was not changed.

Anything I'm doing wrong here?

ssddx · Jan 14, 2014

dont worry about it as its not a big deal.

one thread mismarked discussion amongst the hundreds of question new build threads isnt going to amount to much.

if you really would like to see it fixed then pm a mod about it. here are a few, pick one.
manofchalk, mousemonkey, anort3, usafret, inzone ...... i'm likely missing a few .....
any of them should be able to change the post for you if you can not.

manofchalk · Jan 16, 2014

TheDude77 :

Nope, its just you aren't a Mod. Dont know why it gives you the option to change the thread type, it seems you need Moderation powers to actually get it through.
Changed it, should be good to go. If something comes up that stops you, just tell me which you want picked and I can set it.

TheDude77 · Jan 17, 2014

Worked and solved, thanks again for all the help!
You both gave me great advice and I would have chosen all your answers if I could but in the end ssdx first big reply made me think the most so I picked it.

Have a good one!

[SOLVED] BIG THANKS :) - New system, need some opinions and help please

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