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Critique My First Build Attempt...Please.

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  • New Build
Last response: in Systems
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February 28, 2014 1:32:54 PM

Greetings,

I have been lurking here on and off for months with the intention of eventually building a replacement for the Dell 8300 (with blazing fast Pentium 4 processor!) my family has been using for the the past ten years (yes, it still works...even have Windows 7 running on it even though it is supposedly not compatible).

My wife and kids have been using the 8300 mainly for web surfing/email but now that my kids are older they would like to play Sims3, Minecraft, Far Cry, Call of Duty etc. The 8300 plays Minecraft only with severe lag (go figure, right). Anyways, the 8300 finally died today and I promised everyone they would be rewarded with a blazing fast computer to make up for suffering with the Dell. I would like to stick to a budget of $1300-$1500. I already have a good 1080p 24" monitor and a new Windows 7 Pro disk...but need everything else new.

My requirements:

1. Mid/Upper range game capable. I have a PS3. I promised my son the games on the new computer would look better than they do on our PS3 (Far Cry 3, Infamous, Lara Croft...that type stuff). Hope this is reasonable.

2. I would also like to use the computer to edit our family movies, burn DVD/BluRay backups of pictures and movies, and do some video format converting (I use freeware and mid-price software to convert VOB to other formats).

3. I MAY overclock in the future...these forums convinced me I can do it myself if I am diligent and read enough threads on the subject.

After reading dozens of build scenarios and the feedback provided on this forum, I came up with the following. I plan on ordering in the next day or so. Any comments/improvements would be GREATLY appreciated! I am paranoid I will order everything and then discover I missed something major.

http://

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/31JsX
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/31JsX/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/31JsX/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.99 @ TigerDirect)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87-DS3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($87.88 @ Adorama)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($155.99 @ Best Buy)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($149.00 @ B&H)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($329.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($57.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($75.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: LG BH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($107.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $1314.77
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-28 16:28 EST-0500)

More about : critique build attempt

February 28, 2014 1:41:51 PM

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.99 @ TigerDirect)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87-DS3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($70.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital RE3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.94 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Video Card ($722.81 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($75.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: LG BH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($107.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $1510.63
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-28 16:41 EST-0500)
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February 28, 2014 1:52:19 PM

Id go with a bigger psu in my opinion maybe a 750w if youre looking at OC at all id switch to a water cooler such as an H100i for the rest that system should Ultra any game out there today.
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February 28, 2014 2:09:08 PM

Jacob McIntosh said:

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Video Card ($722.81 @ Amazon)

How on earth do you figure spending over twice the price of a 770 to go to a 780ti on a single 1080p monitor? He'll never see that kind of difference in the games he's wanting to play. I'm running a 7950, which is slower than both by quite a bit, and I can throw pretty much everything at it just fine @1080p.
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Best solution

February 28, 2014 2:10:25 PM

i changed your ODD to an alternative drive that has the same specs for lower price
i changed the memory to a g skill set with a lower cas latency, also g skill is better for overclocking imo
i changed the your ssd to a m500, has similar performance and cost 40 dollars last
i changed your 2tb hdd to a barracuda. barracuda is a trusted hdd and is 50 dollars less
i changed your motherboard to a higher end gigabyte to better support overclocking and it supports sli if you want to upgrade to 2 gpus later on


PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/31M9W
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/31M9W/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/31M9W/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.99 @ TigerDirect)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($32.99 @ Mwave)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87X-HD3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($129.49 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial M500 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($133.64 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($87.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($339.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($57.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($75.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: LG WH16NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($75.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1225.03
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-28 17:01 EST-0500)

with this it will save you 100 dollars and you reserve the option that if you want you can get a 780 for around 160 dollars more which would be around 60 dollars more than your original build. but raise your psu to a 750w and let me know if this is what you decide and i can help you find a good one :)  if you are planning on watching bluray movies on pc you will also need 3rd party software you cant just plop in a disk and play it....and yes the glory that is gaming on pcs beats the hell out of gaming on consoles. and it might get your kids interested in modding games which would be a great learning experience for them. hope all this input helps your decision!!!
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March 1, 2014 9:33:03 PM

Thanks to all for your help. I took most of the advise offered and also made a few last minute impulsive changes (got my order entered right before midnight when several of the rebates expired). I decided to increase the SSD size and remove the HDD (I can always add one later if needed). I also bumped the GPU up to the GTX780....$500!!...Sure hope it is worth it (thanks Bad_Kitty13 for the benchmark info). Also better PSU.

Final BOM as ordered:

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/31WKQ
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/31WKQ/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/31WKQ/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.96 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87X-HD3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($129.49 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial M500 480GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($259.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card ($489.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: XFX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG WH16NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($69.99 @ Microcenter)
Total: $1443.38
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-02 00:19 EST-0500)

Final question: Is the Hyper 212 EVO completely adequate if I eventually OC, or should I order a liquid cooler if I go that route?
Thanks.
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March 1, 2014 9:40:08 PM

TWood said:
Thanks to all for your help. I took most of the advise offered and also made a few last minute impulsive changes (got my order entered right before midnight when several of the rebates expired). I decided to increase the SSD size and remove the HDD (I can always add one later if needed). I also bumped the GPU up to the GTX780....$500!!...Sure hope it is worth it (thanks Bad_Kitty13 for the benchmark info). Also better PSU.

Final BOM as ordered:

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/31WKQ
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/31WKQ/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/31WKQ/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.96 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87X-HD3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($129.49 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial M500 480GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($259.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card ($489.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: XFX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG WH16NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($69.99 @ Microcenter)
Total: $1443.38
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-02 00:19 EST-0500)

Final question: Is the Hyper 212 EVO completely adequate if I eventually OC, or should I order a liquid cooler if I go that route?
Thanks.


as long as you arent trying to set any world records it will be finr up to 4.3ghz clock and sometimes you cant get 4670k chips to go above 4.3 no matter what you do (stability issues) depends on the luck of the draw
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