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Need advice on my first build

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  • Intel i7
  • Intel i5
  • PC gaming
  • Build Your Own
  • Build
  • Systems
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July 27, 2014 1:09:45 AM

Hi everyone. This will be my first pc build. I'm mostly going to be using it for gaming with three monitors at 1900 x 1200, watching videos, and having 100 tabs open in Chrome (as of right now, I've counted 60 tabs open lol). I'll also be doing all three at the same time at one point or another and switching back and forth between them all.

I have read that having an i5 is better as the difference from an i7 is neglible, but I was wondering would the i7 be more future proof than the i5? I don't plan on building a new pc for at least 4 or 5 years, maybe more if i can help it.

Any advice on changes I should make would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/NDXrRB
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/NDXrRB/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($322.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright TRUE Spirit 140 POWER 73.6 CFM CPU Cooler ($49.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 EXTREME4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($89.99)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($129.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($234.03 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB K|ngp|n Video Card ($789.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom (Black) ATX Full Tower Case ($119.98 @ OutletPC)
Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($84.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $2091.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-07-27 04:01 EDT-0400

More about : advice build

July 27, 2014 1:19:35 AM

For Gaming, i5 is more than enough.. Going for i7 is much recommended for video rendering, heavy, multi-tasking operations.. If you want unlocked CPU for gaming get a i5-4690K ans save some money.. And a 650 W 80+ Bronze rated PSU is enough for GTX 780ti.. If you consider future, get a 750W 80+ Gold rated PSU and save money.. The other components you chose were good..
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July 27, 2014 1:32:40 AM

I agree, an i5 4690k is a smarter choice. The PSU you chose is of very high quality but you could get the 750W G2 without any problems, although if you think you might want to SLI later on I'd suggest sticking with the 850W. Everything else looks perfect, except maybe a Noctua D15 or D14 would be a better choice for CPU cooling. Also, you don't really need more than 8GB of RAM but that is completely up to you. :) 
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July 27, 2014 1:34:58 AM

Alex Kelly said:
I agree, an i5 4690k is a smarter choice. The PSU you chose is of very high quality but you could get the 750W G2 without any problems, although if you think you might want to SLI later on I'd suggest sticking with the 850W. Everything else looks perfect, except maybe a Noctua D15 or D14 would be a better choice for CPU cooling. Also, you don't really need more than 8GB of RAM but that is completely up to you. :) 


Since he's opening number of tabs in chrome, (a single tab of chrome consumes 65+ MB from RAM), I recommend him to stay with 16 GB RAM (so that he can game with all the tabs opened in background ;)  )..
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July 27, 2014 1:36:14 AM

I just reduced what I felt was unnecessary.

Like what's said above. i5 vs i7, not much of a performance difference. Gains are marginal.

Cooler, cm hyper 212 evo is enough and still supports a decent overclock and decent temperatures.

The hard drive, I'm not sure what you'll be doing with a 4TB hard drive... Let alone a WD Black... 1TB hard drive is plenty of space already. If you need more a 2tb drive is already a lot as is.

GPU, kingpin is unnecessary. It's made for extreme overclocking and what not. You could do just as well with an ASUS 780ti, or even a r9 290x.

Money saved could be put into the bank for the future SLI Or something. If you're not planning on running an SLI, you could lower the PSU to a XFX 650w or Rosewill Capstone 650w.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($234.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 EXTREME4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($89.99)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra Plus 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($109.95 @ Adorama)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB DirectCU II Video Card ($639.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: NZXT Phantom (Black) ATX Full Tower Case ($119.98 @ OutletPC)
Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($119.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1654.85
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July 27, 2014 1:38:21 AM

Calnin said:
I just reduced what I felt was unnecessary.

Like what's said above. i5 vs i7, not much of a performance difference. Gains are marginal.

Cooler, cm hyper 212 evo is enough and still supports a decent overclock and decent temperatures.

The hard drive, I'm not sure what you'll be doing with a 4TB hard drive... Let alone a WD Black... 1TB hard drive is plenty of space already. If you need more a 2tb drive is already a lot as is.

GPU, kingpin is unnecessary. It's made for extreme overclocking and what not. You could do just as well with an ASUS 780ti, or even a r9 290x.

Money saved could be put into the bank for the future SLI Or something. If you're not planning on running an SLI, you could lower the PSU to a XFX 650w or Rosewill Capstone 650w.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($234.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 EXTREME4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($89.99)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra Plus 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($109.95 @ Adorama)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB DirectCU II Video Card ($639.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: NZXT Phantom (Black) ATX Full Tower Case ($119.98 @ OutletPC)
Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($119.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1654.85


Yes, he could reduce the wattage of the PSU but I wouldn't recommend it. If you don't want to SLI I still think the 750W G2 is the best choice as it has the best ripple suppression and voltage regulation out. :) 

And yeah if you like keeping heaps of tabs open at once I suppose 16GB of RAM is actually a good idea :p 
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July 27, 2014 1:41:29 AM

If he's not running SLI, the most power he'd use with an overclocking i5 + gtx 780Ti would be ~550-600w. 750 G2 would still be way overkill for the system, not to mention you could easily just go with a 750 B2 over it, or a 750w supernova nex.
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July 27, 2014 1:45:13 AM

Calnin said:
If he's not running SLI, the most power he'd use with an overclocking i5 + gtx 780Ti would be ~550-600w. 750 G2 would still be way overkill for the system, not to mention you could easily just go with a 750 B2 over it, or a 750w supernova nex.


Yes, he could, but the more wattage you get the less the PSU has to work and cool itself down, resulting in a more silent system. The Supernova NEX is not a good choice at all, and the B2 is bronze certified rather than gold, the cables don't look as nice and doesn't have the hybrid fan. It is still a very good choice though if he needs to save a bit of extra cash. I just know the NEX PSUs are very average in terms of noise, ripple suppression and voltage regulation. I've done my research :p 
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July 27, 2014 1:47:23 AM

The main difference between bronze and gold is that gold is more efficient. If you're running your system for longer periods of time, it'd help. The supernova nex is a tier 2b power supply. It's a good enough unit for most systems, especially one with a single gpu.
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July 27, 2014 9:10:12 AM

Thanks for all the replies.
I had originally picked the i7 because I wanted something that would be more future-proof/future-viable, but I will be switching to an i5 4690k CPU now.

The reason I got a 4tb HDD is because I download a lot of anime, asian movies and some dramas, and don't really burn off cds or dvds anymore for storage. I currently keep my entire collection on a 4TB Touro external HDD. Also, I was used to installing my games onto and running them off an external drive because on my current laptop, I only have a 40gb main hard drive (the laptop is from 2011), which is why I went with WD black for performance. But I guess with a 256gb SSD, I should have no problems with space for installing games. Would a WD green 4tb suffice just for video storage purposes?

I picked the 780ti Kingpin because I wanted it to be more future-proof, and was also hoping it would be able to drive three monitors at 1920x1200 better than a regular 780ti. According to the Newegg website, the kingpin has a base clock of 1072MHz, boost clock of 1137Mhz, and memory clock of 7000Mhz, and a req of a "650 watt or greater power supply with a minimum of 45 amps on the +12 volt rail." I also read that the base power draw was 250 watts, but could supposedly draw up to 450 watts by itself, which is why I picked my current 850 watt PSU. With all this in mind, is the kingpin still unnecessary? I was thinking the faster clocks would help my system be more future-proof. And should I still drop my PSU down to 650 or 750 watts? If gold is more efficient I think I would pick that since I would be using my computer on for long periods of time. Sometimes, I end up gaming all day when I don't have any plans made. >_<

I picked the Thermalright TRUE Spirit 140 POWER 73.6 CFM CPU Cooler because it was one of Tom's Hardware's "Smart Picks" for 2013. I also read somewhere else that it was quieter than the Noctua, which is always a plus for me. Sometimes the anime or dramas I'm downloading don't have many seeds or they have slow speeds, so I leave my computer on overnight to finish downloading. Having a quieter system would be preferable.

Thanks again
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July 27, 2014 2:55:05 PM

I still think the kingpin is unnecessary. You'd be fine with an ASUS 780Ti. Unless you're going to be overclocking the thing to something very high, something cheaper would do just as well as the kingpin. It's still a gtx780Ti. A high quality 650w would do fine and still give plenty of overclocking and expansion room.
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July 28, 2014 4:31:50 PM

Here is my updated build:
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/VYdRYJ
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/VYdRYJ/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (Purchased For $199.99)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright TRUE Spirit 140 POWER 73.6 CFM CPU Cooler ($49.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 EXTREME4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (Purchased For $89.99)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($129.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Green 4TB 3.5" 5900RPM Internal Hard Drive ($149.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Superclocked ACX Video Card ($659.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom (Black) ATX Full Tower Case ($119.98 @ OutletPC)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($84.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1738.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-07-28 19:17 EDT-0400

Do you think a 750w G2 PSU at $85 is too much? And how do you feel about the GTX 780Ti Superclocked or the MSI GTX 780Ti Gaming? Or do you still recommend getting a GTX 780Ti reference, and if you do, should I get it with or without the ACX cooler? I read that the Asus GTX 780Ti is quieter, but the EVGA version has better performance, so I kinda want to stick with EVGA for the GPU.
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July 28, 2014 4:36:04 PM

innocentxsin said:
Here is my updated build:
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/VYdRYJ
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/VYdRYJ/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (Purchased For $199.99)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright TRUE Spirit 140 POWER 73.6 CFM CPU Cooler ($49.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 EXTREME4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (Purchased For $89.99)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($129.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Green 4TB 3.5" 5900RPM Internal Hard Drive ($149.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Superclocked ACX Video Card ($659.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom (Black) ATX Full Tower Case ($119.98 @ OutletPC)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($84.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1738.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-07-28 19:17 EDT-0400

Do you think a 750w G2 PSU at $85 is too much? And how do you feel about the GTX 780Ti Superclocked? Or do you still recommend getting a GTX 780Ti reference, and if you do, should I get it with or without the ACX cooler? I read that the Asus GTX 780Ti is quieter, but the EVGA version has better performance, so I kinda want to stick with EVGA for the GPU.


The 750W G2 at $85 is amazing value, and the best choice if you are sure you won't want to SLI. Although as I said before, if you're thinking about SLI in the future I'd recommend spending a little extra on the 850W version. The EVGA 780ti is a great card, but the Asus 780ti is also amazing. Here is a review of that card. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FK7cCsCWss

If you are sure you want to stick with EVGA, the Superclocked version with their ACX cooler is definitely the way to go. :D 

Everything else you have picked out looks perfect. :) 
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July 28, 2014 4:40:18 PM

EVGA is probably one of the top 3 companies right now.

As for the PSU, the 750w g2 is one of the best psu's out. It's one of the cheaper gold rated PSUs at that, plus it's fully modular. It's a good price for it. The system itself would probably run fine on a 650w psu, but if you're looking for a gold rated 650w psu, just stick with that 750w g2.
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July 28, 2014 4:45:39 PM

Calnin said:
EVGA is probably one of the top 3 companies right now.

As for the PSU, the 750w g2 is one of the best psu's out. It's one of the cheaper gold rated PSUs at that, plus it's fully modular. It's a good price for it. The system itself would probably run fine on a 650w psu, but if you're looking for a gold rated 650w psu, just stick with that 750w g2.


That's pretty much exactly what I've said. Good advice though, those are some of the reasons I suggested the G2. :) 
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