New gaming pc to replace current $3400

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Doorstopper

Doorstopper

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Mar 24, 2014
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I just got a huge bonus at work and decided what better way to spend it than to build a new computer. Ive got just over $3400 to spend on it.

Approximate Purchase Date: Whenever I get a final list to purchase
Budget Range: $3400
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming/streaming to twitch/3D rednering and design/internet surfing
Are you buying a monitor: No
Parts to Upgrade: Everything
Do you need to buy OS: Yes
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Any site that does shipping directly to my house
Location: Arizona, US
Parts Preferences: Intel CPU, graphics cards that support crossfire with eyefinity (or nvidia alternative)
Overclocking: Yes
SLI or Crossfire: Yes preferably
Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080 (4 monitors)
Additional Comments: I don't care about sound, but I would like it to be as cool as possible.
And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: Simply put, I have the money to do it
 
Solution
Rapajez
manofchalk, I agree that there's no reason to upgrade if you have a SandyBridge-E system, but the OP has a Z87/Xeon setup. Plus, who knows what the future will hold for the X99 platform? Maybe DDR4 will be more important, or the extra PCI lanes, or the SATA Express and M2 connections for future SSDs. Granted, a regular Haswell Build would allow you to put more toward the GPU, SSD, peripherals etc.

Still vote on keeping your rig, and waiting for the end-of-the-year releases, for the reasons stated above. Anyway, here's 2 builds for now, based on whether you believe in the "Haswell-E" platform.

Haswell-E Build: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/dMYvD3
Haswell Build: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ZkKzXL

There's a killer $175 combo for the R9 295X2...
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LukaBoki

LukaBoki

Splendid
Jul 12, 2014
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The.best.build.ever.
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/tXfXVn
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/tXfXVn/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i7-4930K 3.4GHz 6-Core Processor ($579.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X61 106.1 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($136.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus Rampage IV Black Edition EATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($473.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Dominator 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($204.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($437.37 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB WINDFORCE Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($609.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB WINDFORCE Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($609.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 450D ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 1000G2 1000W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($146.81 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $3355.07
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-29 16:05 EDT-0400
 
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zemiak

zemiak

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Nov 19, 2013
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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4930K 3.4GHz 6-Core Processor ($579.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Sabertooth X79 ATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($303.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Dominator Platinum 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($209.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($229.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 295X2 8GB Video Card ($1499.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic X Series 1050W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($187.04 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($13.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $3414.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-29 16:11 EDT-0400
 
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manofchalk

manofchalk

Glorious
May 11, 2012
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Is pretty late where I am, so just some quick feedback.
You already have a pretty good gaming/streaming rig in your sig, dont see any reason you cant use that for it. Only upgrade you could really need to that is another 780 since your running a triple screen setup, but if your streaming I'm guessing you only play on a single screen anyway.

With this amount of cash you could build yourself an absolutely killer workstation.

Who needs a Haswell-E 8 core when you can get two Ivy Bridge-E hex-cores? :D
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131817&cm_re=Z9PE-D8-_-13-131-817-_-Product
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116934&cm_re=2011_Xeon-_-19-116-934-_-Product
Throw a suitably ridiculous amount of RAM at it (32GB I would say), a workstation graphics card (I assume you know whats good for your usage), 256GB of SSD and a ton of RAID'd HDD storage. In terms of cases your going to be limited by the mobo form factor, but considering the best case on the market (the Phanteks Enthoo Primo) supports it your fine. From there custom water-cool the thing and your set.
 
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LukaBoki

LukaBoki

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Jul 12, 2014
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RAID is basically connecting all of the HDDs into one? Or am I wrong?
I'm not familiar with that. :p
 
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manofchalk

manofchalk

Glorious
May 11, 2012
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RAID = Redundant Array of Inexpensive/Independant Disks
Its different ways of having HDD's interact with each other for the purpose of redundancy (disks can die but you dont lose data, with the exception of RAID0). A byproduct of this is that to Windows they all appear as one massive drive yes, however that description could also apply to spanned drives which is a different thing entirely.

Youtube video explaining RAID 0, 1 and 10. These are the RAID levels that a normal consumer would feasibly use.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eE7Bfw9lFfs
There is also RAID 5 and 6, but those are more suited for server applications.
 
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Rapajez

Rapajez

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I'd personally wait a few days, given the setup you have already. You have new CPUs and a massive GPU overhaul (GTX 800 series?) around the corner.

If you do build now, the two builds above fail to include the recently launched Haswell Enthusiast platform (Haswell-E). That includes the i7-5XXX CPUs, X99 motherboards, and DDR4 RAM. Current benchmarks don't show a huge improvement from Ivybridge-E, but why trap yourself into a dead socket, 2 year old chipset, and 5 year old RAM?
 
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LukaBoki

LukaBoki

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Jul 12, 2014
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So,RAID is a way of connecting HDDs,and if one HDDs die,you don't lose the data that was on it. You lose data when you do RAID 0,while you don't with the others.RAID 0,1 and 10 are for normal people,while RAID 5 and 6 are for servers.Right?
 
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Rapajez

Rapajez

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Also keep in mind, if you play surround/eyefinity (stretch the gaming across multiple monitors) VRAM becomes very important. It would be nice to re-use your existing GTX 780, but you'd be more futureproof with one of the 4-6GB Video Cards.
 
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Rapajez

Rapajez

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You could Google this fast, but I feel like typing:

RAID 0 = Data spread over all drives. It's about X faster than 1 drive, where X is the number of drives. However, if one drive fails, you lose everything.

RAID 1 = Data mirroring. Everything gets duplicated across all of the drives. You loose capicity, as 2 x 1TB drives, means you have 1 TB of usable storage. (the rest is mirrored). In theory, you get slightly faster read speeds, as the reads are spread over the drives, but slower write times, as everything is written multiple times.

RAID 10 = combination of both of the above, requires at least 4 drives.

Kind of an oversimplification, but you get the idea, and yes RAID 5/6 are much more complex, usually reserved for servers and enterprise solutions.
 
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LukaBoki

LukaBoki

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Jul 12, 2014
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OK,thanks. :)
 
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Rapajez

Rapajez

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That said, SSDs are so fast, that using RAID 0 for performance is almost pointless these days. Many RAID controllers will probably be too slow to give much real world benifit with a SSDs RAID 0. And there's no reason to risk a RAID 0 on your storage HDDs, as you'd rather have reliability than speed for your music collection.

A RAID 1 for your HDD drives is still a good idea, if you can spare the money.
 
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manofchalk

manofchalk

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May 11, 2012
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RAID is a concept, with the numbers (or levels) being the actual configuration.
Each level has its own advantages/disadvantages. The video I linked is a pretty quick look at RAID, you will want to look up a more advanced guide if you want a proper understanding of all their properties and why they occur. RAID0, 1 and 10 are feasible for consumers because they require no dedicated hardware to run and dont require many drives. 5 and 6 needs dedicated hardware to calculate parity and where data is sent, and require a fair number of drives to get up and running, however offer the best mix between performance and redundancy.

But yea, were getting off topic here.



I acknowledge Haswell-E is here, but everything about it is too expensive right now. DDR4 is $120 per 8GB stick and the 8core chip is $1000, and as you said there is no real performance advantage.
Besides, once you have your 8-core Haswell-E, do you think there will be any compelling reason to upgrade in the next 2-3yrs? People running Sandy Bridge-E didnt upgrade for Ivy-Bridge-E, and I doubt they will upgrade for Haswell-E either.
 
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Obnoxious

Obnoxious

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Jul 24, 2012
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For your budget, I was thinking perhaps you could go with the latest processor and RAM advancements. I've included the Haswell-E chip with DDR4; the 8-core Hyper Threaded i7-5960X (8 cores / 16 threads) and 32GB DDR4 @ 2133MHz. I've also included 3-way CrossFire with the R9 290. To power it all, I've put the Antec 1200W Semi-Modular PSU.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5960X 3.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($1049.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Micro Center)
Motherboard: ASRock X99 Extreme3 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($215.71 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($479.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($73.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: HIS Radeon R9 290 4GB IceQ X² Video Card (3-Way CrossFire) ($369.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: HIS Radeon R9 290 4GB IceQ X² Video Card (3-Way CrossFire) ($369.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: HIS Radeon R9 290 4GB IceQ X² Video Card (3-Way CrossFire) ($369.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Antec TruePower Quattro 1200W 80+ Silver Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($226.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($13.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $3404.58
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-29 16:53 EDT-0400

You're free to change whatever you desire.

All the best. ;)
 
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gamer1357

gamer1357

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Aug 6, 2014
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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor ($389.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock X99 Extreme3 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($215.71 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($479.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($437.37 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 290X 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($499.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 290X 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($499.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 760T Black ATX Full Tower Case ($129.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 1000G2 1000W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($146.81 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $3033.79
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-29 17:08 EDT-0400

This motherboard was the only one on pcpartpicker. I would look into some of the new asus ones like the x99 deluxe.
 
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Mre tech

Mre tech

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Jun 25, 2014
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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor ($389.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Thermaltake Water 3.0 Ultimate 99.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock X99 Extreme3 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($215.71 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($505.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($187.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: PNY GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($649.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: PNY GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($649.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Rosewill RISE Glow ATX Full Tower Case ($93.49 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair 1200W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($267.00 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG WH16NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($54.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) ($128.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $3464.07
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-29 17:22 EDT-0400
 
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Doorstopper

Doorstopper

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Mar 24, 2014
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Sorry for the late response.

@manofchalk: I forgot to put that a my roommate is buying my PC from me. That's kinda the main reason I'm building a new one. And since I got the huge bonus, I am now able to build a better PC.

Also I saw that you guys kept mentioning raid, and I probably should have mentioned that I may be taking my current raid 10 WD Black 2TB setup. That is if I can talk my roommate into letting me keep them. That's why I put to just add new storage because I wasn't sure if I would need it.
 
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Rapajez

Rapajez

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manofchalk, I agree that there's no reason to upgrade if you have a SandyBridge-E system, but the OP has a Z87/Xeon setup. Plus, who knows what the future will hold for the X99 platform? Maybe DDR4 will be more important, or the extra PCI lanes, or the SATA Express and M2 connections for future SSDs. Granted, a regular Haswell Build would allow you to put more toward the GPU, SSD, peripherals etc.

Still vote on keeping your rig, and waiting for the end-of-the-year releases, for the reasons stated above. Anyway, here's 2 builds for now, based on whether you believe in the "Haswell-E" platform.

Haswell-E Build: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/dMYvD3
Haswell Build: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ZkKzXL

There's a killer $175 combo for the R9 295X2 with that PSU. I like the idea of the R9 295x2 in this bracket, as you could drop in a 2nd one day, for easy quad GPU fun. Alternatives would be a 3-way Sapphire Tri-X R9 290 setup, (and a big side case fan), again, the key being VRAM for Eyefinity, but I think that leaves less room for upgrades, plus more heat, noise, and headache.

I put the extra money toward a faster SSD in the 2nd build, you could just save it. You can switch between the larger 1TB Samsung 840 EVO SSD (larger capacity SSDs usually = more speed), with a faster/smaller Samsung 850 Pro. Likewise, you could save money by dropping from the 850 to the 840 EVO, or a smaller SSD if you have the HDD array. I would never dip below 250GB personally. Too much hassle moving games/apps around.

Put saved money toward some a nice mechanical keyboard and/or gaming mouse.
 
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Solution
Rapajez

Rapajez

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Rational for choices, NZXT case fits the newly launched (and crazy quiet) NZXT Kracken X61 nicely. Case comes down to preference, but make sure it will fit the cooler's radiator. If you prefer air cooling (better for ambient temperatures, price, and not much worse than these closed-loop water coolers), go with the Noctua NH-D15 (make sure it clears the RAM heatsyncs and fits in the case).

Gigabyte UDH boards aren't the prettiest, but the go through rigorous testing before leaving the factory, and the BLK editions go through more. They also offer good stock performance given identical components with ASUS & MSI boards, and are great overclockers.

XFX makes solid PSUs, and Gold+ and Fully Modular is a bonus. The 1250W may be overkill, but with the combo right now...it's cheaper than 1000W. Plus it allows for more headroom, for both overclocking and expansion.

Last I checked, Samsung 850 Pro is the fastest SSD on the market, followed by the Sandisk Extreme Pro and Samsung 840 EVO. Samsung also has the lowest failure ratings and the best management software.

 
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