$2600 PC Build Help

Like I said I will be back.

Before I explain anything. Would you like to have a Haswell-E CPU instead. But the disadvantage is that you MAY have to get a 250GB SSD instead if you don't mind. And I MAY need to change the CPU cooler to an air too.


Note: "MAY" is purposely meant to be in capitals.

Here's my take on your build. First off, this is based around your desire to "get into water cooling". IMO, an all-in-one water cooler is not "getting into water cooling" Most testing shows that they aren't any better than a high end air cooler, just quieter, sometimes. So this build is based around a custom loop. The nice part about a custom loop is that you can add to it or change it around as you change out parts.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.99 @ Amazon)
IMO, the extra money for an i7 isn't worth it for gaming/streaming. This one will do just fine when you don't have the extra money to burn.

Motherboard: Asus MAXIMUS VII FORMULA ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($313.98 @ SuperBiiz)
The motherboard is your backbone, I never go cheap on MBs. This one has plenty of room for upgrades. It has an M.2, sata-express and wireless w/BT. It also has a built-in water cooler for the VRM. Asus got it right this time and went copper on the block (Z87 was aluminum).

Memory: GeIL EVO Veloce Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($127.24 @ TigerDirect)
16GB-1866, enough said

Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($250.38 @ Amazon)
I don't build anything above $800 without an SSD. Fast load times, 500GB, EVOs are perfect for this.

Storage: Hitachi Deskstar 7K2000 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($73.49 @ Amazon)
Extra storage.

Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 780 3GB DirectCU II Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($418.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 780 3GB DirectCU II Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($418.99 @ SuperBiiz)
This one was a consolation for the added expense for the custom loop. The performance isn't that much lower than the TI's, definately not enough to justify the added $260

Case: Cooler Master HAF X ATX Full Tower Case ($149.99 @ Newegg)
I love this case. I'm currently using the same one for my build with custom loop. I'll say more down in the water cooling part.

Power Supply: Cooler Master Silent Pro M 1000W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.99 @ Newegg)
I'm using this PS as well. I've never had any problems with my CM PS's. 1000W, modular cables, single 12V rail.

Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer ($12.99 @ Newegg)
It's an optical, it's inexpensive.

Total: $2066.03
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-11 06:38 EDT-0400

Next up are the parts for the loop. All of these parts are from frozencpu.com. I have bought a lot of stuff from them and I like their customer service. You may be able to find some of the parts cheaper elsewhere.

Monsoon Series Two Premium D5 / MCP655 Dual Bay Reservoir w/Quick Change LED Control - Matte Black w/Red Trim (M2-D5P-RD) $99.99
You can get a cheaper reservoir, but I stand by this one. I'm using it in my HAF X now. The pump mounts to the back, it can support 2 seperate loops, it includes silver coated plugs to reduce baterial growth, the LEDs can be changed to one of 8 colors to match the case, 2 brightness levels and off, very easy to fill. I've had no vibration noise at all from my unit.

Alphacool VPP655 Variable Speed Pump w/ RPM Monitoring - Single Edition (13122) $89.95
Classic D5 pump. It has a 6 speed selector on the back. For $5 more, you could upgrade this to the PWM pump that would let you make speed changes on the fly. I use the PWM pump and it's fun to play around with, but once you find the right speed, you rarely change it. Coupled with the reservoir, I never hear a peep out of this pump.

Phobya G1/4 Thread 3/8" (10mm) ID FatBoy Barb - Vintage Matte Black (63341) x8 $23.92
Barbs, gotta have them to attach the hoses. There are all kinds of options for hose barbs. I use Monsoon compression fittings, but they are a lot more expensive (6 for about $50). These will definitely get you started though.

XSPC High Flex PVC Tubing - 3/8" ID (5/8"OD) - UV Red / Orange x6 $15.00
Tubing to move the water around. Just have to make sure it matches up with the fitting sizes

Phobya Reusable 5/8" OD Hose Clamp - Red (68252) x8 $18.00
Hose clamps to keep the hoses in place.

EK Supremacy EVO Universal CPU Liquid Cooling Block - Nickel CSQ (EK-Supremacy EVO - Nickel (Original CSQ)) $79.99
I don't use anything but EK blocks. This one works extremely well. I got lucky on the i7-4770K lottery and got one that will OC to 5.0 GHz, this block keeps it below the thermal ceiling.

Alphacool NexXxoS UT60 Full Copper Dual 120mm Radiator $76.99
This radiator will mount to the top of the HAF X case without needing to give up any 5.25" drive bays. A 360mm radiator will fit as well but it protrudes into the 5.25" drive bays. UT60s are really good radiators. Now if you want to do some case modding, I have a 400x200mm Phobya radiator mounted to the top of my HAF X. I had to cut the plastic piece on top and trim some of the sheet metal to get it to fit, but I think it turned out really good and it could easily cool a quad SLI setup w/processor.

Akasa 120mm x 25mm Apache Black Super Silent PWM Fan w/ Hydro Dynamic Bearings - Black x2 $31.90
Fans to push the air through the radiator. These are PWM fans and can be controlled from the PWM fan ports on the MB. I use bitfenix 230mm fand on my 400x200 radiator, they move a lot of air and are almost silent but they are about $30 each.

Subtotal: $435.74

This is just a get it up and going water cooling loop. But the great part is the ability to add to it down the road without having to replace the whole thing. You could add water blocks to the video cards, larger radiator, etc. My rig has the 4770K and 2x 7950 video cards on the loop. I can overclock the processor to 5.0 and the gpus to 1100/1600 and nothing overheats even under a concurrent full load on everything.

Lastly, I didn't price out the OS, but the total only comes to about $2500. If you are in school, as you stated, you can get Win 8 Pro from microsft for $60 by using your school email address. Just google Win 8 Student.

Just my .02 worth.

Will glad to see the questions.

I personally would not spend $300 on a motherboard unless you're going X99. I do like the full loop liquid cooling suggestion which is pretty strong although if it's your first time building a PC I wouldn't bother dealing with the setup and maintenance of a full custom loop. Unless you're doing some hardcore overclocking it's not worth the frustration of maintaining a full loop. I would do something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.97 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X61 106.1 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($136.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Z97X Killer ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($137.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2400 Memory ($182.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 850 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($198.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Dual Classified ACX Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($659.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Dual Classified ACX Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($659.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT H440 (Black/Red) ATX Mid Tower Case ($107.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 P2 1000W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($169.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $2564.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-11 19:36 EDT-0400

Gives you one of the best PSUs on the planet, a black / red color scheme based around NZXT's amazing H440 case, and gives you $500 for a 4K monitor plus whatever keyboard and mouse you want.

From the processor side, I don't think moving from a 2600K to a 4790K is worth $330. You are not going to see that big of a performance gain. The other side to consider though is the platform. The processors didn't get much better but the chipset did. If you are going to want to move to M.2 SSDs or SATA-express drives, you are not going to have that option on the 2600K. The new boards are going to have more USB 3.0 slots, more sata slots, etc. It's more a matter of how much you might want to add to this build before the next major overhaul.

Well if you go it to a stable 4.5GHz then I would stay with it. And then when you save up the money and your CPU begins to wear out then maybe a get a new CPU. And I am pretty sure there will be much better ones than the i7-4790K. Who knows what the future beholds.

Yeah I agree there's not a lot of difference between the 3570K and the 4690K, I use both CPUs and there's maybe only a slight gain in terms of performance. No matter which CPU you go with - Ivy Bridge, Haswell, Devil's Canyon, Haswell-E, the differences are very slight at best, but all will last you any number of years. Where it would make more sense is to invest more in the graphics than the CPU.