Will This Build Have Much Bottlenecking?

1, MSI has poor QC, get Asus, ASRock or Gigabyte
2, RAM and SSDs can be found for a lower $/GB
3, You don't need a hybrid drive if you're already going to run an SSD
4, I would suggest 1 780 Ti instead of 2 780s so you can SLI later
Otherwise, you're good to go!

No real criticisms other than the storage and cooler but some ideas ya might wanna consider.

1. If money is an issue, consider the 4690k...saves $100 which could be better spent perhaps in other areas

2. MSI MoBo is excellent, but unless there's some specific feature you need, I'd consider the GD65. As for MSI's alleged QC issues, the historical data for RMA returns says otherwise and puts Asus at the bottom of the rankings. I here's the rate of RMA returns for 2011 and 2012, latest years for which data is available:

http://www.behardware.com/articles/843-2/components-returns-rates-5.html

2011 Return rates ....
- MSI 1.5% (as against 2.3%)
- Gigabyte 1,6% (as against 1.6%)
- ASRock 2.1% (as against 2.0%)
- ASUS 2.2% (as against 1.9%)

2012
- ASRock 1.67% (against 1.90%)
- Gigabyte 1.77% (against 2.17%)
- MSI 2.24% (against 2.11%)
- ASUS 2.34% (against 2.66%)

Not a lot of reviews around for the Z97 version but its basically same MoBo as Z87 with the new chipset .... and the Z87 was reviewed glowingly:

http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/msi_z87_gd65_gaming/12.htm

MSI has been using components that meet or exceed MIL-STD-810G for some time as part of its Military Class build philosophy. Parts such as Super Ferrite Chokes that run at up to 35 degree Celsius lower temperatures, have a 30% higher current handling capacity, and a 20% improvement in power efficiency; Tantalum filled Hi-C Caps that are are up to 93% efficient; and "Dark Capacitors" that feature Lower ESR and a ten-year lifespan all tied into a PCB with improved temperature and humidity protections as part of the "Military Essentials" package......In the end MSI's Z87-GD65 is a board that comes with an expansive feature set that includes all your basics and the extras that set them apart such as the V-Check points, upper end audio, Dual BIOS ROMs, KIller Network package, Military Class IV package, and a three-year warranty. Couple that with good looks that carry the dragon theme through the board, and you have a winning combination at $189.

Click to expand...

http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cpu_mainboard/msi_z87_gd65_gaming_review/15

Now and again a motherboard appears that is so obviously brilliant, and so affordable, that we wonder if anything will be able to top it. For a while that crown was held by the ASUS Sabertooth, both in X58 and then P67 variants. Then MSI stole the crown with the Z77 MPower. Looking at the Z87 GD65 Gaming we think it's going to take something extraordinary to top it, such is the perfect storm of price, performance, features and looks.

The switch to Military Class 4 has given us an extremely ready overclocker too. You're always thermally limited when overclocking and the i7-4770K is one of the most demanding around. Considering the amount of cooling we're using we think that although the GD65 is capable of bringing 5GHz from our i7-4770K you'd need a proper water loop to make the most of it.

Performance is outstanding. The stock results were a particular highlight. We know a lot of people still just like to put their CPU in and go, without overclocking it first. Despite how easy it is these days we know that the fear factor still exists. So you'll be glad to know that the MSI Z87 GD65 Gaming really rocks hard even at stock settings. Naturally the overclocking is blistering too, with some OC3D records broken.

MSI have laid the gauntlet down to all the other manufacturers. Gorgeous to look at, blistering performance and all at a very affordable price, the MSI Z87 GD65 Gaming is not only the new benchmark for Z87 motherboards, but probably for all motherboards.

Click to expand...

3. You can find faster RAM for same price:
2133 2 x 4GB - $87 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231689
2133 2 x 8GB - $150 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226420

4. Forget the H100i as it's 60 dbA noise levels makes ya feel like ya live next to an airport. If you **must** have an AIO, the Swiftech H220-X is:

- less than 1/4 as load as the h100i
-outperforms the h100i
-is copper unlike the H100i's aluminum
-is not closed loop like the H100i
-it can be opened to add water blocks for GPus and MpBo etc
http://www.swiftech.com/H220-X.aspx


5. You storage system is a bit substandard w/ 5400 rpm HD and small SSD. For $10 more than the $159 you are spending on those, you could have
a 4 TB SSHD .... a 7200 rpm HD with a built in SSD....or save $45 and get the 2 TB model which will double ya storage and provide barely distinguishable every day performance

Booting Win 7 from my SSD takes 15.6 seconds
Booting Win 7 from my SSD takes 16.5 seconds

If you stick with the SSD, you most certainly would benefit from an SSHD but more so from a 7200 rpm one .... after all the SSD with your OS simply boots faster. It does squat for the games sitting on ya HD. The secondary SSHD, where the games are will laod the games, much, much faster.... and will automatically adjust from game to game as to what gets stored on the SSHD .... but get a 7200 rpm version.

6. If ya wanna stick with the 780s .... the Posiedon (water cooling capable) will match up well with the Swiftech cooler. Adds $80 for the cards and $80 for the cooler, but ya saved $45 on the storage subsystem while almost doubling storage with the bigger SSHD. However with the 980 expected to drop in six days for $500, the price of the 780s will drop even more...as will everything else. I'd wait and see what happens ....expect those Poseidons will be under $400 by then

7. 1000 watts is way more than ya need for two 780s or even two 780 Ti's. I have two 780s overclocked 26% and the systems draws only 745 watts from the wall under Furmark and that's with two water pumps (23 watts max) and 15 fans.....745 watts at the wall = 670 watts PSU output ... an 850 gives you 180 watts of headroom. Andya want the G2 not the G1
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438018

8. I'd consider a better case for SLI loads such as the Case of the year award winner for 2104 (Enthoo Pro). It also holds multiple rads which would be well suited if you go for the Poseidons.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811854004
Adding side window and PSU shroud adds $10 .... getting white one adds another $10

9. Monitor is superb

10. You'd benefit from an extra radiator ($55) for the GPUs, along with necessary tubing and fittings, you will spend another $25 or so

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($339.94 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($144.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($156.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: A-Data Premier Pro SP600 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($103.50 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB DirectCU II Video Card ($587.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair 860W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($169.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1722.37
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-13 16:03 EDT-0400
Add whatever peripherals you want to this build and be happy

Looks much better .... but lose the 4 x 4 Gb and replace w/ 2 x 8GB

1) it's low end 1333 end stuff
2) the Mushkin is 2133 set I gave ya is cheaper and utmost quality (Hynix Modules)
3) 4 modules puts bigger load on ya CPU and reduces overclocking ability.

I'd also wait for those card prices to drop next week after 980 comes out.

w/ $200 bucks back in ya pocket from original bild.... I'd consider

1. Add that SSD anyway .... $140
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147248

2. Get a super cool looking case with better cooling ability, built in fan controller and LED systems +$60 (also comes in black). You can't see the cables in the Phanteks cases....PSU is under a shroud and everything else is easily hidden other then where PCI-E cables go into GFX cards
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811854007



3. Water cool the cards +$80 for Poseidons (less next week). Install them air cooled as now. Not only that, the Asus cards on ya list are clocked at 889 Mhz .... the Poseidons are clocked at 954 Mhz. You can run them on air for now and, if so inclined, add a $55 radiator, some tubing and 2 fittings later..... and bring those lil boys up to 1100 Mhz or so.

OCing is indeed safe, but be sure not to venture into the 90s of degrees celsius because it WILL shorten the lifespan of your CPU.

1. Mushkin is **THE** premier memory manufacturer and has been for going on 20 years .... they don't advertise for the same reason that Porsche doesn't advertise....they don't need to. Memory is like PSU's what matters is not the logo on the side but what components are inside....the Redline series uses Hynix modules which are the "Gold Standard" in the industry.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/memory-scaling-gaming-haswell-richland,3593-18.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/quad-channel-ddr3-memory-review,3100-11.html

2. Wasn't aware, no option there.

3. Well first off ya realize that you can't test the build until ya have all the parts and any chance of returning things within the 30 day period goes out the window ... recommend buying everything all at once for that reason..... Second... planning a build more than a month in advance is a big stretch .... by then the entire 9xx line will be out and who know what else.

4. Overclocking is cake. You don't need a 3rd party cooler if you are not overclocking (save $140) nor even a k series processor.

No G.SKILL or Corsair?

Corsair makes good stuff too but they tend to play a few games with us. For example, The Corsair Vengeance Pro line when it came out as was sent to all the reviewers, was equipped with Hynix memory modules. The later on, they switched to a cheaper vendor. The Dominator line continued with their 2400 RAM having 10-12-12-28 timings leading me to suspect that they still used the Hynix modules as that's what Mushkins Hynix sets at 2400 were 10-12-12-28. However now when ya look at the Doiminnators, they also have dropped to 10-12-12-31 and there's no one left other than Mushkin selling 10-12-12-28 modules. Both GSkill and Corsair have CAS 9 modules out now .... bit too expensive for my tastes tho

You'll notice that Mushkin won the last two Memory performance roundup tests on THG ... see links in my above post.

Gskill is the newcomer to the scene, started selling memory about 10 years ago .... they took the same approach as Asrock did, starting out primarily as suppliers of components for budget systems. Originally considered a "Walmart" brand, they gained market share by helping PC builders on tight budgets and it wasn't long before they were selling high end sets competing with the likes of Corsair and Mushkin.

One thing notable at Gskill, they tend to sell older stuff for a long time..... whenever someone's brought a box over for a RAM upgrade that is 4 or even 6 years old, I have usually been able to find Gskill modules of comparable spec. I have one upstairs that wifie uses that is about 7 years old.

It had two sticks of Mushkin and a when a user came in and asked me to double his system RAM (Corsair), I bought a pair of Gskills as it was all I could find with comparable spec. But no workie....so I tried the Gskills with my Mushkins and no workie.

I then tried my Mushkins with his Corsairs and they worked fine so I packed him up and sent him home ... I ordered 2 more of those Gskills and wifie then had a whopping 8 GB in her box

Ahhh, didn't know that. I would think Samsung modules are better?

Hynix modules are preferred by extreme overclockers due to their ability to go way higher than spec.... I'm sure you have seen all the silly warnings about anything over 1.5volts voiding ya CPU / MoBo warranty but the competitive overclocking crowd regularly takes Hynix modules to 1.94 volts and more.

Also if you look at GFX card reviews, the ones with the really fast memory are Hynix.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_780_Ti_Gaming/4.html

The GDDR5 memory chips are made by SK Hynix and carry the model number H5GQ2H24AFR-R2C. They are specified to run at 1750 MHz (7000 MHz GDDR5 effective).

Click to expand...

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_780_TF_Gaming/4.html

The GDDR5 memory chips are made by Samsung and carry the model number K4G20325FD-FC03. They are specified to run at 1500 MHz (6000 MHz GDDR5 effective).

Click to expand...

GFX card manufacturers pull this stuff too ....the Asus 780s were originally equipped with Samsung memory but later it was rumored switched to Elpida when supplies ran low.... customers were freaking worried that they'd get the cheaper memory .... the EVGA Classified lost much of its shine as it was equipped with Elpida.

We didn't see Hynix around thru a great part of the 780s reign as if ya recall there was was a huge fire at the Hynix plant earlier and they were down from like September 2103 to January 2014 and was 2 months after that till they came up to speed again.

Let Dad pay for the extra 16 GB

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ram-memory-upgrade,2778-8.html

The 780 Ti is a kick ass card but again, the one ya want is the MSI

9.9 rating - http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_780_Ti_Gaming/29.html
9.4 rating - http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GTX_780_Ti_Direct_Cu_II_OC/29.html

However..... we are talking 4 days to the expected 980 launch and while I still think it's gonna be later than that, the price drops we are already seeing indicate that it's ready to go.



With the 980s at $500 ... 780 Tis gotta drop to $425 .... 780s and 290x < $400

The Ti is 3% faster in Firestrike..... at stock settings .... bit only 180 watts

Fill in the configuration tool here:

http://www.geforce.com/hardware/technology/3dvision-surround/system-requirements

GeForce GTX 780 Single GPU With 2D Surround (Landscape)
> Orientation: Landscape
> Accessory Display: Yes, no additional GPU
> Maximum Resolution: 7600x1600
> Maximum Resolution (Bezel Correction): 8192x1600
> Maximum number of displays: 3 in Surround. 1 Accessory Display

Special Instructions:
> Any connectors can be used to enable Surround.
> Once Surround is enabled, users can use any connector for the Accessory Display.


GeForce GTX 780 Single GPU With 3D Surround (Landscape)
> Orientation: Landscape
> Accessory Display: Yes, no additional GPU
> Maximum Resolution: 5760x1080
> Maximum Resolution (Bezel Correction): 7680x1080
> Maximum number of displays: 3 in Surround, 1 Accessory Display

Special Instructions:
> 3D Vision Surround requires using three DVI or three DisplayPort connectors.
> All monitors must be the same make and model for 3D Vision Surround.
> Using DisplayPort connectors may require the use of DisplayPort to Dual-link DVI adapters. Please consult your monitor's manual for supported 3D connectors.
> Center Display of the Surround group should be connected to the card with most displays.
> Accessory Display must be connected to the card with most number of displays.
> You can use any connector to enable the Accessory Display.

The 980 went up to $599

Asus 780 Ti is $560
MSI and Gigabyte are $599

Will be cheaper on the 19th when the 980 drops.

If it works on 7, I can't imagine it not working on 8

Hmm, if Mushkin Redline RAM use Hynix modules, then what do Blackline RAM use?

I dunno .... I haven't had any in about 7 years .... and as I think I said above vendors often switch in mid stream just like monitor vendors.... 1st wave gets all the best stuff cause that's what reviewers see and then its time to save money.

Now I peek when I take em outta the package.