I Need Help on Building a Gaming/Video Production rig

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Dddropdabass

Dddropdabass

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So im lookong forward to buying a gaming/video production rig and so far the pc components that i have picked are the following:
Mother board: Asus Z97 Maximus VII Hero
GPU: Msi GTX 970 Gaming 4GB
Cooling: Corsair H105(pretty basic but meets my needs)
PSU: EVGA Supernova 850W B2 80plus bronze certified
CPU: Intel i7-4790K
Case: NZXT H440
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 2TB HDD SATA 6 Gb/s
SSD: Kingston HyperX 3k 120Gb SATA III
RAM: Corsair Vengeance Pro Series 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600 MHZ(maybe thats a small amount but ill probably be upgrading to 16GB in the future)

So thats basically all the components. I might be buying a second gtx 970 and go 2 way sli but I don't know if my psu will handle that, please help me out on this by telling me if you guys think this build is ok or if it needs some improvements to it. But anyway thanks:)

BTW: The price point so far is $1533.60
 
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Karsten75
That's the issue. :)

I am leery of recommending you spend $2000 or more on a pile of components and then you get into trouble. I'm much more comfortable with people building a first build in the sub-$1,000 range to get experienced. Things do get a little tricky sometimes and you only have to read here on Toms for a while to see how things turn wrong in so many ways.

Ant then the biggest issue I have with Toms: It's too damn easy to get experience badges here without having real experience or knowledge. So essentially Tom's confer a "trusted" rank on people that have never actually built a machine and have no practical experience. Then you get the hodge-podge components like in your build.

The only liquid coolers I use or recommend...
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Karsten75

Karsten75

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It's a really poor choice. FOr $100 more, I can get you Two GTX 970s, and 16GB RAM , which is probably a far better amount of RAM than the paltry 8GB you have in there.

I tossed the case, since the H440 is a poser case IMHO. I gave you a low-end liquid cooler, since you won't be overclocking. The Xeon is about the equivalent performance of the i7-4790K, but is better at real workloads like rendering, etc.

You over-configured the power supply, so I cut 100W off - it is still more than sufficient to drive the new, lower power 790s.

And by the way, I'd not SLI two 790s, I'd get a single, bigger card for better throughput. :) Also, consider a bigger SSD - stay away from Kingston,

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($248.98 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X31 69.5 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($73.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($144.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Intel 520 Series Cherryville 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Hitachi Deskstar 7K2000 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.49 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($339.98 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($339.98 @ NCIX US)
Case: Nanoxia Deep Silence 2 ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($74.98 @ OutletPC)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1602.34
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-10 01:29 EDT-0400
 
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Vodoochild81

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Hey Guys, I am building a machine for the exact same reasons, but may have a bit of a bigger budget. This rig will be tax deductible but I would like to spend 2k since it is my first build.

Let me know what you think and if I could make some cuts! I am thinking I could get this build to about 2k around black friday no? Like for example I got a 4tb HD last year for like 150 so that right there will knock 100 bucks off. When is the best time to buy? I also live in NY so New Egg is tax free...Don't they have a big parts sale at the end of the year?

http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/partlist/
 
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Karsten75

Karsten75

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Your link is broken.

 
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Vodoochild81

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http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Q8wMyc

what about now?
 
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Vodoochild81

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Here is it copy and pasted..

Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor
$374.99 Free two-day shipping with Amazon Prime $374.99 Amazon
Buy
CPU Cooler

Corsair H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
$59.99 $59.99 Micro Center
Buy
Motherboard

Asus X99-A ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard
$266.99 FREE $266.99 SuperBiiz
Buy
Memory

Crucial 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory
$384.99 $6.95 $391.94 Adorama
Buy
Storage

Crucial M500 960GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
$409.99 Free two-day shipping with Amazon Prime $409.99 Amazon
Buy


Western Digital WD Black 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
$248.99 $4.99 $253.98 SuperBiiz
Buy
Video Card

Asus GeForce GTX 980 4GB Video Card
$599.99 $599.99 B&H
Buy
Case

Rosewill ARMOR-EVO ATX Mid Tower Case
$79.95 FREE $79.95 Amazon
Buy
Power Supply

EVGA SuperNOVA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply
 
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Karsten75

Karsten75

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So let me see if I got this right. I presented someone with a good build list for a video production/gaming rig. You then mutilate that list with the sole purpose apparently of making it more expensive so that you run a bigger risk in your first build to incur costly damage?

Or can you actually explain why you made the substitutiosn you made? Or why you posted on this particular thread rather than start your own thread?

And how did you manage to get a discontinued power supply with no price into your build list?
 
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Vodoochild81

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Because the thread came up in similar threads and I thought it would be good to get a dialogue with people who discussed the same thing. Here is my thread , feel free to chime in..

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/newresponse/2354829

Why the xeon vs the 6 core i7? why I presented my build to gauge the difference. I added those parts because the faster professor, bus, and newer video cards. I also need to eventually go to 64 gigs of ram. It needs to be able to handle 4k video.

And overall I am asking for advise if my decisions are good and if they aren't why. Thanks.
 
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Karsten75

Karsten75

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OK, I can see why you's like to start over again. :)

I choose Xeon's because at the price point the one I chose was a lot cheaper than the corresponding i7. And you don't need the integrated graphics - so lower power and better cache.

I'm not always very comfortable recommending a very expensive build to a first-time builder, beacause if things go wrong, you sit with a pile of expensive junk. :)

I don't particularly like the HEDT i7 processors - there is little to differentiate them from the workstation-like Xeon E5 range. And if, ultimately you are really serious about high core counts, then the Xeon's rule supreme, as well as with certain boards you can put two and really oodles of RAM on the same motherboard.

Having said all that, and since your budget is $2,000. Here is a proposed build - I've not had time to look at everyuthing and have to run for now. I really don't care what case you get - that's a personal choice. :)

We need to save another $300, so we can start with this build and look for optimizations. My processor choice will run rings around yours, BTW, and I can save a LOT if we go back to the LGA 1150 motherboard and DDR3 RAM. - which I would recommend - I can still get a stupendous Xeon in that config.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E5-1630 V3 3.7GHz Quad-Core OEM/Tray Processor ($376.98 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X41 106.1 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($106.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock X99 Extreme6 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($273.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($391.94 @ Adorama)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($399.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Hitachi 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($179.99 @ Micro Center)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($348.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: BitFenix Shinobi ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($74.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $2223.82
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-31 15:00 EDT-0400
 
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Vodoochild81

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I still don't understand why you suggest a low level Xeon over an i7. How would a Xeon be for games? I currently have a Mac Pro with DUEL E5462 2.8ghz quad core processors., total 8 cores. And a Nvidia 680 with 2 gigs of vram. 26 gigs of system Ram DDR 2... Is the set up you are building me that much more powerful then that? Even though i have two xeons in my machine, does it mean nothing because they are old? Thanks.

 
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Moltoeser

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Just a few things that I can add to hopefully help.

Will you be overclocking at all? Because otherwise the stock cooler will do just fine.
I personally, from experience, don't recommend a Xeon for gaming.
An 1150 slot with an i7 should do just fine.

$370 - i7 4790
$279 - ASUS Sabertooth Z97 Mark1 Motherboard

You could always start with 16GB of RAM as that is what I have and it works just fine for gaming and Processing. If you want later you can plop another 16 in there and have 32.

Hope this hops
 
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Vodoochild81

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But I am not just doing gaming...I always thought the xeon was more for server stuff...imacs work fine for editing and they use i5's and i7's...Do u guys have any thoughts on the new 5k imac? Just the monitors are like 2k let alone it being a computer...Wouldn't even 1440p games look awful on a 5k monitor?

Why did you recommend that i7 vs the 5720? Isn't the one you chose old?

32 gigs of ram is what I need to start at. I even have 26 already in my mac pro, 16 wasn't enough. I eventually plan to go to 64...
 
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Vodoochild81

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So this is what I think I am doing...Since i have no experience building a computer I think I am going to order a Genesis from Origin...Also I realized my budget can be a little bigger then I thought since I will be writing it off tax wise. So I am looking to get like a 5k computer build, and hope I can get like 500 off for black Friday. Basically going to get the i7 5320 and a Titan Z...I think a Titan is better then two 980's right? And uses less power...It also has like 5 thousand cuda cores which I am sure will go a long way with Cuda acceleration. Other then that, 32 gigs of ram, 1tb solid state HD, a thunderbolt 2 card...Is getting a comp off origin really stupid and throwing away money? What re your thoughts.
 
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Karsten75

Karsten75

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I am sorry it took so long for me to respond. I was out of town for a few days.

I think your idea of getting a custom build is a good one. For the type of system you want, I recommend Puget Systems. They have some very knowledgeable folks and you can even have a phone conversation to decide on exactly what processor, etc. would be best suited for your needs.

http://www.pugetsystems.com/


Edit: Forgot to mention that for "work" as opposed to gaming, I don't rate Origin very high but it's just my personal opinion I've never seen or worked with one of their computers.
 
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Vodoochild81

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Hey no problem, thanks for getting back to me. Things have changed since though.ha. I decided to dial back my specs realizing that the low end 6 core and 1 980 is all i need for now. In 6 months or so I will put another video card in.

Just looking at custom build shops they are just so expensive. Actually I looked at Puget and they are the most expensive.

So I was going to build my self and keep the price relatively low. What do you think of this build?

I have installed video cards, memory and hard drives. All I need to learn is motherboards and cpu's. There are so many tutorials online.

What about wi fi and blu tooth?

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/DDFsjX
 
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Grizzlyx45_

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CPU: Intel Pentium G3440 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor ($77.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($69.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card ($119.50 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Micro Center)
Total: $497.42

Hope you like the gaming/ video editing build
 
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Vodoochild81

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Are you being serious? I might as well edit on my ps4 with that build. A core duo? I have 2 quad xeons currently.

That is really cool thought that you can build a nice little gaming machine and media center for 500 bucks.

 
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Grizzlyx45_

Grizzlyx45_

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well then, your welcome. i was trying to be thoughtful of your bank account

 
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Karsten75

Karsten75

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I think we're now terribly far apart on components. :(

I'd never build with Asus components, since I (and a few other people whose opinions I respect) have had terrible experiences with customer support and RMAs. Others here will tell you they are happy with those aspects of Asus.

I also won't build with Cooler Master liquid coolers (I did once, and was sorry).

Some Raidmax power supplies are in tier 5 of Tom's list, making them among the very worst PSUs on the market.

I look on the i7-5829K as a crippled computer due to the few PCIe lanes it has available.

Puget gets consistently good reviews for customer support and component quality - that has to count for something. Since they are a boutique builder, they don't have the high volumes to get large discounts, so their component sourcing is pretty much what you'd pay for quality components. Taking it like that, their expertise and support comes pretty reasonable.

But really, the proposed system you put together seems pretty much a hodge-podge of items. Good luck with your plans. :)

As for WiFi and Bluetooth - some motherboards have it, or you can buy a cheapish add-on card with external antennas (better in metallic cases) to provide it.

 
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Vodoochild81

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I think I have made pretty clear that I really do not know what I am doing. Most of those pieces someone else recommended on this site. If you have any suggestions in building something as powerful in that price range please do let me know. Again, I am still learning.

I understand the 5920 doesn't have that many PCI lanes but isn't that only a problem if you want to SLI beyond 2 cards? The most I would put in this computer is 2 980's. Thanks.

 
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Karsten75

Karsten75

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That's the issue. :)

I am leery of recommending you spend $2000 or more on a pile of components and then you get into trouble. I'm much more comfortable with people building a first build in the sub-$1,000 range to get experienced. Things do get a little tricky sometimes and you only have to read here on Toms for a while to see how things turn wrong in so many ways.

Ant then the biggest issue I have with Toms: It's too damn easy to get experience badges here without having real experience or knowledge. So essentially Tom's confer a "trusted" rank on people that have never actually built a machine and have no practical experience. Then you get the hodge-podge components like in your build.

The only liquid coolers I use or recommend are either the "standard Intel BXTS13X (or the older RTS2011LC) or the NZXT range which are the only liquid coolers that SilentPCReview have added to their list. They don't rate the low-end X31 very high, but that's because they demand near-silence.

So, you can choose either that or another cooler on SilentPCReview's list. (http://www.silentpcreview.com/Recommended_Heatsinks), depending on your budget. I personally like building with liquid coolers and don't mind the additional cost.

I hope you realize that Phanteks case is a full tower (huge)?

The video card I chose is more powerful and slightly cheaper than the one you had.

The WIFi adapter caters for all current bands and includes Bluetooth.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor ($364.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X31 69.5 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($73.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock X99 Extreme4 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($236.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($384.99 @ B&H)
Storage: Crucial M500 960GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($409.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($569.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($94.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Amazon)
Wireless Network Adapter: Intel 7260HMWDTX1 802.11a/b/g/n/ac PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $2300.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-07 14:01 EST-0500


 
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Vodoochild81

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Thats a nice build. As far as the case. idk. I just would like a great one, whether it's mid or tall. Lots of bays for hard drives and USB 3.0. AS rock is a good company for motherboards? My father is religious about Asus. ha.

Also I noticed one of the vendors you have listed is Microcenter. They actually have those kind of near me. I called them and they assemble computers for 130. They said I can even bring parts I ordered off new egg to them. That's a pretty sweet deal no?
 
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Karsten75

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I have several builds with ASRock. I'm pretty happy with it and you can find great reviews on their motherboards all over the net. No doubt Asus makes top-of-the-line gear, but it's just that their customer support is lacking. If you think you won't need it, then go for it.

The prices I gave you were just "lowest prices available" in PCPartPicker. you can select by merchant and see breakdown/price differential by merchant.

Getting it assembled at Micro Center might be a good idea. But if you add in the sales tax, etc. then Puget Systems may not be that much more expensive anymore. As a side issue, I often find that MC's selection of motherboards are not top tier. And many of their best deals are a motherboard/CPU combo. Drop in to then and check out cases. My personal preference is for quiet and no windows. Depending on the size of your water cooler, you may like this case. I've not used it myself, but someone alerted me to it and it looks very attractive and compact.

http://www.aerocool.us/ds/ds_black.html

ANyway, here is my configuration again, with only priced components from Micro center - those components they don't stock have no prices. You can source some of those as alternate components from them if you want.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor ($299.99 @ Micro Center)
CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X31 69.5 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($79.99 @ Micro Center)
Motherboard: ASRock X99 Extreme4 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($239.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: Crucial 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory
Storage: Crucial M500 960GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($585.68 @ Newegg)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case
Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($106.66 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ Micro Center)
Wireless Network Adapter: Intel 7260HMWDTX1 802.11a/b/g/n/ac PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter
Total: $1313.30
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-07 19:47 EST-0500


I don't know why a few components are *still* priced from Newegg - must be a PCPartPicker "feature".
 
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