Is My Build Good/Compatible?

KingSaif · Nov 22, 2014

(Repost) Hey guys, I'm pretty much done with my build after doing an entire week of non-stop research. Here it is:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 290 4GB Tri-X Video Card ($269.99)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($100.98 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VS238H-P 23.0" Monitor ($147.58 @ Newegg)
Case Fan: BitFenix Spectre Pro LED 148.7 CFM 200mm Fan ($20.72 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Corsair Air Series AF120 White 52.2 CFM 120mm Fan ($2.99)
Speakers: Logitech S120 2.3W 2ch Speakers ($12.49)
Total: $1139.69
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-22 04:54 EST-0500

PCPartPicker says that it's compatible, but I just wanted to check with you guys first. I plan on OCing my CPU to 4.2 GHz - 4.5 GHz and my GPU idk how much yet. This build is only for gaming, nothing else. I'm hoping it lasts me about 3-5 years before I have to replace a few parts such as the GPU (may do Crossfire by then), PSU, and possibly MoBo. As for the case, I know a mid-tower would be enough, but I really love the amount of features the Enthoo Pro has at the price of $100. Because of it's size and straps, cable management is super easy and airflow is great. Thanks guys.

IRONBATMAN · Nov 22, 2014

The build you listed is not bad at all.

The CM 212 Evo is a great CPU cooler for it's reasonable price. But if you feel that the fan is a little too noisy, you might want to replace it with a Noctua fan.

I'm not sure if this motherboard has the best power phases and such, but Asus is known for manufacturing excellent motherboards that are extremely easy to build with. I personally use an Asrock motherboard, and it's pretty good, but when I helped a friend with their PC build, I understood why Asus is known for their motherboards. From the position of the pins, to the extras they provide, Asus definitely makes the best motherboards.

Everything seems fine, but if you'd like to lower costs by a tad bit, the Seasonic M12ii-620w would be a cheaper alternative.

Littlesackninja · Nov 22, 2014

Yes that build is good, but you won't be doing much oc'ing on the 212 Evo, definatly not to 4.2Ghz, If you can, get the 4670k instead, and then you can possibly get a GTX 970 in place of the 290.

KingSaif · Nov 22, 2014

Littlesackninja :

A lot of people said they have no problem OCing the 4690k to 4.2 GHz with the 212 EVO. I was even thinking of pushing it a bit further. I may have to do some additional research on CPU coolers because I want to have the possibility to OC this beast to even 4.5 GHz for GTA V when it's released.Thanks tho

Oh and for the GPU, I think the R9 290 offers the best power for it's price, even if it's not as efficient as nVidia cards. I know the 970 is awesome but I really can't afford that card (wish I could). I may also do Crossfire in 3-5 years but with the temps of these AMD cards idk if it will cause problems having them close like that..maybe later I will replace the R9 290 with nVidia GPU if prices are good at that time

KingSaif · Nov 22, 2014

IRONBATMAN :

Thanks man, I don't mind if the 212 EVO may be a bit noisy, but I really can't stand the colorway of the Noctua and the prices of them are a bit higher for my budget (I've already exceeded my starting budget by $140). As for the motherboard, I was down to that one and the UD3H, but I ended up going with ASUS' because of it's beautiful all-black design and awesome symbol. It also came with a bundle that saved me $10 on the RAM. I chose that PSU because the recommened wattage was 650 for comfortable OCing and everything. The thing I still haven't decided yet is the monitor, do u know any that's better than the one I listed? I may buy a refurbished one and save like $50, but idk if I even want that Asus one yet..

Jonathan Cave · Nov 22, 2014

@Littlesackninja As an owner of a 4670k and EVO 212 - the Fan is really quiet and i've got a 4.2Ghz overclock no issues at all.

@KingSaif can you afford 70 $ more get an SSD for windows and your most frequently played games http://pcpartpicker.com/part/crucial-internal-hard-drive-ct128mx100ssd1 - it would be a shame to run this enthusiast PC without one.

watch this : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIrjwx6umdg

now imagine the difference in games.

IRONBATMAN · Nov 22, 2014

There are 2 main types of monitors you can find. IPS and TN . They are 2 different panel types with different properties.

The IPS panel type has better colour qualities than the TN panels, but they have slower refresh rates, which means that you'll see some lag if you move your mouse too fast, or if you turn to quickly in first person games. TN panels have faster refresh rates, so screen tearing won't be as significant as the IPS monitors.

I suggest that you swing by an electronics store and compare IPS and TN monitors. The shop assistant should be able to bring out 1 each.

Coincidentally, I actually have the Asus VS239H-P . This 1920 x 1080 23" IPS monitor seems to be quite a common choice as it has a pretty low price, and is from a reputable company. It's nice to have better colours and all, but screen tearing is quite an issue for me in games , during cutscenes.

Like I said, visit a local store to make a proper comparison. You might want to take a look at the Dell S2440L . It's quite similar, but looks a lot better. But if you can stretch your budget, try the Qnix Q2710. It's a PLS 27" 1440p monitor. PLS is essentially Samsung's cheaper alternative to IPS. It's not bad as well.

Also try looking at the Noctua fans at a different perspective. Imagine someone who's into PC hardware sees the inside of your case, and spots a familiar brown coloured case fan. He's gonna go " Dang, you got the good stuff man ". Noctua's famous brown theme gives a sense of quality in a way

There's not much I can say about the GPU. Pay more, get more. Go one step higher, and it's the R9 290x. One step lower, and you'll find the R9 280x.

Like the others have said, you might want to consider getting a SSD. It significantly increases the speed of almost everything. You won't have to wait for hours for Windows to install anymore. Your PC would also boot at around 5 secs or less. It's a great choice.

I personally do not overclock my CPU, so I can't give my advice on that. But I'm very sure this PC would go smoothly.

logainofhades · Nov 22, 2014

Changes I would make.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z97-GAMING 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($144.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB ACX 2.0 Video Card ($329.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 300R Windowed ATX Mid Tower Case ($82.99 @ Directron)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Monitor: LG 24MP55HQ-P 60Hz 23.8" Monitor ($144.99 @ NCIX US)
Speakers: Logitech S120 2.3W 2ch Speakers ($12.49)
Total: $1135.40
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-22 12:13 EST-0500

KingSaif · Nov 22, 2014

Jonathan Cave :

yeah I plan on getting one in like 6 months, but not right away...I don't NEED it right now but thx

KingSaif · Nov 22, 2014

IRONBATMAN :

There are 2 main types of monitors you can find. IPS and TN . They are 2 different panel types with different properties.

The IPS panel type has better colour qualities than the TN panels, but they have slower refresh rates, which means that you'll see some lag if you move your mouse too fast, or if you turn to quickly in first person games. TN panels have faster refresh rates, so screen tearing won't be as significant as the IPS monitors.

I suggest that you swing by an electronics store and compare IPS and TN monitors. The shop assistant should be able to bring out 1 each.

Coincidentally, I actually have the Asus VS239H-P . This 1920 x 1080 23" IPS monitor seems to be quite a common choice as it has a pretty low price, and is from a reputable company. It's nice to have better colours and all, but screen tearing is quite an issue for me in games , during cutscenes.

Like I said, visit a local store to make a proper comparison. You might want to take a look at the Dell S2440L . It's quite similar, but looks a lot better. But if you can stretch your budget, try the Qnix Q2710. It's a PLS 27" 1440p monitor. PLS is essentially Samsung's cheaper alternative to IPS. It's not bad as well.

Also try looking at the Noctua fans at a different perspective. Imagine someone who's into PC hardware sees the inside of your case, and spots a familiar brown coloured case fan. He's gonna go " Dang, you got the good stuff man ". Noctua's famous brown theme gives a sense of quality in a way

There's not much I can say about the GPU. Pay more, get more. Go one step higher, and it's the R9 290x. One step lower, and you'll find the R9 280x.

Like the others have said, you might want to consider getting a SSD. It significantly increases the speed of almost everything. You won't have to wait for hours for Windows to install anymore. Your PC would also boot at around 5 secs or less. It's a great choice.

I personally do not overclock my CPU, so I can't give my advice on that. But I'm very sure this PC would go smoothly.

I think I may be going with a TN but I just have to decide which one. While picture quality is important, I prefer faster response times and lower price. I think I'm gonna go with one of the ASUS VS monitors, prob 22 or 23 inch. and haha funny perspective xD I know the noctua fans are really good, but brown is such an ugly color for a computer part, and I think the 212 EVO will get the job done for now

KingSaif · Nov 22, 2014

logainofhades :

Wow, awesome edit! It's actually making me consider switching out the R9 290 for the 970. If I change it to the 970 then I'm DEFINITELY gonna do SLI with that card in the future because of the lower heat and consumption of nVidia cards..but for the price of 290, it's such a hard deal to pass up. I can OC my 290 to perform like the 290x which is, according to benchmarks, is slightly more powerful than the 970. And u have to remember I'm paying ONLY $270. If I wanted the 970, I would have to spend an extra $60 minimum, which is gonna get me 2 more FPS on games.. I know the heat will be a problem, but I'm willing to spend a lot of money on cooling down the line, and plus I have a huge full-tower case..Honestly in 3-5 years, instead of doing Crossfire, I may just replace the 290 with an expensive, high-performance nVidia card, but that's a long time from now.

I just looked up some benchmarks of the r9 290 Tri-X and Gigabyte 970, the 970 is like 8 degrees celcius cooler under load, which isn't much. I think I'll stick with the 290 and save the $60+ and prob do Crossfire with it when the 290 drops even lower (if it does).

Littlesackninja · Nov 22, 2014

KingSaif :

logainofhades :

Wow, awesome edit! It's actually making me consider switching out the R9 290 for the 970. If I change it to the 970 then I'm DEFINITELY gonna do SLI with that card in the future because of the lower heat and consumption of nVidia cards..but for the price of 290, it's such a hard deal to pass up. I can OC my 290 to perform like the 290x which is, according to benchmarks, is slightly more powerful than the 970. And u have to remember I'm paying ONLY $270. If I wanted the 970, I would have to spend an extra $60 minimum, which is gonna get me 2 more FPS on games.. I know the heat will be a problem, but I'm willing to spend a lot of money on cooling down the line, and plus I have a huge full-tower case..Honestly in 3-5 years, instead of doing Crossfire, I may just replace the 290 with an expensive, high-performance nVidia card, but that's a long time from now.

I just looked up some benchmarks of the r9 290 Tri-X and Gigabyte 970, the 970 is like 8 degrees celcius cooler under load, which isn't much. I think I'll stick with the 290 and save the $60+ and prob do Crossfire with it when the 290 drops even lower (if it does).

You cannot really cool your graphics cards better down the road unless you swap out the cooler, but that wont give you much better temps, the only real way is to WC or LN2. Gettings the 970 Will be a much better, OC'ing it makes it close to the 980. You cannot compare 2 cards one overclocked and one not, because if you overclock the 970, it will be quite a bit faster than a Oc'ed 290.

KingSaif · Nov 22, 2014

Littlesackninja :

KingSaif :

You cannot really cool your graphics cards better down the road unless you swap out the cooler, but that wont give you much better temps, the only real way is to WC or LN2. Gettings the 970 Will be a much better, OC'ing it makes it close to the 980. You cannot compare 2 cards one overclocked and one not, because if you overclock the 970, it will be quite a bit faster than a Oc'ed 290.

yeah but u have to remember i would be paying a lot of extra $$ for slightly better performance, which imo is not worth it. is this a good chart to compare 970 OC vs 290 OC? http://i.imgur.com/BLp9sE0.jpg if so, the fps increases aren't that impressive

Littlesackninja · Nov 22, 2014

KingSaif :

Littlesackninja :

yeah but u have to remember i would be paying a lot of extra $$ for slightly better performance, which imo is not worth it. is this a good chart to compare 970 OC vs 290 OC? http://i.imgur.com/BLp9sE0.jpg if so, the fps increases aren't that impressive

Thats a pretty big fps increase, and the 970 Scales much; much better in Sli compared to any previous Dual Gpu setup.
It is worth it getting the 970, you can easily do this by removing the 212 Evo, you won't be doing any overclocking on the stock cooler, but graphics cards are more important for gaming, and getting the 970 will give a larger fps increase than OC'ing you're cpu.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/MJpfD3

Edit: I removed the Spectre Pro fan because it will not help your temperatures at-all really.

KingSaif · Nov 22, 2014

Littlesackninja :

KingSaif :

Thats a pretty big fps increase, and the 970 Scales much; much better in Sli compared to any previous Dual Gpu setup.
It is worth it getting the 970, you can easily do this by removing the 212 Evo, you won't be doing any overclocking on the stock cooler, but graphics cards are more important for gaming, and getting the 970 will give a larger fps increase than OC'ing you're cpu.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/MJpfD3

Edit: I removed the Spectre Pro fan because it will not help your temperatures at-all really.

yeah youre kinda right, 5-10 FPS increase is pretty good and it will run cooler and plus according to this chart http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm the 970 only requires 500w (150w less than 290)... so I can also save an extra $30 by getting a 550w, what do u think? but for the 212 EVO I think I may keep it because I want to oc my CPU for games such as GTA V so I need a nice semi-quiet fan (much quieter than stock fan, at least). I could remove the LED case fans but I really want my case to look sexy xD

your advice really pushed me into considering the 970, but what company would u recommend if i chose to get it? also, do u think that mobo is good for 970? I really don't want to change it because I LOVE the design of it (seriously)

oh and if this info helps, I'm a huge fan of the BF series and it's like the only multiplayer shooting game I play (I have 350 hrs into BF4 already on PC) and I plan on getting mostly all BF titles in the future; with that being said, mantle support for BF4 i heard is really good, so would that be enough to go with the 290 over the 970?

KingSaif · Nov 22, 2014

I was looking at this PSU for the 970 if I chose to get that GPU
SeaSonic S12II 520 Bronze 520W it's only $65 and so far SeaSonic is my fav PSU brand (better than Corsair imo) getting this will save me 35, which can be put toward the 970. for the other $30, I will remove the BitFenix LED fan (and get it later on)

and put that extra $20 towards the 970 also,

Littlesackninja · Nov 22, 2014

KingSaif :

Littlesackninja :

yeah youre kinda right, 5-10 FPS increase is pretty good and it will run cooler and plus according to this chart http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm the 970 only requires 500w (150w less than 290)... so I can also save an extra $30 by getting a 550w, what do u think? but for the 212 EVO I think I may keep it because I want to oc my CPU for games such as GTA V so I need a nice semi-quiet fan (much quieter than stock fan, at least). I could remove the LED case fans but I really want my case to look sexy xD

your advice really pushed me into considering the 970, but what company would u recommend if i chose to get it? also, do u think that mobo is good for 970? I really don't want to change it because I LOVE the design of it (seriously)

oh and if this info helps, I'm a huge fan of the BF series and it's like the only multiplayer shooting game I play (I have 350 hrs into BF4 already on PC) and I plan on getting mostly all BF titles in the future; with that being said, mantle support for BF4 i heard is really good, so would that be enough to go with the 290 over the 970?

No, Mantle is only really for peole with lower end Amd cards, if you look at the becnharks, the 280 and up dont benefit much (A couple frames) with mantle on, only really effective with cards like the R9 270 and below, so no, don't get it because of mantle.

GTA V Will not benefit from having a overclocked cpu, even with mantle, your cpu is not going to be the bottleneck for a very long time, modern games run the same on a system with even a i5-4430, even i3's, You do not need to overclock your cpu yet, unless doing workstation tasks, (Video editing ect.) Your cpu as i said above; will not be the bottleneck in any way.

KingSaif · Nov 22, 2014

Littlesackninja :

KingSaif :

Littlesackninja :

yeah youre kinda right, 5-10 FPS increase is pretty good and it will run cooler and plus according to this chart http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm the 970 only requires 500w (150w less than 290)... so I can also save an extra $30 by getting a 550w, what do u think? but for the 212 EVO I think I may keep it because I want to oc my CPU for games such as GTA V so I need a nice semi-quiet fan (much quieter than stock fan, at least). I could remove the LED case fans but I really want my case to look sexy xD

your advice really pushed me into considering the 970, but what company would u recommend if i chose to get it? also, do u think that mobo is good for 970? I really don't want to change it because I LOVE the design of it (seriously)

oh and if this info helps, I'm a huge fan of the BF series and it's like the only multiplayer shooting game I play (I have 350 hrs into BF4 already on PC) and I plan on getting mostly all BF titles in the future; with that being said, mantle support for BF4 i heard is really good, so would that be enough to go with the 290 over the 970?

No, Mantle is only really for peole with lower end Amd cards, if you look at the becnharks, the 280 and up dont benefit much (A couple frames) with mantle on, only really effective with cards like the R9 270 and below, so no, don't get it because of mantle.

GTA V Will not benefit from having a overclocked cpu, even with mantle, your cpu is not going to be the bottleneck for a very long time, modern games run the same on a system with even a i5-4430, even i3's, You do not need to overclock your cpu yet, unless doing workstation tasks, (Video editing ect.) Your cpu as i said above; will not be the bottleneck in any way.

Alright bro, thanks to u i'm leaning towards getting the 970 (what a difference a forum thread can make!), but I'll ask once more in case you missed it: which of the 970 models would u recommend? I was thinking of getting the EVGA 04G-2974-KR GeForce GTX 970 Superclocked 4 GB since it's one of the more popular ones, but is the extra $20 worth spending for the GIGABYTE GV-N970G1 GAMING-4GD GeForce GTX 970 4GB? Also, I think I'm still going to stick with the 212 EVO as it's more quieter than the stock CPU fan and in case I want to OC, I can always have the option..Thx once again

Littlesackninja · Nov 22, 2014

Ok.
The models dont really matter, if you can afford the Gigabyte will be a worthy upgrade, but the Evga one is still solid, so i would just get the Evga one and save $20, wont make much difference.

Littlesackninja · Nov 22, 2014

KingSaif :

That Psu is regarded as one of the best Power supplys in that range, get that or the M12ii (its Semi Modular brother), but if you can a 600w might be a better choice, it isnt good (actually dangerous) to run a power supply near its maximum output, but that should be enough. (600w would be easier on psu and provide cleaner power)

KingSaif · Nov 22, 2014

Littlesackninja :

Ok thx and one more question: if i chose 970, which PSU would be better? SeaSonic S12II 520 Bronze 520W or Thermaltake SMART Series SP-550PCBUS 550W? Both are bronze and rated same, Thermaltake is 30w more, and $20 less if u factor in cost of shipping (no shipping for Thermaltake but $5 shipping for SeaSonic)?

Edit: don't think i'm gonna get m12ii since it's basically the same (besides being semi-modular) but for extra $5

Littlesackninja · Nov 22, 2014

KingSaif :

Littlesackninja :

Ok thx and one more question: if i chose 970, which PSU would be better? SeaSonic S12II 520 Bronze 520W or Thermaltake SMART Series SP-550PCBUS 550W? Both are bronze and rated same, Thermaltake is 30w more, and $20 less if u factor in cost of shipping (no shipping for Thermaltake but $5 shipping for SeaSonic)?

Edit: don't think i'm gonna get m12ii since it's basically the same (besides being semi-modular) but for extra $5

Get the Seasonic without a doubt, DO not get the Thermaltake one, even if its cheaper.

KingSaif · Nov 22, 2014

Littlesackninja :

KingSaif :

Get the Seasonic without a doubt, DO not get the Thermaltake one, even if its cheaper.

Ok thx, uve helped me out A LOT

Littlesackninja · Nov 22, 2014

KingSaif :

Littlesackninja :

Ok thx, uve helped me out A LOT

Good luck with you're build!

IRONBATMAN · Nov 22, 2014

Hey, you don't always have to use the " reply " option just t reply to someone. Starting your reply with " @< person's name > " is good enough. I'm sure they'll understand that you are directing your comment to them.

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