Looking For Build Critiques/Suggestions

Cookiemeister · Jan 3, 2015

I have been wanting to build my own computer for a while now. My current Dell (yes, yes, I know) is about five years old and my AMD Phenom II + HD Radeon 5670 just isn't cutting it anymore. Also, I think the GPU is about to die. So, I have been researching and budgeting and this is the build I have so far...

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2 GHz LGA 1150
MoBo: AsRock Z97 Pro3
RAM: G.Skill X Series 8BG (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600
GPU: Sapphire Radeon R9 290 4GB Tri-X
Sandisk Ultra Plus 128 2.5" SSD
Western Digital Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM
Enermax ECA3310A-W ATX Mid Tower

I have yet to choose a power supply (mainly out of confusion about brands), although from what I can tell I will a minimum of 500W.

My main concerns are bottlenecking and compatibility. Any suggestions regarding either of those points would be helpful, as well as PSU recommendations. I will be using this build for gaming. Also, I do not have any interest in overclocking, which is why I went with the above CPU. I may also downgrade the GPU to a 280, depending on how I feel about my bank account when it actually comes time to order parts. Thanks in advance.

turkey3_scratch · Jan 3, 2015

You will want more than 500W power with a 290, 600 or more preferably. As for the motherboard, no need to buy a Z motherboard since that CPU cannot be overclocked.

wolverine96 · Jan 3, 2015

Great, solid build! Here's another option for the RAM:
Kingston Fury Black Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($76.99 @ Amazon)
The RAM you picked is perfectly fine, though! I myself would just rather have Kingston RAM.

Here's a list of good (and bad) PSU's:
The Power Supply Unit tier list.

I recommend this one for your build:
Rosewill Capstone 750W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg, (with $20 rebate & Promo Code EMCWHGP28)

phyneas · Jan 3, 2015

Cookiemeister :

You should make sure that you get a good PSU, even if it costs you a little bit more, you don't want to go cheap on that, it can hurt the rest of your setup at least in terms of performance if not also damaging the hardware (good quality PSUs have protections in place, downclocking performance so on, poorer qualities ones do not). What are you confused about with the PSU, how much power you will need, or which brand is best and so on?

When you say you are concerned about bottlenecking, do you mean because the GPU is much more powerful than the rest of the hardware? I don't see a problem with the RAM though it depends on what you are using the computer for. You said gaming, so 8GB can be a bit low depending on what else you are doing with the computer, 1600MHz is fine but don't go any lower than that and if you can find something in 1866MHz for close to the same price with the same CAS and timings that might be worth looking into, but a solid 1600 MHz shouldn't be a problem. I don't know much about the CPU, but I doubt that an i5 Haswell would bottleneck the GPU.

You can put together the build on partpicker and see what you think the power draw for the whole setup will be. In terms of compatibility, you will have to check the QVL of the motherboard to make sure that your RAM fits into it as there are several G.Skill Ripjaws X DDR3 8GB models. Check this website: http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Z97%20Pro3/?cat=Memory

In terms of the PSU you can't go wrong with Corsair or SeaSonic at the levels you said you would need, and I wouldn't go below a Gold rated PSU if you can afford it.

phyneas · Jan 3, 2015

turkey3_scratch :

If he is going for a Haswell and a H87 board (or a non-H97/Z97 board), will he have to update the BIOS for a Haswell CPU or will it come pre-upgraded? Or rather, I should say, is his chosen CPU a Haswell refresh or a normal Haswell?

Cookiemeister · Jan 4, 2015

phyneas :

Cookiemeister :

You should make sure that you get a good PSU, even if it costs you a little bit more, you don't want to go cheap on that, it can hurt the rest of your setup at least in terms of performance if not also damaging the hardware (good quality PSUs have protections in place, downclocking performance so on, poorer qualities ones do not). What are you confused about with the PSU, how much power you will need, or which brand is best and so on?

When you say you are concerned about bottlenecking, do you mean because the GPU is much more powerful than the rest of the hardware? I don't see a problem with the RAM though it depends on what you are using the computer for. You said gaming, so 8GB can be a bit low depending on what else you are doing with the computer, 1600MHz is fine but don't go any lower than that and if you can find something in 1866MHz for close to the same price with the same CAS and timings that might be worth looking into, but a solid 1600 MHz shouldn't be a problem. I don't know much about the CPU, but I doubt that an i5 Haswell would bottleneck the GPU.

You can put together the build on partpicker and see what you think the power draw for the whole setup will be. In terms of compatibility, you will have to check the QVL of the motherboard to make sure that your RAM fits into it as there are several G.Skill Ripjaws X DDR3 8GB models. Check this website: http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Z97%20Pro3/?cat=Memory

In terms of the PSU you can't go wrong with Corsair or SeaSonic at the levels you said you would need, and I wouldn't go below a Gold rated PSU if you can afford it.

Thanks for the input. My concerns with bottlenecking are mainly just "am I dragging this build down with a particular component" more than anything specific. I looked around and I think switching from 1600Mhz RAM to 1866MHz is doable on my budget, so thanks for tip especially.

As far as the PSU goes, partpicker estimates my needs at 438W, and while I'm definitely all about getting what I need, I'm trying not to go overboard either. That being said, it seems like Wolverine96's suggestion about the Rosewill 750W for the price seems hard to beat.

And I didn't quite understand your question about the MoBo, but if it's more than I need I'm open to suggestions.

phyneas · Jan 4, 2015

Cookiemeister :

The question about the motherboard was more for turkey3_scratch, I was making the point that presuming you stuck with the same CPU, which is a LGA 1150 socket CPU, if you weren't going for Z97/H97 then you would drop down to the Z87/H87 range, and if your CPU is a Haswell Refresh, which I think it might be, the Z87/H87 board requires you to upgrade the BIOS to run that CPU in it, so all I meant was that you might not want the hassle of doing that. If I were you I wouldn't drop down to the Z87/H87 board, the Z97 can also fit the upcoming Broadwell CPUs and it is newer and well rated, and the one you listed is a good price, plus the H87/Z87 and Z97 are similarly priced anyway, so why not go with the newer board.

The PSU looks good, and at a nice price. No I don't see anything dragging down the build. It is a tossup whether you are better off buying more RAM or faster RAM. From the system you are running right now, whatever it is, you will have a pretty good idea of how much RAM you use. It depends on what else you are using the computer for, video editing, multi tasking, CAD, whatever. You can certainly game on 8GB and since you are only using 2 DIMM slots with your setup you can always add to it later on if you think you need to, though buying RAM in full kits is always preferable to matching kits but since it is only dual-channel it may not make much of a difference anyway.

When looking at your motherboard it seems as if it may automatically turn on the 1600MHz RAM. Usually you will have to set the XMP for this RAM in the BIOS to push it up from 1333MHz to 1600MHz since the DDR3 maximum is 1333MHz, so 1600MHz means they have overclocked it and you have to 'turn on' the overclock in the BIOS to get the full speed, but it seems as if the motherboard may support 1600MHz natively and you may not have to do anything about it. Even if you do, it's very easy to do, there are lots of guides on the internet about it, and your Z97 motherboard supports it.

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