Gaming/Workstation Build Feedback. Did I pick the right parts?

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vesnikos

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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor (£244.94 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£89.98 @ Dabs)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£135.12 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£79.00 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£69.98 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card (£184.99 @ Dabs)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case (£70.79 @ Aria PC)
Power Supply: Corsair RM 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (£83.15 @ Aria PC)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer (£14.89 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £972.84
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-30 16:54 GMT+0000

Tomorow Im going to order the above, and I really would like some feedback. The aim is that the build is last for at least 4 to 5 years before showing age symptoms, thats why im throwing some weight to the core compoments such as CPU and Memory.The GPU is going to be upgraded after at least two years from now.

Overall I think that chose the right parts to keep it balanced, but I am not sure about the memory. Anyway any comments on how to impove the build are welcome :D

About the workstation: 70% Gaming 30% work. Mostly work from the office during weekends or some projects that needs the tranquility of home. Usually that involves firing up a VM to run some specialised software that use cpu/memory. Academic software mostly. I don't know if that qualifies the usage as workstation, but I want the experience to as much enjoyable it can be
 
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Gracodana
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JackNaylorPE

JackNaylorPE

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1. Workstation build oft implies hi end workstation apps .... what will be the use of the build .... workstation apps, gaming or both .... and if both what % of each ? Sine the parts are more gaming oriented ...... I'll take that tack

2. I'd want a better Mobo.

3. Never use 4 modules when 2 will do, it presents a larger load on IMC and will reduce overclocks. Use 2 x 8Gb 2133 which will be same price. heres' 2400 for 3 pounds more
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f32400c10d16gtx

4. If doing workstation apps or gaming, you'll greatly benefit from an SSHD (4 GB model also available)
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/seagate-internal-hard-drive-st2000dx001

5. I'd try and move up to the MSI 970 .... 960 is a bit weak and will not make it 5 years ..... a 970 now and a 2nd down the road will.

6. Corsair RM is to be avoided. This will do 2 970s and is top shelf
stock http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-220g20750xr
overclocked http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-220g20850xr

These aren't the best of the best but certainly suitable for the build and waaayyyy better than the RM
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-110b20750vr
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-110b20850v3

7. Given what you are spending on the case .... I'd move up to the Phanteks
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/phanteks-case-phes614pbk
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/phanteks-case-phes614pwt
 
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GHzPC

GHzPC

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I'm not partial to Gigabyte mainboards, and since you are going with an ASUS graphics card, I'd suggest going with an ASUS mainboard instead. Generally speaking ( but not always ), sticking to components from the same manufacturer will reduce the likelihood of compatibility issues. Jack ( above ) also has some good suggestions :)
 
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Gracodana

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He did say that he would upgrade the gpu in 2 years, I didn't see the ram and yeah even just to save ram slots I would do it. Never really heard of anything bad with that mobo.
 
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vesnikos

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At first I was aiming faster rams but, but the specifications for them was that they needed 1.6V to run in full speed. Seen that the MOBO gives 1.5V Im assuming that going for faster rams wouldn't be logical choice since they would run below the advertised speeds?

I choose 4 modules based on a benchmark run in tomshardware site about memory speeds which implies that quad channel outperforms dual in some cases. I didn;t unterstand correctly?



I agree, swaped to that!
 
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JackNaylorPE

JackNaylorPE

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Nothing wrong with the MoBo.... it's good for a budget - mid level gaming build .... but it doesn't fit either the "workstation" nor enthusiast gaming category. I would use it on a 4690k single GFX card build.

Again with the RAM.... "workstation" designation warrants something better than run of the mill 1600, 4 sticks is a bad idea and with the price of 2400, it's a no "brainer"

Yes upgrading in two years is what I envisioned, but not from a 960. I'd have suggested a 280X over the 960 but again, "workstation" builds want CUDA so that's out. To handle workstation and gaming loads, we take a pretty huge step down from the 970 to the 960 (970 is 62% faster) .....and either way EVGA and Asus wouldn't be on my shopping list for the 9xx series.
 
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JackNaylorPE

JackNaylorPE

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1. That silly 1.5volt rumor just won't die.....mainly because it keeps being parroted in forums. The 1.5 volt designation applies to JEDEC RAM profiles but when you see a package and it states the RAM speed on it that is not a JEDEC profile, it's a XMP or overclocked profile..... and overclocking anything generally requires more voltage. When DDR-3 first broke. it was 1333 that was 1.50 and 1600 was 1.65 ..... as production lines improve, voltage drops

Look at Intel's Certified RAM Compatibility lists and you will see close to half of the kits on there are over 1.50 volts.

http://www.intel.com/content/dam/www/public/us/en/documents/datasheets/core-i7-memory-suppliers-0412-datasheet.pdf

2. You have 4 modules but you do not have quad channel. If you put quad channel RAM in there, it won't do anything because Z97 MoBos do not offer a quad channel support

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128711

Memory

-Number of Memory Slots = 4×240pin

-Memory Standard = DDR3 3200(OC)/3100(OC)/3000(OC)/2933(OC)/2800(OC)/2666(OC)/2600(OC)/2500(OC)/2400(OC)/2200(OC)/2133(OC)/2000(OC)/1866(OC)/1800(OC)/1600/1333

-Maximum Memory Supported = 32GB

-Channel Supported = Dual Channel
Click to expand...





 
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