Need help with £2200 build / Monitor and Storage Setup

3vil work3r

Reputable
Feb 19, 2015
5
0
4,510
Firstly, hello everyone in this amazing community, I'm a Software Developer who enjoys programming, gaming, streaming, video editing and general leisure at the PC. My goal is to build a well rounded PC that I can throw multitude of tasks at. Been reading upon a lot of part reviews, compatibility, etc. However, I thought I'd ask the communities help and info before I buy the parts. Here are my parts list and some info below of my choices.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor (£260.34 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H110i GT 113.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (£99.98 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: MSI Z97-Gaming 9 ACK ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£225.56 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£117.03 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Samsung 850 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£79.90 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£34.45 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card (2-Way SLI) (£279.98 @ Novatech)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card (2-Way SLI) (£279.98 @ Novatech)
Case: NZXT H440 (Black/Red) ATX Mid Tower Case (£89.94 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (£103.98 @ Scan.co.uk)
Monitor: Asus ROG SWIFT PG278Q 144Hz 27.0" Monitor (£601.09 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £2172.23
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-19 22:08 GMT+0000

CPU: A well rounded processor that will allow me to Overclock if needed, multi-threading will help a lot with programming and rendering videos.

CPU Cooler: Initially I was thinking of getting my hands on h100i as it's a well rounded cooler that helps with overclocking, however recently it was surpassed by h110i and that was my choice.

Motherboard: I love the features of this motherboard, both Ethernet, WiFi and killer sound card. Since most of the time I will be using WiFi, untill I relocate to my new house in a few months time I won't have the use for the Ethernet features, however it's a feature that I love, I wanted a bilt in WiFi adapter as that will simply make things easier, I know getting a USB adapter is a possibility and I would appreaciate constructive criticism on my choise.

Memory: 16GB DDR3-1866 there's not much to say really, quality RAM and the red heatsinks will match the color scheme.

Storage: Now this is certainly a part where I need some help. I understand that 128GB SSD is not suited for such an expensive rig, however my initial thoughts were getting 128GB SSD for OS&Programs 512GB SSD for Video Rendering and 1TB WD Blue for games/music/videos. I really love keeping my Software Separate from other components, and as far as I know Samsung 850Pro are extremely well built and come with a long-term warranty. Note: This bit is unfinished and will appreciate all the help here.

Video Cards: MSI GTX 970 SLI, great cards for the value, I love gaming on high/ultra resolutions, the cards are quieter and a fraction more powerful than ASUS Strix ones.

Case: NZXT H440 caught my eye the first time it came out and I still adore the case, it's a silent case, (Which is one of my priorities) has a nice window with PSU shield and matches the color scheme. However, I'm a little worried about the Air Flow of the case with all the beefy parts inside, I'm quite nervous that reduced Air Flow will cause the parts to heat up and produce more noise due to fans thrashing it. I will be replacing the case fans with Corsair SP120 quiet editions. If anyone has an OC'ed / SLI rig with this Case I'd love to hear your opinions on how well it performs.

Power Supply: I went with EVGA 850W G2 edition as it is one of the more efficient modular PSU's, additionally 850W should be more than enough to power the system, better have more and not need it, as they say.

Monitor: Again.. One of my biggest fears is that I'm going to get this beast and it will not perform to the £600 price point it's at, however G-SYNC, 144Hz, 1440p, sound amazing to me, and I'm pretty sure the Hardware will be able to handle it. I know recently Acer Predator came out with a G-SYNC, 144Hz, 4k monitor, but I'm interested how much would that affect streaming and video making due to the resolution, would that increase the video files massively, would love some comments on this. This monitor also hits the sweet spot for me of 1440p, I'm a bit over the 1080p and I believe SLI GTX970's deserve better. Would you suggest 4k instead? Let me know!

Finally I would really like my build to be as silent and as versatile as it can be, I'm not afraid to shed a bit more money on it if required.

Please do let me know your thoughts, suggestions, advice.

Sincerely,

3vil
 
Solution
I wouldn't go as far as to say stream in 4K, but definitely 1440p. Though you start to run into the problem of people's internet speed not being good enough to sustain such a high bitrate. The one thing you need to stream well is a good CPU (an I7 is very much recommended, one of the LGA 2011 beasts like the I7 5820k would be the best obviously, though that 4790 is enough) and a powerful enough Graphics Card (GTX 970 SLI..... don't even need to say anything :p). Multiple storage drives might help, but this is more important if also recording.

JP7PlaysMC

Distinguished
Jan 27, 2014
882
1
19,360


Awesome build, very balanced! It's quite usual for, even users with big budgets, to cheap here and there to get the most expensive GPU they can fit inside. Many people would get SLI GTX 980s for that price, but in my honest opinion, your system is much better. It's just a well rounded build: 16GB, I7, 2 GTX 970s..... maybe a bigger SSD and Hard Drive? Like a 250GB and 2TB respectively?

The GTX 970 VRAM problem shouldn't affect you too much, only if you're planning on playing Shadow of Mordor with those crazy HD packs and such.

Congrats again for the nice build :).
 

3vil work3r

Reputable
Feb 19, 2015
5
0
4,510


Thank you, I don't really justify the performance per dollar of GTX 980s as they are much more expensive but don't produce as much of an impact to performance. Not really concerned about the VRAM slowing down after 3,5, still view it as the same graphics card as when it came out, brilliant performance for the price. I understand I need more/better storage for my System, hunting for configuration examples here.

-3v
 

JP7PlaysMC

Distinguished
Jan 27, 2014
882
1
19,360


Well, if your budget allows it, I'd highly suggest the 2TB Seagate Barracuda, since it's fast and somewhat cheaper than the competition (at least where I'm at) and a 256GB Samsung 850 Pro SSD. You could also get the Western Digital Black 2TB, though it's a bit more expensive (maybe less annual failure rates?). If you need me to provide you links, I'll be happy to do so.
 

3vil work3r

Reputable
Feb 19, 2015
5
0
4,510


I've not looked into the Barracuda's just yet, however main reason why I didn't want to go for WD Black is because, although they are safer and can go past 1TB WD blue cap, they are also noisier, what I've heard about them. Eventually I'd like my system to be HDD free, as one way to remove noise, is to remove moving parts.
 

JP7PlaysMC

Distinguished
Jan 27, 2014
882
1
19,360


Ah, very well then. I'd say my Barracuda is somewhat silent. Every once in a while I do hear it, but I'm literally sitting 10 inches from my PC, if that is of any help. I've also been looking at 1TB SSDs, but damn, that price :p.
 

The Barracuda's are nice and there is warranty on them though.
 

JP7PlaysMC

Distinguished
Jan 27, 2014
882
1
19,360


There's really nothing to say. You're very sure of all your parts (even gave an explanation to why you picked some). The case has a good airflow and, most importantly, you like the looks of it. You're main fears are with storage and monitor right? As I previously stated, the storage is fine but not suited for such a rig. Getting a 128GB SSD just for Windows is more than fine. If you have the money to pick up a 512GB one for the main programs, and probably the ones that take longer to boot, I wouldn't blame you, as that seems a great idea. The 1TB Blue is kind of slower than the equally priced Seagate version (where I'm at it's actually more expensive) so you might want to take a look at that just for the «Big» storage in your machine. I'm saying this because I do render a lot of videos and use mine to store them. I'm quite happy for now :). The monitor is amazing, a bit pricey, but for gaming is amazing. I mean, G-Sync, 144Hz 1440p!? That's wonderful!!! When you buy it you sure won't be dissapointed. Just my thoughts on everything. Every other part I didn't comment on you already know that it's very good (eg. CPU).
Cheers, any other doubt, even if specific, be sure to ask and I'll do my best to help!
 

3vil work3r

Reputable
Feb 19, 2015
5
0
4,510


Thank you. Has anyone tried streaming / YouTube rendering in 1440p or 4k, how much different are requirements for storage?

-3v
 

JP7PlaysMC

Distinguished
Jan 27, 2014
882
1
19,360
I wouldn't go as far as to say stream in 4K, but definitely 1440p. Though you start to run into the problem of people's internet speed not being good enough to sustain such a high bitrate. The one thing you need to stream well is a good CPU (an I7 is very much recommended, one of the LGA 2011 beasts like the I7 5820k would be the best obviously, though that 4790 is enough) and a powerful enough Graphics Card (GTX 970 SLI..... don't even need to say anything :p). Multiple storage drives might help, but this is more important if also recording.
 
Solution