Please Review My Build! *New to Building*

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Castamere81

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Hey all. I have done some light PC building in the past, but I have never built an actual real gaming rig. Nothing close to that actually. However I am in the process of putting together a mid-range level gaming PC and came here to post what I've got together. I've done a lot of research and I'm fairly confident with the build, however I am still new to this, and would like to hear some feedback from this forum. Also, I would like to know if I have any system bottlenecks that I have missed, or if there are any hardware combos that may be problematic.

As for the parts themselves, they have been ordered and have all arrived, except for 1 or 2 pieces, and I plan to start working on it the upcoming week. However, I can make a change if need be. So if there's a strong reason to make a change, I can do it, as I am helping several other friends build PC's (for basic use) and I can always offer to sell them a part I don't use. So, if there's a suggestion to change a part and its indicated, I should be able to do it.

Here is the basic goal of this build:
- Mid-Range Gaming PC, Budget ~$1,000ish
- Plan to overclock the CPU moderately, no plans to overclock GPU/MB/Memory, etc.
- Games Most Likely to Play: Wolfenstein: The New Order, Skyrim, StarCraft II, The Witcher Series, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, Mortal Kombat X, maybe Assassins Creed series

Hardware List

Case - Thermaltake Level 10 GT LCS
CPU - Intel Core i5-4690K
Cooler - Swiftech H-140x
MB - Gigabyte GA-Z97X-GAMING 7
MEM - G.Skill Sniper 16 GB (2x8) DDR3 2133
Storage - 2TB Seagate Hybrid
*GPU - Asus Radeon R9 280X 3GB
PSU - Antec HCG M 850W
Monitor - Asus ML238H
OS - Windows 7 Pro 64bit

*For the ASUS R9 280x, I was well aware of the artifacting issues before buying it. I had read that after some updates most of the artifact issues had resolved. I purchased a refurbished one for pretty cheap. I've used it and did get some artifacting, but after updates they mostly went away. However, I've noticed when the card has to work hard, it artifacts. Also, even when set on AUTO, I saw that the fan speed never raises above 20% even when under high stress from a game. After that I put the fan control to Manual, set speed to 50%, and it no longer artifacts. This is probably a newb question, as I am kinda new to this kind of build, but I thought when the card's fan speed is on Auto it self adjusts its speed? Is this an issue with the card, or do I need to further tweek the software? Still learning ASUS's GPU Tweek program.

Any feedback/recommendations/input is appreciated.
 
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Darkbreeze

Darkbreeze

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I gotta say, I hate the case choice, but that's mostly for my taste in aesthetics. Overall it's a pretty good build but I think for the money you could do better and end up with a better performing product, by a long shot, that is really gonna be necessary to play some of those games at a high level due to their serious resource demands. Skyrim and Witcher for sure will eat that card alive at high or ultra settings. High at 1080 might be ok but in some areas it's going to lag on frame rates.

My suggestion, and that's all it is, would be a case with less cost and eye candy value, and just as good performance and features, and use the price difference for a better GPU. Everything else is pretty good.
 
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nikoli707

nikoli707

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windows 8 is better, install the classic shell.

why are you getting that swiftech cooler? just get a hyper 212 or alternative similar priced cooler... save the extra money for a better graphics card.

how much are you paying for that case? that is just ridiculous in my opinion and any mid range case will work fine.

i would get ssd and a hdd rather than a hybrid.

dont use asus gpu tweak, just use msi afterburner.
 
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Castamere81

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If I were to swap the ASUS card out, which card would you recommend replacing it with, given a ~$200 budget for the card.? I got the ASUS for $170. As for the case, that was actually a last minute call. I wanted a CoolerMaster Cosmos, but was out of my budget. I liked the quirky style of the Level 10, but it was also out of my budget. But NewEgg has a few days where it was on sale on the Level 10 for $150, with an additional $30 rebate (so $120 total).
 
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Castamere81

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I paid the extra for a cooler honestly because I'm new to overclocking, and wanted to get a well rated cooler. I'm just worried I may make a mistake and damage components during OC'ing so I paid the extra to get one of the more reliable coolers I could find. Maybe it was overkill. But I can make adjustments.
 
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Castamere81

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Oh, suggestions in the $250-$300 rang is fine as well.
 
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Darkbreeze

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Damage from overclocking is far more often due to unfamiliarity with the process, including configuring the overclock voltage, verifying stability and thermal limit and incorrect paste/mounting than it ever is due to the cooler. Even a stock cooler COULD be overclocked with, so long as thermal barriers were observed AND you didn't mind a loud cooler running full speed all the time. You wouldn't be able to SIGNIFICANTLY overclock, but almost all modern processors have a system supervised automatic overclock turbo feature anyhow, using the stock cooler.

Using the stock cooler is of course HIGHLY frowned upon, and for good reason, but the point is you could do it. More realistic is using a GOOD air cooler. Even more realistic is the fact that overclocking that CPU will bring little benefit to your gaming experience, EXCEPT in some highly CPU intensive titles that might see some frame rate performance gains. Most games don't see much if any benefit with overclocking the 4690k or 4790k. Personally, I'd get a Noctua NH-U14S or a cooler with similar performance characteristics and settle for bringing it up to about 4Ghz. That chip goes crazy on heat output over that anyhow. And even if you DON'T overclock, I'd still get some kind of decent aftermarket cooler just to save your sanity from the noise levels the smaller stock cooler is going to create while gaming.

I personally think the Phanteks Enthoo Pro, NZXT Source 530 or Rosewill Thor V2 which is about twenty bucks cheaper than that review indicates. But since you've already bought that case, and got it for a good price, I suppose it's ok. Heh. I just hate the level 10. Don't take it personally, it's just me, not necessarily you or the case.

For the card, I'd really try to swing a GTX 970 or R9 290x, neither of which is going to be that cheap, but here's a couple of options. It's unfortunate you didn't make this post first, prior to ordering, as the fifteen bucks it's going to cost to send the card back and get a different model, IF you do, could have went towards the higher tiered card.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 290X 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($309.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $309.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-29 04:44 EDT-0400



PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($329.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $329.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-29 04:45 EDT-0400
 
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Castamere81

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HOLY CRAP. I just saw what the Level 10 is going for...$190. Glad I got it while it was cheap, and no wonder why you guys thought I was nuts. I actually see where your coming from aesthetically speaking though. I felt the same way when I first saw it a few months ago. But it really grew on me image wise, and I kept reading rave reviews about it. More importantly, I wanted a case that was sturdy and reliable (no some Apevia plastic nonsense), and had lots of room for expansion. I want to get parts that last a long time so I can squeeze as much use as I can, but also, I tend to give away/sell my parts to friends and family. So I want whatever I get to last.

I may take up your advice on a new card. I've owned XFX's before and never had problems. Granted, they were low end cards, not enthusiast level, but they did the job. However, as much as I'd like to have games run max settings, if I can't on some of them I can deal. When all is up and running and I'm not satisfied with performance, then I'll def look at swapping out for a better card. I'll probably end up losing 15-30 bucks out of it, but I'll live. This build ended up coming under budget anyway.

As for overclocking, thanks for the advice. However, much of what I've read is that the Devil's Canyon really is the i-5 processor to shoot for if you plan on overclocking, and you can see a lot of benefit as it has a high ceiling to overclock. Is that incorrect, or do I have something wrong?

Ya, ideally I would have posted the build before buying. But honestly, I didn't find out about this place only until recently. But glad I did though.

 
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Castamere81

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Thanks for the feedback! Question, why 8 over 7? I've used both, and much prefer 7. Is this just a preference, or is there a solid performance issue I'm missing? My Win 7 disc came with a free upgrade to 10, should I just wait? I've done some reading on both, but nothing extensive.

 
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Darkbreeze

Darkbreeze

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8.1 has much better stability, hardware and driver support and official support ending is much further out for versions of 8 than it is for 7, which is not far off.

Use 8.1 with Classic Shell and then upgrade to 10 for free, which you'll qualify for if you have a valid license for 7 or 8, when it releases in a few months.


Classic Shell: http://www.classicshell.net/


i5 gaming performance. You'll notice there's not much, if any difference, and that in some cases, it's worse. In ALL cases, the difference isn't enough to justify the effort and expense. Of course, THAT only really applies to gaming. Other processes and applications may have a significantly different result, so if you run any high end applications, graphics, cad, raw audio conversion, rendering, etc., you may see a benefit. Personally, I like to overclock, just because I can, plus previous generations really DID see gains from it, so I probably would anyhow, but Haswell refresh does well without it and really it could go both ways on this. If gaming is the only priority, not much there though:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/8227/devils-canyon-review-intel-core-i7-4790k-and-i5-4690k/5

 
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Castamere81

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Dang, that's a surprising read as I've read differing reviews. Is it the same for your CPU doing large loads of audio/video conversions? I have a big media library and am always doing file format conversions for tv shows, movies, etc, and also do alot of that kind of work for friends and family. If I OC for that would there be a benefit?

 
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Castamere81

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Ok good to know, I had read up on OC'ing for media conversions and have always heard of how beneficial it is,but feel better knowing someone here agrees.
 
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Darkbreeze

Darkbreeze

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Yeah, like I said, for things NOT gaming, it's beneficial. It COULD be beneficial for gaming, if the current generation of games and supporting hardware were better able to take advantage of it. Going forward, that could change, so in that consideration, it might at some point become a different story, but you can ALWAYS upgrade the cooling system at a later date if need be, or just do it now so that it's already capable for your other activities.
 
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Castamere81

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So newegg has this on sale tonight - ASUS R9290X-DC2-4GD5 for $280 (after rebate) Should I opt for this instead?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121922
 
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