polaracv :
Really appreciate all the replies, guys. This is really helpful. I'm not up on the modern builds and wasn't aware of the nuances involved. Do you think I should get a cheap cooler or is the stock one going to be okay?
In most builds above you don't have an CPU or MoBo that permits overclocking .... so unless you go the Z97 / k processor route, a cooler is a complete waste of cash. The $1,000 price point seems to be popular of late and we've done several of those builds above in last few months. With Z97 / K series, overclocking is an option..... one, which like SLI, you may not want to tackle at this point in time.... But again, down the line, have k series, Z97 and SLI capable MoBo / PSU, you will not be prohibited from choosing that route at some pint in the future which is why i recommend that you don't pidgeon hole yaself.
CTurbo :
TI much prefer the ssd + hdd combo.
I also agree that 16GB is not necessary for most users.
The SSD + SSHD is the best of both worlds.... and with cheaper SSDs becoming available, a "full" SSD is becoming less and less of a problem. I refuse to do a build w/ a 120 GB SSD and HD .... I am tired of these builds coming back because their SSD is "full" and the user is not astute enough of a user to clean them.
In the office, I hate SSD + HD combos.... the speed is nice for a field engineer to run AutoCAD on laptops but again.... when they keep getting pulled from active service so the SSD can be thinned out, the downtime loss far exceeds the speed advantage. No one ever has yet made a successful case for an ROI for SSDs in a work environment outside very specialized applications such as video processing. The user remains the bottleneck.
SSDs are great for bragging rights but result in no real increase in productivity. For the gamer, there are two reasons to get an SSD:
1. Boot time: The SSD in our test rig boots windows in 15.6 seconds from pressing power button to arrival on desktop. The SSD does it in 16.5 seconds. Without a stop watch no one can tell which is which.
2. In game load times, the SSD does squat for games not on the SSD. So with a typical Windows install footprint at 60-80 Gigs, that leaves room for about 1 AA game on the SSD since you wanna keep file space to about 95GB. An SSHD will be about 50% faster than the HD in every single game.
Again, a 250 GB SSD and 2 TB SSHD is the ideal combo, but that ain't happening in a $1,000 build. I always recommend keeping a spare windows install on its own partition on the SSHD. Adding a SSD down the line is an easy upgrade when no longer subject to a total $1,000 limit. Much better alternative to tossing that cheap HD to replace with something faster.
Because we have two SSDs, two SSHDs and a HD, I keep moving stuff around w/o telling anyone. When a game is moved from / to an SSD ? SSHD, no body has noticed..... when the boot drive is switched between SSD / SSHD, no one has noticed. The 15.6 vs 16.5 seconds is too small a difference to be noted where the HDs (and its a very fast HD) 21.6 seconds will generally be observed if not distracted.
One thing that needs mentioning tho .... if your the type who plays FC3, finishes and then moves onto Witcher 3 and then to FC4, the SSD will rock your world moving the files from the game you are currently playing to the SSD portion. But if you're the guy who plays 8 different games each day and the next day 6 of the 8 are different ... rinse and repeat ... then the SSHD will benefit you much less.
I find 16GB a boon if you can get it in .... costs $40 extra at 2133. You can get by with 8 but you'll notice16 if you do multi card GFX, pay attention to minimum fps, or use any demanding programs....
if it came down to spending an extra $60 for:
a. upgrading from 8GB to 16GB of RAM ($40) and upgrading HD to SSHD ($20)
b. Adding a ($60) 120 GB SSD
I'd take the "a" in a heartbeat
-Upgrading the RAM is iffy as 2nd set of 2 x 4GB may not play well with others and perhaps will negatively impact CPU overclock.
-You can't upgrade the $69 HD to a $89 SSHD.
-Meanwhile, adding a 250 GB SSD after 3-6 months is an easy add, costing $75 - $100.
It's more how easy the upgrade route is then the relative advantages on day 1.
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