Need Advice On System Build

[Prozon]

I would like some advise on a system I am planning on building. This is my first build and honestly, it's my first real PC. My main concern is knowing my chosen parts will be compatible and that they will be good enough. (Again, expectations are not too high.) I've read through the stickies and will do my best to fill in all the information needed.

Budget: Let's call it a flexible budget.. $1000-1500?
Country: Western United States (Ordering all online.)
Overclocking: It seems like a good idea if it's planned now!
SLI or Crossfire: Input needed.
Resolution: I was planning to run a 32" LCD TV, I guess experimenting with res will ensue.
PC History: I've only ever owned cheap, low-end computers.
System Usage from Most to Least Important:
This will be a personal computer. No real "business" to be done. I know the PC will get a lot of use for gaming. I would like to be able to run the games at their highest settings. (Arma or Battlefield.) Aside from gaming I will use the PC for music (no real high demands there), movies, and photo/video editing. (Again, I could never get photoshop to even run in a timely manner.)

Here is the system I have put together. I want to note that I have VERY LITTLE knowledge of PC's and I have spent the night searching for most of these terms. (Most of my Google queries have returned me to this forum, which explains my choice to post here. A lot of my choices have been with budget in mind and in some cases- purely what has been recommended. Below are the parts listed with my reasoning.

(I used PCPartPicker.com to pick out the parts)
Click for link to the build if you want specs of parts.

CPU Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor
From what I have read this is the best bang for your buck for gaming.

CPU Cooler Corsair H50 57.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
I own one already from a friends build, it says it's compatible with above CPU.

Motherboard Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard
I picked it for the ram capacity but upon reading stickies I noticed the Intel Z77 chipset is a plus?

Memory G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory
Cheapest set of 32gb to fit the above mobo. (Picked 32gb because of editing pic/vids.)

Storage Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Good for storing music, photos and games?

Video Card Sapphire Radeon R7 260X 2GB Video Card
Again it came down to the bang for the buck with gaming.

Sound Card Asus Xonar DS 24-bit 192 KHz Sound Card
I plan to plug into my surround sound occasionally. Seemed like good balance with quality/budget.

Power Supply EVGA SuperNOVA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply
"Estimated" usage is 363 watts. The rule is roughly double, correct?

Optical Drive Pioneer BDC-207DBK Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer
Fairly cheap drive with a BR option.

Operating System Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)
I have a personal preference to Windows 7, do not require much as far as OS options.

Case Apevia X-SNIPER2-BL ATX Mid Tower Case
The decision was roughly half looks and half available options. On top of the one fan that comes with the case I will be getting four cheap 120mm fans to help it out. However, I do not believe they will be needed. I would like advise on powering the extra fans. Can I hook them up to the PC and have them powered automatically at certain temperatures/loads or do I need a separate fan controller.


So there we have it. I personally think that it will all work splendid, but I don't trust myself too much with as little experience as I have! I think the most trouble the PC will ever have is running a game at full settings, opening photoshop or uploading a video. I am not opposed to overclocking it, but I have no experience with it. I am perfectly content not doing anything in that area but let me know if tweaking the build would help in that category.

I would love to hear some feedback on it if at all possible. Constructive criticism is welcome. I'm fine with it being overbuilt. If some parts are lacking or incompatible, let me know. The budget is flexible, but I cringe thinking about spending too much. It sits right at $1300 how it's listed above.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and in advance for any comments you may have. If you have any questions about any of it, let me know.

 

[AMD Radeon]

here is your build with some revisions
i5 haswell (latest generation) and its z87 mobo
there is no way you are going to use that 32GB of ram. 8GB of ram is plenty for any high-end gaming
there is big cpu cooler on sale

this build needs SSD to make it more snappy

you deserve better case
use the fan included in case

and go with powerful gaming GPU 280X

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($225.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Thermaltake Water 2.0 Extreme 81.3 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($117.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($82.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 280X 3GB Video Card ($299.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Pioneer BDC-207DBK Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($45.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($82.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1208.88
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-25 07:55 EST-0500)

 

[AxlFone]

My build is bit more pricy. Memory is 2400MHz. Bigger SSD. Bigger HDD. Corsair PSU. Silent and really good efficiency. Mach platinum efficiency if look other manufacturer.

Case is Really nice new Bitfenix. Cooler is good air cooler.
Iook R9 290 is budget is up to it. That can be modded to mach E2 290 X with simple bios update. If you get lucky. XTX orpower colour cards may be best for that.

Other good PSU aremaybe XFX gold 850w.
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-power-supply-p1850bbefx

Rosewill lightning 800/1000w
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/rosewill-power-supply-lightning800
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/rosewill-power-supply-lightning1000
(if they come on sale soon)

Build.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($225.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC12DX_BK 68.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87X-D3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($124.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2400 Memory ($67.50 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra Plus 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($162.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($118.24 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 280X 3GB Video Card ($299.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: BitFenix Shadow Series BFC-SDO-150-KKXBR-RP ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair RM 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($109.99 @ Microcenter)
Total: $1229.66
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-25 08:35 EST-0500)

 

[Prozon]

I have a few questions/comments about your revisions, AMD Radeon and AxlFone.

First off, It did not even occur to me to run multiple hard drives. I dismissed the idea of running a solid state simply because of the price of a larger one. I do like the idea of a smaller SSD. Thanks for the input!

What was the reason for the change of CPU? Simply that it is a newer generation, or is there more to it? I noticed you both had the same idea as far as the CPU. The specs look virtually identical, the only difference being $10 more for yours. As for the CPU cooler, 24cfm more does not seem like a significant change- especially when I already own the one I had listed. But these things do need to stay cool. If an upgrade is warranted I have no objections.

I'm a little lost on the MoBo choice, AMD. I noticed that the MoBo I had listed is not compatible with the CPU you had listed, the one you recommended is cheaper, but is it better or worse? The motherboard I had picked out had the CPU socket and chipset mentioned in the "Guide to Choosing Parts" and they seemed to be popular from what I can tell. I read that the Z87 is slightly more advanced however I do not think I will ever really hit the maximum potential of a Z77. Switching to your CPU/MOBO setup is a $72 savings, other than that it doesn't seem like its helping much. (But do explain to me where I may be wrong.)

I had to do a little bit of researching and i'm still not really certain on the best video card for the setup. I was reading about a 3gb not being as good as say a 2GB if the core clock was too low on the 3gb. I noticed the core clock is slightly higher on the 2gb I listed, but what's more important in the end? Is that 1gb extra/less core clock speed worth $155? I simply don't know enough about the ideal video card. I found this one by looking up good cards for gaming, and comparing speeds/memory.

As for the ram- you may be right about me never needing 32gb. I however think 8gb isn't enough. 8gb falls into the "recommended" area of most games/programs I intend to use- and I want to be well above that. I'm sure 16gb would be plenty and it's always upgradable if I feel I need more, until then I would save like $160. I just like to be prepared.

One last thing, AxlFone- do I require more than the 750w PSU? You listed a few that were higher. I had initially chosen an 850w one but noticing my "estimated" watts were low, I changed it to save a few bucks. I mean if all is at play here is having it in the ideal efficiency range, it's one thing.. can you starve a PC of power? Lol.

I think my lack of knowledge is showing. I appreciate the speedy replies. Thanks to both of you. Hope to hear back soon.

EDIT:
I forgot to address that both of you didn't like my case choice. Are you not into flashy cases or am I missing something? If I spend $1200 on a computer I think it should look like I spent $1200 on a computer. Haha.

I just did some switching around on things. Swapped PSU's. 16gb RAM, added a 120gb SSD. Total: $1164.17. (Minus the $60 for the cooler I own.)

Interested to hear your answers to my questions and anyone elses suggestions. Thanks again!

 

[AxlFone]

For boot drive it is better have 4x how much OS takes space.
If we look SSD speed's Bigger do have better speeds.
Other thing to look is MLC vs TLC , memory chips and reliability.

Then it comes down to usage. Maybe Im heavy user but seems like I need double space than other users. Have 2 240GB SSD RAID 0.

Im not anymore sure what u are after. Now if you look upgrade.
One option is wait bit longer. DDR 4 is coming out soon.

Z 87 do have better motherboards for now. Next is coming soon enough. So my suggestion is wait new to come out with DDR 4 memory.

Z 87 is better. No point to buy old. What do Z77 have?
Look what Z 87 do have.

http://www.gigabyte.fi/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4764#ov

Here is cheaper option.
http://www.gigabyte.fi/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4518#ov

I forgot to address that both of you didn't like my case choice. Are you not into flashy cases or am I missing something? If I spend $1200 on a computer I think it should look like I spent $1200 on a computer. Haha.

We did look just "good buy parts" I like Big case.
If Full tower is what you want. Then Phanteks is good. Is that Full tower? Or Cooler Master Cosmos 2. Silverstone andLian Li do have nice case too.

Did buy last week for my son CM Cosmos 2 case.
My case is Enermax Fullmo GT have done small mods to fit 560 rad in.

maybe we can make better suggestion if you tell what parts u save or have and what you want to upgrade

Remember we just like to help u make better build

 

[Prozon]

Thanks for the quick reply!

You may be right about the parts and I don't mind waiting for better parts to come out.

My idea with the build was hopefully to be ahead of times for awhile and get a long time of using this.

As far as my usage, it is probably a lot less than most users on here! Lol.