Suggestions/Tweaks for my first gaming build !!

[Dicepshon]

Hi Folks,

This will be my first build. I've always wanted to build a pc but setting the proc has always scared me away (silly I know). Anyway, I'm excited and ready for it. My laptop has mostly died, and instead of getting a new one, I've decided it's time to get back to the trusty desk top. I'm Hoping you guys can give some suggestions/advice along the way. Thank you in advance for anything you think I can tweak or switch out!

Approximate Purchase Date: between now and July 4th (would like to take advantage of potential sales on GPU, PSU, SSD, etc.)

Budget Range: 1200-1400ish if possible all said and done

System Usage from Most to Least Important: gaming, photoshop,movies, web surfing but mostly gaming. Types of games: MMO's like Wildstar and EVO, FPS like BF4

Are you buying a monitor: No, planning to use my tv for now but I do have a monitor
Monitor Resolution: 1080p

Do you need to buy OS: Yes - plan for win 8.1

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com, ncix.com, amazon

Location: Cambridge, ma

Overclocking: Maybe - not off the bat. only on an as needed basis

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe. off the bat no, but 2-3 years later? yes, I'd like to

Parts:

case:
NZXT Phantom 410

mobo
MSI Z97 Gaming 7 I chose the gaming 7 over the 5 because the reviews I've read seem to favor this one and I chose a z97 so I can: overclock should I desire and also upgrade to a broadwell proc at some point in the future since the 1150 socket supports it. I like the features of the gaming 5 and 7 better than the arock 4 at least and I just wasn't flattered by the asus z97 but since this is my first build, any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

cpu: leaning heavily towards i5-4670k
but would also consider i5-4570
In a few years, if I may upgrade this to a broadwell if I need to and overclocking isn't enough or I need it to support SLI

cpu cooler
coolmaster hyper 212 evo

Graphics Card:
EVGA Superclocked 770 w/ ACX SLI Supported 2gb Ram I chose the 770 over the 760 as it's not THAT much more expensive and in a couple years I can SLI it to stay up to speed with games that come out

Memory:
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2133 (PC3 17000) Desktop Memory Model F3-2133C11D-16GXL
I chose this because it says it's optimized for LGA1150. Does this matter or is it just a gimmick? Does anyone have a better suggestion?

Drives:

256 SSD was thinking either 840 evo or Crucials M550 for games
Western Digitial WD Blue 1tb drive for general storage and boot (don't care about boot time)
Asus DRW 24 BR/DVD/CD burner

After market fans: adding these to the 3 that come with the case that I hear are pretty decent(?)
NZXT 140mm Blue led for bottom intake
Antec Tricool 120mm x 2 for front intakes

And now we come to my conundrum - the PSU
I've checked out the guide and the calcs listed (which are helpful and thank you!) but I am still unsure of what to get or what wattage to get. If I SLI it, get an m.2 ssd in the future, overclock for say 20-30% performance gain and have 4-6 usb and 2 hdmi all connected, I want to make sure I have the power to support that in 3-5 years time.

At the same time I may not need to SLI or OC but let's just say I plan to at least SLI at some point, even if it's with 2 new Maxwell architecture cards.

The calcs I've done say I would need around 950w PSU running at 90% load and 30%degrade. Why did I choose the 30%? Because I hope to have this pc for at least 5 if not 7-8 years... depending on how far future upgrades can take me on the mobo. I may be overshooting and as I've no experience with selecting a PSU I was really hoping you guys could come through especially on this regarding model and wattage suggestions for me.


Thank you very much for taking a look and offering your tweaks/advice to my build. Any and all help is appreciated!

 

[GetOwnedGaming]

That looks like a REALLY solid build to me!

 

[acilikola]

I am at exactly the same spot as you are now, with my Asus G73 Gaming laptop not able to handle games even at lower settings anymore. The build is solid as GetOwnedGaming agreed, though if you are not really very strict on budget or can wait for deals, I would suggest some improvements for future proofing:

CPU: I suggest go for a i7 4770K or even better, the upcoming (or freshly released??) i7 4790K. They are approximately $350 currently. i5 4670K is also enough for your purpose, but the ones I'm suggesting will make this build future proof in terms of CPU.

GPU: same as CPU, if you want future proofing get one of GTX 780, GTX 780Ti, or Radeon r9 290x. Later on, you can SLI one of these bad boys and the Radeon at least could very well support 4k gaming if need be with SLI. These are pretty expensive though, so its really up to you.

PSU: again, if you want future proofing you can go with:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151109&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=
This can pretty much run anything you can throw at it, and you won't need to change it until you have grandchildren .

RAM: I was also inclined towards the same ones, though some people warned me about the 2133Mhz on RAM. Most motherboards and systems do not support more than 1866Mhz, after which it becomes cost-ineffective. Of course it is an improvement, but the price generally does not justify the performance increase. I went with G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory for my current not yet completed (waiting for i7 4790K to adjust and finalize) build.

As before, the system you have is really good and it should not have any problems for some time. If you want improvements for better future proofing, my suggestions are up there. Cheers

 

[Suztera]

850W power supply is enough and will last for 5 years if you do plan to SLI. Would recommend changing power supply after 5 years or until the end of the warranty of the power supply.

i5 4670k is enough. CPU performance has not improved as much as expected over the recent years. Your i5 4670k will last. Even the i5 2500k is still going strong.

Ram is a gimmick saying optimized for 1150. But no doubt Gskill ram are good quality. 2133MHZ will be supported by Haswell and is confirmed.
GPu, opt for GTX 780 for 1080p. at 1440p or higher, consider the R9 290 or R9 290x where they edge ahead over the GTX 780.

If you already planning to buy a SSD, then i recommend installing the OS on that to decrease boot time and snappy OS.

Have extra fans is optional. the fans that comes with the case is adequate, but there is not wrong for having a few more fans.