New Build. i5-4670k Or i7-4790k? Please help.

[dankbecker]

I've started a new build and would love some input. I work as a mechanical engineer, so the computer will run Solid Works and ProE. I will also be running video editing software and photoshop. HOWEVER, this system will also be used for gaming (Skyrim, WOW...etc). I don't see myself over clocking the computer. Budget isn't really a concern, however, Im not looking to spend more than I need to. My questions are:

-Would the i5 be enough? Or do I need to go i7?

- Do I need all the eccentric upgrades offered on motherboards, if I don't OC? Ex: Do I really need the Asus z97 pro vs the z97 basic?

- Can I get some suggestions on a GPU? Planning on running 2 monitors.

I'm open to ALL advice and suggestions. I'd like to game (with awesome fn' graphics), run Solid Works, and video/picture edit without any hiccups, lag...etc.

 

[Alex Kelly]

You won't need a K series processor if you don't want to overclock. I recommend getting the i5 4690, and pairing it with an ASUS GTX 780 DirectCU II, if you are okay with spending that much money on the card.

I suggest getting a H97 motherboard such as the MSI H97 Gaming 3 for your 4690 as you don't need a Z series since you will not be overclocking. This system will be able to max out any game you throw at it at well over 60fps and will give you excellent performance in video and picture editing software, as well as Solid Works.

If you don't want to spend that much on the GPU, an EVGA GTX 770 will also do great, and still be able to max out most games at above 60fps, although it won't be as future proof as the 780, and won't be quite as fast in photo and video editing applications.

 

[jnewegger23]

Not spending more than you need to equates to something like a $700 rig; "Budget isn't a concern" typically means you are spending $1600 to $3500 or more and sometimes double or triple that. There's a huge difference in philosophy. Right now is a bad time to buy I believe. For those who have built pc's already it's a great time to wait for the haswell refresh chips or maybe even broadwell and the introduction of ddr4. This said, I'd wait or spend as little as possible if you really can't wait so that you can get the good stuff soon. I will cycle out my cpu chip and motherboard when broadwell hits. I understand one can constantly wait but ddr changes don't happen every year. It's happening this fall. You'll get a ton more detailed advice but keep this in mind when everyone and their mother tells you what they think you should do. I'd clarify by updating your original post with a ball park budget so that you can get better advice. Maybe address your feelings about waiting for new tech like ddr4 and the like may help as well. Once you buy you're stuck with the hardware so I'd be clear on how I feel and what I think about these details if I were you. If you wait the prices should drop on the same hardware you are looking and be dramatic drops in just a few months and conversely you'll have the option of pursuing the latest tech that will be relevant for many more years respectively should you choose to go that route. Just my 2 cents.

 

[dankbecker]

You won't need a K series processor if you don't want to overclock. I recommend getting the i5 4690, and pairing it with an ASUS GTX 780 DirectCU II, if you are okay with spending that much money on the card.

I suggest getting a H97 motherboard such as the MSI H97 Gaming 3 for your 4690 as you don't need a Z series since you will not be overclocking. This system will be able to max out any game you throw at it at well over 60fps and will give you excellent performance in video and picture editing software, as well as Solid Works.

If you don't want to spend that much on the GPU, an EVGA GTX 770 will also do great, and be able to max out most games at above 60fps.

Appreciate the advice bud. I guess my biggest concern with the i5, was multithreading applications involved in video editing. I know for gaming, the i5 is enough, but I wasn't sure how other, applications would react.

 

[Alex Kelly]

You won't need a K series processor if you don't want to overclock. I recommend getting the i5 4690, and pairing it with an ASUS GTX 780 DirectCU II, if you are okay with spending that much money on the card.

I suggest getting a H97 motherboard such as the MSI H97 Gaming 3 for your 4690 as you don't need a Z series since you will not be overclocking. This system will be able to max out any game you throw at it at well over 60fps and will give you excellent performance in video and picture editing software, as well as Solid Works.

If you don't want to spend that much on the GPU, an EVGA GTX 770 will also do great, and be able to max out most games at above 60fps.

Appreciate the advice bud. I guess my biggest concern with the i5, was multithreading applications involved in video editing. I know for gaming, the i5 is enough, but I wasn't sure how other, applications would react.

No worries!

The i7 4790 would give you a slight improvement in productivity software and photo/video editing apps over the i5 4690, but not enough to justify getting it, in my opinion.

Also, new hardware is coming out all the time and you will only be able to use DDR4 memory if you buy a much more expensive workstation grade motherboard and CPU. Now is just as good a time to buy as there ever will be imo.

 

[quarrel]

if you wont be doing any oc at all you dont.need the k versions of.the cpu. if you do plan on doing a fair amount of video editing i would get the i7 over the i5.

as for the motherboard you dont NEED the pro version, buuut, it does have some great features im sure you would be happy with. the onboard audio is great, more usb, better compoints etc... personally i would stick with the better.motherboard unless your a little tight on.cash

 

[Alex Kelly]

^ I already cleared that up. I agree with you about the motherboard though. The added features are actually worth it, unless better sound and more ports doesn't interest you.

If you're going to be doing a LOT of video editing and rendering, get the i7. If only some, the i5 will power through it just fine.

 

[dankbecker]

Question. When DDR4 comes out, what will all be obsolete? Obviously the memory and the motherboard, but, would it require a different CPU (chipset)? Would you not be able to use your old GPU, SSD's, power supply...etc. I mean, if all you have to change is the mobo and memory, it doesn't seem like to big of a deal. That's if someone really, really wanted to change/upgrade.

As far as my budget, I really don't know how to refine my answer. I'm comfortable spending up to a few grand, but if I don't need to, then I don't see the reason to. If I'm not into OCing, I don't really need all the hardware/options to do so.

 

[dankbecker]

You won't need a K series processor if you don't want to overclock. I recommend getting the i5 4690, and pairing it with an ASUS GTX 780 DirectCU II, if you are okay with spending that much money on the card.

I suggest getting a H97 motherboard such as the MSI H97 Gaming 3 for your 4690 as you don't need a Z series since you will not be overclocking. This system will be able to max out any game you throw at it at well over 60fps and will give you excellent performance in video and picture editing software, as well as Solid Works.

If you don't want to spend that much on the GPU, an EVGA GTX 770 will also do great, and still be able to max out most games at above 60fps, although it won't be as future proof as the 780, and won't be quite as fast in photo and video editing applications.

One more question Alex. If I decide to purchase the i5, does purchasing a "high end" GPU like the GTX 780, prove to be useless? I mean, will the i5 limit or bottle neck the gtx780? I'm not sure how to best describe my question. An example, not sure if you snowboard, but I find it amusing when I see new boarders with a $900 Lib Tech board, but they slap a pair of $100 Flow bindings on it. Awesome board, but the lack of quality bindings turned the setup useless. Am I making any sense lol?

 

[legend001523]

No a i5 4670/ 4690 will not bottleneck any known gpu in existence right now

 

[Alex Kelly]

You won't need a K series processor if you don't want to overclock. I recommend getting the i5 4690, and pairing it with an ASUS GTX 780 DirectCU II, if you are okay with spending that much money on the card.

I suggest getting a H97 motherboard such as the MSI H97 Gaming 3 for your 4690 as you don't need a Z series since you will not be overclocking. This system will be able to max out any game you throw at it at well over 60fps and will give you excellent performance in video and picture editing software, as well as Solid Works.

If you don't want to spend that much on the GPU, an EVGA GTX 770 will also do great, and still be able to max out most games at above 60fps, although it won't be as future proof as the 780, and won't be quite as fast in photo and video editing applications.

One more question Alex. If I decide to purchase the i5, does purchasing a "high end" GPU like the GTX 780, prove to be useless? I mean, will the i5 limit or bottle neck the gtx780? I'm not sure how to best describe my question. An example, not sure if you snowboard, but I find it amusing when I see new boarders with a $900 Lib Tech board, but they slap a pair of $100 Flow bindings on it. Awesome board, but the lack of quality bindings turned the setup useless. Am I making any sense lol?

Nope. As legend said, the i5 4690 will not bottleneck any GPU in existence.
And yes, that makes sense even though I'm not familiar with snowboards.
Like buying an iPod and downloading FLAC files to listen to them with Apple earphones. I feel you.

DDR3 will not be obsolete when DDR4 is released. DDR4 will only be supported by the new X99 chipsets, which will be much more expensive than any H97 board, and require a new CPU. It would not require a new PSU, SSD etc.

Would you like me to do you up a build, or would you like to take my suggestions into account and make one yourself? I'd be happy to do you one.

 

[dankbecker]

You won't need a K series processor if you don't want to overclock. I recommend getting the i5 4690, and pairing it with an ASUS GTX 780 DirectCU II, if you are okay with spending that much money on the card.

I suggest getting a H97 motherboard such as the MSI H97 Gaming 3 for your 4690 as you don't need a Z series since you will not be overclocking. This system will be able to max out any game you throw at it at well over 60fps and will give you excellent performance in video and picture editing software, as well as Solid Works.

If you don't want to spend that much on the GPU, an EVGA GTX 770 will also do great, and still be able to max out most games at above 60fps, although it won't be as future proof as the 780, and won't be quite as fast in photo and video editing applications.

One more question Alex. If I decide to purchase the i5, does purchasing a "high end" GPU like the GTX 780, prove to be useless? I mean, will the i5 limit or bottle neck the gtx780? I'm not sure how to best describe my question. An example, not sure if you snowboard, but I find it amusing when I see new boarders with a $900 Lib Tech board, but they slap a pair of $100 Flow bindings on it. Awesome board, but the lack of quality bindings turned the setup useless. Am I making any sense lol?

Nope. As legend said, the i5 4690 will not bottleneck any GPU in existence.
And yes, that makes sense even though I'm not familiar with snowboards.
Like buying an iPod and downloading FLAC files to listen to them with Apple earphones. I feel you.

DDR3 will not be obsolete when DDR4 is released. DDR4 will only be supported by the new X99 chipsets, which will be much more expensive than any H97 board, and require a new CPU. It would not require a new PSU, SSD etc.

Would you like me to do you up a build, or would you like to take my suggestions into account and make one yourself? I'd be happy to do you one.

Definitely, I'd be more than thankfull if you do a build up. So far I've only purchased a Corsair Obsidian 750D case (full size) and a Crucial 240gb SSD, and a 2TB WD HD.

 

[Foldalot]

If I were you, I'd downgrade the GPU to GTX770 and use the saved money to get i7 4790. Since your games are not that demanding, and after all you'll be rendering and running CPU demanding apps, you'll need the 8(4+4)cores the i7 is offering. Plus you'll be more future proof and with less cares.

here is what I found about SolidWorks

CPU

We start here because it is the heart of a PC and the most important item to design a system around. There is no other single component that will affect more Solidwork's tasks than the CPU. Our recommendation is a quad core CPU with Hyper-threading and turbo boost at a value price. While people will tell you that Solidworks doesn't use multiple cores that often, you (as a PC user) do most of the time. We constantly have PDFs, email, 2D CAD, and company specific programs running while using Solidworks. Users need the ability to work in multiple programs at the same time without overly stressing their PC.

 

[Alex Kelly]

You won't need a K series processor if you don't want to overclock. I recommend getting the i5 4690, and pairing it with an ASUS GTX 780 DirectCU II, if you are okay with spending that much money on the card.

I suggest getting a H97 motherboard such as the MSI H97 Gaming 3 for your 4690 as you don't need a Z series since you will not be overclocking. This system will be able to max out any game you throw at it at well over 60fps and will give you excellent performance in video and picture editing software, as well as Solid Works.

If you don't want to spend that much on the GPU, an EVGA GTX 770 will also do great, and still be able to max out most games at above 60fps, although it won't be as future proof as the 780, and won't be quite as fast in photo and video editing applications.

One more question Alex. If I decide to purchase the i5, does purchasing a "high end" GPU like the GTX 780, prove to be useless? I mean, will the i5 limit or bottle neck the gtx780? I'm not sure how to best describe my question. An example, not sure if you snowboard, but I find it amusing when I see new boarders with a $900 Lib Tech board, but they slap a pair of $100 Flow bindings on it. Awesome board, but the lack of quality bindings turned the setup useless. Am I making any sense lol?

Nope. As legend said, the i5 4690 will not bottleneck any GPU in existence.
And yes, that makes sense even though I'm not familiar with snowboards.
Like buying an iPod and downloading FLAC files to listen to them with Apple earphones. I feel you.

DDR3 will not be obsolete when DDR4 is released. DDR4 will only be supported by the new X99 chipsets, which will be much more expensive than any H97 board, and require a new CPU. It would not require a new PSU, SSD etc.

Would you like me to do you up a build, or would you like to take my suggestions into account and make one yourself? I'd be happy to do you one.

Definitely, I'd be more than thankfull if you do a build up. So far I've only purchased a Corsair Obsidian 750D case (full size) and a Crucial 240gb SSD, and a 2TB WD HD.

Nice case! Other parts are good too. I'll get onto selecting the other parts for you soon, but first I need to know;
What country are you located in?
What website would you prefer to order from, or do you not mind as long as they are known to be reliable?

 

[Alex Kelly]

If I were you, I'd downgrade the GPU to GTX770 and use the saved money to get i7 4790. Since your games are not that demanding, and after all you'll be rendering and running CPU demanding apps, you'll need the 8(4+4)cores the i7 is offering. Plus you'll be more future proof and with less cares.

here is what I found about SolidWorks

CPU

We start here because it is the heart of a PC and the most important item to design a system around. There is no other single component that will affect more Solidwork's tasks than the CPU. Our recommendation is a quad core CPU with Hyper-threading and turbo boost at a value price. While people will tell you that Solidworks doesn't use multiple cores that often, you (as a PC user) do most of the time. We constantly have PDFs, email, 2D CAD, and company specific programs running while using Solidworks. Users need the ability to work in multiple programs at the same time without overly stressing their PC.

Yeah, agreed. I did some research on SolidWorks and found that information too.
I decided to include an i7 in the build after all. Might keep the 780 considering he doesn't have a strict budget, and it'll future proof it nicely. Thanks for your input!

 

[dankbecker]

You won't need a K series processor if you don't want to overclock. I recommend getting the i5 4690, and pairing it with an ASUS GTX 780 DirectCU II, if you are okay with spending that much money on the card.

I suggest getting a H97 motherboard such as the MSI H97 Gaming 3 for your 4690 as you don't need a Z series since you will not be overclocking. This system will be able to max out any game you throw at it at well over 60fps and will give you excellent performance in video and picture editing software, as well as Solid Works.

If you don't want to spend that much on the GPU, an EVGA GTX 770 will also do great, and still be able to max out most games at above 60fps, although it won't be as future proof as the 780, and won't be quite as fast in photo and video editing applications.

One more question Alex. If I decide to purchase the i5, does purchasing a "high end" GPU like the GTX 780, prove to be useless? I mean, will the i5 limit or bottle neck the gtx780? I'm not sure how to best describe my question. An example, not sure if you snowboard, but I find it amusing when I see new boarders with a $900 Lib Tech board, but they slap a pair of $100 Flow bindings on it. Awesome board, but the lack of quality bindings turned the setup useless. Am I making any sense lol?

Nope. As legend said, the i5 4690 will not bottleneck any GPU in existence.
And yes, that makes sense even though I'm not familiar with snowboards.
Like buying an iPod and downloading FLAC files to listen to them with Apple earphones. I feel you.

DDR3 will not be obsolete when DDR4 is released. DDR4 will only be supported by the new X99 chipsets, which will be much more expensive than any H97 board, and require a new CPU. It would not require a new PSU, SSD etc.

Would you like me to do you up a build, or would you like to take my suggestions into account and make one yourself? I'd be happy to do you one.

Definitely, I'd be more than thankfull if you do a build up. So far I've only purchased a Corsair Obsidian 750D case (full size) and a Crucial 240gb SSD, and a 2TB WD HD.

Nice case! Other parts are good too. I'll get onto selecting the other parts for you soon, but first I need to know;
What country are you located in?
What website would you prefer to order from, or do you not mind as long as they are known to be reliable?

I live in California (US). Typically, I order from Tigerdirect, as I don't have to pay tax. I use Newegg occasionally if it is cheaper (tax included). But, I am open to using other sites.

Also, I am open to purchasing a K series CPU, and a Z series mobo. I don't OC now, but who knows, if I change my mind, at least the option would be there.
Thanks a bunch!

 

[Alex Kelly]

How does this look?
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2vkVmG
I figure 16GB of RAM will be useful for you considering what you will be using the PC for.
It's quite expensive, but will last you a few long time!
Do you have any preference on the color of the components? Right now it would be mostly black with a little red.
Also, do you need anything like a DVD or Blu-ray drive, or a WiFi card?

EDIT; Just saw that you would like a K series CPU and Z series mobo, good choice! Always good to leave your options open. I will adjust the build accordingly now.

 

[Alex Kelly]

Here are the new parts for a future OC: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/xhJ6pg
I haven't added an aftermarket CPU cooler, as you won't need one until/if you decide to OC. Would you like me to add one in now or would you rather buy one later if you decide to OC in the future?
Still need to know if you need an optical drive and WiFi card too.

 

[dankbecker]

How does this look?
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2vkVmG
I figure 16GB of RAM will be useful for you considering what you will be using the PC for.
It's quite expensive, but will last you a few long time!
Do you have any preference on the color of the components? Right now it would be mostly black with a little red.
Also, do you need anything like a DVD or Blu-ray drive, or a WiFi card?

EDIT; Just saw that you would like a K series CPU and Z series mobo, good choice! Always good to leave your options open. I will adjust the build accordingly now.

Awesome, really appreciate it. I didn't realize pcpartspicker actually shows price comparisons for different stores, extremely convenient.

As far as color, I don't really have a preference. If I wanted to change the color combo, does that mean changing out every component? If that's the case, black and red is fine.

Question: Is there an advantage to using (2x) 8gb memory sticks, apposed to (4x) 4gb? Also, is there a reason you're partial to the MSI mobo, as apposed to Asus or Gigabyte? Do you just like MSI or are there any added benefits?

 

[legend001523]

Different models offer different things, e.b ROG series from asus is one of the best z97 board ranges for gamers, same with the msi gaming series, but not as good

 

[dankbecker]

As far as CPU cooler, I will probably change ou the stock one, in search of noise reduction. I will more than likely change every fan and cooler, to the quietest options I can find.

No need for wifi. But I will need a simple optical drive. DVD rw.

 

[Alex Kelly]

How does this look?
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2vkVmG
I figure 16GB of RAM will be useful for you considering what you will be using the PC for.
It's quite expensive, but will last you a few long time!
Do you have any preference on the color of the components? Right now it would be mostly black with a little red.
Also, do you need anything like a DVD or Blu-ray drive, or a WiFi card?

EDIT; Just saw that you would like a K series CPU and Z series mobo, good choice! Always good to leave your options open. I will adjust the build accordingly now.

Awesome, really appreciate it. I didn't realize pcpartspicker actually shows price comparisons for different stores, extremely convenient.

As far as color, I don't really have a preference. If I wanted to change the color combo, does that mean changing out every component? If that's the case, black and red is fine.

Question: Is there an advantage to using (2x) 8gb memory sticks, apposed to (4x) 4gb? Also, is there a reason you're partial to the MSI mobo, as apposed to Asus or Gigabyte? Do you just like MSI or are there any added benefits?

I feel like the MSI boards are the best value, but I'd also be happy to pick an ASUS ROG board although it would be more expensive. 2x8 gives you the option of adding another 16GB later on if you choose to
The stock intel heatsink & fan is actually pretty much silent, it just doesn't have the potential to cool an overclocked CPU. Would you prefer liquid or air cooling?
I will add a DVD drive.

 

[Alex Kelly]

And are you suuuuure you don't have a color preference? I want your build to look perfect for you. It won't be hard to find high quality components of the color of your choice.

Here is the build so far; http://pcpartpicker.com/p/97FQcf

The Kraken X61 is one of the best closed loop water coolers out right now, would mount perfectly on the top of your 750D and has a customize-able LED on the water block, which goes over the CPU. I think it would look and perform perfect, and would make your intro to OCing very easy. I think it's worth the price.

 

[Ytyoussef]

Very nice build, I would just go with some RAM that's clocked higher for the same price: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f31866c9d16gsr .

 

[Alex Kelly]

Very nice build, I would just go with some RAM that's clocked higher for the same price: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f31866c9d16gsr .

Thank you.

I picked 1600Mhz because it's the most stable when OCing, and it's the sweet spot for Haswell as it doesn't put extra strain on the CPUs memory controller.
I suppose I could include faster RAM and he could just run it at 1600Mhz, but that seems pointless and the timings for the RAM I picked are nice and low at 9 9 9 24. Thanks for your suggestion though!