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My first PC build need suggestions.. So many options!

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August 22, 2014 4:50:17 AM

Everytime I am looking to purchase a new computer my friends always encourage me to build my own so I have decided to finally take their advice after all these years and give it a shot since I just got a promotion at work and have a little extra money to spend.

Approximate Purchase Date: ASAP (I'm like a kid on Christmas morning)

Budget Range: Around $1000

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Running multiple virtual machines, entertainment.

Are you buying a monitor: Not at this time I currently have one but would like to upgrade to 3 higher resolution monitors in the near future. (Would like 4K if the price is right)

Do you need to buy OS: No

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg

Location: Tampa, FL

Parts Preferences: No preference

Overclocking: Yes- in the future

SLI or Crossfire: Yes- Once I can afford a second video card :) 

Your Monitor Resolution: Not sure what the exact res is of my monitor at home as I am writing this at work right now but it is a couple years old so it's probably not that high of a resolution but I would like to upgrade in the future to 3 higher res monitors.

Additional Comments: It doesn't need to be pretty but I would like it to be as future proof as possible. I would like to expand on this build throught 2015 to add the new monitors and an addition video card.

I have made 2 wishlists on Newegg with a few different components but I do have a few questions...
1.) Will the 850w power supply be able to handle 2 video cards?
2.) Do you see any major bottlenecking issues anywhere in the builds?
3.) What about cooling? If I do not plan to OC initially(or run a second video card) should I purchase an after market fan/cooling system?
4.) I have 2 different R9-280X 3GB cards in both builds any suggestions on the card I should go with would be appreciated.
5.) I feel as though my 2 main concerns are the Motherboard and the Power Supply to be as future proof as possible. As I said before I want to eventually run 2 R9-280x's with 3 monitors and I'm lazy... don't want to have to upgrade the Motherboard for a while.
6.) I'm sure I'll think of more questions after I publish this...

Any help or suggestions is appreciated!

P.S.- I already have a 1TB Hard drive that I can use.

Build 1:
Case- NZXT Source 530 CA-SO530-M1 Matte Black Steel / Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case
Motherboard- MSI Z87-G45 Gaming LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Pro Gaming with Killer Networking & Sound Blaster Intel Motherboard
Video Card- XFX Black Edition Double D R9-280X-TDBD Radeon R9 280X 3GB 384-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
Power Supply- EVGA SuperNOVA 850 G2 220-G2-0850-XR 850W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular Power Supply Intel 4th Gen CPU Compatible 10 Year Warranty
CPU- Intel Core i5-4670K Haswell Quad-Core 3.4GHz LGA 1150 84W Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80646I54670K
SSD- SAMSUNG 840 EVO MZ-7TE120BW 2.5" 120GB SATA III TLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
Memory- CORSAIR Vengeance Pro 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2400 Desktop Memory Model CMY8GX3M2A2400C11
Optical Drive- LG Black 16X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DVD+R 5X DVD-RAM 12X BD-ROM 4MB Cache SATA Blu-ray Burner WH16NS40 - OEM LG Black 14X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DVD+R 5X DVD-RAM 12X BD-ROM 4MB Cache SATA BDXL Blu-ray Burner, Bare Drive, 3D Play Back (WH14NS40) - OEM

Build 2:
Case- NZXT Source 530 CA-SO530-M1 Matte Black Steel / Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case
Motherboard- ASUS SABERTOOTH 990FX R2.0 AM3+ AMD 990FX + SB950 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
Video Card- HIS iPower IceQ X² Boost Clock H280XQM3G2M Radeon R9 280X 3GB 384-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
Power Supply- EVGA SuperNOVA 850 G2 220-G2-0850-XR 850W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular Power Supply Intel 4th Gen CPU Compatible 10 Year Warranty
CPU- AMD FX-8350 Black Edition Vishera 8-Core 4.0GHz (4.2GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 125W Desktop Processor FD8350FRHKBOX
SSD- SAMSUNG 840 EVO MZ-7TE120BW 2.5" 120GB SATA III TLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
Memory- CORSAIR Vengeance Pro 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2400 Desktop Memory Model CMY8GX3M2A2400C11
Optical Drive- LG Black 16X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DVD+R 5X DVD-RAM 12X BD-ROM 4MB Cache SATA Blu-ray Burner WH16NS40 - OEM LG Black 14X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DVD+R 5X DVD-RAM 12X BD-ROM 4MB Cache SATA BDXL Blu-ray Burner, Bare Drive, 3D Play Back (WH14NS40) - OEM


Thank you!

More about : build suggestions options

a b C Monitor
August 22, 2014 7:10:22 AM

1.) Yes. A quality 850w PSU will handle a pair of GPUs. So will a 750w unit...
2.) No.
3.) You will need an aftermarket CPU cooler. Past that, and at a minimum, a front intake fan, then two exhaust fans (top and rear).
4.) The XFX below has a factory overclock and currently has a rebate.
5.) PSU more than MB. For a PSU stick with XFX or Seasonic. Some of those EVGA units are fine as well...

CPU - Look toward the 4690k rather than the 4670k (newer revision).
MB - I prefer ASUS and GIGABYTE, then look toward ASRock. MSI is fairly low on my top quality vendors list. You could be perfectly fine with that MSI board though...
MEM - The Vengeance modules are overpriced and have tall heat spreaders. Also, look for DDR3-1600 modules. You won't see a difference with "faster" memory in the real world with the Intel build.
SSD - The EVO is a fine choice as is the MX100.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($76.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($77.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($105.54 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280X 3GB Black Edition Double Dissipation Video Card ($309.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: XFX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($91.24 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: LG WH16NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1116.71
!