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1st build - opinions & suggestions, please

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September 22, 2014 11:11:08 PM

I'm planning to build my first pc and I'd like to pick some brains :) 
After much reading, and some advice from friends, I've come up with this system:

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/ChrysFoxdale/saved/yVBzK8

Thankies
~~~~~~~~~~~
Purchase Date: by the end of the November-ish (hoping for a few Black Friday specials)

Budget: ± 2000 USD This includes the monitor, keyboard and mouse

Purpose: Online gaming, some graphic design and publishing, general gaming, music streaming, email and surfing.

Preferred Website for Parts: Any reputable dealer. Would prefer to buy as many parts as possible to keep shipping costs down. Can also shop a few local stores.

SLI : Not yet, maybe later on

~~~~~~~~~~
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD5H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($174.99 @ Newegg)
CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($224.73 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC12DX_BK 68.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($162.99 @ Newegg)

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 4GB Dual FTW ACX Video Card ($389.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($167.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($139.98 @ OutletPC)

Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case (Purchased)
Case Fan: Corsair Air Series SP120 Quiet Edition (2-Pack) 37.9 CFM 120mm Fans ($26.24 @ OutletPC)
Case Fan: NZXT FX-140LB 98.3 CFM 140mm Fan ($15.98 @ OutletPC)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ Newegg)

Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($19.94 @ OutletPC)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($88.98 @ OutletPC)

Monitor: Asus VS24AH-P 24.0" Monitor ($222.58 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: I'll get that locally - I want to try them out before buying, as I'm used to Apple's ultra-thin aluminum 106

Total: $1850.00 ±




More about : 1st build opinions suggestions

September 22, 2014 11:18:26 PM

Instead of the 4gb 770 version, get a 970/980 which are both alot better. 970 at 329.99 and 980 at 549.99.
September 22, 2014 11:19:51 PM

Looks really nice!

If I can, here are the changes I would recommend:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($338.96 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD5H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($172.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($162.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($167.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($139.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card ($356.13 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case (Purchased For $59.99)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($78.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($18.98 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($88.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Asus VS24AH-P 24.0" Monitor ($218.98 @ NCIX US)
Case Fan: Corsair Air Series SP120 Quiet Edition (2-Pack) 37.9 CFM 120mm Fans ($25.33 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: NZXT FX-140LB 98.3 CFM 140mm Fan ($15.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1910.24
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-23 02:18 EDT-0400

The i7 CPU that may help you better with graphic design, and a bit more future-proof, a better CPU cooler, and the new GTX 970 GPU from Nvidia, which is also better and cheaper than the 770 from what I noticed.
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September 24, 2014 12:22:13 PM

Thanks, peoples.

Good thing I'm not wanting to build right away, since it looks like ALL the 970's are out of stock :lol: 

I was thinking of upgrading to the i7, and probably will, more so if the price difference holds for the GPUs when they restock.

I'm not a real fan of red :)  but I can live with it. I like that the MSI Gaming is a bit shorter than the others - that gives me back the possibility of using the internal fan mount on the 410.

I chose the Phanteks based mainly on reviews; the tech reviews didn't downgrade it badly, and it seemed to rate a bit higher than Noctua by the people who commented on it on Newggg.
Also chose it for the color, white (Newegg doesn't have the white one, but Amazon does). I really don't like the noctua colors -- that shade of brown <shudder> :heink: 

Would I be better off with a AIO cooler? The case has room for one, and it looks a bit easier to install than the tower coolers.
And or that matter, do I even need an aftermarket cooler, since I'm not planning to do any extreme overclocking right away ?
September 24, 2014 1:25:35 PM

There's also the option of EVGA's acx 2.0 option which is smaller. (9.49 inches)

Noctua's fans are pretty nice.. but I don't like their colors.. Their fans are pretty high end on the air cooling side.
!