Planning First New System Build in Nine Years--Suggestions on Parts Chosen

[regul7]

Approximate Purchase Date: 1-2 weeks

Budget Range: Flexible, main goal is for system to last for a long while. Below $2500

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Office Work, Internet

Are you buying a monitor: No. Current: Dell UltraSharp U2415 24" monitor.

Parts to Upgrade: All. Have many parts picked out already listed below.

Do you need to buy OS: Yes

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg and Amazon (discount on Amazon)

Location: Sarasota, FL

Parts Preferences: Intel, ASUS, EVGA

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe

Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1200

Additional Comments: I would like a quiet PC that will last a while. WoW, SWTOR, and general tax software. Main problem having is finding a case that will work with the parts I have selected, and as dumb as it may sound which DVD or Blueray to get for the system. Also, decent sound card with digital audio below $55.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: System is 9 years old

Include a list of any parts you have already selected with descriptively labeled links for parts. Please do not post only links.

Intel Core i7-5820K Haswell-E 6-Core 3.3GHz LGA 2011-v3 140W Desktop Processor BX80648I75820K
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MMLXIKY/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_7?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

ASUS X99-A ATX DDR4 3000 LGA Motherboard X99-A
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NC05Q2C/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_6?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Samsung 850 Pro 256GB 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD (MZ-7KE256BW)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LF10KNA/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_5?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Crucial Ballistix Sport 32GB Kit (8GBx4) DDR4 2400 MT/s (PC4-19200) CL16 DR x8 Unbuffered DIMM 288-Pin Memory BLS4K8G4D240FSA
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MTSWMV6/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

EVGA GTX980 Superclocked ACX 2.0 4GB GDDR5 256bit, DVI-I, DP x 3, HDMI, SLI Ready Graphics Card Graphics Cards 04G-P4-2983-KR
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NT9UT3M/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Corsair RM Series 850 Watt ATX/EPS 80PLUS Gold-Certified Power Supply - CP-9020056-NA RM850
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EB7UIXM/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

ASUS Xonar DGX PCI-E GX2.5 Audio Engine Sound Cards
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007TMZ1BK/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound 3.5 Grams
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000OGX5AM/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_10?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2EUTVCJXLAJ4K

Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 Quiet CPU Cooler for Intel LGA 2011 Socket with 6 Heatpipes, 140/120mm SSO Bearing PWM Fans NH-D14 SE2011
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00631QFG8/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_9?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000I5JHB0/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_5?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
This is just one case idea. Really need help in picking out a case for this build--especially considering the size of the Noctua NH-D14 cooler above. Would like case to be under $100, and under $70 if possible.

 

[uplink-svk]

Greetings,

Get the GTX 970, or 2 x GTX 970, I'd go after X-Fi, I like Creative more, but DGX is great also. Get NT-H1 instead of AC5, it's higher quality. Get NH-D15, if it's not much cash. I'd get Intel 530 in raid, instead of 850 Pro from Samsung, or definitely Mushkin Chronos Deluxe, 2 pieces, for raid0, or at least one. Besides that great choice, maybe I'd opt for better motherboard, but it doesn't really matter.

Enjoy soldered iHS!

 

[logainofhades]

No need for a sound card. Quality high end boards come equipped with good audio solutions. 32gb is overkill. 16gb is sufficient. In the even you find yourself needing more, since ddr4 is just now coming out, you will be able to purchase more easily enough. The Antec 900 is a horrible case, for cable management. I owned one and hated it immensely. Do not need the arctic silver. The cooler comes with thermal compound.

Here is my pick for hardware.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor ($383.66 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI X99S Gaming 7 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($273.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($199.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($199.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($101.47 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($355.91 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($355.91 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 450D ATX Mid Tower Case ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($102.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $2326.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-03 16:57 EST-0500

 

[capt_taco]

Most of that build is overkill for what you are asking it to do. You can build a top-of-the-line machine today for half of that $2,500 budget, then in 3 years replace it with another $1,200 system that will be superior to the $2,500 machine you build today. There is no such thing as future-proofing; it is simply spending $3 to save $1 later. You will notice literally no practical difference between the $1,200 system and the $2,500 system on today's games with only one monitor.

In particular, you can save about $200 on the CPU, $200 on the GPU, no need for 32GB of RAM; 16GB will be more than enough even years from now; by not going with the Haswell-E, you don't need a $230 X99 motherboard ... you do not need a sound card these days for gaming, as built-in motherboard sound is more than sufficient for basically anything unless you work with music for a living/hobby.

You also do not need a CPU cooler unless you plan to overclock, which there is no reason to do for at least a few years even with the 4690K. And you certainly don't need a big air cooler like the NH-D14 unless you are planning on a huge overclock. Save your money on that for now.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Z97 Killer ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Trident X 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($164.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($104.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.65 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB ACX 2.0 Video Card ($329.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master Storm Enforcer ATX Mid Tower Case ($87.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($50.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1176.56

 

[uplink-svk]

capt_taco - that's nice You're trying to save his money here, but I reckon he's not buying it for half a year, like people who buy i7 are getting their computers for. If I had the money back than, which I had and I did a mistake, I'd never get "TiM"med mid-range 4790K, I'd go after 5820K, or 5860X. They're soldered, their architecture is elsewhere, it's rock solid. Yes, it's expensive, but it's effing reliable compared to x97/x87 platform.

5820k is bang for the buck nowadays, if You plan on something more solid. There's tons of trouble with 4770/4790K, and 4690K also, and they're most of the time "ping in a poke", You never know what You get.

 

[regul7]

Thank you for the replies. Forgot to mention the reason for wanting a sound card is that I have digital speakers, and have found that the output on most MBs has been analog so wanted an inexpensive sound card with digital out so as not to purchase new speakers.

The 16GB RAM idea is great. Was trying to decide between 32GB and 16, and was thinking 32 might be a little overkill...thank you for that. I really like the structure of the Haswell-E so want to stick with that.

For the OS was thinking more Windows 7--Windows 8 with all its touchscreen stuff really does not do much for me it would seem.

 

[uplink-svk]

regul7 - most of the onboard sound cards have spdif, so there's no trouble in there. Though, they're DAC is weak compared to Xonars or ZxR, Zxs, or X-Fi HD Titanium, so what about sound enhancing, onboard is really weaker, what about sound quality, it's 1:1, since it's digital.

I myself am using X-Fi HD Titanium, and I can hear the diff on spdif with the onboard one, mostly thanks to pre-upmixing of music to 5.1 channels and games.

16 vs 32 gigs, answer is simple. Whilst 16 gigs of ram is pretty much becoming a standart, though, it's still not a standart, standat is 4 gigs for office, 8 gigs for gaming, 32 gigs is usable only if You're active user of After Effects, Combustion, 3D Studio Max, Cinema 4D, Rhinoceros, Maya, etc. Only these proggies will benefit from more than 16 gigs of ram.

Well, this is a hard topic. I myself would instantly murder the guy who said: "Allright ,she's good to go." on Windows 8 two years ago, I suffer with this system, 80% of the things don't work here, but money wise, mainstream support of Windows 7 ends within a month [1st January 2015], which is like, really bad. Extended support ends up in 3 years. Which is good.

Though, the fact is that Windows 8 works much faster with programs like Creative Suite/Creative Cloud [Photoshop/Illustrator namely], and also in the previously mentioned. Just making them run "Windows 7 like" is hell. Also, with classic shell, it's not that bad. And since most of the programs use Windows 8 simple flat style, they look really bad in Windows 7. But I'm in no way encouraging you to go for 8 here. It's just, upgrade from 8/8.1 to 10 will be like "supercheap", whilst from 7 - 10 it's gonna be full price.

Though, only God knows what kind of disaster did MS prepare for us with 10, right?

 

[logainofhades]

Most of that build is overkill for what you are asking it to do. You can build a top-of-the-line machine today for half of that $2,500 budget, then in 3 years replace it with another $1,200 system that will be superior to the $2,500 machine you build today. There is no such thing as future-proofing; it is simply spending $3 to save $1 later. You will notice literally no practical difference between the $1,200 system and the $2,500 system on today's games with only one monitor.

In particular, you can save about $200 on the CPU, $200 on the GPU, no need for 32GB of RAM; 16GB will be more than enough even years from now; by not going with the Haswell-E, you don't need a $230 X99 motherboard ... you do not need a sound card these days for gaming, as built-in motherboard sound is more than sufficient for basically anything unless you work with music for a living/hobby.

You also do not need a CPU cooler unless you plan to overclock, which there is no reason to do for at least a few years even with the 4690K. And you certainly don't need a big air cooler like the NH-D14 unless you are planning on a huge overclock. Save your money on that for now.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Z97 Killer ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Trident X 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($164.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($104.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.65 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB ACX 2.0 Video Card ($329.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master Storm Enforcer ATX Mid Tower Case ($87.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($50.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1176.56

The OP, I believe, is looking for longevity here, as they cannot do a full on build very often. The 5820k will far outlast a 4690k.

 

[regul7]

Well, this is a hard topic. I myself would instantly murder the guy who said: "Allright ,she's good to go." on Windows 8 two years ago, I suffer with this system, 80% of the things don't work here, but money wise, mainstream support of Windows 7 ends within a month [1st January 2015], which is like, really bad. Extended support ends up in 3 years. Which is good.

Though, the fact is that Windows 8 works much faster with programs like Creative Suite/Creative Cloud [Photoshop/Illustrator namely], and also in the previously mentioned. Just making them run "Windows 7 like" is hell. Also, with classic shell, it's not that bad. And since most of the programs use Windows 8 simple flat style, they look really bad in Windows 7. But I'm in no way encouraging you to go for 8 here. It's just, upgrade from 8/8.1 to 10 will be like "supercheap", whilst from 7 - 10 it's gonna be full price.

Though, only God knows what kind of disaster did MS prepare for us with 10, right?

Argh, thanks a lot, uplink-svk. Seriously, though, thank you for the added info. Definitely re-thinking my Windows 7 idea, but just do not want to deal with the disaster called Windows 8/8.1. One quick question about something you said about Windows 8 which I was not super clear on. So most programs today are using Windows 8 simple flat style which look really bad in Windows 7, or is that just the publishing, photo editing and music editing use it?

I am not as concerned about the price upgrade from 7 to 10 or 8 to 10 (as you said 10 could be a complete nightmare), but more concerned about the usability of 7 compared to 8. For my background I thought XP is/was very usable. The ending of mainstream support for 7 does concern me, but at least extended support is 3 more years. Also troubling is what you said about many things not working in Windows 8.

 

[logainofhades]

There are 3rd party programs that will make Win 8 look like Win 7 also. As much as I hate win 8, mostly due to metro, building a new rig with Win 7 makes little sense, unless you have a retail copy, or technet license, that you are reusing.

 

[regul7]

There are 3rd party programs that will make Win 8 look like Win 7 also. As much as I hate win 8, mostly due to metro, building a new rig with Win 7 makes little sense, unless you have a retail copy, or technet license, that you are reusing.

Yes, that cursed metro. Microsoft I curseth thee for the Win 8 monster.

Sigh, I probably knew in the back of my head that at this point in time a new rig with Win 7 would not make much sense, but I was hoping someone could show that it might be okay. I guess it makes more sense to go with 8. Are the Win 8 overlays that make it look like Win 7 pretty glitch free? (Why do I feel like I am going back to Win 3.11 with its pretty transparent overlay of DOS. lol)

BTW, Logain, love your avatar.

 

[uplink-svk]

regul7 - 8 is a mess, and classic shell will not solve everything. But 8 really does boot up faster, and doesn't deteriorate by time, as Windows 7, thus doesn't need all that stuff as CCleaner and crap around as much as 7. But I still love 7 and if I knew what awaited me with 8, I'd never ever went after 8, those 120 euro aren't worth the 8 Pro I work now, I should've gone with 7...