Looking for some advice on building a new pc

[Tempas]

Hiya, so currently I am debating whether I should build a PC of my own or just buy a pre-built but in the case of the former I'd have to come up with a build and I was hoping if you guys could tell me if the parts I picked are adequate.

CPU : Intel Core i7 4790K(Cost : £260)
Graphics Card : MSI GTX 970 Graphics Card(Cost : £275)
RAM : HyperX FURY 1866MHz 16GB RAM(Cost : £89)
Motherboard : ASUS H81M-PLUS(Cost : £47)
Harddrive : WD 2TB 6Gbps SATA III Hard Disk Drive - Green(Cost : £62)
Solid State Drive : Kingston Technology 240GB Solid State Drive(Cost : £69)
PSU : Corsair Builder Series CXM 600W(Cost : £57)
Case : Corsair CC-9011050-WW Carbide Series Case(Cost : £40)
Operating System : Windows 8.1(Cost : £81)
Total Cost : £980

I'm really open on suggestions for the parts so any input is really welcome. I'll be using this computer for gaming and some 3d scene rendering. Also I'd like to mention that I don't really intend to overclock hence I'm choosing a cheap motherboard and am using a standard CPU cooler(also trying to keep the cost below £1000).

Other questions :
1)How difficult is it to build a computer ? Is it worth building one over buying a pre-built ?
2)Do all of the screws, cables etc come with the parts in question or do I need to buy those separately ?
3)Do you absolutely need the anti static wristband?(assuming you are not walking across carpet or even moving much from the work bench)
4) Is a 600W power supply enough to power the parts listed above ?
5) Would I need extra fans to cool the system or would the ones included with the case be enough ? If not, do you guys have any suggestions for extra fans ?
6) I read somewhere that when you buy a cheaper motherboard the sound card is of worse quality hence the sound quality can be significantly worse. Is this true ?

 

[timeconsumer]

If you aren't overclocking then a Xeon would be a great option (same as i7). But you can get the 4790k if you want the extra clockspeed, it fits in this budget too. No matter what, ditch that Corsair PSU.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£194.70 @ More Computers)
Motherboard: MSI H97 PC MATE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£61.16 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£83.28 @ CCL Computers)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£78.89 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£57.54 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card (£248.12 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Corsair SPEC-02 ATX Mid Tower Case (£56.99 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£46.40 @ CCL Computers)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) (£75.37 @ Scan.co.uk)
Total: £902.45
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-19 02:55 BST+0100

Other Questions Answers
1: Very easy, it takes an hour maybe two, and a screwdriver.
2: Everything you need is included
3: No. I've never used one.

 

[Tempas]

Thanks for your swift response! I was wondering, aren't Xeon processors intended for servers ? Also wouldn't the 0.6ghz difference in clock speed affect the overall performance significantly ?

Also I've some other questions which I hadn't thought of at the time of writing the original post.

1) Is a 600W power supply enough to power the parts listed above ?
2) Would I need extra fans to cool the system or would the ones included with the case be enough ? If not, do you guys have any suggestions for extra fans ?
3) I read somewhere that when you buy a cheaper motherboard the sound card is of worse quality hence the sound quality can be significantly worse. Is this true ?

 

[timeconsumer]

Yes and no. The Xeon 1231 V3 is often called the "Poor man's i7". It's basically the same thing without the integrated GPU. The clockspeed is a little lower, but I wouldn't call it significant, and in most situations you would hardly notice the 600MHz. Really I don't think the 4790K makes sense unless you want to overclock.

Other answers:
1) Yes, but don't get that Corsair, an XFX 550w is enough power and a much higher quality unit (and cheaper). If you want future SLI get a 750w like a Supernova B2/G2 (also need a Z97 board for that).
2) I normally recommend at least 2 fans, which this case comes with. You can add more if you want, but these are pretty efficient parts. I would probably do it if I were overclocking.
3) To a degree, yes this is true. However, you also have to take into account the quality of your speakers/headset. Most PC speakers are low quality anyway, so it won't even be noticeable. If you have a high-end Sennhesier headset or use a HiFI system for your speakers then I would look for a better quality mobo for sound (or separate soundcard). However, it is true that cheaper motherboards like this only support 2.1 systems, so no surround-sound.

These compromises come down to how much you are willing to spend. If you have the extra cash then by all means get a 4790K and a nice Z97 board with a big CPU cooler. But I wouldn't sacrifice your PSU, memory, or GPU for those.

Also, (for the build I chose) the case is red and a lot of the parts are blue. Not sure how much color scheme clashes would annoy you. Just food for thought.

 

[ColdFusion 13]

1) not difficult, especially with plenty of youtube build videos.
2) comes with everything you need.
3) i recommend it since you are asking the difficulty of building but no it isn't necessary
4) see below
5) see below
6) depending on the quality of parts used and the placement of a 5vpowerline on the mb it can have quality impact issues but it may minor enough to not be noticed by anyone other than an audiophile.

power supply needs can be found here. it is a robust part list and accurate wattage.
http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

as for fans i like and have used these two.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608052&cm_re=noctua_pwm-_-35-608-052-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835129070&cm_re=aerocool-_-35-129-070-_-Product

 

[Tempas]

Hm, I will consider the Xeon then(since it is quite a bit cheaper). Also, why is the corsair power supply not adequate(just wondering)?

I was also thinking about future proofing this PC so I might consider a Z97 board for a possibility in SLI later on. Would you have suggestions for such boards ?

Oh and I don't care for aesthetics what so ever so the colour clashes don't bother me at all. I go for pure performance rather than aesthetics!

edit :
Thanks for the responses so far! I will also look into the wattage website that was linked. Thanks a bunch!

 

[timeconsumer]

Hm, I will consider the Xeon then(since it is quite a bit cheaper). Also, why is the corsair power supply not adequate(just wondering)?

I was also thinking about future proofing this PC so I might consider a Z97 board for a possibility in SLI later on. Would you have suggestions for such boards ?

Oh and I don't care for aesthetics what so ever so the colour clashes don't bother me at all. I go for pure performance rather than aesthetics!

That Corsair PSU uses low quality Taiwanese capacitors, doesn't have good voltage regulation, and has excess 12v ripple. Corsair CX PSUs are decent for office or low power builds. But not meant for a high-end system. XFX is made by Seasonic who is one of the top manufacturers of power supplies. They uses higher-end components and Japanese solid state capacitors, are more efficient, regulate voltage and ripple better, and overall will make your system more stable and last longer. The PSU is the most important part of a PC, you don't want to sacrifice quality here. Besides, the XFX I linked is cheaper than that Corsair. Some of their PSUs are wonderful, like the AXi, but it's for a much higher power system.

For a Z97 board that you don't intend to overclock on, something like this is fine: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-gaz97xsli If you want to overclock, get a better board. But remember, if you want future SLI get a 750w PSU like this: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-power-supply-p1750gts3x or http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-110b20750vr or http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/antec-power-supply-hcg750

 

[Tempas]

So any XFX power supply that is 550W and above would do the trick for the current system in question ? Also I'll look more into that board you've linked, seems like I could end up buying it.

 

[timeconsumer]

550w for a single GPU, yes. Go 750w if you plan to add a second GPU later. XFX, Seasonic, EVGA B2/G2, Antec HCG, and Rosewill Capstone are all great options.

 

[Tempas]

Sorry for the delayed response and I would like to thank you for answering all of my questions thus far!

I was talking to a friend of mine and he said that the stock intel coolers are fairly noisy so I was wondering could you suggest a cheap alternative ?

 

[timeconsumer]

Sorry for the delayed response and I would like to thank you for answering all of my questions thus far!

I was talking to a friend of mine and he said that the stock intel coolers are fairly noisy so I was wondering could you suggest a cheap alternative ?

It's not really that loud.
But if you want you can get a cheap cooler like this: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/arctic-cooling-cpu-cooler-ucacoap11301bua01 for $10 that will be a little better than stock and a little quieter.
If you want to spend even more money you can get this: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-cpu-cooler-rr212e20pkr2
And lastly you have this, which should be the quietest of the three: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cryorig-cpu-cooler-h7

Plus a ton of other options, but for stock clocks they're all fine.