New PC Build | < $1250 | Requesting Advice & Opinions

[SPRXO]

$1250 PC Build

Approximate Purchase Date: This week, can wait till next week too.

Budget Range: < $1250 after shipping.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: AAA Gaming, design programs like Photoshop, Rhino, Illustrator, and InDesign. About everything else I can do on my laptop.

Are you buying a monitor: No, I'm going with a 1080p TV that I already have, a little sketchy I know.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/fCKxK8
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/fCKxK8/by_merchant/ CPU:
Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99)*
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($26.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI Z97-GAMING 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($139.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Red 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($56.99 @ Amazon) Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($99.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.99 @ Newegg) Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card ($329.99 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (Red) ATX Mid Tower Case ($74.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit) ($60.00)
Total: $1114.68 Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-28 09:49 EDT-0400

* or an i7-4790k 4.0Ghz ($279.99) Great in store pick-up deal (Same with i5). Any ideas on which one is best for me?

Do you need to buy OS: Yes, the student version of Windows 8.1.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: PC Part Picker

Location: Osseo, MN, US

Parts Preferences: Intel/ Nvidia

Overclocking: Yes, the motherboard should be able to do it automatically. It won't be completely optimized but I'm okay with playing it on the safe side.

SLI or Crossfire: Yes, in the future. The motherboard and graphics card are able to.

Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080.

Additional Comments: I can handle buying the mouse and keyboard. PC Part Picker notes that the graphics card might block some of the drive bays. Is there any way to test this? Should I go with the full tower version?

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: The best thing I have to run games on is currently an original Xbox. My laptop is pretty slow when working with design programs and next year I will be working with more intense programs.


Thanks. Any help or ideas on the subject would be greatly appreciated.

 

[profoundnoah]

That looks like a very nice build to me. I would say go 290, but since you're at 1080p, 970 is the way to go. Congrats As for drive bays, I would recommend getting the full-tower to avoid that issue.

 

[Zerk2012]

If it's in your budget get the i7
Never use software to overclock.
Drop that G1 series power supply and get the good G2 series.
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-220g20750xr

For the card blocking some drive bays don't think about it, their wrong.
that card is right at 11 inches or 279mm the case will hold a card up to 305mm with out the extra fan being mounted on the motherboard side of the hard drive bay. https://www.nzxt.com/product/detail/95-phantom-410-mid-tower-case.html
VGA Card 305mm (w/o fan), 280mm (installed), 230mm (full pivot)
You can get memory with tighter timings for the same price. http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/memory/#s=301866&Z=8192002&L=80,90&m=17

 

[SPRXO]

Alright you're going to have to catch me up a bit. Why shouldn't I use software to overclock? Involving the GPU and the motherboard side fan, will I be taking out a fan or is there just room for a fan but no actual fan?
I'm taking your advice on the RAM, but the price difference seems (today at least) to make the G1 look like a better buy. Is better quality worth the extra $40?

 

[Tonesz586]

Hi there! Your build is quite nice, but I think you should note that GTX970 has some VRAM issues which makes it a quite bad choice for an SLI. I would suggest you a similar build, but a better card for an SLI:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/DXRjkL

I made more with seven dollars, hope you don't mind ^^

 

[SPRXO]

Thanks, I appreciate your input! Sadly I'm a stickler for color coordination so I am going to stick with the red motherboard and case. PCPartPicker also notes that the GPU might interfere with some of the drive bays. Is this a common "problem" that doesn't actually matter? Also I heard the 970 only has about 3.5 VRAM instead of 4. But how does this affect SLI?

 

[Tonesz586]

Well, it is not a big problem, I usually pick cases with enough space for graphics cards. The color is up to you, I tried to give you a wallet-friendly but still working solution, of course it's up to you. As regards for the VRAM problem, the point of SLI/Crossfire is giving more cards' power into one card, or something like that, don't shot me in head if I'm incorrect, but that's sure that even if you put 4 cards together, you can use only that amount of VRAM that one card has, so the GTX970 SLI can run out of that 3.5GB VRAM Furious Fast, so it's not the best choice for SLI.

 

[profoundnoah]

I would definitely recommend going with the i7 if you're getting it for that price.

 

[Tonesz586]

Yes, but I've run out of money with the GTX980 ><

 

[SPRXO]

I think the performance boost of the GTX980 isn't worth it for me considering I could buy the i7-4790k with $100 to spare. I'd prefer to stay under budget, plus DirectX 12 MIGHT fix the my VRAM shortage when using SLI. If you guys can help me on one question I am still not sure about, will the GTX970 fit in the case?

 

[Tonesz586]

I'm sad to say that, but nothing will solve your problem except a hardware redesign, because this VRAM thing is not a software thing, but a hardware issue according to nVidia. The GTX970 will fit in the case.

 

[Zerk2012]

Thanks, I appreciate your input! Sadly I'm a stickler for color coordination so I am going to stick with the red motherboard and case. PCPartPicker also notes that the GPU might interfere with some of the drive bays. Is this a common "problem" that doesn't actually matter? Also I heard the 970 only has about 3.5 VRAM instead of 4. But how does this affect SLI?

For the card blocking some drive bays don't think about it, their wrong. that card is right at 11 inches or 279mm the case will hold a card up to 305mm with out the extra fan being mounted on the motherboard side of the hard drive bay. https://www.nzxt.com/product/detail/95-phantom-410-mid-... VGA Card 305mm (w/o fan), 280mm (installed), 230mm (full pivot)

 

[SPRXO]

I had meant that DirectX 12 supposedly will let you combine you VRAM of two SLI bridged GPUs. I don't know much about it, but I think it has each GPU do half of the screen. Anyways, if everything works out, I'll post a link to my completed build on PCPartPicker. Thank you guys for taking the time to answer my questions!

 

[Tonesz586]

Hope the bests ^^ and you're welcome, we're here to help after all