'Nuther PC Build-REDESIGN

[wulvfen]

AarooOOO! Haapppyy Howlin's erupt from my throat!

 

Hey to all again.

 

Due to yet another unexpected turn of fortune Ive been able to increase my build budget by 50% to a max of $3000 Canadian Loonies. Yowzah! [Oh...Damn...I think I wet myself]

 

Therefore I went for an Intel 4th gen. build, generally concentrating on gaming purposes.

I chose my parts due to the increased capabilities and for future upgrading.

 

Here's my current design;

 

CORSAIR HX Series HX850 850W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply New 4th Gen CPU Certified Haswell Ready

ASUS MAXIMUS VI EXTREME LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

i7-4770K Haswell 3.5GHz LGA 1150 84W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80646I74770K SNR, 600ohm audio

SAMSUNG 840 Pro Series MZ-7PD256BW 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Western Digital WD Black WD2002FAEX 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2400 (PC3 19200) Desktop Memory Model F3-2400C11D-16GXM

EVGA SuperClocked 02G-P4-2765-KR GeForce GTX 760 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 SLI Support w/ EVGA ACX Cooler Video Card

Creative Sound Blaster Recon3D Fatal1ty Champion (70SB135400000) 5.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Express x1 Interface Sound Card with Sound Blaster I/O

ASUS Black 12X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DVD+R 12X DVD-RAM 8X BD-ROM 8MB Cache SATA Blu-ray Burner BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS

COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Advanced Blue Edition RC-932-KKN3-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case with USB 3.0, Black Interior and Four Blue LED Fans-1x 230mm front fan, 1x 230mm top fan, 1x 230mm side fan, and 1x 140mm rear fan

All parts researched and available online at - newegg.ca.

With various CURRENT promos, rebates, etc., the cost for parts inc, shipping [to my address] and all taxes is

$2436.00 cdn.

 

Now then, anything I should know about what I've chosen?

 

For example, is the power supply enough?

What about a cpu cooler?

Future possible upgrades would be another video card for sli/crossfire, more ram, or another burner, maybe a second ssd [just thoughts].

Are the parts all compatible? I think they are, but it IS my first build.

 

Of course I still need the OS- Win 7 Pro

[i'll wait until Microsoft gets their s*** together and fixes Win 8 for consumer use. I think it sucks]

 

Oh yeah, I was also looking at this other ASUS mobo, but It didn't have as many expansion slots.

Would it work for my purposes with the above hardwares?

What about upgrades, ie. sli/crossfire, 2nd ssd, etc.?;

 

ASUS MAXIMUS VI FORMULA LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX gaming board with double-sided ROG Armor, 23C-degrees cooler CrossChill and 120dB SNR, 600ohm audio

 

It'll save me a few bucks too, but that's not why I like it

I like the Cross chill feature, I hate it when my computers overheat and I could leave it air for now and upgrade to a water cooler unit if needed.

 

Both mobo's have onboard lan/wifi/bluetooth, so I don't need a wireless card.

 

I want the sound card, but for info's sake, do I need it? I don't know much about the integrated audio on the mobo's I chose, so some input on their capabilities would be nice to learn.

 

I've got a Lite-Scribe dual-layer/dvd 24x burner that's 6 years old, came with the Gateway I'm still using. Can I add It to the list for my build [2 burners]. OR, can I drop the blueray and replace it with the dual-layer, OR, should I just get something new, ie. the blueray? Do I need blueray?

 

RAM! I would think I would know this, but... The mobo say dual channel support, and I cannot figure out how the hell to get 32GB of ram via dual channel, but I see it in quad-channel Do I buy 2 sets of dual channel ram? [ie. (2 x 8GB=16GB-dual channel) x 2= 32GB total. The mobo's have 4 slots.

 

OK! I think that'll do for now. PLEASE peeps, help me out with the depths of your knowledges.

 

THX

Edited August 13, 2013 by wulvfen

[kalikka]

RAM: Anything "faster" than 1600mhz is a waste. you won't notice the difference (except the price...).

Dual channel means that you can put 2x PAIRS of ram sticks on the mobo. But seriously, even 8gb is half-overkill with modern games (Skyrim crashes when it exceeds 3gb ram usage, etc.).

 

Soundcard: Oh dear lord why do ppl still choose Recon3D... Especially the 100% ripoff fatal1ty junk.

Take Sound Blaster Z, Xonar STX or Sound Blaster ZxR.

But if you only have something like Siberia V2 as your headphones... Stick with the decent onboard (or get Xonar DGX/SBZ) and use the saved money to buy GOOD headphones (Beyerdynamic DT-770/DT-990, ATH-AD700, etc.)!

Even 28€ Superlux HD681Evo beats 80€ Siberia V2.

 

HDD: Black is noisy, if you want silence take the Green.

 

Case: Looks like a xmas tree. If you like noisy xmas tree, take it. If you like silence take something like Define R4 with minimum amount of fans.

I have Rosewill Blackhawk with 8 fans. I only use 4 of those fans with minimum rpm... And 2 of them are on CPU cooler (Antec Kühler H2O push/pull).

And keep in mind that I'm running heavy OC on both GPU and CPU and I still don't need the extra 4 fans.

 

GPU: Take something like Asus DCII or Gigabyte Windforce. But EVGA is good too if you are going to use aftermarket/water cooler (warranty).

 

CPU Cooler: Not sure about American coolers. H100 would be a safe bet if it fits, even though good air coolers (TR Silver Arrow, Noctua, etc.) are as good.

 

PSU: Even 650-750W is more than enough to run GTX780 SLI. Just saying...

 

But overall: My 1200$ rig is as powerful for gaming as your rig.

You could easily drop the price with cheaper mobo and i5-4670k, and if you don't OC: H87 Fatal1ty with Xeon1230V3 --> massive price drop but the CPU power stays the same from original.

Edited August 13, 2013 by kalikka

[Rennn]

You can get the same high-end rig for less than $2000, if you're careful... and a rig that powerful would be better off with a GTX 770 or above, not a 760.

 

Don't bother with 32GB of RAM. 16GB will see you through the whole next generation of games, and likely beyond. Even 8GB is more than fine now, though no longer massive overkill like it used to be.

 

I personally recommend a new i5 rather than an i7. There's virtually no performance difference right now as far as games are concerned, but the cost is radically higher for an i7.

Edited August 13, 2013 by Rennn

[kalikka]

And forgot to ask:

Are you going to overclock?

And I'm interested on which speakers/headphones you have (I'm a bit audiophile...).

[wulvfen]

Wow kalikka that was fast.

 

Just love getting all these bites and chunks of chewy goodness. It's the little things that get said that are really great.

 

I don't know much about brands [re.- EVGA vs. Gigabyte vs. Asus etc.] or series [re.- Green vs. Black etc.] so NICE!

 

RAM- so I could put in 2x PAIRS of [8GB sticks] for a total of 32GB, OR put in 2x PAIRS of [4GB] for a total of 16GB, OR as my design 1x PAIR of [8GB] for a total of 16GB, leaving the 2nd channel empty. Good to know for my future upgrades. I'm sticking with 16GB for now, because I'm starting to work with CAD and graphics programs.

What's better to do for performance/function, use 1x Pair [8GB]=16GB & 1 channel empty

OR, 2x Pair [4GB]=16GB, using both channels?

 

SILENCE- Yes! My Gateway gets pretty damn noisy nowadays [i'm pushing it hard...hard...hard...], but it 's because of overheating and overworking the HDD, so I really want to keep my build running cool. Knowing about 'silent' products is grand [ergo your "green" comment] and I didn't really think about fan noise, so good on that.

 

COOLERS-As for water coolers, the Asus "Formula" mobo [the 2nd one lower in my OP] has an integrated system a computer water/liquid cooler can be attached to. Kinda 'cool', but I like my primary pick better for expansions.

So should I get a cpu cooler if there's less air cooling due to a different case/less fan airflow?

 

GPU- I know little about video cards other than I prefer nVidia [for various reasons] and basic info about specs, sli, etc., so I couldn't say what's good or so-so as to heat, noise, quality of product and so on and so on...I chose the EVGA basically because of the integrated cooling feature, but I want a reliable, durable, quality product [don't we all?]

 

SOUNDCARD-You are a font of audio info.

I really know nada about soundcards, and even less about brand types, so thank you for clearing that up. Changing the soundcard is not a problem for any reason, but what about the specs/capabilities of the integrated onboard audios in the mobo's, which are;

 

Asus "Extreme" - Realtech ALC-1150 [8 channels]

Asus "Formula" - ROG SupremeFX Formula

 

EGAD! It's almost 1 a.m., I gotta go get some sleep before work at 6... talk [er...type] atcha later

[kalikka]

You still haven't told us if you are going to overclock...

 

When comparing the same GPU made by different brands, focus on the cooler.

Asus dcII and Gigabyte Windforce are the best (cooling/silence/price ratio) coolers atm.

And with that budget... Take the GTX780 and cut costs with the mobo/CPU.

 

RAM: You can use dual channel with only 1 pair of ram sticks. Both channels have 2 slots...

So just get 2x8gb >insert random [email protected] RAM here<. If you know you need more, just add another pair.

 

When talking about watercooling, there are 2 different kinds.

1. Pre-made watercoolers (H100/80/..., H2O 620/920, etc.)

2. DIY watercoolers

Pre-made coolers are aimed for ITX/mATX setups rather than overclockers, mainly because they are simply not powerful enough when compared to DIY watercoolers and the high-end aircoolers that are cheaper are as good as the pre-made watercoolers.

And good DIY watercoolers costs 3x more than the H100 for example. And the DIY coolers really need annual maintenance.

 

Trick to choosing soundcard:

1. Look at your headphones and speakers.

2.1. If they are made by Logitech/Razer/any other "gaming brand": Forget about buying a soundcard or get the low-end like Xonar DGX.

2.2. If they are made by decent audio brand (Behringer/Beyerdynamic/Sennheiser/Superlux/Audio Technica/etc.): Combine their price and divide it by 2. That is the maximum what I recommend to use on a soundcard.

 

You are supposed to choose the soundcard based on your other audio gears.

Edited August 13, 2013 by kalikka

[FMod]

A lot of time and the build is still quite meh.

I'll sort out components by...

 

Just no:

 

 

EVGA SuperClocked 02G-P4-2765-KR GeForce GTX 760
Creative Sound Blaster Recon3D Fatal1ty Champion

760 is too slow.

"Recon3D" stands for "crap".

 

SoundBlaster X-Fi Titanium is still the best gaming card. OK, Elite Pro is *the* best, but it's PCI and expensive; X-Fi Ti is PCI-E and cheap. SB Z is OK too.

 

Have better options:

 

 

CORSAIR HX Series HX850

AX860.

More expensive, but way better.

 

Or just AX760, it's more than enough for a single card. For SLI too, but 860 makes sense there.

 

Waste of money:

ASUS MAXIMUS VI EXTREME

i7-4770K Haswell
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB

"Super mega extreme" mobos are useless for Haswell which doesn't overclock much and has an internal VRM anyway.

 

Get a cheaper board like Asus Z87 regular version or something.

For same reason, just i7-4770, without the "K".

i5-3670 is ~as good today, but I can't guarantee that 4770 will be a total waste of money like 2600K was.

 

I suspect this RAM is expensive. It's what, $144 in US? And it isn't in any way better than Samsung 8GB modules, which will usually clock to the same 2400 or better.

Even if they don't or you can't find a Samsung and get a cheaper 1600 module, it doesn't make a difference anyway.

 

 

Not bad but I'd still use others:

 

 

SAMSUNG 840 Pro Series
Western Digital WD Black WD2002FAEX 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB

Plextor M5S. It's cheap and pretty much as good.

Hitachi 7K4000. Faster, cheaper, and I'm not sure if there's really a reliability difference.

 

Then use the money saved to get a proper video card like GTX 770.

 

edit:

P.S. Don't buy into this:

 

 

I like the Cross chill feature, I hate it when my computers overheat and I could leave it air for now and upgrade to a water cooler unit if needed.

Motherboards don't need damn water coolers. Huge heatsinks are just for show. They don't overheat and if anything in your PC does, it will be the GPU, since it's how NV does things.

Edited August 13, 2013 by FMod

[Sarissi]

I have an older generation HX850 PSU in my system and I like it. I was looking at the specs of the mobo you selected, and you would need to go with 4 x 8 GB for the 32 GB.

[wulvfen]

Howlins to my fellow forum personas!

 

SO sorry I havn't responded to your comments for so long!

My sister had to have an operation and I've been at her farm taking care of the horses and cattle for her for the past while. [All's good, no complications, just a matter of her recovery now]. I'll be in and out for a bit, with the neighbours help and my being there on the weekends or when I'm not working, we're good to go.

I'll try to keep on top of any posts so please continue to opinionate in my direction.

 

Thanks to all the great advice, info, etc., I, once again, have revised my revision to yet another incarnation as a further development of my....oh yeah, the new build;

 

First some additional details as to the purpose of my build. Probably should have had this in my OP to begin with;

 

OVERCLOCKING- NO - With a good build I don't see my needing it.

 

Gaming- I'm not an extreme gamer, mostly a solo, but I play 3-5 times a week for up to 4 hours at a time on average. I have friends who want me to join them online for mmorpg and multi-player co-ops/arenas and I want to run the newest everything on Ultra-Maximus-Freakin' Insane settings with a gajillion mods and have my new rig yawn from boredom.

 

HOWEVER, the future use of this rig will be involving a variety of some serious graphics, design, video, animations, CAD, 3D, CGI, music and other ram-heavy, number crunching programs and tools. In addition to my developing a keen interest in modding, I have a musician friend who runs his own little media company and is willing to teach me the how to's of the software, etc.. It's more about video/graphics/animations/renders for me than the music, love music but I'm more of a visual artsy type for my own amusement and what I want to learn.

 

SO, what do you peeps say to this build? [Parts locally available];

 

 

ASUS Z87-WS LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - $295

Intel Core i7-4770 Haswell 3.4GHz LGA 1150 84W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80646I74770 - $395

CORSAIR AX860 860W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS PLATINUM Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply New 4th Gen CPU Certified Haswell Ready - $200

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-1600C9D-16GXM
- 2 sets @ $140 ea. = $280

SAMSUNG 840 Pro Series MZ-7PD256BW 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - $245

Western Digital WD Black WD2002FAEX 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM - $230

GIGABYTE GV-N770OC-4GD GeForce GTX 770 4GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready WindForce 3X 450W Video Card - $475

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD 24-bit 192KHz PCI Express x1 Interface Sound Card powered by THX TruStudio Pro
- $180

ASUS-BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS Blu-ray CD/DVD Writer - $90

Rosewill N900PCE Wireless N Dual Band Adapter IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n PCI Express Up to 450Mbps Wireless Data Rates Support 64/128 bit WEP, WPA-PSK/WPA2-PSK, 802.1X - $45


Corsair Carbide Series 500R Black Steel structure with molded ABS plastic accent pieces ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - $120

Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R2 - $30

Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver AS5-3.5G-$8


< $2500 base price

 

I will also be adding the following, which I already own;

 

-Lite-On DVDRW SHW-160P6S DVD/CD dual-layer writer

-3.5 " Floppy drive [ Yes, a FLOPPY drive]

-9-in-1 media card reader

 

I will be installing Windows 7 Pro SP1 [64bit] for my OS [another $125].

 

Still need a good set of headphones and a microphone to match the sound card. Say around $200. Any preferences about that topic...[kalikka?].

 

Your opinions about the above build, oh online personas?

THANK YOU!

Edited August 21, 2013 by wulvfen