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Thread ID: 139791 2015-06-29 04:15:00 New to PC building and would like some advice! Jsbdrumming (17377) Press F1
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1403839 2015-06-29 04:15:00 Alright, so I'm new to pc building and I'm 18 so I'm getting my feet wet here . I looked around the web and came up with this pricey goal for myself, I currently have the no ey but don't want to go broke building it so I will be saving up for awhile first . Here's the computer hardware I have decided on .

Processor: Intel I7 4790k
Motherboard: Asus maximus hero VII
memory: basilisk sport 16gb (8gb x2) Ddr3 1600
Video card: Nvidia MSI GTX 970 gaming 4g
SSD: Samsung 850 EVO 500gb 2 . 5 inch sata III
HDD: WD Blue 1TB Desktop 3 . 5 Inch SATA 6Gb/s 7200rpm Internal Hard Drive
Cooling unit:Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - CPU Cooler with 120mm PWM Fan (RR-212E-20PK-R2)
Case: fractal design F5 black computer case
Power supply: gxII 550w

Now I know there isn't an ODD I dint really plan on getting one and as far as the power supply goes, I know with what's listed here I only need a 450 but the fans included in the case weren't able to be input in the calculator I used for determining wattage . I bumped it to 550 for room for those fans . I estimated this whole thing to run for $1,430 .

I would love some Input here since I was just spitballing here . This pc would be used for programming and compiling(what I'm learning in post-secondary) along with gaming hopefully at Ultra video settings . The SSD would be for OS and heavy loading games like fallout and such while the 1TB HDD I can put my other works on for school and projects I decide to make later on . Hope that helps give an idea of the extent of use, if something I listed is way higher end than needs to be for anything here or isnt high end enough please tell me what I should get! 		Jsbdrumming (17377)
1403840 2015-06-29 04:50:00 Perhaps a better power supply. Not just higher power, but better

seems its average at best
www.jonnyguru.com 		1101 (13337)
1403841 2015-06-29 04:54:00 TL;DR If you're happy with the price go for it, if you want to save some cash ditch the CPU cooler and go for an i5 non-K and 8GB of RAM and possibly a cheaper model motherboard for performance that's almost the same but much cheaper. That's what smart gamers on a budget do :)

My guess is this is not in NZ? (going by the price)

It's a good list and nothing particularly stands out as wrong with it. The Hyper 212 evo might not allow much of an overclock but should definitely be better than stock cooling. I don't know what your programming and compiling needs might be but for gaming an i7 is still overkill, you could drop down to the i5 4690K and never notice the difference in daily use and gaming.

Similarly 8GB of RAM is still enough for gaming and could save you a little also, unless you are trying to "future proof" but there's no way to tell when/if more than 8GB will become needed. I'm not familiar with the basilisk sport brand so can't comment there.

You could also abandon thoughts of overclocking and just get a non K CPU and use stock cooling, not as much fun for sure :) but in truth you are unlikely to notice the difference there either. I did get an i7 myself because I wanted one but it's not overclocked and using stock cooling and it is awesome in gaming. You look to be starting out with overclocking in mind but for a first build is that wise? personal choice of course.

If you want your games to look as awesome as possible you could spend the savings on a 980 instead of the 970, at 1080P it's maybe a little overpowered but in terms of gaming only the money is better spent on graphics than CPU/RAM

What would I personally do? Ignore my advice and build it as per your original list :)

Edit: adding to the above, seasonic is my PSU brand of choice these days 		dugimodo (138)
1403842 2015-06-29 11:39:00 Thanks for your awesome input! First, no this isn't NZ I am from the US and second the link you gave me 1101 is Still a gxii series but +200 w :p any recommendations there?

I do know I skimped a bit on the power source, couldve been higher end. Also duimodo, yes I want it future proofed more or less, I fell into a job recently that required no experience and am making decent money, I'd like to invest in something that I can use in my career and this is what would last me a good long Time I think.

I wasnt planning on overclocking for awhile till I get more comfortable with it all but still a possibility, I heard such great things about the I7 I couldn't pass it up :(. Also can you recommend the psu series you use from them? Preferably around the 500 Wat range, the rig here only needs 431 according to a calculator app, but with addition of more HDD possibly I want to have that option without getting crashes, same with more fans. 		Jsbdrumming (17377)
1403843 2015-06-29 12:28:00 Seasonic only have good PSU's so model is not that important :) They actually also make most of corsairs better models.
I can link you to some at a NZ supplier just to show you what I'd get but you'll have to find somewhere closer to get actual US prices obviously :)

The OEM models if you can find them are a really good bargain for what you get but are no frills and plain looking, designed to be included in store built machines so not many retailers sell them
www.computerlounge.co.nz 650W gold rated

But if you want a bit nicer looking and fully modular I'd go G Series
www.computerlounge.co.nz 550W gold rated, fully modular (but you'll note more expensive and lower rated than the OEM version) 		dugimodo (138)
1403844 2015-06-29 20:40:00 TL;DR If you're happy with the price go for it, if you want to save some cash ditch the CPU cooler and go for an i5 and possibly a cheaper model motherboard for performance that's almost the same but much cheaper. That's what smart gamers on a budget do :)

My guess is this is not in NZ? (going by the price)


Similarly 8GB of RAM is still enough for gaming

Smart gamers on a budget do that...like me.
However, US, h can probably afford it....so leave it.

8GB, no way, RAM is one of the cheapest parts in the build, so 16GB. I have 16GB in my old gaming box now.....yes it's probably not really helping much but hey, it was cheap....

I do agree on the motherboard, a plain ATX board is fine, you don't need the fancy bits ggaming boards have really...but I wouldn't go as far as mATX though.... 		pctek (84)
1403845 2015-07-01 07:11:00 So as far as motherboard goes, A Z97 PRO would be too much as well? Also would dual GPU's be a good idea? To get an idea I may eventually upgrade to 2 monitors maybe 4k after saving up a bit more since I have scholarships and don't have to worry about college money. Jsbdrumming (17377)
1403846 2015-07-01 13:12:00 If you think You'll go dual GPU's think about allowing for it with your power supply rating now, a lot cheaper than replacing it later because it's too small.
Personally I don't like SLI and Xfire, both are awesome when they work but neither works all the time for every game and one graphics card is always less problematic.

For Dual GPU's you really need to put some thought into air flow, the cooler design on the GPU's, and the placement on the motherboard.
When SLI GTX 460's was a popular choice I decided to try it out, I bought two identical cards and gave it a whirl. Things did not go well. The game I played the most got no improvement from a 2nd card and when stress testing the top card would suck in the hot air coming from the bottom card and quickly exceed 90 degrees C. After much hair pulling I sold both cards and got a GTX 580. It was slightly more expensive and on paper a little slower than dual GTX 460's but in practice it was better in every way, higher framerates, less noise, less power, less heat. You get the picture.

Based on that experience and many articles and reviews read since I have concluded multi graphics cards is best left to those enthusiasts who want 3 screen gaming rigs and bragging rights and are prepared to deal with the issues. Like I said when it works it can be awesome. If you decide to do it, get blower style cards that vent outside the case and try to find a board that leaves at least 1 full expansion slot gap between the top of one card and the bottom of the next. Many don't because they are spaced to allow 3 cards and there just isn't room.

I run dual 1080 monitors but I don't think 4K gaming is really here yet for most people. It takes a minimum of dual GTX980's to game at anything like full quality 4K and even then not in all games. We may have to wait a generation or two before a mainstream card can game reliably at that resolution by itself. In the mean time I've been trying to find a reliable report of how well 1080P gaming on a 4K monitor works because I really would like one but don't think my single 980 will game all that well at full res. QHD 2560 x 1440 might be a good compromise for now if you can find a good monitor, 4K monitors seem to be cheaper here though oddly enough. Should still look awesome. 		dugimodo (138)
1403847 2015-07-01 14:44:00 i would suggest an all in one cpu water cooler, a better psu and a bigger harddrive

$1500 seems fair 		Mirddes (10)
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