When using this resource, please read the opening post. The Tech Support forum regulars have helped create countless of desktop systems without any compensation. The least you can do is provide all of the information required for them to help you properly.
What is your budget? $1200-$1300 ($1500 is my dead stop top end line, but would like to stay a little lower)
What is your monitor's native resolution? 1920×1080 (two monitors, both the same resolution)
What games do you intend to play on this computer? What settings? Wildstar, SC2, anything else that comes out new - max settings.
What do you intend to use the computer for besides gaming? Small amounts of video editing, streaming myself, frapsing, watching multiple HD streams.
Do you intend to overclock? No.
Do you intend to do SLI / Crossfire? No.
Do you need an operating system? No. (windows 7 copy owned)
Do you need a monitor or any other peripherals and is this part of your budget? Do not need any peripherals. My budget ignores all monitors/mice/keyboards etc.
If you have any requirements or brand preferences, please specify. What I Have: CPU - i7-4770k 3.5ghz LGA 1150 (280$) SSD - Samsung 840 series 2.5" 250gb Sata III (165$)
What I Need: RAM - 8gb of ddr3 w/e - Kingston HyperX, Gskill maybe. Not a big concern. (80$)
GPU - Gigabyte GTX 760 2gb Windforce3x (260$) This is probably what I'm going to go with. Price range of the 760 for performance is right where I want to be, and I've read good things about Gigabyte's windforce3x cooling. Also have read going for the 4gb over 2gb is really not necessary on this generation of card, and the VRAM will never be the bottle neck.
PSupply - Something 650-800w Modular. Modular is a must, enough wattage is a must (which i think the 700 range should be more then plenty for this rig with no crossfiring/OCing/etc). Open to suggestions.
MoBo - This along with the case is where I need some help. My knowledge is pretty limited on Mother boards, basically I know I need one that my 1150 intel CPU fits into, aside from that, it must fit into the case; where another problem arises.
Case - I've read my GPU of choice is pretty big, and really want to make sure I don't fuck up case size so Mother board and all components fit. Also really like to save money on a case (don't want to spend more then 100$). As long as everything fits, and there is decent cooling, I'm fine with that.
What country will you be buying your parts in? USA
If you have any retailer preferences, please specify. Microcenter nearby, Newegg otherwise.
If you already have a 4770k, you might as well overclock! It'd probably cost you $100-$150 extra to do (heatsink and Z87 motherboard), but will help for many games' performance.
If you don't already have one, then grab a 4770 and H81/H87 motherboard with the features that you need. Someone more qualified than I should be able to suggest a good one.
Why is modular a must? It's nice, but not a huge deal to anything other than cosmetics of something that you'll never see.
There's a few cases that people typically buy, I imagine they're in the OP as well. Fractal Core cases seem to be popular.
I'm thinking I might as well leave the option open to overclock, especially since like you said, I'm no where near budget. I looked a couple different MoBos, and outside making sure RAM slots are 240pin to accommodate RAM, are 1150 to accommodate CPU, and that I have around 4 usb 3.0 slots(preference due to external HD and such), what else should I really be paying attention to? I really can't figure out why some boards are 100$ and some are 180$ that seem to have very similar features and are both Z87.
edit:at Mavvie - Fully Modular is just a preference, less clutter in the case provides for easier installation of things and easier cleaning on the long haul. Just something I've come to really appreciate over my last couple builds.
Motherboards don't really affect anything except having slots and ports to connect stuff to, what 3rd-party controllers for stuff, if any. Some have more than others. Then there's CPU power delivery (both hardware and controls available) for overclocking. Then the stuff like which socket etc.
Wow thanks for your in-depth help. I suppose semi-modular is fine too, any recommendations for that?
Last build I did I just went with a cheapo cdvd drive, and it's shit a year later (doesnt read disks well, CD burns only work 50% of the time) So i suppose I better get a semi-decent blu-ray player, although I really hate breaking the bank on something I use so rarely.
Not a big fan of that case either. Things I Dislike - Buttons, usb drives on top instead of front (i have a tendency to hit them, Ive owned a case where I hit the power button all the time when It's on top instead of the side) front cover I have to open to get to optical drives Don't really care how silent it is TBH.
Things I like - 4 usb ports/headphone jack on the front of the case Seemingly solid design. Big enough to support chosen graphics card.
Well, there's Rosewill Capstone 450-M for $70 if you're not going to be going higher than GTX 760. Seasonic G Series 550W for $80 - $20 MIR on Shellshocker now. These are a little more known and proven than the Astro GD anyway, though that's good. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151119
edit: Corsair 200R, 300R maybe if you don't mind losing some USB ports up front. You know, you could just buy a USB thing that slots in an optical drive bay. Or a USB hub or something. Or actually it's probably not that important. Placement on top is more popular these days, it seems, for mid/full towers.
As for BD drives, nobody knows. Just check what has decent average newegg / Amazon / etc. reviews. Also check if you need BD playback software if you'd be getting BD movies.
What is a good price/gb on SSD now for US? I'm hoping to grab a good deal on one to complete my build. I think I could either go with 128gb or the 256gb type.
That HighPower Astro looks suspiciously like a Seasonic.
I wanted to compare the ASUS Z87A to the GA-Z87X-D3H. So I decided to compare the amount of phases on both motherboards (to start a comparaison SOMEWHERE).
So, examing this list we find that the Z87X-D3H has 8 PWM Phases and (if I'm mistaken here, correct me) and it will use all 8 of them. This equates more efficiency overall since all the phases are being used (so each phase works less and so each phase will also heat less). The Z87A from ASUS has 8 PWM phases yet it'll use 4 of them. Or rather, there will be one driver for two phases (which I'm going to guess is overall not as good as one driver per phase). So, the gigabyte board would at least be slightly better than the ASUS one in that regard.
I'm not saying the Z87A is a bad board obviously, I did some research and it seemed to say the motherboard was perfectly fine for mild to mild+ overclocks. However I'm curious to get into a bit more technical details. Sin's hardware should have made a PDF instead of a jpg, no control+F is quite tedious. ;p
On December 17 2013 14:26 nosliw wrote: What is a good price/gb on SSD now for US? I'm hoping to grab a good deal on one to complete my build. I think I could either go with 128gb or the 256gb type.
$1 should get you 1.5 GB or so (maybe a little better than that around 240+ GB, a little worse under that). You can find a little better deal than that on a sale.
On December 17 2013 14:30 Incognoto wrote: That HighPower Astro looks suspiciously like a Seasonic.
Really? Looks like a HighPower (Sirfa) to me. They're an OEM, you know. However, I may have been biased with prior info.
edit: weird things are said about HighPower, Sirfa, and Sirtec, and it's all kind of confusing, but Gabriel Torres (PSU reviewer at hardwaresecrets) seems to be sure:
Sirtec established Sirfa Electronics in 1996, and in 2008 Sirtec sold Sirfa. Sirfa then created the High Power brand in 2008.
On December 17 2013 22:51 Cyro wrote: SC2 benching
more details? I feel like I should know what's going on but all I see is bigger = better :D
It's pretty shocking how much faster RAM (or overclocking RAM) can do. This might be something special about Haswell?
It's hard to verify exactly because sc2 client is a little inconsistent and have to restart to change RAM stuff. I didn't see anybody not getting gains from RAM though, with decent RAM speed increases. 1600 9-9-9-24 vs 2200 9-10-12-20 + 104tRFC is quite the bump, as is something like Belial's 2800c12 clock on that $63 2x4gb newegg kit
The only thing I'm wondering about is thermal paste between the i5 and the Noctua, but I'm sure there's something here on the TL forums about it. (I vaguely recall a "grain of rice" method.) And of course, youtube and google.
For the love of god don't youtube or google it, ask here or on an enthusiast overclocking site.
TL;DR is line shape top to bottom, as little paste as possible to cover the die area
Hey guys, I'm about to throw my new Noctua NH-D14 onto my i5 3570K and remembered this post. The instruction manual says to apply the usual 4-5mm diameter pea size in the middle of the board and allow the sink to spread it. Is this indeed optimal or should I go for line shaped? In my previous build on my old crappy water cooler I spread the paste manually using an old credit card and didn't have any issue with that. Sorry for the scattered post... just kinda worried.
I'd go for a small line, but it shouldn't matter much for NH-D14 because the surface is not HDT and the mounting mechanism is good and should spread it where it needs to go regardless.
As long as you mount it fine and have a little bit of thermal interface material in there, that should do it.
Noctua's suggestion may be for simplicity and encouraging people not to use too much, which is a bigger issue.
Thanks for this, I put it in all in the basket and it comes out 1k$ I did some newbie research;) and was wondering a few things will list them one by one, and if I am out of line and your recommendation stands I will order what you suggested
this baby is only 35$ more expensive and I see ppl recommending it (Intel Core i5-4670K Processor (6M Cache, up to 3.40 GHz) Haswell (BX80646I54670K)) isnt it better to go for it, better motherboard and overclock(I hope its easy;))
really dont know much about rams but they seem slow compared to others(maybe it doesnt even matter and isnt an issue) also is 8gb gonna be enough I think computing databses takes some toll on memory, again could be wrong
so I heard its really budget mother board and my father recommended ASRock Z87 Extreme6 Socket LGA1150 / Z87 / 4 x DDR3 / 10 x SATA 6Gb/s / ATX, I dont mind going into 1,3k$ range if I can get much better computer, maybe this mother board will survive till next upgread and will be cheaper overall or is it better to buy the one you suggested and later change both motherboard and processor (I am geting a little mindfucked with all the choices)
isnt it too small and has too small coolers or that doesnt matter at all? also we forgot about additional cooling for processor (unless its not nescessary)
I hope its healthy discussion and gives me some more insight into computer building, if you have no time or think any of these changes are pointless just say so and I will take your word for it, thanks for everything so far
If you want to overclock than sure get a 4670k and Z87. Overclocking is easy but some people just don't bother with it for whatever reason (paranoid, lazy, money, etc)/
Regardless of how much you spend on the motherboard, you'll need a new motherboard if you want to upgrade to a newer generation of processors in the future because the newer processors will be using DDR4.
Asrock Z87 Extreme6 is pretty high-end and is more than the typical user will ever need. There really is no point in pouring money into a motherboard unless you know you'll need / want the extra stuff.
A bigger heatsink (cooler) is not needed unless you are overclocking or concerned with noise.
EPT
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