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Feedback on new computer build

A

Alex Sinov

Member
Hi guys 'n gals, it's been quite some time since I dropped here!

Anyway, I want to build a new computer and I'd really use some feedback on my choices.

I'll be using it for Photoshop and Illustrator work, UX design, gaming and the usual stuff.
Also, I plan on doing some overclocking, but nothing too fancy; maybe get the CPU to 4.6-4.8 GHz and a little OC-ing the GPU, but that's all.

I have two lists, a mini ITX one and a micro ATX one.

mini ITX:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Asus MAXIMUS VII IMPACT Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 290 4GB Tri-X Video Card
Case: BitFenix Prodigy (White) Mini ITX Tower Case
Power Supply: Corsair 760W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-01 15:14 EST-0500

Another build I thought about is a micro-ATX one, but I'm not really sure I need it. I plan on using a single GPU and 4 storage deices are enough for me.

micro-ATX:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Asus MAXIMUS VII GENE Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 290 4GB Tri-X Video Card
Case: BitFenix Prodigy M Arctic White MicroATX Mini Tower Case
Power Supply: Corsair 760W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-01 15:31 EST-0500

For both of them clearances and distances are OK AFAIK.
Maybe I'm missing something, what do you think?

Thanks!
 
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What's your preferred/maximum budget?
What's your current monitor / its resolution?
Do you already have a Windows copy?

I have two lists, a mATX one and a micro ATX one.
Click to expand...
mATX is actually short for micro-ATX, what you mean is mini-ITX. 🙂

Also, I plan on doing some overclocking, but nothing too fancy; maybe get the CPU to 4.6-4.8 GHz and a little OC-ing the GPU, but that's all.
Click to expand...
4.6-4.8GHz on a Haswell with an expensive H100i sounds very much in the fancy department to me. If you were looking for a 'modest' overclock, it would be more along the lines of 4.3-4.5GHz with a $40-50 air cooler.
 
The difference is Not m ATx vs micro ATX which is the same thing.

The difference is mini ITX vs micro ATX.

mini ITX is smaller and:

Memory Slots 2 x 240-pin DIMM

Max Memory 16GB

CrossFire Support No

SLI Support No

SATA 6 Gb/s 4

--------------------------

microATX

Memory Slots 4 x 240-pin DIMM

Max Memory 32GB

CrossFire Support Yes

SLI Support Yes

SATA 6 Gb/s 8

==============
It is your choice according to your future plans.


😎
 
Alex Sinov said:
I'll be using it for Photoshop and Illustrator work
Click to expand...
Then you might not want mITX (mATX is the same as micro-ATX) because you can only use two sticks of RAM.

Alex Sinov said:
I plan on doing some overclocking, but nothing too fancy; maybe get the CPU to 4.6-4.8 GHz
Click to expand...
Getting a Haswell CPU up that fast can require fancy overclocking. You can probably get all 4 cores going at 4.4-4.5GHz. Beyond that is difficult.

Alex Sinov said:
Maybe I'm missing something, what do you think?
Click to expand...
I see a few things you're missing:
  • The answers to a few of [thread=80121]these questions[/thread]. Including budget.
  • Storage. Have you picked out an SSD yet?
  • Heat. In a small case especially, that R9 290 may limit how much you can OC that CPU. A GTX 970 would be better. (Yes, even with the 3.5GB thing.) A blower-style also helps with case heat. For mATX that's somewhat less of an issue than for mITX.
  • A platinum power supply probably isn't cost-effective no matter where you live. If you live somewhere where power is expensive you should be getting that GTX 970 anyway. Here's a much cheaper Gold one to go with a 970.
  • I'm not entirely sure the cases you picked have a place to mount the Corsair H100i. Especially the smaller one.

I was gonna say you didn't need RAM that fast, but then I looked up a benchmark:

photoshop.png
 
JackMDS said:
microATX

Memory Slots 4 x 240-pin DIMM

Max Memory 32GB

CrossFire Support Yes

SLI Support Yes

SATA 6 Gb/s 8

==============
It is your choice according to your future plans.


😎
Click to expand...

Well, yes and no. Plenty of microATX boards on the lower end only have 2x 240-pin DIMMS and support only 16GB of memory. SLI/Crossfire support is likewise limited to higher end microATX boards and only on the top end chipset (Z97 etc.); however, that point is only of 'academic interest', as no one wants to run two dual slot graphics cards side by side in the first place. If you run SLI, you run ATX.
 
Ken g6 said:
Getting a Haswell CPU up that fast can require fancy overclocking. You can probably get all 4 cores going at 4.4-4.5GHz. Beyond that is difficult.
Click to expand...

4790K which is Haswell Refresh (Devil's Canyon) with improved IHS TIM, actually tends to overclock fairly well past 4.5GHz with the right cooling.

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-2226152/4790k-h100i-overclocking-potential.html
http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1262469
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2389371
 
lehtv said:
Well, yes and no.
Click to expand...

Sorry I have a "strange tendency" 😱 to relate to the specific OP".

It asked specificaly about the entry done by the OP in PCPartPicker.

My answer related directly to the two Mobos link to. :thumbsup:


😎
 
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@lehtv, JackMDS: yes, this was me being an idiot. 🙂

Now, to answer the questions:
What's your preferred/maximum budget?
What's your current monitor / its resolution?
Do you already have a Windows copy?
Click to expand...
The budget revolves somewhere around 1300 - 1500 Euros (in Romania)
Current monitor is a 24 inch 1920x1200, but I plan going 27 inch.
Yes, I have a Win8.1 pro copy.

Storage. Have you picked out an SSD yet?
Heat. In a small case especially, that R9 290 may limit how much you can OC that CPU. A GTX 970 would be better. (Yes, even with the 3.5GB thing.) A blower-style also helps with case heat. For mATX that's somewhat less of an issue than for mITX.
A platinum power supply probably isn't cost-effective no matter where you live. If you live somewhere where power is expensive you should be getting that GTX 970 anyway. Here's a much cheaper Gold one to go with a 970.
I'm not entirely sure the cases you picked have a place to mount the Corsair H100i. Especially the smaller one.
Click to expand...

Yes, I have an SSD and some traditional drives, I aim for two SSDs and two traditional ones, in the end.
In Romania AFAIK GeForces are more expensive that Radeons, given the same performance. I was thinking that the case fans would do a good enough job to push the hot air from the GPU, given the fact the Corsair H100i would evacuate the air directly outside.
I'll look into the GTX 970 and that PSU. But there's the length of the PSU I have to be careful too. It's gotta be 160mm max.
Yes, the H100i fits OK in a Bitfenix Prodigy.

As for future plans, I typically use a build for about two years. IMO it should last quite good. I don't see needing more than 16GB RAM in the near future, also I'm not interested in using more than one GPU.
 
Ken g6 said:
Heat. In a small case especially, that R9 290 may limit how much you can OC that CPU. A GTX 970 would be better. (Yes, even with the 3.5GB thing.) A blower-style also helps with case heat. For mATX that's somewhat less of an issue than for mITX.
A platinum power supply probably isn't cost-effective no matter where you live. If you live somewhere where power is expensive you should be getting that GTX 970 anyway. Here's a much cheaper Gold one to go with a 970.
Click to expand...

I looked and the blower GTX 970 is 400 Euros vs 303 Euros (Sapphire Radeon TRI-X R9 290 OC). But indeed the 970 is way cooler and the performance is great!

The PSU you linked doen't fit in a Bitfenix Prodigy, since it's 180mm long and the Prodigy has a 160mm limit.
 
Save 100 Euro towards a next gen 14/16 nm GPU upgrade. Sapphire Tri-X 290 is going to be within 5% of a 970. With a good after-market low profile cooler you will get 4.5-4.6Ghz out of the 4790K. 4.7-4.8Ghz 4790K won't do much extra in games. The 100 euro saved though towards a next gen GPU in 2016/early 2017 will give you a lot more performance when it comes to upgrading! I would only recommend a 970 for you if you need PhysX and most of the games you play are GW titles.

The blower 970 from Palit/PNY have a horribly weak and loud cooler. The only good blower 970 is a reference BestBuy model sold only in the US.

The 'standard' 970 blower is similar to that used on a 760/670 cards and it's total junk when it comes to temperatures and noise levels.
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...52-nvidia-gtx-970-sli-performance-review.html
 
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Ken g6 said:
OK, forget the 970 - the price difference here is only $50, or about €33.

Can you link us to a site where you can buy this stuff in Romania? Or will Germany do?

How about a be quiet! 680W PSU?
Click to expand...

Well for this kind of purchase I usually use a price comparator and choose the cheapest store that also has credibility and an OK track record.
But as a store, you can try www.emag.ro, it's the biggest online store in Romania.

No, Germany is not an option due to transport cost and possible future complications (RMAs, warranty etc)

I'll look at the Be Quiet! PSU, thanks a lot for the suggestion.

But is 680W enough?
 
Ken g6 said:
An OCed 4960X + a single OCed R9 290X barely passes 400W at load. It should be fine.

So your budget is 6500 Lei?

OK, what price comparator are you using that compares prices in Romania?
Click to expand...

Yes, something around this sum. Pretty much for .ro standards.

The comparator is called price.ro

LE: I read the review for the Bequiet! PSU. Sounds OK, apart from the ripple on the +12.Anyway, I can't seem to find it here in Romania. :| Maybe a Corsair AX760i?
 
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Here's what I came up with:

Core i7 4790K 1598 Lei
Gigabyte Z97MX Gaming 5 633 Lei
Geil DDR3 1600 16GB x2 1154 Lei
Sapphire R9 290X 4GB 1479 Lei
Reuse storage 0 Lei
Seasonic S12G 650W 457 Lei
Corsair Carbide Air 240 377 Lei
Corsair H100i 520 Lei
Total: 6218 Lei

I decided to go for MicroATX since the MiniITX case that you were looking at (Bitfenix Prodigy) is practically the size of MicroATX case anyway.

A key things to note is that I didn't spend a small fortune on overly fancy motherboards or power supplies. That let me double the RAM to 32GB, which will help with Photoshop and Illustrator, especially when working on multiple projects.
 
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mfenn said:
Here's what I came up with:

Core i5 4790K 1598 Lei
Gigabyte Z97MX Gaming 5 633 Lei
Geil DDR3 1600 16GB x2 1154 Lei
Sapphire R9 290X 4GB 1479 Lei
Reuse storage 0 Lei
Seasonic S12G 650W 457 Lei
Corsair Carbide Air 240 377 Lei
Corsair H100i 520 Lei
Total: 6218 Lei

I decided to go for MicroATX since the MiniITX case that you were looking at (Bitfenix Prodigy) is practically the size of MicroATX case anyway.

A key things to note is that I didn't spend a small fortune on overly fancy motherboards or power supplies. That let me double the RAM to 32GB, which will help with Photoshop and Illustrator, especially when working on multiple projects.
Click to expand...

Hi mfenn, and thanks for taking the time to help me.

I agree, 32GB would be better than 16GB; that's why I still contemplate a MicoATX board, and thruthfully I'm starting to lean towards one.

The PSU you chose is a worthy contender, I put it on my shortlist.

Other than that - and I hope I won't offend you - I don't really agree with the build.

First of all, why would I go with an i5? I generally like to have the most powerful CPU my money can afford.
Second, the 290x is so much more expensive than a 290, with only a little performance upgrade. Not really worth it, IMHO.
Third, although I may sound like a fanboy, I really like Asus. Never let me down and yes, the marketing hype may have caught up with me.:$
Oh, I really don't like the Carbide.^_^

So I think it's safe to assume I'll go with a MicroATX board and (probably) with the Prodigy M.

Again, please don't be offended by me slamming your friendly effort, I really appreciate it.
 
I'm guessing he's referring to mfenn's build. Everything is compatible, and also high quality and suitable for your purposes.

i5-4790K was a typo, it links to i7-4790K.
 
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OK, I sense this thread is close to it's finish, so thanks to all of you who adviced me.
I'll think about it and post back when I buy everything.

/closed/
 
Alex Sinov said:
First of all, why would I go with an i5? I generally like to have the most powerful CPU my money can afford.
Click to expand...

The i5 was a typo. I got the model number correct (4790K) and linked to the 4790K.

Alex Sinov said:
Second, the 290x is so much more expensive than a 290, with only a little performance upgrade. Not really worth it, IMHO.
Click to expand...

That is fine, nothing wrong with spending less money for less performance. I optimized the build to be the highest performance while staying within your budget.

Alex Sinov said:
Third, although I may sound like a fanboy, I really like Asus. Never let me down and yes, the marketing hype may have caught up with me.:$
Click to expand...

The first step to solving a problem is admitting that you have a problem. 🙂 ASUS makes fine boards, but there is no reason to pay extra for the name.

If you absolutely must buy an ASUS (which is silly), there's no reason to pay through the nose for their top-end board.

Alex Sinov said:
Oh, I really don't like the Carbide.^_^
Click to expand...

That is fine, cases are personal preference.
 
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