Need advice for new system - it's been a while!

[Waylay00]

Hey guys,

It's been a really long time since I built my last system (nearly a decade), so I'm very much out of the loop regarding hardware. Anyways, I am set to begin a new job in about a month, and I've decided that I want to go back to a Windows desktop machine (I've been using a MacBook for the past five years while in school). Although I was able to spend countless hours researching parts and perusing threads while I was in middle/high school, time is no longer in such abundance, so I'm hoping you guys can help make this process a little easier.

Budget: $2000-$2300 (ideally including monitor setup, see below)

Use: Work (PPT, Excel), audio production, gaming

Location: USA

Considerations:

- I work in the financial advisory industry, so a lot of work entails manipulating large and complex spreadsheets, as well as editing PowerPoint decks. As a result, screen real estate is a priority. My office uses a dual monitor setup, so I was originally thinking of purchasing a dual setup for working at home. However, I'm aware that there are some pretty large monitors out there that might be a better solution (especially if I want to game or watch movies). Not sure if you guys had any particular opinions on this.

- Furthermore, I'd like to keep the case as inconspicuous as possible (something sleek and black would be ideal...I know Lian-Li was the "go-to" brand for this style ten years ago...not sure if that's still the case, no pun intended).

- Also, given my lack of time (I will be working ~80-90 weeks regularly), I am considering ordering from a third-party builder. Thoughts?

- I will not be using any parts from previous systems.

Thanks in advance, and let me know if you all need any more information!

Best,
W

 

[nsafreak]

Putting together a PC typically doesn't take a whole lot of time nowadays although if you are a perfectionist and like to have the inside of your case all nice and tidy then it can take longer. So, with that being said I'll give you two builds:

The Pre-Built

From Xotic PC

KILIAN - Stage 3
- FREE - The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt & Batman: Arkham Knight w/ purchase of GeForce GTX 980 or 970 GPU [must be requested during checkout / limited supply]
- Fractal Design Node 304 [Black]
- AIR: [Stage 1] Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO [High Performance CPU Cooler + 120mm Fan] - Default
- 750W Corsair HX750i Power Supply Unit (Dual SLI Compatible) [w/ 7 Year Warranty] - Default
- MSI Z97I Gaming ACK (Z97 Chipset) [Mini-ITX, 2 DIMMS, 1 PCIe Slot] - Default
- Intel® Core i5-4690K (3.50-3.90GHz) (22nm, 6MB cache) (Quad-Core CPU) - Default
- SINGLE - NVIDIA® GeForce GTX 970 (4GB) GDDR5 (New - Maxwell Architecture) - Default
- 16GB DDR3 1600MHz (8GBx2 DIMMS) XOTIC PC Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
- 250GB Samsung 850 Evo SSD (Read 540MB/s - Write 520MB/s (SSD2 - SATA III)) (SKU – SSD016)
- 2TB 5400RPM Samsung Spinpoint M9T (SATA - 6GB/s) (SKU - HDD402)
- ASUS (VG248QE) 24” LCD (16:9) Widescreen Gaming Monitor (Black) (1ms response time) HDMI + Built-in Speakers

Current total $2,184 (will need to add more for a second monitor)

The DIY Build

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($26.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Stealth 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial BX100 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($172.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($70.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card ($319.98 @ NCIX US)
Case: Fractal Design Node 804 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($78.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (32/64-bit) ($98.89 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Acer UM.HB6AA.A01 60Hz 27.0" Monitor ($451.98 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Acer UM.HB6AA.A01 60Hz 27.0" Monitor ($451.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $2137.64
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-07 02:08 EDT-0400

Overall the DIY route will get you a better bang for your buck but I can definitely understand going with a 3rd party builder. You might want to just have the PC built by a 3rd party and get the displays from Amazon or Newegg as the third party builders seem to have pretty massive markups.

 

[Charlie98]

The Node 804 case is a cube, if you wanted something a little more conventional, take a look at the Fractal Define series cases... about as understated as you can get, and very well built.

I bought a new 24" monitor last year... very excited to get a nice big monitor! It was so big it made my eyes bug out! I sent it back an am running dual 20" monitors now. I know with spreadsheets you need a big monitor to get it all on the screen sometimes, my point is maybe consider 21" or 24" monitors.

 

[mfenn]

For working with desktop applications like spreadsheets, resolution matters much more than actual screen size. The two 2560x1440 monitors that nsafreak listed will definitely give you plenty of resolution to work with.

Overall, nsafreak's DIY build is very nice and has excellent value parts choices.

 

[Waylay00]

Thanks for the responses, guys. I'm really digging these Fractal cases. I'm actually contemplating going the mini-ITX route with the Node 304. Will most PSUs fit inside this little case? Or are there any other well-known pieces of hardware that don't fit?

 

[nsafreak]

Most PSUs that are intended to power the type of components you're looking at should typically fit although I would suggest double checking dimensions if you go with something a bit different than what's been suggested. Some longer graphics cards may have issues as well but as of late the size of graphics cards have been going down and will likely continue downward once HBA memory gets mass adoption. The only other downfall with an ITX case is that you don't have as many 3.5" drive bays as you do with larger cases, but since you can get single drives as large as 8TB that really shouldn't be an issue nowadays. I would also suggest getting a fully modular PSU if you do intend on going with a mini ITX case, not that a non modular won't work but it'll be much easier to do cable routing and hook up components with one that is vs one that isn't.

 

[escrow4]

That mobo is a horrific choice simply because it comes with ALC 662 which is a rubbish codec (I had one it really is that bad the audio sounds like you are underwater), you want at least ALC 1150. I'd spend the extra for the Extreme 4 Z97.

 

[mfenn]

Thanks for the responses, guys. I'm really digging these Fractal cases. I'm actually contemplating going the mini-ITX route with the Node 304. Will most PSUs fit inside this little case? Or are there any other well-known pieces of hardware that don't fit?

With the Node 304, you will obviously need a mini-ITX motherboard like the ASRock Z97M-ITX/AC for $98 AR.

The PSU also needs to be shorter than 160mm. For modular units with their large connection blocks, that effectively means 150mm. However, I would seriously consider a 140mm unit like the Silverstone ST50F-P for $67 AR.

The GPU needs to be shorter than 310mm, but most GTX 970's already fit into that category. The EVGA GTX 970 Superclocked with the ACX cooler for $310 AR is actually quite short at 241mm.

The HSF needs to be shorter than 165mm. The Hyper 212+ (along with most 120mm tower coolers), is 159mm, so it will barely fit. However, a 92mm cooler like the Freezer i11 for $23 would give you more room at the expense of cooling performance for overclocking.