New midrange gaming PC build looking for some advice

[elthenar]

1. What YOUR PC will be used for.

Gaming. I'll be watching netflix on it and other assorted things, but this will be a gaming rig first and foremost.

2. What YOUR budget is.

I wanted to keep it at around 1k. The build I have went over, but I don't see a way to get back down under 1k without making sacrifices I don't want to make.

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.

USA.

5. IF YOU have a brand preference.

None. My last few comps have been ATI but that's only because they were the fastest thing out for the money at the time.

6. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts

I'll be reusing my storage HDD and I'll likely keep my X-Fi Titanium sound card.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

The parts I have picked out look to be very overclockable, I might take advantage of that.

8. What resolution, not monitor size, will you be using?

24" monitor at 1920x1200

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?

Soon. Maybe this weekend if I can get a build I like.

X. Do you need to purchase any software to go with the system, such as Windows or Blu Ray playback software?

I need to get an OS.

The build I have atm is as follows.

Processor I5-4690k $239
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819117372

MB ASRock Fatal1ty Z97 $115 ar
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157501

GPU EVGA 04G-2974-KR GeForce GTX 970 Superclocked 4GB $339
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814487076

Ram G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB $70
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231428

PSU Antec NeoECO C NeoECO 620C 620W $35 ar
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371031

SSD Crucial MX100 512GB $209
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148821

Case Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower $70 ar
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129021

DvD ASUS 24X DVD Burner $20
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827135204

Windows Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-bit - OEM $100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832416776


This is just a baseline I put together off of Newegg. I am not married to any single part but it represents what I am trying to build fairly well. I want a gaming PC that I won't need to upgrade for a while.

The few things I am unsure about start with the PSU. Does it have enough juice for this?
Is 8gigs of ram ok or should I bump to 16?
The processor and MB I picked out are more expensive that what I see linked in other builds and guides, but I don't live near a Micro store (Florida) and the other links always show up empty for me.

Well, that's what I have. Feel free to blow holes in it and thanks in advance.

 

[Ken g6]

I wanted to keep it at around 1k. The build I have went over, but I don't see a way to get back down under 1k without making sacrifices I don't want to make.

I see where that would be difficult. I tried to bring down the price without sacrificing anything you didn't want to sacrifice, but I only managed about $50 less:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: *Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: *ASRock Z97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($84.99 @ Mwave)
Memory: *Team Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($67.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($208.97 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($345.66 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec Nine Hundred ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: *Corsair Builder 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: *Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer ($13.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: *Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1146.54
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-22 20:03 EDT-0400

The obvious place to cut would be the SSD - 256GB isn't bad, and is $100 less.

Edit:

The few things I am unsure about start with the PSU. Does it have enough juice for this?
Is 8gigs of ram ok or should I bump to 16?

Fine and fine. I'd almost be comfortable running an un-overclocked 970 on a Corsair CX430. Almost.

 

[riversend]

I agree about the SSD size. OP, why the 512GB? Do you want that many games loaded at all times? 256GB should do quite nicely for most uses, especially since you have HDDs for simple storage.

 

[Termie]

Another suggestion - don't use the Antec 900. It's only the most popular case on Newegg because it's incredibly old and yet still being sold. I bought one in Nov. 2007 and it was old then. And not great to build in.

Check out the Corsair Carbide 200R/Graphite 230T for a simple, easy to use case.

 

[elthenar]

I agree about the SSD size. OP, why the 512GB? Do you want that many games loaded at all times? 256GB should do quite nicely for most uses, especially since you have HDDs for simple storage.

I picked out a 512 simply because I play a lot of MMO's and they tend to be bigger. I also looked at my main drive and and saw they I had 400 gigs on it. I plan to use this for a few years and was worried about filling the SDD up.

After I read this, I looked over my main drive and saw just how much crap I have lurking on it. I still have things like the Elder Scrolls MMO beta client on there, all three Mass Effects and a bunch of other random space wasters I had forgotten about. That 256 may well do the job.

Another suggestion - don't use the Antec 900. It's only the most popular case on Newegg because it's incredibly old and yet still being sold. I bought one in Nov. 2007 and it was old then. And not great to build in.

Check out the Corsair Carbide 200R/Graphite 230T for a simple, easy to use case.

I only put that Antec 900 up there as a placeholder to account for the cost of a case. I actually just looked through the new promo codes and there is one for the Cooler Master HAF 932 case that puts under $100 after all rebates and codes.

I'll go take a look at the one you linked.

 

[riversend]

Just for reference, here are the games I have on my 256GB SSD - Civ5, Deus Ex:HR, CoH:Opposing Fronts, Skyrim, TW:Rome2, Shogun2 and DIII RoS.

I have most of my media in other HDDs and on my home server, so that leaves room. But even with a messy drive, I still have over 60GB of space, and could clean that up if required.

 

[mfenn]

I only put that Antec 900 up there as a placeholder to account for the cost of a case. I actually just looked through the new promo codes and there is one for the Cooler Master HAF 932 case that puts under $100 after all rebates and codes.

The HAF 932 would also not be too high up on my list. It's newer than the 900, but it's still a ~2009 vintage case. I second Termie's recommendations. The PC you're building is pretty moderate, so you don't need to go with a huge case.

 

[crashtech]

I've had good luck with Rosewill cases lately. The Challenger works well if you want a nice, big, fairly cheap unit with fairly decent build quality:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811147060

 

[elthenar]

I am working up a new parts list atm. I switched to the Corsair Graphite 230T case. I decided to keep the 512gig SSD. I tend to have a lot of Steam games floating on here that I bounce around from. I decided that I would rather have the extra room and not need it than wish I had gotten the bigger one after the fact.

I am currently on the fence on the MB. I've never used an AsRock board. I haven't really kept on the parts for some time but I thought they were a second tier manufacturer. I've been leaning towards a slightly more expensive Gigabyte board for that reason.

Lastly, I am still unsettled on whether I should overclock and how much. That is part of why I wanted a good case with lots of airflow. From what I have read, this CPU is very overclock friendly. Should I invest in an aftermarket CPU fan and turn it up a bit?

 

[crashtech]

I think a Haswell "K" can really benefit from some extra cooling. It's practically mandatory if want any significant overclock. The Hyper 212 Evo is still the go-to choice if you want good performance for your dollar.

 

[mfenn]

I am currently on the fence on the MB. I've never used an AsRock board. I haven't really kept on the parts for some time but I thought they were a second tier manufacturer. I've been leaning towards a slightly more expensive Gigabyte board for that reason.

ASRock is just as good as the traditional big 3. I would in fact put them above MSI at this point, but really the big 3 + ASRock all make extremely high quality parts.

Lastly, I am still unsettled on whether I should overclock and how much. That is part of why I wanted a good case with lots of airflow. From what I have read, this CPU is very overclock friendly. Should I invest in an aftermarket CPU fan and turn it up a bit?

The actual heat output of a moderately overclocked Haswell is fairly moderate, the real limiting factor is the temperature of the die. Thus, the money that you would spend on a fancy case with a lot of fans is better spent on a decent HSF. The Hyper 212 EVO that Crashtech recommended is a good choice.

 

[elthenar]

ASRock is just as good as the traditional big 3. I would in fact put them above MSI at this point, but really the big 3 + ASRock all make extremely high quality parts.



The actual heat output of a moderately overclocked Haswell is fairly moderate, the real limiting factor is the temperature of the die. Thus, the money that you would spend on a fancy case with a lot of fans is better spent on a decent HSF. The Hyper 212 EVO that Crashtech recommended is a good choice.

I put my order in on Friday. Those 970 cards were literally getting sold out in the time it took me to put one in my Newegg cart. One of the $329 ones popped up in stock long enough to order, so I jumped on it.

I went ahead with the Gigabyte board, it was roughly equal in every way to the AsRock board, including price. I went with the Graphite 230 case and I ordered that Hyper 202 HSF as well. My stuff should show up by thursday and I can't wait to get building.

Thanks again for the help everyone!

 

[mfenn]

Let us know how the build goes!

 

[elthenar]

I got it all assembled and it runs beautifully. It's going to take me a while to get used to how fast the SSD is, I used to think my old Raptor raid drive was quick lol.

I do have a few problems. The case fans use the small 3 pin connectors and I have no way to get power to them. I am going to have to order an adapter of some sort to get my cooling in business. The big problem is the motherboard. I'd never used anything smaller than a full ATX board and the newest GPU I've used is a radion 4870. So I drastically underestimated the size of the card and overestimated the size of the MB. If I try to put anything in that bottom PCI slot, like my sound card, it fits to within a half inch of the GPU making it run very hot. That 970 was getting up over 80c when running a moderate game.

 

[crashtech]

Doesn't the motherboard have plenty of fan headers?

 

[elthenar]

Doesn't the motherboard have plenty of fan headers?

Nope, just one.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128727

 

[Termie]

Sorry, but that was not a good choice for a motherboard. I don't believe that one was discussed previously in this thread. It is an ultra-budget z97 board, and has a huge number of compromises. Only three slots, only one system fan header (plus a CPU fan header). It is not a good choice for a system like this.

Your best bet is to use the onboard sound, as you cannot block the intakes of your GPU cooler.

You can, however, buy a fan splitter - I believe Silverstone makes one.

 

[crashtech]

Whoa, I hope I have never accidentally recommended that board. A Z97 with one fan header is kind of ridiculous, definitely the exception to the rule.

Lots of ways to go with this, cheapest being a Y connector:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-855-_-Product

And maybe a Molex to 3-pin for the rest, there are many, here is one that gives two of the fans reduced voltage for low noise:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-003-_-Product

 

[Cerb]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-248-_-Product

While that specific one is OOS, that kind would give you the most flexibility: you can change the power pins for 7v or 5v, it works for 3-pin or controllable 4-pin fans, and puts the current load directly on the PSU, rather than the motherboard header, for any 4-pin fans.

 

[Cerb]

If I try to put anything in that bottom PCI slot, like my sound card, it fits to within a half inch of the GPU making it run very hot. That 970 was getting up over 80c when running a moderate game.

With both front fans running? Try running the rear and top fans slower. Even 1 slot should be enough for decent temps, provided there is fresh air coming into there.

 

[mfenn]

With both front fans running? Try running the rear and top fans slower. Even 1 slot should be enough for decent temps, provided there is fresh air coming into there.

Yeah, half an inch is plenty of spacing assuming there is an adequate supply of cool air. Methinks the lack of intake fans is the bigger issue.

 

[mfenn]

Nope, just one.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128727

There are actually two headers, the white CPU fan header near the top of the board and the black System fan header between the CPU socket and the PCIe x16 slot. You should be able to connect at least one fan there and use a splitter or two like Crashtech linked to get the rest of your fans powered.

 

[elthenar]

There are actually two headers, the white CPU fan header near the top of the board and the black System fan header between the CPU socket and the PCIe x16 slot. You should be able to connect at least one fan there and use a splitter or two like Crashtech linked to get the rest of your fans powered.

You are right. I was not counting the CPU fan header as it was never going to get used for a case fan.

I am giving serious consideration to just biting the bullet, eating the restock fee and getting a full sized ATX board. I am running with a wire for my internet now, but if I ever wanted to put a wireless card in there I would be SOL.

So far as I can see, the Windows 8.1 OEM will allow me to change MB's.

 

[Termie]

Just FYI, you definitely don't need a slot for a wireless card, as USB adapters work quite well if you pick a good one. If you're unhappy with the fan situation, that's another matter.

 

[elthenar]

It looks like the biggest issue with my GPU was the stock fan control. It was at 80c and running at 50% fan, this was without the sound card in there and the side panel off. I downloaded Afterburner and set a custom profile, now it's running at around 65c or so under load with the fan at around 70% to 80% speed. Looks like I just need to get that splitter in there to power my front fans and I'll be good.

That tight fit between my sound and video card still bothers me though. It's probably closer to 1/4 inch than 1/2 inch.