Thoughts on my Wish List New Build?

[mode101wpb]

Need some feedback on my hardware picks, I am not going to be overclocking and yes I know the i5 is a K model, but for $20 difference I figured I might as well just get the K version. Mobo was originally a Z87 but I figured since I wasn't going to be overclocking, I did not need it but prices of this are also very close so I am still open on a Z87 if it's worth it.

System upgrade is due to a recent recurring interest in gaming, mainly FPS, Metro: LL, and other upcoming and existing titles. Want to be able to run these games at smooth/higher settings. Also want a bit of future proofing.

The GPU is still up on the air as well, looking at a R9 270 or 280 as well, would be only gaming at native 1080p for now which is the native of my 24" Asus LCD, do not see an upgrade to 1440p in the next few years but if prices drop maybe? Might want Crossfire down the road, but honestly I do not know if I really will ever need it?

OS will be Windows 7 64 Bit or Windows 8, not sure if 8 is stable enough?

So here is the list:

Fractal Design Define R4 Black Pearl w/ USB 3.0 ATX Mid Tower Silent PC Computer Case
Model #:FD-CA-DEF-R4-BL



ASUS H87-PRO LGA 1150 Intel H87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
Model #:H87-PRO
Item #:N82E16813131993



SAPPHIRE 100352-3L Radeon HD 7950 3GB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
Model #:100352-3L
Item #:N82E16814202026



SeaSonic G-750 SSR-750RM 750W ATX12V / EPS12V 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
Model #:SSR-750RM
Item #:N82E16817151132



Intel Core i5-4670K Haswell 3.4GHz LGA 1150 84W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80646I54670K
Model #:BX80646I54670K
Item #:N82E16819116899



G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL
Model #:F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL
Item #:N82E16820231314

 

[lehtv]

I am not going to be overclocking and yes I know the i5 is a K model, but for $20 difference I figured I might as well just get the K version. Mobo was originally a Z87 but I figured since I wasn't going to be overclocking, I did not need it but prices of this are also very close so I am still open on a Z87 if it's worth it.

If you're not going to be overclocking, then it makes sense not to get a Z87 board (unless you want dual card compatibility). But it doesn't make sense to pay $20 extra for the 4670K provided you can't OC it anyway. You'll have to decide between:

4670K + Z87 for overclocking
4670K + Z87 for the future ability to SLI/Crossfire (and overclocking)
i5 non-K or Xeon + H87/B85/H81 for higher performance for the money but no ability to OC.

What's your overall budget for this build and what exactly do you need to buy? Are you going to be reusing parts like hard drives?

 

[mode101wpb]

If you're not going to be overclocking, then it makes sense not to get a Z87 board (unless you want dual card compatibility). But it doesn't make sense to pay $20 extra for the 4670K provided you can't OC it anyway. You'll have to decide between:

4670K + Z87 for overclocking
4670K + Z87 for the future ability to SLI/Crossfire (and overclocking)
i5 non-K or Xeon + H87/B85/H81 for higher performance for the money but no ability to OC.

What's your overall budget for this build and what exactly do you need to buy? Are you going to be reusing parts like hard drives?

I see your point on the OC ability, honesty thought about OC years back built a machine that could handle it, but never did it. So I think this go around, I won't bother.

Budget is $1K or so, could step it up in a few months, these parts are coming out to around $800 to $900 after rebates.

I might be reusing my HDD, but they are all 3GB/s so that might be something else I have to add.

I have everything else, figuring I will be using the stock cooler.

Doesn't the H87 have the ability to do dual cards max in CrossFire mode? I thought I read that Z allows 3 or more right?

 

[lehtv]

3gb/s is fine for a HDD, and even 5400RPM is fine too as long as it's just for media storage and such. You'll definitely want to include an SSD in this budget, it wouldn't be a complete rig without one.

H87 boards do indeed have the ability to do Crossfire, but no ability to SLI. Crossfire will be limited to x4 bandwidth for the second card which damages its performance by about 5%, perhaps more with next gen GPUs. Doesn't sound huge, but when you consider that a Crossfire setup with a suitable PSU is quite expensive, the added cost of a proper x8/x8 board for optimal performance is not much.

Normally I don't recommend dual cards unless the CPU is overclocked because overclocking the CPU can allow you avoid bottlenecking; with a Haswell i5 and any single GPU, bottlenecking isn't an issue (but not completely out of the question either). It's not without reason that SLI boards are typically also quite good overclocking boards. However, having a SLI capable board almost always means having an overclockable CPU as well; SLI requires Z87, and Z87 is usually best bought in a combo with an unlocked CPU. So whichever way you choose to go, you'll have either (1) no SLI ability and a locked CPU, or (2) SLI ability and an unlocked CPU.

Given the below PSU deal and motherboard combo, I think you should go with the SLI board even if you may never need that feature. By going with non-SLI non-OC hardware, you might save perhaps $50 or so (i5-4570, Asrock H87 Performance).

My recommendations

CPU&Mobo - i5-4670K + MSI Z87 G45 Gaming $372 ($352 after rebate and gift card)
RAM - 2x4GB Crucial $60 AP
GPU - MSI 280X Gaming $310
HDD - reuse $0
SSD - PNY XLR8 Pro $95 ($85 AR)
PSU - Antec TP-650 Classic Gold $80 AP ($60 AR) *drool*
Case - Define R4 is a fine choice but currently a bit expensive. Some alternatives:
Corsair 500R $95 ($70 AR)
Corsair 300R Window $80 ($70 AR)
CM HAF 922 $90 ($80 AR)
NZXT Phantom 410 Gunmetal $90

= roughly $1015 AP before rebates, $940 after, + shipping

The 280X will run any current game smoothly on high settings, and most games on stable 60fps on max settings. The system is quite future proof (I hate that term though) as it has high end integrated sound and LAN, high efficiency power that will handle two stock 280X's, high quality case, and the ability to add another graphics card and a CPU cooler for overclocking. It will even support Intel Broadwell CPUs, though arguably going from i5-4670k to the highest end Broadwell (equivalent of i7-4770K) wouldn't be enough of an upgrade to notice... but still.

About overclocking:

FWIW, I think moderately overclocking is stupid easy. All you really need to do is buy a 120mm aftermarket cooler, set the CPU to about 4.1-4.2GHz, set voltage to manual offset mode +0.005V, and you're done. Normally that's all you need to do because it's such a mild OC that the CPU will be fine with such a safe voltage. Optionally you can go test stability in Prime95 or Intel LinX for a few hours. If problems arise, increase voltage by a bit. You can do this on almost any Z87 board.

In my case, I have a 3770K running at 4.2GHz using offset voltage -0.015 (iirc) and all other settings on defaults. With the CPU fan on silent, temperatures only go up to about 70C. This is a ~15% increase in performance over stock speed, which is definitely nice to have if going SLI/Crossfire, and can be useful even with a single GPU.

 

[mode101wpb]

I do realize there isn't much savings going with non-OC hardware and still expecting great performance.

Thanks for the info, but you told me a different PSU in another thread. That's the one of the two you recommended, the other was a Corsair and I see a drop in watts?

Not really partial to any make Mobo, and have a MSI Wind PC set up as a NAS, bios isn't too bad.

SSD, well that's one thing I considered, are you talking dual boot or having the OS on the SSD?

I am kinda partial to the Define R4, I like how the PSU is on the bottom and also the removable filters and modular HDD racks. Edit: Just got an e-mail from Egg, the case is on promo for $79.99 till next week, might pick it up prior.

 

[lehtv]

The Antec unit wasn't shown on the site, or at least I didn't spot it, back when I recommended you the G750. At current prices, Antec is definitely the way to go. The loss of 100W doesn't matter a lot; it's not likely you'll go SLI/crossfire and if you do, it'll still handle it alright as long as you don't go crazy on the volts.

The PSU is on the bottom in all the cases posted above. But if the R4 is $80 AP now, definitely go for it!

 

[mode101wpb]

Not a bad price on the Antec, but I got to have a modular PSU.

 

[mfenn]

Thanks for the info, but you told me a different PSU in another thread. That's the one of the two you recommended, the other was a Corsair and I see a drop in watts?

Deals change constantly, so the best recommendation one day may not necessary be the best recommendation the next day (or even the next hour). Don't be too concerned if you see the same people recommending different parts; it's also about chasing the best deals in the moment.

Not a bad price on the Antec, but I got to have a modular PSU.

Why? When you buy a PSU that is appropriately spec'ed out for a build, you will end up using nearly every cable anyway. You may have to tuck a single SATA/molex lead behind the mobo tray.

 

[lehtv]

Define R4 has plenty of cable management space. I don't think it'd be a problem to just hide away the PCIe cable and a few sata/molex cables, and you can even neatly roll up a cable on the floor of the case.