Update, see post #30. Should I jump on the NewEgg Haswell deal? / Build?

[balloonshark]

The Haswell cpu and mb deal has me wanting to start a new build. I would like your suggestions please. I haven't been following hardware trends so I'm lost when it comes to the newest tech.

#1. PC Usage: Surfing and gaming. I won't be playing the latest greatest games but I want this machine to be adequate 3 to 5 years from now. I don't see myself getting a PS4 so this rig will get more use in the future. I also have no need for 2 graphics cards or RAID.

#2. Budget range: $800 to $1000.

#3/4. Country: USA, I will only be buying from online vendors. I use NewEgg often but I'm ok with other places.

#5. Brand preference: None as long as they're reliable.

#6. Using current parts: I have a Samsung SpinPoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB SATA2 7200rpm 32MB Hard Drive if you think it is ok.

#7. Overclocking or default: I will OC if it is easy, safe and reliable.

#8. Resolution: Monitor is in sig and the default resolution is 1680x1050

#9. When to build: I will probably order the CPU and MB tonight.

X. I have a copy of Win 7 and 8. Both are Upgrade licenses and I'm not sure if I can use them or not. Feel free to PM me if you know the answer.

My last build in my sig has lasted me 5 years. I want this next build to do the same. I'm looking at either the i5-4670k or i7-4770k combined with the MSI Z87-G45 MB http://promotions.newegg.com/intel/13-2602/index.html. The other two MB are also options if you suggest them.

I don't know anything about the graphics on the intel chips but if they are adequate for surfing and light gaming I have no problem going without a dedicated graphics card if the i7 deal is considered super hot. I can always get a card later so your suggestions are welcome. I won't be playing the latest games and prefer to wait until they drop in price.

I want a good power supply but it doesn't need to be the best or most efficient model. The name Rosewill kinda scares me so if I have to pay a bit more I will.

I'm not sure if I should go with 8GB or 16GB of RAM. Should I future proof the build with 16GB?

I love my Antec P182 case but I guess I can't use it as it doesn't have USB 3.0 ports correct? I don't have any USB 3.0 devices so would the new MB work with the P182's 2.0 front ports? If my new system will work with the P182 I will keep it and get a cheap case for my Q6600. If I have to get a new case and it has negative pressure I would like it to have filters. I will not be water cooling and would like a mid-tower or smaller.

Build: I'll update this as needed.

* i5-4670k with ASRock Z87 Extreme6 = $325AR (Ordered)
* SAPPHIRE Vapor-X Radeon HD 7970 (Ordered)
* CORSAIR Builder Series CX600 600W (Ordered)
* Team Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 (Ordered)
* Corsair Carbide 500R (Ordered)
* Asus DVD burner (Ordered)
* 120GB Samsung 840 Series (Ordered)
* Monitor: Samsung SyncMaster 2232BW Plus (already own)
* Heatsink: Coolermaster Hyper 212 Evo $30AR (Ordered)
* 1TB WB Blue (Ordered)
* Misc. fans, cables, TIM, etc.

 

[Eureka]

If you're not into hardcore gaming, the 4670K will be adequate for quite a few years. There's still not many games that take advantage of having the hyper-threading (Frosbite and Cryengine come to mind, and even then a 4670k is adequate unless you're going for high fps).

The GTX 760 is a good value right now. Same for the 7950. Both can be had for around $260.

Any 600W PSU will be plenty for your needs. You could scrape by with less (a solid CX430, for example), but a 600W PSU will be around $40. Look for the CX500 or CX600 on sale.

See here:
http://slickdeals.net/f/6113080-20-AR-Corsair-430W-CX430-Power-Supply-NewEgg
http://slickdeals.net/f/6114582-Cor...Certified-Power-Supply-29-99-AR-Free-Shipping

The best SSD for value right now would probably be a Samsung 840 250 GB, which costs around $150. Sandisk Extreme 240GB also goes for around $150. Keep an eye out for deals.
http://slickdeals.net/f/6115472-Sandisk-Extreme-240GB-SSD-159-99-FS

Memory prices are ok... expect around $50 for 8GB. Any major brand will do, get at least DDR3 1600 MHz.
http://slickdeals.net/f/6111546-CORSAIR-XMS-8GB-240-Pin-SDRAM-DDR3-1600-43-AR-targeted-code-Newegg

Also, instead of the Hyper 212 Evo, the H70 Core package is only $30 AR right now. It's a good alternative:
http://slickdeals.net/f/6114934-Corsair-H70-Liquid-CPU-Core-Cooler-30AR-AC-TigerDirect

That should put you right around $800 without a case... as for a case, either keep an eye out for deals or just pick up one you like (that's well reviewed). Most good-branded cases will do very well, so pick one you like. Corsair, Lian-Li, Silverstone, Bitfenix, Fractal, all make great cases.

Also, at least in my experience, Windows upgrade will install on a clean drive without any issue.

 

[DominionSeraph]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...=Combo.1352786
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820313355
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139028
http://us.ncix.com/products/?usaffi...facture=Samsung Memory & Storage&promoid=1316 ($165)

I'd get a dedicated graphics card:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131477
A 7770 will be around 3x more powerful than the integrated graphics and have much better drivers, and it comes with free Farcry3.

Your case is fine if you don't have any USB 3.0 peripherals.

 

[Essence_of_War]

I don't know anything about the graphics on the intel chips but if they are adequate for surfing and light gaming I have no problem going without a dedicated graphics card if the i7 deal is considered super hot. I can always get a card later so your suggestions are welcome. I won't be playing the latest games and prefer to wait until they drop in price.

HD5000 graphics is good for most light uses at the res you describe. If, however, you choose to purchase a 7950/7970 right now, the prices are very low and they come bundled with some of the latest/greatest games so you can start playing right now if you want.

Taking advantage of a couple of good deals:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($349.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($32.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G45 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Tactical 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($47.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Tactical 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($47.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 500R Black ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($37.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $841.91
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-27 09:58 EDT-0400)

Has all of the good stuff except a gpu. You can add that later if you're OK with the igpu for now, and it has the advantage of being on the low-end of your budget.

The 7950 would be an additional $250 ($100 over budget) but it comes with 4 solid games.

Alternatively, to stay under budget AND get a nice dgpu, swapping the i7 for the i5-4670K allows you to buy the 7950 right now at your 1k max-budget.

 

[balloonshark]

Thanks so much for your input so far! I won't be on until later tonight but I have a question on the i5 versus i7. Since I'll be using this computer for 5 years is it worth the extra $85 to get the i7 for "future proofing"?

 

[Essence_of_War]

Generally speaking, the best way to "future-proof" is to save money to spend in the future.

The i7 is a great chip if you can take advantage of the HT. Do you do much rendering? Parallel processing? For the last several generations the i7 and i5 have been nearly tied in gaming performance, and any difference in the two probably comes from the i7's higher stock clock! An advantage that can be negated by a very modest OC.

If you're most interested in game performance, the cost difference between the i5 and i7 results in such a small performance difference that the money would probably be more efficiently spent on the dgpu.

If you want to game, given your budget, I'd say get the i5 now. It lets you get an excellent dgpu that comes with solid games that you'll be able to enjoy with the monitor that you have now.

 

[Eureka]

4 years ago they were saying dual-core processors were inadequate for future-proofing, but even know we're seeing i3s that are competitive in everything but the most demanding applications. Don't worry too much about the future. The i5 is more than plenty now and will be for a while yet.

I would also still skip the 16 GB of RAM... that's another $50 that's unnecessary. If you don't think you need it, you don't need it. My i5-3570K could still max out 60 FPS in BF3 multiplayer and Crysis 3... I only got my i7 because I run at 120 Hz. If you don't need that, you will not notice a difference between the i5 and i7.

 

[mfenn]

Generally speaking, the best way to "future-proof" is to save money to spend in the future.

Hear hear! Agree 100%

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...=Combo.1352786

Combo is expired, what was it?

OP, it looks like the biggest question mark in this build is the discrete GPU. Can you give us some idea of the games that you're interested in?

 

[balloonshark]

OP, it looks like the biggest question mark in this build is the discrete GPU. Can you give us some idea of the games that you're interested in?

The new Battlefront looks interesting to me if they do it right. I might get into racing or flying sims and some FPS. I wish I could be more specific but lately I've been addicted to GT5 on my PS3.

I'm thinking about getting a 7950 or lesser card at this point. Here is a 7950 for $250 AR http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2327586. Do you think there will be better sales on cards around the 4th of July?

The MSI board is out of stock again . If it was in stock I would have ordered it tonight along with the i5-4670k. I contacted NewEgg via chat and they couldn't tell me if it would be in stock again. The other two cheaper boards look to be a bit dodgy but the Gigabyte looks to be the lesser of the two evils.

Essence_of_War, Thanks for your advice on future proofing. It makes a lot of sense. From what you said the i5 would suit me fine and the extra would best be used on other parts.

 

[Essence_of_War]

The MSI board is out of stock again . If it was in stock I would have ordered it tonight along with the i5-4670k. I contacted NewEgg via chat and they couldn't tell me if it would be in stock again. The other two cheaper boards look to be a bit dodgy but the Gigabyte looks to be the lesser of the two evils.

I'm not a MoBo expert, but I don't think the AsRock looks dodgy. AsRock makes respectable boards, and actually moves more boards than anyone but Asus, I think. The Haswell deal should last two more days or so, so it's probably fine to try to wait a day or so to try to catch the MSI again.

I'm thinking about getting a 7950 or lesser card at this point. Here is a 7950 for $250 AR http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2327586. Do you think there will be better sales on cards around the 4th of July?

Not sure, Newegg has started to release some of their 4th sales, and I've seen some decent sales on the GTX 760 and Radeon 7950/70s. Sadly the 760s are already sold out, the deal on the 7950 I posted yesterday expired which pushes that up to $280 after rebate, and the 7970s look to be around $310.

Essence_of_War, Thanks for your advice on future proofing. It makes a lot of sense. From what you said the i5 would suit me fine and the extra would best be used on other parts.

Not a problem. It's advice that wiser people gave to me, and I intend to pay forward

 

[balloonshark]

I don't know if the MSI board will ever be in stock so I'm really considering going with the ASRock. The Gigabyte board doesn't include shipping.

If this $595 temp super combo deal had a better power supply I would be all over it and make do with the 7770 for a while. This deal also has $20 and $25 rebate cards and $10 NewEgg gift card. http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboB...bo1353162-LM5A

 

[Essence_of_War]

Are you looking for something specifically better in a PSU?

I thought 600W looks great. It should power any single-gpu system. Even a titan!

 

[balloonshark]

That particular Corsair had bad reviews . http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139045

Edit: I think this is the RAM you suggested. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...irtualParent=1

Is one stick of 8GB better than 2x4GB? Are all of the specs good for mild overclocking? Would anyone recommend anything else for $48?

If the RAM is good I'll grab that stick, the i5 and MB and get this party started.

Edit 2: NV, I just read that 2 sticks would be a bit faster because of dual channel.

 

[balloonshark]

How is this so far? Something may be incompatible (like the memory sticks) so could you please double check my homework.

i5 + Asrock combo. $325. http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...=Combo.1352788 (Ordered)

Hyper 212 evo cooler. $30 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835103099 (Ordered)

Team Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800). $51 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820313353

Will this PS work with a Haswell system? Is this Corsair 600w enough for a 7950 card and 3 to 5 years use? $38 AR AP http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139028

LiteOn CD/DVD burner. $18 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827136259

I'm going to hold off on ordering the power supply for a day or two so I can get your advice. I'm still looking for graphics card and SSD deals and hoping something will show up around the 4th.

Should I jump on this 7970 deal for $328 AR/AP? http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2327804 (Ordered)

 

[mfenn]

The RAM, PSU, and ODD you have picked out are all good. The stuff that you ordered is also good (and compatible).

As for longevity, nobody has a crystal ball. The PCIe spec does put a cap of about 250W on what a GPU can draw. There are some ultra-enthusiast cards that break this cap, but no mainstream card will because OEMs would refuse to buy it.

 

[balloonshark]

Thanks for your reply mfenn. Sorry for the late reply. I arrived here about the time they started maintenance. Interesting about the 250W cap. I read that my card does 250W. I guess I should order the other items before 3AM to get in on the deals.

Cheers

 

[mannox]

id say it sounds like a safe bet

 

[mfenn]

Thanks for your reply mfenn. Sorry for the late reply. I arrived here about the time they started maintenance. Interesting about the 250W cap. I read that my card does 250W. I guess I should order the other items before 3AM to get in on the deals.

Cheers

Yeah the 7970 is about as power hungry as a single GPU gets. Your PSU will be able to handle upgrades to similarly high-end cards for the foreseeable future.

 

[balloonshark]

Yeah the 7970 is about as power hungry as a single GPU gets. Your PSU will be able to handle upgrades to similarly high-end cards for the foreseeable future.

Good to hear! Also, thank you for your help and thanks for your Mid-Range Builders Topic.

So far I've spent $843.73 which doesn't include $45 in rebates, $10 newegg gift card and $25 newegg gift card. The new total including the rebates and gift cards would be $763.73.

I still have to order an SSD, HDD, case (for old build) and misc. items. I'm hoping for good sales this week.

Edit: Found a Samsung 840 Series for $88.99. http://slickdeals.net/f/6123086-Sam...Computers-former-rakuten-buy-com-only-seller?

The order page wasn't fully encrypted but I used paypal and I got an error after paypal sent me back to their site. My order went through as I got an email from paypal and the store.

 

[Termie]

Why don't you pick up the Corsair Carbide 500R from Newegg for $70AR? Only available in white at that price, but it looks great. Also, Amazon has the WD 1TB Blue drive for ~$67, so jump on that to complete your build.

 

[balloonshark]

Thanks for the suggestions Termie. The 500R looks tempting but the white doesn't match anything. I'm patiently waiting for newegg to send me a $10 promo gift card for the next order. I ordered on Friday and it takes 4 days. I'm going to keep the P182 for the new build and I'm considering a $50 Antec or Lian LI for my old rig that is in the P182.

The WD Blue seems like a decent deal. I don't have Prime so shipping may take a while. I just may grab it anyways.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Edit: Found a Samsung 840 Series for $88.99. http://slickdeals.net/f/6123086-Sam...Computers-former-rakuten-buy-com-only-seller?

The order page wasn't fully encrypted but I used paypal and I got an error after paypal sent me back to their site. My order went through as I got an email from paypal and the store.

To me, that sounds REALLY sketchy.

 

[Termie]

Thanks for the suggestions Termie. The 500R looks tempting but the white doesn't match anything. I'm patiently waiting for newegg to send me a $10 promo gift card for the next order. I ordered on Friday and it takes 4 days. I'm going to keep the P182 for the new build and I'm considering a $50 Antec or Lian LI for my old rig that is in the P182.

The WD Blue seems like a decent deal. I don't have Prime so shipping may take a while. I just may grab it anyways.

If you're set on using the P182 for the new build (and I'm not sure it's really worth moving everything over for that), then go for something really inexpensive for your old build. Newegg often has the Corsair 200R for $50 after rebate (and in fact does right now, although you might miss it). But I'd consider going even cheaper, like an NZXT Source 210. No reason to dump a lot of money into a case for an older build.

Just to reiterate, though, you may be overestimating how good the P182 is. Any number of $70 cases have likely eclipsed it in terms of usability and quiet operation. I just wouldn't bother moving all the old components out of it when you need to spend money on a new case anyway.

 

[Essence_of_War]

Newegg also has the Corsair 400R in all-black for $70 if you don't like the aesthetic of the white 500R.

 

[mfenn]

I still have to order an SSD, HDD, case (for old build) and misc. items. I'm hoping for good sales this week

Newegg has the 7K1000.C 1TB for $60 AP (ending today).