My first custom PC. Help is appreciated!

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1

Hello everyone,

My name is EagerLearner, and as you can tell from my username...I am eager to learn about technology!  In the process of learning about PC parts to build my very first PC, I came across Tek Syndicate on Youtube.  I love the structure of the show and have found many videos to be very informative.  Great job Logan and Co., and thank you!

I was also happy to discover there are Quake fans at Tek Syndicate.  That is really the only game I play competitively.

On to my custom PC requirements:

Budget: $1,500 give or take.  I am willing to go a little over only if the upgrade is definitely worth it.  This budget is just the tower, so not including the monitor, peripherals like a mouse/keyboard, and OS, etc..

Location: United States of America.

Currency: USD.  ($)

Favorite retailer: No preference.  I look for the best deals from respectable retailers.

Peripherals: Not included in my $1,500 budget.  That will be a separate budget.

Purpose: Primarily gaming, but I'd like to be able to stream gameplay if I wanted to.  I'd like to put together a video every once in awhile, but this will be very rare.  Just an entry level editor where I can have fun every once in awhile.  It would be nice to be able to watch Blu-ray movies too.

Overclocking: Probably not for my first build to keep things simple, but if I can be convinced I'll consider it.

Water Cooling: Only if it would benefit my build.  If it is primarily for show I will pass.

OS: Probably some version of Windows, but this doesn't factor into my $1,500 budget.  There is a lot of debate about Windows 8, so I might wait for 9 or just get 7...I'm not sure.

Gaming requirements:

Settings and FPS: I do not need to run at ULTRA MAXED OUT settings, but fairly high settings would be nice.  For FPS, I would like to be as high as I can, but 60 would be the lowest for most games.  Those games that stand out from the pack like Crysis I guess I can settle with 30 fps, but I prefer 60 and above.

Resolution: 1080p.

Games: I like all types of games really.  From 8-bit classics to graphically intense Crysis-like games.

Specific game: Quake Live would be the game I would play the most and most consistently.

Render: I do not render.

Brands I must have: Intel and Nvidia UNLESS somebody can convince me a certain setup of different brands will meet my needs better.

I do not need any bells and whistles for my first build.  To me they are unnecessary.  I just would like a computer that has great performance, is reliable, and has great airflow.  It gets the job done well and does so for many years to come.

After a lot of research and asking questions, this is what I have chosen so far.  This isn't final and I am open to suggestions:

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor

GPU: Asus GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Video Card

Mobo: Asus Z87-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard

RAM: 2 Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory

SSD: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk

HDD: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive

PSU: Corsair CX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply

Optical Drive: LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer

Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case

Case Fan: 2 Corsair Air Series AF140 Quiet Edition 67.8 CFM 140mm Fan

As of the time I picked out these parts, the total came to $1,589.89

Any comments or suggestions are greatly appreciated.  Thanks!

Sincerely, EagerLearner

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That list seems really good. With a 780ti you'll have the grunt to run a couple of 1080p screens.

If you dont intend to oc then if the non-k 4670 cpu is all you'll need. Add to that a cheap aftermarket cooler to keep the noise down under laod. You could also grab a lower wattage psu - 650w XFX(seasonic oem).

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+1 to deejeta... I'd also add that 3TB HDDs have a bit higher of a failure rate... I don't know the extent of your music/video/movie/game collection... but 1TB is likely enough to house it, and if not a HDD is an easy add-in later... if you foresee an immediate need for more space, you could splurge on a 2TB HDD, but bigger than that almost triples the failure rate...

With your budget, no overclocking, and streaming in mind, I might also look into the E3 Xeon processors... I'm a fan of the 1240 which is a nice clock speed before the price starts jumping massively...

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If you are looking at streaming, there is a video here that shows that the FX-8320 or 8320 actually out performs the i5-4760k. Personally, I believe the extra cores in these processors give it a leg up in a lot of games. If you look at BF4, it likes to use ALL THE CORES! I am not sure whether or not you actually play it. Anyway, that is just my 2 cents on this. I also agree with Panda, after the research I've done, HDDs die off a whole lot quicker once they get to 3TB. 1-2TB should suit you nicely.

Oh! I almost forgot, if you live near a Microcenter, you can score some sweet deals on AMD CPU/Mobo combos! Granted, it's not a great amount but it saves those valuable dollars!

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Thanks for the replies so far everyone!  I'll definitely consider all of that.

What do you all think about replacing the case and two fans with a CM Storm Scout 2 Advanced instead?  I've never came across a case that has caught my attention like this one.  Would it be sufficient enough for my airflow and dust filtering needs?

http://www.cmstorm.com/en/products/chassis/scout2advanced/

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http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3l0Xi

this is more or less what i have i changed a few things for price but it's very solid

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Get an 8320 and Asus 990FX board.

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+1 on the 3TB failure rate. Helped a friend build a pc, he got his DOA.. Then another, also dead.

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im so tired of the amd chip in, honestly guys edger stated that he wanted to go Intel and nvidia unless you can sway his opinion. please stick to what people ask for.

"Brands I must have: Intel and Nvidia UNLESS somebody can convince me a certain setup of different brands will meet my needs better."

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At this budget, an Intel build is very doable.

Just gonna put in TS' video right here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eu8Sekdb-IE

Decide for yourself?  I have the i5-3570k myself, and it works great (granted, I have an ITX system).

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I heard that kingston have downgraded those SSD'S quite a bit. Or am I wrong?

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Why on earth would he downgrade it?

Can you atleast provide a reason?

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Would you provide a link to the video showing the 8320/50 is better at streaming than the 4670k?

The 4670k should also very well be better at BF4 than the FX 8320/50 even though it is utilizing up to 8 cores..

 

Also yes 3TB aren't as reliable as 2TB and 1TBs just yet, I would also recommend finding a 1-2TB HDD instead.

 

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They indeed have, in their V300 SSDs.  They now use asynchronous flash, which is a cheaper flash.  It is slower, inconsistent, and more unreliable than  the other flash that they were using.

The Crucial M500, Kingston HyperX 3K, Samsung 840 Evo, Adata SP900 will work just fine.

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Thanks for the posts everyone.

Interesting video.  You see, things like that make me not know what to do anymore haha.  Argh.  :)

(Keep in mind this is my first build, so I have a lot to learn.  Thank you for everyone's patience!  I have to decide sooner or later though or I'll be doing this forever heh.)

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I would get a good PSU, I personally believe to never cheap out on the PSU, as it is what gives power to everything in your system. What PSU and wattage, depends if you plan on doing SLI or not.

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I do not plan on doing SLI or Crossfire for my first build.  Even in the future, I might just sell what card I have and put the money towards a newer card.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eu8Sekdb-IE#t=60

8350 is better for streaming, Tek Syndicate confirms.

I was once too skeptical so I personally tested it against my friends 4670k. Mine destroyed in streaming. His card: 270x My card: 7870.

We tried streaming BF4, COD Ghosts, Metro Last Light, Tomb Riader. 8350 won.

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That was clearly against the previous generation. Haswell have improved their SIMD by quite a lot.

That video tells nothing about the actual subject other than piledriver was better than IV in streaming.

 

He confirms nothing to this subject.

 

EDIT; My friends 9590 have a hard time streaming BF4 compared to the 4670k my colleague have.

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If I was to buy this system here in Australia, it'd cost $2500+ 

*sigh*