I posted recently about a new build I was making and I got some great advice back, since then I've gone back and started again from scratch. I took everyone's advice on board and I think I've got everything right now.
Some background information before I start. My current PC is an FX-6300/Radeon 7870 build. It isn't getting tired or anything, I just feel like a change and I want to pass it on before it does get tired, I'll be giving it to my younger brother - to get him to game on PC like he should. From my old system I'll be taking my two SSDs and the RAM, nothing else. What I am wanting to do on my new system in primarily game, I have two 1080p monitors, one of which will be used to game the other to keep the internet open. There is the possibility that I will be going to do some editing in the future. I think thats everything that you guys will probably want to know, but if there is anything else just let me know.
So, onto my new build. I am looking to make a smaller form factor Intel/NVidia, I am looking at mATX at the moment so I have a decent amount of room but still stay small. I have opted for an i5-4670k over an i5-4690k because it is cheaper and consumes less power, I couldn't see any real reason to pay the extra. I have also opted for a GTX-970 because from the looks of it you don't gain much advantage to justify the price when it comes to upgrading to the GTX-980, also I was thinking that in the future I could always just get a second when I have money.
Anyway, this is the build I have gone for - http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/wPHxkL - the only difference from this to the final one would be that I would add my two SSDs and my RAM like I said before. My main SSD is a 120GB Kingston HyperX 3K and the second is a 248GB Kingston SV300, I think. The RAM is 8GB of Kingston Beast 1866 memory.
Thanks in advance for any help that can be given.
EDIT:
So I've just been looking at the size of the Fractal Design case and its roughly the same size as my current case, the Corsair Carbide 200R. The main reason for wanting a new build was that my current one seemed rather large. This is ridiculous, ha! Are mATX cases usually the same size as MIDI Tower Cases? I'm probably going to build it anyway, everything is much nicer in this build anyway.
The 4690K will overclock better. The Haswell refresh CPUs have some design upgrades that result in better thermal characteristics. The price difference is marginal. Like 10 pounds, so why not go with the newer one?
Thats what I saw. I've never overclocked before so when I do, I am only going to start small and not really boost the clock speed all that much. Thats why I didn't see the point in spending any more money, even if it is only nominal.
I'd go with a better built power supply, as Corsair's RM series is pretty over-sold imo.
Use of tier 2 caps everywhere instead of the more typical Tier 1 Japanese capacitors in its price range, as well as just an unexceptional CWT design (for 650w and lower)
Grab this instead. All-japanese capacitors, Seasonic design with great performance.
That was the one I had chosen before, but when I reviewed everything I couldn't see any real difference. Thanks for the heads up, I knew that XFX was made by Seasonic, but I've also heard good things about the Corsair PSUs. But yeah, thanks for the heads up.
Also, what do you mean by CPU clearance? Like how much room the cooler has?
Sorry, don't think I made myself clear. There is only a possibility that I will end up editing, and even then not often enough to warrant a Xeon. Besides, I'll be mostly gaming, and the Xeons aren't as good for that as the normal parts, if I remember rightly.
Some Xeons aren't good for gaming. Some work just fine. We usually recommend the Xeon E3-1231 V3 or 1241 V3, as these are basically i7s with no integrated graphics. They handle games with no issue, and have hyperthreading which can help with editing and rendering times.
I would upgrade to and an i5 4690k just because the the slightly higher clock and the fixed thermal paste issue. Just in case you didn't know Haswell CPU's had terribly cheap thermal paste that caused abnormally high temps, this issue was fixed in the Haswell refresh.