Motherboard and other help with my new build

[Xavv]

Hi!

First time builder here.

I have about half of my parts now and I'll be picking up the rest this week and next, I've been going back and forth on which Mobo to get for about a week now and really need some help deciding which will work best.

Right now we're looking like this:

- Case: Apevia X-Sniper 2
- CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K
- Mobo: Need Help Here
- RAM: Kingston HyperX Beast 16GB DDR3 RAM @2400MHz
- PSU: Apevia 700W
- SSD: Kingston HyperX 120GB
- CPU Cooling: Noctua NH-D14 CPU Cooler
- GPU: Still deciding on a GPU, Budget for this ~$600


I realize the 2400MHz RAM will only be viable with certain selections so that can be switched once I figure it out.

I've mainly been considering an ASUS SABERTOOTH Z87, MSI Z87-GD65, ASUS Maximus VI Hero or ASUS Z87 Pro LGA 1150. Maybe I am over thinking how much of an impact this will even have on the PC overall, But I figure people here will know better than I.

I'll be streaming a lot with this PC. WoW / Hearthstone / Day Z mainly and the primary focus of this PC is to facilitate that as best as possible.


Anything about it can be changed at this point, except the case and PSU which I already have, Plus an optical drive and mechanical HD which I do not need to get.


Any help is appreciated, I'd much rather get everything right on the first buys rather than learn the hard way once I'm in the middle of putting it all together.

I am morbidly against water cooling. Call me crazy, But I just know I'd have the worst luck and my PC would end up being a destroyed pile of post-fire, so I'm hoping the CPU cooling selection along with the other Noctua NF-F12's I'll have will be sufficient for air cooling, I'd like to OC, But I am not concerned with pushing everything to the limits, just within reason for improved performance.

Thanks in advance!

Cheers

[chazus]

Skip the 2400. 1600 is fine. Skip the stupid expensive boards. A nice Z87-A will do fine. Also, replace that power supply. I would never recommend a firecracker like that in a new system, especially if you're worried about stuff burning down. It's really a 500w with potato chips for the PFC.

[Xavv]

Firecracker?!

Now you've got me worried about the PSU =(

Are they really that bad?

[Cyrops]

Firecracker?!

Now you've got me worried about the PSU =(

Are they really that bad?

It does have only 3 stars on newegg.com unless you can tell us the exact model.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817148046 with 3 stars

Cons: very bad, burning smell at 500watts. will not handle 600+ watts

Lol ^

I would second @chazus recommendations on all the parts. Z87-A is the best mobo I would consider, maybe Sabertooth if I had the money building PC (partially due to looks hehe).
I have the same HyperX 3k, 120GB. I bought it for speeds on paper, let me tell what a load of bull it is. I ran several tests with CrystalDiskMark and the results sometimes differ in 100MB/s+ and the highest I got was 450MB/s read >.> You would be better off with M500 or 840 EVO (would go for EVO myself).
Also Kingston RAM seems to be very pricey lately :/

[Deleted]

Firecracker?!

Now you've got me worried about the PSU =(

Are they really that bad?

Let's put it this way: there's only one company that has had a worse review than the Apevia PSU lines, and that's Thortech, which actually caught fire when being tested. Return it and buy the ASUS Z87-PRO (though tbh, the Z87-A is more appropriate) and get something like the Corsair GS600 or the XFX Pro Series 550W.

[Xavv]

It does have only 3 stars on newegg.com unless you can tell us the exact model.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817148046 with 3 stars

Lol ^

I would second @chazus recommendations on all the parts. Z87-A is the best mobo I would consider, maybe Sabertooth if I had the money building PC (partially due to looks hehe).
I have the same HyperX 3k, 120GB. I bought it for speeds on paper, let me tell what a load of bull it is. I ran several tests with CrystalDiskMark and the results sometimes differ in 100MB/s+ and the highest I got was 450MB/s read >.> You would be better off with M500 or 840 EVO (would go for EVO myself).
Also Kingston RAM seems to be very pricey lately :/

It isn't the one in that link exactly, It's the ATX-AQ700W -- Maybe(hopefully) there's some difference that counts, otherwise I'll likely just return it.

[Cyrops]

It isn't the one in that link exactly, It's the ATX-AQ700W -- Maybe(hopefully) there's some difference that counts, otherwise I'll likely just return it.

While the average is 4/5 stars http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817148040
There are 17% that give it 1/5.

Cons: After 11 months the computer began to shut off randomly. At first I did not attribute this to a defective power supply. Over the next 6-8 weeks the occurrences happened more frequently. When I replaced the PS the computer was shutting off every 20+ minutes.

Cons: Died after 5 uses/15 hours

Cons: Only lasted 5 months and now it shuts down my computer when I load it. My setup only requires barely 600W.

Cons: Puts out 11 volts after a handful of months
Destroys your hard drive from undervolting.

Pros: It worked well for 1.5 years.

Cons: Caught on fire today after I moved my PC 6 feet and plugged it back in again to the same socket in a surge protector.

Cons: It started to break down after 2 years. It will constantly shutdown and restart my computer. It will make a loud pitch noise when it is overloading or on Idle which will drive you crazy!

Just from the first 2 pages of 20+ total, just the cons though.

[chazus]

It's Apevia. It's manufactured junk. You know who manufactures Apevia? Deer and Wintech, some of the worst names in power supply manufacturers. You couldn't pay me to use one of those.

(I actually did a bit more research, and most of the benchmark wattage/voltage tests people did, the Apevia units failed the 80+ certification test)