Attempting to build high end PC.

[Miatog]

So, my current computer is starting to show it's age. I have a hard time running ESO beta on it's lowest settings, I keep needing to lower my settings in WoW, etc etc etc. When I got this computer I didn't know how to build one. Now I think I know enough to put one together so I want to take a crack at it. While I think I know enough to put one together, I honestly don't know much about computer parts at all. I'm using Marest's Sample Builds as a guide in putting this together, but I want to make sure I didn't mess anything up or go too overboard.

My goals:
Be able to run high end games on max settings easily.
Have the power that I won't need to upgrade for years. (NOTE: I know I'll need to keep lowering settings and that's fine, I just want it take a long time before I feel like I have to upgrade.)
I'm starting to get into making videos and considering streaming, so I want to be able to give good quality for both.
For the moment, price isn't a huge object, but I of course don't want to spend $5000 when $4000 can do.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($329.98 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($97.16 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus Z87-DELUXE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($269.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Dominator Platinum 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($269.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($208.95 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($269.00 @ B&H)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX Titan 6GB Video Card ($998.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Sound Card: Asus Xonar DX 24-bit 192 KHz Sound Card ($81.98 @ Best Buy)
Case: Corsair 900D ATX Full Tower Case ($289.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair 860W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($178.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG UH12NS30 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $3035.00
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-03 19:44 EST-0500)

I know I need to pick some network cards but honestly, no idea what to go with there. I'd like to have the option to go wireless and wired as I need. I have two perfectly good monitors already so I don't need those. Same with speakers, keyboard, and mouse.

[ocis]

You won't need a wired NIC since your motherboard has a gigabit port already, as well as a wireless dongle so the only thing you need might be a better router if you don't like the one you already have. You also don't need a GTX Titan for gaming - a GTX 780 Ti will be just as good and much cheaper. Depending on how much storage space you want on your SSD it might make sense to go with a 480 GB for that price range over a Pro series Samsung. You won't be able to tell the difference in performance between an Evo and a Pro for gaming, but the extra space would be useful if you play a lot of games. You also don't need the power of that PSU if you want to drop some wattage and save some money. The 900D is an awesome case but unless you're planning on water cooling everything in your PC it's not necessary to spend that much on a case.

[Deleted]

saved 600$ without loosing performance

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($329.98 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($97.16 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI Z87 MPOWER ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($156.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($269.00 @ B&H)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Video Card ($722.81 @ Amazon)
Sound Card: Asus Xonar DX 24-bit 192 KHz Sound Card ($81.98 @ Best Buy)
Case: Corsair 900D ATX Full Tower Case ($289.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: LG UH12NS30 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $2427.87
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-03 20:59 EST-0500)

[Eroginous]

You can shave $120 by not getting a sound card and an optical drive. On board sound is plenty good enough to not need a sound card, and unless you regularly create DVDs you won't need an optical drive.

[tielknight]

snip

This looks pretty solid, though I would skip the sound card unless you got some damn good headphones/speakers that would benefit from it(if you do, it's fine then ).

And the optical drive is $15-20, cheap enough to be thrown on there and better to have one not need it than to need one and not have it.

[Miatog]

I actually do burn a good number of DVDs, get my fansubbed anime on disk and off the comp.

I do have some nice speakers. At least I think they are. This isn't them exactly, but I do have logitech and it's a speaker/subwoofer combo. http://www.logitech.com/en-us/produc...m-z313?crid=47

Thanks a lot for the advice! It's good to know I can cut the cost back so much. I do have a question though. When I look at flens' build there's a note on it.

G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 Memory operating voltage of 1.6V exceeds the Intel Haswell CPU recommended maximum of 1.5V+5% (1.575V). This memory module may run at a reduced clock rate to meet the 1.5V voltage recommendation, or may require running at a voltage greater than the Intel recommended maximum.

Is this anything to worry about?

[chazus]

Is this anything to worry about?

Pcpartpicker recently changed it's interface for choosing things, from radio buttons to a two sided slider bar. I hate it, and it absolutely begs for mistakes to happen.

That said.. I'd go for one of these two.

Memory: PNY XLR8 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($127.56 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport XT 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($139.99 @ Newegg)

Personally, I think 1600 is fine. Some people have stated that 1866 is the 'sweet spot' for Haswell, but I don't have any benchmarks available (and personally don't think it's worth the $12)

[Eroginous]

Is this anything to worry about?

It means the specific ram he chose is operating at a higher voltage than the CPU is is made to handle, which will end up with down clocked ram. As Chazus said, 1600mhz ram is pretty standard, as you start trading speed for CAS latency/timings when you get 'faster' ram. TBH, you could probably even cut back to an i5 and 8 GB of ram and still get a lot of performance out of it.

[ocis]

Speakers good enough to pick up the difference between on board and a sound card would probably start at around $300 for a 2.0 set. For headphones probably even more than that. It's all very subjective but the likelihood that you can pick up the difference in frequency range, especially with low end equipment, is highly unlikely. People who say different are likely wanting to believe there is a difference because of the money they spent Now, if you pick a sound card that has a lot of audio adjusting presets for gaming in particular, then you might find a sound card worth the money, but most people aren't that competitive.

[Deleted]

I actually do burn a good number of DVDs, get my fansubbed anime on disk and off the comp.

I do have some nice speakers. At least I think they are. This isn't them exactly, but I do have logitech and it's a speaker/subwoofer combo. http://www.logitech.com/en-us/produc...m-z313?crid=47

Thanks a lot for the advice! It's good to know I can cut the cost back so much. I do have a question though. When I look at flens' build there's a note on it.

Is this anything to worry about?

i actually set the slider to 1,5 volt for the ram but it somehow showed up anyway (agree with chazus that the new interface on pcpartpicker is not so good). should have double checked. definitely go for 1.5 volt. either of the ram chazus listed is good, though for video editing i would tend towards the 1866.

[Yuyuli]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($339.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G45 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($208.95 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital WD Black 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($249.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($287.86 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 660W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($157.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG UH12NS30 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1479.74
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-04 05:32 EST-0500)

+ RAM already posted
+ Case you want (buy a case for your NEEDS, ie hdd space etc and not looks)
+ Soundcard (if you have a external AMP, use that and don't buy a soundcard, if the AMP has SPDIF then buy a SPDIF cable for it)

If you want you can also replace the 4TB drive with 2TB/3TB drives instead, use your SATA slots and space in the case
Also the PSU choosen is still oversized for the config, you can go with a 450-500Watt PSU if you don't plan on SLI.

The GPU you chose is very oversized for 1080p gaming, buy a new GPU once you have framerate issues which will be a while.., don't waste your money on a Titan because it's not a card meant for you unless you play on 2560x1440.

[Eroginous]

The GPU you chose is very oversized for 1080p gaming, buy a new GPU once you have framerate issues which will be a while.., don't waste your money on a Titan because it's not a card meant for you unless you play on 2560x1440.

Even then, the 780 ti or even the Mars 760 are going to out perform the Titan for significantly less money. The only real reason to buy a Titan is for game development or stupidly high gaming resolution with several monitors.

[tielknight]

Even then, the 780 ti or even the Mars 760 are going to out perform the Titan for significantly less money. The only real reason to buy a Titan is for game development or stupidly high gaming resolution with several monitors.

Plus, a GTX 760 will struggle in many newer games, hence why a GTX 770+ is usually recommended for builds that can afford it. As long as you stay away from Titan's like they will steal your lunch money if you get too close, you'll be fine.

snip

Better motherboard choices have been posted as well as grabbing a 4tb WD Black is just silly(especially when the damn thing costs $250). Black are good primary drives if you can't afford a SSD(the 1tb version). If your looking for storage, WD Blue's or Seagate Barracuda's are your best bet.

There is no reason to replace the "oversized" PSU with one that costs 50% more and puts out less wattage. Yeah it's a platinum, but that simply is not needed(and XFX is a damn good PSU as it is + it gives you overhead for a upgrade & overclocking).

If your going to get a Blu-Ray drive, you may as well be getting a burner as well, no point in spending the extra $25-30 just so you can watch movies.

And the h100i is a heck of alot better than the Noctua.

[Miatog]

Alrighty then, made a few changes to the build, love seeing how much the price has dropped on this ^_^ Thanks again for all the help, I really appreciate it!

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($339.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($94.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z87 MPOWER ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($184.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport XT 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 500GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($289.00 @ B&H)
Storage: Seagate Desktop HDD 4TB 3.5" 5900RPM Internal Hard Drive ($158.02 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Video Card ($722.81 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 750D ATX Full Tower Case ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Pioneer BDR-209DBK Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($59.99 @ Microcenter)
Total: $2214.76
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-04 19:58 EST-0500)

EDIT: I check and double check then notice things I messed up after the post button is hit >_>

[tielknight]

You do know the 750 ti is very mediocre right(it's cheap for a reason and best for HTPC builds)? Since you have the budget, get the 780 ti(like flens posted above), it will last you a LONG time running games at maximum settings.

[Miatog]

Bah, thought I had grabbed flens...thanks for pointing that mistake.

[tielknight]

Bah, thought I had grabbed flens...thanks for pointing that mistake.

Haha yeah, that would of been quite a shock if you ended up ordering that instead.

Also, you could grab a 3TB for $109, better value than the 4TB(~$38 per TB vs ~$40 per TB) and faster(7200rpm vs 5900rpm).

[Prag]

On the topic of sound - I battled back and forth and finally went on the recommendation of a co-worker/audiophile. Go with a DAC - FiiO E17. You can take it wherever, too.

[Deleted]

Your orignal build looks very similar to mine. I ended up picking different ram and motherboard due to recommendations from mmo-champion.

Here is the link to my "help me build" post:
http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...-build-upgrade

If your getting the 780TI, then i wouldn't go with a stock one. I had the choice between MSI gaming and EVGA OC.

Happy hunting

PS - Im very happy with the asus formula for OC purposes.

[tielknight]

On the topic of sound - I battled back and forth and finally went on the recommendation of a co-worker/audiophile. Go with a DAC - FiiO E17. You can take it wherever, too.

Depending on the headphones you get, you may not need a amp at all while some need a amp in order to function properly.