New streaming/gaming PC build - suggestions please =)

[The Iron Fist]

Hi folks from Lansing, Michigan. I'm finally in the market for a new PC. My computer is hitting the 5 years old mark and is just not cutting it anymore. When I built it it was Mid-Upper Range. I haven't stayed up-to-date on parts or components, and was looking for a little help.

UPDATED:
I've put together a Black Friday build for gaming and streaming. Some thoughts on components/deals would be appreciated. Reused parts from old system bolded below. Also, going to buy the student version of Windows 8.1 and DL it onto a flash drive.

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/keihndeth/saved/y2CMnQ


Here are my current parts:
OS - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
Case - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White Steel / Plastic Enthusiast ATX Full Tower Computer Case
CPU - Intel Core i7-950 Bloomfield Quad-Core 3.06GHz LGA 1366 130W Processor
CPU Fan - Thermaltake Frio
MOBO - ASUS Sabertooth X58 LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
GPU - EVGA GeForce GTX 650 1GB 128-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0
DVD - SONY Black SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model DDU1681S-0B
HD - Western Digital WD Black 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive
SSD - SAMSUNG 470 Series MZ-5PA064/US 2.5" 64GB SATA II Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
PSU - NZXT HALE90-850-M 850W ATX 12V v2.2, EPS 12V v2.91 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular
RAM - HyperX 12GB (3 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) XMP
Case Fan - NZXT FN-200RB 200mm Case cooler

[Biernot]

Your proposed build is not bad, but there are some things i would like to add:

If i read that correctly, you want to sell your old PC, so you can't really reuse the components. I wonder if you could save more money by reusing specific old parts and only sell those that need to be replaced. (Keep e.g. PSU, HDD, DVD and maybe RAM)

Anyway, here are my suggestions:

SSD: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/crucial...ct256mx100ssd1
Cheaper and has the same performance.

HDD: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/western...drive-wd20efrx
No point for an expensive 7200rpm drive. This 2TB is rated for 24/7 use and probably nearly as fast.

PSU: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seasoni...upply-ssr550rm
You don't need 750W. It is better to get a PSU that will run at around 50-80% power when the pc is under load because that is when it's most efficient. Even with the i7-5820k and the GTX 770 you will not break 400W consumption.

GPU: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-vid...gtx970gaming4g
For only about $50 more than a GTX 770 you get 20-30% more performance and a lower power consumption. They should become widely available in the next 1-2 weeks. It might even be worth it, to try to get a model with the reference cooler, as it is also very quiet and probably looks better with a white color theme.

CPU-Cooler: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/phantek...ooler-phtc12dx
You said you like white? Alternatively get the big brother http://pcpartpicker.com/part/phantek...ooler-phtc14pe

CPU + Motherboard + RAM:
You chose the new 2011-3 platform, but you could save a ton of money with the normal consumer socket 1150 Haswell. In terms of gaming (and streaming while gaming) there will be no difference between the i7-4790k and the i7-5820k. The 4790k will probably even be faster because of it's higher clock speed. So, for around $200 less you get the same performance and even some white ram modules

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($338.97 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD3H-BK ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($153.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Kingston Fury White Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($168.77 @ TigerDirect)
Total: $661.73

Questions I have:
- Windows 8. Is it worth it or should I stick to Windows 7?
- A video capture card like AverMedia. Should I get one for streaming or is it not worth the money?
- New Intel CPUs and Nvidia GPUs. Are they worth the investment, or should I look at last gen?
- Intel i5 or i7 for what I'm looking to do?
- Nvidia or AMD making better GPUs at the moment?
- Minimum specs for NEEDS. If I were to milk every last dollar, is there a build you'd suggest that can accomplish NEEDS disregarding wants.
- Reuse components or sell old PC? Some things like the case, PSU, and HDD are still viable I think or should I replace and get new?
- Sound card? Should I get one or does integrated not really effect performance anymore?

- If you have Windows 7 64bit, there is no need to upgrade to 8.1 at this point.
- No, usually not. Capture cards are interesting if you need to record/capture external video sources (e.g. second computer, gaming console, video camera etc.). An i7 CPU has no problems streaming/recording while you game without any noticeable performance impact.
- New Intel CPUs (2011-3 platform): Not worth for gaming. New NVidia GPUs: Yep, they are very nice.
- While an i5 could also handle streaming, an i7 is probably the safer route.
- Until a week ago they were more or less equal. The new GTX 9xx series however is ahead of current AMD cards.
- Don't need to disregard your WANTS, see below for parts list.
- Both are viable paths. Your decision.
- Sound card is not necessary 98% of the time. You only need one, if you have expensive high impedance headphones that your onboard sound is too weak for. Or if you get interference on your (onboard) sound circuitries (typically from USB activity). But that is something you can always add later on. Performance impact on your games because of onboard sound is a thing of the past. I don't think that was relevant in the last 10 years.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($338.97 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC12DX 68.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD3H-BK ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($153.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Kingston Fury White Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($168.77 @ TigerDirect)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($109.99 @ Micro Center)
Storage: Western Digital Red 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($97.99 @ Adorama)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX Video Card ($339.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($119.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Fractal Design Tesla R2 650W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($86.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($43.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1520.66
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-20 16:46 EDT-0400

(I chose that PSU because it is white. The downside is that it's non-modular. So if you want modular, get the Seasonic 550W from above. The case is just an alternative to the NZXT H630)

[The Iron Fist]

Well as far as my old PC goes - I've been considering using it as a second streaming PC. I hear that a lot of streamers use a second PC to upload while the first captures...

If I don't do that, I've gotten feedback on Toms Hardware that selling it just isnt worth it. If thats the case, I could reuse HDDs, PSU and DVD drive. The RAM I couldn't, however, in my suggested build because its the new i7 six-core mobos use DDR4, not DDR3 like my current build. If I go a generation older on i7, then I could - although 1600 is slower than 1866.

Think I'm making up my mind for sure on a new case though. This one just kind of scares me with vents on top. Accidents happen, and that'd be an expensive accident.

[glo]

Things I NEED to be able to do:
- stream via Twitch @ 1080p smoothly
- game @ max settings (my games: ESO, WoW, LotRO, Skyrim, Civ 5, BF4, EUIV, SC2, HotS, MTGO)
- future-proof for 3-4 years while I finish college
- not go over $2k

You need to pick two of these.

Futureproofing is also unfortunately out of the question as it's not possible in the PC world with your stated needs. 4 years ago today we had the GTX 4xx, Radeon 5xxx series and some first gen core series processors. Said hardware, especially under $2,000 would be nowhere close to capable of delivering what you want. You really need to be prepared to upgrade every 1.5-2 years with what you want to do if you plan on playing new releases.

[Biernot]

Well as far as my old PC goes - I've been considering using it as a second streaming PC. I hear that a lot of streamers use a second PC to upload while the first captures...

If I don't do that, I've gotten feedback on Toms Hardware that selling it just isnt worth it. If thats the case, I could reuse HDDs, PSU and DVD drive. The RAM I couldn't, however, in my suggested build because its the new i7 six-core mobos use DDR4, not DDR3 like my current build. If I go a generation older on i7, then I could - although 1600 is slower than 1866.

Think I'm making up my mind for sure on a new case though. This one just kind of scares me with vents on top. Accidents happen, and that'd be an expensive accident.

If you just do some simple game streaming, then you don't really gain from a dedicated streaming/capturing pc. There are two reasons for a dedicated streaming rig:
- Minimize performance impact to the actual game played.
- Managing different inputs.
With a current i7, the first shouldn't be an issue, as most games rely on 1-3 main computing threads, which leaves you with enough "free" cores to do the streaming part. And if you don't need to manage multiple inputs (e.g. more than one pc, a gaming console, multiple cameras, ...), then there goes the second reason...

The ram speed is of no concern here. The real-life performance difference is probably less than 1%.
The two additional cores of the i7-5820k don't really benefit you that much. They only matter with software that can actually take advantage of all available cores, and gaming does not. Going with the "older" i7-4790k will save you at least $200 (and if you reuse the ram, even more) without any noticeable performance loss.

[The Iron Fist]

You need to pick two of these.

Futureproofing is also unfortunately out of the question as it's not possible in the PC world with your stated needs. 4 years ago today we had the GTX 4xx, Radeon 5xxx series and some first gen core series processors. Said hardware, especially under $2,000 would be nowhere close to capable of delivering what you want. You really need to be prepared to upgrade every 1.5-2 years with what you want to do if you plan on playing new releases.

Well, thats part of the reason I selected the newly released 6-core i7 and the GTX 970 (although they are overkill right now). Would leave me room to add another in SLI in 2 or 3 years, and also some more RAM. What I was trying to say is I want a good foundation PC that I can invest minimally in to keep it viable performance-wise for 4-5 years. If I can keep future upgrades under $500 for the next 5 years, I'd consider that a win for me.

The ram speed is of no concern here. The real-life performance difference is probably less than 1%.
The two additional cores of the i7-5820k don't really benefit you that much. They only matter with software that can actually take advantage of all available cores, and gaming does not. Going with the "older" i7-4790k will save you at least $200 (and if you reuse the ram, even more) without any noticeable performance loss.

Right, and I agree if I'm not trying to have a good base PC to build on that will last. Just trying to determine if it's more worth it to upgrade cheap (around $1k) now and do another completely cheap build (around $1k) in 2 years OR if I should make a great base PC (around $2k) with minimal upgrades in 2 years to keep it viable (less than $500).

[The Iron Fist]

I just updated my build and would appreciate some feedback before pulling the trigger. Thanks again folks =)