Could you comment on the system I have built?

[Ruak]

Hey guys,

I am getting a new PC next week most likely (definitely before WoD launch).

My previous system is from June'09 and it has served me extremely well (still running WoW and raiding, playing a decent part of the new games, etc), but it's time to move on.

The budget is not a major topic of discussion as I am in Eastern Europe and also buying from my favorite shop, got a history with them for the last 5-6 years, extremely good service. Still, you can compare parts to parts and make suggestions if something can be dropped in favor of another one.

I would really appreciate your comments on the system as a whole or on the different parts. Main purpose - gaming (MMOs like WoW, GW2, new single player titles, etc).

Thanks in advance!

MoBo: Gigabyte Z97X-UD3H socket 1150
CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5 GHz 6MB socket 1150
Graphics: Gigabyte GeForce GTX760 2GB GDDR5 PCI-E
RAM: 2x4 GB GEIL DDR3 1866 C9 EVO LEGGERA
Cooler: Noctua NH-U14S (of course the CPU is planned to be clocked)
SSD: 240GB GEIL Zenith S3 SSD 2.5'' SATA III (was torn between 120 and 240 GB SSD to reduce the budget, but I believe 120 will be insufficient very soon and I am getting this configuration long-term, not planning to change anything for the next... lots of years)
HDD: 1TB WD Caviar Blue 64MB S-ATA III
UPS: REPOTEC 800VA RP-803AU UPS (my area suffers from LOTS of power failures for 10-100 seconds, getting tired of it, so definitely getting a UPS to protect my PC)
Monitor: 23" DELL P2314H (good price, good quality, movable stand - up, down, left, right, etc, and most important - NO PWM. I highly value my eyes. And not an avid shooter freak, so I won't need a super-duper-fast TN monitor)
PSU: I forgot the brand, as we didn't include it in the offer. We were discussing the options between a super solid 650W one and a quite decent 620W one. The difference is about 30 euro, and since 620 should be more than sufficient here and the PC is well above my budget, I think it's the safest bet to cut from here).

That's it, if I am missing anything, I will add it later.

[Goondicker]

Looks fine to me.

All pretty solid parts from what I can tell. Just be careful about buying a bunk PSU.

How will you be installing your OS? And how are you going to use your SSD vs HDD? OS on SSD, just games, HDD for music/video/pic data dump, etc?

[Remilia]

While I don't see anything wrong, I'd also recommend finding out the brand and model of the PSU.

Don't know about the SSD but I generally just recommend the MX100 256GB.

Monitor you could just go with P2414H, not really a -huge- difference.

[Arbiter]

Well we don't know where your budget lies to be able to suggest other parts and we also don't know what brands and models are available from this shop you're buying it from.

I will make one comment on what you said about the PSU. The safest bet to cut from for budget IS NOT the PSU. You never mentioned brands or models for that so we really can't say if you're making a good choice, but a low quality PSU can result in short life spams or even worse, killing your hardware and possibly even starting fires. It's the one place in your build where you really can't afford to go low quality. That been said, price =/= quality. There are plenty of $150 PSUs that I would never recommend over a good $50 one.

[Ruak]

No, no, what I mean is, the PSU is pretty solid too, just can't quote it now as it is not in the written offer, but we discussed it as well.
Don't worry about the PSU in terms of quality, it was just under 80 euro for the 620W one (I think it was Seasonic, it had 'bronze' and 'silver' versions, going for the silver one), while the 650W one was just above 100 euro, different brand and 'gold' version. Think it was Fortron, but like I said, hard to remember. But both were decent, so that's not to worry about.

As for the monitor - I was going for P2214H, got barely convinced to get 2314 instead. Why? Because it's way too big for my taste... I think I will get used to 23'' somehow, but 24'' is just way too much. That's the only reason.

About the OS - of course OS will be on the SSD and 1-2 most played games (WoW, D3, 1-2 more maybe). Not sure I will have space for more and don't really need more anyway - I got limited time to play due to work and socializing. On the HDD - the rest of the games, music, videos, etc.

About the budget - this system would cost about 1300 euro, but the point is to just compare part by part in a relative way, if you're making suggestions. The prices where you live might not be the same as those at my country, so no point in comparing fixed values. These parts are hitting the high end of the budget (a bit above actually), so any increase should be justified by a solid increase in performance as well. Just get a normal shop list and pretend we have it in stock. Just don't use promotions when comparing relative values and it would do.

[Arbiter]

I have no experience with Fortron, but SeaSonic is definitely the way to go. I've come to a point to where I can't be bothered to recommend anything other than SeaSonic OEM power supplies. My current one is a Seasonic and it's the best thing I've ever owned. Never heard a more quiet PSU either.

[Ruak]

I've had a Fortron and was pretty happy with it; currently using Corsair 650W CMPSU-650TXEU and it's also pretty solid. I've literally had tens of power failures each year and it's still alive and kicking for nearly 6 years Was even considering using the old one to save money, but I'd rather spend a bit extra and get everything new to be sure. Makes selling the old PC easier as well, when you're not "dismembering" it haha.

But yeah, THAT's what I mean when mentioning "cutting from the budget", not taking a no-brand Chinese cheap PSU

Thanks for the comments everyone btw! Any more comments would be highly appreciated, of course

[Arbiter]

that Corsair PSU is a Channel Well OEM. I tried 2 HX series 850W PSUs (same OEM as yours) after my Cooler Master one. Second biggest mistake of my life and a huge waste of time. First one had a coil whine and the fan kicked on under barely any load while also have the disadvantage of being extremely loud for my taste and I like quiet. Returned it for a replacement that didn't have a coil whine but the fan was still extremely loud. Only Corsairs I could even consider recommending these days are the AX series and the lower watt HX (I thought my 850W was Seasonic at the time but eventually learned that only the lower watt models are).

- - - Updated - - -

Only thing I'd have to say about that computer in particular. RAM could probably have better CAS and timings. Not sure the quality of the brand, but finding something CAS 9 with 9-9-9-24 timings at similar price would benefit you slightly. Also try and find sticks running on 1.5V instead of 1.65V. Better for Haswell chips.

Same goes for the SSD. Can't speak for the brand but the MX100 or the Samsung 840 EVO would be pretty good choices to use if available.

[Ruak]

I think it's the brand becoming pretty common and affordable. There has been a big jump in the RAM prices for almost a year and it's not going down That's why we put 8GB and not 16. So I guess they chose GEIL as a balance between price and performance. I will ask again when I go there next week to confirm the purchase.

[Arbiter]

I think it's the brand becoming pretty common and affordable. There has been a big jump in the RAM prices for almost a year and it's not going down That's why we put 8GB and not 16. So I guess they chose GEIL as a balance between price and performance. I will ask again when I go there next week to confirm the purchase.

Better timings, CAS, and voltage wouldn't necessarily mean higher price. Haswell recommends 1.5V for the RAM with their CPUs anyways. 8GB is fine for gaming regardless. No reason to go higher unless you do a lot of multitasking and video rendering and such. I would just review your options with the specs I listed in mind. If you can't find a good brand with those specs then at least get the voltage right.

[lockblock]

Make sure the ups is compatible with the psu you have selected. If you have an 80+ rated psu chances are it uses active pfc to achieve that rating. If you have an active pfc psu and attempt to use it on a ups that don't support pure sine wave and the power goes out the computer will more then likely lose power as well.

[Ruak]

Ok, I have ordered the PC with some small adjustments, partially based on what you guys mentioned.

RAM: Going for 2x4GB Corsair Dominator 1866 C9 instead. It is supposed to be 9-9-9-24 at 1.5V.
PSU: The two options that I mentioned earlier that I couldn't remember ended up being Seasonic both of them, different models. I eventually went for the more expensive one for the added value of 5 yrs. warranty (opposed to 2 with the slightly cheaper model) and lower noise levels. The model is Seasonic SS-650KM Gold (650W).
UPS: I went for another model - Tuncmatik Digitech Pro 850VA

What do you think about those choices?

[Remilia]

Good PSU. RAM should be fine as long as it's 1.5V
I know nothing about UPS.

[Ruak]

If you want to play newer single player games you might want to get a GTX 970 instead of a 760. Other than that, looks pretty good.

Way above my budget I have already exceeded it by far with those specs and I don't have that much time to play anyway, so won't justify a 970 as of the current moment. In a couple of years might just sell the 760 and buy a 9xx one.

[Arbiter]

Way above my budget I have already exceeded it by far with those specs and I don't have that much time to play anyway, so won't justify a 970 as of the current moment. In a couple of years might just sell the 760 and buy a 9xx one.

In a couple years I'm sure we won't be on the 900 series any longer.