Up to $1,500 (Case + Compenents) for raiding and streaming

[Patryn]

Hello Everyone,

I was hoping the community could review my list before I order it. I play mostly WoW @ 1920 x 1080 want to build a new computer for good performance in raiding while streaming. My budget is up to $1,500 but want to control costs if possible. I do not plan on over-clocking and do not plan on SLI at this time.

I'm open to suggestions on everything but one specific question I had was regarding the RAM. PCPartpicker says it is compitable with the motherboard but I don't see Mushkin listed on the QVL on the Asus site but know they can't test everything.

Also opted voer the Crucial SSD over Samsung 840 due to the firmware issue they allegedly fixed but people are still reporting after running the tool. Thanks!

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($193.03 @ Micro Center Bundle)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($91.15 @ Micro Center Bundle)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($110.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($353.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($86.66 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($102.98 @ Newegg)
Other: 1 TB Hard Drive (From old computer)
Other: Optical Internal CD-ROM Drive (From old computer)
Total: $1163.76
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-11 19:06 EST-0500

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Final build:

Thank you to everyone for your suggestions and advice. Here is the final build I went with:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor (Purchased For $268.11)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (Purchased For $29.52)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (Purchased For $91.15)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (Purchased For $119.99)
Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (Purchased For $199.99)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card (Purchased For $342.99)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case (Purchased For $99.99)
Power Supply: XFX XTR 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (Purchased For $90.49)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (32/64-bit) (Purchased For $115.82)
Other: 1 TB Hard Drive (from old computer)
Other: Optical Internal CD-ROM Drive (from old computer)
Total: $1358.05
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-13 11:16 EST-0500

[Remilia]

I would personally rather go for this: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-pow...ply-p1650bbefx
That's Flower Power isn't a bad OEM but it's not great at some points I suppose you can say.

I'm partial to Fractal Design Define R5, but that's somewhat personal preference.

No CPU cooler?

[Patryn]

I didn't plan on getting a cooler since I don't plan on overclocking. That power supply is only $5 more but can't tell the difference. Just quality?

[Bakinpacman]

If you are not going to overclock then you do not buy a K model processor and Z series motherboard as they are not needed.

Buy a better brand of ram with the price difference in my opinion, decide if you want to waste money on Windows 8.1 when you can use the RC version of Windows 10 for free which is just as stable as Windows 8.1 anyway. The full version should come out sometime early next year.

[Marxman]

If you're planning on raiding and streaming, you want to overclock. It's not in any way difficult these days, especially if you're only going for a moderate overclock.

[Remilia]

I didn't plan on getting a cooler since I don't plan on overclocking. That power supply is only $5 more but can't tell the difference. Just quality?

Yeah basically.

RAM is fine.

[Patryn]

What brand of ram would you recommend? G Skill? Corsair? Kingston? I suppose I could get a coolermaster evo to cool the CPU. Just didn't want to spend the 30 bucks if it wasn't needed.

[Remilia]

Personal go to is Crucial and G.skill but most RAM are pretty similar.

[Patryn]

Alright updated as follows:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($193.03 @ Micro Center)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.52 @ Micro Center)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($91.15)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($127.50 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($110.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($353.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX XTR 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.49 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($102.98 @ Newegg)
Other: 1 TB Hard Drive
Other: Optical Internal CD-ROM Drive
Total: $1198.62
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-12 00:21 EST-0500

Is using free windows 10 beta really a viable option over buying windows 8? I did some google searching and didn't see anyone advocating that.

[Remilia]

I can see it being very buggy and not supported with a lot of software if you go down that route for OS.

[Deleted]

The only thing I'd consider changing is to the i7-4790k, but that's down to personal preference, and to reduce GPU overheads slightly. Everything else is sweet as all hell.

[mauserr]

Loving the setup, and if you don't really care about spending even more money, go for the i7-4790k.

[Patryn]

Going i7 would add about $60 to the build for a total around $1,260. It seems the consensus is i5 is all you need for gaming and i7 is more for 3D modeling, CAD, video encoding etc which I wont be doing (maybe some video encoding...). Would i7 help with wow raiding / streaming at all?

[Deleted]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GgDZKGA89I Might answer your questions.
I'd personally go with 4790k for hyperthreading and higher stock clock, for streaming especially.

[Patryn]

Alright final update. Decided to go for the i7 because its in budget and can't hurt! My last i7 lasted me over 4 years so hopefully this new one will work just as hard.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($268.11 @ Micro Center)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.52 @ Micro Center)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($91.15 @ Micro Center)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($342.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX XTR 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.49 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($102.98 @ Newegg)
Other: 1 TB Hard Drive (from old comp)
Other: Optical Internal CD-ROM Drive (from old comp)
Total: $1284.21
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-12 15:34 EST-0500

[Remilia]

Seems good.

[Deleted]

You can get windows 8.1 for $69 from https://greensoftwarestore.com/index...roller=product

They are verified microsoft reseller. But you'll need usb stick to boot from.

[Deleted]

You can price match the SSD at Microcenter too.

RAM: G.Skill Sniper Gaming Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 $121

[Patryn]

Is cas 10-11-10-30 1866 ram better than cas 9-9-9-24 1600 ram?

Also is that greensoftware store legit? I checked their products and some say you cant upgrade windows to 8.1. I was reading about windows 10 and there is allegedly a leaked rumor from Microsoft that if you have a full version of windows 8.1 you will be able to upgrade to 10 for free so thinking about spending the extra 10 bucks to get full version instead of OEM. Plus will be able to transfer full version to other machines if needed.

[Remilia]

Well, honestly, not that much. In terms of games you'll notice pretty much nothing.