$1500 Haswell Gaming Build

[Mart00n]

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Play current and upcoming games at 1080p, 60 fps, photo editing, video rendering.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$1000-$1500, all included (monitor and OS required)
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
Cleveland, OH, USA
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
Motherboard
PSU
Case
CPU
GPU
SSD
HDD
Optical Drive
Memory
CPU Cooler
Monitor
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
None
6) Will you be overclocking?
Quite possibly
7) 7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
1080p most likely
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Next month or August
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
Crossfire support, USB 3.0, good audio options
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Planning to purchase Win7 64-bit with the system


I need recommendations on my motherboard, case (I want a full ATX tower with fans and space galore), PSU, GPU manucfacturer, and SSD. My current list of parts is below:

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K Haswell 3.4GHz LGA 1150 84W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80646I54670K
MOBO: ASUS Z87-PLUS LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
PSU: SeaSonic SS-750KM3 750W ATX12V V2.3/EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply
GPU: SAPPHIRE Vapor-X 100352VXSR Radeon HD 7950 3GB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
Case: NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White Steel / Plastic Enthusiast ATX Full Tower Computer Case
HDD: Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
SSD: SAMSUNG 840 Pro Series MZ-7PD128BW 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Along with Win7, a cheap CPU cooler, RAM, and a good monitor this looks like it will come out to maybe $1500 buying between Newegg and Microcenter. The PSU is high wattage for the option of going crossfire later or adding a bunch of drives down the road. Any suggestions for things I've omitted or things that should be changed would be appreciated.

 

[cageymaru]

I hope you can fit a great monitor into your budget as that's what you're going to see in the end while using it. One of the 27" Korean IPS monitors would be great for you. There are tons of them on EBAY but they are also sold at major retailers here in the USA.

Monoprice version
Amazon version.
Microcenter version.

One of those would really make your PC great!

 

[Mart00n]

I hope you can fit a great monitor into your budget as that's what you're going to see in the end while using it. One of the 27" Korean IPS monitors would be great for you. There are tons of them on EBAY but they are also sold at major retailers here in the USA.

Monoprice version
Amazon version.
Microcenter version.

One of those would really make your PC great!

I was looking more at the $200ish range for monitors, but it could be worth investing if you think the 7950 can handle the massive resolution. Right now I have a pretty bad 1080p monitor, and I'm looking to run multidisplay with another that's more suited for gaming.

 

[Dangman]

Go for this RAM:
$47 - Crucial Ballistix BLS8G3D1339DS1S00 8GB DDR3 1333 RAM

And this HSF:
$25 - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus HSF for LGA 1366 and LGA 1156

The setup looks ok.

 

[Mart00n]

Go for this RAM:
$47 - Crucial Ballistix BLS8G3D1339DS1S00 8GB DDR3 1333 RAM

And this HSF:
$25 - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus HSF for LGA 1366 and LGA 1156

The setup looks ok.

Will that cooler work with the 1150 socket? Also an unrelated note; has anyone had any luck with Sapphire for their GPU, or with this specific model?

 

[Dangman]

Will that cooler work with the 1150 socket?

Yes. Intel designed the LGA 1150 to use the same HSF mounting holes as LGA 1155 and LGA1156. So yes, that Coolermaster HSF will work.

Also an unrelated note; has anyone had any luck with Sapphire for their GPU, or with this specific model?

I generally don't recommend Sapphire unless they're significantly cheaper than Asus, Gigabyte, or MSI as Sapphire's customer support has been pretty crappy.

 

[cageymaru]

I was looking more at the $200ish range for monitors, but it could be worth investing if you think the 7950 can handle the massive resolution. Right now I have a pretty bad 1080p monitor, and I'm looking to run multidisplay with another that's more suited for gaming.

Well if you're playing video games and serious photo editing I'd recommend dropping by the Displays forum and asking them which monitor to get. I'd think you'll be fine at that resolution with Crossfire personally but make sure. If you get the proper Korean IPS monitor without the scalar then they are supposed to be pretty good with games. But ask the experts over there.

 

[Mart00n]

Well if you're playing video games and serious photo editing I'd recommend dropping by the Displays forum and asking them which monitor to get. I'd think you'll be fine at that resolution with Crossfire personally but make sure. If you get the proper Korean IPS monitor without the scalar then they are supposed to be pretty good with games. But ask the experts over there.

Crossfire is a couple months down the road sort of thing, but its good to know. And out of curiosity, how's that Sapphire 7950 working out for you? The Sapphire card I'm looking at is priced as low as $279-$300, along with Gigabyte. ASUS and MSI seem significantly more expensive ($40-$60), but I could part with that if the consensus here is that I'll have better luck with them.