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Build help

B

bulldog08

Limp Gawd
Joined
Nov 13, 2007
Messages
187
Hi all looking for help again from you guys... You have helped me build 2 computers thus far over the years!

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc

Gaming, some video encoding/editing, web browsing, medical related stuff (X-ray, CT Scan and MRI via remote desktop.)

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?

$1500-2000, I'd like to get 3 years or so out of it

3) Where do you live?

Iowa

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.

Will be reusing my monitor, mouse and keyboard. So I will need cpu, cooler, ram, motherboard, graphics card, operating system, power supply, I am sure I am forgetting some stuff...

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.

Dell UltraSharp U3011


6) Will you be overclocking?

probably not

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?

Dell UltraSharp U3011

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?

May 2015

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? etc.

not sure... i've been out of the game for awhile :/

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?

no

Thanks again for all your excellent help
 
When in May are you planning on buying everything?

What programs are you using for video encoding/editing? Remote desktop?

Which games do you want to play? At what level of eye candy?
 
I get paid May 1, so I would like to start piecing things together soon. Is there anything important coming out in May that I should wait for, sorry out of the loop.

I use citrix for my remote desktop stuff. Gaming is probably the most important really, I would like to run things with as much eye candy as possible for my budget. Plan on playing GTA, Witcher 3, things like that.
 
$1500 (GTX 980) to $2000 (Titan X)build:

If 1600p gaming is really important to you all maxed-out, you can get a Titan X 12GB for $1000. It's better than GTX 980 SLI because it always works at full speed, and won't be limited by ram anytime soon.

The rest of the system is just a Core i5 + z77 dual-gpu motherboard + 16GB ram + case.+ psu + 512GB sdd = around $1000.

Can drop it down to $1500 with the GTX 980.

Titan X: $1089

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487130&cm_re=titan-_-14-487-130-_-Product

Or GTX 980: $540

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125696&cm_re=gtx_980-_-14-125-696-_-Product

i5: $200

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116991

Asus Z97-a (supports SLI, in case you get the itch for more frames): $140

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132118

2x8GB Ballistix 1600: $110

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148545

Crucial BX100 512GB: $200

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148946&cm_re=bx100-_-20-148-946-_-Product

EVGA 750w: $100

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...7438028&cm_re=evga_psu-_-17-438-028-_-Product

Leaves you around $200-250 for case + optical drive + Windows license. I suck at case recommendations, but you usuaully can't go wrong with the Fractal Design R4, which is on clearnace now:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...re=fractal_design_case-_-11-352-020-_-Product
 
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as a computer I have gotten 7 years and counting out of a Core 2 Duo E8500, as a gaming machine about 4 years with a Radeon 4870. SSD did amazing things for that PC even though it is SATA 2 interface.
 
YeuEmMaiMai said:
as a computer I have gotten 7 years and counting out of a Core 2 Duo E8500, as a gaming machine about 4 years with a Radeon 4870. SSD did amazing things for that PC even though it is SATA 2 interface.
Click to expand...

Oh yeah, aside from perhaps a GPU upgrade and a memory upgrade in 3-4 years, I expect he will get five to six years out of this, easily. He's get even more with an overclock. But the ram is upgradable to 32GB, leaving him some room to grow!

I'm still rocking my Core i5 2500k @ 4.1 GHZ four years into it now, with no sign of letting up. An upgrade to 16GB last year plus an upgrade to a GTX 960 gives me several more years of usability :D
 
defaultluser said:
Oh yeah, aside from perhaps a GPU upgrade and a memory upgrade in 3-4 years, I expect he will get five to six years out of this, easily. He's get even more with an overclock. But the ram is upgradable to 32GB, leaving him some room to grow!

I'm still rocking my Core i5 2500k @ 4.1 GHZ four years into it now, with no sign of letting up. An upgrade to 16GB last year plus an upgrade to a GTX 960 gives me several more years of usability :D
Click to expand...

I am still quite satisfied with my rig considering my needs. (multitasking, pretty much every genre of game besides FPS)

BUT, wouldn't it make more sense to recommend a 4790k?

A cpu upgrade is infinitely more hassle than popping in a new video card....

If I were to set a budget of 2 grand, I would definitely be eyeing an i7, if not a 2011-based system.

EDIT: Also, I would recommend the MX100 over the BX100 SSD. It's faster and already a proven platform. After the 840 EVO business, I would definitely spend an extra $20 for more speed and established reliability etc.
 
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horrorshow said:
I am still quite satisfied with my rig considering my needs. (multitasking, pretty much every genre of game besides FPS)

BUT, wouldn't it make more sense to recommend a 4790k?

A cpu upgrade is infinitely more hassle than popping in a new video card....

If I were to set a budget of 2 grand, I would definitely be eyeing an i7, if not a 2011-based system.

EDIT: Also, I would recommend the MX100 over the BX100 SSD. It's faster and already a proven platform. After the 840 EVO business, I would definitely spend an extra $20 for more speed and established reliability etc.
Click to expand...


I won't disagree with you on the 4790k - if he would rather not get the Titan X, he has the buget to spare.

I will disagree with you on the MX100 over the BX100. The BX100 is faster when you put it under heaviest load:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/9144/crucial-bx100-120gb-250gb-500gb-1tb-ssd-review/4

And if you check the other two lighter load scenarios n pages 5 and 6, the two drives score about the same. So, the BX100 manages to be (1) Cheaper and (2) lower-latency than the MX100. And just like the MX100 before it, the 500GB model is the performance sweet-spot.

The BX100 is the replacement for the MX100. Crucial has a fairly spotless record with new drive releases. The MX100 was released only a year ago, and it's MLC, so the technology is a known factor.

Finally, although it still loses to the 850 EVO, I can't recommend a TLC drive yet after the terrible taste Samsung left in our mouths with the 840 EVO.
 
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Hey thanks for the input so far guys so how does this look?


CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor $269.99

CPU cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler $26.98

MOBO: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard $129.99


Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory $113.99


Storage: Crucial BX100 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive $169.99
Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive $89.98

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX Titan X 12GB Video Card $999

Case: Corsair Graphite Series 230T Black ATX Mid Tower Case $54.99

Power Supply EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply $79.99

Optical Drive: Asus BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer $52.98

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) $86.98

Mouse: ROCCAT Kone Pure Wired Laser Mouse $59.49

Any thing else you guys think I might need or better fits? The total price is around $2200 which is higher than I first thought but it sounds like it will last awhile so I am ok with that. http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Zrqsf7

Again I appreciate all the help!
 
Looks good, but I specifically linked the Bronze EVGA PSU because the Gold series have some issues with ripple and build quality. You won't notice the efficiency difference either.

Hardocp gave the Gold series a "so-so" rating. It's an FSP-built unit, a company that has a less impressive record.

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2014...x650g_650w_power_supply_review/9#.VUWhckGWSHs


The one I linked is built by Superflower (top OEM along with Seasonic), and wowed JonnyGuru, the hardest PSU test site on the net:

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story6&reid=393

Just because a brand dealer like EVGA makes one good line of PSUs, don't assume they're all good.


I'm surprised you have a Microcenter within driving distance, but if you do, enjoy the savings on that processor :D
 
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Oh thanks for catching the psu. Yeah the microcenter is about 6 hours away but my parents live there and are coming to visit next week. I'll ask them to pick it up for me. Thanks for all the help guys. Any more input? I'll probably start ordering tomorrow.

Anything else I might need? Extra fans? What thermal compound is everyone using now?
 
Got all my stuff over the last few days. All is fine but the mother board box had a 3inch by 3 inch gash where the psu went through it. I couldn't tell if any damage so I just returned it. Not the best packaging job :/
 
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