Building a friend's gaming/video editing machine

[SPARTAN VI]

I'm trying to sway a friend of mine from buying a prebuilt gaming rig in favor of getting much much more bang for buck. He's already got every next-gen console, so he wants a gaming PC that will blow them all away. At the same time, he wants to maintain a middle ground between gaming and video editing performance. I'd recommend at least a GTX 960 or R9 280X to meet that need. Anything less, and he's back to console-level image quality/performance. I know very little about video editing builds, but there seems to be a preference for more RAM and a beefy CPU. Will we be better served with an overclock i5 + 16GB + GTX 970? Or a X99 build?

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

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$1200 USD including tax/shipping.

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
Los Angeles, California. Microcenter is nearby.

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.
CPU, HSF, Mobo, RAM, HDD/SSD/SSHD, GPU, Case, PSU

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Reusing 1920x1080@60Hz monitor, speakers, and kb/m.

6) Will you be overclocking?
Yes.

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
1920x1080 32"

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

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.
UEFI is highly preferred.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Yes, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit.

 

[SPARTAN VI]

Here's where I am so far. He's leaning toward the $1000 mark, but I wanted to give him some options in $1000-1200 range.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($279.99 @ Micro Center)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($99.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Z Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($229.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Transcend MTS800 128GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($64.99 @ Amazon) <--Scratch disk
Storage: Seagate 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive ($78.73 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card ($309.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair SPEC-01 RED ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($83.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1192.64
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

The $1000 option is more or less the same, just with an i5 4690K, H55, and 16GB of DDR3-1600.

 

[horrorshow]

99% of people will never notice a difference between 32GB of 1866 and 16GB of 1600.

Go with the 16GB 1600 option.

CPU/Motherboard is solid.

Get the Coolermaster Hyper 212 Evo heatsink instead of the H55.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099&cm_re=212_evo-_-35-103-099-_-Product

Those storage choices are not very good at all. Go with this instead:

Crucial MX100 512MB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148821
HGST Deskstar 2TB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...=HGST_Deskstar_2tb-_-9SIA5AD2FA1869-_-Product

Personally, I'd go with an EVGA 970 instead of Zotac:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...4487075&cm_re=evga_970-_-14-487-075-_-Product

Yes, it's an extra $20 but you're getting a better built card etc.

Those are the changes I'd make....

But, I'd wait for Dangman's advice before pulling the trigger. (He KNOWS what's up)

 

[Dangman]

How long is the drive to Microcenter? Remember that Microcenter knocks off $40 if you buy the 4790K with a compatible motherboard.

Due to the fact that Windows 7 HP is artificially limited to 16GB of RAM, getting 32GB of RAM right now is a bit of a waste since only 16GB of that can be used. With that said, if your friend's Windows 7 key qualifies for a free Windows 10 upgrade, then getting 32GB of RAM would be a good idea. Then again, if less than 50% to 70% of his time spent on the PC isn't dedicated to video editing, there's a good chance that he'll actually be fine with 16GB of RAM. If 90% of his time on the PC is dedicated to video editing, he really should be looking at a X99 setup.

If you do go for 32GB of DDR3 RAM for a Z97 setup, at $232 shipped, that's actually not a bad deal for that G.Skill setup.

I agree with Horrorshow that you should go with eVGA for the video card. Zotac's customer support is apparently not that great here in the U.S but is pretty damn awesome apparently in Asia and Europe. Go figure. If you need to cut costs, get the R9 290 for $280 to $300 from Asus, Gigabyte, MSI, or XFX.

As for the PSU, while that Seasonic 620W is a good PSU, it's not a good choice for the money considering that you can get this significantly higher quality Seasonic 550W PSU for about the same price:
$85 - Seasonic G Series SSR-550RM 550W Modular PSU

I actually have the Seasonic 620W PSU you linked. If I hadn't gotten it for $50 shipped with no rebates, I would have gone with the above 550W instead.

For the case, that Corsair isn't that good of a case IMO. Only comes with one fan, case quality seems so-so. Go for the Corsair 230T instead.

Oh the storage setup: I concur with Horroshow that your planned storage setup isn't all that great. IMO, hybrid drives are rarely worth buying outside of severe size restrictions. I recommend getting the Crucial MX100 256GB if you can't afford the MX100 512GB for the OS and programs. Leave the scratch disk on the hard drive.

 

[SPARTAN VI]

Thanks guys.

Microcenter is about a 45-60 minute drive on a traffic free weekend. Might as well kill myself if we try that drive during the week.

Why a MX100 over a 850 EVO? Curious because everything about the 850 EVO is showing that it's cheaper and faster.

The Zotac GTX 970 is actually a place holder. We'll probably grab a open/damaged box GTX 970 Strix from Amazon which is about $305, so I selected the Zotac to represent its price spot. I recently rolled the dice on one (open/damaged box 970 Strix) and ended up getting it for $245 because Amazon didn't ship it with the original box and accessories as the listing described.

Here's what I got from your recommendations:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($279.99 @ Micro Center)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($34.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($99.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($94.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Hitachi Deskstar 7K2000 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($57.75 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card ($305.00 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair Graphite Series 230T Black ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1127.67
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

 

[Dangman]

Thanks guys.

Microcenter is about a 45-60 minute drive on a traffic free weekend. Might as well kill myself if we try that drive during the week.

Hmm..kinda worth it I guess considering California sales tax on Amazon and Newegg purchases. Though if you know anyone else who needs a new PC, might as well make that drive really worth it and pick up a CPU and mobo for a second build.

Why a MX100 over a 850 EVO? Curious because everything about the 850 EVO is showing that it's cheaper and faster.

I usually see the MX100 being cheaper. Honestly, either SSD will work fine. I just go for the cheaper one.

So far that build list looks good. Do note that Toshiba has a sale going on for a 3TB drive for $66.66 shipped and after CA tax. I know it's that exact price because I just bought one :
http://slickdeals.net/f/7800607-toshiba-7200-rpm-3-5-internal-hard-drives-5tb-127-3tb-62

Really good price for a decent 3TB hard drive.