Helping a buddy with a build

[avatar[djedi]]

A friend is putting together a machine and I offered to garner help from the brightest hardware minds on the internet (you!).

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming machine. He's pretty excited about elder scrolls online, but wants to see what a PC gaming rig can do.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
About $2000 USD. Not fixed, so if it's a few more dollars here and there that's fine.
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.

Charlotte, NC, US
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, Motherboard, RAM, PSU, Case, Heatsink, Fan, SSD, Optical Drive(blu-ray?), monitor
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
have mouse and keyboard
6) Will you be overclocking?
Yes, as a novice
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
He has a Dell 22"er that runs 1920x1080, but I'd like a bigger one.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
In the next 2-3 weeks.
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.
USB 3, Sata 6Gb/s, SLI for potential future expansion
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
He does not, would like a 64 bit OS. Does he need windows 8? Or can he stay with 7?



Here is what he had put into his newegg cart thus far:
$99 NZXT H2 H2-001-WT White Steel / Plastic Classic Silent ATX Mid Tower Chassis
$729 -$10MIR EVGA 03G-P4-2884-KR GeForce GTX 780 Ti Superclocked 3GB
$199 G.SKILL Trident X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2400 (PC3 19200) Desktop Memory Model F3-2400C10D-16GTX
$299 ASUS MAXIMUS VI FORMULA LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0
$309 Intel Core i7-4770K Haswell 3.5GHz LGA 1150 84W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80646I74770K
$119 Crucial M500 240GB SATA 2.5" 7mm (with 9.5mm adapter) Internal Solid State Drive CT240M500SSD1
$189 Rosewill LIGHTNING-800 800W Continuous @ 50°C, Intel Haswell Ready, 80 PLUS GOLD, ATX12V v2.31 & EPS12V v2.92, SLI/CrossFire Ready, Modular Active PFC Power Supply

 

[Alphonze]

I don't know if I would recommend a card as expensive as that in good conscience unless you were a hardcore enthusiast kinda person. It would be better imo to get a much cheaper card like the GTX 770. It wouldn't be that far behind the 780ti and yet would easily be half the cost and will without a doubt max out a game like ESO and any other game out today at 1080p.

 

[avatar[djedi]]

I wholeheartedly agree with you. This was just his first swag at picking parts. Suggesting better parts is what i'm hoping for here.

To start I'm not sure he needs that particular motherboard or specific set of ram. Suggested alternatives?

A rosewill powersupply (even one with a bronze rating) makes me suspicious, a good corsair unit would be better wouldn't it?

Also, I should probably suggest to him a 256gb ssd and then regular hdd with more storage capacity (1-2TB or so @ 7200 rpm).

What else? How's that case? I haven't used one of those before.

 

[tenub]

I would choose a different case and definitely a better PSU. Don't skimp on that. Look at a Seasonic or Corsair HX 650-750W or so, or if the possibility of SLI exists try for a 850W. For the case, I'd get a Corsair Obsidian series or a Fractal Design. GTX 780 Ti may be overkill but some games are poorly optimized like Rift. The M500 SSD is pretty good but if it were me I'd go for an 840 Evo, although they are both great choices.

 

[avatar[djedi]]

I just read up on the Asus ROG 760 review here on hardocp, if he wants to keep one of the big dog graphics cards, I'll probably point him to that instead of the 780 TI. (Presuming he can find one in stock!).

 

[yergg]

I have to agree with the power supply reservations. I would recommend anything Corsiar. Modular or not is your preference. And wattage would depend on where you want to go with this. SLI/Crossfire in the future?

In addition to your SSD, I would add an additional HDD. There are some deals on 2TB drives that will keep him going for a long time.

As far as the video card. If you are sticking with the 1080p monitor, they 760 or 770 is more than enough. If you choose to go with a 1440p monitor, which will eat up anywhere from $400-$700 of your budget, you will want to make sure you get a 780 or R9 290 at a minimum. From what I have read, the 780s overclock really well.

 

[tiraides]

First, swap out the i7-4770K for the i5-4670K. The only significant difference between the two processors is the i7-4770K's Hyper Threading support, which isn't really useful for gaming.

You don't need an expensive board like the Asus Maximus VI Formula for a first-time overclocker. Consider a cheaper board like the Asus Z87-A or the MSI Z87-GD65 GAMING; [H]ard|OCP lauded both boards in its reviews for their overclocking prowess.

You don't need DDR3 2400 RAM to overclock. Most of the overclocking is done using the Intel "K" processors' unlocked CPU multipliers, so you may not have to adjust any voltage on the RAM. You could go with a cheaper DDR3 1600 or DDR3 1833 kit -- like, say, the Crucial Ballistix Sport DDR3 1600 kit or the G.Skill Ares DDR3 1833 kit -- and get excellent results in overclocking.

But you do need a good CPU cooler to overclock, and I didn't see one in your list. I'll keep things simple and recommend the Corsair H80i as one such option.

I recommend that you swap out the Corsair M500 for the Samsung 840 EVO. The 840 EVO is a little faster and comes with an excellent software suite that the M500 is lacking.

I second the recommendation to buy a hard drive in addition to the SSD. The less storage space that the SSD uses up, the better it will perform. You could use the HDD to store nonessential programs and all of your files and media. A 1TB hard drive is available for around $60 and you can grab a 2TB hard drive for less than $90.

This may sound like blasphemy, but I recommend buying an internal SATA DVD burner. There are many good models, like the LG GH24NSB0, that are available for less than $20 shipped.

You don't need the GTX 780 Ti for gaming at a 1920x1080. If the Elder Scrolls Online is like most MMOs, you could get by with a GTX 760. Then again, the GTX 770 would provide a better gaming experience at both 1920x1080 and 2560x1440. But how soon is your friend planning on upgrading his monitor?

I found a better deal on a good power supply: The new version of the Seasonic M12II-850Bronze, the fully modular SS-850AM, is available for around $130 plus shipping. The SS-850AM is overkill for all single-GPU cards (and most dual-GPU setups) but it's much cheaper than the Rosewill PSU in your OP.

If your friend has no plans on going with a dual-GPU setup any time soon, I recommend going with a 550-to-750 watt power supply instead. You shouldn't spend more than $120 on a good one, like the Seasonic G-Series SSR-650RM 650W modular PSU for around $105.

I don't have a problem with the NZXT R2 case, but others would recommend the Fractal Design Define R4 instead (if sound-proofing is a priority for your friend). Regardless of which case you choose, I recommend mounting the Corsair H80i to the rear of the case and moving the rear fan to one of the top slots.

Your friend could stay with Windows 7, but you'd need Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate to fully utilize all of your RAM. (Windows 7 Home Premium has a 16GB total system memory limit, which means that it won't recognize all of the RAM you're using.) Windows 8.1 is cheaper (and doesn't have the 16GB memory limit), but you can "disable" the Start Screen by using a third-party program like Classic Shell or Start8.

 

[avatar[djedi]]

I just wanted to come back and say thank you for all the advice.

He ended up taking the vast majority of your recommendations, especially on the CPU, Ram, Cooler, SSD, and case.

It was kind of funny see him start to get into all of this, and reading reviews.

He ended up going gaga and grabbing the ROG 760 after seeing the [H] review, and is now hunting for a high resolution monitor to support his high end capabilities. His hunt for a $1k monitor begins!

Anyways, thanks again for the help, I just wanted you to have the warm fuzzies of knowing that your advice was utilized.