Newest Build in 3 years, need advice on trustworthy/longetivity brand names

[veritas7]

Let me say currently, I'm still rocking in the Intel Q era, and haven't built a PC in 3 years since.
Most things that will be recycled from my current build to my new build will be: Hard drives, my SSD, my sound card (XFi Titanium), my current case (Lian Li V2000B, I love it), and all its fans/fan controller.

EDIT: Lessened standards for mobo + PCpart list in later posts, build almost/fully complete. 12/29/13

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming at max settings. Video editing. Video streaming. Possible Adobe RAW editing when I get more goodies for my DSLR.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Budget can go as high as $1800 incl tax+shipping.
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible
North of Denver, CO. The Microcenter in South Denver is 1 hr away from where I live. I also have Amazon Prime..
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, Mobo, Memory, GPU, and PSU.
Advice needed on Motherboard, Memory, PSU for now. Maybe aftermarket fans too, since I don't see silent Scythe fans from the 2009 era being sold anymore.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Basically like I said above, a PCIe X-Fi titanium sound card, a second gen MLC SSD from Intel, and random assorted WD HDDs for storage.
6) Will you be overclocking?
Hopefully, yes, I want to finally take the plunge and overclock. I've been too scared before.
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
Currently 1920x1200. Maybe double the width, aka 2x 1920x1200 if I can find another great IPS panel 16:10 monitor, but I'll be consulting the Monitor subforum for this.
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.
DEFINITELY NEEDED IN THE MOTHERBOARD:
> 6+ SATA (for HDD connections), preferably all on the same chipset
> 1 or 2 eSATA OR not included and use an eSATA PCIe
> Reliable
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Windows 7.1 64bit Pro, student license

I already have a few things in mind, but need help on the others:
1) I really want the nVIDIA GTX 780 Ti. Most likely getting EVGA as I've never used or trusted other brands and their RMA programs. I'm really a wuss who loves his comfort zone.
2) I'd prefer the i7 4770K, I'd like to hit those 4.3+ GHz overclocks I see.
3) I'll be using a Corsair H75 all in one liquid cooler. I have an old H50 but it's going on 4 years, I don't want the pump to die and fry my new mobo/CPU.
4) I really need those SATA/eSATA ports, and due to that, I can only find 3 motherboards that meet my criteria:
..a) MSI Z87M GAMING LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
..b) EVGA Z87 FTW (141-HW-E877-KR) LGA 1150 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
..c) ASUS SABERTOOTH Z87 LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

I'm leaning again towards EVGA due to familiarity/comfort zone, MSI doesn't look half bad even if its a micro ATX, because I only need 2 PCI-e for sound card + GPU (I don't like SLI/Crossfire, I experienced too much microstutter back in the day and issues), and ASUS while looks good and gets decent reviews, makes me scared of its TUF protection thing that could be a dust magnet/screw eater when building, as well as my experience with ASUS in my old job where I found ASUS mobos failing left and right from the Pentium and Core 2 eras.

I'm clueless about what brands are good for Memory, Power Supplies (since I heard a lot of companies now got bought out or use shoddier factories to subcontract), and what motherboard I listed above or haven't found that will meet my needs and also play nice with all other components.

 

[brncao]

Go with EVGA for nVidia GPU. They're a reliable trustworthy brand. Avoid Asus for GPU and mobo.

Microstuttering has been resolved by AMD as long as you're not gaming at greater than 1920x1200.

PSU: Seasonic is great especially their X series. It's very quiet. Since you're from the US, you shouldn't worry about coil whine as you would in EU. Corsair is another reputable brand.

Memory: Performance-wise they're pretty much the same. Crucial and another brand I can't remember makes low-profile RAM. I like the low-profile sticks as it gives me better headroom for mounting large CPU heatsinks. There are two low-profile RAM from Crucial: Ballistix Sport and Tactical.

Mobo: Avoid Asus (lousy customer service). You mentioned wanting eSata. Bear in mind some mobo share the same link between an eSata port and a sata port. One of my Sata port cannot be used when an eSata port is active as they share the same circuit. So I end up with one less Sata port. The MSI and EVGA boards you listed have a pretty large price difference. Get the EVGA board IF you're serious about adding more than 2 GPU cards. If not, the MSI is the better option.

 

[veritas7]

-snip-

What model types of Seasonic do you recommend?

I failed to mention I'm rocking a Corsair TX850W (or was it HX?, it's the NOT-modular one), I still like corded because way back when I was making new setups I remember modular not having the best DC rails/least amount of noise on the +12/5v ones. I'm not too keen on electrical engineering, so pardon my ignorance.

 

[brncao]

I recommend the X series, but how much watts do you need? The number of GPU you want to use is the biggest factor as it sucks up a lot of power. 650W for one card, 750W or 850W for two cards, and 1000W+ for 3+ cards.

 

[tiraides]

You need to break out of your comfort zone for this build. No one here is going to (intentionally) recommend anything to you that will end up DOA.

Up front, however, you need to consider Asus over EVGA in terms of motherboards. Both companies' customer service units have gone bad over the years, but Asus still makes motherboards and video cards that are on par with any other top-tier manufacturer. EVGA, on the other hand, hasn't really made any must-have LGA150 motherboards.

Do you have an issue with purchasing an eSATA expansion card? That could allow you to consider other motherboards, especially better overclocking options.

Which Intel SSD do you have?

Here's a good PSU for your needs: the Rosewill CAPSTONE-750. Rosewill is NewEgg's house brand, but the power supply received a positive review from PSU review site JonnyGURU

 

[veritas7]

-snip-]

Well, I guess I'm open to that eSATA card or more higher quality manufacturers who have solid drivers.
The last time I had an eSATA card, it caused Explorer (Windows 7) to lock up whenever the drive would be idle/have its reading arms docked until it full spun up to its proper RPM and Explorer.

Then I'd be open to more motherboards then without an eSATA but at least >=6 ports SATA 6Gbps that can handle what I mentioned above.

Thanks for the help so far! I think the appropriate wattage for my PSU should be ~850W, anyone have a good model from Corsair or Seasonic, either corded or modular? Either is fine for me, I just need long SATA powercords due to my Lian Li V2000B. I think I can do fine with ~6 HDDs, 1 fan controller (molex), 4 120mm fans + 780Ti & i7 4770K with 850W, right? As far as I know, most wattage consumption for CPUs and GPUs have been dramatically going lower and lower, correct? Same with RAM iirc.

 

[tiraides]

What's the HD 4770 for?

 

[veritas7]

What's the HD 4770 for?

i7 4770K. Sorry.

 

[Dangman]

Then I'd be open to more motherboards then without an eSATA but at least >=6 ports SATA 6Gbps that can handle what I mentioned above.

$140 - Asus Z87-A Intel Z87 Motherboard
$188 - MSI Z87-GD65 GAMING Intel Z87 Motherboard

Both got solid reviews here at HardOCP:
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2013...ing_lga_1150_motherboard_review/#.UrzfbPT_yoI
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2013/06/03/asus_z87a_lga_1150_motherboard_review/#.UrzfcfT_yoI

I think the appropriate wattage for my PSU should be ~850W, anyone have a good model from Corsair or Seasonic, either corded or modular? Either is fine for me, I just need long SATA powercords due to my Lian Li V2000B. I think I can do fine with ~6 HDDs, 1 fan controller (molex), 4 120mm fans + 780Ti & i7 4770K with 850W, right? As far as I know, most wattage consumption for CPUs and GPUs have been dramatically going lower and lower, correct? Same with RAM iirc.

850W is still quite overkill since you haven't stated any plans for SLI or CFX. Check out his HardOCP review:
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2013/11/07/nvidia_geforce_gtx_780_ti_video_card_review/7#.UrzdvfT_yoI

Even if we add in the extra hard drives, you'd still be under a 500W power draw. So the Rosewill that Tiraides recommended earlier will still do the job. With that said, considering that you have a rather large case, you should probably go with the Corsair AX760 since it has longer cables than the Rosewill:
$140 - Corsair AX760 760W Modular PSU

 

[veritas7]

Thanks for those super recommendations Dangman! I think I will go with what you listed, the MSI Z87-GD85.

I'm not very overly keen of Rosewill products, as I've had a few of their products go sour or just perform poorly on me, I'm willing to pay idiot tax for a bit more of security, like the Corsair you also listed. However, the reviews state exactly what I always fear - coil whine, as someone who has immaculate hearing, I like to run a quiet system when it's not gaming.

To confirm what I'd like to get in the new build so far:

• Intel i7 4770K Processor
• Corsair H75 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
• MSI Z87-GD65 GAMING Intel Z87 Motherboard
• ???? 2x8GB RAM set
• EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Video Card
• ??? Great eSATA PCI-e card that won't give me grief (Win Explorer hangups due to drive spinup readying like my old one before the mobo I have now that has a built eSATA)
• ??? ~750-850W Corsair (AX or TX if coil whine is a big issue?)

What needs to be hammered out still:

1. Memory compatible with the Z87-GD65 by MSI, preferably any brands that are XMP/idiot friendly for myself or personal anecdotes (have always used G.Skill but I'm willing to try others, especially for this nicer of a build)
2. Other PSU mentions
3. eSATA PCI-e card (2 ports at max) / Does this card look good? Addonics ADSA3GPX1-2E PCI Express eSATA and SATA II 2 Port eSATA II RAID Controller -- Ive been out of the RAID controller scene for a while.
4. Quiet fans that are like these that I bought years ago: Scythe S-FLEX SFF21E 120mm Case Fan. I also used the F versions as well, E was used for the output fan for my CPU cooler.

To also mention: I live an hour away from a Microcenter it appears (awesome!) and will be going there to save over $50 anyway on the i7 4770K alone!
Thanks for the amazing help everyone has given me. [H] is truly a shining star in the PC/server enthusiast community.

EDIT: I still see reviews on Newegg and Amazon for coil whine for the AX760. I'm really scared to pull the trigger on that bad boy, especially now knowing that the SATA and molex cables aren't even sleeved (I'm not that picky but c'mon, even my ancient TX850W has sleeved ones)

 

[Dangman]

1. Memory compatible with the Z87-GD65 by MSI, preferably any brands that are XMP/idiot friendly for myself or personal anecdotes (have always used G.Skill but I'm willing to try others, especially for this nicer of a build)

This RAM should do the job:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233386&ignorebbr=1

I'm not very overly keen of Rosewill products, as I've had a few of their products go sour or just perform poorly on me, I'm willing to pay idiot tax for a bit more of security, like the Corsair you also listed. However, the reviews state exactly what I always fear - coil whine, as someone who has immaculate hearing, I like to run a quiet system when it's not gaming.

• Other PSU mentions

EDIT: I still see reviews on Newegg and Amazon for coil whine for the AX760. I'm really scared to pull the trigger on that bad boy, especially now knowing that the SATA and molex cables aren't even sleeved (I'm not that picky but c'mon, even my ancient TX850W has sleeved ones)

For someone who just said they're not picky, you sure are being picky in regards to coil whine and sleeved cables Besides the TX series are relatively outdated now in terms of performance and quality.

Anyway man, that coil whine issue has been occuring to all Seasonic based PSUs (that includes the AX760 and a lot of other Corsair and XFX PSUs) for the past several years. FOr some reason, Seasonic hasn't been able to solve that issue.So if you want to lessen the chance of getting coil whine, you're going to have to avoid all Seasonic based PSUs and also accept the possibilty of poorer customer support, shorter warranties, lesser quality/performance, and/or significantly higher costs. Is that all fine for you?

1. eSATA PCI-e card (2 ports at max) / Does this card look good? Addonics ADSA3GPX1-2E PCI Express eSATA and SATA II 2 Port eSATA II RAID Controller -- Ive been out of the RAID controller scene for a while.

Considering that majority of the eSATA cards you're going to see will have Silicon Image storage controllers, go with the card that has most positive reviews on Newegg or Amazon. That's usually going to be your best bet with Silicon Image storage controllers.

[*]Quiet fans that are like these that I bought years ago: Scythe S-FLEX SFF21E 120mm Case Fan. I also used the F versions as well, E was used for the output fan for my CPU cooler.[/LIST]

Looks like you're going to be in for a bit of reading:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/Fan_Roundup_7
http://www.silentpcreview.com/Fan_Roundup_6_Scythe_Noiseblocker_Antec_Nexus_Thermalright

mention: I live an hour away from a Microcenter it appears (awesome!) and will be going there to save over $50 anyway on the i7 4770K alone!
Thanks for the amazing help everyone has given me. [H] is truly a shining star in the PC/server enthusiast community.

That means a two hour round trip (assuming no traffic) plus the hour you're more than likely going to spend at Microcenter. At most, you're going to save $80 on the CPU and the motherboard ($30 off when you buy the motherboard at the same as the CPU). So subtract your gas costs and whatever sales tax you may have to pass from that $80. Now are the remaining savings worth the three hours you spent getting the CPU and motherboard?

 

[veritas7]

Hmm. Thanks for the updated info then Dangman, I think I'll just have to bite the bullet on the PSU and risk with RMA/return if I get some major coil whine. I did not know this had been an ongoing issue for years now. Many thanks also for that Fan roundup, my goodness, that's a great link!

As for the Microcenter debate: I'll be going down to Denver soon anyway for a 3D IMAX movie, as my town north of Denver doesn't have any real decent theatres. I might as well kill two birds with one stone and also do some other shopping while in Denver?
I haven't had any real excuse either to head down to Denver either. Otherwise, yes, I totally agree with you if I wasn't visiting Denver, then I'd probably just stick to Amazon/Newegg.

Also, does [H] get any bonus advertising credit if I click on the links here and eventually buy them from my cart?

 

[Dangman]

As for the Microcenter debate: I'll be going down to Denver soon anyway for a 3D IMAX movie, as my town north of Denver doesn't have any real decent theatres. I might as well kill two birds with one stone and also do some other shopping while in Denver?
I haven't had any real excuse either to head down to Denver either. Otherwise, yes, I totally agree with you if I wasn't visiting Denver, then I'd probably just stick to Amazon/Newegg.

In that case, yeah, might as well go to Microcenter.

Also, does [H] get any bonus advertising credit if I click on the links here and eventually buy them from my cart?

Only the Amazon.com links will get [H] some advertising credit. Newegg no longer supports HardOCP due to some...unpleastantness in the past and the HardOCP's creation of the HoverHound extension.

 

[veritas7]

I'd hate to be a pest but, what nowadays is a good aftermarket thermal paste?
I know Arctic Silver was all the rave 4-5 years ago, I'm guessing it has changed?

Here's my current setup, I pretty much have everything in line, except maybe doubting going for a lower speed or the less pricier non-Pro version of my RAM. Thanks, Dangman, again for the invaluable Fan review link, I managed to go and compare the results of the current fans now with that of my old Scythe S-FLEX E and F version fans, which worked wonders and still do.
I also added an SSD because having a G1 Intel SSD ~4 years now have been handy and I don't think it's going to get worn out any time soon, but it's a bit small for fitting Windows and the Adobe suite. The new Intel SSD I have added should have at least a lifespan of 7+ years even if I decide to keep the pagefile on it too (and this has the TRIM command unlike my G1 SSD).

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2s0NP - CPU@$249.99 Microcenter

I will be going on the 31st to Microcenter to get the CPU, GPU and motherboard, perhaps. I honestly don't know Microcenter's full stance with how to deal with RMAs/faulty hardware, so I'll be calling tomorrow to see how that's handled from the usual Amazon/Newegg/Manufacturer RMA norms. Obviously, I don't want to drive back down to Microcenter (2.5 hr round trip) if I find something defective, especially since I'll be only in town for the holiday and friends, and purchasing these items.

 

[Deleted member 88227]

No need to worry about buying aftermarket thermal paste, just use whatever comes with the aftermarket cooler you're getting. It's good enough these days. Although if you must, go with Artic MX-4.

Definitely go with a cheaper set of RAM. You wont notice any bit of difference between DDR3 1600 and the RAM you are buying. Get the cheapest set you can find rated at 1.5v or less.

 

[coolpurplefan]

I've used Seasonic, Fortron and Corsair power supplies. My oldest I think is the Seasonic. It might be up to 8 years old and still running. My second oldest is the Fortron.
I've also used Asus motherboards. Too bad Abit doesn't make them anymore. My Abit socket 939 mobo is like 8 years old. lol

EDIT: I have to say though, if you want long-lasting, I wouldn't do any overclocking. Heat can destroy components faster. (For those wondering, Bob Grove, editor of Monitoring Times wrote about this in one of his books.)