Critique my plans

Kckazdude

Kckazdude

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jan 4, 2002
Messages
1,763
Planning on building a computer here in the next few weeks. I don't call myself a power user or a gamer more of an all around type now. I might play the occasional game if it strikes my fancy but I wont require the most hardcore stuff on the market. I am looking to build stable long lasting machine that will satisfy my needs as they are. To give an indication, I am still using my old socket A based computer with a XP3200+ and BFG 6800 GT OC.

So far I am thinking of an Intel i5 4670K paired to a Asus Z87-A. Looking at a Asus GTX 760 or comparable video card. Haven't decided on memory yet am still looking into that. Will still have to get a decent case and HDD but those can come later. Will also have to source a fresh copy of Windows. So shoot any suggestions you might have towards this.


1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Casual gaming, light photo editing some music editing.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$1200 max
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
Memphis, TN
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, RAM, mobo, vid card, power supply, case and HDD
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
nothing internal
6) Will you be overclocking?
possibly
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
1920x1080 23" HP
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Will have this completed by 11-15
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.
possible SLI at a later date. Looking more for stability and OC options.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
No
 
Last edited:
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Help us out by answering the sticky questions.

Please be specific on when you plan on buying all of your parts and which games (and what level of visual quality) you're interested in right now.
 
Updated first post with sticky questions.

Not building towards any specific game title. Been out of the gaming loop for a while now. Steam hasn't even been launched in a year now. Would like to have the option available to just play any game with some nice visuals to it.
 
You should really decide whether or not you want to overclock right now as that's going to affect what CPU and motherboard we recommend to you.

As for games, can you please just list out what games you're planning to play? This will help us narrow down what hardware we need to recommend as there are major hardware differences between certain games. For example, the hardware required for Starcraft 2 is significantly cheaper/lower than BF4. Or the hardware requirements between Metro: Last Light and Torchlight.

As for cases, I recommend the following cases:
$50 - Corsair Carbide Series 200R ATX Case
$75 - Corsair Carbide Series 300R ATX Case
$90 - Corsair Carbide Series 400R ATX Case
$100 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001BK White Full Tower ATX Case
$100 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White Full Tower ATX Case
$110 - Antec 1100 ATX Case
$110 - Corsair Vengeance Series C70 Arctic White ATX Case
$120 - Corsair Vengeance Series C70 Gunmetal Black ATX Case
$125 - Corsair Carbide Series 500R ATX Case
$130 - NZXT Phantom 530 Black Full Tower ATX Case
$144 - Silverstone RV03B-W ATX case
$144 - Silverstone RV03B-WA ATX case
$160 - Corsair Graphite Series 600TM ATX Case
$150 - Corsair Obsidian Series 750D ATX Case
$170 - Corsair Special Edition White Graphite Series 600T ATX Case
$170 - Corsair Obsidian Series 650D ATX Case
$170 - NZXT Phantom 630 Gunmetal Full Tower ATX Case
$170 - NZXT Phantom 630 White Full Tower ATX Case
$230 - Silverstone FT02B-USB3.0 ATX Case
$250 - Silverstone FT02S-W-USB3.0 ATX Case
$245 - Corsair Obsidian Series 800D CC800DW ATX Case
 
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The problem is I don't even know what I want to play. I am not sure of what all is out there at the moment. Although BF4 and COD Ghost look interesting. I have always enjoyed FPS and racing games in the past.Reading around a bit I see the BF4 release is causing as much stir as the old HL2 release did in the days of the Radeon 9800. I just want the ability to play theses games if I choose. Will be doing some OCing
 
Let's wait a couple of weeks.

We're nearing the end of October, so November may have some different deals we could take advantage of. Plus, NewEgg will start its "Black November" sales soon, which could save you some more money.

We'll be able to assemble a new system for you before your November 15 deadline.
 
My friend you have a Nov 15 deadline, as in ordering parts or receiving the parts by then?

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Casual gaming, light photo editing some music editing.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$1200 max
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
Memphis, TN
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, RAM, mobo, vid card, power supply, case and HDD
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
nothing internal
6) Will you be overclocking?
possibly
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
1920x1080 23" HP
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Will have this completed by 11-15
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.
possible SLI at a later date. Looking more for stability and OC options.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
No


My other question would be how long do you plan on keeping this system? Do you upgrade frequently or only when your current system has been upgraded to the max potential and no longer can keep up with normal d2d duties without lagging.

I think you have alot of options available in both AMD and Intel. I would go AMD if you like to mess around with cooling solutions both kits and just overall design of your system. If you can devote a bit of time, AMDs can be quite nice on the $$$. However if you want something that requires the least amount of time, Intel would be a better solution but its more $$$.

If you want SLI performance I would try any FX 6-8 series processor if AMD
or
the 4670K or 4770K series (overclocking potential is nice)

Ram: Dual channel setup in your price range: 8GB around $79 and 16GB are around low 100s.

Motherboard: What OS are you going to run. If its at least W7 (no lower than that ever) then try the boards from Asrock, Asus, MSI, Gigabyte and always look for accessory cards that offer you Wifi+Bluetooth (Asus also offers NFC and whole suite full of accessories).

VC: BF4 is listed in your games. Nvidia any mid range 700 series card for the time being. Wait till Nvidia launch another generation of cards and then grab a high performance 780.

Power Supply: Any name brand modular with 700-800 watts is good.

HDD: Two parts here: Look for a boot up drive that's A solid state drive. Gives you superior startup and accessibility performance numbers. Usually 128GB for about $79. Then you can go crazy with any 7200RPM WD/Seagate HDD 1Tb or above.

And i think thats pretty much it!

Hope that helps
 
I will have the system built, parts received and installed, by the 15th.

Who knows how long this system will last. My current box was built in 03 and have been limping with it since F.E.A.R. made it stumble.

Have decided to go with Intel this go around. Have already purchased the following:
Corsair 300R
Intel i5 4670K
Asus Z87-A

Thinking about adding some Crucial Ballistic 16GB memory and MSI 760GTX.

Still trying to figure out the OS. Torn between Win 8 64 bit or Win 8.1 64 bit.

Thank you for the tips on HDD selection. That helps things out more than you think. Will be sorting this out over the next few days to pull the trigger on it.
 
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Prices have dropped for the GTX 700 series (result of the new AMD launches)

Go for 8.1 START BUTTON
 
Your parts selection looks good so far.

I recommend the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO as your "(Re-) Introduction to Overclocking" CPU cooler.

Go with Windows 8.1. It's essentially a Service Pack for Windows 8.

Regarding power supplies, grab the Seasonic M12II 620 BRONZE while it's on sale. That price is a steal for a good modular power supply.

Our oft-recommended SSDs, the Crucial M500 and the Samsung 840 EVO, each costs well over $100. That's because we often recommend at least 240GB to provide room for your OS and all of your key programs. (An SSD's performance drops greatly once you get past 50% capacity, and it gets lower the closer you get to full capacity.)

If you're going to go overboard with a hard drive, go towards greater capacity. A good SSD runs circles around any hard drive, so (IMO) it's not worth going towards the "faster" WD Black. You can find the newest Seagate Barracuda or WD Blue 1TB drive for under $70, but you can get a 2TB 7200RPM drive for under $100.

samm said:
Prices have dropped for the GTX 700 series (result of the new AMD launches)
Click to expand...

The prices haven't dropped yet. Besides, they're only for the GTX 770 and the GTX 780. The GTX 760 was already priced lower than the card it's replacing, the GTX 660 Ti.

samm said:
Go for 8.1 START BUTTON
Click to expand...

Dude, the Windows 8 Start Button is just another way to bring up the Start Screen. It's neither revolutionary or evolutionary.
 
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tiraides said:
Your parts selection looks good so far.

I recommend the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO as your "(Re-) Introduction to Overclocking" CPU cooler.

Go with Windows 8.1. It's essentially a Service Pack for Windows 8.

Regarding power supplies, grab the Seasonic M12II 620 BRONZE while it's on sale. That price is a steal for a good modular power supply.

Our oft-recommended SSDs, the Crucial M500 and the Samsung 840 EVO, each costs well over $100. That's because we often recommend at least 240GB to provide room for your OS and all of your key programs. (An SSD's performance drops greatly once you get past 50% capacity, and it gets lower the closer you get to full capacity.)

If you're going to go overboard with a hard drive, go towards greater capacity. A good SSD runs circles around any hard drive, so (IMO) it's not worth going towards the "faster" WD Black. You can find the newest Seagate Barracuda or WD Blue 1TB drive for under $70, but you can get a 2TB 7200RPM drive for under $100.



The prices haven't dropped yet. Besides, they're only for the GTX 770 and the GTX 780. The GTX 760 was already priced lower than the card it's replacing, the GTX 660 Ti.



Dude, the Windows 8 Start Button is just another way to bring up the Start Screen. It's neither revolutionary or evolutionary.
Click to expand...

Arghh I thought they were doing across the board. Thanks for the correct info.

W8.1 start button is another way to bring the start screen up, but its better than nothing (W8). As you said, 8.1 is a better choice for OPs build
 
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samm said:
Go for 8.1 START BUTTON
Click to expand...

tiraides said:
Dude, the Windows 8 Start Button is just another way to bring up the Start Screen. It's neither revolutionary or evolutionary.
Click to expand...

samm said:
W8.1 start button is another way to bring the start screen up, but its better than nothing (W8). As you said, 8.1 is a better choice for OPs build
Click to expand...

Seriously? It's better than nothing?

It's a half-assed attempt by Microsoft to "satisfy" the masses. And I mean half-assed because Microsoft has no intention of giving its critics what they want, which is a fully functional Start Menu.

Take away the "Smart Button," however, and you receive in Windows 8.1 a series of patches, updates, and system tweaks that you'd normally spend many hours (and lots of bandwidth) downloading shortly after install. That's why I called it a Service Pack.
 
I purchased the Seasonic PSU, The Crucial M500, the Crucial Ballistic memory and a OEM copy of Windows 8.1. After reading the MSI R9 280X I am going to wait a few days on the GPU. I might be able to score a little better GPU for not much more money.
 
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