Moving Up from XP Machine - Suggestions?

Well I guess it's for the better! The Xp days are almost behind us so I am going to do a serious bump up. My pc usage is light gaming (my dd mostly plays minecraft), Photoshop (which takes forever on my current machine), networked to WD Live Hub which I transfer huge files to it (and yes it takes a long time), music, movies and Office tasks. I decided to take the leap and build my own. This is what I have:


CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor $319.99
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler $94.99
Motherboard: Asus Sabertooth Z87 ATX LGA1150 $239.99
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 $154.99
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk $139.99
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card $339.99
Case: Thermaltake Overseer RX-I Snow Edition ATX Full Tower Case $79.99
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX $99.99
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) $187.97

Total $1637.89

I already have a 2TB and a 1TB that I will use for extra storage. Is this a good build for my needs and for me to start to mess around with OCing? I definitely know it will be a beast compared to what I have now!

Thanks for any advice and feedback!

Looks like a really good build to me, possibly overboard on the motherboard, but other than that it should last you quite some time.

Really it all looks like overkill. But truthfully it probably won't be. It is better to be ahead then behind. You will probably die when you see the speeds.

I'd go with a less expensive motherboard, a high end air cooler over the h100i, and get Windows 8.1 instead of 7. Other than that, solid build!

pcgamer4life said:

I'd go with a less expensive motherboard, a high end air cooler over the h100i, and get Windows 8.1 instead of 7. Other than that, solid build!

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Windows 8?

c627627 has a lot of knowledge and seems to be happy to help with anything about transitioning from... anything to windows 8/8.1 As well as Classic Shell. Made me give it another go, with the 8.1 Enterprise 90 day Eval.

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor $319.99
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler $94.99
Motherboard: ASUS Z87-A $139.99
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 $154.99
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk $139.99
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card $499.99
Case: Thermaltake Overseer RX-I Snow Edition ATX Full Tower Case $79.99
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX $99.99
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 pro $139.99

Total $1569


Save further money without losing performance by dropping to a 600W 80+Bronze PSU and going to a dual tower air cooler like the NHD14. You can also go to a perfectly functional $49.99 case.

kyij said:

Windows 8?

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He's learning a new OS either way, might as well learn the newest.

ATMINSIDE said:

He's learning a new OS either way, might as well learn the newest.

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Not to mention cheaper. IIRC, 8.1 can be had for under $100 occasionally.

pcgamer4life said:

Not to mention cheaper. IIRC, 8.1 can be had for under $100 occasionally.

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This also, cash in the pocket is nice!

ATMINSIDE said:

He's learning a new OS either way, might as well learn the newest.

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In THAT case, i suggest LINUX (eg KUBUNTU), it's free, works and all the soft one needs is available... and there is a lot of porting to lx going-on on Steam, so games should be ok also

Thanks for everyone's input. I have ordered most of the parts and I had already ordered Win7, but I am going to return it for Win 8.1 Pro. Now to start building!

kcampbell said:

Thanks for everyone's input. I have ordered most of the parts and I had already ordered Win7, but I am going to return it for Win 8.1 Pro. Now to start building!

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As luke mentioned, ask c627627 for help with making Win 8 easier to use.
He knows his stuff.

Hehe, that's one helluva upgrade from XP!
Good luck with the build (and Windows 8)

Theocnoob said:

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor $319.99
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler $94.99
Motherboard: ASUS Z87-A $139.99
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 $154.99
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk $139.99
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card $499.99
Case: Thermaltake Overseer RX-I Snow Edition ATX Full Tower Case $79.99
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX $99.99
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 pro $139.99

Total $1569


Save further money without losing performance by dropping to a 600W 80+Bronze PSU and going to a dual tower air cooler like the NHD14. You can also go to a perfectly functional $49.99 case.

Click to expand...

I am sending back my Win 7 software tomorrow for an exchange. I see you have it listed at $139.99. That is for the OEM version, correct? Will that be good or do I need the full retail (because it's much more!). If I run OEM I can save about 60 bucks.

kcampbell said:

I am sending back my Win 7 software tomorrow for an exchange. I see you have it listed at $139.99. That is for the OEM version, correct? Will that be good or do I need the full retail (because it's much more!). If I run OEM I can save about 60 bucks.

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The only difference between OEM and retail versions is the packaging and included documentation. The software is identical in installation and usage.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F3ZN0CC/?tag=extension-kb-20 OEM for 129.99

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EDSI8HW/?tag=extension-kb-20 Retail version for 144+ shipping.. (Key isn't flagged to specific hardware if its like previous versions of windows)

If you can find a GTX 680 for cheaper, it's the same thing as a GTX 770.

ShrimpBrime said:

If you can find a GTX 680 for cheaper, it's the same thing as a GTX 770.

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+1 they are the same in gaming benchmarks.
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/829?vs=772

can't he save a little more with 1600 ram over the 1866 without much of a performance hit?

Yes the sweet spot is the 1600MHz

QUOTE:It's only when you get down to DDR3-1333 that you see a minor performance penalty. The sweet spot appears to be at DDR3-1600, where you will see a minor performance increase over DDR3-1333 with only a slight increase in cost. The performance increase gained by going up to DDR3-1866 or DDR3-2133 isn't nearly as pronounced.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4503/sandy-bridge-memory-scaling-choosing-the-best-ddr3/8