First build (intel). Suggestions and advice appreciated!

[samLchang]

Hello all,

I have been researching for about a week or two now and will be buying my pc on the 28th of August. I need some help making sure my pc parts will work together to the maximum potential. Keep in mind that I am trying to stay as close to budget as possible ($800-$900) while being able to upgrade later to better gpu, memory, and storage or whatever else if need be. I really want to have a beast of a computer in the future without having to build a whole different system.

I am a computer science major as well as an engineering major so at least 85% of what will be done on this system will be programming and networking related as well as some solidworks and other CAD software. Two monitors will be in use eventually. I do a lot of video editing but it's just a hobby (gopro and family videos) using gopro studio and adobe cs. I would like to be able to game if I get the hankering to do so as well. CoD type games, and then games like command and conquer.

I'm not pretending to know anything at all here but let me tell you where I am coming from as far as the parts I chose.

From what I have learned via forums adobe will make use of the graphics card to relieve stress on the processor so I need to take that into consideration for video editing. CPU is good to go; I got the best 4 core as far as performance according to cpu boss and many forums. Of course I have also read that the 8 core amd fx8350 offers more cores making it better for editing. I went with what seemed like the general consensus among the people who appeared to be seasoned. Programming wont take too much from anything but two monitors for networking projects may need a half way decent gpu. I tried to pick a mobo that has plenty of room to add ram and a second gpu (if need be) either sli or crossfire depending on the gpu. I originally had a water cooler (corsair h75) but it was really only for the looks and I wanted to bring the price down so I'll upgrade later unless i need that kind of cooling right now.

I read that having two ssd's in raid 0 will boost performance. I want to be able to render some of my video in 1080 if that's even possible. Not so right now on my laptop. Please let me know if I should scrap this raid 0 idea! I thought maybe I could set up raid 0 on two 240gb ssd's and raid 1 that setup with a 500gb for a fail safe but it doesnt seem like that is possible.

I have access to windows 7-10 so I dont need to buy the OS.

So here is the build currently.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/cCJrgs
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/cCJrgs/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($328.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Deepcool GAMMAXX 400 74.3 CFM CPU Cooler ($31.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 EXTREME4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($95.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: PNY CS2111 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: PNY CS2111 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280X 3GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($204.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 300R Windowed ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($49.00 @ NCIX US)
Monitor: Acer G226HQLBbd 60Hz 21.5" Monitor ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1180.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-19 13:27 EDT-0400

If it is possible to bring it back down to around $900 I would be so happy but I dont want to sacrifice too much performance. I have read many build posts where people tell the person posting that they could have had something so much better for their budget. I want to avoid that at all costs.

All help is welcome and if I am misinformed, I apologize for what would then be a pointless and lengthy read. Please help me learn! Thanks a lot.

 

[Janus67]

Overall t hat looks like a really solid system.

If you have a microcenter near you you can save some money on the CPU+mobo in a combo there.

While there is some performance gain with 2 SSDs in RAID0, I would have to wait to hear from someone that does additional photo editing work to know if it is that much better than you just investing in a single 500GB SSD and call it a day.

I'm not positive on the ratings for the Deepcool cooler, most people for a budget cooler recommend the Cooler Master Hyper 212+ Evo.

Unfortunately none of that is saving you any cash. The PSU is overkill for your current system, but if you wanted to add a second GPU you would have a few hundred watts of extra wattage available (your system as configured may pull 300-350W at 100% load)

 

[bob4933]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3nyChM

more powerful, cheaper, better monitor... for your classes you wont need a super intensive computer. IF you do, your campus should have computers for the engineering students (notably group projects). The case is cheaper, but offers the same functionality and incredibly similar looks. raid 0 ssd won't do much for you either.


on the flipside, heres an AMD system that will work fine as well if you need to be more cost effective. You WILL need to overclock to maximize potential, but thats very simple on AMD systems.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/tn96zy

 

[sporktar]

Looks like you have yourself a pretty solid build, it will definitely be adequate for your needs. As for the raid0, i don't have firsthand experience with this, but the general consensus i've read online is that the performance gains are negligible, and it introduces a lot of potential for issues (increased chance of data loss, drive failure, negligable performance increase for day to day operation, especially without a dedicated raid card). Toms hardware did a full article on the topic. If i was you i'd just get one 256 gb ssd and call it a day. It will still be plenty fast compared to a mechanical drive anyways.

 

[Dlaw]

I would do this. You don't need an aftermarket cooler for your CPU unless you're overclocking, but the 212 Evo is an affordable choice if you do want it. You don't need a current gen GPU, and you certainly don't need an enthusiast class one. The 750Ti will do fine for CAD and Photoshop on a <$1000 system.

This system is SLI/CFX compatable, but the 750Ti (as far as I know) is not. If you decide to upgrade down the road, that will be the first thing you will want to replace. The EVGA 500B will handle that system with almost any single card, but you may need to upgrade that if you go with a high end AMD card or decide on SLI/CFX.

 

[samLchang]

Thanks guys! Of course I am researching up until the last minute to make sure I do this right.

Good news though. I ran into a little extra money. How convenient. Now my budget is going to be $1100. I believe I am going to go with something along these lines. I may or may not go for a bigger monitor but 21.5" is humongous compared to what I have been using for years. Video card is still way up in the air too. I'm getting all kinds of responses on that in different forums. r9 280x, r9 290, gtx 750ti, gtx960 are the most common. I just need to read the details of each one and compare I guess.

I did have another question though about 2 other builds..

I was reading that a 6 core i7 5820k is also good for editing. May be overkill (or may not be) but i whipped up this 6 core build for about $1100. Just wondering if that would be worth it at all.

Then there is this with a very new processor. I'd splurge if it was worth it. Of course these last two builds are way out of my understanding but they seem legit!

If I should tweak any build to better maximize performance for anything editing related or if I can somehow optimize for networking and programming please let me know. Even anything general I am open to suggestions.

Chances are unless someone says otherwise I'll stick with the quad core build.

I do appreciate you guys who have helped so far!

 

[Dlaw]

Two things that stick out to me very much:

The x99 platform is quad channel, meaning that you want 4 DIMMs to take advantage of the throughput.

The Z170 platform is DDR4, so you would need a memory kit like the one in your X99 build.

 

[samLchang]

https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Z170-P-D3/

I think at least that particular motherboard supports ddr3. I really put the 6700k and the 5820k up there just to see if anyone said "Hey go with that for sure. [insert reason why]." Only reason 6700k is tempting is because its apparently something top of the line. From what I read.

 

[Dlaw]

If you decide on a Skylake build, you should really use DDR4 memory. Future platforms are all going to use DDR4, meaning that you can save on your next build by transferring the kit you get now into it.

For $1200, I would do this, but I'd probably use a 650GS PSU instead of the 750B.

 

[samLchang]

If you decide on a Skylake build, you should really use DDR4 memory. Future platforms are all going to use DDR4, meaning that you can save on your next build by transferring the kit you get now into it.

For $1200, I would do this, but I'd probably use a 650GS PSU instead of the 750B.

So are you saying you would for sure go with the 6700k build you posted over the 4790k? Or jsut IF I go with that?

Just out of curiosity what makes the 650GS PSU better? I got the 750B purely because its only $49.99 after mail in rebate and its semi modular.

 

[Dlaw]

The 650GS is 80+ Gold certified, and if I remember correctly, is a better quality unit (not that the 750B is bad). 650w should be plenty for your build.

For that budget, I think that the 6700K would be the better route. It's the current platform and as I said, DDR4 memory can be transferred to an upgraded build later on.

 

[samLchang]

The 650GS is 80+ Gold certified, and if I remember correctly, is a better quality unit (not that the 750B is bad). 650w should be plenty for your build.

For that budget, I think that the 6700K would be the better route. It's the current platform and as I said, DDR4 memory can be transferred to an upgraded build later on.

Alright then 6700k build it is. So the only thing bothering me is the video card. According to some google searching, adobe premier from cs3 will make use of nvidia cards. Something about CUDA cores I havent had time to research yet. So I think I will stay with Nvidia unless something is proven better. So that begs the question. gtx 750ti like you mentioned before or the gtx 960? I want whatever is better and they both keep me in budget.

This seems to say 960 all the way. But I'm a novice and not too confident.
http://gpuboss.com/gpus/GeForce-GTX-960-vs-GeForce-GTX-750-Ti

 

[Janus67]

The 960 is the better card is pretty much all aspects I believe. You can use the anandtech gpu bench charts to compare two cards pretty well also.

Edit: 960 isn't on anandtech for their gpu bench, but I imagine it is somewhere between a 760 and a 770 if you want to look at performance numbers.

 

[caddi daddi]

get the 960 over the amd cards, it has a modern gpu and will be current over the next two years, I have 280x cards, love them but they are aging.
the 750ti is a little on the weak side for real gaming, but it is still maxwell.