New >$1500 R9 280X Gaming Build

[drsmooth]

edit: <$1500 I mean

Going to build something along these lines using the new AMD GPU that is coming out soon. Since it is basically a overclocked cheaper 7970 I think it will be decent. Just wondering if these parts are good for a 1080p single monitor build (may go crossfire and eyefinity in future). Wondering if the motherboard can fit crossfire comfortably and cool, basing off 7970 size for 280x. Also my current pc is a AMD Phenom II x4 BE 940 3.0ghz, 4 gb of DDR2-800 RAM, and a GTX 260 GPU. How much better will this new build be roughly speaking?


http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1I7HT

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($149.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($74.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ Outlet PC)
Case: Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 850W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($109.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/RSBS DVD/CD Writer ($21.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($132.95 @ Outlet PC)
Monitor: Asus VN248H 23.8" Monitor ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Other: AMD Radeon HD R9 280X ($300.00)
Total: $1444.84

 

[Theocnoob]

You're looking at WELL over double and possibly triple the gaming performance versus your current machine. You might want to get a better CPU cooler. The 212 won't take Haswell very far. They run hot.

Also unless you want to add a second GPU in the future, that PSU is overkill. 500-600W is enough.

 

[Mandrake4565]

That will be leaps and bounds better then your current set up:
2 things though, do you live near a microcenter? You don't need a 850w Psu for that even if you went X fire with the new card you could do a 750 w and can easily do a 500-600 w with a single card.

 

[drsmooth]

Yeah pretty much went with the 850W since it is only $110 dollars and I was hard pressed to find a 750W that was cheaper than the XFX. I do plan on crossfiring when a single card no longer cuts it or I go for tri monitor setup. As far as the air cooler would an H60 work well with Haswell? I hear the Arc Midi R2 is a good case for watercooling options.

 

[Mandrake4565]

The XFX is a quality unit and a good purchase, you have nothing to worry about there. If you feel the price was right then I'm not concerned.

My opinion on Aio water is this, yes some of them are better then the best Air coolers, H100i, NZXT X60 come to mind. But the lower end ones like the H60, to me are just not worth the inherent problems they sometimes have, such as pump failures. If you're not looking to overclock this chip as far as you can, I feel Air cooling is a much better decision, it's just less possible headaches. I also feel if you're going water just go water do a custom loop. The CM 212 Evo is a great cooler for the money and should get you 4.2-4.4 with that chip.

 

[Theocnoob]

The XFX is a quality unit and a good purchase, you have nothing to worry about there. If you feel the price was right then I'm not concerned.

My opinion on Aio water is this, yes some of them are better then the best Air coolers, H100i, NZXT X60 come to mind. But the lower end ones like the H60, to me are just not worth the inherent problems they sometimes have, such as pump failures. If you're not looking to overclock this chip as far as you can, I feel Air cooling is a much better decision, it's just less possible headaches. I also feel if you're going water just go water do a custom loop. The CM 212 Evo is a great cooler for the money and should get you 4.2-4.4 with that chip.

Forget the 212. Not enough heat dissipation. Get a Noctua NHD14.