Recommendations For New PC Build

[Sherif846]

Hi Guys,

I was before few years into pc building, and am back.

I need the best and most future proof pc, for video editing, gaming, watching movies without flicks...etc. Budget is not a big concern.

According to some browsing here, I see the following could be on the wishlist:

1-CPU: I see most threads talk about i5 and i7, some talk about the 4770 or 4790. I want to do some serious overclocking

2-MOBO:I think I would go with Asus, but don't know which model. I want the most versatile, upgradable and open for serious overclocking.

3-PSU: I recall brands like Enermax, PC..something, Corsair, and to ensure its 12v rails is a single one?

4-GPU: I think I would go with dual or triple SLI. Should I go with EVGA or XTX or others?

5-RAM: Corsair? Want to get the highest without getting slow.

6-COOLING: Watercooling? or TEC?

7-STORAGE: I have lots of data and movies, so go with WD and make them in RAID? Any needed devices for RAID? What about this SSD.

Thank you all.

 

[Witchdoctor]

1-CPU: I see most threads talk about i5 and i7, some talk about the 4770 or 4790. I want to do some serious overclocking

A 4790 is a solid choice, However if you are big into video editing you may wnat to see how many threads it can utilize, if 12 or 16 it may be worth it to you to take a look at the upcoming x99 platform

2-MOBO:I think I would go with Asus, but don't know which model. I want the most versatile, upgradable and open for serious overclocking.

The high end of the ROG line would be the most versatile

3-PSU: I recall brands like Enermax, PC..something, Corsair, and to ensure its 12v rails is a single one?

I am likeing my eVGA Super Nova 1300 watt unit , it would depend on your final build specs to the wattage you will need

4-GPU: I think I would go with dual or triple SLI. Should I go with EVGA or XTX or others?

780Ti are their top teir consumer grade GPU's ATM , I like the Classy's personally

5-RAM: Corsair? Want to get the highest without getting slow.

Right now I would recomend 16GB the CAS10 Team Extreem sticks speculating that you video editing software can utilize that much

6-COOLING: Watercooling? or TEC?

Custom water as TEC's simply take to much power to be a vaible 24/7 solution

7-STORAGE: I have lots of data and movies, so go with WD and make them in RAID? Any needed devices for RAID? What about this SSD.

Big fat SSD, Samsung EVO is a nice drive, then you can make a huge array with some large spinners

 

[freakdiablo]

Just to expand/add on to what WD posted

1 - It really depends on what you're doing. I remember i5s being slightly better at OCing at the same voltages as they didn't have the added strain of hyper threading, don't know if this is still true or not. Remember, with the i series, you need the unlocked CPUs, identified as the "K" line (4670K, 4770K, etc) as unlike other chips, you can't get very far by just adjusting the bus clock.

Also like WD said, if you need the extra threads, the i7 will help. There should be some new ones coming soon.

2. Look at the new Z97 models, as they'll also accept the upcoming release of CPUs. Unless you're 100% dead set on Asus (they seem to be slowly starting to slip, IMO), the Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD3H is a fairly good OCing line of boards.

3. There are several good brands of power supplies, and there's a decent thread here with recommendations.

4. Dual or triple SLI really depends on what resolution your monitor is, and if you're using multiple monitors. If it's just a single 1080p screen, you can get away with a single card, and it doesn't even need to be top end, a GTX770 or R9 280X/290 can handle it. For rebranding, it's more a matter of preference. Some have quieter after market cooling, some have better warranties, etc. It's best to decide which card specifically you need and narrow it down from there.

5. RAM, you don't have to worry about speed. You won't notice a difference above 1600 to 1866mhz. Corsair is good, crucial is good, Kingston is decent, again most of the larger brands won't be terrible unless you get a set that's incompatible with whichever motherboard you go with.

6. Watercooling will be more practical than TEC. Going with TEC, you'd first need a massive, high powered one to get one better than watercooling, which means getting a large PSU and a giant watercooling set up to cool the chip. Since you want "Serious Overclocking", I guess air cooling is out?

7. SSDs are quick, but going big gets pricey. A smaller (120-250GB) drive is generally recommended for the OS, and then if you need more storage tossing in a HDD. Most onboard chipsets will support at least basic RAID 0 or 1. Deciding on which one depends on if you want a bit of extra speed or security against drive failure. (Before someone calls me out on it, RAID 1 is NOT a data backup solution).

 

[Theocnoob]

Don't waste your money. Let's look at a 4670K. A Hyper 212 for $30 will get you 4.3-4.4Ghz on a good chip. An NHD14 ($80) will get you another 100-200Mhz. An H100i maybe another 100Mhz above that. Good water cooling maybe another 1-200Mhz above that. Will you ever see noticeable performance gains? No.

Infact, "research" shows that with modern Intel CPUs, framerates in almost all (99.99%) of games do not increase with overclocking at all over the stock CPU.

Get a 4690K (out in a few days) and a Hyper 212 cooler. Or if you want better performance, get a 240mm AIO liquid cooler. Don't waste tons of money on custom water though.

As far as running multiple GPUs, that's unnecessary unless you plan on running a 4K display. even for 1440P, a single 780Ti is more than sufficient otherwise.

 

[Daleon]

He did list video editing not just gaming. Getting an i7 is not always a waste of money. There is a reason they make it. Not everyone has or wants to build a budget gamer box.

For OP, everyone has a budget. Even if that budget is a 100 mil super computer, its a budget. That budget helps determine where the best place to put your money into. Splurging a little on a mb with extra features or a basic one and more into video or storage. Try to come up with a number you will be very happy with and maybe how much more you would be willing to go up to.

With a $5K budget I would even consider a LGA 2011 build with a 3930K but only if your doing semi-professional video editing or at least high end hobby in which case a Quadro or FireGL card would be preferred. A new 4790K though should be perfect for you.

As previously said, a good Asus Z97. Newegg has some nice discounts right now. A Sabertooth, Pro, Hero, Deluxe, etc will all do great just depends on what features you want.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...1315 600438202 600491547&IsNodeId=1&name=ASUS

Video all depends on what screen your looking at really. Are you gonna keep your existing screen or get something new and budget that in? A new Asus ROG SWIFT PG278Q 27-inch 2560 × 1440 120h HZ 1ms screen will be close to $1k or something like 3 x VN247H-P's or something really nice like a LG 34UM95.

 

[Theocnoob]

With a $5K budget I would even consider a LGA 2011 build with a 3930K

4930K. 3930K is an EOL part.

 

[dtrunk]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/h7b9t6

i think the new i7 will be fine, match it with a decent z97 board, simple fast non-TLC SSD 512gb (i'm not a fan of the evo), 4x 4tb HD for raid 1 8gb of data storrage (might want to consider a stand alone card to do the raid; anyone have thoughts on this?), two solid gtc780 ti, fattie d900 case, so many ram choices but i picked this one for low timing and fast speed (still not sure anything over 2133 is worth it.)

you'd need to give us more info too, but here is a start. budget for gear is getting pricey quick. are you 4k gaming? do you have the monitor(s)? you'll still be adding 500-700$ just for water cooling loop, depending how crazy you get. i dont think 3way sli is worth it.

 

[Sherif846]

Many thanks to all of you, and special thanks to freakdiablo, for your valuable time and inputs.

Please excuse my limited knowledge, as I was like outcasted the last few years away from pc and its tech stuff.

So, I conclude the following:

1-CPU: any number ending with K, should be overclockable. Please confirm.

There is some debate over whether to get the i5 or i7. Appreciate if you can help me make my choice.

2- MOBO: Asus vs. Gigabyte. I will research more for which to get.

the remaining parts have become clear to me, will research accordingly.

Thanks again to all of you, gentlemen.

 

[dtrunk]

yes, a K series for easy overclocking.
i5 if you're only gaming and plan to use 4 cores, i7 series if you plan to do anything that will require any heavy cpu usage.
if you're in the $180-$250+ range of motherboards, Asus or Gigabyte is really no difference; pick the one that you feel looks the coolest.

 

[Theocnoob]

Why would he be in the $250 range for motherboards? Only fools and people with LN2 handy buy $250+ motherboards. Get the ASRock Z97 Extreme 6. It's the best budget board.

I also disagree that theres no difference between ASUS and Gigabyte. The boards have differing feature sets, differing VRM with different components, different bios, different ways of updating the bios. ASUS gives you the handy Q connectors, Giga doesn't, etc.

 

[Sherif846]

Why would he be in the $250 range for motherboards? Only fools and people with LN2 handy buy $250+ motherboards. Get the ASRock Z97 Extreme 6. It's the best budget board.

I also disagree that theres no difference between ASUS and Gigabyte. The boards have differing feature sets, differing VRM with different components, different bios, different ways of updating the bios. ASUS gives you the handy Q connectors, Giga doesn't, etc.

Hello Theo, thanks for the input, but I would feel more comfortable buying a well known brand mobo. And since you appear to prefer Asus over Giga, as far as I understood, which would you recommend that goes with the i7 4770 K?

Thanks

 

[Theocnoob]

Hello Theo, thanks for the input, but I would feel more comfortable buying a well known brand mobo. And since you appear to prefer Asus over Giga, as far as I understood, which would you recommend that goes with the i7 4770 K?

Thanks

You shouldn't buy a 4770K, you should buy a 4790K. It has a better default baseclock and better TIM between the die and the IHS.

I don't necessarily prefer ASUS over Gigabyte. In fact, I think ASRock makes the best midrange board for this particular generation at this point.

I think you will be fine a GA-Z97X-UD3H from Gigabyte, an ASRock z97 Extreme 6, or an ASUS Z97-A. I particularly like the Extreme 6 for its dual m.2 slots.

The difference between a $150-165 motherboard and a $250-400 motherboard is that the higher tier motherboard is designed for extreme overclocking. Dry ice, liquid nitrogen, that sort of thing.

A midrange board like the ones I suggested can handle even custom water cooling with decently high water overclocks, let alone anything available "over the counter" like big air, or AIO water (ie, H100i).

Don't waste your money on the board. Put it towards graphics, storage... things you will actually notice.