New Build! Tell me what you think.

[PhearsomePhobia]

Hey, first post so please be nice.

I will be using this for gaming and recording for YouTube as well as other less stressful stuff. Tell me what you think of it and what you would change.

My Budget is $2,800! Also, I like the idea of Shadow Play and that's why I went with the GTX 780ti. However if Mantle turns out to be great I will get the R9 290(x) or the HD 7990 and record some other way. My main game will be Battlefield 4 but I will branch out and play others.

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/PhearsomePhobia/saved/2Yz0

 

[Theocnoob]

You can cut the PSU down to a corsair CX 600W and the motherboard down to an ASUS Z87-A and still get the same results.

That soundcard you chose is a headphone oriented stereo-only card.

 

[Ajay57]

Theo i would tell the OP to keep the PSU the reason is if he changes his mind, he can run any GPU!! Plus while he has the money he could Sli a couple of cards, its my own idea that you can not short change on a PSU. I had a 850w here which i used in 3 builds and worked out really well.

1, http://www.geeks3d.com/20090618/graphics-cards-thermal-design-power-tdp-database/

As you can see from this list of GPU TDP's on the cards you are talking about, i say humbly, you can not skimp on a PSU!!

 

[Gawg]

Good SSD. Sound setup?? Mmmmmm

That's a great SSD you have chosen, I have one too.

About the PSU, I don't disagree with Theo, and Corsair make great PSUs.

However, for piece of mind and future upgrades, I went with Corsair AX 850 on my two main rigs. Overkill? probably - but I will upgrade, and they both function flawlessly.

May want to re-consider sound setup - depending on how important/budget sound is to you. Personally, I wouldn't settle for that. Not for gaming or movies anyway.

 

[PhearsomePhobia]

Thanks friends!
I chose that PSU for the future purpose of SLI or putting it into a new rig.
As for the sound, I will be using headphones while gaming or a high end set of 2.1 speakers depending on if it's night or not. I already have the speakers.
What should I do with the sound card? I know the ROG Mobo has that special sound on it but how good is it? What would you do with your sound?

THANKS AGAIN!

 

[Brandensbeast]

93$ is ALOT for the ram in my opinion.... could save 30$ more if you wanted.

 

[PhearsomePhobia]

93$ is ALOT for the ram in my opinion.... could save 30$ more if you wanted.

What memory would you recommend?

I chose that RAM because it has low CAS Latency for a 1866Hz set and it is low profile (needed for my CPU cooler). It helps that its red and matches the rest of the system. But if you know of a good set of RAM I can look into please tell me!

 

[Brandensbeast]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820313405
doesnt match but cheaper^
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820313394
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233180
both match^ little more expsensive.
are you going all red? because theres black ram too if you want a black/red build. (I don't know what look you're going for)

 

[Theocnoob]

Thanks friends!
I chose that PSU for the future purpose of SLI or putting it into a new rig.
As for the sound, I will be using headphones while gaming or a high end set of 2.1 speakers depending on if it's night or not. I already have the speakers.
What should I do with the sound card? I know the ROG Mobo has that special sound on it but how good is it? What would you do with your sound?

THANKS AGAIN!

If you want to hook up speakers and headphones together look at the Xonar Phoebus soundcard. It's about the same price as the one you were looking at.
A $200 soundcard will murder motherboard on-board audio (even GOOD on-board audio).

 

[PhearsomePhobia]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820313405
doesnt match but cheaper^
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820313394
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233180
both match^ little more expsensive.
are you going all red? because theres black ram too if you want a black/red build. (I don't know what look you're going for)

I like the Vulcan red Ram you showed but look at its latency. 11 CAS is far worse than 9 CAS. Never seen any Vulcan RAM before so thanks, something for me to look into.
I am going for a red and black build.

If you want to hook up speakers and headphones together look at the Xonar Phoebus soundcard. It's about the same price as the one you were looking at.
A $200 soundcard will murder motherboard on-board audio (even GOOD on-board audio).

Thanks for the confirmation that the sound card is worth it. Ill do some more research into the Phoebus, I think its meant more for surround systems like a 5.1 or 7.1 but I need to learn more about it. Do you have one?

 

[Brandensbeast]

i have 8 gb of vulcan ram in my pc. it's pretty good. got it for free with my a8-6600k the week it came out. really good deal at the time and it's not low quality ram.

 

[Gawg]

Sound - a different option.

Thanks friends!
I chose that PSU for the future purpose of SLI or putting it into a new rig.
As for the sound, I will be using headphones while gaming or a high end set of 2.1 speakers depending on if it's night or not. I already have the speakers.
What should I do with the sound card? I know the ROG Mobo has that special sound on it but how good is it? What would you do with your sound?

THANKS AGAIN!

If you use mainly headphones there is another option.

I have a pair of Vengeance 1500 (not 1300 - they need a soundcard). The 1500 has a built in soundcard which reproduced 5.1 very well. It can also do virtual 7.1, but that's a bit much IMHO for headphones. Obviously it has pass through and good stereo too. Well reviewed. One link below:

http://www.maximumpc.com/corsair_vengeance_1500_usb_gaming_headset_review

 

[PhearsomePhobia]

Thanks so much! I have decided to stick with the RAM I got and might get a cheaper PSU, not sure yet. I'm up in the air about sound though. I will be starting a new thread to focus more on my sound options and get more opinions in that area. Thanks for your time and help people.

 

[Theocnoob]

Ill do some more research into the Phoebus, I think its meant more for surround systems like a 5.1 or 7.1 but I need to learn more about it. Do you have one?

No I don't have one. I have a Xonar STX (the original headphone amp card).
Previously I had an Auzen Meridian, a Xonar D2, Soundblaster Audigy 2, Soundblaster Live! value, Soundblaster 128, Soundblaster 64.

I've had a lot of sound cards. A sound card may support up to 7.1 but that doesn't mean you have to hook a 7.1 system up to it to get good sound. You can still use 2/2.1/4.1/5.1 and get great sound out of it. Obviously using 7.1 will be taking full advantage of what the card offers.

Sound cards have a much higher signal to noise ratio than onboard sound. There are some motherboards with discrete-class on board audio but they still don't match a $200 sound card.