£1400 Build check/opinions

megalomanic

megalomanic

megalomanic

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Hi,

I'm building a Gaming PC for my brother and wanted to get a second opinion or perhaps variations on what i have so far.
  • £1400 budget
  • Needs Monitor & OS
  • Must not run too loud
  • Nice/tidy looking case is a bonus
  • No intention to overclock

Here's what i have atm (largely based on recommendations i've seen made to others on the forums here :) ):

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £239.99
1 x Asus HD 7970 Matrix Platinum 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **FREE SHIPPING** £239.99
1 x Asus VN247H 24"Widescreen Super Narrow Bezel LED Monitor - Black £159.95
1 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE250BW) £149.99
1 x Corsair Obsidian 550D Quiet Midi Tower Case - Black £119.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87X-D3H Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £119.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 750W Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020061-UK) £79.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £71.99
1 x Patriot Viper "Sapphire Blue" 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-14900C9 1866MHz Dual Channel Kit (PV38G186C9KBL) £65.99
1 x Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (WD1002FAEX) HDD £63.95
1 x Corsair Hydro H60 V2 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler £59.99
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £13.99
Total : £1,385.78 (includes shipping : FREE).



My only concerns and uncertainty lie with the Mobo, RAM and PSU.
I see there are more expensive motherboard options available, but I haven't yet determined any real benefit in going with a more expensive one.
Are there any concerns with the quality of this PSU range, or the compatibility/quality of the RAM?

Thanks in advance :)
 
I think everything is fine but what i would do if it was me , is motherboard i would go for msi z87-g45 its a great motherboard! , grachic card is well i would if u could wait go for the r9 280x toxic version as its cheaper but outperforms the 7970. PSu is fine. U could actually get a 550 wat one if u really want to
 
To be honest, this is just as good as the rig you specced for the uses:

It also means you can afford a big better monitor (120hz/144hz) if you wish:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus HD 7970 Matrix Platinum 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **FREE SHIPPING** £239.99
1 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE250BW) £149.99
1 x Intel Core i5-4570 3.20GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £149.99
1 x Corsair Obsidian 550D Quiet Midi Tower Case - Black £119.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87-D3HP Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £109.99
1 x Antec High Current Gamer M 620W "80+ Bronze" Modular Power Supply £79.99
1 x Patriot Venom Red 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-14900C9 1866MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (PV38G186C9KRD) £71.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £71.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £53.99
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £13.99
Total : £1,061.89 (includes shipping : FREE).





The 4770k will not be any better at gaming than the 4670k, the 4570 is just a slightly lower clocked (locked) version.. Perfect for non-OCers.

7970 has free games and shipping. :)

The motherboard comes with a free cooler
 
The WD Black are more on the noisy side, if the OS/Apps/Games are going onto the SSD, go with the WD Green, they're designed to be on the quiet side(and use less power).

Why not an R9? They will later(no idea exactly when though unfortunately) include the game bundles like the previous generation of cards does.

I'd personally choose a Seasonic PSU, or BeQuiet, simply because i find them further toward the quiet end(Seasonic make some cracking PSUs especially). The Corsair in the current system isn't very noticable, but that said, it is the loudest component in the system(specific to this system, it's just that everything else in there is quieter).

I'd likely change the ram to, but that's simply because i've never used Patriot and i tend to stick with brands i've used such as Corsair, Crucial, Kingston, GSkill....etc.. (Corsair for majority of the builds i've done, hasn't let me down, like ever).

Can't speak with regard to the LCS, but you may need consider the noise from the fans on the rad(they're not always quiet). I've been contemplating an AIO LCS myself, but potential noise levels are swaying me toward old style air cooling(i'm undecided personally, i just think it's something worth reading and thinking about).

P.S. PCs aren't just tidy automatically by selecting the right parts, that's something you have to accomplish as the builder, a good choice in case and PSU helps, i think the chosen case is well suited to cable management, the PSU i cannot speak to as i've never owned a PSU from the CX line or done builds with one.
 
Sound advice guys thanks!

I'll post back here with an updated build later after a little more research :).

When I mentioned 'tidy' case I meant the exterior/aesthetics of the case - sorry wasn't clear on that. Although I will be doing my best on the cable management side of things too ;).
 
TooMuchCheese said:
The WD Black are more on the noisy side, if the OS/Apps/Games are going onto the SSD, go with the WD Green, they're designed to be on the quiet side(and use less power).

Why not an R9? They will later(no idea exactly when though unfortunately) include the game bundles like the previous generation of cards does.

I'd personally choose a Seasonic PSU, or BeQuiet, simply because i find them further toward the quiet end(Seasonic make some cracking PSUs especially). The Corsair in the current system isn't very noticable, but that said, it is the loudest component in the system(specific to this system, it's just that everything else in there is quieter).

I'd likely change the ram to, but that's simply because i've never used Patriot and i tend to stick with brands i've used such as Corsair, Crucial, Kingston, GSkill....etc.. (Corsair for majority of the builds i've done, hasn't let me down, like ever).

Can't speak with regard to the LCS, but you may need consider the noise from the fans on the rad(they're not always quiet). I've been contemplating an AIO LCS myself, but potential noise levels are swaying me toward old style air cooling(i'm undecided personally, i just think it's something worth reading and thinking about).
Click to expand...

But green drives are slower (thats how they are quiter).. The drive i picked is between the two, perfect. :)

The only reason i didn't go R9 is because of the free games and free shipping with the matrix, similar performance, so not missing out on anything..

The Antec HCG and HCP PSU's are made by Seasonic. So great quality.

Patriot RAM is good RAM.. :)

CLC's aren't worth the risk if you'r not overclocking..

Think about it this way.. The only moving part on an air cooler is a fan, on a CLC the moving parts are Fan and Pump.. So it will be noisier (with the same fan) Go figure. :D
 
Another idea?

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gainward GeForce GTX 780 Phantom 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £399.95
1 x Intel Core i7-4770K 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £239.99
1 x BenQ GW2460HM 24" Widescreen LED Professional Slim Bezel Monitor - Black £149.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87-D3HP Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £109.99
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE120BW) £86.99
1 x Antec High Current Gamer M 620W "80+ Bronze" Modular Power Supply £79.99
1 x BitFenix Ghost Silent Tower Case - Black £77.95
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £74.99
1 x Patriot Viper "Sapphire Blue" 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17000C11 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit (PV38G213C1KBL) £69.95
1 x NH-U12S Ultra-Quiet Slim CPU Cooler with NF-F12 Fan £52.99
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £13.99
Total : £1,373.27 (includes shipping : £13.75).

 
Spoke to the 'client' last night and he is not as worried about noise as I initially interpreted, as long a its not too loud/distracting.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus Radeon R9 280X DirectCUII TOP 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £281.99
1 x BenQ XL2411T 24" TRUE 144Hz 3D Vision 2.0 Widescreen LED Monitor - Black/Red £269.99
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £169.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87-D3HP Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £109.99
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE120BW) £86.99
1 x Antec High Current Gamer M 620W "80+ Bronze" Modular Power Supply £79.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £71.99
1 x Patriot Venom Red 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-14900C9 1866MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (PV38G186C9KRD) £71.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 300R Mid Tower Case - Black £65.99
1 x Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache WD10EZEX - OEM ** Single Platter ** HDD £47.99
1 x OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £13.99
Total : £1,293.80 (includes shipping : £19.10).



anything stand out as wrong with the above?

I got the price down a bit to allow some room for the accessories he needs (decent mouse/keyboard/speakers, and likely a wireless adapter) and i'm going to present some other case options if he wants to pay more for a quieter or higher quality case).

Ethermaster, that build looks very interesting. I think with OS factored in and everything else he need though, it was getting a little expensive. Also i think a 120Hz monitor would be more beneficial for whats needed.

I'm still kind of tempted to swap out the Mobo for another + a H60. But this is based on my own good experience with the H50 which i'v had in my own PC for 3 years.
Based on feedback and the additional cost though I think I'll agree that it's just not needed for this build.
 
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