So I have set out on the quest of my first computer build for myself. I've helped others with there's, but this will be mine :D
Here is a list of parts that I have come up with so far. Just looking for some input to help me think. Main purpose of this computer would be gaming, though the other purposes would be image editing and animation.

Part List as I Go: PartPicker (outdated)

List:
NZXT PHANTOM Full Tower (Case) ($137.00)
Silverstone Strider Plus 750W (Power Supply) ($139.00)
ASUS Z87-Pro (Motherboard) ($275.00)
Intel Core i7 4770K (CPU) ($395.00)
Asus GeForce GTX 770 2GB (GPU) ($439.00)
Corsair Vengeance Pro 1866MHz 2x 8GB (RAM) ($239.00)
WD Caviar Blue 1TB (HDD) ($66.00)
Samsung 840 Pro 128GB (SSD) ($139.00)
Asus VX238H (Monitor) ($179.00)

Shipping = $78
Total = $2086

Future Upgrades (Extra):
ASUS GeForce GTX 770 2GB (GPU)
Water Cooler - Air Cooler (Deciding)

So I am going to leave the cooling systems till I come up with a bit more money, so I don't a half job of it. So I'll have to put of my over-clocking adventures for a little bit.

Thanks for the suggestions below. Looking for any recommendations.

10 years ago*

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I'd tell you to consider getting another PSU, you don't need that kind of wattage, and investing the money on an after market cooler for your CPU. It's really the only advice I can think of :-D. Also, consider going AMD, it will save you real bucks.

10 years ago
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Well the PSU is really only for the dual graphics cards when I get them. I know it's not a good thing to be cheap about PSUs.

Also AMD in which regard? CPUs or GPUs? If CPU, that will never happen for me. If GPU, I have heard that Nvidia has been catching up with AMD over the past years, and their support (upgrades and support overall) seems to be better.

10 years ago
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I still think that a 750W PSU will be a little overkill for dual SLI. The HX is an excellent choice however, it's one of Corsair's top of the line models.

As for Radeon vs Geforce, I prefer Radeon. It's a preference thing, I've never had a problem with Catalyst drivers, and I've read a lot of people complaining about the Nvidia ones, and finally having to go back to older versions. Also, remember that you will almost never have support directly from Nvidia, or AMD for that matter, so I would worry more about the manufacturer of the card. In your case, ASUS is a great choice, so that's alright.

And for the CPU, I won't start an AMD vs Intel discussion. I will, however, advice you to think again if your decision doesn't come from some awful experience that you had from some "silicon lottery" misfortune, as some call it. It can very well happen with Intel CPU's, and boy do I have some stories...

10 years ago
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Well I would go for the HX-650, but I have heard that they aren't as good as the HX-750 for some reason. I believe it was something about build quality, and the fact that if you want to over-clock at all the HX-750 is pretty much built for that.

Yep, I did a bit of research between the brands of the GTX 760, and it seemed like the ASUS was the most commonly liked and highly rated.

Also I realise that AMD processors have gotten better over the years, but I still have a general dislike of them over Intel. It's almost the same like the HTC vs Samsung debate of phones. HTC had some pretty bad problems to start with but have come a long way to having one of the best phones out. It's all about personal opinion really, and that's what separates pretty much everyone.

10 years ago
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ever used your brain?
you might missed the fact that times has changed, all upcoming games will be AMD optimized due to console changes =amd chips

derp

10 years ago
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Ever had something nice to say? A positive attitude goes a long way on the internet.

10 years ago
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That's...incredibly misinformed

10 years ago
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The stock coolers for intel are more than decent. That is if you don't want to do OC. If you do, then you need an afether market cooler.

10 years ago
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I thought so, so I may leave the after market cooler and my over-clocking till a bit later, when I have more funds to draw on. Was thinking of a liquid cooler for the CPU.

10 years ago
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What are you gonna use your PC for? If for gaming, there is no need in such a high end CPU, go with i5-4670k or 3570k ( you could choose between the "k" and the "non-k" version, the "k" just resembles that it's ready to overclock. And use the money saved for a better GPU, and RAM is becoming to be more and more needed, 8GB is the standard, and 16GB is becoming more and more needed. Also, clock speeds more than 1600MHz are not needed at all for gaming. After market cooler is also something you'll definitely need. And the PSU is fine, 750w is good.

10 years ago
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Haha, I guess that I should have stated that in the OP. It would mainly be gaming, but it would also be used for image editing and animation purposes. Also as stated I wanted to future proof it as much as possible.

Also the after market cooler. Do you have any suggestions? I was thinking about liquid cooling being a possibility, but haven't had much experience with them at all.

10 years ago
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As the 1st guy, think about going AMD for the CPU because of the 8 cores vs 4 cores, it'll help with rendering (and cheaper, adding more invest on PC), as well as 1x8GB sticks since it also will help having a bit more RAM for rendering and all. (Tho if it isn't heavy rending/a lot, it won't matter.)

There are some cases that are in the $50 margin(HAF 912) that are practically alike the Corsair Carbide 400R, the PSU I think a 700W can hold SLI, tho not sure. If you change those parts you could probably get that Samsung 840 Pro you want.

10 years ago
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Did a bit of quick research on the AMD FX-9590 (8 Core Black Edition) processor and it seems to be the competitor for the 4770K Intel processor. Even though the intel one is known to be a tad better, it would be true about the core count being better for rendering. I'll consider it, it also has a 1.2GHz advantage over the Intel without accounting for over-clocking, though it requires a liquid cooler.

Sorry, forgot to mention that I'm from Australia so the pricing is different. That case that you stated is the same price as the 400R ($129), so I'll stick with the 400R.

Like I have said the SSD is a future upgrade that would probably happen anyway. That's if I don't take the one from my laptop and stick it in the desktop. haha

10 years ago
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Also check out the FX-8350, and with some of the money you saved you could get a H60 or maybe an H70 to OC. And check out the [Fractal Design 1000](Project Cyber Disk) it's $70 there. Best of luck.

10 years ago
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Updated OP. Found a site that finally has all the parts I actually wanted in Australia, so the price is correct now.

Thought and researched about the different things people have suggested already. Going to stick with the Intel processor, just cause I am more familiar with them. Still looking into the single 8GB RAM cards as well. Not sure about the cooling system though, so if anyone could help on that, that would be great.

Thanks everyone

10 years ago
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I woul preffer AMD FX processors

10 years ago
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Well did a bit of research about them, and this about sums it up Link.

The AMD processor has a higher GHz, cache and core count. True the core count would help rendering, but the Intel processor just beats it in everything else pretty much.

10 years ago
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That site is pretty horrible...

Nevertheless it's true that AMD CPUs don't match up at all with Intel

As a side note, you can't compare core counts between the two companies. They have different definitions of what constitutes a "core"

10 years ago
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True, about the site, but it sums up what a lot of sites say, in the easiest format to read.

Also I realise that, that as well is true. With Intel's hyper-threading technology, and some other stuff they pack in makes the difference.

10 years ago
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It was just my opinion about the processor so go ahead with intel!

10 years ago
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I'd go for 2x8GB ram for dual channel use and also that you have enough ram to disable memory paging. I've got 2x4 GB and kind of regrett not getting more, because sometimes some games (like arma 3) require me to close my browser to have enough ram available...

Ram isn't expensive at the moment, so why wait till later to upgrade it?

Also I'd go for a bigger HDD. 2 TB sound great to me, even if you plan to get an additional SSD

10 years ago
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Well I am still thinking of getting the 2x8GB and leaning towards it quite heavily, since it's only about another ~$90. So that will probably change before I buy it.

Also I thought it was dangerous if you completely disable memory paging, think you always have to have at least 1024mb of it. Researched it when I got an SSD, and people said not to disable as it can cause errors, and just to set it at the 1024mb.

The extra space of the 2TB does sound nice, though I was going to upgrade to another 1TB after awhile, because I won't need the 1TB straight away anyway.

10 years ago
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Never had a problem running without virtual memory. Just as I said, occasionally programs with massive use of ram shut down if there is too much running in the background. Happens about once every few months.
The problem I have with virtual memory on windows is, if you let the OS create a pagefile, it will use it heavily even though you have plenty of unused ram left.

Anyway, I will look into this 1024 MB thing you mentioned!

10 years ago
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Do you plan on playing with overclocking ? If you don't then that MB and Proc are wasted money. You can get cheaper ones that do mostly the same thing.

10 years ago
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Yes, it is in my plans, even if it's to play around with it and a learning experience.

10 years ago
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That's cool. Then you should think about investing in an aftermarket cooler as others said above. If not now, then in the near future. The Intel coolers are more than decent for a regular platform but if you want to play around with the OC it may not be up to the challenge :)

Also, i personally prefer an air cooling system over watercooling (there's no need too overkill it)

10 years ago
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I'll probably leave my OC experience till I get a better cooler than. Could you recommend a good air cooling system? Thanks

10 years ago
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I would say get the i7-4770 and H87 boards instead. Overclocking is not really worth it. Also get a slower ram like 1333 mhz since memory speed is not a very important factor in gaming. A Samsung 840 Evo should be good enough.

Use the money saved to buy a larger harddisk (around 2TB) or a larger SSD. You are really going to need the extra space for game installs.

10 years ago
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I don't think I would ever go lower than 1600, since that is considered the "basic" RAM these days.

10 years ago
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Like some people have said, there's nothing wrong with AMD. MSi also has some good parts. I haven't checked the specs on all those parts (links would have been nice :p) but some of the parts seem unnecessary. You will probably only need 8gb RAM and it's doubtful you'll need a wireless network card. Also as stated above, save for a larger hard drive. A future upgrade of a 128gb SSD? Won't be able to store much on that. Go with 2 1tb hard drives (1 as main and 1 as backup, unless you need the full 2tb). Also with 2 1tb hard drives if one fails you'll still have another, also why you should have a backup drive. For a monitor I'd suggest the cheapest LCD monitor with DVI (unless you really want hdmi) because the price of monitors is quite high. And OP, I'm going to give you the specs of the PC I built. It's around $1000 and can run any game on high/ultra high. When buying parts you may want to wait until black Friday/cyber Monday. And as for water cooling, a couple fans really should be enough.

Cougar Orange Challenger Black Steel ATX (Case)
MSI 970A-G43 AM3+ AMD 970 + SB950 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD (Motherboard)
MSI R9 270X GAMING 2G Radeon R9 270X 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support (Video Card)
CORSAIR CXM series CX600M 600W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC (Power Supply)
AMD FX-6300 Vishera 3.5GHz (4.1GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 95W 6-Core (Desktop Processor)
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2133 (PC3 17000) (Desktop Memory)
Western Digital WD10EZEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Blue - OEM (Internal Hard Drive x2)

Definitely think it through a bit more before you decide on parts.The graphics card I mentioned handles very well, has better stock coolers than the AMD version, and allows for multiple monitors. I also bought a couple case fans which I didn't even need to install, so cooling isn't a problem. I don't have much experience with Intel but I do know that they usually have higher prices for some minimal
benefits. Once you have a slightly more refined list of parts post it here, maybe with links. I'm also not sure why nobody else has commented on the wireless network card. Is there no way for you to wire it directly? A wired connection is usually faster and the cables are cheaper than a wireless network card. Also I doubt you'll be gaming on the go with a desktop. You also didn't have a DVD drive listed, but make sure you get one and have enough cables/ports for it. When I built mine I didn't have enough SATA cable ports so I had to install drivers and Windows 7 from a USB. And lastly make sure that the parts are indeed compatible.

10 years ago
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Also sorry for such a long post xD.

10 years ago
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That's all good, I did want feedback.

The SSD is mainly for the OS and a few main programs, so it doesn't have to be large. Would include stuff like Adobe Dreamweaver and Photoshop. Currently running the same SSD on my laptop and it's still got 50GBs spare for all I need. The RAM will be helpful for programs like Autodesk Maya for animation only really, but it will future proof the system, so when I look for things to upgrade, I could just forget about the RAM. Also you are running 2133MHz Ram, that is a high grade memory which is why you wouldn't be having any problems.

Also about the HDDs. What do you think about the Blue Vs Black drives? Do you think that the small performance boost of the black drives is worth the extra $30? If not, then I might go straight to the 2x 1TB Blue WD Drives.

I wish I could wait till cyber Monday/black Friday, but that's ages away. haha

I won't really have the access for a cable, unless I go for the power point option(adds to cost of cause), otherwise there would be about 10m of cable running through walkways. Wireless just seemed to be the best option.

I hardly ever used a Disc Drive, so that was a point that I didn't even think about. I removed my laptop's DVD drive when I put my SSD in, and replaced it with the laptop's original HDD. I do have a portable one though already, if there is any need of it at all. Most drivers can be found on-line (don't know which can't be), and I only load Windows through a USB, much faster than a disc.

And I'll get around to adding some links.

10 years ago
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What do you mean power point option? Is this a desktop for home?

10 years ago
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How you can turn the power lines in your house into a high-speed lan connection. It's pretty simple to set-up.

The desktop, will either be mainly for home or the place I'm staying at for uni (during semester).

10 years ago
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Since you're going for the H100i in the future, I think you should get the 4770k to overclock. I like 128GB but trust me, it won't fit many games. Also, I would get the GTX 770(what I have) as it can run anything (except AC4 because it's not optimised) with maximum settings and AA etc 1920x1080 res. The 1866MHz 2x8 GB Ram is really worth it. Here are 2 reasons:

  1. You don't need that much unless you're doing photoshop or anything similar.
  2. You should get a 1600MHz instead because the 1866MHz won't make a difference and you can always overclock the RAM with your cool build.

I have the Corsair 200R and I must say that it's a very awesome case. The fans that came with it literally have like no noise at all, but if you really want to spend the extra money and get the bigger 400R , that's your choice. If you download a lot of games then choose the 2TB over 1TB.

Water cooler suggestion: You picked the best one so it's very good.
Monitor: I bought an Asus monitor for around $280, it's pretty cool and good for your eyes. However the downside is that Asus makes their monitor look too edgy, I don't really have a recommendation for this.

10 years ago
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I would only have my two best/favourite games on my SSD at a time, and that would still leave me the room I need, and the upgrade to the 256GB one doesn't seem worth it.

Is the GTX 770 worth it? It's another $100 over the GTX 760, I know that the X70s is considered the entry level to the premium of each series. Also it just makes it harder to then have dual graphics cards. What would be better in your opinion, dual gtx 760 (second within 6 months) or single gtx 770 (with a second possible gtx 770 in a years time maybe)?

Looking into the storage. Thinking of going with the 2TB, but as two drives.

10 years ago
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I like using this site to compare GPUs (they also have a CPU one). So yes, it is worth it. Also, if you want to make sure that your a part of your data will be safe if one drive fails then buy 2. Remember to set your SSD to AHCI from IDE before installing the OS from the BIOs. It'll help increase your SSD's speed.

Edit: Also try parting your HDD into halves and use one for SSD game storing. Run another OS on your HDD if you buy HDDs that are 7200RPM or higher. I was quite inexperienced with the HDD speeds before and didn't realise that 5400RPM is very slow. 10000RPM 1TB (or 2) HDDs are around $200

Edit 2: Looks like some parts are not worth it at this current time. I'll use pcpartpicker to help you pick out good ones.

Link I did this a little quickly and I'm sorry I realised I forgot to turn off rebates. I use the MSI Gtx 770 and it has no problems so I recommend it. I hardly touched anything since the parts you picked are good.

Edit 3: Oh nvm you're Australian :x

10 years ago
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OP Updated with links and a clean up.

Decided on 2x WD 1TB Blue HDDs. Looked up the difference between the Blue and Black drives and it's not that much at all for the $30.

10 years ago
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Id say, try to look after any full tower case. Just way better cooling ways ;) Even using water cooling. In my op, cooling is everything ;)

10 years ago
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Unless you're wanting all the extra, imho, unneeded features of Windows Ultimate, just get W7 Home Premium 64bit. That's my 2 cents. :)

10 years ago
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I really could get any OS I wanted and it would be free, so money isn't the issue, I'll probably actually try out Windows 8. Our university has a deal with Microsoft for certain OS and programs.

10 years ago
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if you go to w8 get 8.1

10 years ago
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Updated again.

Changed the PSU to a newer one, though still has quite high reviews and is fully modular, whereas the previous one I had was only semi-modular. Also this one is a bit cheaper, so I updated the graphics card to the GTX 770 as was suggested.

Changed the motherboard to a higher model with extra features (wifi built-in) and better power management, which was only a $40 increase. Whereas the extra wifi card would have been $45.

Also seems that Intel has a promo on for the processor to get a free copy of Total War: Rome II. Doubt it will be able to be redeemed in Steam, but hey free stuff. Runs out at the end of this month.

10 years ago
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Don't get tricked by promos. It might actually be more expensive while they have the promo going on so check around first to see if there are any lower prices. If not, go ahead. Free stuff is awesome :D

10 years ago
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That's true and I thought about it, but it seems that the price for the processor has remained constant for awhile. Could even mean this is leading to a discount, but who knows.

10 years ago
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Water Cooler - Air Cooler (Deciding) the corsair h100i is pretty good and go for a full size tower , you will see why the next time you will rebuilt your computer, i have a old server tower that was considered very big back in time but now it look just a normal size cases, but i didn't had to change it.

10 years ago
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Well do you have any suggestions around the $150 price mark (Australian). I have had a tiny look and this seems to be the most promising - Cooler Master Storm Trooper.

10 years ago
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If you're not in hurry to get it, I would suggest waiting. Nvidia will release new GPUs in the last quarter of this year (october-december). There's rumours about AMD releasing new cards this year too.

10 years ago
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I heard that they were releasing them in Q1 this year, which would leave them a month and a bit. I was thinking about waiting as well.

10 years ago
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I hate INTEL, it`s all I can say!!

10 years ago
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Haha that's all good, we all have our own opinions. That's what makes everyone different.

Just think, the internet wouldn't be fun without that :P

10 years ago
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Closed 10 years ago by Betabot.