New LAN Box / Workstation Setup

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capreppy

[H]ard|DCer of the Month - April 2009
Joined
Jul 4, 2007
Messages
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My wife's computer took a dump and I will be using the parts from it to build a NAS. She needs a new computer and I need a box that I can take to QuakeCon with me next year. In addition, this box will be used for ripping / converting our extensive DVD collection to be placed on the NAS for in-home consumption.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? PC Gaming, Photoshop, & DVD Ripping
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included? $1500 or less all in
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.FTW, TX so have access to Microcenter & Fry's plus the usual online suspects
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? I will be starting from scratch so Case, CPU/MoBo, RAM, PSU, GPU, & Storage
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Mouse (Logitech G9), Keyboard (Logitech G11), Monitor (24" LG), Headset (Logitech G35)
6) Will you be overclocking? CPU, yes. GPU, unsure: depends on cooling
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it? 24", 1200x1920
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC? in January
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? Raid 0, USB 3 and SATA 6
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit? Will need to pick up a copy of Win 7 x64


I've picked out some items and would love a critique based on what I want to do with this rig.

Case: $139.99 Corsair Carbide Series Air 540 (CC-9011030-WW)

CPU: $249.99 Intel Core i7-4770K Haswell 3.5GHz LGA 1150 84W Quad-Core
CPU Cooling: $129.99 CORSAIR Hydro Series H110 Extreme Performance Water/Liquid CPU Cooler. 280mm

MoBo: $224.99 EVGA 141-HW-E877-KR LGA 1150 Intel Z87 FTW
RAM: $49.99.99 G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
GPU: $299.99 EVGA 04G-P4-2768-KR GeForce GTX 760 4GB


PSU: $159.99 CORSAIR AX series AX760 760W
OS HDD: $118.48 SAMSUNG 840 EVO MZ-7TE120BW 2.5" 120GB
Storage HDD: $159.98 2x Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB
BD HDD: $34.99 LG DB Combo Drive

I've done watercooled rigs before (See sig), but with work and 21 month old twins, I don't have the time to devote to a prolonged build. Eventually I need to update my Sig Rig, but that's an entirely different story for another day.

The front fans can be 2x140 or 3x120. I know that Corsair makes the H110 which is my plan for cooling the CPU. Are there self contained solutions that are 3x120 as an alternative?
Doing photoshop, is 8GB of ram sufficient or should I bump up to 16?
Planning to run storage in RAID 0 which will get backed up daily to the NAS (wife has a terrible habit of making perfectly good computers go belly up and we can't recover)
Out of the loop on nVidia SLI. I may upgrade my monitor to 1440 at some point (will depend entirely on how good bonuses are next year). Is there sufficient benefit to doing SLI? I did 3x GTX285 in my sig rig (way more money than brains), but don't want to do again unless there is sufficient benefit.

ANY and all suggestions are greatly appreciated



edit: I realize that the parts above total above my current budget of $1500, but haven't really researched the best prices for each and every part.
 
First and foremost, you're planning way too early. Our recommendations tend to change monthly and sometimes even weekly. So if you want the most up-date hardware advice possible, please come back when you're 1-2 weeks away from buying parts and asking for advice then.

But I do have some advice for you that won't change at all in January:
As for the CPU and motherboard, do remember that Microcenter will knock off $30 to $40 off any compatible motherboard if you buy it at the same time as that 4770K. So definitely get the motherboard from Microcenter to save money. In regards to the motherboard choice you've made, I don't see a good reason to get that motherboard since it's an unproven recently released motherboard from a manufacturer with a rather spotty track record when it comes to motherboards. Not to mention that the pricing of that motherboard puts it waaay too close to the pricing of the higher-end socket 2011 motherboards. I recommend the MSI Z87-GD65 GAMING or the Asus Z87 Pro at most.

If you're planning on Crossfire or SLI, then that Corsair AX760 is a solid choice. However, if the chance of you going with SLI or Crossfire is low, then you'll be fine with a cheaper 650W PSU for $100 instead.

In regards to the RAM, if you're doing a ton of photoshop work, then 16GB of RAM minimum is recommended. IF you're just resizing photos, 8GB of RAM is enough for that I thihnk.
 
capreppy said:
After doing some reading, it doesn't look as if the Haswell can OC well. If I wanted to OC, would the Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core
 serve me better?.
Click to expand...
Not really. While yes the 3570K does overclock better than the 4670K, you have to be lucky in order to get a 3570K that could overclock high enough over the 4670K to be a noticeable performance difference. Not to mention that the older LGA 1155 is going to cost you a bit more money since the Microcenter discount for those LGA 1155 CPUs is $20 max whereas the discount for the 4670K and 4770K is $30 to $50.

capreppy said:
Unfortunately, MicroCenter doesn't have a lot of offerings for the LGA1155 socket in mITX.
Click to expand...
Wait, you're going for a mITX setup now?
 
I'm keeping my options open. I will probably get the CPU at MC and go with a CM 130 Elite (mITX), but am considering staying with the Corsair Carbide Air 540 and WC'ing the rig. This thread has given my some inspiration. I'll do a two RAD version of his setup (don't want to have to mod to get a third RAD in there).

The price on the CPU is pretty dang good, but OOS.
 
So what CPU are you going to get now?

Also, why not a mATX setup? It fits between the mITX and ATX you're looking at.
 
I am going with the Intel Core i5-3570k.

If I got with the Corsair Carbide Air 540, I'll have many MoBo opitons.
The CoolerMaster 130 only gives me the mITX as an option. The route that I go will depend partly on what my wife will consider sitting on her desk (which it will sit the majority of the time).

I'm leaning towards the Corsair case. I'll do stock cooling till I can raise the additional funds put the rig under water.
 
What games do you want to play? At what level of visual quality?

Let's assume for now that you're buying the 1440p monitor soon... how soon?

Those three answers help us determine what GPU setup you need. And that, in turn, determines whether or not you can get away with a mini ITX build.
 
Mostly a FPS and RPG (Oblivion and the like). I would love all the eye candy available, but realize sacrifices have to be made.

Ideally, I would like to get a 1440p monitor this summer, but I will likely be taking my LG 24" 12x19 monitor with me to QuakeCon.

If driving a 1440p will require SLI, I may push out the 1440p monitor till I raise additional funds to upgrade my sig rig which at this point is in major need of an update / overhaul but isn't convenient to take to LANs.
 
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