Help on which Socket 1150 motherboard to buy for new decent build

[djdyna]

Hi guys, I am finally going to pursue in upgrading my PC! But I need a little help please... Ok so this is the likelihood of the system:

 

* Case: Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller

* PSU: Unsure of what to get? I currently have a OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W, but that will have to stay in the system it's in. So what decent PSU 600w or higher should i go for with reliability and quietness? Corsair CX600?

* Motherboard: Help!!! What is best value? ASRock Z77 Extreme6, 

Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3, Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 seems decent, any others?

* CPU: Intel CPU i5-4670K 3.4GHz Socket 1150 Quad Core Haswell Retail with Heat Sink Fan - Any help on a decent reliable cooler I can get?

* RAM: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit 

* GPU: GTX 760 OC 2GB GDDR5 ???? should I get????

* SSD: Best reliable SSD? Samsung 840 EVO 250GB, Crucial M500?    

Edited October 25, 2013 by djdyna

[ccokeman]

Socket 1150 boards all deliver performance within a very narrow range. Overclocking is also within a narrow range for people not using extreme cooling, more so limited by the chip than the boards capabilities. I would look at each manufacturers offerings and find a board that has the looks you like and the feature set you need. I say need because you can get identical performance from them all basically and just need to know the options you cant live without. 

 

 

There are plenty decent heatsinks on the market but cost is one concern and how far you will be overclocking is the other. 

[cchalogamer]

 I would look at each manufacturers offerings and find a board that has the looks you like and the feature set you need. I say need because you can get identical performance from them all basically and just need to know the options you cant live without. 

I very much agree with this, I have the cheapest socket 1150 Z87 motherboard ASUS has @ newegg.com and it has all the OC frills I could ever use up to reasonable water cooling due to the joys of these CPUs running rather toasty.  I will say however I came across this board in a "too good to be true" type of deal that worked out or I would have gotten something more in line with my Z77 board, but having used this BIOS now VS the one on my Gigabyte board I I think ASUS would get my money.  

 

Another note I just noticed you listed several non socket 1150 boards with an 1150 CPU, needless to say that isn't gonna work so either 3570K or a Z87 board (as much as Haswell isn't an "improvement" much over Ivy-Bridge I would go with it for hopefully the next generation of CPUs that should still use the socket) 

 

PSU I tend to look at units with a known good OEM with reviews from websites that have proper tools to load test (personal favorite jonnyguru) that's why I have a Rosewill PSU in one of my rigs. Seasonic seems to be at the top of their game atm but not as budget friendly. Good news is a 600W unit should be plenty for the rest of the specs and the Corsair listed should do the job just fine.  Heck just look at what I'm running off an Antec BP550 (Though I'm planning an upgrade of it next)

 

Cooling is the big one to me.  If you want much hope in the OC realm get the best you can dig up because these things run HOT I can keep the 4770K under 80C full load with a 4.3 OC and 1.2V (still working on that) with an Antec 620 Kuhler using a beat of a 120mm x 38mm Panaflo (rated ~110 CFM) but it isn't going to win any silence awards.  My Corsair H100i with the stock fans keeps my 3570K around 4.45 don't remember the voltage off the top of my head under 55C load.  A great place to get some ideas on noise level vs performance on a LOT of coolers is over at FrostyTech. 

 

SSDs I have used a fair number of OCZ models and while every SINGLE one I buy has ended up having a ton of negative reviews over @ newegg I have yet to have a single issue, in fact I just put the first SSD I ever bought in my old laptop to boost it (Vertex 2) so I have no problems there.  I also really like the Sandisk X110 series and had no complaints out of the crucial ones I've installed.  I've used a few other brands here and there but one key thing to remember with SSD shopping is those big sequential transfer rates they boast about don't mean ANYTHING 99% of the time for the performance of the model. Honestly go read this and it will help your understanding of SSDs even if it doesn't give you the answer you want (aka what to buy).

[djdyna]

Hi guys, yeah I notice SSD reviews are a trickle thing, many people just don't know how to install/set them up correctly. Are most failings because they don't realize they need to change to ahci mode, completely disable prefetch and superfetch and defrag and drive indexing?

 

What GPU do you think is best in the price range? Currently I see a MSI GeForce GTX 760 OC 2GB GDDR5 for

Edited October 26, 2013 by djdyna

[ChillKyle]

If you can go with the GTX 770

[djdyna]

I will likely get the Asus Z87 Plus and how about the http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-scanfx-gtx-770-overclocked-28nm-pcie-30-(x16)-7010mhz-gddr5-gpu-1072mhz-boost-1124mhz-cores-1536 ?

[ChillKyle]

I'm not very fond of reference designs. They tend to have mediocure coolers. Try to go for an aftermarket one if you can. I plan on getting the MSI GTX 770 for my current MSI Z87-GD65 build.