Anyone mind checking all the parts for the computer I plan on building

[Bla]

I might have missed it, but what are you planning to do with the system? It's easier to fine-tune your build if you let us know. Otherwise we could post 1000 alternatives and they would all still be considered "good".

[JBL333]

well aside from being my primary computer (all buisnes and student work) i plan to play games on it that being the reason I am here since I know little on that haha

Also I have seen posts for multiple processors specifically the i7-4790 i7-4770k and the i5-4670k what am I looking at in terms of preformance on each of these? also thank you so much to everyone who continues to come back and help haha

Edited June 15, 2014 by JBL333

[DexRain]

+1 for the Asus board, I've been building on Asus boards for over 10 years now, their ROG boards are great.

 

It's always better to spend a little extra on a newer platform if you can, as you'll generally get more use out of it

[ir_cow]

OP if you wanted to get Nvidia, get the 780 , you'd probably still save money with my build and have a comparable level of performance to the 290 I posted. A 770 is a downgrade from the 290 but still a great card(cheaper of course), if the 770 is to be considered then so should the 280X.

 

That EVGA PSU that HBC posted is also a good choice, the i7 however would be wasted money for a gaming machine. Get the cheapest set of CL9 1600mHz memory sticks you can (the ones I posted) because memory is memory is memory and you're CERTAINLY not going to see any performance increase with "faster" memory. The same applies for the SSD, in real life usage you're not going to see a difference between the SSD I posted and a "faster" one, an SSD is a sweet upgrade from a hard drive but from an SSD to an SSD you will not see a noticeable, if at all discernible, difference. (especially if they are of similar generations)

I'm going to have to disagree a bit on most of this lol. First. I wouldn't go with a 290 or a 780 for the simple fact neither is worth it's value anymore. 6 months ago yes when the 780 first drop to $500 and the 290 just came out. Now it's way to far into the cycle and it's smart to ethier get a 280x / GTX 770 or wait until the next cycle in what i'm guessing is 4 months (usually Q3 every year). Once that happens the 780 will be rebrande as a $300 880 card (860 maybe?) and so will AMD side rebrand its cards.

 

Second, an i7 isn't a waste of money for gaming, but the gains are very low in fps while from a i5 haswell. CPU hungry games see the biggest differences so I guess it depends on type of games the op plays.

 

Thirdly, I choose that memory becuase its $10 more and allows for easier overclock of the cpu. On top of that if you downclock it to 1600 you can get CAS 8 so why not get a better brand (my opinion)? the gain from 1600 to 2133 is like 1fps , so yes you aren't really seeing a difference but other apilcations like faster ram and it really doesn't cost much more. I would however sugggest 16gb kit either way, 8gb isn't enough these days.

 

edit: I forgot about the SSD. There is a difference between SSDs. Most if not all drives that use Sandforce controller share a simlair problem. When it runs into non-compressable files the read and write speed drastically drops. I'm talking about mp3, video, cache, etc. This is why I suggested those other drives as they do not have this problem. on paper they are nearly all the same and way faster than any hard drive but once you fill it up they can be slower than a normal hard drive.

 

 

edit 2: spelling errors (don't write right after work

[Bla]

well aside from being my primary computer (all buisnes and student work) i plan to play games on it that being the reason I am here since I know little on that haha

Also I have seen posts for multiple processors specifically the i7-4790 i7-4770k and the i5-4670k what am I looking at in terms of preformance on each of these? also thank you so much to everyone who continues to come back and help haha

The 4790 is slightly faster than the 4770k, but you probably won't be able to tell the difference. The 4770k however can easily be overclocked beyond the stock speed of the 4790. And an i7 performs better than the i5 if you're video-editing or playing CPU intensive games such as Battlefield 4. Other than that, you will roughly get the same performance with an i5.

For an all-round gaming system, I would personally go with an i5 together with a better graphics card, unless your budget allows both an i7 and a better GPU of course

Edited June 15, 2014 by Bla

[JBL333]

will I need a hard disk drive or can I run everything on an sdd?

[SpikeSoprano]

You'd want at least a 1tb hhd  to save space on the ssd, when you start saving files and installing games they fill up pretty quick.

[JBL333]

I have an external hard drive 2tb I am just wondering if I need to have an hdd

[ir_cow]

I have an external hard drive 2tb I am just wondering if I need to have an hdd

You don't need a extra hard drive but its nice to put games and files you don't need super fast access on. 1TB is like $50. After installing windows and all my apps / files my 240gb has 180 left. I can fill 240gb drive with 6-8 big games. Maybe that will help you decided.

[IVIYTH0S]

M.2, SATA Express, Support for Devils Canyon and Broadwell, Boot Guard, RST, Dynamic SSD Cache sharing,  

 

 

Let me reiterate something here. ALL Z97 boards will give you similar performance with some ranging a little higher due to how the Turbo Boost function is set up.  The feature set and build quality are what makes the difference. Feature set is so much more than just how many USB ports are included. It gets down to how the sound is implemented, The build components and how robust they are. how the heat sink package is setup, board layout, and honestly the look of the board. There is a lot that sets them apart. The UEFI BIOS and how it works by comparison. 

 

Then you get to the software bundle and how well it works and is integrated into the functionality of the hardware. In this respect IMHO ASUS is ahead of the curve and continue to innovate.  

 

At this point I would go Z97 over Z87.   

Sounds like a lot of marketing buff features that he will not make use of, for double the price. ASUS is a great manufacturer, don't get me wrong, but they don't value in check.

(plus OP could still save a lot by getting the Z97 version of the AsRock)

 

 

OP if you wanted to get Nvidia, get the 780 , you'd probably still save money with my build and have a comparable level of performance to the 290 I posted. A 770 is a downgrade from the 290 but still a great card(cheaper of course), if the 770 is to be considered then so should the 280X.

 

That EVGA PSU that HBC posted is also a good choice, the i7 however would be wasted money for a gaming machine. Get the cheapest set of CL9 1600mHz memory sticks you can (the ones I posted) because memory is memory is memory and you're CERTAINLY not going to see any performance increase with "faster" memory. The same applies for the SSD, in real life usage you're not going to see a difference between the SSD I posted and a "faster" one, an SSD is a sweet upgrade from a hard drive but from an SSD to an SSD you will not see a noticeable, if at all discernible, difference. (especially if they are of similar generations)

I'm going to have to disagree a bit on most of this lol. First. I would go with a 290 or a 780 for the simple fact neither is worth it's value anymore. 6 months ago yes when the 780 first drop to $500 and the 290 just came out. Now it's way to far into the cycle and it's smart to ethier get a 280x / GTX 770 or wait until the next cycle in what i'm guessing is 4 months (usually Q3 every year). Once that happens the 780 will be rebrande as a $300 880 card (860 maybe?) and so will AMD side.

 

Second, an i7 isn't a waste of money for gaming, but the gains are very low in fps while from a i5 haswell. CPU hungry games see the biggest differences so I guess it depends on type of games the op plays.

 

Thirdly, I choose that money becuase its $10 more and allows for easier overclock of the cpu. On top of that if you downclock it to 1600 you can get CAS 8 so why not get a better brand (my opinion)? the gain from 1600 to 2133 is like 1fps , so yes you aren't really seeing a difference but other apilcations like faster ram and it really doesn't cost much more. I would however sugggest 16gb kit either way, 8gb isn't enough these days.

 

edit: I forgot about the SSD. There is a difference between SSDs. Most if not all drives that use Sandforce controller share a simlair problem. When it runs into non-compressable files the read and write speed drastically drops. I'm talking about mp3, video, cache, etc. This is why I suggested those other drives as they do not have this problem. on paper they are nearly all the same and way faster than any hard drive but once you fill it up they can be slower than a normal hard drive.

 

 

Fair points, that's why the 280x should also be considered. Either 770 or 280x would be a great value right now. Just mentioned the 780 for a comparable card to the 290

 

The i7 is too a waste for gaming! CPU hungry or not, the hyper threading threads aren't as strong as real cores (if the title is even 4core+ enabled) so he's not going to get 100% better performance for 50% more money.

 

Memory speed doesn't matter when the chips overclock via multipliers nowadays, so it's wasted money "good brand" or not. Oddly enough the only RAM sticks I've had die were Corsairs, but who cares with nearly all RAM companies having lifetime warranties. You really think 16GB is necessary? I'm running 8GB because my POS motherboard doesn't register my third stick and my hyperthreading off and have no issues at all with any game or application, nor did my memory speed hamper my overclocking. I bought a 1600mhz kit and was held back by my chip LONG before the memory became an issue (again, a moot point with unlocked multipliers)

 

Fair enough, not all controllers are made equal but for a first SSD the speed alone will blow OP away and the controller differences would mostly be seen to an enthusiast on the cutting edge, ya know?

 

Hope none of my defenses sound personal, all in good discussion/advice!

 

I have an external hard drive 2tb I am just wondering if I need to have an hdd

No, you're fine. Just install only what you're going to use and only what you're playing. Don't install waves of games you aren't actively playing.

[slick2500]

I am going to have to agree with IVY on this one and take it a step further, an Intel cpu is a waste for a gaming rig, in most games you will never notice the difference in performance from a AMD FX cpu to an i5/i7. Sure some MMOs and RTS games better utilize Intel cpus, but unless that is all you play you would probably be better off getting an AMD FX CPU and an even better video card. Oh and pretty much any CPU that is priced over $240 is a waste for gaming because the price increase does not justify the small increase in performance that you will get.

Edited June 16, 2014 by slick2500

[ir_cow]

I am going to have to agree with IVY on this one and take it a step further, an Intel cpu is a waste for a gaming rig, in most games you will never notice the difference in performance from a AMD FX cpu to an i5/i7. Sure some MMOs and RTS games better utilize Intel cpus, but unless that is all you play you would probably be better off getting an AMD FX CPU and an even better video card. Oh and pretty much any CPU that is priced over $240 is a waste for gaming because the price increase does not justify the small increase in performance that you will get.

Thats too far lol. AM3+ socket is at the end of the lifecycle. you could pay $250 and get a 8-core AMD (not true 8 core anyways) or get a intel i5 that can match that and be upgraded in the future to a i7. 

 

If the op decides to go with a i5 I would just get mid-range MSi or Asus z97 motherboard and save a bit, those extra features in the 97 chipset are nice but like ivy pointed out it's not necessary. I personally doubt intel is doing to do another refresh on the 1150 socket so all the cpu and motherboards you see is it. They usually do 1 refresh (if that) than move onto the next socket.

 

The op can save even more money by getting a lower end motherboard that only supports 1 video card (no sli or crossfire) and lacks alot of the extra features. Personally I think that Asus hero board is awesome. It has support for future products that right now we don't think is useful (M.2) , crossfire / SLi support, good onboard sound and a quailty motherboard among other things.

 

Memory speed doesn't matter when the chips overclock via multipliers nowadays, so it's wasted money "good brand" or not. Oddly enough the only RAM sticks I've had die were Corsairs, but who cares with nearly all RAM companies having lifetime warranties. You really think 16GB is necessary? I'm running 8GB because my POS motherboard doesn't register my third stick and my hyperthreading off and have no issues at all with any game or application, nor did my memory speed hamper my overclocking. I bought a 1600mhz kit and was held back by my chip LONG before the memory became an issue (again, a moot point with unlocked multipliers)

Yes I think the way games, windows and many apps are going, 16gb is becoming standard like the jump from 4 to 8.  Windows 8 uses 4gb alone and most games use 4gb. run a bunch of apps and your over 8gb easy.