New PC Build - Thoughts?

[axion]

I am going to be upgrading my PC very soon and wanted some opinions on hardware. I do moderate gaming (bf4) and photo editing, this machine will also see heavy web surfing (eBay business) and media (music and video).

GFX - ASUS GTX760-DC2OC-2GD5 GeForce GTX 760 - $269

MOBO - GIGABYTE GA-Z87X-UD4H LGA 1150 - $184

CPU - Intel Core i5-4670K Haswell 3.4GHz LGA 1150 - $239

RAM - CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 - $87

I am also wanting opinions on a good SSD (128gb min) for a new copy of Windows 8 and all our other daily use software (running vista 64 atm)

I will be looking into 2TB min. storage for media. Was thinking WD Black/Blue here..?

I am currently running a Corsair 650TX PSU, Thermaltake Element S Case and will probably keep these as well as current media reading devices and optical drives.

*All prices are from newegg - my vendor of choice and where purchases will be made.

Opinions please??

 

[Charlie98]

Looks pretty good... couple of questions, though...

How old is your TX650, and is it the v2 model?

Why the -UD4H mobo?

If you are doing photo editing and lots of eBay, bump your RAM up to 2x 8GB sticks.

I would also go to a 256GB SSD if at all possible; it's best to leave at least 30% free space on an SSD. As far as an HDD, I would just pick whatever is on sale from the Big 3 in the size you want. Unless you just want a big warranty (5 years) the Blacks are unnecessary. I would probably go for the Seagate myself... but the Toshiba is $10 cheaper. (You said 2TB minimum, there isn't much price difference going to a 3TB.)

EDIT: As far as SSD's, it's hard to go wrong with the Crucial M500, the Samsung EVO, or, in my opinion, the Intel 530 (but you'll pay for it.) I also like the Plextor M5Pro, but they are not priced very competitively.

 

[mfenn]

The mobo you've picked out is too expensive given your needs. The ASRock Z87 Pro3 will get the job done at $95.

The RAM is also too expensive for 8GB, but as Charlie pointed out, 16GB may be more your speed for photo editing while having lots of browser tabs open. This Team DDR3 1600 16GB kit is good at $130.

As for storage, I agree that a ~256GB SSD is the sweet spot unless you're strapped for cash. The M500 240GB is a good deal at $130. Either of the drive that Charlie pointed out would be good for bulk storage.

 

[axion]

Looks pretty good... couple of questions, though...

How old is your TX650, and is it the v2 model?

Why the -UD4H mobo?

If you are doing photo editing and lots of eBay, bump your RAM up to 2x 8GB sticks.

I would also go to a 256GB SSD if at all possible; it's best to leave at least 30% free space on an SSD. As far as an HDD, I would just pick whatever is on sale from the Big 3 in the size you want. Unless you just want a big warranty (5 years) the Blacks are unnecessary. I would probably go for the Seagate myself... but the Toshiba is $10 cheaper. (You said 2TB minimum, there isn't much price difference going to a 3TB.)

EDIT: As far as SSD's, it's hard to go wrong with the Crucial M500, the Samsung EVO, or, in my opinion, the Intel 530 (but you'll pay for it.) I also like the Plextor M5Pro, but they are not priced very competitively.

The PSU is from my build in 2009.

-UD4H - no real rhyme or reason, just looked good at the time lol! Is there a better alternative to support the CPU?

16gb RAM - I like the sound of that, and it would probably run things smoother for sure, good call!

SSD - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148694
is the above SSD decent? I have yet to install or use one, so I would imaging anything would seem like a night/day difference to the 640GB Black I have now as my sys drive

 

[axion]

The mobo you've picked out is too expensive given your needs. The ASRock Z87 Pro3 will get the job done at $95.

The RAM is also too expensive for 8GB, but as Charlie pointed out, 16GB may be more your speed for photo editing while having lots of browser tabs open. This Team DDR3 1600 16GB kit is good at $130.

As for storage, I agree that a ~256GB SSD is the sweet spot unless you're strapped for cash. The M500 240GB is a good deal at $130. Either of the drive that Charlie pointed out would be good for bulk storage.

Thanks for the Motherboard suggestion, I don't plan on OC'ing anything so I guess that one would do just fine? I have never used ASRock before, they are reliable?

The 240gb SSD will do just fine then, and a good price too!

I have never heard of TEAM memory before, again, reliable brand? The only memory I have EVER used was corsair

 

[Charlie98]

The PSU is from my build in 2009.

-UD4H - no real rhyme or reason, just looked good at the time lol! Is there a better alternative to support the CPU?

16gb RAM - I like the sound of that, and it would probably run things smoother for sure, good call!

SSD - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148694
is the above SSD decent? I have yet to install or use one, so I would imaging anything would seem like a night/day difference to the 640GB Black I have now as my sys drive

I think the PSU will be OK... I like the v2 models (I have a 750w...) because they are made by SeaSonic.

Take a look at mfenn's ASRock mobo, it's a pretty good value and looks like a decent board. I like Gigabyte boards, the equivalent to that would be the Z87-DS3H or the -HD3.

16GB for sure... and you will rock the M500! :awe:

 

[Charlie98]

I don't plan on OC'ing anything so I guess that one would do just fine? I have never used ASRock before, they are reliable?

If you aren't going to OC, there is really no use to the K Intel chip or Z87 board, you could downgrade a little and save some loot:


Intel i5-4670, $220
Gigabyte B85-HD3, $80

 

[axion]

Right on Charlie, thanks!

 

[mfenn]

If you aren't going to OC, there is really no use to the K Intel chip or Z87 board, you could downgrade a little and save some loot:


Intel i5-4670, $220
Gigabyte B85-HD3, $80

:thumbsup:

Thanks for the Motherboard suggestion, I don't plan on OC'ing anything so I guess that one would do just fine? I have never used ASRock before, they are reliable?

The 240gb SSD will do just fine then, and a good price too!

I have never heard of TEAM memory before, again, reliable brand? The only memory I have EVER used was corsair

Yep, ASRock and Team are reliable parts. They aren't the flashiest brands, but then again, they don't spend a lot on marketing either.

 

[axion]

Ok new line up - should work just as well and cost less than my old wishlist if I am not mistaken!

Gigabyte GA-B85-HD3
Intel Core i5-4670
ASUS GTX760-DC2OC-2GD5 GeForce GTX 760
Crucial M500 240GB
Team Dark Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) (or G.Skill for a little more, not sure yet)
2X - Western Digital WD10EZEX 1TB (Blue)

Might spring for a new case.. not sure yet.

Also, opinions on Windows 8? Or should I get 7 and why? lol

 

[mfenn]

Why two 1TB drives? The only answer that makes sense to me is "backups".

As for Windows version, I would go with Windows 8.1 becasue it is overall newer and has a better licensing model for the full version ($120). You can get the Start Menu back with a free addon like Classic Shell. Now, I'm sure some people are going to come in here and tell you that Windows 8 is the devil, but that's what I would personally use on a new machine.

 

[axion]

Why two 1TB drives? The only answer that makes sense to me is "backups".

As for Windows version, I would go with Windows 8.1 becasue it is overall newer and has a better licensing model for the full version ($120). You can get the Start Menu back with a free addon like Classic Shell. Now, I'm sure some people are going to come in here and tell you that Windows 8 is the devil, but that's what I would personally use on a new machine.

Backup is pretty much the answer, as I mentioned earlier we have a lot of media and quite an extensive music collection, i like to keep a mirror just in case. Although, I have thought about getting a 2TB internal and keeping the photos and music on an external 1TB that could be synced weekly or so.

 

[coolpurplefan]

If I wanted to save money I'd look at the Gigabyte GA-H87-D3H motherboard and a GTX 750 Ti.

 

[Charlie98]

Now, I'm sure some people are going to come in here and tell you that Windows 8 is the devil, but that's what I would personally use on a new machine.

NO... you need to use XP! It's the best evarrrrr!

(Naaa... mfenn is correct. Even though I run W7 on everything now, I'll be going to W8.1 next machine.)

thought about getting a 2TB internal and keeping the photos and music on an external 1TB that could be synced weekly or so

1TB drives are cheap right now, but I would probably spring for a 2TB HDD and get a 1TB external (like the Seagate) to backup into. I'm a backup fiend now since my OS SSD crashed last year... it's worth the money. I actually run 2 500GB Seagate portable externals in rotation along with a 500GB external and a 1TB internal. Having 3 copies of everything allows me to sleep at night.

 

[mfenn]

Backup is pretty much the answer, as I mentioned earlier we have a lot of media and quite an extensive music collection, i like to keep a mirror just in case. Although, I have thought about getting a 2TB internal and keeping the photos and music on an external 1TB that could be synced weekly or so.

It helps if your backup target is bigger than your primary storage so that you can keep incremental historical versions (backups don't do you much good if corruption is replicated to the backup before you notice). 2TB external drives only cost about 50% ($30) more than 1TB internals, so IMHO it's worthwhile in terms of data integrity.

 

[Cerb]

Now, I'm sure some people are going to come in here and tell you that Windows 8 is the devil, but that's what I would personally use on a new machine.

Windows 8 is the devil!

Though, as a personal machine, you can customize 8/8.1 easily enough, and quickly enough, so the only real negative is the horrid flatness it has. 8 may not be MS' finest release, by a long shot, but 7 will die much sooner, and 8 doesn't run like crap on common hardware, like Vista did. Doing a lot of remote support, I despise 8, but I would buy 8.1, today, if I needed a new OS.

--

It generally looks good, but a proper backup should be external, and large enough to grow. More to the point, you want physical and electrical separation, for live backups, because while HDDs tend to be common points of failure, they are far from the only ones. You might want to consider getting a nice little NAS, in the not too distance future, for good live backups.