[howtheflip]

Hello all, let me describe what I plan on using this computer for:
I am a competitive, as well as casual gamer, and will be playing a lot of games, ranging from league of legends, to skyrim, to emulators. I also do some video rendering in sony vegas. I also plan on streaming both PC and Xbox games, (I know the Xbox One has built in capture card, but I have a separate one for my Xbox 360 as well.) So, let me go over each component:

CPU: i5-4670k- http://www.ebay.com/...=item3cd84dcaf1
($210)
So I decided on this one because it is actually cheaper than the i5-2500k and is slightly better at stock speeds. I plan on doing minor overclocking at some point, nothing too severe.

CPU Cooler: Phanteks- http://www.ebay.com/...=item461482b7ee
($75)
I decided to include this for the overclocking and to preserve the overall life of the CPU, it's the priciest one, but also is the most reliable. Other recommendations are nice though.

Motherboard: ASRock B85M Pro4 http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813157388
($77)
So although this motherboard is cheap, it is OC capable, it has a PCIex16, which I only plan on using one GPU, and it has 4 RAM slots. I don't think there's any other features I care for in a motherboard, but any recommendations would be nice still.

Case: (Choice of two)
NZXT Guardian 921- http://www.ebay.com/...=item4612321866
NZXT Phantom 410 - http://www.ebay.com/...=item417906b14e
So, the Guardian is about $27 cheaper, has three included fans, and temperature monitoring which is cool.
The Phantom has 3.0 usb where the Guardian only has 2.0, and it has a fan controller.
I'm leaning more towards the Guardian because it comes with the fans, is cheaper, has the temperature which is nicer then the fan controller, and the motherboard comes with some usb 3.0 slots anyway.

PSU- Seasonic 750G - http://www.newegg.co... USA-_-17151132
($115)
This PSU is 80Gold, and after doing some PSU benchmarks, I will be using about 520w max, so this will cover 80% at 600w so I shouldn't have to worry about the plus too much but it's still nice to be safe.

HDD- WD Black - http://www.ebay.com/...=item2ebb56408d
($86)
I don't need too much space, and could always just buy another done the road. Not much to say

GPU- (Between two choices)
gtx 670- http://www.ebay.com/...=item35cdfd02ce
gtx 560ti- http://www.ebay.com/...=item2c6e64d552

I know there is a clear difference between the two, but the question is which suits me better. The 670 can run practically anything I want for $240. But the gtx 560ti also seems like a reasonable downgrade for the price of $120, because the game I will be playing aren't that demanding. League, Skyrim, Fallout, and those games i'm not worried about. But I found that some of those PS2 and Gamecube Roms I've tried to play are way more demanding than the previous games. Would the gtx 560 ti run these emulators with ease, because anything below 50-60fps in these I notice the lag immediately. If I got this one, I would also be able to downgrade my PCU a bit and save a few bucks. I'm fairly sure the GPU doesn't affect streaming at all as well, corect? Any advice here would be nice.

SSD: OCZ Vertex 4- http://www.ebay.com/...984.m1438.l2649
($92)
This one isn't definite, any of the Crucial, Samsung, Sandisk, or this brand are fine with me and is more determined by price for 120-128gb, recommendations would be nice here though too.

RAM: Corsair Vengeance- http://www.ebay.com/...=item3a855ad755
I already have another 4gb laying around so I only need one.

Thankyou all in advance.

Edited by howtheflip, 11 November 2013 - 09:16 PM.

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Gday howtheflip, welcome back.
Good to see you have done some extensive research.
Here is your parts list all in one place. You don't have an optical drive listed nor an OS.> http://pcpartpicker.com/p/218KD
What monitor will you be using?
What would be your budget?
Please have a read through this topic as GZA is building a rig with similar usage as what you intend, > http://www.geekstogo..._1#entry2347910

Have to go out now, will get back later.

Some infor, > http://www.pcper.com...rst-Impressions

[iammykyl]

Gday howtheflip, welcome back.
Good to see you have done some extensive research.
Here is your parts list all in one place. You don't have an optical drive listed nor an OS.> http://pcpartpicker.com/p/218KD
What monitor will you be using?
What would be your budget?
Please have a read through this topic as GZA is building a rig with similar usage as what you intend, > http://www.geekstogo..._1#entry2347910

Have to go out now, will get back later.

Some infor, > http://www.pcper.com...rst-Impressions

[howtheflip]

Thankyou for the quick response.

Sorry I did not provide all of my information. I do have a 22" Asus monitor that I've used for competitive gaming so I am quite accustomed to it. I also have a windows 7 installation disk, a keyboard/mouse, and an extra disk drive lying around, so I am not worried about that features.

My budget is anywhere in between 1000-1200 depending on how badly I want certain parts, but 1200 is definitely my limit for now.

I checked out the other thread you linked, as well as the information, which was very interesting. First, I wanted to discuss the GPU's at this point then. That program said gtx 650 or better, so does that include the 560 ti? And that article also made it sound like the gpu does play a role in streaming performance, why is that and how much of a role is that? Although all informative and very interesting to test, it didn't help me ultimately settle on either card because I still do not know if the gtx 560 ti will meet my needs or not.

And you recommended an Antec to the other thread, between that and the Guardian I mentioned which are similar in price, do you think either have their distinct advantages or is it just preference at that point?

You also recommended ASRock Killer for a motherboard, which is similar to mine. The one that you mentioned seemed really nice, but at about $50 more, is it really worth it to me? I mean, I won't use all of the PCI slots, the amount of USB's isn't that different, and other features seem very similar. So it really boils down to if the one I chose has the capability to overclock a bit safely.

I also don't think I plan on recording, streaming, and playing at the same time so the second hard drive you recommended does not seem necessary to me.

[phillpower2]

Hello howtheflip

Hope you don`t mind if I chime in while iammykyl is offline;

CPU: i5-4670k = A great CPU.

CPU Cooler: Phanteks = Using this will void your Intel Warranty, please see my canned text below;

Your aftermarket cooler, a very important thing I must make you aware of is that you do not need the additional heatsink and CPU fan and if you did use it you would void your CPU warranty both AMD and Intel are clear on this, see below;

AMD;
This Limited Warranty shall be null and void if the AMD microprocessor which is the subject of this Limited Warranty is used with any heatsink/fan other than the one provided herewith.
Full AMD article @ http://support.amd.c...earLimited.aspx

Intel;
damage to the Product due to external causes, including accident, problems with electrical power, abnormal electrical, mechanical or environmental conditions, usage not in accordance with product instructions, misuse, neglect, alteration, repair, improper installation, or improper testing;
Full Intel article available @ http://www.intel.com...b/cs-009862.htm

MB: ASRock B85M Pro4 = Don`t compromise your build by choosing a cheap motherboard, ASRock make very good Z87 platform MBs so consider one of those, the B85M is also the micro ATX form factor and they can be tight for space and especially with add on video cards which can be quite large.

Case: NZXT Guardian 921
NZXT Phantom 410 = Ensure that you purchase a metal case as plastic is known to retain heat.

PSU: Seasonic 750G = It is overkill but also a great price, please also note that it is not Haswell CPU certified

HDD: WD Black = Great HDD.

GPU: gtx 670
gtx 560ti = GTX 760 would be a better option

SSD: OCZ Vertex 4 = Not a bad choice.

RAM: Corsair Vengeance = Good Ram but please confirm that the stick that you already have is the exact same.

[howtheflip]

Hmm, once again thank you for the response.

So how long is the warranty on a Haswell CPU? Maybe I'll just put off overclocking at least until my warranty expires then, so I wouldn't buy the heatsink, saving some money.

And I also realized after how much of an overkill my PSU was, but did not know it was not haswell certified, so I switched it to a 650w corsair one, the lowest wattage they had for the price while still being 80 gold.

And I will switch the motherboard then, but am torn between two now:

http://pcpartpicker....erboard-b85pro4
http://pcpartpicker....tal1tyz87killer

Once again, I am not seeing the major difference in specs to justify spending the extra money, but is the Killer really that much more reliable to make it worth it?

I realized that the Guardian case did not support USB 3.0 as well, and based on what you said about the phantom, I decided to switch to the Antec that was recommended in the other thread.

I confirmed the RAM to be the same as well.

And so lastly the only other major decision I have to make aside from the motherboard is the graphics card still. I looked at the gtx 760 and 670, and their performance is so similar, along with the price, that I'd honestly go either way (probably 760 based on reviews)

But that wasn't my main problem. I can get the gtx 560 ti for half the price, and if that can handle what I want to do, why wouldn't I just settle on that? based on what I want to do, does the gtx 560 ti meet my needs or is it recommended to pick something stronger?

Right now, this is what my build looks like: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/21iJj
That is just putting in the MB and GPU I would choose without any recommendation just to get a feel for the price.

EDIT: When I say the gtx 560 ti, I do not mean the 448. I mean the original 256 bit one as opposed to the 320 bit one. Because the gtx 560 ti is $120 while the gtx 560 ti 448 is $200 and at that cost I would easily just go for the gtx 760

Edited by howtheflip, 12 November 2013 - 02:13 PM.

[phillpower2]

So how long is the warranty on a Haswell CPU?

The PIB (Processor In a Box) warranty is 3 years when used with the HS and stock cooling fan supplied.

Newegg doesn`t say that your PSU is Haswell certified, please make sure that it is not an earlier model, a solid alternative is This

The better of the two MBs due to the future upgrade potential + it is also Crossfire and Sli capable unlike the cheaper B85M which is only Crossfire capable, no biggy at present but none of us know what the game demands will be in a couple of years time, scenario - you go for the B85M MB and an Nvidea GPU and in two years time wish to improve your video performance by adding a second add on video card, you would need to purchase two AMD cards and go Crossfire because there is no Sli option with the B85M MB, this is just a heads up for you and a single quality brand GTX 760 should be good for a few years yet.

But that wasn't my main problem. I can get the gtx 560 ti for half the price,

As above, the GTX 760 is more future proof than the 560Ti + it`s performance is superior, Zotac would not be my choice of brand BTW, stick with ASUS, Evga or Gigabyte.

[howtheflip]

Thank you once again for your response!

I have taken into consideration everything you have said and finalized my build.

I thought the series was different of the PSU I posted, so that was my mistake. I really wanted a 80 gold PSU though, and so I went digging and found a list:
http://techreport.co...patibility-list

And decided that this one had good reviews, and is modular which is also nice:
http://pcpartpicker....-supply-tpg650m
Also, because it is 80 gold, there's less heat, wasted wattage, and will overall save me money in the long run with electricity consumption.

I went with the Killer motherboard as well because of what you said; I'd rather pay 30-40 bucks more now and not worry about upgrades shortly down the road.

I will also get the gtx 760 for the same reason, and because it has the ShadowPlay support that I find interesting, and would rather be safe at this point.

These aren't the confirmed places that I will be purchasing the parts, as I will look around for cheaper alternatives and warranties, but it is definitely a nicely compiled list of all of the parts I do want, so it will definitely make the process easier.

Thank you so much guys for your input! I can't wait to start ordering the parts and working on it.

This is my final build:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/21oVF

Edited by howtheflip, 12 November 2013 - 05:18 PM.

[phillpower2]

You are most welcome howtheflip

Nice build but I would change the brand of PSU forThis one.

My canned text regarding choosing a quality brand PSU;

Please note that there is one thing that is possibly worse than using a known poor quality brand of PSU and that is using one that is unheard of, for brands of PSU to trust and brands to avoid please refer to the attached links http://www.10stripe....d/psu/brand.php and http://www.pcmech.co...ad.php?t=208143

PSU database http://www.realhardt...vos/Page541.htm

[iammykyl]

Gday.
Thanks Phillpower2 for you input, looks like you and howtheflip have it all sorted.
It;s a great build and will perform admirable for your requirements.
I know you said "final" but please consider the Samsung Evo SSD. I have not seen one negative review, in fact the opposite, it also includes software, the wiziartd can optimize the SSD for running with a separate DATA storage drive, this saves you a lot of time and head scratching.
> http://uk.hardware.i...0gb#tab:reviews
If you could take the trouble. You said you had a spare HDD laying about. When you are up and running, benchmark your recording performance then add the drive and use exclusivity for recording, I would be most interested to see if there is better performance, or not.
Thanks.

[howtheflip]

You are right about the SSD, and I have not settled totally on that, but that is a part that does not affect the initial build of the machine, so it may wait until I do more research and see whatever is cheaper at the time.

As for the PSU, I've been reading a lot and have narrowed it down to two that are brand name then, since you advised against something else.

http://www.newegg.co...ID=3938566&SID=
($50)

http://www.amazon.co...r/dp/B0090I9VX0
($118)

http://www.extremete...lectricity-bill
I read that article to see the potential of saving over a year, wasted wattage, heat load, etc. I found that the upgrade could save me $5-20 a year depending on how active I am on my computer. Even though the gold costs more, I'll save money over the years, reduce heat, and maximize the 650w of my PSU so it's not wasted. Also, the Hx650 has a 7 year warranty over the 5 year warranty.

Is Corsair as good on PSU's as they are RAM? Is this a reliable model? Also, I confirmed this PSU on their website, even if it is not listed on Amazon. It's really hard to find a haswell+gold+<650w PSU to lower the cost of it.

EDIT:
I also looked at the SSD performance and figured it is worth the 840 pro, so I have put that into my build now instead

And I Found one <650w haswell+gold
http://www.ebay.com/...984.m1438.l2649

Is Antec a good brand?

Edited by howtheflip, 13 November 2013 - 12:06 PM.

[phillpower2]

You are most welcome iammykyl

Hello howtheflip

It was apparent that you required a gold rated PSU and that was why I suggested the RM 650, which is also fully modular, true that the HX 650 has a seven year warranty which is a + over the five year warranty of the RM version, the HX 650 is however more expensive and a hybrid type PSU/not fully modular and so they are about even cost wise.

Have you read the feedback for the HX 650 at amazon Not very good

[howtheflip]

ahh, I completely missed that link the first read through, as well as the guides =( I'm sorry. But that one looks perfect and it looks like none of the others I have posted have quite met my expectations, So I will go with the RM 650 =) thankyou once again!

[phillpower2]

I`m never one to stop looking for quality bargains and in keeping with this I found a 650W gold rated PSU with a 10 year warranty, please seeHere and some further readingHere

You are most welcome BTW

[howtheflip]

Oh wow, 75 after rebate? that's cheap and exactly what I wanted. And that warranty is unbeatable. Once again, you have me sold. Thankyou so much! I'll probably purchase that either tomorrow or by the end of the day then as to not miss out on it. I can't wait until I'm as good at finding quality brands for that price as you are xP.

[phillpower2]

You are most welcome and thank you for your kind words