Do I pull the trigger on this?

250Rocket

250Rocket

Well-known member
I'm running a 7 year old laptop out to my TV for daily use. It's become so bad that at times I can't even watch a youtube video without there 10 second period where the audio is playing but the video is blank. It's also to the point where I can't even install the RAW image program from Canon i got with my camera.

I was planning to drop about 2k (taxes and shipping included) on a desktop build. http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/pXswD3
80% of the time it'll be for daily use internet surfing and such, otherwise I use Lightroom and Photomatix and might have the odd CPU intensive task.

I will also throw in a decent GPU and get back into computer gaming (1080p).

First comment is going to be Overkill which I know it is but my build motto is to spend the money up front, enjoy a kick ass computer for a few years and then keep it for as long as possible without upgrading.

If I managed 7 years with a $1400 laptop I'm aiming for 8-10 years with $2k desktop. Only considerations I'd make is the replacement of the AIO cooler (in case of problems/failure). I considered air cooling but any decent air cooler is a behemoth.

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Just asking for other opinions as I may not have considered everything. If I had a bigger budget I'd have gone X99 6-core and my only reservation is waiting to see how the R9 390 performs but reports are saying 1H 2015.
 
Personal input here: im an Intel guy, so I only know/follow intel and nvidia, but you should have a great system for 2k.

My advice: get something good enough for now and upgrade components as you go.

I would strongly suggest (replace with amd equivalent) an i5 4000 series. Grab a z97 board, a decent psu and 8gb of ram (2x4) leaving enough to upgrade, I dont think you will need more than 8 for now... grab a 970 or 2, a ssd and hd combo and you've got a great 1400ish $machine which will last you half that time and the savings will let you upgrade a bit again to newer components in the next 4ish years

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk
 
Key to keep a pc for a while is a good cpu (intel). A good gpu (nvidia gtx 780ti)
Memory is not that important since you can add some anytime at a decent price

Psu dont cheap out get 80+ gold minimum

Mothetboard if you dont want to overclock and dont intend to do it in the future get a good mb but nothing fancy

Cooling id say go with a close loop water cooling they are cheap price now and are very good

My point of view.
Ill make you a list tonight
 
TheGodZ said:
Key to keep a pc for a while is a good cpu (intel). A good gpu (nvidia gtx 780ti)
Memory is not that important since you can add some anytime at a decent price

Psu dont cheap out get 80+ gold minimum

Mothetboard if you dont want to overclock and dont intend to do it in the future get a good mb but nothing fancy

Cooling id say go with a close loop water cooling they are cheap price now and are very good

My point of view.
Ill make you a list tonight
Click to expand...

Check the link in my original post. Pretty much everything you said. 80+ Platinum, GTX970 debating the 980. and I intend to to overclock to 5Ghz if possible so I'm getting the ASUS Maximus Hero Z97 (on sale though for $210). Also the reason I'm getting the Corsair H110.

The advice I was looking for was more swap part "X" for part "Y" because__________
 
TheGodZ said:
Key to keep a pc for a while is a good cpu (intel). A good gpu (nvidia gtx 780ti)
Memory is not that important since you can add some anytime at a decent price

Psu dont cheap out get 80+ gold minimum

Mothetboard if you dont want to overclock and dont intend to do it in the future get a good mb but nothing fancy

Cooling id say go with a close loop water cooling they are cheap price now and are very good

My point of view.
Ill make you a list tonight
Click to expand...

Don't bother with the 780ti. I have a 780ti classified and I'll sell that to you if you want, I'd swap it for 970SLI, pretty much the same price! Get a 970, it's cheap, and has like half the TDP, so that should save you like 50$ a year in electricity ;)

Stay away from water. get a Hyper212. water is a complication, even prepackaged systems such as a the h100i occasionally leak. (I got my h100i for 60$ on special at CC, but returned it and picked up the hyper212. I'd rather spend the extra 80$ on something for the system.

edit: saved you a couple of bucks here: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/yzdKnQ

my reasoning: i5, you won't need an i7 for your gaming, you mentioned lightroom/photoshop? don't bother, the i7 won't have that much of a boost for you, i would recommend it if you were doing more transcoding/rendering. I added a more reliable SSD, better memory, and changed the cooling to a more affordable one. However, in the end, It's still your decision to make.
 
The 212 for overclocking isnt that great imo...
I have a h60 swapped on 3 of my pc ans still works like q cham
 
TheGodZ said:
The 212 for overclocking isnt that great imo...
I have a h60 swapped on 3 of my pc ans still works like q cham
Click to expand...

I have no doubt whatsoever that hydro cooling is better than aircooling in most cases (also better airflow) but I (personally) will not put a 80$ motorized coolant system inside my PC for the extra mhz. K series are still very overclockable with air. 4.5 is perfect witrh a 212 and a 2500k, it can reach up even higher, but I wouldn't. A water cooled system could bring it up to what? 4.8?
 
A-Data memory. No.

Je me prendrais du Corsair, G.Skill, Crucial... pour 20-30$ de plus sur ton build, ça vaut la peine.
 
Cryptkeeper said:
Don't bother with the 780ti. I have a 780ti classified and I'll sell that to you if you want, I'd swap it for 970SLI, pretty much the same price! Get a 970, it's cheap, and has like half the TDP, so that should save you like 50$ a year in electricity ;)

Stay away from water. get a Hyper212. water is a complication, even prepackaged systems such as a the h100i occasionally leak. (I got my h100i for 60$ on special at CC, but returned it and picked up the hyper212. I'd rather spend the extra 80$ on something for the system.

edit: saved you a couple of bucks here: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/yzdKnQ

my reasoning: i5, you won't need an i7 for your gaming, you mentioned lightroom/photoshop? don't bother, the i7 won't have that much of a boost for you, i would recommend it if you were doing more transcoding/rendering. I added a more reliable SSD, better memory, and changed the cooling to a more affordable one. However, in the end, It's still your decision to make.
Click to expand...

Definitely i7. Long term only more and more programs will be multi-threaded. 4 cores will probably become the norm and the hyper threading will give an extra boost. I would have went with an X99 6-core had I had $500-800 more dollars to spend but the motherboards are insanely priced. The base Asus X99-A was almost $100 more than the Hero Z97 i picked up. DDR4 prices I could have stomached and the CPU itself is like $30 extra bucks.

I chose water for a few reasons but mainly aesthetics. There's no beating the look of only a small block covering the CPU. The logical choice is air because like you mention it'll do 3/4 the performance at 1/2 the cost and it a safer more reliable cooling method but if you have you case on display a hulking tower just ruins it IMO.

Also I really wanted the 840 Evo but I heard about a bug where performance is shit if the files are old. No reviewer ever noticed because they were always new. In search of an alternative most reviewers gave the MX100 512Gb the best bang for the buck award and it comes with similar software and better security features than the 840 Evo.

BoxsterBoy said:
A-Data memory. No.

Je me prendrais du Corsair, G.Skill, Crucial... pour 20-30$ de plus sur ton build, ça vaut la peine.
Click to expand...

When I made the list everything was like $50 or more for the same CAS9 1600, 16Gb. Deal popped up on some Corsair Vengeance so I bought it. The reason I went with ADATA was because at the time all the equivalent big names were $200-220 and nobody had anything bad to say about the ADATA.
 
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I humbly disagree with you, but it's your build, and your money. I was looking at it from a financial point of view, and trying to see the ROI of upgrading by part.

From what I took from your initial post, you are looking to game, and use photography apps, I am assuming photoshop is included in there along with lightroom and photomatix. that is the only information I have been given, along with a price-point of 2k (monitor included in price is unknown)

Where the i7 really shines is in throttling data. this is possibly the only area where you will see hyperthreading give a distinct advantage. Gaming and photo editing rarely throttle your CPU. Most games at this point only use up to 2 Cores anyways. Some games do, but not enough IMO to warrent a 100$ increase in processors. (you mentioned a 6 core as well, add on 350$ for that, no?)

The second you mentioned future-proof, you are thinking ahead, how better to look into the future then with the ability to upgrade as newer hardware comes out? what if in 5 years they release a DNA based SSD and an i7 48core CPU? Granted, you can't always go out and buy the best peripherals, but you can defiantly go out and buy adequate ones?

It's the same reason I haven't gone Mac. I cannot see myself purchasing a 2500 laptop and keeping it for 4 years, I would rathar go buy a 1500$ laptop, and buy another 1500$ laptop in 2 years. but hey, that's just me. I only suggest that you save your money, don't buy a beast of a machine, but build a machine that's good enough, with the option of upgrading it in the future.

you mentioned you already went out and bought parts? specs? bought them online or local?
 
also, regarding the evo, I agree wholeheartedly, I returned the 2 I bought to put in raid-0, because of that same issue (139$ each at canada computers) I will re-buy them again when the firmware fix comes out, or possibly the 850pro if they drop in price.
 
Cryptkeeper said:
I humbly disagree with you, but it's your build, and your money. I was looking at it from a financial point of view, and trying to see the ROI of upgrading by part.

From what I took from your initial post, you are looking to game, and use photography apps, I am assuming photoshop is included in there along with lightroom and photomatix. that is the only information I have been given, along with a price-point of 2k (monitor included in price is unknown)

Where the i7 really shines is in throttling data. this is possibly the only area where you will see hyperthreading give a distinct advantage. Gaming and photo editing rarely throttle your CPU. Most games at this point only use up to 2 Cores anyways. Some games do, but not enough IMO to warrent a 100$ increase in processors. (you mentioned a 6 core as well, add on 350$ for that, no?)

The second you mentioned future-proof, you are thinking ahead, how better to look into the future then with the ability to upgrade as newer hardware comes out? what if in 5 years they release a DNA based SSD and an i7 48core CPU? Granted, you can't always go out and buy the best peripherals, but you can defiantly go out and buy adequate ones?

It's the same reason I haven't gone Mac. I cannot see myself purchasing a 2500 laptop and keeping it for 4 years, I would rathar go buy a 1500$ laptop, and buy another 1500$ laptop in 2 years. but hey, that's just me. I only suggest that you save your money, don't buy a beast of a machine, but build a machine that's good enough, with the option of upgrading it in the future.

you mentioned you already went out and bought parts? specs? bought them online or local?
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Basically I bought everything today as most of the sales were running out.

Instead of listing them in PC Part Picker I will list them below:

Case: 450D $110
PSU : AX760 $170 (-$20 MIR)
Cooling: H110 $114
Mobo: Hero VII Z97 $210
CPU: 4790k $358
RAM: Corsair Veng 2x8Gb $180
SSD: MX100 512Gb $223
GPU: GTX 970 Strix $380

Total cost with taxes (only GST) and shipping $1835. I would have liked to buy local but having to pay an additional $180 to our lovely government .... no thanks so I used Direct Canada and NCIX.

A quick run through of my logic in selection.

Case has one of the best thermals for a mid tower at a great price.
Liquid cooling looks nice while doing a really good job. Ready to take the risk of potential leak.
Motherboard is a little gimmicky but with a 20% discount the features and software are hard to beat plus again aesthetics, that red and black color scheme is nice.
GPU and PSU are made to idle without fans (0 db) and will both deliver at 100%. Also the PSU is most efficient at 50% and i calculate a load of roughly 400W. Room to grow with less electricity turned into heat.
RAM i wanted to stay out of XMP and the small gain in speed from 1866 is not worth the premium price. Got lucky since the Vengeance kit went on sale, only $20 more than ADATA with the same performance.
Lastly the SSD i chose the MX100 512Gb because at that specific capacity the performance is fairly close to the top while offering $0.44/Gb.

I'm using my 55in in the living room as the computer screen. I have the logitech K400 keyboard/track pad combo. BEST THING EVER for daily use. No optical drive and I believe I have a legit product key for Windows 7 ultimate left over from university that i got through the Microsoft student program.
 
One last comment on i5 vs i7. I strongly agree with you that hyper threading is a weak gain and the utilizations are few and far in between, however unlike other gens where the clock speeds are so close between i5 to i7 in this case the 4790's base clock is 100MHz higher than the 4690's boost. Sure you can overclock the i5 to match however it'll take a much more extreme jump to match the i7.

I want to attempt a stable 5GHz profile but really for daily use I'll probably park the 4790 at 4.5 with a 4.7GHz boost and aim to keep temps in the <65C range for long term durability.

To me that is worth the $120 difference especially since I saved that on taxes.

Edit:

Wow! Direct Canada already shipped my Case/CPU/Cooler and SSD. It's going to be hard waiting for my GTX 970 which is still in a pre-order state.
 
I think the h110 is quiet, I dont remember though.

Cool with the purchase I will definitely upgrade to 4790k because I need to build a third workstation and my gaming rig could use an upgrade (I stream, its the only reason im upgrading to i7, it encodes faster, using quicksync)

Careful with the ax760. Im 99% sure thats the same psu I have for my server, and they have a known issue of running at 100% fan speed with only minimum load. Keep your box/receipt, I didn't and now im stuck with it :( my server used to be silent!!!

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk
 
Also, the 4970 has a LOT better internal thermal compund than the 4770k, I would buy it because of that rather than the 100mhz increase

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BoxsterBoy said:
Is the H110 cooler considered to be quiet?
Click to expand...

One of the more quiet, but not the most quiet. According to the reviews I've read it has one of the best noise to performance ratios.

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/corsair_h110_review,11.html
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7738/closed-loop-aio-liquid-coolers/9

Cryptkeeper said:
I think the h110 is quiet, I dont remember though.

Cool with the purchase I will definitely upgrade to 4790k because I need to build a third workstation and my gaming rig could use an upgrade (I stream, its the only reason im upgrading to i7, it encodes faster, using quicksync)

Careful with the ax760. Im 99% sure thats the same psu I have for my server, and they have a known issue of running at 100% fan speed with only minimum load. Keep your box/receipt, I didn't and now im stuck with it :( my server used to be silent!!!

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I've never heard of that issue. I've heard of coil whine and I know it cycles at 100% at start up as a check but I have yet to see the issue of constant 100% fan speed.

Thanks for the heads up.
 
I bought a Dell PowerEdge for my home server ... now this shit makes a ton of noise haha

I have a hx750 and works like a charm .
 
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