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System Build "Sweet Spot"

Cirenitram
Level 9
To whom it may concern,

Hello everyone (who reads this post) and thank you in advance

The following is not my first build, nor will it be my last.

About 25 years ago i built my first system and others cobbled together from broken computers and spare parts. Hence the name Frankenstein builds, also known as "Martinstein", my friends and family called them. 9 years ago i built my first personal system from new parts. Socket 939 with all the bells and whistles. Enough with my background, unless you want to know more about my 939, then ask.

I'm looking to get the "Best Bang for my Buck" and could use some constructive criticism...

Budget: $1000 us
Main uses of intended build: Gaming / Video Editing
Parts required: Z87 chipset, i5 4xxx cpu, 16 gb ram, GTX 7xx or R9 2xx video card
Previous build information (list details of parts): A8N-SLI, Opteron 185, 2 gb ram, 9800gt, raid0 hdd
Monitor resolution: VS247 1920x1080
Storage requirements: SSD 120gb, 1k tb hdd
Will you be overclocking: yes, mild / modest
Any motherboard requirements: mATX, SLI or CrossFire not needed
Extra information about desired system: avoid diminishing returns on system performance / cost, good quality parts

Current parts list:

i5-4670k (purchased $189.99)
Z87M-plus
Ripjaws X 16 GB, CAS 9 DDR3-1866 (purchased $135)
Samsung 840 Pro 120 GB SSD
Spinpoint 7200rpm 1tb HDD (purchased $0) *see below
gtx 760 or gtx 770 or r9 270x, leaning toward MSI N770 if i can catch it on sale
Corsair CX 600W Semi-Modular (purchased $50)
Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer
Fractal Design Core1000 case (purchased $25)
CNPS9900MAX-B Heatsink/Fan (purchased $25)
Enermax 120mm case fans x3 (purchased $20)
Asus VS247 23.6" Monitor (purchased $0) *see below

*Early last year (2013) my old system had a series failures, first the motherboard, then one of my HDDs from my RAID0, finally the monitor. I found a A8N-E to replace my A8N-SLI from China, got 2 Samsung Spinpoint 1TB HDDs ($60 each) and an Asus VS247 monitor ($120). The HDDs and monitor were purchased to be used with my new build, so I did not feel like I was putting 'good money into bad'. Lucky me, the prices on HDDs has since doubled and now those exact same HDDs cost 2x as much.

Thanks for reading and if you see any flaws or if you have any suggestions, please post a reply. (Please keep in mind diminishing returns cost / performance)
Attachment leads to jealousy, the shadow of greed, that is. Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose.
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2 REPLIES 2

X-ROG
Level 15
You could get away with 8GB of memory and put the money into a 250GB SSD for more headroom and write speed. Your CPU cooler should push an OK overclock for its price - the Zalman's were always pretty decent - but bare in mind if the fan breaks you'll have to chuck the whole heatsink. Also, given the Z87M plus you'll not get ROG-levels of OC anyway 🙂 Depends what you need really.

How many fans do you get in the Fractal as standard? You could save $20 on the extra and add them later only if you need. Generally speaking some sort of side intake will lower your GPU temps regardless, but as long as you have some airflow through the system it should be OK.

600W PSU is plenty, and while not super efficient it's a decent price. Look up some reviews to make sure.

Thanks for the reply...

Yes I could get away with 8GB but video / photo editing seems to render faster on systems that have 16GB or more RAM.

When I was doing research on the Zalman there was a note about not being able to replace the fan. I'm not too worried about it, I've never had a CPU fan die on me yet and if it lasts 5+ years I'll be happy. Anyway, it was the best CPU heatsink that would fit into the Fractal and it looks cool. Too bad nobody will ever see it except for the slight blue light that will come out of the side vent.

Oh how I wanted a ROG system board but after careful thought, I'll never spend $1k +++ on a pair of video cards. Z87M-Plus OC just as good, if not better, than the MSI, Gigabite and other brands of gaming system boards. Why pay for SLI or Xfire if I'm not going to use it.

The Fractal Design Core 1000 came with 1 - 120mm fan. The reviews on the case all say it has poor air flow with just the 1 fan. There was a deal on 3 Enermax 120mm blue LED fans so i got them. I fell in love with the Core 1k, small black tower with the front being all wire mesh. I'll post a pic.

Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze got rave reviews. I'll be using 65% of 600 watts and that will be on the tail end of it's peek efficiency.

If a ROG system was the dad, this system will be it's ba$tard son. lol
35591
Attachment leads to jealousy, the shadow of greed, that is. Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose.