help finalizing upgrade part selections

[NorthboundOcclusive]

okay here's what I have currently (old n busted):
AMD Athlon II X3 445
ASRock M3A770DE
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600
MSI GeForce GTX 660 TI 2GB PE/OC
250GB Western Digital WDC WD2500AAJS - OS(80gb partition)/Programs
500GB Western Digital WDC WD5000AAKS - Games, Movies, other large files
Antec EarthWatts EA-650 GREEN 650W
Acer G235H (1920x1080@60Hz)
LITE-ON DVD Burner
Rosewill Blackbone case


PC will be primarily for gaming. Mostly Guildwars 2, Firefall @ 1920x1080. Occasionally do audio/video encoding/transcoding, possibly streaming with OBS, or run a virtual machine.
Budget is $1000 max for parts, plus whatever tax and shipping works out to.
I don't plan on overclocking, (but it'd be nice to have the option available as a 'just-in-case'), so I'm fine with a non-K cpu.
Motherboard should be OC-friendly if I go with a -K cpu, need at least 4 SATA3 ports (SSD, 2xHDD, DVD) but 6 would be better. I'd prefer a full ATX-size, with a PCI slot (not a hard requirement). Anything else is gravy.

Where possible, I plan on re-using the PSU, RAM, GPU, monitor and the drives.
Shopping list (in order of priority) is a i5-4690/i7-4790, suitable motherboard, some flavor of SSD, cpu cooler, ram if necessary, and possibly a new case.

so, my question is:

1) i5-4690(k?) or i7-4790(k?)
2) Recommendation on motherboard, I'm looking at the ASRock Fatal1ty Z97 Killer because cheap-ish, or possibly something from MSI Gaming series
3) SSD... will be 120/128gb. Samsung 850 EVO, Crucial MX100, or Kingston SSDNow V300 (depending on budget)
4) Memory... will reuse my current 8GB if I can, would like to get another 8GB for 16 total, or bite the bullet and get a set of 2x8GB sticks?
5) CPU cooler, for an i5 I'm looking at the Raijintek Aidos (smaller, should fit in my current case I think), or CM Hyper 212 Evo. For an i7, if budget allows I think I'd like an AIO water cooler, like a Corsair H100i, or something a little smaller/cheaper, but that'd require a new case. CPU Cooler does need to have pre-applied thermal paste on it though,
6) Case, looking at an CM HAF XM, Enermax Ostrog, Corsair Carbide 100R, Antec GX500. Only requirements there are either Red leds, or better yet No leds/leds that can be turned off, and enough room to mount a watercooler somewhere, if I go that route.

basically, something like this at the top end.
PC Hound Part List

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K ($335.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Z97X Killer ($119.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.SKILL 16GB (2 x 8GB) Ripjaws X Series F3-12800CL10D-16GBXL ($116.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: SAMSUNG 120GB 850 EVO-Series MZ-75E120B/AM ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Case: ENERMAX Ostrog GT ECA3280A-BR ($82.98 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: CORSAIR Hydro Series H100i CW-9060009-WW ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $825.92

 

[BarbaricSoul]

1) i5-4690(k?) or i7-4790(k?)

4790k

2) Recommendation on motherboard, I'm looking at the ASRock Fatal1ty Z97 Killer because cheap-ish, or possibly something from MSI Gaming series

Fatality is a good board

3) SSD... will be 120/128gb. Samsung 850 EVO, Crucial MX100, or Kingston SSDNow V300 (depending on budget)

EVO is my choice.

4) Memory... will reuse my current 8GB if I can, would like to get another 8GB for 16 total, or bite the bullet and get a set of 2x8GB sticks?

You can reuse your RAM, see my build suggestion

5) CPU cooler, for an i5 I'm looking at the Raijintek Aidos (smaller, should fit in my current case I think), or CM Hyper 212 Evo. For an i7, if budget allows I think I'd like an AIO water cooler, like a Corsair H100i, or something a little smaller/cheaper, but that'd require a new case. CPU Cooler does need to have pre-applied thermal paste on it though,

Unless you are going to do some moderate OC'ing, you don't need more than the 212 EVO, even with the i7.

6) Case, looking at an CM HAF XM, Enermax Ostrog, Corsair Carbide 100R, Antec GX500. Only requirements there are either Red leds, or better yet No leds/leds that can be turned off, and enough room to mount a watercooler somewhere, if I go that route.

Personal choice based on preference. The Enermax looks like a good choice if you like the looks.

My suggested changes to your list with a nice addition- https://pchound.com/BzGY2o/

 

[krusha03]

Check out this build. I would recommend 240/256GB SSD as 128GB can be filled up quite fast.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($324.98 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($88.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Z97 Killer ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($95.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($61.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Corsair Force LS 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 290 4GB DirectCU II Video Card ($239.70 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec GX500 ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $996.60
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-25 18:59 EST-0500

Alternatively going for i5-4690K would make it possible to fit 290x or GTX 970 in the $1k budget. One thing thou is, if you don't want to overclock why are you looking into watercooling and k-type cpus?

 

[peche]

Alternatively going for i5-4690K would make it possible to fit 290x or GTX 970 in the $1k budget. One thing thou is, if you don't want to overclock why are you looking into watercooling and k-type cpus?

i would get the i5 and also GTX 970.... i5 its brave enough for gaming dude...no need of and i7 ....

 

[BarbaricSoul]

i would get the i5 and also GTX 970.... i5 its brave enough for gaming dude...no need of and i7 ....

reason for the i7 is-

Occasionally do audio/video encoding/transcoding, possibly streaming with OBS, or run a virtual machine.

 

[rruff]

i would get the i5 and also GTX 970.... i5 its brave enough for gaming dude...no need of and i7 ....

^I tend to agree. If you aren't doing av encoding regularly, just get an i5 and possibly upgrade the video card. But if the 660 Ti is doing ok for you, just wait on that as well.

Also agree on the 256GB SSD. It's nice to have plenty of room for the OS and all software including games. Note that you can't fill a SSD all the way.

 

[peche]

reason for the i7 is-

I have done graphic desing jobs, rendering, some audio encoding and hardcore gaming with an i5 2500K@5.0 GHZ at 1.50V…. if the OP has de enough money he should get the i7… but an i5 can do the work, also when I was about the start my current Rig I was looking for an 3570K, but I got my current i7 3770 for a cheap price, otherwise I would get the i5…

 

[ThE_MaD_ShOt]

As a stopgate you could also upgrade the processor to a Phenom II x6. Just another option thrown out there.

 

[NorthboundOcclusive]

thanks for the feedback.

TBH, im sure an i5 is quite sufficient, (@krusha03 ) hyperthreading and overclocking headroom is mostly for futureproofing, something that'll last another 4-5 years before needing another major upgrade.
i dont often run a virtual machine (unless im dealing with really sketchy files) but i do have the win10 technical preview that ive been fiddling with in VM.
OBS streaming is likewise uncommon, mostly because my cpu cant really handle that and run a game at the same time.
other than that, it's just the odd bit of wave->mp3 conversion or compressing fraps video with x264, but still not something i do on any sort of regular basis.

my 660TI's just fine for now, tho that may change if it's no longer bottlenecked by my cpu. so a new gpu isnt in this round

i figure 120(-8)gb will be enough for my OS, win7 and everything that has to be installed in C:\program files is only taking up 47gb of the 80gb partition i have it on, nearly everything else goes to the other half of my 250gb drive, but there's a combined 80gb free as is.
Steam and my other game installs take up most of the 500gb drive, but WDblue 1tb drives are cheap if i need more space.
of course, going with an i5 would let me get a larger ssd.

 

[wolar]

i suggest something like this

For cpu i say go for 4790k, although the 4690k will suffice for any type of gaming.

Raijintek themis for Cpu Cooler ( in my opinion you wont get a noticeable improvement with OC for these CPU's ).
I suggest this instead of Aidos for the silence - performance is almost the same but this one cause less noise for a small money increase.

For motherboard there are alot of options - i got the gigabyte z97 gaming 7 and i think its a good motherboard - i suggest something from gigabyte from my experience but i saw some good reviews for asrock extreme 4-6 and a friend got the ROG ranger (not the best for OC - better is hero) and he loves it - better BIOS and programs than the gigabyte in my opinion.

case is up to your preference really.

i suggest 240-256gb ssd as the price difference from 120-128 is too small to skip on it (something like crucial mx100 256gb). You may not need the extra storage now but why not ? its about 40$ more expensive maybe less.

 

[krusha03]

thanks for the feedback.

TBH, im sure an i5 is quite sufficient, (@krusha03 ) hyperthreading and overclocking headroom is mostly for futureproofing, something that'll last another 4-5 years before needing another major upgrade.
i dont often run a virtual machine (unless im dealing with really sketchy files) but i do have the win10 technical preview that ive been fiddling with in VM.
OBS streaming is likewise uncommon, mostly because my cpu cant really handle that and run a game at the same time.
other than that, it's just the odd bit of wave->mp3 conversion or compressing fraps video with x264, but still not something i do on any sort of regular basis.

my 660TI's just fine for now, tho that may change if it's no longer bottlenecked by my cpu. so a new gpu isnt in this round

i figure 120(-8)gb will be enough for my OS, win7 and everything that has to be installed in C:\program files is only taking up 47gb of the 80gb partition i have it on, nearly everything else goes to the other half of my 250gb drive, but there's a combined 80gb free as is.
Steam and my other game installs take up most of the 500gb drive, but WDblue 1tb drives are cheap if i need more space.
of course, going with an i5 would let me get a larger ssd.

Well as shown you can fit everything you want in the $1k budget and the SSD you have is the same price as the 240GB i linked. I personally would rather have ~50MB/s less sequential read/writes and 120GB more for the same price. According to a russian site the Force LS has 128GB TBW so it has more than the 128GB 850 EVO. 4-5 year futureproof wise, if needed you will probably be able to get the i7 2nd hand for the price difference that is now and if main use is gaming then, at least currently, HT is not much of an importance.

 

[NorthboundOcclusive]

You'll forgive me for the bump, but will my 650w psu be sufficient for the i7 and my 660ti?
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/mZtrnQ shows and estimated wattage of about 350w (with a slightly different 660ti model, the only one they have listed).
Tom'sHardware i see uses 750w for their high end builds, but they're dealing with OC'd 4970Ks and 290x gpu, my own power draw will be a bit lighter i expect.


i do have enough room in the budget to squeeze in a 750w psu and still keep everything under $1000 if i need to tho. if im already getting a i7 for future-proofing, should i flex on the psu for the same reason?
https://pchound.com/fR2uOI/

 

[RCoon]

You'll forgive me for the bump, but will my 650w psu be sufficient for the i7 and my 660ti?
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/mZtrnQ shows and estimated wattage of about 350w (with a slightly different 660ti model, the only one they have listed).
Tom'sHardware i see uses 750w for their high end builds, but they're dealing with OC'd 4970Ks and 290x gpu, my own power draw will be a bit lighter i expect.


i do have enough room in the budget to squeeze in a 750w psu and still keep everything under $1000 if i need to tho. if im already getting a i7 for future-proofing, should i flex on the psu for the same reason?
https://pchound.com/fR2uOI/

You won't come close to 600W's. 650 is fine.

 

[peche]

nice build, but i would switch motherboard brand… gigabyte is a way better than Asrock, like 8 years using Gigabyte motherboards and no problems yet, also 650-700W PSU will be fine, just remember about 80+ Certification, for a time you can still use your antec 650W EarthWatts,

By the way there its my list:

Regards,