Time for a new computer

[Gobbas]

Hi,
I am about to invest in a new computer since my current one has seen better days. I have never built one frpm scratch before, but I have changed out most components in my computers over the years. The parts I have selected are already stretching my budget, but any ideas are welcomed. Gaming is what I intend to use it for, but I neither have the desire or need for everything to be cutting-edge. I also have no intention of ever overclocking. I have bought components where this is possible to often in the past, but without ever utilizing that feature.

MSI B85M-E45, Socket-1150
Crucial DDR3 BallistiX Sport 1600MHz 8GB
Intel Core i5-4440
Corsair CX 500M, 500W PSU
Fractal Design Define R4
WD Desktop Green 1TB SATA
MSI GeForce GTX 760 Hawk 2GB or Sapphire Radeon R9 270X 2GB

R9 270x is cheaper which I do like, and the performance difference does not seem to be too big.
I opted out of an SSD for budget reasons because it is easy to just stick one in later on

Is there some sort of conflict with any of the parts I have chosen? Any tips on changes?
Also, since I can't find anything in the specs: Can the motherboard use the front panel audio ports of the chassi?

Thank you.

 

[happita]

The 760 Hawk is certainly faster than the R9 270X, however, you can always save money on overclocking the 270X to match the performance of a 760. Overclocking isn't as hard/harmful as you might think. I was skeptical at first also, but a little willingness and knowledge goes a long way. But if you don't want to learn anything and just go with what you feel is faster, then the 760 beats that 270X definitely, albeit at a $60 higher price (going on Newegg prices).

 

[Potatoking]

What cooler are you using? I have some experience with I7 haswells and both hit 100 degrees on stock cooler. I would buy cheapest brand RAM as it makes zero difference in gaming. Also WD green drives are great for data storage but suck as system drives so make sure you get an SSD. 4440 is clocked quite low I would suggest at least 4570 its +300MHz on turbo and price is not that much higher.

 

[Potatoking]

you could probably save some money on case.

Regarding front panel audio, there is standard connector in bottom left corner. you can see it on picture:
http://www.msi.com/pic/product/five_pictures3_2890_20130611134708.png

 

[Ruyki]

cx 500m is pretty meh. I would definitely get a seasonic or something.

Also you probably should not get a wd green for a system drive. They are slow and have features like head parking that I wouldn't want on a system drive. Get a seagate barracuda if u want a budget system drive.

 

[Chetkigaming]

The 760 Hawk is certainly faster than the R9 270X, however, you can always save money on overclocking the 270X to match the performance of a 760. Overclocking isn't as hard/harmful as you might think. I was skeptical at first also, but a little willingness and knowledge goes a long way. But if you don't want to learn anything and just go with what you feel is faster, then the 760 beats that 270X definitely, albeit at a $60 higher price (going on Newegg prices).

OP, if you go deeper... you can overclock 760 and gain 280x performance .

 

[m1ch]

CX 500M isn't "meh", for the price it's actually quite good and is modular. Not as good as Cooler Master's VS 550W tho

 

[suraswami]

Replace the Green drive with Blue or Black, both are better for OS, apps and data storage.

 

[m1ch]

Replace the Green drive with Blue or Black, both are better for OS, apps and data storage.

Agree about replacing Green, Blue seems reasonable since you're on the budget

 

[Jetster]

Seatgate has better prices. Love the R4 its a solid case

 

[satindemon4u]

I would swap out the drive. Normally I would tell you to go with a Western Digital Black but I have found that from the thread I created a while back that people seem to be getting the highest speeds off of Seagate drives. I bet Jetster can attest to that seeing as his tested as one of the highest.

 

[Jetster]

I own some blacks too. I like the idea of a 5 year warranty. But the Seagates are faster

 

[HD64G]

Seagate's HDDs nowadays are Hitachis. So, they are better than the last gens Seagates.

 

[satindemon4u]

Yeah I would have to say that in the future I would go with Seagate. Still get a warranty just not as long. Plus, I am sure the life of the drive will still please.

 

[Gobbas]

Thanks for all your input.

The 760 Hawk is certainly faster than the R9 270X, however, you can always save money on overclocking the 270X to match the performance of a 760. Overclocking isn't as hard/harmful as you might think. I was skeptical at first also, but a little willingness and knowledge goes a long way. But if you don't want to learn anything and just go with what you feel is faster, then the 760 beats that 270X definitely, albeit at a $60 higher price (going on Newegg prices).

Is the difference between the cards big enough to justify a price increase of about 33%

What cooler are you using? I have some experience with I7 haswells and both hit 100 degrees on stock cooler. I would buy cheapest brand RAM as it makes zero difference in gaming. Also WD green drives are great for data storage but suck as system drives so make sure you get an SSD. 4440 is clocked quite low I would suggest at least 4570 its +300MHz on turbo and price is not that much higher.

I was planning on using a Cooler Master Hyper TX3 Evo.
The RAM prices here (or perhaps the availability of cheaper RAM) is so small that those were more or less the cheapest.
Will I notice any real difference with the faster CPU with either of the graphics cards I have chosen? I would have thought in most cases that the Graphics card would end up being the bottleneck.

I will remove the Green harddrive and most likely get an SSD because I realised I have an old drive I can use for storage.

I was considering going for an XFX 550w Core PSU because it seems to be getting better reviews than the Corsair and the price is the same. My one concern is that I read it has short cables which might be an issue with a case that has the PSU at the bottom, like the R4. Possibly not possible to pull the cables behind the MB. Is this the case? or is this more or less a non-issue?

 

[Ruyki]

Thanks for all your input.
I was considering going for an XFX 550w Core PSU because it seems to be getting better reviews than the Corsair and the price is the same. My one concern is that I read it has short cables which might be an issue with a case that has the PSU at the bottom, like the R4. Possibly not possible to pull the cables behind the MB. Is this the case? or is this more or less a non-issue?

That XFX is a better quality PSU than a CX for sure. The cables should fit fine. My bottom mounted PSU has about the same length cables as that XFX and I route them all behind the tray. My PSU is seasonic G 550 and my Case is CM centurion 6.

 

[Fourstaff]

Looks alright. CX very budget, but its still pretty good. I like the R4, its easier to build than my current Phantom 410, and quite a lot quieter too. You can afford to cheap out on the case if you want. As for 270x and 760, pick one which suites your favourite game better. They trade blows otherwise. Also consider SSHD, quite a bit faster than HDDs, but not very much more expensive.

 

[Gobbas]

Once again, thank you all for all your input. I have after reviewing what everyone has said and done some more research done some changes. This is my current idea:

Fractal Design Define R4 Pearl Black
Gigabyte G1.Sniper Z87 - ATX / Z87
Crucial Ballistix Sport 4GB DDR3 PC3-12800 1600MHz CL9 x2
Intel Core i5-4670K
MSI Radeon R9 270X GAMING 2GB (R9 270X GAMING 2G)
XFX 750W Core Edition PSU
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo
BenQ XL2420T 24" / 1ms / HDMI, DP / 144Hz (TE in NA)
Intel 530 Series 180GB SSD

How does that look?
My biggest worry is currently the PSU. Some people say it is noisy, others not. I guess it might depend on how sensitive you are to the noise, and I have no clue how sensitive I am.

 

[EpicShweetness]

I prefer the black drives on a budget, SSD's are normally reserved for higher budget system's as they tend to provide nominal improvements. Noticeable ya.... but I still think the majority of the computers in my house using straight spindle drives (exception are a laptop and my main rig) and they boot, and search, and load just fine. Only 1 the computer's with my A8 is a Seagate Barracuda.

I support your choice of the 270X, many have said that the GTX 760 is faster, and while that might be true here and there (the 2 practically exchange ratio's of winning framerates) the 760 is far from maxed out, it has alot more in the tank. The Pitcarn GPU in the 270X is however much more efficient then GK104, and with that 4670k if your planning on overclocking you'll need the extra watts.

 

[Ruyki]

Fractal Design Define R4 Pearl Black
Gigabyte G1.Sniper Z87 - ATX / Z87
Crucial Ballistix Sport 4GB DDR3 PC3-12800 1600MHz CL9 x2
Intel Core i5-4670K
MSI Radeon R9 270X GAMING 2GB (R9 270X GAMING 2G)
XFX 750W Core Edition PSU
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo
BenQ XL2420T 24" / 1ms / HDMI, DP / 144Hz (TE in NA)
Intel 530 Series 180GB SSD

4670K maximum power consumption is about 132W for the entire system.
MSI R9 270X GAMING power consupmtion is 226W at most (just the card).
You can probably get just a 550W PSU.

 

[vang2k]

Looks like a pretty solid performer. If you don't plan to SLI/Crossfire for the power supply I would suggest getting a Corsair TX750 or lower wattage Corsair at like 550W-650W. I didn't even know XFX made PSUs. The bronze/gold power supplies won't get loud on load due to higher efficiency. I have owned many power supplies and can attest to how quiet and powerful a Corsair PSU works. Crucial has good RMA services but seem to have lots of BSOD for me in the past. I have had lots of luck with the Corsair Vengence series. As far as everything else on your list it looks like a go! I'm currently running a core i5 ivy bridge 3550 on a gigabyte Z77 board and its buttery smooth for me. You will definitely be happy with your new build.

 

[Tatty_Two]

If as you say you don't intend to overclock, why get the G1 Sniper board? Go for someting solid but cheaper.

 

[Gobbas]

I went with the G1 sniper because the price difference for what was available to me here was not enough to warrant a step down. I also might try to test the overclocking waters at some point after all.

 

[Ruyki]

Only K series Haswell CPUs (like a 4770k or a 4670k) will allow you to overclock since they have an unlocked multiplier.

 

[Gobbas]

Grabbed a k-processor as well.