£1500 Gaming Build Finalising

ijames

New member
The Proposed Build so far - http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/3iDLH (See below for reasoning behind all parts and use for build)

Build Use

1. Budget & Location
My budget is around £1500 but can be persuaded to pay more if it is worth it.

2. Aim
A Gaming rig for all games including next gen games such as Watch Dogs, Titan Fall, Assassins Creed Unity and others preferably on high/max settings. I will also use this for programming and coding as well as some hobbyist 3D work with Maya and 3DS Max although this is not a priority. I would also like the build to be as quiet as possible and really nice look :)

I would like this system to be easily upgradable hence the good motherboard, 16GB RAM so I can add another 16GB easily without worrying about running out of RAM slots and the large PSU in case I add another GPU.

3. Monitors
I plan on running 2 monitors at 1920x1080 but plan to upgrade to 1440p in the near future.

Note this is my first build and I am a quite clumsy person and I don't usually do any DIY work so I want to make it as easy and risk free as possible :)

The Proposed Build

This is the build, almost completed just looking for critique and opinions ;)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£231.98 @ Aria PC)
Best processor for me. Hyper threading for 3D work as well as increases in a few games.


CPU Cooler: Be Quiet Dark Rock Pro 3 93.3 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler (£62.60 @ Amazon UK)
Silent, well performing cooler, no overboard water cooling necessary as I won't be over clocking CPU too much as I want it to last a long time and haswell processors don't produce as much heat, also one of the quietest coolers on the market at good price!


Motherboard: Asus Maximus VI Formula ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£218.24 @ Scan.co.uk)
Really don't want to upgrade motherboard any time soon, ASUS ROG board as I like them a lot, the vanity cover also gives me piece of mind that as long as I am careful the board wont flex or ESD etc... Also I will be using the built in Wi-Fi a bit so this justifies the increase over the ASUS hero board for me.


Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£111.98 @ Dabs)
16GB RAM for using 2 screens and 3D work, Corsair RAM as it fits with the build (Corsair fans) and low profile RAm as the cooler is bulky.


Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (Purchased For £0.00)
Already have this from my old build, complete with Windows 8.1 OS :)


Storage: Crucial M500 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (Purchased For £0.00)
Already have this from my old build, complete with most used applications and games :)


Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For £0.00)
Already have this from my old build, complete with lots of games


Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£53.99 @ Aria PC)
1TB drive almost full, plan to have that as a games only drive and store 3D files, videos and applications on here


Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card (£394.98 @ Ebuyer)
ASUS card as it is quiet and cool and fits with ASUS motherboard. May upgrade to 780ti depending on your opinions... I would like this graphics card to be able to play games on high-maximum for a good 3-4 years only having to add another GPU in SLI, is the 780ti worth it in the long term??


Case: NZXT H440 (Red/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (£93.79 @ Scan.co.uk)
Silent case with Black/Red colour scheme to fit the rest of the build, quiet and good looks, just what I need. Also lots of fans and good cooling on CPU and GPU to compensate for less ventilation as well as the white gold award of course :)


Power Supply: Corsair 860W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply (£139.98 @ Amazon UK)
Corsair brand is reliable and I can use their braided cable solution, 860W so I can overclock CPU and add another GPU without new PSU.


Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) (Purchased For £0.00)
Already installed on SSD :)


Case Fan: Corsair Air Series AF140 Quiet Edition 67.8 CFM 140mm Fan (£10.98 @ Ebuyer)
Fan to replace back fan, want maximum air flow, quiet and looks.


Case Fan: Corsair Air Series AF140 Quiet Edition 67.8 CFM 140mm Fan (£10.98 @ Ebuyer)
Fan for top of case, more fans = more cooling + lower RPM's = Quieter running


Case Fan: Corsair Air Series AF140 Quiet Edition 67.8 CFM 140mm Fan (£10.98 @ Ebuyer)
Fan for top of case, more fans = more cooling + lower RPM's = Quieter running


Other: Individually Sleeved PSU DC Cable Kit (£61.38)
For the looks ;) will look really good though!!


Other: Individually Sleeved ATX 24pin Cable (£14.16)
For the looks ;) will look really good though!!

Total: £1416.02 - Under budget slightly but that isn't a problem

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-31 21:35 BST+0100)

Questions:

1) 780 or 780ti

2) Will replacing the 3 120mm front fans with 2 AF140's have much of an impact on airflow or noise?

3) Will the NZXT's fan connectors on the back allow the BIOS or speedfan to control fans so I can keep RPM's low due to the amount of fans??

4) I want opinions on red braided cables or black ones with this build?? Black are more stealthy but red will stand out better...

5) What colour LED's? I don't want too much red so maybe white??...

6) Any other recommendations for different components based on my needs??

Sorry for the long post, thanks for any feedback :)
 
just a few tweeks giving you expansion better looks internally and more head room for silence and keeping it all red and black and still under budget with a much better gpu

and sorry i did not realise you was said on the nzxt, and personally id think of looks a little after performance you can always add cheaper tweaks later

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/3jPkj
 
just a few tweeks giving you expansion better looks internally and more head room for silence and keeping it all red and black and still under budget with a much better gpu

and sorry i did not realise you was said on the nzxt, and personally id think of looks a little after performance you can always add cheaper tweaks later

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/3jPkj

Not too keen on the h100i because it's a lot louder than the dark rock... So I will stick with that, also I would pay a little extra for 2 140mm fans ;) I do like the 780ti though and will probably get that... Will also stick with the NZXT because it's so nice ;) but I think I will go 780ti... Especially for 1440p... Also the cheaper PSU is only gold certified and power usage is a slight concern so I might bump it back up to platinum
 
i was thinking more silent for you, and the h100i noisey .... where did you hear that?
just make sure they are the right type of fan for whats behind them.
And yeah you dont need those cables and the money saved can keep you in budget and give you a better card.
 
The h100i's stock fans are louder than the Dark rock pro, especially under load. The only real air coolers that give the h100i a run for its money is the Noctua DH14 and the Phanteks TC14(also comes in other colors). If you're after silence over amazing temps/high overclocks then go for the DRP. Otherwise I'd reccomend the TC14 or the h100i.
 
im sitting next to mine now with the quiet ed. fans and having no issue at all

The h100i's stock fans are louder than the Dark rock pro, especially under load. The only real air coolers that give the h100i a run for its money is the Noctua DH14 and the Phanteks TC14(also comes in other colors). If you're after silence over amazing temps/high overclocks then go for the DRP. Otherwise I'd reccomend the TC14 or the h100i.

Looks like I may go with the h100i with quite edition fans as push fans... Will that have much effect on noise or price?
 
power supply is abit overkill for single gpu
dual 780s on 2x1080p screens will be overkill

you are paying alot to "keep options open". id cut the build down and then save the money and upgrade sooner or spend it elsewhere

I have a H80 and its pretty much silent on its lowest setting.
 
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