New Build Advice!

[Maraio1]

Hi guys.
After 4 years worth of savings I've finally got enough for me to get my Dream Rig! I've got a grand total of £2,500 to spend now, and here are the parts that I've chosen. They might not be perfect, and I'm open to changes that anyone can offer me. The only thing that I'm really confused is a good SSD to get. So could anyone recommend a good 250GB SSD that doesn't cost the earth, but has good performance, as I've tried to look into them, and just ended up getting confused.
Another thing is as I'm a first time builder, I've got no experience, so would love to hear some good tips that could make the build more enjoyable and things that I might miss that is vitally important.
Part List:
CPU: Intel 4690K
Thermal Paste: Artic MX4
CPU Cooler: Corsair H105
Motherboard: Asus VII Formula
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB 1600Mhz
Storage: WD Black 2TB
+ A good 250GB SSD
Video Cards: 2X Asus Strix 980's
Case: Corsair 760T
PSU: Corsair HX850i
OS: Windows 8.1
Fans: Corsair AF140
Corsair SP120 HP Dual
Monitors: 2X AOC G2460FQ (going to add 1 more later when I get paid)
PC Part Picker Link
Thanks in advance!

Maraio1

 

[koryusai]

Hi,

For the SSD i got a SanDisk Extreme PRO 240 GB SATA III 2.5 Inch Internal SSD (SDSSDXPS-240G-G25)
Amazon

personaly i would go for a 5930k and a Rampage V Extreme if you were using it for anything else but gaming and maybe use an old monitor or tv until you can get a the ones you want. Thats what i did...

5930K - Scan

Asus Rampage V Extreme - Aria

 

[Maraio1]

Hi,



personaly i would go for a 5930k and a Rampage V Extreme if you were using it for anything else but gaming and maybe use an old monitor or tv until you can get a the ones you want. Thats what i did...

5930K - Scan

Asus Rampage V Extreme - Aria

But I'll just be using it for gaming though. And for an extra £430, I really don't see the point in this.
Thanks for the SSD recommendation though. Looks a little pricey, but I'll be sure to check it out properly.
Thanks

 

[Kaapstad]

But I'll just be using it for gaming though. And for an extra £430, I really don't see the point in this.
Thanks for the SSD recommendation though. Looks a little pricey, but I'll be sure to check it out properly.
Thanks

I think an i7 4790k for that build would be better.

 

[Highlander89]

I think an i7 4790k for that build would be better.

+1

I'd get a cheaper motherboard and the 4790k and atleast a 500+ GB SSD (eg Crucial MX100) since a 250 is way too small imo. I always have to delete games to install new ones. can't fit alot on a 250 gig. Especially not since new games are around 50GB each.

Also who knows if the prices on the 980's drop after the whole 970 deal blow over.

And 1080p is soo last year. Go for 1440p or 4k while you're at it.

Good luck with your rig mate.

 

[Xenomorphical]

Since this is your first build and you are going to spend some serious money on it you want to do things right the first time so i got some questions for you that might change your mind on picked parts.

Since you buy a windowed case you want to see all your expensive new parts right?
How far did you look into color matching things at this point?

From the parts list you linked is see the following:
black / white case,
black / red mobo,
blue PSU,
black / red RAM

Not trying to say the parts a bad but color wise it is possible to match more
There are even white PSU's these days to match your case

Lighting:
Did you think about how to light up your case during the night?
There are nice Corsair LED fans now that will work great with Bitfenix Alchemy LED strips (you will only need one in the top of your case.

SSD / HDD balance:

Are you just going to put the OS on the SSD or also all your games?
If you put your games on the HDD i think a 128GB SSD will do fine to.
I got win 7 installed on a 60 GB SSD and still have 40% free space left on it.
Could save you a 100 quid, all depends on your needs tho.

Mouse / keyboard :
Do you want to upgrade those as well?

Something to think about?

 

[Maraio1]

I think an i7 4790k for that build would be better.

Can I just ask why? For an extra £90, what will it add to my Rig? It just seems that a lot of people seem to think that a 4690K is enough, and hence my decision. Can you explain for me please

+1

I'd get a cheaper motherboard and the 4790k and atleast a 500+ GB SSD (eg Crucial MX100) since a 250 is way too small imo. I always have to delete games to install new ones. can't fit alot on a 250 gig. Especially not since new games are around 50GB each.

Also who knows if the prices on the 980's drop after the whole 970 deal blow over.

And 1080p is soo last year. Go for 1440p or 4k while you're at it.

Good luck with your rig mate.

That SSD Looks great Got a big capacity and looks really quite cheap too, which is always great.
I'll hope the 980 price drops, but somehow I doubt it...
And I'm going for Triple 1080, as I do love a good Flight/Driving Simulator and can't wait to have that surround gaming experience.

Thanks for the good luck, but hope I don't need any of it!

 

[Maraio1]

Since this is your first build and you are going to spend some serious money on it you want to do things right the first time so i got some questions for you that might change your mind on picked parts.

Since you buy a windowed case you want to see all your expensive new parts right?
How far did you look into color matching things at this point?

From the parts list you linked is see the following:
black / white case,
black / red mobo,
blue PSU,
black / red RAM

Not trying to say the parts a bad but color wise it is possible to match more
There are even white PSU's these days to match your case

Lighting:
Did you think about how to light up your case during the night?
There are nice Corsair LED fans now that will work great with Bitfenix Alchemy LED strips (you will only need one in the top of your case.

SSD / HDD balance:

Are you just going to put the OS on the SSD or also all your games?
If you put your games on the HDD i think a 128GB SSD will do fine to.
I got win 7 installed on a 60 GB SSD and still have 40% free space left on it.
Could save you a 100 quid, all depends on your needs tho.

Mouse / keyboard :
Do you want to upgrade those as well?

Something to think about?

Thanks for all that, got me thinking!
I did try to get colour matching products, but it looks like I didn't do a great job THB
For the case, I think the white actually looks quite good, as I think all black might be too much.

I think that the white off-set looks nice, but everyone's got different taste's to looks.

Regarding the PSU, I know it looks out of place, but another £35 for a colour matching PSU (AX860i) I'm not sure it's worth it. How hard do you think it would be to mod it to make it red? It's definitely something I'm now thinking about....

Lighting... Yes! Wow, I totally forgot to put that in the Original Post! Whoops...
Anyway, I was looking for some good LED strips to put in there, and have had an eye on those Alchemy strips as they look pretty good.

And for the SSD, I'd put Windows and maybe 1 or 2 of my most popular games, but not every one of them! And tbh, I'm not massively concerned about loading times, but just performance in games. As I can't stand 15FPS any-more!

I've got an okay Mouse/Keyboard, but I'd be looking for an upgrade. Got any good recommendations?

Sorry for the long post, and thanks for all the info from everyone!

 

[Highlander89]

Regarding the PSU, I know it looks out of place, but another £35 for a colour matching PSU (AX860i) I'm not sure it's worth it. How hard do you think it would be to mod it to make it red? It's definitely something I'm now thinking about....

Corsair aren't the only ones that makes PSU's you know. Seasonic, EVGA and Superflower also makes very good ones. Make sure to pick one with a low ripple level (Tom's reviews can help you out here).

I've got an okay Mouse/Keyboard, but I'd be looking for an upgrade. Got any good recommendations?

Qpad MK50 is one of the cheapest mech boards out there. Been very happy with mine. And the Steelseries Rival fits my hand as a glove (big hands). I'd recommend both. Safest choice is to head out to a store and try them out yourself.

 

[JonD7]

4690K is just as good as the i7 if you're just gaming, I think the i7 is only beneficial if you're video or photo editing big files.

Maybe look into the Gigabyte Gaming 5 motherboard, I've heard a lot of good things about that board, plus it's black and red.

I would suggest looking into Kingston Fury 1866 ram instead of the Corsair, they're generally cheaper and nice looking.

As for SSD's, Crucial, Samsung Evo or Kingston Hyper X 3K are my picks.

I'm planning a similar build btw, except everything I got is black... kind of regretting that decision.

 

[joca94]

go for 4690k its quite good, and you can spend the extra money on other stuff, like higher RAM, or another stick

 

[Maraio1]

4690K is just as good as the i7 if you're just gaming, I think the i7 is only beneficial if you're video or photo editing big files.

Maybe look into the Gigabyte Gaming 5 motherboard, I've heard a lot of good things about that board, plus it's black and red.

I would suggest looking into Kingston Fury 1866 ram instead of the Corsair, they're generally cheaper and nice looking.

As for SSD's, Crucial, Samsung Evo or Kingston Hyper X 3K are my picks.

I'm planning a similar build btw, except everything I got is black... kind of regretting that decision.

Thanks for that RAM suggestion, it looks quite nice and is at a great price, I'll be sure to check out some reviews for it just to make sure!

 

[Kaapstad]

Thanks for that RAM suggestion, it looks quite nice and is at a great price, I'll be sure to check out some reviews for it just to make sure!

Using an i7 4790k is a better option with SLI as some games will run better, it also helps if you play online and are on a busy BF4 server with 64 players for example.

 

[Master&Puppet]

Stick with the i5 for now, you won't see much if any extra fps for your money gaming wise.

I bought a 512gb SSD for £135 for my gf at Xmas. It's the crucial mx100 as previously mentioned and it's a great little thing which I highly recommend.

 

[Maraio1]

Stick with the i5 for now, you won't see much if any extra fps for your money gaming wise.

I bought a 512gb SSD for £135 for my gf at Xmas. It's the crucial mx100 as previously mentioned and it's a great little thing which I highly recommend.

Thanks for that SSD recommendation. Though may I ask where you got it from? All the site's I've had a look at list it at ~£155
Thanks

 

[Highlander89]

Also worth mentioning is the price drop on the Crucial M550 atleast here in Finland. You actually get it a couple of euros cheaper than the MX100, and with a significant improvement in write speeds.

Crucial MX100 256GB vs M550 256GB

Average User Bench
Read: 483 vs 490 MB/s
Write: 316 vs 443 MB/s
4K Read: 24.1 vs 25.1 MB/s
4K Write: 75.7 vs 79.2 MB/s
Mixed: 344 vs 423 MB/s
4K Mixed: 23.4 vs 26.3 MB/s

Peak Lab Bench
Read: 522 vs 525 MB/s
Write: 332 vs 482 MB/s
4K Read: 31.1 vs 32.7 MB/s
4K Write: 124 vs 136 MB/s
Mixed: 397 vs 491 MB/s
4K Mixed: 33.8 vs 38.6 MB/s

Source

 

[NeverBackDown]

I know you want 3x1080p screens but i think it would be a better choice for something like a 21:9 monitor. Something like this?

Easier on the budget and easier for the GPUs to drive. I also would opt for this over 3 screens because it does not have bezels and saves space.

 

[Maraio1]

Also worth mentioning is the price drop on the Crucial M550 atleast here in Finland. You actually get it a couple of euros cheaper than the MX100, and with a significant improvement in write speeds.

Crucial MX100 256GB vs M550 256GB

Average User Bench
Read: 483 vs 490 MB/s
Write: 316 vs 443 MB/s
4K Read: 24.1 vs 25.1 MB/s
4K Write: 75.7 vs 79.2 MB/s
Mixed: 344 vs 423 MB/s
4K Mixed: 23.4 vs 26.3 MB/s

Peak Lab Bench
Read: 522 vs 525 MB/s
Write: 332 vs 482 MB/s
4K Read: 31.1 vs 32.7 MB/s
4K Write: 124 vs 136 MB/s
Mixed: 397 vs 491 MB/s
4K Mixed: 33.8 vs 38.6 MB/s

Source

Looks like it's at least £20 more expensive, but it does have some quite good performance improvements. I'll see if I can find a cheaper price though.
Thanks for the suggestion and benchmark info

 

[Kaapstad]

Stick with the i5 for now, you won't see much if any extra fps for your money gaming wise.

I bought a 512gb SSD for £135 for my gf at Xmas. It's the crucial mx100 as previously mentioned and it's a great little thing which I highly recommend.

If the OP is going to spend money on GTX 980 SLI it would be silly losing some of the benefit of this by using a CPU that can not get the most out of the cards.