Havent built a PC since '06 looking for some advice.

[Redroth]

I am just about to make major new build having not built since 2006. This build is intended as a gaming rig however I want to do light CAD and Fluid Dynamics work with this rig to design custom wing profiles for the model aircraft I design and fly, as having graduated nearly two years ago I no longer have access to purpose built machines at my university.

I have been doing some research over the the past month I have came up with pc part picker list and am just looking for some advice, as it stands I will be taking the GTX660 with me from my current build as my original GPU died at the beginning of this year. I do however to more than likely upgrade to a high end card when the 800 series makes a showing, I positionally am thinking about a 280mm AIO rad instead however the likely hood is with my next GPU upgrade ill be making a custom loop.

Due to not being able to post the PC park picker link please find listing bellow

CPU- Intel 4790K
Cooler - H100i
Motherboard - Asus Maximus Hero ATX
RAM - Corsair Vengeance Pro 2x8GB 2400Mhz
SSD -Samsung 840 EVO 250GB
HDD - WD Black 4TB
GPU - MSI GTX660 2GB (Owned)
Case - Corsair 450D or Define R4
PSU -SeaSonic 660W Fully Mod 80+ Plat.
Optical Drive - Samsung DVD Writer

I am also thinking of changing out all the fans for Noctua or Enermax fans.

I am open to suggestions as to a CPU chance to AMD however as it stands I personally think an intel chip will serve me better for the CAD/CFD work.

Any advice/opinions are welcome.

Thanks

[csgohan4]

Pretty solid choices, not sure when the 800 series come out, rumours are end of the year

[Redroth]

Thanks for the input, I'm not in a major rush for an upgrade of my GPU the GTX660 works fine as is I only run a single 1080p monitor.

[csgohan4]

When you build, important to consider cable management and investing in some decent dust filters. Or you could use an air can once in a while if your not too bothered.

[Redroth]

Both the cases I'm looking at have comprehensive dust filters, In the case I've had the last 8 years I also added dust filters to the filters that are built into the case. My cable management is also reasonable considering my Thermaltake Tsunami Dream case was made long before the days of mainstream rear MB tray cable management and modular power supply's. Its usually cleaned out every 6 months ill wash the filters every month so its a pretty clean case.

I am actually really looking forward to the improvements in cable management that have happened since my last build.

[csgohan4]

Good cable management makes things so much easier in terms of temperatures, future upgrades e.t.c. I only need to remove the motherboard, nothing else if I want to improve to the next gen of CPU.

Also looks better. You could also mod your case slightly or add in extra fans tied down with Zip ties, that's What I do with my Haf X, you can't have too many fans. This keeps a positive pressure going inside my case to keep out the dust as well.

The good thing about building it yourself is you can do it the way you want it, have the stuff you want and you can troubleshoot pretty easily.

[Redroth]

Yes that's what I've always enjoyed about self building. This pc would have likely had a few revisions if I had not have gone to university however that kinda gave me no budget to upgrade and amount of work I had didn't really give me time to keep up with new hardware as it was rolling out.

[csgohan4]

Yes that's what I've always enjoyed about self building. This pc would have likely had a few revisions if I had not have gone to university however that kinda gave me no budget to upgrade and amount of work I had didn't really give me time to keep up with new hardware as it was rolling out.

Its also cheaper rather than a pre built system. You learn what to do when things go wrong and diagnosing issues. Means you can help your friends and family too with their systems when they need help too. Took me a good 6 hours to build my first system, a few sore fingers and knees later it works and boots, great feeling.

[Redroth]

Its also cheaper rather than a pre built system. You learn what to do when things go wrong and diagnosing issues. Means you can help your friends and family too with their systems when they need help too. Took me a good 6 hours to build my first system, a few sore fingers and knees later it works and boots, great feeling.

I'm kinda getting the feeling that you think this is my first build this will actually be my 6th I started back in 2002, I just haven't made A from scratch build including selecting a parts list since 2006. I have built pc's for friends however haven't had any input in the parts list and the odd MB bundle/ GPU upgrade here and there.

I posted the parts list more for some input and opinions on the parts selected and see if If there are better options I haven't seen or a manufactures support is awful.

[csgohan4]

Nah not at all, I just feel that so many people go down the easy route of pre built system and then when something goes wrong they call expensive phone lines for something simple such as not plugging it in or usb port loose.

We all have opinions of parts and stuff and anecdotally at least which brands we avoid for example. It's important which one fits in your budget and the parts you have shown are pretty mid- high end such as your Motherboard and SSD.

If you want to be picky I would go into the available warranties for each part and their quality if customer service such as PSU, I know Corsair have at least 7 years while Enermax has 5 years for example.

I generally source my stuff now from Amazon as the returns are much easier. Scan will try and worm their out of RMA and you end up paying for the postage as well. Amazon are top rate for their customer service and they even have free returns for all electronic products within 1 year of purchase. However after this I believe you have to go the manufacturer which is a potential negative.

[LeetyMcLeet]

You've spec'd out a nice system for your needs (gaming and CAD)

The only thing I'd change is the SSD. The brand is good, Sammys are probably the most reliable in my experience, but go for the PRO series. You'll notice a speed decrease on a 'used' EVO drive. The performance drop is less noticeable on the PRO series

In regards to cable and dust management, as some have mentioned, the Fractal Design R4 is excellent. I've got one at home and at work, which is a very dusty environment, and the components are spotless. Also, it's a very wide case, so you can hide the mess of cables behind the mobo, which is great if your PSU isn't fully/semi modular.

Hope that helps

[Redroth]

Thanks for the reply LettyMcLeet, I had considered the 840PRO however I selected the 840EVO as I decided to get a MB that's has a M.2 slot for when M.2 SSD's become more available and start actually chucking out a descent speed advantage over current SATA 6GB's. I would imagine the EVO would end up being a general games drive once that happens.

I did also look at the next 850PRO its only £20 more expensive than the 840PRO however that warranty!! At current prices 840PRO is an EVO and half again, so your looking at ~£80 EVO, £120 PRO and £140 850pro at the ~250GB size. Once again considering what I expect of M.2 the EVO makes more sense. However if anyone who understands where SSD's currently stand at this time thinks that I would be better holding off on M.2 now and investing in a PRO drive I would be open to there opinion.

Thanks in advance.

[starkyller]

Go with blu ray driver dvd's will be dead soon

[Pob255]

Does look good although I personally think you're going a bit overboard on the psu and motherboard.
drop down to a Asus SABERTOOTH Z97 MARK 2 and Seasonic M1211-620 EVO will knock £100 off the budget and still both very solid

not sure you'll get any benefit from ram that fast ether.

[Redroth]

Go with blu ray driver dvd's will be dead soon

If I'm going to get a Blueray drive I'm going to want to get a writer and to be honest I'm not going to pay the extra £40 for something at this time I really don't see myself using or in the near future. I would be ripping my old DVDRW out of my current PC if it wasn't almost dead.

Does look good although I personally think you're going a bit overboard on the psu and motherboard.
drop down to a Asus SABERTOOTH Z97 MARK 2 and Seasonic M1211-620 EVO will knock £100 off the budget and still both very solid

not sure you'll get any benefit from ram that fast ether.

I did consider the Sabertooth however the army branding highly put me off as do there tacky Gold branding, the choice came down to the ROG line which I didn't want to limit myself to mATX board so the "hero" it was. I could potentially use a Sabertooth if I go with the R4 case as I wont have to stare at it through a window. As for the PSU I did consider the M EVO series however the 620W does not cover the C6/7 states low power Haswell states as far as my research shows. However I didn't realise the 750W version does so ill take that into consideration as that would also give me a little bit for expandability and save myself £35.

As for the ram I purely went for that speed as the difference between a 1333Mhz kit and that is like £5, If I can squeeze a little extra out of it great.

Once again thanks for the comments/opinion If it seams like I am shooting your suggestions down that's not my intention. This for me is all about getting alternatives or reaffirming why I picked the components originally.

[csgohan4]

Are you using Lan or Wireless for your build?