First Build Jitters

[napowitzu]

Hi!

I'm building a PC that needs to do everything.

I will be using it for programming, design (Illustrator, Photoshop, etc.), some video editing, music production (Pro Tools, Komplete, Ableton, etc.), and gaming (all genres really but let's put emphasis on Total War: Rome II, Battlefield 4, Final Fantasy XIV, and Dark Souls). My thinking tends to be that if I build something that runs games well then everything else should be covered, yes? When it comes to how well, though, I'm not expecting the most glorious rendering a game has to offer but I do want things to look great and not lag. I've always had crap computers that couldn't handle anything so if this build doesn't run smooth with high settings then I've failed.

CPU - Intel Core i7-4770K Haswell 3.5GHz LGA 1150 84W Quad-Core

Motherboard - Z87-GD65

GPU* - EVGA GeForce GTX650Ti Boost SuperClocked 2GB GDDR5 192bit

Memory - Kingston HyperX Black 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600

Storage - WD Blue 1 TB

PSU - CORSAIR RM Series RM650

Optical - ASUS Black 12X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM

Case - Fractal Design Define R4 Black Pearl

OS** - Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit

Thanks!

* I already own this graphics card so I'd rather not replace it if I don't have to...
** Because I really don't like Windows 8 and see a lot of software that doesn't officially support it yet so, ya...

[DanceswithUnix]

Looks sane enough (although I can't personally comment on the motherboard).

The graphics card will be the bottleneck on gaming. It won't be rubbish, and I expect games will be quite playable on it, but if things aren't as silky smooth as you had hoped then that is where your problem will be.

As you already own it though, I would say just go with it for now.

I don't think you are alone in not liking Windows 8

[kalniel]

I've always had crap computers that couldn't handle anything so if this build doesn't run smooth with high settings then I've failed.

Then I'm afraid that without reducing the settings/resolution, you've failed before even starting as your GPU will be the weak point. You will need to replace this to play recent games on high settings smoothly.

[scaryjim]

... music production (Pro Tools, Komplete, Ableton, etc.) ...

... if I build something that runs games well then everything else should be covered, yes? ...

What music interfaces will you be using, and do you have them already? if you're sampling or recording live music, you won't get the best quality from the onboard sound. You'll also want to think carefully about acoustics: you don't want ambient sound from your computer getting on your samples/live work.

And as others have said, while the graphics card is OK, it's going to be the weak spot in terms of gaming. There's no reason not to try it to start with, but be prepared for the fact that you might want to upgrade that fairly quickly.

[kompukare]

Think you're missing the SSD. For application responsiveness you can't beat an SSD. Also, unless you intend to upgrade to dual GPU setup in the future, a 650W PSU is probably overkill. Not sure if the CWT-built RM650 is worth £80+ either.

[flufflogic]

Cooler Master G-Series G600W, 80+ Bronze, £50. Worth the consideration.

[napowitzu]

Thanks for the feedback!

re: GPU bottleneck - I was afraid this would be the case so I'll plan to replace it soon after I've got everything else up and running.

re: PSU - This is probably the area of greatest uncertainty for me. I picked the 650W out of fear, to be honest. I foresee additional storage, lots of USB powered devices, fans, etc. so I tried to go big but if I've gone too big then please let me know what range would be best.

re: SSD - I wasn't sure how big of a difference the SSD can make so I was planning to start with the (cheaper) HDD and then add an SSD later. If it makes a large difference (besides making the machine boot faster) then I will go ahead and get the SSD.

re: Audio Interfaces - At this point, I'm not sure. Until now I have produced music exclusively on my Mac in Logic with an Apogee Duet 2. Long story short, I'm looking to move away from Apple, away from Logic, and, since the Duet is Mac only, on to new hardware. It will be a while before I buy a new interface, however, so I'll be recording on the Mac/Logic and sending the files over to the PC for use in other software in the meantime. To sum, then, I just need to make sure that what I'm building will give me plenty of options for whatever I may end up with down the road.

[Jasp]

A SSD is pretty much considered a required component these days, just simply opening closing applications and general day to day running is so much nicer with one, after using one for over a year now i would never go back.

[Pob255]

re: PSU - This is probably the area of greatest uncertainty for me. I picked the 650W out of fear, to be honest. I foresee additional storage, lots of USB powered devices, fans, etc. so I tried to go big but if I've gone too big then please let me know what range would be best.

To re-leave some of your fears here, about 90% of your power requirements are from the cpu and gpu
USB2 is a max of 2.5watts (0.5amp at 5v)
USB3 is a max od 4.5watts (0.9amp at 5v)

Fans vary can be as low as 0.2watt to 2watt (at 12v)

A modern hard drive will pull under 10 watts each at full load, older hard drives could go up to 20watts and an ssd will pull under 2watts at full load
A gtx650ti will pull around 75 (gaming) to 90 (benchmark, which will push it higher than normal gaming) watts

Your i7-4770K is probably going to be around 100w (but that very rough as it's almost impossible to find without some complex and expensive testing equipment, even then it's not easy.

So something good around the 500w mark to be safe will be fine.

[plorhue]

personally i would swap out the i7 with an i5 and use the extra money to get a better gpu, as mentioned by previous posters.

If you have another spare HDD lying around, a SSD is a good buy too.

I found this website very useful: http://www.logicalincrements.com/

[MrComputerSaint]

I'd add in a SSD as well as a better GPU.

SSD as your boot drive and applications you want to perform quickly (inc games) and then a 1TB hard drive to store stuff on.

[MrJim]

What's your total budget? Are you planning to overclock? If not, you could you could get an 8 thread Xeon processor like the E3-1230 v2 for about £172 and save a bit of cash.

An SSD is handy for video editing, & general system responsiveness - you can get a 120Gb for about £65.

[ik9000]

I'd go for min 120GB SSD too, but recommend 250GB at £130 (Samsung 840 Evo) if you can stretch that far. You get better performance in the larger capacities.

[Bonebreaker777]

Any of the big names these days in SSD (Plextor, Samsung, Crucial) can provide you with a decent SSD (hopefully 120GB) for the right money.
Unless you will be running benchmarks back-to-back, the difference will be negotiable. If you work with multimedia files (and not just play them on VLC) then try to go for 6 or 8 threaded CPU (the difference pays of).

[napowitzu]

Thanks everyone! I will be adding an SSD, possibly swapping the i7 for an i5 (I read that current games don't even make use of the extra threads?), and definitely upgrading to a better GPU. One question, though: I wonder how chaining GPU's together works? As in, do they have to be the exact same unit or could I add another GPU and chain it together with my current one for extra goodness?

[ik9000]

Thanks everyone! I will be adding an SSD, possibly swapping the i7 for an i5 (I read that current games don't even make use of the extra threads?), and definitely upgrading to a better GPU. One question, though: I wonder how chaining GPU's together works? As in, do they have to be the exact same unit or could I add another GPU and chain it together with my current one for extra goodness?

if you can afford it get the i7. More cores or more threads will serve you well in years to come. We're finally hitting the point where four threads is becoming not enough for top rate performance. i5 has 4 cores, no HT so only 4 threads. i7 has 4 cores HT so 8 threads total. FX6000 series 6 cores no HT, FX8350 8 cores no HT. So I would go i7 if you have the money, then i5 if accepting lack of future proofing or FX8350 for performance hit on single thread but more grunt as things become more mutlithreaded.