Help me build my workstation system.

Robbie222

Next week I am going to upgrade from a 2 years old laptop to a desktop.

My budget is about 800 max 900 euros.

I am mainly doing this because my i5 2.8 , 8gb , 2gb video laptop can't keep up, it's taking way to long to build lights in UE4 and the fps is almost dieing on my current suburban project.

I have never before invested so much in a pc, but since it became work tool I think it's worth it. So I am hoping you guys can help me with some advices.

I've been looking around for a few weeks on what to choose and this is what I came up with.

CPU : Intel Core I7-4790K 4.0GHz Socket 1150 Box - 325 euro
Video : Zotac GeForce GTX 970 4GB DDR5 256Bit - 345 euro
RAM : Kingston HyperX Fury Black 16GB Kit 2x8GB DDR3 1866 MHz - 160 euro ( In the future I want to add another 16gb)
Motherboard : Asus H97M-E Socket 1150 - 85 euro
SSD : SSD Kingston V300 120GB SATA3 7mm - 55 euro ( for windows and programs only)
Electric power : B-Move BM-PS05 600W - no idea if it's good enough

Like I said , never had such a powerful pc so here are the things I don't know:

I see a lot of people talking about fan coolers , and how it can affect performance. I've never given much thought about it before. How many coolers should that system have?

Monitor wise - I have an old 19 inch and I want to buy another 24 inch one. Do I need to buy anything else to plug them both ?

What other advices can you give me? Do you think I can get something better in that price?

Thank you for your time!

Kwramm

get a bigger ssd. 256gb one should not be that much more expensive. get 2 extra hdds, one for backup, one for data - of all the investments I would consider this the most important, if you care about your work

Lamont

Your videocard can pump out to two monitors. The CPU cooler for these latest Intel processors are in fact very good.

Get a 256GB SSD... 128GB is tiny. And you will wish for more otherwise.

You need to get a standard HDD for your profile (C:\Users\YourProfile) and remap those to the HDD. A 500GB~1TB is good.

Please say you`re running Win8 or Win7...

.Wiki

Why do you want to buy 1866 RAM? The i7 4790K only supports up to 1600MHz if you don´t overclock it.

For the PSU, i would go for a enermax. 600W should be more then enaugh for this system if you don´t overclock.

Robbie222

Kwramm : hmm shouldn't 128gb be enough for windows and programs only? I've always kept all the other stuff on different drives.

Lamont : The plan is to get highest performance in that budget, so I will get another 16gb RAM and a 1TB HDD later when I got the money. I will still have the laptop meanwhile if any extra will be necessary. Never thought about remaping that Users folder ... I've always picked a different place to install new stuff, but it's a good idea.

.Wiki : You are right, thanks for noticing that. I just thought the bigger the better lol. I am guessing I won't need to overclock it since it should be a "monster". Everything else is compatible ?

Again .. the motherboard is just picked based on price ( compared to others around same price) and ....looks.

What do you guys think about GTX 970 Zotac vs Gainward or if the others are worth the extra money or just paying the "firm" ?

thomasp

128 GB will be enough for your system drive if you are the type who chooses what to install carefully. if this is your only computer and you're going to try this and that app on it and generally do full installs of everything then it will fill up quickly.
i have two win7 installs on a 256 SSD but i keep my windows squeaky clean.

i think remapping the users folder is old info relevant to previous generations of SSD? when i got mine (samsung 840) i read up about it a little and that tweak was considered outdated already, along with several others.

Lamont

Re-mapping the user folder will save precious disk space (documents, downloads, pictures, video, etc). All you do is right click and choose where you want it to be. If you don`t use those folders, then doesn`t matter. They will be empty.

Lamoot

You'll get good advice and feedback if you also ask at http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/

For example the CPU, motherboard combination.
CPU : Intel Core I7-4790K 4.0GHz Socket 1150 Box
Motherboard : Asus H97M-E Socket 1150

K in the CPU name says it's for overclocking (hence the higher price), while H in the H97M-E says the motherboard doesn't support overclocking. You're better off buying a locked processor or a motherboard that support overclocking.

For a PSU 600W should be enough, but look for at least 80+ Bronze certificate. This says how much power goes to your actual machine and how much is wasted as heat. It goes from Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, anything without a certificate is not worth the money.

Zack Maxwell

Corsair makes a Titanium-certified PSU as well, which I think is something crazy like ~99% efficiency.

Robbie222

Lamoot wrote: »

You'll get good advice and feedback if you also ask at http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/

For example the CPU, motherboard combination.
CPU : Intel Core I7-4790K 4.0GHz Socket 1150 Box
Motherboard : Asus H97M-E Socket 1150

K in the CPU name says it's for overclocking (hence the higher price), while H in the H97M-E says the motherboard doesn't support overclocking. You're better off buying a locked processor or a motherboard that support overclocking.

For a PSU 600W should be enough, but look for at least 80+ Bronze certificate. This says how much power goes to your actual machine and how much is wasted as heat. It goes from Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, anything without a certificate is not worth the money.

Thanks mate. After talking with someone from the shop this is what he reccomended - changed PSU, motherboard and video card to gigabyte OC with 3 coolers instead of 2 ( he said it's more silent)

http://www.cel.ro/wish/&wid=23919

What do you guys think ? I think I will buy it in 2 days.

Lamoot

The PSU seems weird. It only mentions 85% efficiency, but no certificate 80+ bronze, silver.. I'm bringing this up again, because most other PSUs do mention this, and it's an industry standard.

The motherboard, googling for "B85M overclocking" also gives mixed results. It kind of enables you to overclock, but in a limited way. The CPU has a premium price to allow overclocking only to be then limited.

Honestly, my expertise goes only as far as the obvious not-to-pick things. For a proper opinion I really suggest you ask at http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc to get the best value for your money and your needs.

almighty_gir

.Wiki wrote: »

Why do you want to buy 1866 RAM? The i7 4790K only supports up to 1600MHz if you don´t overclock it.

For the PSU, i would go for a enermax. 600W should be more then enaugh for this system if you don´t overclock.

and no motherboard on the planet supports more than 1333MHz without overclocking.

any time you buy RAM that's rated past 1333MHz, what you're actually paying for is RAM that the manufacturer has tested at an overclocked spec and it hasn't died, so they're "certifying" it at the higher speed.

also, you won't ever notice the difference between 1333MHz and 1866 or 1600.

.Wiki

almighty_gir wrote: »

also, you won't ever notice the difference between 1333MHz and 1866 or 1600.

Correct. And most of the higher clocked dimms have a higher latency... Ahh and please don´t buy "gaming"-ram. Just because they have fancy coolers they are not faster and with normal 1333 or 1600 ram you don´t need a cooler if your case has 1 or 2 fans.