Feedback on Build

kersplodey

Hi guys,

I'm putting together a ~€1,000 build (This is just for the desktop itself, I've got keyboard/mouse/monitor, though I'll be buying a new monitor in a few months as well) and I was looking for some advice. Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks!

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V3 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor (£176.39 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Nepton 140XL 122.5 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (£75.70 @ Dabs)
Motherboard: Asus H87-PLUS ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£76.64 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£59.98 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£56.29 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£41.82 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card (£193.88 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Corsair 750D ATX Full Tower Case (£122.39 @ CCL Computers)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12G 650W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply (£128.16 @ Amazon UK)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer (£15.99 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £947.24
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-07 16:42 BST+0100)

(I can't post links because I have less than 50 posts on boards, but any tips would be helpful. I'd be getting things from hardwareversand except for the WD Hard Drive which I'll probably buy from scan.com.)

I'll be playing games, mostly. Maybe doing some streaming whenever I feel so inclined. Look forward to hearing what you guys have to say.

Edit: This comes to €933 on hardwareversand and then add about 50-60 more for the Hard Drive on Scan


More edit: I'll clear up the inevitable question about the Xeon E3-1230 V3 ahead of it being asked. I had originally thought of going for an i5-4570, as I don't really have much interest in overclocking. The Xeon E3-1230 V3 supports hyperthreading, and in the (hopefully near) future, gaming will benefit highly from the 8 logical cores it offers.

Lu Tze

Just a couple of comments, you likely wont need such a high end cooler as you cant overclock the build. The stock cooler should do, or if it is noisier than you like, get a cheaper aftermarket air cooler down the line.
That is also an awful lot to be spending on a power supply.

You could save money there. Also most 2TB drives are faster/more efficient due to higher density platters, might be worth looking into.

TerrorFirmer

Definitely ditch the PSU for a different one (you'd get a good quality 550w for less than half that).

No problem with an aftermarket cooler for temperatures, but that one you've chosen is a massive waste.

Just by changing those two things alone, you could afford a much faster video card like the GTX770.

kersplodey

Alrighty, I've made some small adjustments.

Do you guys have any experience with the Super Flower brand of PSUs? Their 550 and 650W PSUs are about 70 and 80 euro on hardwareversand.de respectively.


Also, in terms of a cooler, would it be worthwhile to go for something like the Scythe Mugen 4? It's about 40-50 euro. I could fit the GTX 770 in then.

Edit: Also, might it be worth looking into AMD cards as an alternative? For example, the R9 280X is pretty good, and a little cheaper than the GTX 770

TerrorFirmer

This PSU is totally fine @ €55.

They are out of stock of the Cooler Master Evo 212, but that's a great budget cooler, can be gotten somewhere like Amazon around €30 with free delivery.

280X is a great card too and can be gotten a good €30 cheaper than the 770...770 would be a smidge faster overall though I think.

If you could stretch an extra hundred euro again with the money you'd saved on PSU and cooler, the R9 290 for around the €370 mark is an absolute beast for the money (faster than GTX780 and costs considerably less)

kersplodey

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V3 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor (€211.11 @ Hardwareversand)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Evo 212 (~€30 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Asus H87-PLUS ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (€87.55 @ Hardwareversand)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (~€70 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (€69.99 @ Hardwareversand)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (~€50 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card (€229.98 @ Hardwareversand)
Case: Corsair 750D ATX Full Tower Case (€138.59 @ Hardwareversand)
Power Supply: Super Flower Amazon 80Plus Bronze Netzteil - 550 Watt (€54.54 @ Hardwareversand)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer (€13.52 @ Hardwareversand)
Total: ~€955

So, this is currently how it stands. I think there's some room for change though. If I were to go with a Fractal R4 case instead of the Corsair 750D, it'd save almost €40, leaving me with 80+ euro to spend on upgrading the graphics card. With that I could easily get a GTX 770 instead, and I probably will end up doing so.

Addled

You can also shave off another tenner by getting "8GB-Kit Crucial Ballistix Sport Series DDR3-1600, CL9" on hwvs instead of the corsair ram.

It has the same timings, decent low profile heat spreaders and is still a quality brand.

frozenfrozen

that tenner could be saved by removing the dvd drive. Do you actually need one? I haven't had one in years and only missed it maybe once at the most.

kersplodey

frozenfrozen wrote: »

that tenner could be saved by removing the dvd drive. Do you actually need one? I haven't had one in years and only missed it maybe once at the most.

I'd definitely rather have one, to be honest. It's a bit mental not to have one, considering they're cheap.