I'm looking at building my first "real" PC since 2005, I've built 400+ PC's since then, so I'm toying with details. I'm looking for any feedback but mostly on the case and video card. My eldest is turning 5 soon so its time to get him off the Wii and iPad. Probably going to start him on HoMM and D3.
Current Setup
At home we have 2 Shuttles, a HP Envy 14" and a HP WHS box.
The SN95G5v3 was the PC built in 2005, A64 3500+, 1GB, 6600GT (AGP), running 2 x Dell 2005FPW (1680x1050), WinXP. In 8 years all I've down is swap hard disks.
The XS35GT is the main PC, Atom + ION, 4GB, 120GB SSD, has no moving parts (100% silent) and performance is about the same as the other Shuttle. Win8.1 Pro, running a Dell 2711 (2560x1440). This will get moved to the TV or to the kitchen with one of the 20" monitors.
Requirements
The PC needs to handle 35c ambient temps in summer.
The PC goes on the desk so the toddler doesn't eat it, feed it, etc.
Noise is an issue, I live in quiet area and the PC is in the living room.
Prices are in AUD, probably purchasing from pccasegear.com.au or mwave.com.au, but open to other shops.
CPU
Most likely a i5 4670. It will be sad seeing less CPU threads than my laptop, but I don't think hyperthreading is worth $100. I'm tempted to get a K cpu, but its $25 and I'm not looking at overclocking. Either option will get me FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn from Intel.
Case
My first choice is a SZ87R6 - Shuttle have been good to me (at home and work). I've built 180+ of these system so I'm comfortable with them (to comfortable maybe). Convince me / show me on something else. Fractal 304 is a pain to build, BitFenix Phenom is chunky but with good cooling, SG08 is ugly and Ncase M1 is sold out till April next year.
Video Card
I'm looking for something around $300, needs decent performance (2560x1440), lower power is better, silence is important and space may be an issue (The ASUS Direct CU cards don't fit in the Shuttle). To make it harder Nvidia don't seem to like Australia (price wise), and ATI stuff is on clearance. I've included ball park Australian prices below.
$170 - ATI HD7850 2GB
$220 - ATI HD7870 2GB
$280 - ATI R9 270X 2GB
$280 - ATI HD7950 3GB
$299 - ATI HD7970 3GB
$315 - Nvidia GTX 760 2GB
$430 - Nvidia GTX 770 2GB
$280 - Sapphire AMD Radeon R9 270X 2GB Vapor-X Overclocked Video Card
$280 - Sapphire Radeon HD7950 3GB Vapor-X OC Boost Edition (Gold 3 Game Pack)
$300 - PowerColor AMD Radeon HD 7970 3GB OverClocked Video Card (CRYSIS 3, BIOSHOCK INFINITE, FAR CRY 3 BLOOD DRAGON)
So far I'm leaning towards the HD7950 Vapor-X, but if they 270X was priced like a 7870 then I would buy that.
Components
The rest of the system will be roughly:
$115 - Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit - DVD OEM
$190 - Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5"
$245 - Intel Core i5 4670 (+25 for the K version?)
$105 - G.SKILL Sniper 8GB F3-12800CL9D-8GBSR2 (any reason to go 16GB?)
$ 50 - Some BluRay drive (We don't have anything in the house that reads bluray).
2TB Seagate from existing PC.
Dell 2711 from existing PC.