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I am going to build my first pc soon and I am about to order the parts. I have done some research and I have selected my parts, here is the list:

motherboard : asus Z97-A
CPU : i5 4670k
GPU : GTX 770 2gb
memory : G.Skill Ares 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3-1600
HDD : WD Blue 1TB 7,200 RPM
cpu-cooler : hyper evo 212
case : NZXT Phantom 410
os : Windows 8.1

I have some questions left. Is this a good build? Will all the parts work? Will they fit in the case.... etc.
What PSU should I buy? I want a good one with a lot of power and that will last for some years. Many people have told me not to go cheap on the psu so think of going for a psu of around 80$, it does not need to be modular since my case has a lot of place in it.
For the 770 should i go for the asus one? or the msi one (overclocked) They cost the same. (or maybe another one?)
Last I listed that my ram is 1600 but I can get the exact same set in 1866 for like 5$ extra, I don't know the difference should I buy it?

-thx for the feedback-

Dhyrim wrote:

I am going to build my first pc soon and I am about to order the parts. I have done some research and I have selected my parts, here is the list

Welcome to the Tech Report!

Dhyrim wrote:

motherboard : asus Z97-A

In another thread, I wrote:

That Asus Z97-A ATX motherboard wastes two slots on obsolete PCI. Here are some Z97 ATX motherboards without obsolete PCI slots: Asus Sabertooth Z97 or Z97-Pro, MSI Z97 Guard-Pro or Z97-G45 Gaming, ASRock Z97 Extreme4 or Z97 Extreme6, Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD7 or GA-Z97X-Gaming GT
Would you consider micro-ATX motherboards? You can still use your ATX case. Here are some Z97 micro-ATX motherboards without obsolete PCI slots: Asus Gryphon Z97 or Maximus VII Gene, MSI Z97M-G43 or Z97M Gaming, Gigabyte GA-Z97MX-Gaming 5, ASRock Z97M OC
I like the Asus Gryphon Z97, but the MSI Z97M-G43 is cheapest, at $115½.

Dhyrim wrote:

CPU : i5 4670k

The new Core i5-4690K is faster for the same price.

Dhyrim wrote:

cpu-cooler : hyper evo 212
memory : G.Skill Ares 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3-1600
I listed that my ram is 1600 but I can get the exact same set in 1866 for like 5$ extra, I don't know the difference should I buy it?

I recently listed some 8 GiB memory kits in this post.

Dhyrim wrote:

GPU : GTX 770 2gb
HDD : WD Blue 1TB 7,200 RPM

Where is your SSD? Don't build a new PC without one.

Dhyrim wrote:

case : NZXT Phantom 410
os : Windows 8.1
What PSU should I buy? I want a good one with a lot of power and that will last for some years. Many people have told me not to go cheap on the psu so think of going for a psu of around 80$, it does not need to be modular since my case has a lot of place in it.

In a different thread, I wrote:

$65 Corsair CX600M (80+Bronze, 46 Amperes)
$71¼ SeaSonic S12II-600 (80+Bronze, 48 A)
$95 Corsair CS650M (80+Au, 51 A)
$100 -20MIR SeaSonic SS-660XP² (80+Pt, 55 A) <-- I have this one!
$101½ SeaSonic S12G-650 (80+Au, 54 A)
$105 Antec EarthWatts Platinum EA-650 (80+Pt, 48 A)
$106 SeaSonic SSR-650RM (80+Au, 54 A)
$116 Corsair HX650 (80+Au, 54 A)

GPU: You should look at a card with more than 2GB. More and more games are going to start using more VRam. AMD right now gives you better performance at the same price point right now. Look at the R9 280x or R9 290.

RAM: The board you picked only supports 1866 by overclocking, so unless you plan to OC then I would stick with the 1600 speed.

PSU: A 650w unit should be plenty good for this build. I would go for a gold certified unit. Seasonic and Corsair make some good units, though a little above the $80 you were thinking to spend.

What is your budget for this build?

I second JAE, if you can afford you should try and put an SSD in there for better boot times and keep the HDD for games. Prices are starting to come down. The Crucial MX100 128GB is only $79.99 and gives you plenty of room for Windows and any extra programs you might put on there. The 256Gb MX100 is only $107.99.

Everything else looks pretty good. Have you checked out TR's system guide yet? That is a great starting point.

Hey, and welcome.

The build is a pretty solid start, though I don't see an SSD in there at all. Strictly speaking you don't need an SSD but a machine without one just feels old and slow. I'd rather use a five-year-old PC with an SSD than a new i7 without one.

Good power supplies: Seasonic, Corsair, Antec and many others. Assuming you're going to be sticking to one graphics card, you don't need crazy-high capacities. A 500W, 80+ rated PSU from a reputable brand will be absolutely fine for your build. Of the ones I mentioned, Corsair is probably the lower-cost option you should be looking at, specifically the CX500 is their entry-level unit that comes with two PCI-e power connectors needed by the 770. If you want some headroom consider the CX750 since that comes with four PCI-e connectors, though at this point a modular PSU makes a lot of sense just to avoid having a massive web of unused cables in your case.

For specific models of graphics card, I'd look at the user reviews on Newegg or similar. Asus and MSI both do cheap and more expensive models of the same card. Usually the cheapest ones come with a less substantial cooler. Asus' Matrix and DirectCUII coolers are pretty quiet and well-made. MSI's HAWK and older TwinFrozr coolers stand up well to scrutiny too. Basically you get what you pay for, but if the cooler is bigger and has more heatpipes and fans, it'll run cooler and more quietly than the cheapest option.

As for RAM, the overall performance is governed by a combination of the timings and the clockspeed. 1866MHz DDR3 sounds better than 1333MHz DDR3, but they'd actually perform near-identically if it was 1866-CL11 and 1333-CL9. The CAS latency number (written as CL=9 or the first digit in a listing that says 9-9-9-24) is important, the lower the better. Right now, the sweet spot for price/performance using a Haswell processor seems to be 1.5v DDR3 1600MHz CL9. Aim for a kit without stupid heatspreaders if you can, because they're unnecessary and just get in the way. Low profile (Crucial make some great low-profile DDR3) is even better, if you can find it on sale.

Lastly, the EVO212 will be fine. There are quieter coolers out there, there are better coolers out there, but as long as you can fit a 160mm-tall cooler in your case the EVO 212 is pretty great value for the performance it offers.

I just assembled my new rig:

i5 4590
GTX 760 4 GB
Crucial 480 GB SSD
Cooler master hyper 212 plus
case: fractal r4
Os: Windows 7

The fractal case is very quiet. Even under load it is barely audible. I highly recommend this case.

I ended up using the intel heatsink because my cooler master was missing a screw and their support was super slow. I had a really good experience with my arctic freezer pro, so I suggest you get that instead.

The SSD makes things super fast, I boot in 5 seconds. I suggest getting a 480/500 GB for $200 on sale. There are a ton of sales if you wait for it.

I got a Corsair CX600M bronze modular CPU for $50 after rebate. Rebate came super quick.

For gpu you should research the support quality of the cards. Though if you buy from new egg and leave a 1 egg review support will reach out to you and try to help. I personally trust EVGA the most.

Newegg has this Seasonic 660W 80 Plus Platinum PSU for $80 after MIR and coupon code EMCYTZG486. That's what I'd get for this build if I were you.

I also agree with everyone else, a 240/256GB SSD is an ABSOLUTE MUST in a system this price. You can get a good one for under $110.

Buy the 1866MHz RAM for $5 more.

Also, do you live near a Microcenter? That's the best place to get your CPU + mobo.

Thx for all the good advice guys, it helped me a lot.

An unrelated question, I went ahead and ordered all my parts on amazon (amazon.de I live in europe) and the total cost was about 1200 + 30 shipping cost.
But now I find that amazon cancelled some of my orders? And not just some all of them except the optical driver and the hard drive. They just randomly canceled 1100 euros worth of orders for no reason at all. They send me no e-mail nothing. I send them a mail via their support to ask why this was the case, that was 5 hours ago and I still have no reply.
Does anyone have had the same thing happen to them? Do you guys know what I should do? I am frustrated over this as you can imagine and stupid amazon has not even replied once to me! wtf!?

They probably cancelled it because you didn't put an SSD in there

Funny thing is I did put an ssd in the build because of you guys. I went for the samsung evo 840 120 gb, it was only 65 euro, good deal if you ask me

Cancelled European orders are usually the fault of the banks who have pretty strict anti-fraud checks. A common one is "first order is both abroad and to a delivery address that doesn't match the registered cardholder's address."

Does the bank for the card you ordered with have the right address for you, and does Amazon have that as your delivery address?

Easiest way to find out is to call Amazon directly.

For anyone who was wondering, I got the problem fixed. It was pretty dumb actually. The parts where shipped directly from german hardware shops, they just also used amazon to sell their products. The items got canceled because the shipping cost was calculated for people who live in Germany (I do not live in germany) so I guess this is why they could not sell via amazon. However I could just order all the parts directly from the other website. Some parts turned out to be even cheaper + the shipping cost only increased a little bit, 5 euro or so, but I think this is because they are located very close to the border...

greenmystik wrote:

GPU: You should look at a card with more than 2GB. More and more games are going to start using more VRam. AMD right now gives you better performance at the same price point right now. Look at the R9 280x or R9 290.
...

I know of nothing that indicates that you need more than 2GB unless you're running multiple monitors or 4K. Improved performance numbers of the 7950 (is the mythical, magical, supply-problem-solver 280 even released at this point?), 7970, 280X for 4k and multi-monitor setups are more to do with their wider bus than their framebuffer size.

correct me if I'm wrong here, I'd like to know, but as far as I know, 2GB is sufficient for 1440p or less.

fhohj wrote:

greenmystik wrote:

GPU: You should look at a card with more than 2GB. More and more games are going to start using more VRam. AMD right now gives you better performance at the same price point right now. Look at the R9 280x or R9 290.
...

I know of nothing that indicates that you need more than 2GB unless you're running multiple monitors or 4K. Improved performance numbers of the 7950 (is the mythical, magical, supply-problem-solver 280 even released at this point?), 7970, 280X for 4k and multi-monitor setups are more to do with their wider bus than their framebuffer size.

correct me if I'm wrong here, I'd like to know, but as far as I know, 2GB is sufficient for 1440p or less.

IIRC, watch dogs uses up to 3GB (I heard 4GB get thrown around, too), but I haven't tested it yet on my 3GB card. Honestly, if I were subby, I'd have sprung for a 3 or 4GB card. Then again, I always like to buy a little ahead of the curve, when I can afford it.

If there isn't a resolution or reference article given in claims of how much VRAM you need, I generally ignore them. I'm in the camp that 2GB for 1080p is just fine, but I cannot supply said references off the top of my head....so I guess I'm just blowing hot air like the rest of them...

It depends on the game, but I haven't found anything that uses more than 2GB at 1080p yet.

I don't have Watch Dogs, but it looks as if Watch Dogs is an Nvidia bribery TWIMTBP issue, and nothing to do with actual game usage. If it was actually written properly I don't see how the relatively low graphical fidelity could use up so much RAM.

To put it into context, Crysis3 is the most VRAM intensive game that I have seen. There may be heavier titles, but neither the Frostbite engine in BF4 nor something that is shader-heavy like Borderlands2 on UnrealEngine comes close. At 1080p Ultra in Crysis3 I am using 1.25GB, and it can go up to 1.6GB if I then override the game settings with max everything in the driver control panel. It also runs like a dog with everything ramped up to ludicrious settings, and there's very little visual improvement for the CCC tweaks.

At 1440p I can just about hit the RAM limit of a 3GB R9-280X with ultra settings, but you should be looking at a 290X or 780Ti for "Ultra" at 4MP resolutions. It's a good job I'm happy with plain-old "high".

Chrispy_ wrote:

It depends on the game, but I haven't found anything that uses more than 2GB at 1080p yet.

Believe it or not, KoF 13 used all 3GB of VRAM on my card @ 1080p, according to GPU-Z 0.7.8. I found that out while testing why my GOG copy of Blazblue: Calamity Trigger was running so horribly slow (it used only used 300MB of VRAM, and left most System RAM, and 4 CPU cores untouched).

Hz so good wrote:

Chrispy_ wrote:

It depends on the game, but I haven't found anything that uses more than 2GB at 1080p yet.

Believe it or not, KoF 13 used all 3GB of VRAM on my card @ 1080p, according to GPU-Z 0.7.8.

I choose "not"

Seriously, that game runs on a ten-year old graphics card with 256MB of VRAM. I suspect the engine is just reserving "all available VRAM" because it's an ancient engine. I've had GPU-Z report 3GB of VRAM usage for old games that comandeer the graphics hardware and don't like sharing it with others (DX7-era stuff). Those games can use 3GB of VRAM despite a 128MB card being state-of-the-art at the time.

Chrispy_ wrote:

Hz so good wrote:

Chrispy_ wrote:

It depends on the game, but I haven't found anything that uses more than 2GB at 1080p yet.

Believe it or not, KoF 13 used all 3GB of VRAM on my card @ 1080p, according to GPU-Z 0.7.8.

I choose "not"

Seriously, that game runs on a ten-year old graphics card with 256MB of VRAM. I suspect the engine is just reserving "all available VRAM" because it's an ancient engine. I've had GPU-Z report 3GB of VRAM usage for old games that comandeer the graphics hardware and don't like sharing it with others (DX7-era stuff). Those games can use 3GB of VRAM despite a 128MB card being state-of-the-art at the time.

I can name few games that can eat 2GB VRAM, we are now seeing 4GB VRAM becoming mainstream.

I would recommend card with atleast 3GB VRAM (for 1080P). Buy a 2GB VRAM card, only if you are fine playing future games at medium settings.

Are you going for upgrade path?
Your current build has a i5 CPU, why not save 20 bucks and use Z87-A mobo instead?