I figured it was about time for an upgrade after using a laptop for the past 3 or so years, so I ended up putting this together.
[url=http://pcpartpicker.com/p/j8rZGX]PCPartPicker part list[/url] / [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/p/j8rZGX/by_merchant/]Price breakdown by merchant[/url]
[b]CPU:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646i74790k]Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor[/url] ($299.99 @ Newegg)
[b]CPU Cooler:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/noctua-cpu-cooler-nhu14s]Noctua NH-U14S 55.0 CFM CPU Cooler[/url] ($69.99 @ Newegg)
[b]Motherboard:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-maximusviihero]Asus MAXIMUS VII HERO ATX LGA1150 Motherboard[/url] ($204.99 @ Newegg)
[b]Memory:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/crucial-memory-bls2kit8g3d1609ds1s00]Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory[/url] ($149.99 @ Newegg)
[b]Storage:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/samsung-internal-hard-drive-mz7ke256bw]Samsung 850 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive[/url] ($179.99 @ Newegg)
[b]Storage:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/western-digital-internal-hard-drive-wd1003fzex]Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive[/url] ($69.99 @ Newegg)
[b]Storage:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/western-digital-internal-hard-drive-wd1003fzex]Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive[/url] ($69.99 @ Newegg)
[b]Video Card:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-video-card-gtx970gaming4g]MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card[/url] ($355.91 @ Newegg)
[b]Case:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/nzxt-case-caph630w1]NZXT Phantom 630 (White) ATX Full Tower Case[/url] ($162.98 @ Newegg)
[b]Power Supply:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-220g20850xr]EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply[/url] ($124.99 @ Newegg)
[b]Optical Drive:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-optical-drive-drw24b1stblkbas]Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer[/url] ($16.99 @ Newegg)
[b]Operating System:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/microsoft-os-wn700615]Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)[/url] ($102.98 @ Newegg)
[b]Monitor:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-monitor-mx279h]Asus MX279H 27.0" Monitor[/url] ($279.99 @ Newegg)
[b]Keyboard:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-keyboard-ch9000067na]Corsair Vengeance K70 Wired Gaming Keyboard[/url] ($129.95 @ Newegg)
[b]Total:[/b] $2195.72
[i]Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available[/i]
[i]Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-21 23:14 EST-0500[/i]
I tried to find a good balance between gaming and performance in art-related applications, so I decided on staying with the i7 and 16GB RAM (Multitasking).
Chose a NH-U14S because I felt like a NH-D15 would block all my ram slots. Would I still be able to overclock my i7 to 4.4 - 4.6 GHz with this?
Spent a little extra for the VII hero for the great onboard audio and overclocking.
Didn't mind spending extra money for the 850 pro since it's noticeably faster and has a longer lifetime than the 840 evo.
I decided on two 1TB WD blacks because they're the exact same price as the single 2tb after discounts.
Phantom 630 just has an extremely attractive design IMO.
Opted for the 850W power supply instead of the 750W G2 because the price is about the same after discounts, also I'll probably be reusing this power supply in the future in case I ever want to SLI whatever other cards I get.
Ended up getting a 60hz 1080p monitor since it has an IPS panel and great color accuracy as well as an acceptable response time for games (5ms). I decided not to get a 1440p monitor since I wanted a steady 60fps framerate in some of the more demanding games (i.e. modded Skyrim, modded GTA V). As for the size of the monitor, I don't really know whether 27" is too big for a 1080p monitor, but my friend owns one and says he doesn't notice any individual pixels. Not sure whether to stick with it or go down to 24".
So I guess I'm wondering if there are any places I could improve upon and whether everything can physically fit together. Or if I did something horribly wrong at some point and don't know about it.
K70 corsair is a very good keyboard ive spilled beer on it twice granted I had to clean it and dry it again some keys got bit sticky even after cleaning but it still worked for like 3 weeks after unti'll one key gave up and I just bought a second one its really good keyboard imo.
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