New Build/1440p res/~1500$

[Joeydubbs]

Yea I don't see the 4770k getting any cheaper this year or the next for that matter... The mobo's/ram will get cheaper if you do end up waiting for a year though.

I pulled the trigger, gonna pick up my order after work. Went with the asus Z87-plus combo for $347...hopefully I can control myself and leave the store with ONLY those items

Thanks for the thread Hampster, real nice find!

 

[Hampster Dance]

If it's the same price, then get two sticks. The only time you'll see a hit from running in single-channel mode is in synthetics and some very specific CPU-intensive situations, like strategy games or encoding, but given that the later is one of your uses, I'd go with two sticks.

From what I'm seeing, 2x4GB sticks are typically within a few dollars of single 8GB sticks.

My plan was to wait for Cyber Monday to pass before I pulled the trigger on RAM... But seeing as it and the case are the only 2 things holding me back (I can wait on the GPU for another month) I am finding myself wanting to over pay for the RAM now rather than wait another 2 weeks to start building.

New Egg has a 16GB kit on sale for 109 or a single 8GB stick for 62. Decisions decisions.....

 

[Hampster Dance]

I pulled the trigger, gonna pick up my order after work. Went with the asus Z87-plus combo for $347...hopefully I can control myself and leave the store with ONLY those items

Thanks for the thread Hampster, real nice find!

Congrats! Glad you were able to cash in on the deal. Remember, even if you find yourself having regrets in a month you can resell the parts to someone that isn't near a MC... probably still for a profit

 

[Hampster Dance]

Welp Lack of Patience > Saving $$

I don't know how I waited this long to upgrade and I couldn't wait another 2 weeks for BF/CM but oh well. I'm happy with what I found and hopefully I can score a great GPU and possibly a PS if needed.

Thanks to everyone who posted. I really appreciate the second pair of eyes. I'll go back to lurking daily and posting next upgrade cycle...

 

[Termie]

Welp Lack of Patience > Saving $$

I don't know how I waited this long to upgrade and I couldn't wait another 2 weeks for BF/CM but oh well. I'm happy with what I found and hopefully I can score a great GPU and possibly a PS if needed.

Thanks to everyone who posted. I really appreciate the second pair of eyes. I'll go back to lurking daily and posting next upgrade cycle...

Hey, you got some great products at great prices. That 16GB RAM kit for $110 was a great bargain, as was the R4 case for $80.

You have the makings of an incredible system. Good luck on the video card hunt! That's one area where there are often big discounts on Black Friday.

 

[mfenn]

I don't see any reason to believe that waiting until Black Friday would have saved you money. The i7 4770K deal is just too ridiculous. :awe: What did you end up getting?

 

[mfenn]

770s in SLI will be much, much faster than a 290, but of course they'll be around $800. I wouldn't get the ~$330 2GB versions for a 1440p monitor. You'll want the ~$380-400 versions with 4GB. Of course, two R9 290 cards for $800 are very tempting, but they use far more power and will create far more heat and noise. The aftermarket versions should help with a lot of this, but you'll still need a case with great airflow and an 800W+ power supply. 770SLI will comfortably run on 700W.

I agree with the bolded. One R9 290 is extremely loud. Two R9 290's in Crossfire is a recipe for hearing loss (not even kidding, prolonged exposure to 70dB is not good for your ears).

 

[Hampster Dance]

Hey, you got some great products at great prices. That 16GB RAM kit for $110 was a great bargain, as was the R4 case for $80. You have the makings of an incredible system. Good luck on the video card hunt! That's one area where there are often big discounts on Black Friday.

Thanks! I am keeping an eye out...

I don't see any reason to believe that waiting until Black Friday would have saved you money. The i7 4770K deal is just too ridiculous. :awe: What did you end up getting?

I ended up getting a new power supply (PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III Series 850W Modular) with the intention of scoring SLI 4GB 770's this BF/CM. I was able to sell my old setup to a co-worker for a few hundred $$, which let me move up on the GPU's and PS. Going to go over the 1,500 limit but with the savings/$$ from my old rig I should be set for a while. Going to use an old 8800GTS in the mean time... The build is shaping up to be pretty nice

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor - Purchased for $199.99 @ Micro Center
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO Cooler - Purchased for $29.95 @ NCIX-US
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme4 Motherboard - Purchased for $89.99 @ Micro Center
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB DDR3 - Purchased for $109.99 @ Newegg
Storage (SSD): Crucial 128GB SSD C300 - Salvaged from previous build
Storage (Mech): Toshiba 3TB - Purchased for $109.99 @ Micro Center
Video Card: EVGA 8800GTS (Waiting for BF/CM to get SLI 770's)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 Black - Purchased for $79.99 @ Newegg
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III Series 850W Modular - Purchased for $159.99AR @ Newegg
Optical Drive: Lite-ON DVD Burner - Purchased for $14.99 @ Newegg
Operating System: Already Own Windows 7
Total = ~$830 w/o GPU's

I agree with the bolded. One R9 290 is extremely loud. Two R9 290's in Crossfire is a recipe for hearing loss (not even kidding, prolonged exposure to 70dB is not good for your ears).

Point definitely taken! My GTX 480 runs at 80% fan due to a bug and it is extremely annoying. Basically have to wear headphones anytime I am in the same room as my computer haha

 

[Hampster Dance]

I am about an hour south of Denver's Micro Center.

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Quoted spam post deleted.

Harvey
Senior AT Mod/Admin

 

[Joeydubbs]

Thanks! I am keeping an eye out...


I ended up getting a new power supply (PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III Series 850W Modular) with the intention of scoring SLI 4GB 770's this BF/CM. I was able to sell my old setup to a co-worker for a few hundred $$, which let me move up on the GPU's and PS. Going to go over the 1,500 limit but with the savings/$$ from my old rig I should be set for a while. Going to use an old 8800GTS in the mean time... The build is shaping up to be pretty nice

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor - Purchased for $199.99 @ Micro Center
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO Cooler - Purchased for $29.95 @ NCIX-US
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme4 Motherboard - Purchased for $89.99 @ Micro Center
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB DDR3 - Purchased for $109.99 @ Newegg
Storage (SSD): Crucial 128GB SSD C300 - Salvaged from previous build
Storage (Mech): Toshiba 3TB - Purchased for $109.99 @ Micro Center
Video Card: EVGA 8800GTS (Waiting for BF/CM to get SLI 770's)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 Black - Purchased for $79.99 @ Newegg
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk III Series 850W Modular - Purchased for $159.99AR @ Newegg
Optical Drive: Lite-ON DVD Burner - Purchased for $14.99 @ Newegg
Operating System: Already Own Windows 7
Total = ~$830 w/o GPU's


Point definitely taken! My GTX 480 runs at 80% fan due to a bug and it is extremely annoying. Basically have to wear headphones anytime I am in the same room as my computer haha

Nice looking build! Mine will look a lot like yours when I'm done, I'm even getting the same case. Looking at AMD 280x 3g for a vid card though, MC doesn't seen like a good place to find deals on video cards however...am I wrong?

 

[Hampster Dance]

Nice looking build! Mine will look a lot like yours when I'm done, I'm even getting the same case. Looking at AMD 280x 3g for a vid card though, MC doesn't seen like a good place to find deals on video cards however...am I wrong?

I'm not really sure about MC and VC's. Usually the best sales on mid to high end card's happen when online merchants push out remaining inventory to make room for newer model stuff. That or open box items... I don't think I will end up picking up my cards from MC but we shall see...

 

[Hampster Dance]

All the parts I ordered came in today so I am going to work on cleaning up my hard drives and reloading windows on the ssd! Wish me luck with no DOA's

 

[Termie]

Good luck!

And yes, I second your opinion that MicroCenter doesn't have the best deals on video cards. A shame really...they have good prices on just about everything else.

I actually was in MC a few days ago (to pick up the 4770K deal), and they had only received one R9 290X since its introduction, and not a single R9 290. I have a feeling the total shipments are very small, but it's also a sign that MC does not have the same market position as Newegg when it comes to video cards.

 

[mfenn]

Yeah GPUs is where MC make up all that money that they lose on the CPU. Anyway, good luck on your build!