New Haswell build

[krcat1]

Current Rig: Q6600@3.0, Xigmatek pipe heatsink 92mm fan, Asus P5Q-Pro, 6.0 Gb DDR2, Radeon 4850 0.5 Gb, WD 750 GB, WD 640 GB, Corsair 750W power, floppy drive, DVD-RW drive Win 7.0 retail, Office 2007 retail, various case fans.

Parts on-hand: Samsung 830 128 Gb SSD, WD 1 TB black, Seasonic X-750W Power, tube MX-4.

Parts on order: I5-4670 (non-K), Asus Gryphon Z87 MB, G.Skill Sniper 8GB DDR3 1600

Video card considered: 650 TI Boost

Use: General productivity, Civ 5 or maybe Skyrim if I had the time.

I have decided to upgrade. My current rig crashes several times a day, especially when I use Word. I have put up with it for months. My overclock actually increases stability (I think my Q6600 was angry about being run at stock). The motherboard, memory, or video card seem to have off and on issues, and I need a rock-solid stable system for at least the next two years. I am in nursing school and I do not wish to have my machine fail when I do not during those times when sleep is a luxury.

The motherboard and memory are excessive for a non- overclock, but I want quality parts. The 750W power supply with no video card worries me. I do not believe Haswell will overclock well, and I do not wish to spend the money for the necessary part to OC when I would probably stop at 4.0 anyway. I also believe some to the extensions on the non-K Haswells will be important in the future, especially TSX. Also, because the school I attend is a 60 mile drive, and I am not certain of the availability of computer at some places, I think a productivity, work-oriented laptop or ultrabook will be necessary.

Please feel free to offer criticism, constructive or such. I would rather be disappointed to learn I need to send parts back than live with a poor machine for the next five years.

 

[Termie]

Build looks good. You're right that the psu is overkill , but you already own it, so that's fine.

This system will be a huge upgrade from your current system, not just in speed, but also usability.

Just one tip: if you get the 650 Ti Boost, go for the 2GB version to get the most out of skyrim.

Also, you're getting a micro ATX board, but didn't list a case. Are you going to try to build small? If you're in for a challenge, Silverstone has some great mATX cases that pack things tightly. I can also recommend the very affordable Zalman ZM-T2.

 

[krcat1]

I have a mini-tower, which can fit a ATX with an inch to spare. I may switch to an smaller case if I can find a room to live in near school, and lug my computer back and forth. But I will probably get a laptop.

 

[mfenn]

A motherboard with a fancy marketing name like "GRYPHON" is not necessarily going to last longer or be build out of higher quality parts than a more pedestrian board. A non-overclocking board like the ASRock H87 Pro4-M would serve you just as well for half the cost.

Similarly, the PSU is crazy overkill, but I'll cut you some slack since you already have it. Agree with Termie that you want to go for the 2GB version of the GTX 650 Ti Boost or the 7850 2GB. My preference would be the 7850 because it is somewhat faster and has a good bundle of games.