Upcoming mid-range build

[Dookie]

I am putting together a build that I will be completing later this year around Christmas and I'm looking for some feedback.

I plan on using it for some gaming, but that's not my primary focus. I am going to make the move to Linux as my primary OS with a dual boot Win8 install for games.

A couple notes:
- The 1TB drives will be in a RAID 1 configuration
- I already own the display, I want to make sure I am getting enough GPU to run current games at the native 2560x1440 resolution.
- I'd like to get an efficient power supply but I am concerned that 550 is too light for this build. I'd like to spend <$100 on the PSU.
- I am not opposed to some overclocking hence the 4690K. Any heat sink recommendations? The quieter the better.
- The optical drive is already covered.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD5H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($178.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2400 Memory ($164.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($115.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($57.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($57.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB FTW ACX Video Card ($159.99 @ Micro Center)
Case: Corsair 330R ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts Platinum 550W 80+ Platinum Certified ATX Power Supply ($94.98 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus PB278Q 27.0" Monitor ($479.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1619.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-01 10:39 EDT-0400


Let me know what you think!

 

[DSF]

I totally get the excitement of an upcoming build, but it's way too early to make specific part choices right now. This thread will serve you better in early December.

A few minor points that will still hold true in a few months:
- The Samsung 840 Pro doesn't offer great value for money. Something like the Crucial MX100 will give you around twice the space for about the same price.
- The video card is underpowered for gaming at that resolution assuming that you intend to play new 3D games.
- What's the reason for RAID 1? Not that there's anything wrong with RAID 1, but if your intention is to use it as a backup strategy you'll still need a genuine backup plan such as cloud storage or discs stored separately from the main machine. The real purpose of RAID 1 is to reduce downtime in the event of a single disk failure.

In the mean time, be ready to answer these questions when your build date gets closer:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=80121

 

[Dookie]

Thanks for the reply!
I see what you are saying about being early, I'm really just trying to find out what kind of budget I'll need to get the performance I want.

-I'll look into the mx100. The reason I was going with the 840 was I read somewhere it has the best performance for the price. I'm more concerned with speed on the SSD than anything, to a certain point of course. I don't want to put more than $200 into the SSD.

-What should I be looking for in a GPU? I am pretty clueless when it comes to GPUs. Io dont have a good handle on all the different models.

-The RAID is for redundancy. Although I may be better off putting the 2nd drive in another machine now that I think about it. Maybe I'll go with a single 2tb drive.

 

[mvbighead]

I would think that something like this would be a better spend dollar for dollar:

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/XJyvdC
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/XJyvdC/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.98 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 Extreme3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($93.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston Blu 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($138.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($104.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital WD Green 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($81.69 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital WD Green 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($81.69 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 770 2GB DirectCU II Video Card ($299.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Acer K272HULbmiidp 60Hz 27.0" Monitor ($399.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1551.27
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-02 08:28 EDT-0400

 

[mfenn]

-What should I be looking for in a GPU? I am pretty clueless when it comes to GPUs. Io dont have a good handle on all the different models.

You should be looking in the $250+ range on GPUs. Since you're looking at 1440p display, you should also be looking at GPUs with 3GB of VRAM or more. Right now, that'd be the R9 280X 3GB, but things will be different in December.

-The RAID is for redundancy. Although I may be better off putting the 2nd drive in another machine now that I think about it. Maybe I'll go with a single 2tb drive.

Like DSF said, redundancy only buys you uptime, it's not the same as having a disaster recovery plan (ie. backups). You should always spend money on backups before you spend it on redundancy. Getting a 2TB external drive and making backups to it would be a good start.