ID’s Great PC Build of 2015

Congrats. Very nice case, good choice (at least from aesthetical POV). I think you should go with bigger SSD. Over here they sell Kingston 240GB for 99 EUROs these days, if its similar in US, thats just 20 bucks more for 2x the capacity. 

ID what brand and model of the GTX970 did you get? NVM didnt see that evyrthing is linked -Good choice btw

I'd really make sure of the power supply...

I haven't purchased anything but the case yet, but that's the card I mostly settled for unless something similar goes on a decent sale or something like that when it comes time to purchase. 

What Doc and Benmanns said, you should go with a bigger PSU... it's better to have excess power than not enough, and if you do upgrade  your CPU or other components at any time, then a 600w may be cutting it very close

the other thing I'd do is go with a bigger SSD also.  A 120 gig would also be cutting it fine by the time you load the OS, your programs and a game or two, and there really needs to be some excess room for the drive to run efficiently.

Other than that... NICE!!!!! 

what are the chances of skylake appearing at the end of this year for desktops? trying to wait till then...

ID, yes....the PSU is the 'heart' of a computer....if it doesn't pump the watts yer screwed....but you have one half of a pair of bookends...;)

You don't 'need' my choice of a 1200 ....but 6 doesn't cut it...not with high-end graphic cards....yes, smaller architecture means less juice....but it's all relative...;)

Think around 800.

At the moment I can't help enjoying the silence of a PSU that isn't taxed enough to require its fan to run.

OK....it will be....once I'm pushing Res Evil at 250 fps [or similar] ... but more commonly it's all quiet and cool...;)

Ok, I'll definitely increase the PSU.  As far as the SDD and HD goes, I'm going to get as big as I can in that budget when it comes times to purchase.

Great choice on the tower. Here's my NZXT that I have had for a few years now. Very good quality towers.

Another option just came in, sure it is far from a gaming rig but it is portable and doesnt take much space
Intel compute stick, all you need is a screen a HDMI cable mouse and keyboard
 might get one myself always wanted a PC in USB size.

Quoting Jafo, reply 8

ID, yes....the PSU is the 'heart' of a computer....if it doesn't pump the watts yer screwed....but you have one half of a pair of bookends...

You don't 'need' my choice of a 1200 ....but 6 doesn't cut it...not with high-end graphic cards....yes, smaller architecture means less juice....but it's all relative...

Think around 800.

At the moment I can't help enjoying the silence of a PSU that isn't taxed enough to require its fan to run.

OK....it will be....once I'm pushing Res Evil at 250 fps [or similar] ... but more commonly it's all quiet and cool...

So I strongly disagree with this advice. Basically you want to peg your PSU as close to peak system wattage as possible. Unless you don't care about your power bill, or the earth.

You don't need 800Watts unless you're running like four of these cards in parallel. You don't even need 600W.

Try this: http://www.extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine

which is saying you could squeak by with a 400W PSU.

What you need to keep in mind here, is that the more wattage your PSU can handle the more energy it wastes when you're not at peak usage (which, with a 600W PSU will be anytime the computer is running! ).

Split the baby, get a really high-end 450/500W PSU and be happy, save money, save the earth, and enjoy a nice stable system for many years to come.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139058

You 'peg your PSU as close to peak system wattage as possible' and you'll be running at max capacity and quaintly adding to global warming and fan noise pollution.....fine if you live in a cold environment and you need a room heater - I don't.

You might better be served comparing consumption vs output, and if you are ever into overclocking....just check the increased demands on stable supply.

3 computer generations ago I was already using a 550.

Minimum listed PSU requirement for my 980 is 500watt ....and that's 'minimum'.  If you add a second it'll be a further 165 ...and this MoBo has 5 PCIes ... and nothing's mentioned re any 'over spec'/more-than-average HD numbers... peripherals...fans....or what CPU specifically...

Headroom is mandatory, as it is with HD space. [fill up your 'C' above 80% and watch your performance die - you'll have plenty of time] ...;)

ID's machine specs aren't quite as power-hungry, hence 800 vs 12.

If you don't cater for potential upgrade and/or overclock then all you are doing is ultimately buying TWO PSUs...and impacting on the environment materially....;p

http://www.extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine

Just for 'fun' I ran my specs through this one .... assuming SLI [which I am yet to add] and lo and behold...

There's the results:-

Oh...[couldn't add due to copy-paste] the suggested PSU ....

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Professional-Digital-Modular-Platinum/dp/B008Q7HUR0/ref=as_sl_pd_wdgt_ex?&linkCode=wey&tag=psu1200w-20

...and surprise...it's the EXACT same one I'd bought...;)

 Also, I have to disagree with your belief that the unused capacity of a power supply is wasting electricity. If there is no demand for DC amperage/wattage out, there is no demand for AC amperage/wattage in.  Don't take my word for it, hook an AC Ammeter(mine cost a couple hundred dollars, US) up to your rig and load it up.  If that were the case, PSU's would need a shunt to dissipate all that extra amperage and as Jafo noted, would make a fine heatsource. I've worked on AC to DC convertors and DC to AC inverters for decades and it's been my experience that they mainly get hot in use, not at idle. The higher the demand, the more heat you get. That heat is the wasted energy. Higher rated/more efficient equipment will waste far less, thereby running much cooler.

 and that too........

And I strongly disagree with you. 

Sure, you have a right to an opinion, but your advice re: a 400w PSU is unsound, regardless of the source of information.  To "squeak" by, as you aptly put it, is begging for disaster... especially as the PSU gets older..  So as the others rightly put it, a PSU needs 'overhead' to run efficiently and safely.  Besides, a failing/failed PSU can take out ALL your other components, so for the sake of a few extra bucks it's better to play safe than sorry.

Today I was contacted via Skype by a buddy that helped building a PC for a friend 
What he bought was: 
current gen I5 4670K socket 1150
Asus DCU II GTX 770
Asrock Z87M Extreme4
SSD + HDD  neat Samsungs
2x4GB 1600 DDR3 the brand does not matter and the timings on it simply terrible
AND a 500Watt be quiet "STRAIGHT POWER 10" LOL that name
I would power a Office PC with that has a CPU with integrated GPU


I told him right away that he can power an office PC with tit but not a mid- High Range PC
He did not listen and installed all of the parts, then proceeded and pressed the Power button and nothing but a short beep happened and the Power supply shut down. 
We talked a bit what might went wrong uninstalled the GFX disabled the HDD and only had CPU 1RAM Module and drive hooked PC started.

A GTX770 already consumes up to 300Watts now think about the rest (HDD SDD CPU Keyboard Mouse keep plugging stuff up and poof.)

Also having a High Power PSU does not increase your bill, what does is the Hardware that is hooked up to the PSU, the PSU regulates the output accordingly to the needs of the Hardware?

But I agree if you have an integrated GPU you are safe to run with a 450W PSU like you posted good enough to open mails and play chess.

Running 4 cards in SLI with a 800Watt PSU - Sorry but Quad 980GTX setup will not be able to run a game in Ultra
Settings on more than 720p-1080p without topping 800Watts / despite the fact that you would be mentally disturbed to have 4 of those cards and only run those resolutions and not go for 4K or DSR xD

Some guys actually running 4xSLi with those already blew up 1500Watt PSU´s like popcorn while overclocking.
That is also the reason why most of them run with a standard of 1000W+ PSU´s

I agree that you can run Quad SLI GTX690 for example on a "good" 1000Watt PSU but that is the absolute limit and those are likely reference cards running at stock speeds.

You could not even run one single GTX770 on that PSU you posted thinking that the rest of the system already consumes 200Watt most likely more.
Not saying that the PSU is shit since it is a Seasonic PSU, only with a corsair label on it.

As posted before there is a reason why we recommend a higher PSU, rest assured that some or many had their experience in buying cheap (sorry) "shit", they rather go for something that lasts especially when it comes to a thing like the PSU.
You NEVER save on something like your PSU.
If you want to save up money or if you do not have enough simply wait or buy a cheaper GFX.

It's quiet...haven't heard a peep from it...and the Res Evil 5 benchmarker ver has averaged out at 258fps over the couple of minutes it takes to run through.

My case is 3mm 'solid' aluminium [can't really call 1/8" 'sheet metal'] ...so things are going to be quiet, no matter what...;)

Some do, some don't, and some manufacturers will or won't replace it if yours does. I've only noticed my GTX970 doing it on certain benchmarks and during loading, but then I keep vsync on as I can't stand tearing at all (and don't play multiplayer games with kids where a 1/60 second delay would matter).

I'm used to having it on to keep the old 480 and 580 from going all out and overheating anyway

FYI - just did a quick benchmark and checked the actual power draw; it never broke 320W with the GPU at 99%. That's actual full system draw at the outlet with an i7, factory overclocked GTX970, and monitors included (it's from the real-time display on the UPS). At idle it's under 120W.

I have an 850W supply, since I when I first built this machine I had the GTX480 which was far more demanding (it could draw 300W on its own).

The wattage figures that the GPU manufacturers report as requirements are pretty generous and are for the full system combined. More typically you'd want to check the maximum actual 12v amperage that it supports on a single rail, and I'd bet that was the actual issue in wizard's anecdote above. There are still a lot of supplies out there that split the 12v supply into multiple rails which can't provide enough current for modern video cards (while a single providing the sum current could). Unfortunately the GPU manufacturers don't tend to report the actual current requirements up front any more since the full-system-wattage spec is easier for people to understand.

Overbuying on capacity can impact efficiency as well; even modern 80+ rated supplies don't actually hit their rated efficiency until at least 15-20% load. Below that the efficiency tends to drop off pretty quickly.

That said, one should never skimp on a PSU. Though not necessarily in terms of wattage so much as quality and durability. An easy thing (though not guaranteed reliable) to check is how heavy they are, since that extra weight typically indicates more heatsinks and beefier parts; any PSU that comes with a chassis is generally not going to be a high quality one.

So bottom line--try to target the best quality supply you can find that will cover your system's peak demand, after accounting for inefficiency and loss from aging; an 80+ unit rated at 50% more than your system will ever draw is probably "good enough" for a typical lifespan, and you should land squarely in such a unit's peak efficiency range. Put the extra budget into buying one that is less likely to fail and won't fry your components if it does.

Doing 4 fifths of eff-all my system is drawing 137 watt ...at 88.75% efficiency.

It's called 'idle' but one does not design for 'idle', not when a peak is going to be the wrong side of a PSU's capacity.  That only ends in hurt.

What you look for is reliable, quality components that are up to the task.

As kryo mentioned...'quality' is important...;)

"3 computer generations ago", ID was probably using the same computer he's finally upgrading today. It strikes me that you and he have completely different expectations about what acceptable performance is.

Is ID going to overclock his machine? Is he going to use SLI? Is he going to hook his microwave up to his computer via USB? If he is, then he will need a bigger PSU. But he didn't mention any of those things. I don't think he will. (Especially for SLI, if he didn't do it now, in a 2-3 years it will be cheaper and easier to just buy a new graphics card.)

I am sure paying over $300 for your PSU was a wise choice, in your case. But it's not clear that it's such a good idea for ID.

Thank you for only reading half my post. The part you missed I believe was this: "get a really high-end 450/500W PSU"

The point is, a cheap 1200W PSU is just as likely to fail as a cheap 500W PSU. But you can get a very nice 500W PSU for a quarter of the price of a good 1200W PSU. We know how much power ID's system is going to draw at peak. Why advise him to buy a PSU that's built to deliver twice as much power?

And yes, a PSU wastes energy. What did you think they're talking about with the Bronze/Silver/Gold/Platinum?