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Gigabyte GTX 970 Build
So awhile ago I wanted to make a new pc and recycle most of my old parts. That didn't happen.
The build I ended up with is :
CPU Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core
CPU Cooler Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing
Motherboard MSI Z97-G55 SLI ATX LGA1150
Memory G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866
Storage Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" SSD
Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM
Video Card Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE 3X
Case NZXT S340 (White) ATX Mid Tower
Power Supply Rosewill 650W ATX12V / EPS12V
Operating System Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)
I ended up getting all the parts for $1198.89 after shipping. Not including the custom backplate going on the gpu since that model doesn't come with one.
How did I do guys and gals? Especially curious how Quiz feels about the build for the money. Oh and fixed the issue with the 840 Evo. A little reworking it and all the bugs are gone 
Can't wait to post pictures once I get all the cables installed properly 
Comments
The build looks rock solid and should be a great gaming PC.
As for the cost it looks like what one would expect for a build like that. But hard to say since hardware sales day to day changes make something a good deal on Monday and overpriced on Friday.
Overall looks good man. And as you have already bought and paid for it the cost doesnt matter anymore.
Why the 1866 RAM tho? just curious
OMG Windows 8.1 wtf it sucks so bad
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Just kidding - looks fine. You always could have saved money somewhere, but that isn't what's important. As long as it runs well and your happy with it, that's what counts.
I ended up picking the 1866 ram simply because it was cheaper then the slower ram. *shrugs* Like everyone said, price is all about luck of timing hehe. The Windows 8.1 was more or less a opportunity thing where if I got it, i got some other goodies and honestly it works just fine.
What is the point in asking how you did? You already paid for the items and it will cost you a restocking fee to return them and go with something cheaper. Barring some extremely overpaid purchase of a part (saw a $425 listing and $350 listing of your same video card on Amazon) there isn't much you can do to save money at this point. Next time, ask before you buy. Posting this kind of thread is pointless after you bought the system.
Rosewill offers power supplies ranging from really nice to rather suspect. Assuming you got one of the good ones (Capstone is the one I commonly recommend, as it's good without being too expensive), that looks like a pretty good build, and $1200 certainly isn't a bad price for it. It wouldn't surprise me if you could have gotten something comparable for $1150, but getting that for under $1000 was definitely not happening.
If you're not feeding integrated graphics, then memory bandwidth above 1600 MHz basically doesn't matter. But if you can get 1866 MHz or 1600 MHz for the same price--as sometimes happens--then sure, get the faster one. What I don't like is seeing people spend an extra $40 to get faster memory.
I appear to have gotten a bit of a odd duck among the Hive power supples. Its completely modular. Even the websites dont show it as being modular. It really is a beautiful psu physically, but I will have to test it to see how it stands up.
As for the ram, definitely was a good deal. I just got lucky with faster ram for less. Beautiful ram to, matches the case. Entire thing is black and blue.
Sad news though. When I tried to install a new cpu fan I managed to bend the motherboad pins and its toast. So I will end up getting a new one. Oddly cost isnt as much of a issue right now, so all is good.
The GPU.. I can't even begin to recommend this beast enough. The 970 is so cool its scary. Even with the boost settings on, and running very graphically intensive games , I have rarely seen it go over 53c.
All okey stuff (i will not be cought dead with a cheap chinse "Rosewill" powersupply but thats me :P
But this "Cooler Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing" is asking for trouble.
Get a nice corsair h100i or a Noctua NH-D14
But u prolly broken the pins of the CPU coooler, time to upgrade to a real cooler then :P
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Nowday's we are screw cpu coolers with screws and backplates. :P
That looks pretty cool. And totally not something I can afford, unfortunately
The performance difference between those coolers doesn't matter unless you're looking for an unreasonably large overclock--as opposed to a more moderate overclock.
This.
The crappy Intel stock cooler is enough to be adequate at stock speeds.
A cheap heat sink with basic heat pipes will perform a lot better than that, and get you up to moderate overclocks.
A very expensive top-of-the-line cooler (be it air or hydro, they run about the same price) is not going to perform ~that~ much better than a cheaper one (both are so much better than the stock), it'll get you that last 100-200Mhz on an Overclock or so, but it's not a night-and-day difference between the two, like it is between the stock cooler and pretty much anything else.
A larger cooler (particularly 240mm hydro) will have the advantage of running quieter for a given heat load though, I will say that. Because your spreading the heat load over a larger area and have more fans - so they can run slower/quieter. That's the real advantage as far as I'm concerned - and at stock speeds the $30 coolermaster isn't going to be any louder or cool any worse than a $125 Corsair H100
Same goes for thermal paste - the difference between $20 thermal paste and toothpaste is that minty fresh smell and maybe 2 degrees of cooling. (I am not advocating toothpaste)
I'm going to make up some statistics, but I wouldn't be surprised if 99% of all PSUs are made in China, and that 90% of them are made by one of about half a dozen companies and just rebranded.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/power-supply-oem-manufacturer,2913.html
Rosewill has some pretty decent power supplies that you see under other brand names (identical internals) for a lot more money.
I am actually reasonably surprised how well the CPU Cooler is working. Evening under extreme load it just isn't making any noise and the temps are extremely cool. Mind you I just added two more 140m fans to the front. I am in love with how easily this case upgrades. The captive thumb screws are just awesome. The GPU is also so quiet under load I had to check a few times to see if the fans were spinning.
In the end, I am extremely pleased with the entire system. However I have looked into a liquid cooler. Its pretty affordable these days, but I don't need one at this point, so more money to spend on other things. Such as a better monitor or a better audio system. Speaking of, what do you guys recommend for a gaming headset these days, sub 200, over 80 bucks?
PS Mobo replacement came and all is well