Slade Configuration- Any Advice?

Hello everyone,

In the near future, I'm looking to upgrade a desktop. I'm currently using a 5-year old HP Pavilion with a 22" monitor, and a Best Buy special at that. Surprisingly, it isn't cutting it anymore.


I have neither the time nor expertise (or patience) to build my own, and I haven't seen any mass-market pre-built systems that have what I want without a bunch of stuff I don't. I also want the warranty, testing and peace of mind that comes with a boutique system.

I will be re-locating to a small apartment from my current digs, and this will be for work, browsing, music and videos, as well as some gaming I haven't been able to do on my current rig. I picked the Slade because I want something relatively quiet.

EDIT: I have a mechanical keyboard and decent mouse, and I'm planning on getting a new monitor. This does not factor into the budget.

I would be using a 1980x1080 23"monitor.

Budget:
[Maximum $2750]

Expectations:
[A box that will do a lot of things well]

Usage:
[Gaming, Home Office, Music / watching videos, Internet Browsing]

Special Needs:
[Please Type Here]

Saved Ticket #: [872473]


Specifications:
[Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Corsair Obsidian 550D
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 4770K 3.50 GHz (Unlocked CPU) (Quad Core)
Motherboard: ASUS Sabertooth Z87 (Intel Z87 Chipset) (Features Thermal Armor and Thermal Radar)
System Memory: 16GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 750W Corsair CX
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Optical Drive: ASUS Blu-Ray Player/DVD Writer (Play Blu-Ray and Burn DVDs) (Model: BC-12B1ST) <b></b>
Storage Set 1: 1x (512GB Solid State (By: Samsung) (Model: 840 Pro Series) <b></b>
Storage Set 2: - No Thanks <b></b>
Storage Set 3: - No Thanks
RAID Config: - No Thanks
RAID Card: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Graphics Card(s): 1x AMD Radeon HD 7970 3GB <b></b>
Sound Card: ASUS Xonar DSX 7.1 (24-bit 192KHz) (PCI-E) <b></b>
HPC Processor: - No Thanks
Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 2: Digital Storm Vortex 240mm Radiator Liquid CPU Cooler (Extreme-Performance Edition) <b></b>
H20 Tube Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected
Chassis Fans: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: - No Thanks
Airflow Control: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: Noise Suppression Package Stage 1 (Optimized Airflow & Fan Speeds Only)
LaserMark: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: Standard Intel Turbo Boost 2.0 Automatic Overclocking <b></b>
Boost Graphics Card(s): - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory
Boost OS: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 8 (64-Bit Edition) <b></b>
Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows CD)
Virus Protection: - No Thanks
Office: - No Thanks
Game: - No Thanks
Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
External Storage: - No Thanks
Exclusive T-Shirt: - No Thanks
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 10-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty (3 Year Labor & 1 Year Part Replacement]

Some notes on my picks:

-I'm not a big digital hoarder, and I want fast load times and low chances of failure, so I went all SSD. Is there any advantage to picking 2X 256GB Samsung drives versus the one 512GB? Also, would I gain a lot of benefit from a RAID array?

-I picked the 240mm radiator for better cooling. I understand that this would have to be mounted on the top vent. This would utilize natural convection, which would be even better for cooling. However, would the noise be significantly increased, or would the heat exhaust pose any problems?

I've heard a lot of good things about the Noctua fans, but I'm reluctant to go with air cooling because of the increased noise.

-I went with only factory TurboBoost instead of additional overclocking. From what I understand, the 4770K is a really good processor on its own, and that even an i5 is adequate for gaming. I figure I might as well get the i7, and if the need ever arises, I could overclock it myself/ have a techie friend do it/ send it in.

Any suggestions or advice?

Edited by Sunshine89 - 19 Sep 2013 at 11:31am

Thanks! A better configuration for less cash- this is why I joined!

I didn't know that about TurboBoost, and at that price point, $50 isn't that steep for a huge performance boost.

Same thing with the GTX 770- I just looked it up on PassMark, and it ranks #3 while the 7970 comes in at #7. The 770 is also outranked only by the more expensive 780 and Titan. I had checked GPUBoss prior to making up the config, but the single aggregated score and the advice here is a lot more helpful.

The savings on not having more motherboard than I need more than mitigate the costs of the upgrades you suggested.

I also did a livechat on the config, and Brian from DS said not to bother with a 240mm rad- the graphics card pushes its heat out the back and that for Stage 1 overclocking, the single 120mm rad is more than adequate. Why bother with extra plumbing? .

I also decided to go with a single 512GB drive. I don't have enough data to justify a RAID array, and I would lose more capacity through formatting if I got 2 smaller drives. From what I understand, solid state drives have a much smaller failure rate than HDDs too.

Edited by Sunshine89 - 20 Sep 2013 at 10:35am

Looks like a solid build! Keep us up to date on your order/build progress and don't forget to come back once you get it to share pics & a review with us!

Edited by fstcvc - 20 Sep 2013 at 10:48am