Q: Building my own PC for a workstation setup!

I'm making the jump from MacBook to making my own PC that i plan to use as a workstation. I plan on spending 700-800 max on this and I want it to be able to run well for programming/coding and other apps.

This is the list of parts my friend recommended me to get but i don't know much about the specific parts so is this a good build for me or should i start over?

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V3 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($249.98 @ SuperBiiz)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)

Motherboard: Asus B85M-G Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($74.99 @ Amazon)

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($141.99 @ Amazon)

Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($59.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($56.99 @ NCIX US)

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 650 1GB Video Card ($92.98 @ Newegg)

Case: Rosewill FBM-01 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($29.99 @ Amazon)

Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)

Total: $766.88

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-31 02:53 EDT-0400)

I suggest you get a different power supply with a higher wattage. 750W should be enough to withstand the energy spikes of that build.

Seriously?

750w is overkill for his needs,you get one for sli\crossfire. Even a 500w would be totally fine if he planned to upgrade the GPU eventually(unless he wants something like a R9 290x\780 TI)

Depends on how heavy the apps you're going to work with but a GTX650 is fine, everything on this build is good, but you may want to use a FirePro or Quadro GPU if you plan on more editing than gaming.

The consensus of all the internet users and real life discussions I have read and and been part of, respectively, is that being safe is better than being sorry when building a custom PC, so I am indeed serious.

Op, do you plan on doing any editing/encoding on this? Or just coding?

Probably just coding, but I plan on learning new things such as photoshop and programs similar to that.

@xXCombatWombat:

In that case case, you would do well to get a more powerful gpu down the line sometime. It will greatly enhance the experience. It's no fun waiting for photoshop to render an image for 30 seconds.

Do you realize,that setup would be lucky to use 200w? Let alone 430w or needing a 750w. We are not in a time anymore where you needed a high wattage psu because the of the psu efficiency was really low.. A good rule of thumb is to get a psu 100w higher then what the system needs for longevity. 750w for a basic workstation is just silly.

That GTX 650 is fast enough for Photoshop, Vs a GTX 680 a GTX 650 was only 10% slower

Yeah this is true, but being on a site like Gamespot, surely op would like to enjoy some nice gaming performance as well?

How does that card do with video editing in Premiere etc? Just doesn't seem right to buy a 1gb card in 2014

He did indeed say say that it would be a workstation. I assumed he would be playing some games since this is GameSpot and all.

Even if he was going to be playing games and had a stronger more power hungry gpu most systems only need a quality 500w psu. Say he had a GTX 780ti that gpu uses around 250w even with a 80w cpu and the rest of the system usage would still be below 400w.

To add to the PSU discussion.

I built a system with a 550w Thermaltake PSU 4 years ago for a friend from work for a GTX 460 build and he is now using a GTX 760 on that same PSU.

• 300-400 = single GPU that doesn't require more power other than what it pulls from the board - 750 Ti, HD 7750
• 400-500 = single GPU that requires a single 6pin connection - GTX 660, R9 270
• 500-600 = single GPU that requires two 6pin connection - GTX 760, R9 280
• 600-700 = dual GPU that require a single pin connections each - 2x GTX 660, 2x R9 270, GTX 780 TI, R9 290x
• 700-800 = dual GPU that require two 6pin connections each - 2x GTX 760, 2x 280
• 800-900 = dual GPU that require one 6pin and one 8pin each - 2x 780 Ti, 2x 290x

PSU... if you plan on overclocking your CPU and GPU add another 100w to be safe.

430w PSU is more than enough for the build listed by the OP.

The most important thing is that is a efficient PSU rate bronze or higher.

According to a tech specialist I spoke with when assembling a custom PC with similar specifications, components sometimes experience energy spikes when a system is being used near its full capabilities and because of that a PSU with a wattage as I recommended would be a safe limit for the prevention of an entire system's circuitry frying.

It all comes down to efficiency, and using less then 400w on a 500w psu which is like 80% of psu total output will not be an issue.

Safeguarding the integrity of circuitry is a factor of overall efficiency. You seem to have ignored what I said about energy spikes.

Unless your running a POS PSU spikes are not an issue.

I do not mean to degrade the value of your advice. As I have already stated, I heard otherwise. I am trusting that tech specialist and I suggest the topic creator does the same.