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First Build - Please advise

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Xeep

Xeep

Joined
Mar 28, 2015
Messages
30
Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-H97-D3H
CPU
i5-4690
Graphics
GTX 760
This will be my first build. I'm upgrading from a 6 year old iMac. I'm not a pro at this, but I can learn. I'll use it primarily for photography work (Photoshop, Lightroom) and some gaming here and there. The games I play are typically Blizzard games, Civilization, Cities, etc. No FPS generally. I'd like a system I won't have to upgrade for a few years. The specs I'm thinking about are:
MB: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-GAMING 5
CPU: Core i5 4690 (I probably won't be OCing in the future, so I figured I'd save money on not getting the K)
RAM: Crucial Ballistix Tactical DDR3 8GBx2
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO 120 GB for boot drive and 2 TB drive for other storage
PSU: Corsair CS 550 watt
Video: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 SC 2 GB DDR5
Case: Corsair 300r
Other: TP-Link PCIe WiFi adapter. Maybe a Bluetooth adapter.

Suggestions? I wasn't too sure about the video card. I was figuring a GT 740 would have been fine for what I'm doing, but I also want it to perform well in 4-5 years, so is it worth the extra $100? Any other spots where I should be upgrading or downgrading?
Thanks
 
Everything looks good, just remember when you install OS X to only use 1 stick of the ram, not two.

I'm not a fan of the GTX960, i think it is overpriced for what it is, i would spend the bit extra and get a GTX970 or, if your budget allows it, get the new GTX Titan X, that thing is amazing for productivity (I.E adobe stuff) and epic at gaming and that will do you for 5 years at the least.

Jake
 
Silent Monster
GA-Z97X-GAMING 3 |  i7 4790K |  GTX 980 Ti
You may also consider getting 2 SSDs, 1 for the OS, another for games. Games like SSDs :)
 
Xeep said:
This will be my first build. I'm upgrading from a 6 year old iMac. I'm not a pro at this, but I can learn. I'll use it primarily for photography work (Photoshop, Lightroom) and some gaming here and there. The games I play are typically Blizzard games, Civilization, Cities, etc. No FPS generally. I'd like a system I won't have to upgrade for a few years. The specs I'm thinking about are:
MB: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-GAMING 5
CPU: Core i5 4690 (I probably won't be OCing in the future, so I figured I'd save money on not getting the K)
RAM: Crucial Ballistix Tactical DDR3 8GBx2
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO 120 GB for boot drive and 2 TB drive for other storage
PSU: Corsair CS 550 watt
Video: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 SC 2 GB DDR5
Case: Corsair 300r
Other: TP-Link PCIe WiFi adapter. Maybe a Bluetooth adapter.

Suggestions? I wasn't too sure about the video card. I was figuring a GT 740 would have been fine for what I'm doing, but I also want it to perform well in 4-5 years, so is it worth the extra $100? Any other spots where I should be upgrading or downgrading?
Thanks
Click to expand...

Just a word of caution: Please understand that the Nvidia Maxwell cards are not directly supported in OS X and what support there is for Yosemite. For beginners I recommend that they start with supported GPUs such as the GT 740. However my favorite is the GTX 760 which can still be purchased even though most think that the GTX 960 replaces it (not the case but that is another story).

And as others have stated, if you plan to dual boot, then it is best to have a drive for each OS. Also there are guides that you should follow to set up dual booting.

Good modding,
neil
 
If I were to defer the decision for a video card for a couple months, could I still set up my hackintosh using integrated graphics, then upgrade the video later, without doing a full wipe and reinstall?
 
Xeep said:
If I were to defer the decision for a video card for a couple months, could I still set up my hackintosh using integrated graphics, then upgrade the video later, without doing a full wipe and reinstall?
Click to expand...
If the CPU has HD4600 gfx, yes, you could.
 
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