Eight is great

8.1 is really fun

It's not

I am posting this from my Microsoft Surface device and I am having loads of fun so I contend that it IS

Windows 8 brings many scary things like RESTRICTED BOOT and NSA BACK DOORS and WALLED GARDEN app store!!!
Don't get scroogled sheeple!!!!!!!!!!!!!

https://tails.boum.org/
https://duckduckgo.com/

Sorry I am just being EXTREMIST

I should try 8.1, I feel like I'm not giving it a fair shake.  But I don't see why you'd put 8 on a desktop unless there's some kind of compatibility issue.

Once you install something like Classic Shell or Start8, 8.1 is much faster and lightweight than 7.

Yeah, I don't think it's worth the upgrade if you have Windows 7 but I'm not gonna avoid it if I need a new computer. Install Classic Shell and it's almost identical to 7.

StartIsBack is my personal favorite.  It's $3 but that's really not that much considering how much functionality you get in return.

AFAIK Classic Shell does everything StartIsBack can and is free.

AFAIK Classic Shell does everything StartIsBack can and is free.

Honestly I think it's basically all preference, but I liked StartIsBack the most.  They're all better than Metro.

post screenshot of wazhack maxed out

http://cloud-4.steampowered.com/ugc/592537599603136838/CDB8827CA01E35C4BDE6878A6FB057FB83625AC2/
http://cloud-4.steampowered.com/ugc/592537599603139422/FE68B856B161DDC8386672D10F328D267382B3C1/

HOLY poo poo if anybody calls that ugly I'll downvote them

I managed to get Widnows 8 to stop booting 3 days after getting my new laptop

Then I formatted and installed windows 7 and all was fine

Okay here are pictures finally: http://imgur.com/a/cl7NB

My goals for this build were to make this PC silent, cool and capable of maxing any game out right now at 1080p.  I was also interested in overclocking to help futureproof it a little bit.  Finally, I didn't want to waste space with a massive ATX build so I decided to do my research and focus on a microATX build instead (mini-ITX was tempting, but ultimately I didn't want to do that much work).  My budget was about $1500 before tax and shipping.

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Components

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($234.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler  ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97MX-Gaming 5 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($144.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($129.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($50.40 @ Amazon)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280X 3GB Double Dissipation Video Card  ($298.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Silverstone TJ08B-E MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: XFX XTR 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer  ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VG248QE 144Hz 24.0" Monitor  ($259.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1542.30
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-07-26 00:53 EDT-0400

I went with the latest i5 CPU because, while I was tempted to waste money on the i7, ultimately the hyperthreading wouldn't have helped at all with my gaming performance. The motherboard is nice because it uses the new Z97 chipset and boasts an impressive set of features, including impressive audio specs which sold me.  I also like the idea of an M.2 slot although I don't know if I'll ever need to use it.  The BIOS has access to just about everything you could possibly want to tweak and then some.  I was originally planning on getting a CLC cooler for my CPU, but because I really wanted to make sure my build was silent I had to scrap that and get a Noctua air cooler instead.

16GB of RAM is obviously overkill, but I figured that it wasn't the worst way to spend the leftover money in my budget.  I opted for a 250GB SSD so I could dump a lot of games on there.  I was very wary of buying an AMD GPU, but the fact that it was cheaper and more powerful than a GTX770 was enough to convince me.  I did a ton of research on power supplies and finally settled on this one from XFX which has a very, very good reputation, is fully modular, and features a neat hybrid fan technology where the fan doesn't turn on until necessary.  Most importantly, it is short enough to fit in my case along with an optical drive.  I was originally planning on a nice IPS panel monitor but in the end my love of CSGO made me realize I would be better off with a 144Hz 1080p TN panel instead.

Finally, the case.  As I said I wanted a microATX build and the TJ08B-E is one of the best cases on the market for $100.  Some of the best features are a single 180mm intake fan, space for 1 HDD and 1 SSD (attached directly to the case under the HDD) without using the drive cage, a little plastic stand to hold up any CPU coolers (worthless, but neat) and a ton of space behind the motherboard tray for cable management (it even includes tabs you can attach zip ties to). 

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Build Notes

The case was a dream to work with.  Removable motherboard trays are always a nice touch and this was no different.  Interestingly, the PSU and motherboard are both mounted upside down to allow everything to fit.  It's strange to have my GPU above my CPU cooler but oh well, it works.  As you can see I was able to run every cable behind the tray (or stuffed above the optical drive) to allow for very clean cable management and nice airflow.  The zip tie holds are really useful and made it simple to tie a large number of cords together.  The modular PSU was great although I did have to invert a SATA power connector as a result of the SSD being on the floor of the case.  The SATA cables were really long so I just kind of had to stuff them behind the tray as much as I could.

As you can probably guess, the most difficult part was mounting the massive heatsink.  Thankfully the mounting bracket and instructions are both clear but it's a very tight fit trying to get everything in place.  I also plugged the two fans into sys fan headers, overlooking the fact that the motherboard wouldn't POST without anything plugged into the CPU fan header.  Unfortunately that header is almost directly underneath the center fan.  I didn't want to remount the heatsink so I used chopsticks to wiggle a power connector onto the header and push it down.  In retrospect this was really dumb but I didn't break anything so I won't change my habits.

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Performance

General use:  My PC boots in about 6 seconds which as far as I'm concerned is unfair to everyone who doesn't yet have an SSD.  The audio quality is really impressive, certainly better than any onboard audio I have ever used.

Games: I haven't actually run benchmarks or anything but I love the performance I am getting so far.  I get ~300 FPS most of the time on CSGO at max settings, which is a nice improvement from my 30 FPS on minimum when I played on my laptop.  As an aside, 144Hz monitors are absolutely amazing if you are playing games that are twitchy enough to utilize them.  I am stunned at how smooth the game is and I don't think I could ever go back to playing it at 60Hz.  Another twitch game, Trackmania, also really benefits from this.

I have an absurd amount of graphics mods for Skyrim but I can still run it at 60 FPS almost constantly although it does dip into the 30s on occasion.  I haven't played any other games that are really intense, but I'm excited to really test this out when the Metro Redux games are released next month!

Cooling: The CPU is at ~3-4°C above the ambient room temperature, so the CPU is at 29-30°C.  While gaming, I have not seen it get above 36°C even after several hours of playing.  The Noctua NH-D14 is a behemoth of a cooler but it does its job very well.  It also keeps the motherboard components very cool and moves a ton of air.  XFX did an incredible job with the R9 280X Double Dissipation card; it idles at about 34°C and hasn't topped 60°C yet during intense gaming.  That's about 10-15°C cooler than my old GPU which is a welcome change.

Noise:  Like I mentioned earlier, the PC is completely silent.  The only noise it makes is when the fan starts up during POST.  I can have my ear just about pressed up to the case and still not hear anything.  I'm really thrilled with how it turned out because my old PC was a jet.

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Well there you have it, more than anyone wanted to know about my PC.  I regret nothing and am incredibly happy with this build.  I would especially recommend microATX to anyone looking to save some space.