help choosing parts for sli system

pcperson7 · Mar 23, 2013

Looking for help choosing parts for new gaming pc
specs i want are
GPU: 2x gtx670 (prefer evga)
CPU(must be intel i7 3770)
ODD(blu-ray)
case(mid tower - <17lbs plz)
mobo(pref asus <200 plz)

Thanks!

bodeen2012 · Mar 23, 2013

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/LIOz
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/LIOz/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/LIOz/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($32.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($175.98 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($53.30 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($132.98 @ Mac Mall)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($364.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($364.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 500R White ATX Mid Tower Case ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($16.97 @ Outlet PC)
Optical Drive: Lite-On IHBS312-98 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($89.97 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1802.12
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-23 19:07 EDT-0400)

inzone · Mar 23, 2013

What is your budget for this gaming build?

pcperson7 · Mar 24, 2013

I have a 2000 budget but can stretch to 2100 if need be, but try to be <2000 thanks, also which motherboard brand do u guys think is the best? Also do you think adding 50 bucks for corsair 16gb is worth it (they say it makes your system future proof)?

pcperson7 · Mar 24, 2013

Approximate Purchase Date: Next year (but parts/prices aren't going to change that much)

Budget Range: 2000-2100

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Internet (wifi), Gaming, programming, photo/vid editing

Are you buying a monitor: Yes(but i dont need advice (dont put in budget)

Parts to Upgrade: ALLLL

Do you need to buy OS: Yes (dont factor into budget)

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg/amazon/ebay(if its a good deal [asus maximus@170 for ex])

Location: DC

Parts Preferences: intel core i7 3770k (or haswelll eq.), nvidia gt 670, asus or gigabyte mobo, prbly corsair ram, thats it

Overclocking: Yes

SLI Yes

Additional Comments: for storage a ssd and hdd combo (e.g. 128/1tb) two gtx 670s, 16gb ram, a MID case (<17lbs) (was looking at cordair 500r) case must have atleast 4 5.25 bays. Preferably a watercool for cpu (nzxt kraken 40?)

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: My first build, we have a family mac from 07, cant play ANY games.

inzone · Mar 24, 2013

You know just by reading your last post I bet you could spec out your own build because you seem to know most of the parts already. But I will still give you a build to look at and consider. Don't forget just because I put something together doesn't mean that you have to go with each and every part. If you see something that you don' like you can switch it out for what you do like.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/LRSJ

If your wondering why I went with the LGA 2011 socket it's because with that socket you have 40 lanes of bandwidth for the Pci-e slots and you end up getting true x16 lanes for each slot that you have a video card in so that with the two 670's in Sli each card will get the full 16 lanes.
If you go with the i7-3770k you will only get x8 for each slot because an Ivy Bridge and Sandy Bridge cpu only have 16 lanes total to divide up into the pci-e slots on the board.
The i7-3820 can be overclocked up to a certain speed and then it stops because it's semi-locked and TBH the difference between what it stops at and what you can get with the 3770k is not going to be that much and will not give you enough performance increase to notice.
The total after rebates went over budget by $15 so if you want to change something you can or just leave it if you want , your choice.

pcperson7 · Mar 24, 2013

Is the corsair watercooler better than the dh-14 or the nzxt x40? Also, is the saberotth worth it or should I get another(cheaper) mobo like the asus maximus gene? And how high does 3820 oc to, I was thinking ot do my 3770k to 4.5 ghz, is that doable on 3820?

Thanks

inzone · Mar 24, 2013

The Corsair will cool the cpu better then the other two and the nzxt-40 will be the closest to the corsair but not better. The 3820 may get to 4ghz and even though the 3770 will get to 4.5 the difference in performance will not make it worth going with the 3770 and it's 16 pci-e lanes of bandwidth. With the 3770k cpu you will be getting x8 lanes of bandwidth for your video cards instead of the 16 lanes that the 3820 will give you. If I have a choice between overclocking to 4.5ghz or having x16 lames for my video cards then I'm going to chose the 16 lanes because with gamming the single most important part in the Pc is the video card. Yes an overclock will add some performance to what you doing on the Pc but the added video performance outweighs it, if your making a gamming Pc the it's all about the video cards.
As long as the Maximus Gene has two full length Pci-e slots for the two video cards (which it does) then most certainly you can go with it. I can only give you information based on what I know and what I have experience with. I myself when I build my computer taylor it towards gamming and I seek out parts that will make my gamming experience the best that I can afford. That's why I went with the 3930k and the two gtx 680s and the Asus Rampage MB. If your budget was higher then I would be recommending the 3920k, I'm completely sold on the extra Pci-e bandwidth lanes that the Sandy Bridge-E gives.

At the end of the day it's your money and your computer and you have to do what's best for you both parts wise and money wise I can only give you my thoughts and experiences so that you have that information and you can make a decision knowing all the facts.

properbuilds · Mar 24, 2013

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($319.72 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Swiftech H220 55.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($149.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($99.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($219.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($349.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($349.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1980.61
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

Hi, changed the case, originally it was the nzxt switch 810, but since you want a mid tower case, the fractal R4 will do the trick, also the swiftech H220 fits in the case

Get the optical drive in newegg.
For now only pre-orders for the swiftech, but it will be soon in stock.
If you don't like to wait there's the h100i -> http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-cpu-cooler-h100i

pcperson7 · Mar 25, 2013

Thanks proper builds! Also, inzone, what do you mean by bandwith lanes, is less better? Can you please explain, thanks!

inzone · Mar 25, 2013

With bandwidth lanes more is better. If you ever look at the dtails page of a motherboard and then look at the Pci-e slots configutation you will see it says something like one slot at x16 and two slots at x8, what this is telling you is that with one video card installed you can get x16 lanes in that first slot and with two video cards installed you will then get x8 lanes for each slot. This is because the z77 chipset with Sandy/Ivy Bridge only has 16 lanes total available to be uised for the slots. If you have only one card you can get up to the 16 lanes in that first slot but any other card in any other slot will cut that down to x8 and there may be other factors involved that would cut that down also.
With the x79 and Sandy Bridge-E you don't have to worry about that because you have 40 lanes available and that will give you a true x16 for one or two slots, as video cards become more powerful and with the Pci-e 3.0 slots the lanes of bandwidth become more important and while that route cost more it's an option that you can take if you chose to do so. I chose to go that route because I saw that it gave me the full lanes of bandwidth and that as video cards become available that are more powerful I can easily upgrade without changing everything.

properbuilds · Mar 25, 2013

Hi, in my opinion for two cards, there's nothing wrong going with the lga 1155 route, if you do plan to do a 3-way SLI or 4-way then the lga 2011 might be your best choice(even though you can do 3/4-way SLI or 2-way 16/16 with some z77 boards with PLX PEX 8747 chip which increases the pcie lanes to 32) , but for two 670 gtx, there's no bottleneck with the 16 lanes, a pcie 3.0 at 8x will do about the same performance as a pcie 3.0 16x.

Also the i7-3770k is a better cpu and it can be overclocked further than the i7-3820, see here
a bench -> http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/523?vs=551

pcperson7 · Mar 25, 2013

Ok thanks proper builds, but is inzone right aout how 2011 is more future proof?
Oh, and is there any like specific mobo you recommend?

Thanks!

properbuilds · Mar 25, 2013

Hi, i would go with lga 1155 in your case, i don't see the point in getting a lga 2011 motherboard, like i said it won't bottleneck the 670 gtx in SLI.

pcperson7 · Mar 25, 2013

Ok, thanks! umm on another note do you recommend any specific mobos?

Thanks!

properbuilds · Mar 25, 2013

Hi, the gigabyte Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H is a good motherboard for it, it has 12 power phases, two nics(one is intel), plenty of sata ports, you can't go wrong with it, there's also the asus P8Z77-V PRO, it has also a 12 power phase design , but it's more expensive and with less features(if you need those) , either of those two are good ones, if you prefer asus, get the asus pro, still is within your budget

pcperson7 · Mar 25, 2013

Ok, thanks; do you think the asus maximus series are worth it or just branding?

properbuilds · Mar 25, 2013

Hi, in my opinion, not worth the extra cost(also those are eatx motherboards, with the exception of the gene v), i don't see the features that justifies the price.

pcperson7 · Mar 26, 2013

Ok thanks

help choosing parts for sli system

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