New Build for Insane Gaming

computing34

Honorable
Apr 27, 2013
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Hello users of the forum, I have some questions about my new, upcoming build. I'm a hardcore gamer who plays hardcore fps games, rpgs, and I occasionally play mmo/rts games. I play competitively online, but not in tournaments. I also plan to do mild overclocking. The questions I have will be listed at the bottom of this post. Here are my predicted components:

CPU: i7 4770k (Haswell)
GPU: EVGA GTX 780 Superclocked w/ ACX Cooling
MOBO: Asus Sabertooth Z87
RAM: Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB 1600MHZ (2x8GB)
PSU: Corsair Professional Series HX 850 Watt
Case: NZXT Phantom Full Tower (It's not the 830 or 630)
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 1 TB 7200 RPM 64 MB Cache
SSD: Samsung 840 Pro Series 2.5-Inch 256GB
Sound Card: Asus Xonar Phoebus ROG Gaming Soundcard
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i
Optical Drive: Asus DVD-RW
OS: Windows 8 Pro 64-Bit

Peripherals:
Keyboard: Razer Blackwidow Ultimate 2013 Elite
Mouse: Razer Deathadder 2013
Headset: Razer Tiamat Elite 7.1 Surround Sound
Monitor: Asus 24-Inch 1920x1080 VS248H-P

Recording equipment: (For this PC and my Xbox 360)
AVerMedia Live Gamer Portable
And a 32GB SanDisk Flash Memory Card (to hold the recordings)

Questions:
Q: Can my case support the H100i? Will I have to Mod it to do so?
Q: I plan on going 2-way SLI in the future. Will my case and Mobo be able to support 2 nearly 13-inch gpus AND a pretty big sound card? It seems like a lot of weight on the Mobo and space taken up in the case. With this extra weight and space taken up, will airflow suffer and overclock speeds drop?
Q: Do I need this sound card in order to maximize my headset's 7.1 surround sound potential?
Q: Is my case big enough for these components and future ones? Does my case have good airflow and will it with future components?
Q: Should I get 1866 MHZ RAM or higher instead of just 1600 MHZ?
Q: What's the difference between Windows 8 Standard and Pro?
Q: Do i need an adapter in order to install my ssd into my case?

Thank you for your advice and help!
 
Solution
4670k will do 99% of what the 4770k does in gaming for $100 less

Might wanna upgrade to the Asus Z87 WS if "extreme gaming" more bandwidth and extra space between GFX cards

Unless you live bear an airport and won't mind the noise, drop the H100 .... 1/2C for all that noise just isn't worth it ... 50.5 for the H100 versus 51.0 for the Phanteks and no water risks

http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/corsair_h100_hydro_series_extreme_performance_liquid_cpu_cooler,14.html

http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/corsair_h100_hydro_series_extreme_performance_liquid_cpu_cooler,16.html
However, this performance comes at a cost; noise. At 2600RPM, the H100 isn’t a quiet unit at all and similarly at 2000RPM, it can still be quite intrusive...
4670k will do 99% of what the 4770k does in gaming for $100 less

Might wanna upgrade to the Asus Z87 WS if "extreme gaming" more bandwidth and extra space between GFX cards

Unless you live bear an airport and won't mind the noise, drop the H100 .... 1/2C for all that noise just isn't worth it ... 50.5 for the H100 versus 51.0 for the Phanteks and no water risks

http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/corsair_h100_hydro_series_extreme_performance_liquid_cpu_cooler,14.html

http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/corsair_h100_hydro_series_extreme_performance_liquid_cpu_cooler,16.html
However, this performance comes at a cost; noise. At 2600RPM, the H100 isn’t a quiet unit at all and similarly at 2000RPM, it can still be quite intrusive. In terms of performance per noise, high end air coolers from Phanteks, Noctua and Thermalright still reign supreme, contrary to Corsair’s own marketing. Like other ALC units, the H100 relies too much on high RPM fans for its performance when the goal of water cooling is generally for extreme performance at low noise levels

With what your spending, Id use the Themaltake Level 10GT .... Corsair 500R is a good fallback ... both are big enough, with plenty of space and have superb cooling

Two 780s is tight for an 850.... I'd use two Gigabyte 4 GB 770s instead .... not a fan of the EVGA SC series (weak VRMs)

On board Realtek ALC1150 has 8 audio Channels (Asus Z87 WS)

1866 CAS 9 RAM is just a hair more than 1600 so why not

Pro version of OS has more network connectivity. Also ....

BitLocker and BitLocker To Go
Boot from VHD
Client Hyper-V
Domain Join
Encrypting File System
Group Policy
Remote Desktop (host)
 
Solution

cbrunnem

Distinguished
you dont need a sound card. onboard sound is just as good.
you dont need that motherboard(unless you want it just cause its cool) because you are only doing a mild overclock.
consider real water cooling if you ever want to get a good overclock.
you dont need 1866 mhz ram. that ram actually voids the cpus warranty if you ever need to rma. plus its not any faster(1%).
i would get windows 7. idk enough about 8 to say
 

computing34

Honorable
Apr 27, 2013
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10,630


Need the 4770k for video editing, i'm at nearly max budget so i cant afford those cases unless they're 10x better than the one i chose ( are they?), and i like nzxt's look, and r u talking about the h100, because i chose the h100i, and ive never heard of the Asus Z87 WS, how good is it (maximus level?)
 

computing34

Honorable
Apr 27, 2013
93
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10,630


Ok i cant afford real water cooling (i'm near max budget) and please tell me more about the audio because I've heard that when u have a good sound card, this headset is one of the best on the market.
 

computing34

Honorable
Apr 27, 2013
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10,630


here's the link to my case: http://www.amazon.com/Technologies-Phantom-Green-Enthusiast-Tower/dp/B004WO17UC/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1373822667&sr=8-3&keywords=nzxt+phantom+full+tower

and please explain the audio more