High End, 3500-4500 USD budget pc for lots of editing and multi-monitor gaming.

Fumferknuckle · Dec 27, 2013

Approximate Purchase Date: Around February 13th.

System Usage: Gaming(while recording), photo/video/music editing, coding/programming, overclocking.

Are you buying a monitor: Yes, 3 Asus VG248QE in a multi-montior setup.

Do you need to buy OS: No

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg, NCIX, Amazon. Doesn't really matter.

Location: Stuarts Draft, VA, USA

Parts Preferences: Intel, Nvidia, Western Digital.

Overclocking: Yes.

SLI or Crossfire: Yes.

Your Monitor Resolution: 5760X1080, with possibilities of an extra 1080P monitor (already purchased) being setup some how.

Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: To edit many types of media, to program and code, full gaming immersion and recording while doing so, and general purpose use at a faster rate. Basically, this (super high-end) system is the jump start into many careers and hobbies for me.

PARTS LIST:
http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Fumferknuckle/saved/3cJF

Here is a "system build help" thread I made on PC Part Picker. It will have lots of questions and other information (instead of posting it here I figure it will make this post less cluttered).
http://pcpartpicker.com/forums/topic/20876-high-end-3500-4500-usd-budget-pc-for-lots-of-editing-and-multi-monitor-gaming

Basically, I need your help to make sure this is the system I dream it will be! And I need help with all the water cooling stuff. Thanks for viewing my call for help and aiding me in building my dream PC!

DeauteratedDog · Dec 27, 2013

If you are going to be doing photo/video editing, I would get at least one good IPS monitor - the color reproduction is much better on those.

On issue of speakers/sound that came up on the discussion thread on partpicker; I recently looked at lots of "PC" speaker systems and pretty much decided they were mostly crap. I went will a full-on AV receiver and speakers (Pioneer VSX-822-K receiver, 4x SP-BS-41LR speakers, 1x SW-8K subwoofer, and 1x SPC21 center speaker) and it sounds awesome; I waited for each item to go on sale and get the whole set, receiver and speakers, for just over $500.

If the over-voltage warning for the memory on partpicker bothers you, you could swith to Corsair CMD16GX3M4A2133C9, it is super-fast and 1.5 volt.

It looks like it is going to be a super-fast build.

Fumferknuckle · Dec 27, 2013

DeauteratedDog :

Yeah! Fast indeed!

I have been thinking about getting an IPS monitor.. or a 2560x1600 monitor.. like 3 of them.. I am still on the fence. I know there's no way in blue hell that I will be able to power 3 2560x1600 monitors for gaming, but I could lower the resolution which I have thought about. But anyway, my main thing is that most of those monitors (higher than 1200P and IPS displays) are bad for gaming. Not in graphics, but with high response times. Now I have seen 5ms IPS displays compared to the 1ms of the Asus monitors, and I am almost sure that 5ms isn't a big deal. If you know of any good IPS or high res monitors that I can both game on and preferably mount via vesa, then I will love you. Lol. But in all seriousness, that'd be awesome if you knew of any, because I haven't seen really any.
Your speaker setup sounds killer! Someone on that post also told me to make my own speaker "set" but I didn't feel like looking up a bunch of stuff while I was looking at water cooling stuff. I'll definitely give it some thought now! Thanks! Any other comments on my build?

P.S. I don't like Corsair Platinum RAM. I mean, I love it, but for how much more expensive it is for lesser performance for cheaper RAM (in mhz), it doesn't make much sense. I know it sounds stupid when I say that considering my build price, but still. Lol. I'd really like 32GB instead though..
Edit: I forgot about the Eizo monitors. Hmm.. I am kinda digging the FS2333-BK 23. I will read some reviews later, but from what it seems it hits all the check boxes: Vesa mount, IPS, 23" (I like that so I can still use the XFX stand, although I like 24" and bigger), and fast enough for gaming. After some quick research too there does seem to be some nice IPS, high-res displays. Most of which are expensive and the response time is borderline, but still information I will think on..

I also wanted to ask what your favorite cherry switch type was. I have been trying to decide on which to get, having never tried any. I feel like blues would be awesome, but to loud. Reds are probably my pick, but I don't want them to be to easy to press and be fumble-fingering a lot. LOL.

manofchalk · Dec 28, 2013

This is what I would build to suit your needs, as far as the tower itself goes.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4930K 3.4GHz 6-Core Processor ($568.98 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-X79-UP4 ATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($224.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Gaming Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($300.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($211.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($104.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($104.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($104.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($104.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: PNY GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($499.99 @ Microcenter)
Video Card: PNY GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($499.99 @ Microcenter)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Series Primo Aluminum ATX Full Tower Case ($229.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($114.99 @ NCIX US)
Other: Custom Water-Cooling ($700.00)
Total: $3771.86
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-28 07:01 EST-0500)

Major differences between mine and your build.
- Ivy vs Sandy, no big deal
- More RAM is better than faster RAM, and faster RAM doesnt make much of a difference outside very specific workloads.
- You dont need two SSD's, just get a larger one. I chose the 840 Pro instead of the EVO as it has tougher flash, and would last longer if you were to use it as a scratch disk while editing.
- 4x3TB drives gives you a massive amount of storage and RAID options. When it comes to editing you want more drives instead of larger drives to distribute disk load, because when your rendering a video out, having the source footage, project file and render output on the one drive will cause a bottleneck.
- SLI 780's, I agree that the price jump to 780Ti's isn't particularly worth it.
- Phanteks Enthoo Primo, its basically a smaller (and cheaper) 900D with similar water-cooling capabilities.
- XFX 850W, you dont need more than that
- And $700 budget for custom water equipment, which is a bit much, could probably do it spending ~$600.

For the rest of the stuff.
- Audio and microphone setup, I'm no expert here, so cant say much.
- Mechanical Switches, MX Brown switches are basically a quieter blue, they only make noise when you bottom out (which can be prevented by getting O-Rings). As for which keyboard, thats for you to decide as its pretty much personal preference. I recommend a Ducky Shine III, I have a Shine II and love the thing.
- RAID'ing SSD's is pointless, their main advantage over HDD's is non-existent access times, which don't improve in a RAID environment. Sequential performance will go up sure, but that is only needed for recording, which will fill up an SSD very quickly. HDD RAID can achieve similar performance and give you a lot more capacity.
- Monitors, I don't suggest you get triple 120hz monitors. Between the massive resolution and performance hit that recording entails (would probably limit your FPS to whatever your recording at as well), you wont get a high enough FPS to make it worthwhile. That and its fairly wasted, Youtube only accepts a max of 30FPS and it doesn't benefit other aspects of the rig like video or photo editing.
I agree with the IPS suggestion, you would have to be very sensitive to notice the difference between 2 and 5ms of response time and the superior colour accuracy will be noticeable.
- Triple monitor stand, see if you can build your own.
http://www.overclock.net/t/1195618/diy-triple-monitor-mount

Water-cooling
I suggest you read through this, it will teach you all the theory behind water-cooling.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/277130-29-read-first-watercooling-sticky
Also, I dont recommend you go for a bay mounted pump solution. There is no room to decouple (pad against vibration) in that space and it will be noisy, your better off with an internal pump.

Fumferknuckle · Dec 28, 2013

manofchalk :

- Woowee! 12TB of storage! LOLOLOL. That's so epic. I think for the moment, I am gonna go with the 4TB WD drive for now, and once I get everything completed (mainly have the whole thing together and setup) I will add some more drives. I have access to lots of drives due to my school so I will definitely add some more later. I do agree about the bottleneck though. As for the Gigabyte board, I have seen suggestions for that board. I will have to do some research on that board. I have thought about using a different board because the one I have selected is $500, but has great features such as the 7.1 audio and such. I have also thought about using one of the Asus Extreme boards. Will have to do some more research and get back with you. I do like your 32GB of RAM suggestion! I was talking to my dad earlier and told him I would like to have more RAM instead of faster RAM. I do agree on the single, higher capacity SSD instead of two of them. I still might get a 1TB SSD due to the epic pricing of those!

I don't really like the PNY 780's. I will probably stick with the EVGA ones. They are only about $10 more total anyway (with rebates and certain distributors). I have also seen the Phanteks case you listed! I am still not sure about the case. I seen a $500 Lian Li case I absolutely loved. It was huge and amazing, but not worth it. Only if someone were to give me a super discount or as a gift. Still not sure on the case, but thanks for bringing the Phantek back into mind!

As for the PSU, I mainly went with the 1000 watt one because it was priced well and I thought of having the extra "room" in case I added another 780 or something. I doubt I will add another 780 because scaling is absolutely horrible with 3 GPU's, but it's always a possibility.
- If you could, would you give me a hand in the water cooling build? I think the parts I have chosen are good, such as the radiators, although I am skeptical of the small 120mm radiator residing at the back of the case. Can you recommend a good reservoir and how you would loop everything together? I just need extra help with the water cooling.
- Oh, and for the reservoir, do you really think that Monsoon dual bay one is actually bad? I have heard lots of good things about it. And I like the way it looks. I know the Swiftech pumps are very good. Again, I just need to get some help with the water cooling lol.
Oh, I did read that sticky on water cooling. I understand the basics, just trying to choose on parts. I have heard that the way you set up your loop, whether you go from this part to that part doesn't really matter.
- Also, I am glad you didn't suggest the i7 4770K, as most do. I find the 4930K to be much better.
- Ever since I started thinking about getting IPS displays instead of TN, I have been leaning toward the Eizo FS 2333 panel. I have also thought about getting 1440P or 1600P monitors but powering those for gaming is ridiculous. Oh, and speaking of gaming, I would probably only record when playing on one screen. I do know that YouTube limits your frame rate too. Anyway, you did say you agree with the IPS displays instead of TN, how about higher resolution displays?
- On the topic of cherry switches, I am thinking about the browns. I will likely get the keyboard near the end of the build so no big deal if I don't decide now. I have heard the Ducky Shine's are good though.
Thanks for all your help!
- P.S. What's up with Newegg? Every single part I have seen on there compared to Amazon is so much more expensive, usually with shipping not being free too. What gives Egg?
EDIT -- Should I use NAS drives? From what I understand, they are only data hard drives that can be accessed by multiple computers. I do know that NAS drives are far less expensive than normal hard drives. I can't really think of any programs or anything that I would need to "use" on a HDD.

manofchalk · Dec 28, 2013

- For the price of the WD 4TB you could get two Barracuda 3TB's plus change, I suggest you get multiple drives.
- The Gigabyte board, I'l admit I picked it not for any particular reason, just that you don't need to spend $500 on a motherboard. If you want better audio your probably better off picking up a sound card.
- The PNY 780's I chose because they were the cheapest reference design cards, that $700 in the water-cooling isn't just for the CPU.
- Case choice, you have plenty of options here, which one to go for is really going to come down to the one you like the look of as they all will do the job. Have a look at MountainMods and Caselabs, pretty awesome cases.
- Powering a 1440p is a lot easier than powering 5760x1080x120hz, which was your initial plan. SLI 780's will power a 1440p display easily, would probably get good performance at 4K as well. That and its a 16:9 aspect ratio, so you can downscale it to 1080p easily while triple screen gaming is going to be more difficult to do so unless you use a dedicated capture card. Think a 1440p primary monitor would be the better option, as it gives you the option to capture at 1440p. You could then add 1080p by 60hz screens to the side of it for the extra desktop real-estate.
- Newegg vs Amazon, because Amazon is just so much bigger than Newegg.
- NAS Drives are built for their usage, low performance, low power consumption and a bit more optimized for RAID operation than your standard drive. They dont perform nearly as well as something like a WD Black or Seagate Barracuda, they aren't intended for it. Also any drive can be accessed by multiple computers assuming you have the network setup for it, its not just NAS drives that can be networked.

Water cooling I can help with definitely.
- The parts you have picked are good (except for aforementioned pump-mount), though yeah, that 120mm rad does seem a bit redundant given you already have 2x480mm and the 240mm, thats going to be more than enough for your loop.
- I'm not saying that reservoir is bad, I'm saying that you dont want to mount your pumps in the 5.25" bays, its just too noisy. A bay mounted reservoir is fine, just have your pumps internal to the case.

Flow order doesn't matter to performance unless you care about 1-2°C differences, the only rule is that the reservoir is always before the pump and physically above it, this is so the pump cant run dry and burn itself out.
Here is how I would set out your loop (assuming 900D)

Res -> Pump > Basement rads -> GPU array (will explain) -> CPU -> Top rad -> Res

The GPU's you will want to arrange in parallel to reduce flow resistance, the simplest way is to configure them like this.

[/spoiler

DeauteratedDog · Dec 28, 2013

On the subject of monitors: I bought a 30-inch 2560x1600 IPS monitor from Crossover (one of the Korean monitor companies - panel built by LG, i think) with my recent build (3930k based, just before Ivy-E came out) and it is glorious. However, I'm not really much of a gamer, so I'm not as sensitive to response time issues - for sure, fast moving objects leave a little bit of a trail. Also, the OSD for the crossover monitor is really really basic - nothing like as nice as my NEC - not even close, but it was $800 instead of $2k

.

My rig is more storage centric (LSI controller with a bunch of Western Digital Re drives + Samsung Pro SSDs) than graphics centric (EVGA GTX 770 4GB). I built it around Asus's P9X79WS motherboard, but I was shooting for maximum stability rather than maximum performance. It still screams.

I wish I could help with the keyboard - I'm still looking for my ultimate keyboard and mouse - I am still using cheapies that were laying around for now.

Fumferknuckle · Dec 28, 2013

DeauteratedDog :

Yeah, I have heard a lot of talk about those Korean monitors. I am tempted to jump the gun on them, except I heard dead pixels is something that is quite common, and shipping back and getting a new one is a pain. Nice system though! Do take a look at the K70 and K95 for keyboards! And the Logitech G600 for your mouse. Such an epic little thing.

Fumferknuckle · Dec 28, 2013

manofchalk :

- Definitely. I will probably end up getting those Barracuda's over the WD Black for the price and extra 2TB, I just have read lots of bad things about Seagate drives so I want to make sure I won't run into anything horrible.
- I was reading on that Gigabyte board earlier. Reviewers do like the board. Some say overclocking on it is a bit of a pain, and it's definitely not the best but it's a good board none the less. I do agree, $500 for a mobo is plain ridiculous. I just haven't found a good alternative. And I do agree about the sound card too.
- I will have to read about the PNY's. As long as they are still just as good as the EVGA's in overclocking, PCB ect. ect. then I will get them. In your opinion, what 780/TITAN GPU block do you recommend? Most people say go with the XS-PC Razor or EKWB blocks are the ones to choose from. They both perform almost the same from reviews I read. One has better cooling on the VRAM, the other is better cooling in general. Both very good. So yeah, which do you like?
- I agree with the case thing. I have looked at Caselabs cases. Very cool ones indeed. I do like the big and expansive models. I will have to check out MountainMods after I am done with my response.
- The monitors is something I am hung up on. I do want a higher res display, but powering it for gaming is a burden. If only powering one that is. Which, to be honest with myself, wouldn't be a big deal. I could record on one 1440p or 1600p monitor and have the other two showing fraps or something and the other Tumblr or whatever ya know. And then when I wanted to do surround I could just deal with lower graphics settings and the ultimate surround/resolution setup or lower it to 1080p. Although I have heard 1080p on anything bigger than 24" is a sight for sore eyes. Although that's controversial. Know of any good (in terms of quality and for gaming/editing), but not super expensive 2.5k or similar panels? Like I said in my reply to DeauteratedDog, I am skeptical of Korean brands, but I am open minded enough to give it a try if I can be convinced.
- That does make sense about Amazon vs Newegg.
- So, for my situation, say no to NAS?
- Thank you for the tremendous help on the water cooling! I will probably take away the 120mm now, and go with the loop you recommend. I must admit Linus' video of the ultimate gaming/editing build helped me with the water cooling part choosing a lot. Heh.
- I have more questions but at the moment can't think of them. But, I do want to thank you for all your help so far! You have been fantastic!

DeauteratedDog · Dec 28, 2013

Yeah, I was really worried about the dead pixel thing - I ordered a 'perfect pixel' version (now allows up to 1 dead pixel in the non-center area, then allowed 0 dead pixels - I guess they ran out of 'perfect' panels), and I haven't been able to detect a single flaw in it. That 30" of screen is great - glad I took the chance.

Here is a link to the exact monitor (bought from Neofeel through Newegg - Neofeel shipped in 1 day and then sent me a couple of e-mails to verify that I was happy - they seem to be on the up-and-up): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA2RY0ZA8722

On cooling: I went with a smallish air cooler on my 3930k and it runs cool at stock clock, but rapidly gets too hot when I crank up the clock - liquid cooling is on my upgrade list.

manofchalk · Dec 28, 2013

- The graphics card PCB will have be a reference design, if not then you will struggle to find a water-cooling block for them.
Watercooling blocks, havent looked much into it TBH. Graphics card water-blocks have few reviews, and I dont really keep up with whats there as in my situation, I have only one brand (Heatkiller) to choose from. Though yeah, from what I understand its all very much of a muchness, there wouldnt be any great difference between two blocks. Get the one you like the look of I guess.

If you get a 1440p monitor and two 1080p's of the same size, you could run a Surround setup, just the 1440p will have to display a 1080p image for it to work.
This monitor seems to be a good fit for you, 1440p and its a pre-calibrated AH-IPS panel.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236343
Get two more 27" screens and you have yourself a surround setup. The people saying that 27" 1080p is horrible usually means in comparison to 1440p 27", so I guess you will get to see that first hand with this proposed setup :lol:.

No to NAS drives in your desktop, build a NAS and shove all the NAS drives you want in it.

I learnt most of what I know from Linus Tech Tips and have been following him since, awesome resource and personality.

Fumferknuckle · Dec 28, 2013

DeauteratedDog :

Awesome! I will definitely keep this in mind! Just to make sure though, it does come with a vesa mounting option correct? Thanks!
EDIT -- I forgot to ask, how is the monitor for gaming? I know you said the monitor is great so I assume it has good quality and accurate colors.

Fumferknuckle · Dec 28, 2013

manofchalk :

Yeah. I don't know what I was trying to say lol. I will probably end up getting one of the EKWB's then.
- As for the monitors, I am thinking of getting a nice 1440p or 1600p (should I go for 1600 or stick with 1440?) and then getting two Eizo fs2333's. Maybe I will just get 3 of the same high res monitors ;D What would you do?
- Linus has taught me a lot too! Him and OC3DTV!
- And just to confirm, get one of the swiftech pumps and put it in the bottom of the case along with the 2 rads and the PSU?
EDIT -- Yikes.. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/proart-pq279q-wide-gamut-review,3638-9.html

manofchalk · Dec 29, 2013

The perfect setup would be triplle 1440p screens, but thats pretty expensive. Getting a 1440p plus two 1080ps seems a good option to me.
The difference bewteen 1440 and 1600p is a bit more vertical resolution. Whether that extra screen space is worth the usually large increase in price is up to you.

Thats how it works in the 900D yes.

Yea, advertised response times often mean little. That ASUS has 7ms in actuality, advertised as 1ms. I wouldn't be concerned about it.

Fumferknuckle · Dec 29, 2013

manofchalk :

Well, I might buy one at a time now. Just get a single 1440p monitor and use my existing 1080p monitor (not a nice one, came with a system i had previously been using). Then just get the other two later. I think 1600p would be to much anyway. 3 30" displays in surround.. Wow. Would be way to much.
I think I got my system build complete now, all besides the motherboard problem. If I can't find a good mobo to replace the one I picked I will just stick with it.
Again let me thank you for all your awesome help my friend!

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