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High End Triple Monitor Build

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  • Gaming
  • Build
  • Systems
  • Monitors
Last response: in Systems
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May 20, 2014 3:48:19 AM

Hello everyone,

First post here. I'm looking to build a high-end gaming platform immediately, and will be doing so in the next few days. Unfortunately, this cannot wait for the release of Haswell-E or X99, nor DDR4. Therefore, I've decided to go with Ivy-bridge-E and the X79 chipset. I do not plan on overclocking the processor. The intended use of this system will be for heavy, multi-monitor gaming, running titles such as CoD, Crysis, Deus Ex, etc.

My budget for the build is pretty high, but I do not want to exceed $4000. This has to cover the cost of everything, including peripherals. I've listed the config below and would deeply welcome any insights or opinions on component selection.

- Intel Core i7-4820K Ivy Bridge-E 3.7GHz LGA 2011 130W
- ASUS Sabertooth X79 LGA 2011 Intel X79 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
- 2x EVGA GeForce GTX 770 DUAL SuperClocked 4GB 256-Bit Video Card
- Corsair AXi 1200W Digital ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Platinum Power Supply
- G.Skill Ripjaws Z Series 32GB (4x8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866
- Samsung 840 EVO 2.5" 1TB SATA III TLC Solid State Drive
- 2x Seagate Desktop HDD 4TB 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
- Cooler Master HAF X Full Tower Computer Case
- 3x ASUS VN248H-P Super Narrow Bezel Black 23.8" 5ms (GTG) HDMI Widescreen
- Microsoft Windows 8 Professional 64-bit (Full Version) - OEM
- LG Black Blu-Ray Burner SATA

I plan on using a 1TB Solid state as the primary windows drive while striping two 4TB bare drives as storage (High capacity storage is desired). I know that I did not list other peripherals such as a computer keyboard, mouse, and speakers, but those I can take care of later. I also know that the Corsair 1200W supply is slightly overkill, but I do want to future proof this build as much as possible. One of my biggest questions is whether or not I should purchase an aftermarket heat sink, or even opt to switch to water cooling. I would prefer to not use water cooling, but using an aftermarket heat sink may become necssary.

Right now the total is around $3700. I'd appreciate any input in coming up with cheaper alternatives (cheaper is always better). Just an FYI, I will be needing to buy all of the parts in as little as a day or two. Please feel free to suggest areas where you may think this build can be improved upon. I deeply value your feedback!

More about : high end triple monitor build

a c 348 4 Gaming
a b C Monitor
May 20, 2014 4:05:18 AM

looks good :) 

i would go for slightly optimized build
6 cores + GTX 780 SLI

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4930K 3.4GHz 6-Core Processor ($579.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($30.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-X79-UP4 ATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($242.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($305.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($107.75 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($107.75 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($107.75 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 3GB WINDFORCE Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($459.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 3GB WINDFORCE Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($459.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 750D ATX Full Tower Case ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair 860W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($231.25 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($68.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($102.98 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VN248H-P 23.8" Monitor ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VN248H-P 23.8" Monitor ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VN248H-P 23.8" Monitor ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $3556.34
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-20 07:05 EDT-0400)

*2011 cpu doesnt include stock heatsink... so i put popular 212 evo
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a b 4 Gaming
a b C Monitor
May 20, 2014 4:15:15 AM

It looks to me as though you've really gone for a 'premium' build. There are a number of components you're paying big dollars for that really won't net you any benefits in gaming. Jumping out at me are:
- The X79 Chipset ($300+ Mobo & 4820K). Ivy Bridge E is slower clock for clock than Haswell, but you pay more. Unless you want the option of a 3rd Graphics Card in future (which most people suggest is more trouble than it's worth!), You'd save massive dollars and actually get slightly better performance going with a Xeon E3-1231v3 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... - it's basically an i7 4771 without integrated graphics), and a mid range Z97 Motherboard.
- 32GB Ram will do nothing for gaming at all. Go with 16GB, that's more than enough (8 is actually heaps), and you can always chuck an extra 16GB in down the track.
- That PSU is overkill, again, unless you want Tri GPUs (which isn't a good idea). An Ax860 would serve you just fine and save $$s.
- Do you really need 9TB of storage... that's massive!? I have a video library with almost 4000 movies and TV Shows (admittedly lots of them are short kids programs) which is 1.3TB.

You also have high, but not top end graphics cards. You'd get noticeably better performance cutting back on some of the above and upping to 2x290X (AMD's price/performance ratio gets better the higher the resolution) or 780Ti if you want to stick with NVidia. You'd have the budget if you saved elsewhere.

You might also want to check out these Dell screens (U2414H): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
They'd be an extra $330 total, but really small bezels, a nice panel, and MST hub allows daisy chaining 3 displays from a single Displayport.
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a b 4 Gaming
May 20, 2014 4:31:00 AM

2x 770s wont be able to max out all games at 3x1920x180 monitors, however 3x780s should do the job.

Good choice in monitors but have you considered others?

32GB of RAM is really not needed 16 GB for only gaming would be the sweet spot.

If you wanted the possibility of upgrade in the future how would you go on about doing that, you wont be able to add another, forget about two more GPUs to that motherboard since the ASUS Sabertooth X79 only has dual slots for 2 GPUs and not three or four.

Also why such a big SSD? An SSD doesnt actually improve game performance such as FPS only helps with loading times. Are you sure you'll be able to find enough high end games that fit 1 TB SSD?

May i recommend something like this?

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3NvkK

Getting more monitors actually puts less of a stress on the CPU and more on the GPU. As more monitors come in you'll need to increase GPU power, with those many monitors you would be able to get away with an i7 4770K.

No need for an ivybridge - E CPU. However ive put an i7 4930K just for fun make sure to get back to us on tommers.

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May 20, 2014 10:03:59 AM

Hi and thank you very much for the input guys.

I forgot to mention that I also need to use this computer for computational purposes, i.e. MATLAB, Mathematica, etc. That's where the extra RAM may come in handy. I also agree that a 1TB SSD is huge, but the reason I'm including it was because I already have it (it was a gift).

You definitely raise a good point about the lack of a third PCIe bus on the ASUS Sabertooth, and the Gigabyte mobo seems like a good alternative. My current mobo is a Gigabyte X58 one and it has served me very well over the last 5 years.

I may not end up doing a 3-way SLI, but upgrading to two 780s is a possibility. Unfortunately the PC parts picker price for them may be a bit off, as most 780s I came across on newegg are on the 500+ range.
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a c 294 4 Gaming
a b C Monitor
May 20, 2014 10:12:46 AM

xkz554 said:
Hi and thank you very much for the input guys.

I forgot to mention that I also need to use this computer for computational purposes, i.e. MATLAB, Mathematica, etc. That's where the extra RAM may come in handy. I also agree that a 1TB SSD is huge, but the reason I'm including it was because I already have it (it was a gift).


If you're going to be doing heavy duty stat / engineering calculations then this is one of those rare occasions where I'd consider waiting for the next platform. The Intel X99 platform or Haswell-E, it's due to arrive any time now and will support 8 cores as opposed to six, up to 128GB of GDDR4 RAM, and so on: http://www.guru3d.com/news_story/intel_haswell_e_has_8_...
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