Want to build something that'll work with me!

13Fjordan

Commendable
Apr 6, 2016
3
0
1,510
I'm tired of working with my mediocre laptop, and I need something that brings serious game to the table. I'm fairly familiar with building, but it isn't something I've ever attempted by myself- lack of money, not lack of knowledge. I've picked out my build and everything looks like it should work, but just in case... What a waste of $3,900 if it isn't all compatible!

MB: ASUS Rampage V Extreme LGA 2011-v3 Intel x99 SATA 6GB/s e-ATX

Processor: Intel core i7-5960x

Graphics: Gigabyte GeForce GTX Titan Black Windforce 6GB OC SLI

RAM: G. Skill Ripjaws 4 (8x8GB)

HDD: (3x) HGST Ultrastar C15K600 (Will configure RAID5)

Power Supply: eVGA SuperNOVA 1000w P2 80+PL

Does this board have an onboard graphics card, and if so, will the GeForce still work with it? I plan on adding more cards later on, as I get more monitors. And is this power supply unit big enough or too big?
 
Solution


It's not "slightly less powerful". It's MORE powerful by a huge margin, at least as far as GPU goes. The CPU itself is not that much weaker and even many CAD applications (and definitely games) don't utilize 16 threads so the performance difference you'll see should be negligible with CPU-intensive tasks, but at the same time you'll see massively better performance with anything that properly supports GPU acceleration.

As for the storage, you don't need to have all drives identical. You can set up the two WD Blacks in RAID (or add a third for RAID...
Titan Black is a bad choice since it costs as much as the Titan X but performs much worse, and the Titan X itself costs about 300$ more than a 980 Ti and performs the same. You also don't need a 1000W PSU or an i7 5960X.

What is the intended use for the new computer? Gaming or work? If work, what kind?
 

joex444

Distinguished
What on Earth are you doing? Please don't.

First, that's a $1000 CPU. Yes it's an 8 core and the only true 8 core CPU in the consumer market, but for $500 you can get a faster clocked 6 core with the 5930K. Unless you have something that can effectively use the 7th and 8th cores you're almost certainly better off going with the higher base speed in the 5930K. The 5820K is also a good choice since it's also 6 core and if you are OK with overclocking will hit about the same speed as the 5930K will. The main difference between the 5820K and the 5930K is the former has 28 PCIe lanes while the latter has 40 PCIe lanes. If you only need 4 cores and 20 lanes, then I'd highly suggest the 6700K and Skylake.

Next up we have 64GB RAM. Again, what on Earth are you doing? You're throwing in the highest end parts that exist with no regard for price, $3900 total, and don't even explain what it is you want to do?

Then you have a Titan Black GPU. Again, what are you doing? This isn't a gaming rig, it looks like a rendering rig.

Now the biggest WTF I've seen. Triple C15K600 HDDs. Without being more specific in your description these are 2.5" 15K RPM SAS 12Gbps drives in either 300, 450, or 600GB capacity designed for enterprise applications. They're about $1/GB, making them more expensive than SSDs. You want to configure them in RAID5, which would yield a $900 600GB array or a $1800 1.2TB array. This is the most insane thing I've ever seen, and I'm saying that with an 4x1TB + 4x750GB array completely external to my system. It cost nowhere near $1800, even including the $300 SAS card. Speaking of which, those are SAS drives - you need a SAS card to use them.

Then the PSU. Complete overkill, it's a 140W CPU and a 250W GPU. nVidia suggests at least a 600W PSU, but we can clearly see that your actual draw would be in the 400W range, that's why they suggest 600W -- so you don't go over about 66% load. You could step down to a 650W-750W and be just fine. Save the 1000W PSUs for dual CPU or SLI configurations.

Now you want advice on what to do?

Keep the X99, but drop down to a 5820K. If you only need 4 cores, switch to Z170 and the i7-6700K.

Drop down to 32GB, 4x8GB.

Both X99 and Z170 support PCIe 3.0 x4 SSDs. Drop in a 512GB Samsung 950 Pro NVMe. It's faster than the 15K RPM array.

Add in two WD Red 2TB drives and configure them in RAID1. With 2.5TB of storage total for $600-ish, it's far better than the $1800 1.2TB or $900 600GB options you came up with.

Step down to a 980Ti. I don't have the slightest idea what you're doing, but the Titan series has a huge premium on it that isn't justifiable. The 980Ti will do whatever you want.

Now let's add up the price savings. 5820K vs 5960X: -$610. 32GB RAM vs 64GB RAM: -$150. Storage: -$300 or $-1500. 980Ti: -$350. PSU (650W): -$110.

So now we have an X99 based 5820K with 32GB RAM, a Samsung 950 Pro NVMe SSD, dual 2TB drives in RAID1, and a 980Ti for $1500 less.

Then at the end you ask if the board has integrated graphics? You're tossing in a Titan Black and you ask about integrated graphics? No, it doesn't have integrated graphics. The X99 platform does not have integrated graphics. That's how the CPUs have room for 6 or 8 cores and why the desktop chips on Z170 and Z97 are 2 or 4 core CPUs.
 

13Fjordan

Commendable
Apr 6, 2016
3
0
1,510


So I should spend the extra and grab the Titan X, or the 980TI? I plan on running 6 monitors in tandem, so I need something that'll handle that kind of pressure. (Forgive me if I sound ignorant, this is why I come to the professionals for advice.)

And how much power will I need, then? I also plan on having an ASUS BW-12B1LT Blu-Ray drive and something similar for writing BD. I didn't include the watercooling as well, so will that have an impact on my PSU?

The intended use is a mixture of both gaming and work. As far as the work goes, it's usually a mixture of 3D rendering and code, along with some CAD. I contract out for various agencies to develop their newest toys, so speed and security are my two top priorities.
 
Well for both intended uses this should do it. Professional grade GPUs most of the time outperform the consumer grade ones in professional applications but are often much more expensive, and at this point with 3 980 Tis it shouldn't really even matter seeing as you'll have enough GPU horsepower to choke a horse (huehuehue).

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor ($369.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG A40 ULTIMATE 83.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($114.45 @ Newegg)
Thermal Compound: ARCTIC MX4 4g Thermal Paste ($6.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus X99-DELUXE/U3.1 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($383.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($166.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 950 PRO 512GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($321.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($73.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($73.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB XTREME GAMING Video Card (3-Way SLI) ($649.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB XTREME GAMING Video Card (3-Way SLI) ($649.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB XTREME GAMING Video Card (3-Way SLI) ($649.99 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT Switch 810 (White) ATX Full Tower Case ($164.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 1250W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($188.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($45.89 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($86.71 @ Amazon)
Total: $3948.60
 

13Fjordan

Commendable
Apr 6, 2016
3
0
1,510
I like it- Except for the storages. Gotta have identical storages for my RAID configuration.
I notice that it's a slightly less powerful build, this won't effect anything?
 


It's not "slightly less powerful". It's MORE powerful by a huge margin, at least as far as GPU goes. The CPU itself is not that much weaker and even many CAD applications (and definitely games) don't utilize 16 threads so the performance difference you'll see should be negligible with CPU-intensive tasks, but at the same time you'll see massively better performance with anything that properly supports GPU acceleration.

As for the storage, you don't need to have all drives identical. You can set up the two WD Blacks in RAID (or add a third for RAID 5) and just keep the 950 Pro as your main drive for the OS and the programs you use (plus games you want to load a lot faster).
 
Solution