I7 2600K $2.5K build- Ordering Now- Your Ideas Welcome!

[studioman22]

It just so happens I hit a long milestone today, and have FINALLY saved enough for my new build. Man, I have waited embarrassingly long enough for this, so I want to get it right. I hate getting into a first of line release CPU, but i7 2600K is just looking too good for the money. At some point you have to pull the trigger, and I am still on a p4 3.2 with AGP! I don't even have a SATA drive drive yet let alone a PCI-e slot! :lol:

But that's getting ready to change in a big way.

I got every last drop out of this system over the last 7 years though, and it's still kicking! I did it right then, and wanna do it right again. I feel the call of Crysis 2 coming up, and I need to run CS4/5 for heavy video editing, and audio production apps as well. Every component needs to be upper end, and my budget is roughly 2K, maybe a bit more. Box, Win 7 Pro, keyboard, and high DPI gaming mouse included.

This will be going on a 65" Mitsubishi DLP at 1920 x 1080, so the monitor's covered already. I also have a second smaller monitor I suppose I can coax Quick Sync with.

CPU
Not in question. i7 2600K it is.

CPU COOLER
Clueless. Am I stuck with stock for now?

MOTHERBOARD
I want the option to OC, although I am not likely to do it at first. So I won't mind spending more on a good OC board. Must have firewire. (IEEE 1394)

I have some questions:

1) I have not run SLI or CF yet, and want to know which setup overall has the least problems with games. Specifically, first person shooter games- I don't play anything else. This will help define the MB, unless I can work in a board that supports both SLI/CF in the price. I am hoping that a rough low price of $370 for the CPU will help with that. I will only consider Gigabyte or ASUS, although I must say Intel boards have been rock solid in my experience. They just don't usually include many OC features, and this time around I want to include more OC features in this build.

POWER SUPPLY
I am thinking CM 800 Silent Pro Gold. I like it, and just put one in for a client. It is indeed dead silent. But enough for SLI/CF? I might consider a higher watt version, but darn pricey. Dunno.

DRIVES
I definitely am going with two SSD, 1-64 GB, and 1- 128 GB. I suppose trying to get a 1 TB SATA drive will throw the cost over, but that's cool- I can just use the MyBook 500 GB USB drive I already have for storage, and DVD's if need be. No raid just yet, thanks.

CASE
Thinking CM Cosmos 1000, but am totally open here. Yes, full tower only. I want a top mounted firewire port.

GPU
Can I barely squeeze in a GTX 580? Or is 570 it? I usually prefer ATI, but lately not so much.

GPU COOLER
Totally open here. Clueless as to best.

RAM
Highest speed I can get DDR3, and as much of it as can I fit in the 2 to 2.2K price range. Win 7 pro 64-bit OPSYS. At least 6 GB, preferably 12. Why 12? Because I will be actively mounting up a RAM drive for some special uses.

Answer all, answer some, answer none, any help appreciated! Suggest a high DPI gaming mouse or the coolest keyboard! But this is going down baby, as soon as I finalize selections. I can't wait, and am totally stoked about this.

 

[jorn978]

Im thinking of making my own Sandy Bridge build (although a lot cheaper )

my advice:

Cpu cooler: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00350O5DK/187-5521359-7773216?ie=UTF8&redirect=true&tag=hardwarevol03-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00350O5DK
this cooler is i think the 3rd best right now (not sure dont quote me ) and really good performance for the dollar.

GPU: Possibly crossfire 6950's (i hear you can OC them or something to be the same as a 6970 but i think thats just a myth)

CPU Thermal Compound: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0045JCFLY?ie=UTF8&tag=hardwarevol03-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0045JCFLY
I hear this stuff is the best by far

As for everything else im not sure i dont really look at things in that price range good luck with your build!

 

[jorn978]

Get this board

http://semiaccurate.com/2010/12/28/msi-shows-its-big-bang-marshal-board/

Umm, idk about you but that seems just a tad bit overkill

 

[Tamz_msc]

I would get this Motherboard:
http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=erWGi4vbeZa8oxg8&templete=2

 

[RobotAngst]

I believe with Sandy Bridge, it's dual channel RAM. So 4 or 8 or 16GB, not 6 or 12 or 24GB.

 

[exhail]

Im thinking of making my own Sandy Bridge build (although a lot cheaper )

my advice:

Cpu cooler: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00350O5DK/187-5521359-7773216?ie=UTF8&redirect=true&tag=hardwarevol03-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00350O5DK
this cooler is i think the 3rd best right now (not sure dont quote me ) and really good performance for the dollar.

GPU: Possibly crossfire 6950's (i hear you can OC them or something to be the same as a 6970 but i think thats just a myth)

CPU Thermal Compound: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0045JCFLY?ie=UTF8&tag=hardwarevol03-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0045JCFLY
I hear this stuff is the best by far

As for everything else im not sure i dont really look at things in that price range good luck with your build!

its not a myth.... http://www.techpowerup.com/articles/overclocking/vidcard/159

its confirmed... even a friend of mine has done it.... its quite easy from what I have heard

 

[jorn978]

Yeah, thats the article i read, im just not sure if that will work for everyone and how long that you'll be able to do it

 

[studioman22]

So am I understanding this right?

The overall chipset platform is P67 with H67 being the variant that provides onboard display port. As I am reading, it appears that to use the SB Quick Sync features for video encoding, one must be using the onboard port tied to the CPU, as opposed to using the main PCI-x GPU?

I do have the need for video encoding, so I am really wanting to use Quick Sync features.

It's looking like an ASUS board this time, and I am scoping on the Deluxe version of their line, cause I can't find the EVO or Sabertooth 67 available anywhere yet.
http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-P8P67DE&title=Asus-P8P67-DELUXE-LGA1155-Intel-P67-DDR3-Quad-CrossFireX-Quad-SLI-SATA3-USB3-0-A-2GbE-ATX-Motherboard
Asus P8P67 DELUXE LGA1155

This board appears to have another heat sink over the Pro version, and adds a front panel USB 3.0 box. I am really looking forward to that EFI Bios with mouse support and a real GUI.

Also, I hear you on the dual channel, forgot about that. So probably go for 8 GB DDR3 2200 in 2X4 GB, as the board supports it.

Some vendors claim arrival on i7 2600K on 1/9/11. That's Sunday, so looks like then or Monday-Tuesday I will order- or as soon as they add it.

 

[geofelt]

1) For best gaming, spend your money on a great graphics card. Today, that will be the GTX580. At 1080P It will be outstanding with today's games.
The Nvidia CUDA capabilities may also help with CS4.

2) Get a motherboard with a P67 chipset. You can not overclock to any effect with a H67 motherboard, even with a 2600K.
Be certain that the motherboard has sli capability to allow for a future upgrade. Some of the cheaper boards have crossfirex only.
Past that, Asus or Gigabyte should be equally good. EVGA or Intel might be OK also. I think I might go with Asus since they seem to have had more time to develop and work out the inevitable glitches.

3) The best air cooler around is the prolimatech megahalems rev b. It is also very easy to install.

4) I am not enamored with cm as a psu vendor. I like PC P&C, Seasonic, Antec, Corsair, and XFX. A 650w or 750w will do. If you are planning on future SLI, then get a psu that will handle dual GTX580. I think that will mean something in the 950w range. You need to verify that, as it is beyond my experience.

5) I love the SSD. Why two? Just get one. Larger ssd's are faster. They can read more internal nand chips in parallel. Sort of an ingernal raid-0.
Intitally, I would install on a Hard drive. Later, clone it to a SSD, and use the hard drive for storage and backup. Gen3 SSD's are being announced now, and will me faster and cheaper. Availability looks to be soon, like this quarter. I will do exactly that on my new sandy build.

6) For ram, more is better than faster. I would get a 8gb kit(2 x 4gb) With an on-die memory controller, feeding the cpu with ram data should not be a performance issue with any speed ram. I expect the real FPS performance(vs. synthetic benchmark) difference will be similar to nehalem which is only 1-2%. DDR3-1600 looks to be the sweet spot. For CS4, you might even want to go 16gb.

7) Reviews on the cosmos 1000 case indicate poor airflow. If you love the case get it, but I think I would look for something different.

8) If your gpu has dual slot direct exhaust, like the GTX580 reference cooler. then that is all you need. OEM gpu coolers do a good job of getting heat off of the gpu die, and shows well on open testbeds, but in a case, then they just dump that heat back into the case where case cooling has to deal with it. In my experience, that increases both the gpu AND the cpu temperatures by 5c. EVGA sells for $10 a high airflow bracket for the GTX580 that is supposed to help.

9) For keyboard and mice, I suggest you visit your local comp store and check them out in person.

10) I am clueless on quick sync.

-----------------good luck--------------

 

[Debeucci]

I just completed ordering my SB build.

Here's what I bought:
Still need to buy:
2500k - 2600k pending availability
Asus p8p67 Deluxe

case: Silverstone FT02 case
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14
memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X 1600 DDR3 2x4gb
SSD: Crucial C300
HD: 1tb Caviar black 64mb2
Vid: AMD 6950 (soon to be 6970) (possibly X2 in the future)
PSU: Thermaltake 850

 

[Debeucci]

That psu what Thermalake model is it btw?

I went with the Thermaltake 850 Black widow. Why? Well, this was one of my least confident choices.

It's the cheapest 850 that is also modular and has decent reviews on newegg that fit my needs. It might be a bit overkill, but I wanted the capacity in case I go crossfire.

 

[studioman22]

Well for once I am not going to cut too many corners and go all out I think.... I might regret it, but I have taken my budget up to $2,500.00+

And here's where I am at so far, only lacking the MB/CPU (cause I can't get them just yet till next week.) This is my cart as it sits, and I thank you all for your input:

1 EVGA SuperClocked GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) 015-P3-1582-AR Video Card
Item #:N82E16814130590
Return Policy: VGA Replacement Only Return Policy
$529.99

1 NVIDIA Free Mafia 2 Game Coupon
Item #:N82E16800999247
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
$0.00

1 COOLER MASTER HAF X RC-942-KKN1 Black Steel/ Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case
Item #:N82E16811119225
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
$199.99

1 Logitech G500 Wired Laser Gaming Mouse
Item #:N82E16826104318
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
$69.99

1 COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 120mm sleeve CPU Cooler
Item #:N82E16835103065
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
$29.99

1 Arctic Silver AA-1.75G Thermal Compound
Item #:N82E16835100014
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
$4.99

1 Pioneer Black Blu-ray Burner SATA BDR-206BKS
Item #:N82E16827129061
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
$119.99

1 LITE-ON 2-Tone Wired Keyboard
Item #:N82E16823107120
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
$6.99

2 Zalman N Series SSD0128N1 2.5" MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
Item #:N82E16820118005
Return Policy: Limited Replacement Only Return Policy
-$20.00 Instant
$499.98
$459.98

1 G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2000 (PC3 16000) Desktop Memory
Item #:N82E16820231407
Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy
$159.99

1 COOLER MASTER Silent Pro Gold Series RSA00-80GAD3-US 1000W Power Supply
Item #:N82E16817171056
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
$199.99

1 Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders
Item #:N82E16832116758
Return Policy: Software Standard Return Policy
$139.99

Grand Total: $1,940.79 Shipped to my door ($18.91 Shipping, 3 day)

I am figuring $600.00 or so for i7 2600k and ASUS P8P67 DELUXE.

Should be around 2.5K, and about the only sacrifice was 8 GB RAM instead of 16. I'll add more in a few months. I upped the SSD's to two 128 GB. The Zalman's were good all around performers. Going with the HAF X- better airflow. Upped the PSU to 1000w, just in case when/if I go SLI GTX 580.

Now can I finally play S.t.a.l.k.e.r COP without lagging? Sometime around next Saturday, gonna know (I hope)!

 

[studioman22]

580 is a waste of money and cooler master psu's are garbage. What monitor are you going with? What resolution?

Garbage? :lol: Aren't you exaggerating just a bit? The 800 Silent Pro Gold took top efficiency ratings under load. This is a $ 200 PS! Garbage?

As to the 580 well, WTF. I am running at 1920 x 1080 and want top notch graphics on max. I just put in a 570 into a client rig. I tested it and was ok but Crysis 2 gonna need some extra to get ultra high at that res. I can't afford two 570's, and I don't like 460's- they're too loud.

 

[studioman22]

Thats nice. I'd still take the corsair over any coolermaster PSU.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139007

As for the 580. Wait 3 weeks till the 560's hit. Should be 30% faster as a pair then the 580 and cost less

That's nice. But in 6 months when GTX 580's are going for 300, another one of those and I'm set for quite a while at or near the very top.

As to 6870- With a 65" Mitsu DLP at 1920 x 1080 over HDMI, I have no need or desire to mess with multiple monitors. Unless I was to get two more of these. Talk about overkill!

 

[studioman22]

1)

5) I love the SSD. Why two? Just get one. Larger ssd's are faster. They can read more internal nand chips in parallel. Sort of an ingernal raid-0.
Intitally, I would install on a Hard drive. Later, clone it to a SSD, and use the hard drive for storage and backup. Gen3 SSD's are being announced now, and will me faster and cheaper. Availability looks to be soon, like this quarter. I will do exactly that on my new sandy build.

Well in A/V production there has always been the long standing principle of at least two drives when you are serving up large files- 1 for opsys, 1- for media. This also works with games- I always put them on the second drive. And it works quite well. So things for me are no different here, even though there is the inherent performance boost of SSD there over HDD's already. This will just make it that much better.

I hear you on the cloning, but is that because people are having trouble installing Win 7 onto SSD's? Or why would you need to do that? Thanks for your comments.

 

[steddy]

Being a lazy person, I'm not even going to bother reading what other people suggested, but this is what I suggest.

Intel Core i7-2600K (obviously)

Asus P8P67 PRO
2x Radeon 6970

Corsair AX850

Silverstone FT02

Intel X25-m 120GB

2x Samsung Spinpoint F4EG 2TB

Thermalright Silver Arrow

8GB Patriot Memory

My original list of parts included two GTX 580s and an ASUS Maximus IV board, but it went well over $2500. I think this build is a bit under $2500, though, so consider those two things as suggested as well.

 

[geofelt]

Well in A/V production there has always been the long standing principle of at least two drives when you are serving up large files- 1 for opsys, 1- for media. This also works with games- I always put them on the second drive. And it works quite well. So things for me are no different here, even though there is the inherent performance boost of SSD there over HDD's already. This will just make it that much better.

I hear you on the cloning, but is that because people are having trouble installing Win 7 onto SSD's? Or why would you need to do that? Thanks for your comments.

The advantage of two drives is that you can put the inputs on one, and the outputs on the other. Then i/o does not need to move the access arm from one to the other as much. That is a lot of time saved in computer time. With a SSD, the access time is negligible, so there is no advantage there.

Several Gen 3 drives are being announced at CES2011 this week. They are advertising 450-500mb/s sequential transfer speeds on 6gb sata. And 60k iops. Impressive. So, .. much as I want my new sandy to perform optimally right out of the box, I know I will suffer buyers remorse perhaps within the month if I jump on some of the inventory clearance sales I see today.

I have a spare velociraptor on which I will build the OS. I can get everything into production on it. When I get a gen3 ssd, I will only need to clone the VR to the SSD. I have done this in the past, and it is simplicity itself. I used Acronis true image. For a one time use, you can download the trial version which should work fine. I liked it so much that I bought the CD package anyway. When you install the OS, the key is to specify AHCI(not the default IDE, or raid which is a superset of AHCI) as the sata mode in the bios. That way, windows 7 will install trim supporting drivers.

 

[steddy]

Now that I've taken a bit of time to read the thread, I see that you originally had a single graphics card and a bunch of peripherals as well. Replace the 6970s with a single 580, and, since the parts I listed came in at a bit under $2500 (assuming $600 for the motherboard and CPU) you should have plenty of room in your budget for all the peripherals you had listed. Also, a couple of the parts I linked are out of stock; you may want to ignore those suggestions.

 

[studioman22]

Just as follow up, I pulled the trigger on the stuff in my cart (as posted above), and feel good about what I have ordered. I still have the MB/CPU to get, and hopefully I can get a new i7 2600K before they sell out. I'll be watching, ready and decided when they post those sukkas!

Thanks again for the comments, and this thread was worth it to me, as there were several good suggestions I followed. I had done most of the research already on all this stuff. Once I have the build done, in a couple weeks I'll post a "how it went and how it performs" follow up. Not so embarrassed to put my specs in my sig now. So, I will.

 

[geekapproved]

Ideally you should of waited till you got the cpu/mobo before you ordered your parts because some of that hardware like ssd's, memory and video card prices are dropping like rocks.
I agree with going with the GTX580. I would have went with the 570 probably but hey, what the hell.

Oh and the psu you got is waaay better than the Corsair that psychosaysdie suggested. Better efficiency rating(gold), WAY better user reviews, and silent. 82A on 1 rail! Much better than that Corsair's puny 40a x 2. Good call.

 

[studioman22]

Ideally you should of waited till you got the cpu/mobo before you ordered your parts because some of that hardware like ssd's, memory and video card prices are dropping like rocks.
I agree with going with the GTX580. I would have went with the 570 probably but hey, what the hell.

Oh and the psu you got is waaay better than the Corsair that psychosaysdie suggested. Better efficiency rating(gold), WAY better user reviews, and silent. 82A on 1 rail! Much better than that Corsair's puny 40a x 2. Good call.

No! My PSU is GARBAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:lol:

Thanks. I felt same, and I believe I will be quite happy with all that silent, mean power.

As to waiting, I hear you, but I've been waiting 7 years brother, and I am not waiting any more. I just want this done so I can move on. And I STILL have to wait on CPU at least. I ordered all this from Newegg, but after just talking to CS there, they are clueless about when they will carry the i7 2600K. They are probably going to lose that sale, cause I am SICK of waiting. First decent price I find on my P8P67 Deluxe and i7, and I'm doing it. End of story.

 

[willmalcom]

That is the mobo I decided on also. It was either that or GA-p67-UD5. IDK yet if I am going to go with 2500k or 2600k though.

I would have gotten a logitech g9x or a roccat kone +. I have and love both 5700+dpi like the g500. I have a g500 too, but I don't like the way it feels, but then again some ppl don't like the roccat kone + or either grip on the g9x (the the wide is similar to the g500)

The PSU you got is decent, I would have sprung a little bit more for a nicer corsair or seasonic, but it is still decent to my knowledge (which is limited a/b PSUs).

I fought over getting that case or the corsair graphite 600t (which is a big mid tower), I went wit the graphite 600t though

Good choice on the 580! Everyone knows that ATI uses ground up puppy bones to make their circuit boards, but no one wants to talk about it.

Given that yours is a media computer, I would guess you are definitely going to want a different keyboard sometime. I had the lite on keyboard and I thought it was garbage. You should see the WADS on it from 3 months of fps gaming on it ... they are dented and dead :/

EDIT: Your choice of cooler was probably better than mine. I went with the Noctua NH-d14 which is probably not necessary,

Very nice build though I hope that you enjoy it!

 

[willmalcom]

^+1 I just don't have the knowledge to be so vocal a/b it.

 

[studioman22]

The lowest price I see on a Corsair AX1200 is about $280 shipped. Your reviews rate it 9.8 out of 10. Very sweet PSU, I will not argue that. Very high price too. They rate the CM 1200 gold a 9 out of 10. So I guess my 1000w will be around the same. It took some serious self slapping to even spend what I did on a fricken PSU. $200? INSANE. The last PSU I bought for myself those years ago was around 50 bucks, and that was high THEN. This is getting ridiculous.

Sorry, but I refuse to have buyer's remorse before I even get the sukka. The damn thing was way too much. But I did it. I refuse even one penny more for a darn PSU.

Please dear God, just let me be happy? Just this once?

 

[geekapproved]

Your actually listening to idiot reviews on newegg and Efficiency alone means NOTHING.

BTW - You're actually saying a CM psu is better then a Corsair? You're obviously clueless. Corsair is number 1 when it comes to power supplies.

Read noobs : PSU i suggested

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=89

An CM 1200W Gold PSU :

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=193

Just incase you were wondering how a CM 1200W compared with a Corsair AX1200.. here's the link.. It's what i run and it's amazing

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=189

Don't get your panties in a wad sister, I never said a CM psu is better than a Corsair. Learn to read.

It's backed up with the same warranty as the Corsair and the single 82a rail is sweat.


It's not your computer so don't get all upset fanboy, let him be happy with what he bought without criticizing everybody's stuff as you seem to always do on this forum.