Do I need a asus maximus IV, is 1000w enough, Good cases for this build?

tantann

Distinguished
Apr 15, 2011
14
0
18,510
Hello, im building a gaming PC and wants the best of the best. My question is if I need it. I'm still not sure what PSU, RAM or case i should pick. I intend to overclock my cpu and Video cards to start with so please take that into consideration when you advice me to pick a PSU.

Anyway here is the system specs I'm building:

CPU: Intel i7 2600K
MoBo: Asus maximus IV extreme
Video card: 2x radeon HD6970 gigabyte GV-R697OC-2GD
SSD: OCZ vertex 3 240gb
RAM: Kingston khx2133 T1 or H20 8GB
PSU: Kingwin lazer gold lze 1000
CPU cooler: Noctua NH-C14

I appreciate all types of feedback, recommendations and advice.

 
You don't need to be spending that much on the board. Also, for a "best-of-the-best" build, you've picked an absolutely crappy PSU, and somewhat questionable RAM. Finally, you're wasting money on the 6970s. If you pick up the HD 6950 2 GB, you can flash the BIOS and turn it into the 6970 for a lot less.

So here's what I'd change:

Mobo: Asus P8P67 Pro. The only benefit of the Maximums IV is that you have 4 PCIe 2.0 slots. The problem is that after the first two slots are used, you don't get any kind of performance gain that could be considered worth the cost of a high end GPU.

RAM: Paying for sticks rated at over 1600 mhz is a waste of money. To get them to "run" that fast, the timings and voltages on them are awful. In the real world, you don't need to push sticks past 1800 mhz or so at the maximum, which you'd get better overall performance from something like these G.Skill Sniper 2x4 GB 1600 mhz CAS Latency 7 sticks.

PSU: I'd get something like this Silverstone 1000W or Corsair 1200W. You could probably drop down to an 850W model and be perfectly find. Stick to Antec, Corsair, SeaSonic, Silverstone and XFX for the best units.

GPU: I know I mentioned the 6950 2 GB above, but really, the true top-of-the-line GPU is the GTX 580 ($450 after rebate). Put two of them in SLI and you won't need an upgrade for the life of the build. Really, the choice should be between the 6950 2 GB and the GTX 580. If you're comfortable dropping $900 on GPUs, the 580s are the way to go. The 6950 2 GB (transformed into a 6970) is a much better deal at round $500 for a pair.
 

huron

Distinguished
Jun 4, 2007
2,420
0
19,860
+1 to what MadAdmiral says...those are all very valid points.

The only thing I would question is if 1000w is necessary, but I haven't built with two GPUs that are that high-powered.

I guess my real question is what do you need the dual-GPU system for? What are you playing? What resolution?
 

asantesoul

Distinguished
Nov 10, 2010
611
0
19,010
I agree the M4E is a sexy board, but absolutely unnecessary ...if you truly want a great board and your willing to spend the money.. get a WS Revolution or a gigabyte p67a ud7 B3...as far as the psu is concerned.. get an AX 850 or AX 1200...but, 850 is enough for the two video cards...

As far as memory is concerned, you don't need anything higher than 1600mhz really..so, get something along those lines, save the extra money for school..a better video card..
 

tantann

Distinguished
Apr 15, 2011
14
0
18,510
Thank you for the advice.

For what purpose does it exist fast ram? what effect does the mhz have? does it matter how high the voltages are and what is the downside?

Great info about the radeon 6950. Great moneysaver.

I think i'm going to wait for the release of intels new z68 chippset as far as it comes to MoBo.

Any more advice on a good case?
 
RAM's standard speed is generally 1333 mhz for DDR3. Anything above that allows for a higher CPU overlcock. However, the other problem with this is that as RAM speed goes up, the CAS Latency (timings) get looser (i.e. higher). Looser timings creates instability and limits overclocking. Typically, you can get tighter timings by getting higher speed sticks, and then downclock them. However, the optimum combination is around 1600 mhz CL 7, so getting anything above that isn't really necessary.

Typically when you increase the RAM speed, the voltage goes up. This only really affects Intel builds, as their chipsets can't effectively use RAM with a voltage higher than 1.65. Sandy Bridge is said to prefer 1.5v, but I think a lot of that evidence is anecdotal at best.

The only reason to wait on the Z68 is to gain the functionality to use both onboard graphics (and QuickSync) and overclock at the same time. Since you're buying a large amount of GPU power, Z68 probably won't benefit you much.

The best value in cases is the HAF 922. Other good choices are the Antec 300 Illusion (kind of small though), Coolermaster 690 (or 690 II), Antec 900 (or 902 or 900 V3 or whatever they're calling it now), HAF 932, Antec 1200 and anything from Lian Li. I typically recommend not paying for anything more expensive than the HAF 922. Certainly don't pay more than $150ish for a case.
 

asantesoul

Distinguished
Nov 10, 2010
611
0
19,010
Out of the three kits you've listed, I'd take the G.Skill Sniper set. The Corsair is 1600 mhz/CL 9 and 1.65v (and 4 GB total), which means there's not a lot of room for overclocking. The Ripjaws X sticks will be crazy expensive for 4 GB, and are still 1.65v, which might be pushing it on the LGA1155 socket boards. Plus, the timings aren't that stable on them.

Ideally, I'd look for a 1.5v, 1600 mhz CL 7 set, but 1600 mhz CL 9 on 1.25v is pretty good.
 
The Kingwin Lazer Gold 1000W is not a crap power supply, it is built by Superflower who are making excellent power supplies lately. It even got a Silver aware from HardOCP! And that is not easy to do. 8.5 from Jonnyguru and Silver from PCPerspective.
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=191
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2010/06/23/kingwin_lazer_gold_1000w_power_supply_review/
Obviously it's completely overkill for a build with only two AMD cards.

From now on don't tell people to stay away from the following Super Flower built power supply series:
Kingwin Lazer Gold or Platinum
NZXT Hale90

Seasonic X series are also amongst the best of the best.