Waking Monster

[fleshy bits]

Hey guys, new to the forum so first off hello and nice to meet you.

I want to build a monster but it's going to have to happen slowly, so the plan is to lay it out and stick with the list. While it may not be top dog come the finish it will still eat the babies of lesser systems for a few years. :lol:

This will be my first build from the ground up, so feel free to "smack the hand" as it were when I reach for a bad idea.

Approximate Purchase Date: Progressive


Budget Range: It'll be part by part so final price isn't an issue


System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming/Internet


Parts Not Required: Keyboard, mouse


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg.com, but I'm open to others


Country of Origin: USA


Parts Preferences: No specific preferences


Overclocking: Yes


SLI or Crossfire: Yes


Monitor Resolution: 90% chance it'll be through an HD tv, but the higher the better


Additional Comments: I just started looking up parts the middle of today so I haven't got everything, but I'll list what I have so far. Well, what I think I have so far. I guess that's subject to change, yeah?

Motherboard: ASUS P8P67 DELUXE (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813131701

Processor: Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition Gulftown 3.33GHz LGA 1366 130W Six-Core Desktop Processor BX80613I7980X
Item #: N82E16819115223

Tower: Thermaltake Level 10 GT (VN10001W2N) Black SECC / Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case
Item #: N82E16811133188

Memory: G.SKILL PI 8GB (4 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL6Q-8GBPI
Item #: N82E16820231353

Video/Graphics: XFX HD-597X-ENFN Radeon HD 5970 BLACK 4GB 512 (256 x 2)-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 CrossFireX Support Eyefinity 6 Edition ...
Item #: N82E16814150500


I feel confident about what I picked so far, but as stated prior this is my first full build. As far as what I have left to pick out I'm open to suggestion.

And please, no fan-boys. Its counterproductive. Respectfully, back it up or can it.

 

[jerreddredd]

your CPU and motherboard wont work together the MB is socket 1155 and the CPU is 1366

 

[banthracis]

Buying a PC in parts isn't the best idea. If you want the best parts the way to do it is to build a new PC each year, and sell last years to regains most of the cost.

This ends up cheaper than building a top end PC every 3 years.
Also keeps you with top end parts longer since even top end PC's are old tech in a year or 2 anyway.

AS mentioned, Mobo and CPU won't work. The GPU is old, you're better off with a 69xx GPu, especially since they scale so much better in xfire.

In addition, you'll need to add HD, PSU and optical drive if you don't have 1 lying around. for mechanical HD, spinpoint F3's are a great choice, SSD wise, Intel drives have the best reliability, though aren't the fastest. SF 1200 and 2000 drives are faster though the difference is far less than it appears on paper.

PSU wise, antec TP and HCP line is good. Most Corsairs are also fine. XFX and seasonic ones are also good.

Also a hexacore for gaming and internet is kinda silly. Better off putting the money towards other parts.

 

[fleshy bits]

Well when its done that's it. I probably won't do this again for another four or five years.

But this here is why I made sure to ask the better informed. Thank you for your corrections, I'll keep looking (and looking closer as it seems I need to, eh)

and post a revised plan.


I'll be back then.

Thanks

 

[fleshy bits]

Alright so I've done some looking and changed my list. I've decided to go with the Rampage III Black Edition from ASUS and the Intel Core i7-960. With some investigation I discovered that 6 cores for gaming is in fact, at the moment, kinda silly.

But now I don't know what to do for Ram. The board will do tri-channel and has a max of 48GB Ram with 6 slots. I can't seem to find anything to fully utilize this setup (though I have been known to go partially blind when something is right in front of me.) Any suggestions for getting the most Ram out of this motherboard?

 

[jerreddredd]

Alright so I've done some looking and changed my list. I've decided to go with the Rampage III Black Edition from ASUS and the Intel Core i7-960. With some investigation I discovered that 6 cores for gaming is in fact, at the moment, kinda silly.

But now I don't know what to do for Ram. The board will do tri-channel and has a max of 48GB Ram with 6 slots. I can't seem to find anything to fully utilize this setup (though I have been known to go partially blind when something is right in front of me.) Any suggestions for getting the most Ram out of this motherboard?

here is an article on memory:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ram-memory-upgrade,2778.html

 

[banthracis]

No point going 1366 right now, not with a $320 i7-2600k beating even the $1000 6 core 12 threaded i7 980X by a fair margin.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/the-sandy-bridge-review-intel-core-i7-2600k-i5-2500k-core-i3-2100-tested/20

 

[fleshy bits]

Going with the Antec HCP-1200 for the PSU. Thinking maybe an Intel 510 Series 250GB SSD.

What would you guys recommend for an optical drive?

Those links cleared some things up, thanks guys. But what if I were using my computer for hosting a game over LAN? Would I benefit from extra RAM, or should I just stick to 8GB?

Also, should I do multiple smaller RAM or fewer larger sticks, e.g. 2x4GB or 4x2GB? What kind of difference would I notice with each, if any?

 

[banthracis]

Any SATA burner is fine. No real difference, it's a mature tech.

Higher RAM density means more total possible ram. Mobo has 4 ram slots. With 4gb sticks, that' sup to 16gb of RAM. With 2gb sticks, it's up to 8gb of RAM.
4gb is fine for gaming. The only case you'll need 8 or more is as a graphic designer or video editor or engineer with CAD.

 

[fleshy bits]

I see, thank you.

 

[fleshy bits]

Which would you recommend between the G.Skill Ripjaws, Corsair Dominator GT, and the Patriot Viper Extreme series of RAM? I'm leaning towards the PVE, but I want to see what you guys think first, make sure there aren't any hardware quirks I should be aware of.

 

[vibhas]

Which would you recommend between the G.Skill Ripjaws, Corsair Dominator GT, and the Patriot Viper Extreme series of RAM? I'm leaning towards the PVE, but I want to see what you guys think first, make sure there aren't any hardware quirks I should be aware of.

Get the i7 2600k, its the fastest and most overclockable cpu at the mo. The i7 980X and 990X are left in its dust.
The High current 1200w is a great psu.

all of those memory makers are great, but g.skill is probably the best out of them - Your choice, and depends what stick you are talking about but yeah.

 

[Proximon]

You have had fine advice, but I would like to add one thing. The sequence in which to buy parts.

Always buy the part most likely to be defective last. That way it's easier to return. If a part like a motherboard sits around for two months before being tested, you are stuck waiting on an RMA rather than an exchange. So the last two parts should be the GPU then the MB. Most complicated = most potential for DOA.

G.skill is also my preferred brand, as I have had very good luck with them through about 10 builds. (work, friends, etc.) I have also used Corsair, ADATA, Wintech with no issues. The last year of DDR2 and DDR3 since then has been good for RAM I think. Even Crucial seems to be doing better.

 

[fleshy bits]

I see, that makes sense, thank you.

I forgot to ask earlier, but what about memory timing? I read up a little on it but what should I ultimately look for before I make a final decision?

 

[Proximon]

Lower timings are a bit more important than higher frequencies. Neither makes a large difference. 1333Mhz CL8 vs. 1600Mhz CL9 may show a slight advantage to the 1333 in most benchmarks, but in actual observable performance no difference.

If you are choosing between 1600 CL7 and 1333 CL9, that's likely to be quite measurable and would shave actual time off, say, a long render. In fact, those are the only people I really stress buy fast RAM - professionals with large memory-intensive tasks that loose money or end up working late if the job isn't done.

These days we really stress 1.5V memory for compatibility reasons. If I were buying today I might consider one of these kits:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007611%20600006050%20600006069%20600000261&IsNodeId=1&page=2&bop=And&CompareItemList=147|20-233-147^20-233-147-TS%2C20-231-402^20-231-402-TS%2C20-231-440^20-231-440-TS%2C20-231-445^20-231-445-TS

 

[fleshy bits]

Oh man, well, many months late but thank you guys for the guidance. In the past months it has helped me make some much better, more informed decisions. This build is toast, but I've got another in the works (which has been guided to finish by this forum.) Thank you for your help, and keep up the good work.