Build needs refining

[aznthunderj]

I need help determining if my mobo is good for this set up with an upgrade to either sli or crossfire. As for the video card I keep lurking about how good dual 6950s are but I also hear how good the gtx 560 ti. What would is better down the road as I do plan to have a dual card set up. Plan to upgrade ram and add another monitor later as well. I am very flexible with the build if you find better/cheaper parts



Approximate Purchase Date: (end of may)


Budget Range: 1200-1300 Before


System Usage: Pure gaming (Total War Shogun 2, Metro 2033, Crysis 2, Portal 2 etc)


Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, OS


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: New Egg & Amazon


Country of Origin: US/ Florida


Parts Preferences: none


Overclocking: Maybe


SLI or Crossfire: Yes in a later upgrade


Monitor Resolution: Max is 1920 x 1080
=========================================================================

Current build is as fallows

CPU: Sandy Bridge i5 2500k

GPU:GTX 560 or 6950

MOBO: MSI P67A-GD65 or MSI P67A-GD55

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black WD6402AAEX 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb x2

PSU: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W ATX12V v2.31

Case: Antect Nine Hundred or Antec Nine Hundred Two V3

Drive: ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner

OS: Windows Home Premium 7 64 bit

Monitor: Asus 21.5" widescreen 1080p

 

[ukee1593]

I'm personally recommending the Radeon 6950 as the card is generally cheaper than the GTX 560 Ti and is actually more of a GPU (in my opinion). Mind you the GTX 560 is no slouch by any matter.

Other than than that your build looks good ... the i5 2500K is an excellent CPU (got the 2500 personally) ... and that PSU is great (as I understand the TX750 is made by CWT ... not Seasonic BUT the TX750 V2 is made by Seasonic )

This computer should breeze through modern games considering my GTX 460 (similar architecture to the 560 just clocked at a lower frequency) does excellently in all the games I've thrown at it (Crysis 1, Burnout paradise ... I'm actually not much of a gamer)

One last comment ... Why the 2 HDDs?

 

[slothy89]

For the motherboard may I suggest the ASUS P8P67 Pro. For the same price you get a little more feature wise, plus from what I hear MSI have had some reliability issues. Wish I had links to confirm, but the train home via phone is not the best place for research
ASUS are a more established brand, and generally get better reviews. I do recall toms having an article comparing the two (plus a few others) and pretty sure the ASUS outshone the MSI.
Also be sure it's the B3 stepping, altho I doubt you can even find the B2 listed any where decent now.

Regarding GPU, it's really down to features between those 2. Radeon offers eyefinity from 1 card, where nVidia offers 3D (surround with SLI), physx and CUDA. So if you want multiscreen games with 1 card go Radeon, or for 3D, physx support go nVidia.

Other than that your build looks solid.

 

[geekapproved]

Go with the 500GB or 1TB hard drivers. The 640's are based on 320GB platters and are slower than the 500GB platters.

I would go with a 22" monitor, 21.5 is kind of an odd size.

 

[JordoR]

I agree with the comment about getting the 6950, I would recommend it over the 560.

As for the 2 x HDD's, were you planning on running them in RAID 1 or RAID 0. If RAID 1 I can see the logic. However, I might suggesting going with one of them just a storage device and investing in an SSD for your OS and other important applications. OCZ Vertex 3 is out now and because they are very pricy you can find exceptional deals on the older OCZ Vertex 2, which are still very good btw. Looking yesterday I saw a 120 GB Vertex 2 for $140 which is a great deal.

Another note, you will be very happy with the performance out of your 2500k, although I would suggesting finding an aftermarket heatsink for it. Even if you aren't planning on overclocking, it can still lower your temps significantly.

 

[aznthunderj]

Thanks for all the input!

@ukee1593- referring to two HDD, I planned on adding two more in late July to have a RAID 10 set up.

@slothy89 Concerning the asus mobo, I does look pretty good but the reason I've shied away from asus computer parts long story short, the have horrid customer service (took me me 1hr to 2 hrs last few times I called) and just a pure bad experience. MSI has been better to me

As for the physx, what is so special about it?


@Geek Approved - I am inclined to agree Do you have any recommendations?

 

[aznthunderj]

I agree with the comment about getting the 6950, I would recommend it over the 560.

As for the 2 x HDD's, were you planning on running them in RAID 1 or RAID 0. If RAID 1 I can see the logic. However, I might suggesting going with one of them just a storage device and investing in an SSD for your OS and other important applications. OCZ Vertex 3 is out now and because they are very pricy you can find exceptional deals on the older OCZ Vertex 2, which are still very good btw. Looking yesterday I saw a 120 GB Vertex 2 for $140 which is a great deal.

Another note, you will be very happy with the performance out of your 2500k, although I would suggesting finding an aftermarket heatsink for it. Even if you aren't planning on overclocking, it can still lower your temps significantly.

Yes I was planning a raid 1+0 aka 10 once I obtain 2 more hhds. If you have a link to that 120 vertex 2 for $140 I will gladly hop on the SSD train but until it is cheaper I'll stick to a Raid set up.

As for a heatsink I was going to grab a Hyper 212 thoughts?

 

[Why_Me]

That monitor down below in this build is the same monitor you had chosen...but it's free shipping @ amazon. This build allows you to add another one of those factory over clocked gtx 560's later on for SLI. This build includes 8 gigs of low voltage RAM, after market cpu h/s (thermal paste included), etc...

http://www.amazon.com/Antec-Mid-Tower-Gaming-Hundred-V3/dp/B004ALI5KC/ref=sr_1_4?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1304096274&sr=1-4 $119.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Antec Mid-Tower Gaming Case Nine Hundred Two V3

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371049 $109.99 - $94.99 after mail-in rebate FREE SHIPPING
Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-750 750W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V v2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.632379 $459.98 $20.00 Mail-In Rebate Price After Mail-In Rebate(s): $439.98 FREE SHIPPING
MSI N560GTX-TI Twin Frozr II/OC GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128488 $154.99 FREE SHIPPING
GIGABYTE GA-P67X-UD3-B3 LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Hyper-Sleeve-RR-B10-212P-G1/dp/B002G1YPH0/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1303777065&sr=1-1 $29.51 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler, RR-B10-212P-G1

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231416 $69.99 FREE SHIPPING
G.SKILL Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBSR

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Spinpoint-3-5-Inch-Internal-HD103SJ/dp/B002MQC0P8/ref=sr_1_1?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1303776983&sr=1-1 $59.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Samsung Desktop Class Spinpoint F3 1 TB SATA 3.0 Gb-s 32 MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Bare-OEM Drives, HD103SJ

http://www.amazon.com/Lite--LightScribe-Layer-Drive-IHAS424-98/dp/B002SIMPXM/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1303785852&sr=1-1 $24.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25
Lite-On LightScribe 24X SATA DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Drive IHAS424-98 - Retail (Black)

http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-VH222H-P-21-5-Inch-Widescreen-Monitor/dp/B002IVVCJC $149.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
ASUS VH222H-P 21.5-Inch Widescreen LCD Monitor - Black

Total: $1,178.13 *not including shipping, and mail in rebates

http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/msi_gtx560_twinfrozr_2/11.htm <--- review/benchmarks of that MSI card

 

[aznthunderj]

That monitor down below in this build is the same monitor you had chosen...but it's free shipping @ amazon. This build allows you to add another one of those factory over clocked gtx 560's later on for SLI. This build includes 8 gigs of low voltage RAM, after market cpu h/s (thermal paste included), etc...

http://www.amazon.com/Antec-Mid-Tower-Gaming-Hundred-V3/dp/B004ALI5KC/ref=sr_1_4?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1304096274&sr=1-4 $119.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Antec Mid-Tower Gaming Case Nine Hundred Two V3

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371049 $109.99 - $94.99 after mail-in rebate FREE SHIPPING
Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-750 750W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V v2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.632379 $459.98 $20.00 Mail-In Rebate Price After Mail-In Rebate(s): $439.98 FREE SHIPPING
MSI N560GTX-TI Twin Frozr II/OC GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128488 $154.99 FREE SHIPPING
GIGABYTE GA-P67X-UD3-B3 LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Hyper-Sleeve-RR-B10-212P-G1/dp/B002G1YPH0/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1303777065&sr=1-1 $29.51 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler, RR-B10-212P-G1

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231416 $69.99 FREE SHIPPING
G.SKILL Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBSR

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Spinpoint-3-5-Inch-Internal-HD103SJ/dp/B002MQC0P8/ref=sr_1_1?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1303776983&sr=1-1 $59.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Samsung Desktop Class Spinpoint F3 1 TB SATA 3.0 Gb-s 32 MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Bare-OEM Drives, HD103SJ

http://www.amazon.com/Lite--LightScribe-Layer-Drive-IHAS424-98/dp/B002SIMPXM/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1303785852&sr=1-1 $24.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25
Lite-On LightScribe 24X SATA DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Drive IHAS424-98 - Retail (Black)

http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-VH222H-P-21-5-Inch-Widescreen-Monitor/dp/B002IVVCJC $149.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
ASUS VH222H-P 21.5-Inch Widescreen LCD Monitor - Black

Total: $1,178.13 *not including shipping, and mail in rebates

http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/msi_gtx560_twinfrozr_2/11.htm <--- review/benchmarks of that MSI card

Thanks for the build input Why_me this is actually about 100 or 2 cheaper than what have have set up right now not including the heat sink. Quick question though, why the 560 over the 6950 is it because of scaling in the latter period of sli/crossfire or?....

 

[Why_Me]

Thanks for the build input Why_me this is actually about 100 or 2 cheaper than what have have set up right now not including the heat sink. Quick question though, why the 560 over the 6950 is it because of scaling in the latter period of sli/crossfire or?....

Those 560's...especially those MSI ones over clock like no other card. And in SLI at stock settings they eat up a single gtx 580. They are a bargain. They run ice cold due to the fact they are on Nvidia's latest/newest chip set and die, and they are a small card compared to the AMD cards and the 570's and 580's. In SLI those cards are mofo's. That and I'm not too hip on AMD drivers if you catch my drift. They always seem to have issues.

So check this out. If I had your budget and gaming was my thing, this is what I would do.

1) drop that RAM I posted to the RAM you posted to save $20. It's a gaming build and 4 gigs is fine. You can always pick up another 4 gigs later on if you get into professional video editing or whatever....

2) drop the CM 212+ cpu h/s I posted (you can get it later on) and save another $30

3) Switch cases to one of these down below...both of these cases are larger than the Antec 900 series, better cooling, etc... and save even more $$

4) with the money saved, you have enough to get another one of those MSI 560's for SLI. Screw waiting for later on. If your going to do it, do it right and do it NOW! I mean this is a gaming build then do the SLI now and get it over with. It's all about FPS in regards to gaming.

http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-SGC-2000-KKN1-GP-Storm-Scout/dp/B00243HHNY/ref=sr_1_5?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1304100044&sr=1-5 $82.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Cooler Master SGC-2000-KKN1-GP Storm Scout ATX/MATX/ITX Mid Tower Case (Black)

This one down below just hit the market three days ago...you can go to newegg and look it up and check it out or check it out on the cooler master site where they have professional reviews of that case.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004WK3KKQ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER $89.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Cooler Master Storm Enforcer USB 3.0 Mid Tower ATX Case with Window and Black Interior (SGC-1000-KWN1)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127565 $244.99 (Before $20.00 Mail-In Rebate) FREE SHIPPING
MSI N560GTX-TI Twin Frozr II/OC GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

 

[Why_Me]

I missed the mark by $12.90 But there it is... dual factory over clocked gtx 560's in SLI. Pick up that CM cpu h/s later on.

http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-SGC-2000-KKN1-GP-Storm-Scout/dp/B00243HHNY/ref=sr_1_5?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1304100044&sr=1-5 $82.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Cooler Master SGC-2000-KKN1-GP Storm Scout ATX/MATX/ITX Mid Tower Case (Black)

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Enthusiast-Certified-compatible-platforms/dp/B004MYFODI/ref=sr_1_8?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1304101555&sr=1-8 $104.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Corsair Enthusiast Series 750-Watt 80 Plus Bronze Certified Power Supply compatible with Intel Core i3, i5, i7 and AMD platforms 750TX v2

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.632379 $459.98 $20.00 Mail-In Rebate Price After Mail-In Rebate(s): $439.98 FREE SHIPPING
MSI N560GTX-TI Twin Frozr II/OC GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127565 $244.99 (Before $20.00 Mail-In Rebate) FREE SHIPPING
MSI N560GTX-TI Twin Frozr II/OC GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128488 $154.99 FREE SHIPPING
GIGABYTE GA-P67X-UD3-B3 LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231427 $49.99 FREE SHIPPING
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBXL

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Spinpoint-3-5-Inch-Internal-HD103SJ/dp/B002MQC0P8/ref=sr_1_1?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1303776983&sr=1-1 $59.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Samsung Desktop Class Spinpoint F3 1 TB SATA 3.0 Gb-s 32 MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Bare-OEM Drives, HD103SJ

http://www.amazon.com/Lite--LightScribe-Layer-Drive-IHAS424-98/dp/B002SIMPXM/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1303785852&sr=1-1 $24.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25
Lite-On LightScribe 24X SATA DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Drive IHAS424-98 - Retail (Black)

http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-VH222H-P-21-5-Inch-Widescreen-Monitor/dp/B002IVVCJC $149.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
ASUS VH222H-P 21.5-Inch Widescreen LCD Monitor - Black

Total: $1,312.90 *not including shipping, and mail in rebates

 

[aznthunderj]

Yeah I've been lurking for a little over 6 months now, and i've seen you enough to know that you lean twards nvidia. I'll scribble down some numbers once I get to work and see If I cant pull off two 560's. Quick question, how do you see that original MSI boards I posted in comparison to the GIG you posted? I know the general rule of thumb is that most cards work a bit better with similar boards (eg msi card to msi mobo).

*edit* if anything I'll buy the second card after payday

 

[Why_Me]

Yeah I've been lurking for a little over 6 months now, and i've seen you enough to know that you lean twards nvidia. I'll scribble down some numbers once I get to work and see If I cant pull off two 560's. Quick question, how do you see that original MSI boards I posted in comparison to the GIG you posted? I know the general rule of thumb is that most cards work a bit better with similar boards (eg msi card to msi mobo).

*edit* if anything I'll buy the second card after payday

Vid cards will work with any board. But with those MSI boards I would go for the GD55 just for the cost factor. The GD67 is over priced imo when the Asrock P67 extreme4 @ $160 + shipping stomps it in regards to over clocking. GD55 if I was to choose between those two boards and considering budget.

 

[aznthunderj]

One thing I had failed to mention is that eventually I will be adding two more monitors. ( the one i'm buying now will go to my wife and her build this fall). I will be eventually upgrading to 2 17"s and a 27" set up.

[]17 [ ] 27 []17 The 17's in a portrait set up and the 27 landscape. Would you still reccommend a 560 sli or a 6950 cxf?

 

[Why_Me]

One thing I had failed to mention is that eventually I will be adding two more monitors. ( the one i'm buying now will go to my wife and her build this fall). I will be eventually upgrading to 2 17"s and a 27" set up.

[]17 [ ] 27 []17 The 17's in a portrait set up and the 27 landscape. Would you still reccommend a 560 sli or a 6950 cxf?

The MSI 6950 2GB twin freezer. It has the memory, and the cooling...excellent cooling which is a big plus seeing how these AMD cards tend to run hot. Iv'e read some good reviews on that card.

750w is ideal for two of those cards.

 

[aznthunderj]

The MSI 6950 2GB twin freezer. It has the memory, and the cooling...excellent cooling which is a big plus seeing how these AMD cards tend to run hot. Iv'e read some good reviews on that card.

750w is ideal for two of those cards.

Awesome Thanks so much for all the help you've given to you and everyone who posted. Lookforward to building, I'll be sure to document and let you all know how it comes along.

 

[aznthunderj]

Best answer selected by aznthunderj.