New build around i7-2600k OC 4.8GHz

[xpabl0b]

Hello everyone.

I would appreciate any thoughts about this new build I am considering, especially the PSU and the case.

Case: SilverStone FT02B-W Fortress Black/Red ATX Case
CPU: i7-2600k OC to 4.8GHz
Mobo: Asus Maximum IV Extreme - Rev3!
Cooler: Thermalright Venomous Black CPU Cooler
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 2x4GB DDR3 1600MHz Dual-Channel
GPU1: Zotac GeForce GTX 560 Amp! Edition (SLI)
GPU2: Zotac GeForce GTX 560 Amp! Edition (SLI)
PSU: Cooler Master Silent Pro Gold 1000W
HDD1: Samsung SpinPoint F3 Desktop Class 1TB Internal
HDD2: Samsung SpinPoint F3 Desktop Class 1TB Internal
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium Retail
Screen: Dell UltraSharp U3011 30" Widescreen LCD Monitor

Many thanks

 

[thespock]

We would appreciate it if you followed any of the guidelines and told us anything about your needs.

 

[flong]

Hi, you've made some excellent choices. Wow the PSU question is a tough one. I read two reviews for the CM Silent Pro and the main knock was that it was noisy at high load (50 DB). With that in mind you may want to look at the Corsair AX 1200. It is $263 at newegg after rebates and shipping costs. There is a review here:

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

This PSU will be very quiet and easily handle anything you throw at it. It is also above 90 % efficient and so it is better than gold rating. It costs $63.00 more.

I love the case you are considering, especially with the red interior. It is the best air cooling case in existence. You may want to consider the Corsair 650D as an alternative. The FT02 does not support USB 3.0 and it does not have a Sata III hot swap drive which the 650D does have. Also the 650D is laid out really well and nearly tooless for your builds which is very convenient. The FT02 is probably a little quieter and it cools better. Both are stunning lookers.

If you wanted to consider a full tower you could look at the Coolermaster HAF X 942. However, I do not think that it looks as good as either of the other cases.

You can get the 2 x 4GB DDR3 1866 RAM on sale ($80) if you watch for it.

Also, the Noctua NH-D14 is perhaps the best air cooler made if you consider noise output to be important. Google it and read some reviews. It is an amazing cooler that almost beats some water cooling systems and it remains reasonably quiet while working.

You don't list what you are going to use this computer for but you may want to consider the Z68 motherboard platform if you do video editing.

The Dell ultrasharps are very good monitors. The HP 30" monitors have also reviewed well and cost a little less. I love the ultra sharps. My monitor has the same IPS panel as the U2410 and it has an amazing picture.

 

[xpabl0b]

Thanks for the responses. The machine is to be multi-use including gaming, video editing, Photoshop etc.

 

[sepayne21]

is there a reason you're buying win home premium retail instead of OEM?

 

[xpabl0b]

Well spotted sepayne21. I don't suppose there is a good reason for not going with the OEM version.

 

[IntelEnthusiast]

Overall your build looks very good. Just a couple simple things when you order the RAM make sure you get the 1.5v and not the 1.65V. While the board and processor can use the older 1.65v it is pushing the voltage on the processor to do so. There isn’t much value for going for anything above DDR3 1600 in performance or cost.

Christian Wood
Intel Enthusiast Team

 

[xpabl0b]

For those interested, I seem to be converging on the following setup

Case: SilverStone FT02B-W Fortress Black/Red ATX Case
CPU: i7-2600k Unlocked Sandy Bridge Quad Core 3.4GHz Retail
Mobo: Asus Maximum IV Extreme - Rev3!
Cooler: Corsair Hydro Series H70 High-Performance
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 4x4GB DDR3 1600MHz Dual-Channel
GPU1: Zotac GeForce GTX 560 Amp! Edition (SLI)
GPU2: Zotac GeForce GTX 560 Amp! Edition (SLI)
PSU: 1020W Enermax Revolution 85+ Modular
HDD1: Samsung SpinPoint F3 Desktop Class 1TB Internal
HDD2: Samsung SpinPoint F3 Desktop Class 1TB Internal
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium OEM
Screen: Dell UltraSharp U3011 30" Widescreen LCD Monitor
Case Mod 1: Lycom UB-116F USB 3.0 4-Port Hub (3.5" Bay)
Case Mod 2: SilverStone 5.25" to 3.5" Drive Bay Converter

The main changes from what I was initially thinking are that I am going to keep the case and modify it to get some USB 3.0 ports at the front, I am going to do the OC on the i7-2600k myself rather than pay a retailer to do it, I've gone with a watercooler for the CPU, I have boosted the RAM to 16GB, I have plumped for the Enermax PSU and I will get an OEM copy of Win 7 rather than a Retail copy.

Have I missed something out? Have I made a bad choice of component(s)? Let me say again that the purpose of this machine is manifold - 30% 2560x1600 gaming on the Dell (racing, FPS); 30% video editing, Photoshop and blu-ray production; 20% music production; 20% programming and general usage.

Thanks to those who are interested enough to read this and especially to those who are kind enough to reply.

 

[xpabl0b]

Wilco, CW. Thanks for the input.

 

[flong]

For those interested, I seem to be converging on the following setup

Case: SilverStone FT02B-W Fortress Black/Red ATX Case
CPU: i7-2600k Unlocked Sandy Bridge Quad Core 3.4GHz Retail
Mobo: Asus Maximum IV Extreme - Rev3!
Cooler: Corsair Hydro Series H70 High-Performance
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 4x4GB DDR3 1600MHz Dual-Channel
GPU1: Zotac GeForce GTX 560 Amp! Edition (SLI)
GPU2: Zotac GeForce GTX 560 Amp! Edition (SLI)
PSU: 1020W Enermax Revolution 85+ Modular
HDD1: Samsung SpinPoint F3 Desktop Class 1TB Internal
HDD2: Samsung SpinPoint F3 Desktop Class 1TB Internal
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium OEM
Screen: Dell UltraSharp U3011 30" Widescreen LCD Monitor
Case Mod 1: Lycom UB-116F USB 3.0 4-Port Hub (3.5" Bay)
Case Mod 2: SilverStone 5.25" to 3.5" Drive Bay Converter

The main changes from what I was initially thinking are that I am going to keep the case and modify it to get some USB 3.0 ports at the front, I am going to do the OC on the i7-2600k myself rather than pay a retailer to do it, I've gone with a watercooler for the CPU, I have boosted the RAM to 16GB, I have plumped for the Enermax PSU and I will get an OEM copy of Win 7 rather than a Retail copy.

Have I missed something out? Have I made a bad choice of component(s)? Let me say again that the purpose of this machine is manifold - 30% 2560x1600 gaming on the Dell (racing, FPS); 30% video editing, Photoshop and blu-ray production; 20% music production; 20% programming and general usage.

Thanks to those who are interested enough to read this and especially to those who are kind enough to reply.

I would be very careful in getting the H70. Reviews have said that when maximum cooling is required it is very noisy. You might want to consider the Noctua NH-D14 which cools just as well and has a maximum noise at high fans of 46 DB. Go to Frosty Tech and read the reviews. The H70 was an improvement over the H60, but it still doesn't compete with the best air coolers if noise is considered.

 

[xpabl0b]

Thanks flong. I'll check out the Noctua.

 

[xpabl0b]

The latest iteration...

Case: SilverStone FT02B-W Fortress Black/Red ATX Case
CPU: i7-2600k Unlocked Sandy Bridge Quad Core 3.4GHz Retail
Mobo: Asus Maximum IV Extreme - Rev3!
Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 Dual Radiator And Fan Quiet CPU Cooler
RAM: 8GB G.Skill DDR3 PC3-12800 1600MHz RipjawsX Series
GPU1: Zotac GeForce GTX 560 Amp! Edition (SLI)
GPU2: Zotac GeForce GTX 560 Amp! Edition (SLI)
PSU: 1020W Enermax Revolution 85+ Modular
HDD1: Samsung SpinPoint F3 Desktop Class 1TB Internal
HDD2: Samsung SpinPoint F3 Desktop Class 1TB Internal
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium OEM
Screen: Dell UltraSharp U3011 30" Widescreen LCD Monitor
Case Mod 1: Lycom UB-116F USB 3.0 4-Port Hub (3.5" Bay)
Case Mod 2: SilverStone 5.25" to 3.5" Drive Bay Converter

The cooler has been changed on the grounds of noise and the RAM has been correspondingly changed to meet the 44mm near-socket clearance based on the Noctua NH-D14.

Upon checking today it seems that availability on the SilverStone FT02B-W in the UK is very poor and so I may have to think about a different case!

 

[flong]

Try the 650D it is a great case similar to the Silverstone. You may need to add a fan but with the Noctua D14 cooling your CPU you will have excellent cooling because if you mount the HDD cages horizontally in the 650D it cools your GPU exceptionally well.

Here is a review of the case: http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1596/1/

The D14 comes with two very good fans so you do not need to purchase any for it.

I would recommend the 2 x 4GB DDR3 1866 RAM on sale at Newegg today for $80.00

The enermax 1020W does not review that well at Johnny Guru - in the hot test it just barely meets bronze certification. The link is here:

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=194

Conversely the Corsair AX 1200 "laughed off" Johnny Guru's hot test showing it is much more powerful, quiet and efficient. It is also Gold rated so it is a much more efficient PSU than the enermax. Here is the link:

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

There is a huge difference in quality between the two and the cost difference is not that big. The cost difference is about $50.00

 

[xpabl0b]

Many thanks flong. I think I will go with the Corsair AX1200 and the 650D. In many ways for my purposes the 650D is better than the SilverStone.

 

[flong]

Many thanks flong. I think I will go with the Corsair AX1200 and the 650D. In many ways for my purposes the 650D is better than the SilverStone.

I am totally jealous of you getting the 650D - "I want one" (what Tony Stark said to Pepper when he first meets Shield Agent Natalie Rushman (Scarlett Johansson).

 

[flong]

Keep in mind that the AX 1200 has more capacity than you will ever use with this system but that is OK. If you use anywhere from 238 W or more, you will be operating at nearly 90% efficiency (at 238 W it it is 88.5% efficient) which is up there with best in the business. Couple this with the low relative cost of the AX 1200 at $255 (depending on sales and rebates), the great amount of modular cables that come with the unit and the 7-year warranty and this PSU becomes unbeatable. Competitors do offer gold PSUs that can compete with the AX 1200 but they charge a lot more and they have shorter warranties.

When you go to an SLI system you can quickly get out of the sweet spot of a 750 W or 850 W PSU. For example, if you go over 563 W the Corsair 850 HX (which I own) begins to drop in efficiency to 84% from a high of 91%. At 75% capacity the 750 and 850 W PSUs begin to heat up and get louder. The AX 1200 will never have these problems.

Also because you are running a large, high resolution monitor, your GPUs will be taxed more for power even with just everyday use. This is another reason that the AX 1200 is better than a smaller PSU. Your system will probably never drop below the 238 W of usage for your best efficiencies. Especially when you consider that you are overclocking your system which can increase its power usage by more than 1/3.

Finally if you do decide to upgrade to more powerful video cards (like the GTX 580), the AX 1200 will handle anything you can throw at it and you will not have to buy a bigger PSU.

 

[xpabl0b]

Thanks flong. I think I'm ready to order all my components now and then set about my first home-build!

 

[flong]

Good luck with your build - let us know how it goes