Can anyone offer suggestions on my new build?

[JerryC]

I am building a new gaming system that I expect to last for the next 6 years or so. Here is what I have selected, but I am open to changes. I would like to reduce the cost for the system but I would like to maintain the overall performance.

Acrylic ATX Cube Computer Case $80
Antec High Current Pro HCP-1200 1200W $300
ASUS P8P67 PRO Motherboard $185
Intel Core i7-2600K CPU $315
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 $40
2 x G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 $100 per for a total of $200
OCZ Vertex 2 120GB SSD $210
2 x WD Caviar Black WD2002FAEX 2TB 7200 RPM SATA $150 per for a total of $300
2 x EVGA GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) 3072MB $590 per for a total of $1180
3 x ASUS VH238H Black 23" Full HD HDMI LED Backlight $180 per for a total of $540
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit $100
ASUS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner $21
ASUS Black 12X BD-R 2X BD-RE $120

Grand total for the system $3564

If you have any suggestions, possible alternatives to any of the components please feel free to tell me. I am building a great system, but like I said I am also looking to reduce the overall cost.

Thank you!
JerryC

 

[attackllama]

-take a look at z68 chipset motherboards. SSD caching= better general performance

-You have no apparent need for a 1200w power supply unless you are going to tri sli those bad boys down the road, in which case you would want a different mobo as well. gtx 580 sli will need 850w at minnimum, so get at least 950w so you have room for OCing and you can save some money

-hyper 212+ should not be $40, this cooler perform better for the price
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185142

 

[JerryC]

Yeah, I went way over on the PSU because I was thinking that eventually I would swap out the two 580s and go with twin 590's or 6990's. I am still not sure if I shouldn't just buy a single 590 or 6990 in place of the twin 580's. The main reason I selected that GPU is that its double the memory of the standard 580. So many choices! Its just crazy trying to figure out which is the best route.

Thanks for the heads up on that cooler. I was talking to a friend and he thinks I would be better off with a good LC system for the GPUs and the CPU.

 

[hunter315]

Does that case really only have the option of using 2 120mm fans? 2 GTX 580s in a case with airflow like that are going to get roasted, it looks like the fan will blow straight into the bottom of the bottom card, and the top fan will suck air out the top of the case, thats a very blocked airflow path so its going to get real hot in that case. I feel that a case like that really needs liquid cooling to avoid cooking itself.

The case is also only 11.8" long which isnt much space for the cards to keep that in mind.


The case is my only real concern with those parts, everything else is top notch. You can save quite a bit by dropping the PSU down to something like the HX 850 which is still plenty for two GTX 580s but some how i feel like cost savings isnt a big concern on this build...

 

[JerryC]

Ok, I was thinking about switch the case out for this Fractal Design XL black

Its $140 but offers great noise reduction and much better air flow. The other case I was looking at is the
Antec Twelve Hundred Black

Its $160, but its a nice looking case with lots of room for the GPUs

 

[hunter315]

Either of those two will give much better cooling with plenty of space for the GPUs

 

[attackllama]

yea good point on the case... i didn't catch how small it is.
Also what kind of games do you play, because that can be a deciding factor for GPU choice

 

[JerryC]

I play everything from WoW to the lastest FPS

 

[attackllama]

check out this chart, not very particular but it puts some things in perspective like the gtx 580 3gb ram
here are some more benches on a tri sli 3gb setup: http://www.evga.com/forums/tm.aspx?m=833917&mpage=1
two of those seem your best option with room for another if you decide to add it

 

[Bigmac80]

You don't need that expensive power supply to run a GTX 580...I bought my Corsair 850hx modular power supply for $149.99...Even 750 watt would be more then enough to run that system...Everything else looks good...But im not a big fan of that case, i like alluminum cases because they tend to last longer and look alot nicer imo...So the cases i would go with is Lian-li or Silverstone...Or anything that has a good structure that's built alluminum...Also 8gigs of ram is more then enough..

Also if you live near a microcenter they have the i7 2600k for $249.99 last time i checked...And if you live near a Fry's Electronics store they do price matching...

 

[mjmjpfaff]

no computer will last 6 years look into your budget and try for 1 pc every 3 years or so.

 

[chesteracorgi]

You can save $150 by going to the i5 2500K and have no detriment to your gaming. The i7 2600K is a nice CPU but it performs no better than the 2500K in gaming.

If you want a neat looking case with good cooling and toolless installation look at this Corsair http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139005. I got the black version back in March and it is both quiet and cool. My rig runs at about 31 C: 28 C mobo, 35 C 2500K CPU OC'd to 4.8 GHz, & 31 C GPU (GTX 470 OC'd to 800MHz).

 

[mjmjpfaff]

what is your budget?

 

[JerryC]

what is your budget?

I would like to stay under $3000, but I dont really think that possible given the dual GPU and triple monitors.

 

[JerryC]

check out this chart, not very particular but it puts some things in perspective like the gtx 580 3gb ram
here are some more benches on a tri sli 3gb setup: http://www.evga.com/forums/tm.aspx?m=833917&mpage=1
two of those seem your best option with room for another if you decide to add it

I am torn between getting the 3gb 580s and getting a single 590 and then adding another in a couple of months

 

[jamesxd]

No need for a Core i7 for gaming, a Core i5 2500k/2600k would be more that enough. I hear that the ASUS P8P67 Pro has double boot issues; not a problem but would annoy me so I would go with the Asrock P67 EXTREME4

 

[JerryC]

No need for a Core i7 for gaming, a Core i5 2500k/2600k would be more that enough. I hear that the ASUS P8P67 Pro has double boot issues; not a problem but would annoy me so I would go with the Asrock P67 EXTREME4

I had not read that about the Asus boards. Thanks for the update, I will check out the ASRock board

 

[JerryC]

ok, after further research I have elected to spend a little more and go with the following items.

Danger Den Double Wide Tower - 21 Black Series

Its $380, but it offers massive case airflow which is fantastic because I changed my mind about the video cards and have elected to go with twin 6990's

XFX Radeon HD 6990 4GB

They are right at $800 each plus I will be switching them over to a water cooling system. If the 590 came in a 6gb model I would probably go that route since Evga has a water cooled version of the 590. Alas, they dont have a 6 gb model

 

[JerryC]

Best answer selected by JerryC.