Help designing an enthusiast build

[pandamonium]

Approximate Purchase Date: This week, unless there is a compelling reason to hold off

Budget Range: Whatever it takes (4,000 USD max, but hoping to build it for less)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: (Gaming, Entertainment, Video-editing)

Parts Not Required: No peripherals needed

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: No preference

Country of Origin: (USA)

Parts Preferences: N/A

Overclocking: If recommended

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe

Additional Comments: I intend to build a dream gaming setup with money I have earned over the summer. I hope for the computer to be upgrade-able in the future, and I am willing to pay extra to get the computer to run quieter (in a dorm situation). Oh, and looking cool would be a plus

P.S. As far as the budget is concerned, I would happily spend more for meaningful upgrades, but I don't want to spend money simply to spend money.

 

[ilysaml]

4000 USD seems a marvelous price for building a PC
so here is my recommendation
MOBO : Gigabyte 990FXA-UD5
CPU : AMD X6 1090T (till bulldozer comes out)
RAM : G.skill 8GB DDR3 1866 (will be native support for the bulldozer)
GPU : HD 6990 (you don't need to go crossfire in order not to experience a driver issue or a drop in FPS)
SSD : 240 GB OCZ vertex 3
HDD : 2 ×WD 1 TB Caviar Black
Case : Cooler Master HAF X
CPU Cooler : Corsair H70 (water cooled system)
PSU : NZXT Hale 90 1000W

 

[pandamonium]

Would it make more sense to just wait three weeks and buy the bulldozer CPU then? And how is it supposed to compare with the 6 core i7's?

 

[ilysaml]

Approximate Purchase Date: This week, unless there is a compelling reason to hold off

that's what you said

 

[ilysaml]

Bulldozer might be coming in Q4, no deadline was set

 

[JdotH]

...check Tom's Charts:
I would go i7 2600K....beats all AMD cpus.
Anything above that gets to pricey for the performance gains.
Besides, your gaming so sink your money into your GPU, Power Supply, and most importantly your COOLING.

The GTX590 is right up there with the 6990 but is QUIET in comparison. Again I think Tom'sH did a review on just that. The 6990 is to loud to use daily...unless noise isnt an option. Oh this is random, but from personal experience....if you ever got into 3D cad design you would have to buy a workstation card as this will work (ATI gaming GPU architecture does not support CAD environment).

SSD:OCZ Vertex 3 is great. I have OCZ Max Iops.....you wouldnt feel/see the difference for the price. Get the Vertex 3...intel has best reliability fyi but not speed. Those are the only two SSDs I would buy (OCZ or Intel).

How do you want to handle your drives? Storage?
Personaly I like speed, saving $ and loss prevention so I would do this....SSD for OS & Mirrored HDDs for storage.

 

[JdotH]

^ Not a fan boy...just facts.

 

[Why_Me]

This is set up to add another one of those factory o/c gtx 580's later on for SLI.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.703132 $369.98
CORSAIR Professional Series HX1050 1050W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Power Supply
Corsair Special Edition White Graphite Series 600T Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103052 $15.78 FREE SHIPPING
COOLER MASTER R4-S2S-124K-GP 120mm Case Fan

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157269 $289.99
ASRock Z68 Extreme7 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.697171 $396.98 - $10.00 Mail In Rebates
Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I72600K
CORSAIR H80 (CWCH80) High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226245 $99.99 FREE SHIPPING
Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2133 (PC3 17000) Desktop Memory Model 997015

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533 $89.99 FREE SHIPPING
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118050 $99.99
SONY Black 12X BD-R 2X BD-RE 8X DVD+R 5X DVD-RAM 8X BD-ROM 8MB Cache SATA Blu-ray Burner BD-5300S-0B - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211551 $189.99 FREE SHIPPING
ADATA S511 Series AS511S3-120GM-C 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121429 $499.99 - $469.99 after mail-in rebate card FREE SHIPPING
ASUS ENGTX580 DCII/2DIS/1536MD5 GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) 1536MB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Total: $2,052.68 *not including shipping and rebates

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001475 $469.99
SAMSUNG S23A750D Black 23" 2ms Full HD 3D LED BackLight LCD Monitor 250 cd/m2 DCR 1,000,000:1 (1,000:1)

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-CA-HS1ANA-Gaming-Analog-Headset/dp/B004IZN3NY $59.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Corsair CA-HS1ANA Gaming Audio Series HS1 Analog Gaming Headset

http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=Z68%20Extreme7%20Gen3 <---- A better look at that board

http://www.asrock.com/microsite/PCIe3/index.html <---- PCI-E 3.0 for Intel Ivy Bridge due out next spring.

http://www.asrock.com/microsite/IntelZ68/index.asp <----- Z68 features

 

[Why_Me]

Would it make more sense to just wait three weeks and buy the bulldozer CPU then? And how is it supposed to compare with the 6 core i7's?

Screw Bulldozer. Switch up on that build I posted for a 2500K and then get the new 22nm Ivy Bridge that comes out next spring and stick it in that board. You can ebay that 2500K for a decent price. Then you have a chip that will o/c close to 6.0ghz and you have PCI-E 3.0 with the new 28nm Nvidia cards.

 

[JdotH]

^+1000 on that build.

That GTX 580 is good...I have a Sparkle Caliber GTX480....If you dont mind the color of the fans (face down when installed so you dont see it actually) the Sparkle Caliber GTX 580 should have the same awesome cooling and extreme low/no sound profile as my 480. You cant beat an OC'd GTX thats very quiet and has awesome low temps. Caliber delivers all that. I have tried and returned many GTXs looking for just that.
GTX580 is the way to go vs GTX590 due to availability and price point. Not worth it unless you are going to 30" monitor status.


Need CPU cooling though.
I think he should go to Water Cooling. About $100 gets you there.
Cleanest solution that frees up space, provides better airflow to other hardware and looks awesome. Better then air cooling. DO IT!

 

[Why_Me]

^+1000 on that build.

Need CPU cooling though.
I think he should go to Water Cooling. About $100 gets you there.
Cleanest solution that frees up space, provides better airflow to other hardware and looks awesome. Better then air cooling. DO IT!

Look again...I combo'd that cpu with the cooling. You missed it.

 

[pandamonium]

That sounds really good, actually. Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[JdotH]

Look again...I combo'd that cpu with the cooling. You missed it.

You are totaly right.

That is a great combo.

I have H-70 on my i7 2600K@4.5GHz....I stress my cpu everyday to the max (rendering and CAD) and this H-70 keeps it cool at 58C MAX.
Looks great too.
And I can get to all my parts unlike the awkward reaching with a lot of aircoolers.

PS.
If sound is an issue to you (Pandamonium--buyer) then you WILL want to replace the fans. My H-70 and I've read the H-80 too, comes with aweful sounding fans that get loud.
So after much review and comparison I replaced both fans with Gentle Typhoons and had NoiseBlocker fans in there too....sound the same....Black NoiseBlockers are sexy too.

 

[ilysaml]

...check Tom's Charts:
I would go i7 2600K....beats all AMD cpus.
Anything above that gets to pricey for the performance gains.
Besides, your gaming so sink your money into your GPU, Power Supply, and most importantly your COOLING.

The GTX590 is right up there with the 6990 but is QUIET in comparison. Again I think Tom'sH did a review on just that. The 6990 is to loud to use daily...unless noise isnt an option. Oh this is random, but from personal experience....if you ever got into 3D cad design you would have to buy a workstation card as this will work (ATI gaming GPU architecture does not support CAD environment).

SSD:OCZ Vertex 3 is great. I have OCZ Max Iops.....you wouldnt feel/see the difference for the price. Get the Vertex 3...intel has best reliability fyi but not speed. Those are the only two SSDs I would buy (OCZ or Intel).

How do you want to handle your drives? Storage?
Personaly I like speed, saving $ and loss prevention so I would do this....SSD for OS & Mirrored HDDs for storage.

why would he go intel while we all know that bulldozer is a real Bulldozer ?
Tom's recommended a pair of 6970s or 580s in crossfire
OCZ has better reads and writes / IOPS than intel

 

[JdotH]

You want two of either of these fans to replace the H-80 Radiator fans.....TRUST ME.

They make a world of difference in sound and can handle pushing/pulling air through a radiator (not any case fan will do those both).

SEXY Fan :
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/10212/fan-656/Noiseblocker_NB-BlackSilentPro_PL-2_120mm_x_25mm_Ultra_Quiet_Fan_-_1400_RPM_-_20_dBA.html?tl=g36c15s60

WorkHorse Fan:
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/10323/fan-674/Scythe_Gentle_Typhoon_120mm_x_25mm_Fan_-_1850_RPM_D1225C12B5AP-15.html?tl=g36c15s60

I tried many fans....go with either of these.


*Man wish I got all this help before I built mine....LUCKY!*

 

[ilysaml]

Screw Bulldozer. Switch up on that build I posted for a 2500K and then get the new 22nm Ivy Bridge that comes out next spring and stick it in that board. You can ebay that 2500K for a decent price. Then you have a chip that will o/c close to 6.0ghz and you have PCI-E 3.0 with the new 28nm Nvidia cards.

no one will ever know what AMD is gonna produce when the Ivy bridge comes out, all the expectations say that AMD has a new era after APU and Bulldozer

 

[JdotH]

why would he go intel while we all know that bulldozer is a real Bulldozer ?
Tom's recommended a pair of 6970s or 580s in crossfire
OCZ has better reads and writes / IOPS than intel

To be honest...
Bulldozer is not much of an improvement and sticking with a Intel setup will yeild immediate power and allow him to upgrade to Ivy Bridge which is coming out soon too.
Bulldozer wont deliver as much as Intel....Its been speculated on a couple of sites that it could lead to the downfall of AMDs cpu program because AMD has not been able to catch up to Intels specs.
I used to have AMD...but had to switch when GHz became closely tied to my work output times.

ATI is great bang for buck but GTX offers extra professional perks and great cooling/noise (non-reference designs).
Either way he would have a great vid card....I just require more then just a game image on my screen.

+1 on your OCZ vs Intel comparison. Thought I made that clear. Intel=Reliability OCZ=performance and reliability not quiet as high as Intel.
*Adata SSD good choice too. Win no matter which one you get. Going from Hdds to SSD alone is enough after that its just glitter and specs.

 

[JdotH]

buy 2 of those Caviar Blacks and mirror them. Its easy to do and will give you peace of mind that you wont loose your stuff one day. Totally worth it.

 

[pandamonium]

You are suggesting I RAID 0 the HDD?

 

[JdotH]

No not at all.

Raid 1 (called a mirror) two HDDs so you wont lose anything.

Put only programs on OS drive (SSD so they can be really fast) and EVERYTHING else on your mirrored raid.

Raid 0 (called a stripe) doesnt copy data to both drives (like a mirror does) but instead copies parts of that data to both drives simultaneously. Making both stripped drives faster then if they were working alone.

 

[pandamonium]

ahh... I meant 1, wrote 0. Feel kind of silly right now.... but that sounds like a great idea.

 

[JdotH]

So what are your thoughts now on the build? Cool with the case (can add more water and or leds to your liking), gpu, cpu, etc?
To get those combo deals I wouldnt wait long.
You should post your new build edit that has all the stuff you want in it for a new forum jockey review.

 

[mjmjpfaff]

i7 2600k & Corsair H80- http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.697171&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=4176827&SID=1gx86gwcvjvdf 397$

the fans on the h80 are too loud- http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-120mm-Case-R4-C2R-20AC-GP/dp/B0026ZPFDE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1314675469&sr=8-2 x2=16$

Asrock Z68 Extreme7 Gen3- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157269 300$ shipped

Corsair AX1200 & Corsair 8gb 1866mhz- http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.703308 340$ best psu on the market and very fast ram

Samsung F3 1tb- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185&Tpk=spinpoint%20f3%201tb 60$ i dont know why people are throwing around the wd 1tb when this drive is faster and cheaper

Plextor PX-M2 256gb ssd- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820249011 380$ big fast and reliable

Sony dvd burner- http://www.amazon.com/Sony-SATA-Internal-Drive-AD-7260S-0B/dp/B003MRHOQG/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1314676162&sr=1-3 19$ gamers dont need a blu-ray burner

Silverstone Raven RV03- http://www.amazon.com/Silverstone-Extended-90-Degree-Motherboard-RV03B-W/dp/B004X19B02/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1314676298&sr=1-1 140$ cools better than the haf x, has amazing cable management and is very reasonably priced

GPU- WHAT IS YOUR RESOLUTION?
can you please list your peripherals if you have not already bought them?

 

[JdotH]

^+1 for Samsung F3

nice case...90 Degree mobo mounting? That means all mobo input face up rather then out the back right? COOL!!!!!! If true then all your cpu etc heat can now escape upward (heat rises) rather then try to get out the back of the case.....NICE.

 

[Why_Me]

Another nice feature with that Asrock board other than the PCI-E 3.0 slots, is it has the NF200 Bridge which allows dual cards to be run @ x16.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-geforce-stutter-crossfire,2995.html <---- Toms showed with this review here last week that those boards (NF200) help reduce micro stutter as they have dual bridges.