New Build

[Kajun]

Hello guys I'm new here and am not sure if this is the place for this. I was hoping I could get some feedback on my latest build, While I would love sli 580's I just cant float it now. I noticed on the review here that two 560's in sli out preform one 580 and they have 4 gigs of memory so they will last a while. I just want to make sure I haven't forgotten anything. This will be my twelfth Build and all of them are still up I do mid to high range gaming systems and who better to ask than Tom's. I come here all the time but this is the first time I have posted So here it is:

Product Description Savings Total Price
Antec Nine Hundred Two V3 Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Gaming Case
$119.99
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
$79.99
ASUS VE278Q Black 27" Full HD HDMI LED Backlight LCD Monitor w/Speakers
$329.99
EVGA SuperClocked 02G-P3-1469-KR GeForce GTX 560 (Fermi) 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
$489.98 ($244.99 each)
CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX850 V2 850W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply
$129.99
SteelSeries 64049 Black USB Wired Merc Stealth Illuminated Gaming Keyboard
$64.99
CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9B
$99.99
ASUS P8Z68-V LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
$179.99
Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I72600K
$314.99
ZALMAN CNPS9500 AT 2 Ball CPU Cooling Fan/Heatsink
$46.89
ASUS Black Blu-ray Drive SATA Model BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS
$58.99
Creative fatality XFI pci*1 sound card 7.1
Creative fatality gaming headset
128.99
Subtotal: $2,155.77

I am building this system just for Battlefield 3 which is going to be out on the 25th of this month. I am considering ditching the 27in LCD for 3 24in HD LCD's what are your thoughts on this? I would like to add I'm a Battlefield Nut I have all of the series. Also I have trac IR but Im not sure if this new Battlefield 3 will support it.

I think I have covered everything, And thanks

 

[jsc]

If you are building a pure gaming machine, you can save a little by getting an i5-2500K. It is just as overclockable and gaming does not need the multi-threaded i7.

The Zalman 9500 is, by today's standards, a merely average quality, over priced cooler. A Hiper 212+ ($30) is a better cooler.

 

[inzone]

Is the sub total of your components list your budget? I notice you only have the one hdd , no SSD? I am assuming you have a reason for the seperate sound card , instead of the on board sound. A better video card , the 560Ti .

 

[chesteracorgi]

OK, you should have posted in sustems, but your rig seems OK. Now, you have overspent on a monitor and video cards. A 27 inch nomitor is great but it doesn't give you anything more than 1080p (1920 X 1080). So anything more than a GTX 560 ti is just bragging for games. Now a dual monitor setup, or a 3D setup might need the Xtra bandwidth, but not a single monitor.

Your 2600K is overbuild for gaming. the 2500K is fine.

I'd like to have your budget. But I'd still build the same system with a single GTX 560ti and a 2500K and poclket the difference. Or, if you want better performance go to a GTX 570 or GTX 480, or even a single GTX 580 with a 2500K.

 

[Kajun]

I will also be using this system for processing among other things
It was brought to my attention that you needed A I7 for SLI and it is a more powerful CPU that easily clocks to 3.8 . and that its a beast for gaming I sure don't want any bottlenecks. Is this true?

 

[Kajun]

While I would love sli 580's I just cant float it now. I noticed on the review here that two 560's in sli out preform one 580 and they have 4 gigs of memory so they will last a while. the 560's are faster than a single 580 and have more than twice the memory.
Battlefield 3 supports SLI and it uses more than the 1 gig memory that comes on most cards. Also I wanted the brute force of 4-3.8 CPU cores
I might point out that when I build I build to last a couple years .
Also I need the SLI to run the 3-24in led lcd's

 

[JackNaylorPE]

GFX - That card is factory OC'd to 850 MHz for $245......these are OC'd to 900 MHz

$205 Gigabyte http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125363
$230 Asus http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121425
$240 EVGA http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130651

The Asus ones I can tell ya from personal experience easily OC to 1000MHz

Monitor - 27" is a bit big for 1920 x 1080. The human eye can see individual pixels at below 96 or so ppi. A 27" is 81.6 ppi If ya gonna spend $330, I'd suggest a 120Mhz model with a ppi of 93-94

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236104

PSU - The TX series is 2nd tier and way overpriced at $130 .... the XFX Core Edition gets the exact same joinnyguru performance rating as the TX and costs $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207011

RAM - drop the useless toothed heat sinks and get the low profile version ... and 16GB is way way overkill and will likely have a negative impact on ya final CPU OC as w/ 4 modules ya oft have to drop timings to maintain a stable OC.....these are awful perty and CAS 8 for $65 .... CAS 9's are $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233199
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233186

MoBo - I'd get the latest (GEN3) model
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131790

CPU - As others have said, the 2600k isn't doing anything for ya gaming. Save $100 and get the i5-2500k

Cooler - Under $50, Id get the Scythe Mugen 3 (outperforms Hyper 212 by 7C).... if ya willing to pay more, the Thermaltake Silver Arrow

Sound Card - Not needed

Now since we saved so much money here ......

Options:

-Throw in a SSD

-Up the case to a full tower (Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow, Antec DF-85* or 1200V3*, HAF-X)
* Allows upgarde to CP-850 PSU

- Add a card reader / fan controller
Card Reader $ 50 AeroCool FP-01 55 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820314001

 

[Kajun]

Thanks Jack! I knew if I came in here I would get a better understanding of things, and looks like my little bit trouble has paid off well. I just do this as a hobby and its never to late to learn a few new tricks. This system is my personal rig and I wanted the best I could get for my hard earned money .
The main reason I use EVGA and ASUS is there full lifetime warranty. I went with XFX onetime and they would not stand behind their products

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been moved from the section CPU & Components to section Systems by Mousemonkey

 

[Kajun]

I might need to add that I usually way over build to last a couple of years. I have never had any luck upgrading a current system
will it hurt my system to go with the i7 CPU?
For example my last system I bought only one 260GTX and thought I would add another later but when I tried they quit making them or didn't have the exact one I needed.

 

[Kajun]

I would also like to ask about my Mb CPU and memory. I was reading that to get the most out of your system you need a quad channel memory kit is this true?

 

[Kajun]

Best answer selected by Kajun.