Need Advice on new system, I7-2600k w/ EVGA 570

[dozerking]

Hey all. How do these components look? I'm looking for advice and if these are solid parts. Any feedback is much appreciated. Thanks!


Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD4-B3 $189.00

GPU: Nvidia EVGA 570 GTX – Superclocked $349.00

CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-2600K Processor (4x 3.40GHz/8MB L3 Cache) $314.00

COOLING: Asetek 550LC Liquid CPU Cooling System (Intel) $60.00

RAM: Corsair XMS3 Dominator w/DHX technology - 8 GB [2 GB X4] DDR3-1600 $155.00

PSU: 750 Watt -- Thermaltake TR2 TRX-750M $110.00

CASE: CoolerMaster HAF 922 Gaming Case $90.00

HDD: 80 GB Intel 320 SSD $140.00
(using 4 existing sata Hardrives, 2.5 terabytes total)


OPTICAL: 24X Sony Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive $30.00

SOUND CARD: Using onboard sound, or existing Auzentech Prelude 7.1 card
Worth going with a X-Fi Titanium Card? I have Logitech Z-5500 speak system

OS: Win 7 Home Premium - 64-bit , home builders kit. Already used serial number for
current rig, can I remove from current rig and use this for new Build?(If not, +$110)


Mouse/KB Using existing MS Sidewinder Gaming Mouse & Razor Lycosa Keyboard



build myself: $1,437.00
tax: $86.22
shipping on items: $65.00
Total: $1,588.22


Cost to buy from ibuypower.com: $1,592.00
tax: $95.52
shipping: $75.00
Total: $1,762.52
**Includes 3 years labor and 1 year parts Warranty

 

[thegamermojo]

Basically what i'm running except msi gd-80 board and faster ram. good system benchmarks well

 

[dozerking]

Thegamermojo, did you build your own or order pre-built?


My biggest question mark is the Motherboard, haven't been keeping up on the latest, but I do like the Z68 chipset from what i'm reading. Not sure if this board is overkill or not.

This same configuration from cyberpowerpc is roughly the same amount.

 

[JP88]

Build your own. You get warranty for each thing. I did it last year for the first time and its not that hard.

 

[AbdullahG]

If the Superclocked GTX 570 costs more than the standard GTX 570, not that great of a deal. Get one with a standard clock. Thermaltake TR2 PSUs aren't the best, and you should NEVER be cheap in terms of quality and brand of a PSU. An Antec, Corsair, XFX, and so on are better options. If this is a gaming build, drop down to an i5 2500K. If it's more of a video encoding, 3D rendering, etc., build, you can keep the i7 2600k, but get a cheaper card (GTX 460 is good enough if not overkill). There are cheaper options for your MoBo out there, one highly recommended being this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271

 

[danraies]

I assume your usage is gaming since you're getting a 570. If that's the case, the i5-2500k will perform the same as the i7-2600k for gaming. The difference between the two is hyerthreading and games aren't multithreaded enough to take advantage of that.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

Z68 is the way to go and the board you chose is a good one, but there are better choices if your usage is primarily gaming. ASRock has two really good options depending on your price range.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157264

I would go for a mid-range air cooler instead of the liquid cooling. The coolermaster hyper 212+ is a popular choice.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

Thermaltake isn't the best PSU brand. Brand name does make a big difference in power supplies - Antec, Seasonic, Corsair, and PC Power and Cooling is what you're looking for. If you want a budget choice, the Antec Earthwatts series is a good choice for $90.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371051
A more mid-range choice is the Corsair Enthusiast series at $110
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139021

You have a powerful enough set of speakers that you might see a difference from a sound card, but I'm not an expert.

You won't be able to re-use your copy of windows.

 

[imsurgical]

Its a nice build and choice of parts you have picked out, personally I would go with a 2500k and then use that money from the 2600k to get a GTX 580 instead of a 570. I've owned both a 570 and did the step up to a 580 and it is nice and noticeable in terms of performance if we're talking about a single card especially and if the monitor that you're using or gonna use is 1080p.

I mean basically an Ivy bridge is gonna come out soon enough and a 2500k is really fast and in terms of benchmarks stacks well against a 2600k so if you decide to upgrade the CPU that differential in money will have went towards a better card already. Real world performance I promise you won't notice a difference, I've benchmarked both CPU's and ya there's an obvious score difference but games, assuming that's what you're building for, its just not gonna be apparent at all. Tom's discusses this with their CPU price range roundup in one of their articles as well.

Also your sound card is more than adequate, I have an x-fi titanium but auzentech's are real nice IMO. And you can use your existing key code for windows OS, you'd just have to wipe whatever system it's on clean of it. As far as the PSU I would suggest if not a SILVERSTONE ST75F-P 750W, than a SeaSonic X750 Gold 750W. While the former is $129 the SeaSonic is $139, both at Newegg. Difference is ones rated 80 plus Silver while the other is 80 plus Gold efficiency. But the best part is they're both %100 Modular and the price difference from that compared to the one you have selected its at a minor $20-30 roughly while the Thermaltake is rated 80 plus Bronze and not fully modular. So if you decided to go with a 2500k and 570 money from the differential could go to the power supply amongst something else if you wanted.

Overall its a good choice in parts you have.

I'd agree with JP88 though as building your own system especially after buying everything is always a great learning experience and I'm sure you can do it, and getting hands on with your stuff makes you feel like you know what problems you may have with your system if you encounter any. However if you feel you wanna go the ibuypower route or place your trust in people to do that for you that's always fine and good long as you get what you want and know what it is you want.

 

[dozerking]

Best answer selected by dozerking.

 

[dozerking]

I assume your usage is gaming since you're getting a 570. If that's the case, the i5-2500k will perform the same as the i7-2600k for gaming. The difference between the two is hyerthreading and games aren't multithreaded enough to take advantage of that.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

Z68 is the way to go and the board you chose is a good one, but there are better choices if your usage is primarily gaming. ASRock has two really good options depending on your price range.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157264

I would go for a mid-range air cooler instead of the liquid cooling. The coolermaster hyper 212+ is a popular choice.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

Thermaltake isn't the best PSU brand. Brand name does make a big difference in power supplies - Antec, Seasonic, Corsair, and PC Power and Cooling is what you're looking for. If you want a budget choice, the Antec Earthwatts series is a good choice for $90.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371051
A more mid-range choice is the Corsair Enthusiast series at $110
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139021

You have a powerful enough set of speakers that you might see a difference from a sound card, but I'm not an expert.

You won't be able to re-use your copy of windows.

Thanks for the response. This is a gaming rig all the way, so I'll go with the I-5 2500k.

What's you opinion on the RAM selection? Would you recommend 8 gigs as well as Corsair Dominator brand?

 

[dozerking]

Its a nice build and choice of parts you have picked out, personally I would go with a 2500k and then use that money from the 2600k to get a GTX 580 instead of a 570. I've owned both a 570 and did the step up to a 580 and it is nice and noticeable in terms of performance if we're talking about a single card especially and if the monitor that you're using or gonna use is 1080p.

I mean basically an Ivy bridge is gonna come out soon enough and a 2500k is really fast and in terms of benchmarks stacks well against a 2600k so if you decide to upgrade the CPU that differential in money will have went towards a better card already. Real world performance I promise you won't notice a difference, I've benchmarked both CPU's and ya there's an obvious score difference but games, assuming that's what you're building for, its just not gonna be apparent at all. Tom's discusses this with their CPU price range roundup in one of their articles as well.

Also your sound card is more than adequate, I have an x-fi titanium but auzentech's are real nice IMO. And you can use your existing key code for windows OS, you'd just have to wipe whatever system it's on clean of it. As far as the PSU I would suggest if not a SILVERSTONE ST75F-P 750W, than a SeaSonic X750 Gold 750W. While the former is $129 the SeaSonic is $139, both at Newegg. Difference is ones rated 80 plus Silver while the other is 80 plus Gold efficiency. But the best part is they're both %100 Modular and the price difference from that compared to the one you have selected its at a minor $20-30 roughly while the Thermaltake is rated 80 plus Bronze and not fully modular. So if you decided to go with a 2500k and 570 money from the differential could go to the power supply amongst something else if you wanted.

Overall its a good choice in parts you have.

I'd agree with JP88 though as building your own system especially after buying everything is always a great learning experience and I'm sure you can do it, and getting hands on with your stuff makes you feel like you know what problems you may have with your system if you encounter any. However if you feel you wanna go the ibuypower route or place your trust in people to do that for you that's always fine and good long as you get what you want and know what it is you want.

Wow, thanks much for the response. I've always built my own PC in the past. This would be the first time that I'd order a box other than for work. Reason I was thinking of ordering it pre-built, is because I'm working constantly and don't get much free time as I used too. Building is always preffered to get to know your hardware, i agree with that 100%.

What are your thoughts on RAM. Is 8 gigs a nice spot to be in? How about Corsair Dominator as my brand.

Thanks for the input.

 

[danraies]

I missed the RAM in my first post. 8GB is a good size but the dominator is overpriced. You can get 8GB of RAM with very similar performance for $50. Anything at 1600mhz, 1.5V, and CAS Latency 9 will be great. I recommend anything from this list:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007611%20600006127%20600006157%20600000261%20600006069&IsNodeId=1&name=8GB%20%282%20x%204GB%29
Go with G.Skill, Corsair, Mushkin, or Kingston. The only thing I would watch out for is that the heat spreaders on the Corsair Vengance get in the way of some aftermarket heatsinks (but the low profile corsair vengance are fine).

 

[imsurgical]

Ya 8 gigs is definitely a good spot to be in. A lot of people you'll find will tell you that you just don't need more than 8, and honestly you'll discover yourself that you won't be pushing more than that or even coming close and its actually a rarity for the masses to need more than that. You may ask yourself why people have more and simply it comes down to either: they really do need it for heavy tasks such as workstations, or they can simply afford and want to, and at times that's certainly not a problem if you feel you wanna go that route because of today's standardization with RAM, ie: Intel/AMD boards all using some sort of frequency of DDR3 its relatively cheap for WHAT IT IS especially compared to years back.

To answer your question though and to keep on track, 8 GB is a nice spot to be in and it's where a lot of us are at I'm sure. Like the other hardware as mentioned going beyond 8 GB is just negligible at best and you would actually wanna throw that money, if you were considering 16 GB or beyond, at just some really good quality ram like with "tighter timings" or higher frequency or MHz in a 8 GB kit or two 2x4 kits.

As danraies mentioned you can get all sorts of RAM at different cost whether it be lower or higher, and as mentioned ultimately as you browse around its what you want and what you want to spend mind you if you're trying to be conscious about how much you spend or how little you spend there's always work around's and compromising with the parts you select to get what you want in certain areas.

danraies points out some good offerings, and yes be careful with Vengeance memory especially with Noctua Heatsinks, but if you are sticking with your closed self contained water loop for your CPU you'll be fine the clearance is the same as Corsairs and Antec's cpu water cooled heatsinks.

I myself have Dominator ram and the top portion of one of the the heatsinks on one stick is removable via an Allen wrench and fits perfectly under a Noctua NH-D14 if you're curious and happen to come across that.

 

[imsurgical]

And oops sorry for the post after danraies post was selected. But yep I hope you enjoy your build and find exactly what it is you want out of it. Best of luck

 

[dozerking]

Thanks for the replies. With these suggestions and all last night reading reviews and other opinions, I'm going with the following, and building it myself. I also got $30 in mail in rebates:



Motherboard- ASRock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3 -- 2x PCI-E 3.0 x16 : $125.00

GPU- Nvidia EVGA 580 GTX – Superclocked(Free Arkham City) : $500.00

CPU- Intel® Core™ i5-2500K Processor (4x 3.30GHz/6MB L3 Cache): $220.00

COOLING-COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus: $26.00

RAM- Corsair Vengeance - 8 GB [4 GB X2] DDR3-1600: $50.00

PSU- Corsair CMPSU-750TXV2 - 750 Watt: $110.00

CASE-CoolerMaster HAF 922 Gaming Case: $90.00

HDD- Corsair Force Series 3 CSSD-F90GB3-BK 2.5" 90GB:  $140.00
(using 4 existing sata Hardrives, 2.5 terabytes total)

OPTICAL- 24X Sony Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive: $30.00

SOUND CARD: Using onboard sound, or existing Auzentech Prelude 7.1 card
Using current Z-5500 5.1 Logitech speakers

 

[dozerking]

$1260.00 total for all that, not bad at all IMO.

 

[danraies]

Looks great. enjoy.

 

[imsurgical]

$1260.00 total for all that, not bad at all IMO.

Build looks nice, leaves good heardroom for future growth!

 

[Trance4c]

Curious here, why not run the GSkill 2133 speed ram - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231449

It's 5 bucks more than the 1600 speed and it's listed as supported on the ASRock site for the Extreme3 Gen3 motherboard. These sticks run 0.1v more than you where looking, at 1.6 instead of 1.5. I really can't see a downside here for the small price difference and what would seem like a fairly large speed increase.

Thanks for any answers.

 

[AbdullahG]

Curious here, why not run the GSkill 2133 speed ram - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231449

It's 5 bucks more than the 1600 speed and it's listed as supported on the ASRock site for the Extreme3 Gen3 motherboard. These sticks run 0.1v more than you where looking, at 1.6 instead of 1.5. I really can't see a downside here for the small price difference and what would seem like a fairly large speed increase.

Thanks for any answers.

Sandy Bridge does not work well with 1.6V RAM. He can simply OC his RAM and for 5 bucks less. There really isn't much performance difference for 1600MHz RAM and 2133MHz RAM for SB.

 

[Trance4c]

Good to know, I was not aware of that limitation for SB, though I guess I should have been. Thanks for the response.