Please help with my Build!

[p3zd1sp3nx0r]

PC for gaming mostly. Currently have a 22inch samsung monitor (max res 1680 x 1050) 2ms, logitech mouse and keyboard.


CPU
Intel Core i5 2500K (3.30Ghz / 6MB / LGA1155 / Quad Core, Overclocking Enabled)
- Might go the i7 2600k, thoughts?

Motherboard
Asus P8Z68-V PRO-GEN3 MB
- Solid future proof. (PCIe 3.0 supported)

Memory
Corsair 8GB Low Profile Kit (2x4GB), PC-12800 (1600MHz) DDR3, Vengeance LP Series, 9-9-9-24, Dual Channel Kit
OR
G.Skill 8GB (2x4GB) Kit, PC-12800 (1600Mhz), Ripjaws, 8-8-8-24-2N, Dual Channel Kit

Hard Disk
Crucial 128GB SSD, 2.5", m4, SATAIII
- Safe bet

Hard Disk #2
Samsung 1TB Spinpoint F3, SATAII, 7200rpm, 32MB Cache
- Should be good for storage.

Case
Thermaltake Chaser MK-I Full Tower Case
- I have a question regarding this (see below)

Optical Drive
LG Black Blu-Ray Burner, 10xBD-R Read/Write, 16xDVD+-R Read/Write, SATA, Lightscribe, Silent Play
- Cheap, but prob wont use much.

Video Cards
MSI Geforce GTX570 Twin FrozerIII Power Edition (770Mhz), 1280MB GDDR5 (4000Mhz), PCIE 2.0, 2x Dual Link DVI, Mini HDMI
- 2x GTX560 TI's OUT too many problems!! (check the Nvidia forums for more info)

Power Supply
Antec 750W TruePower ATX Power Supply, 120mm fan, DUAL PCI-E Graphics Card Connector, 4 SATA Connectors
- Extra power to dual above card in a year or two. (although, will i be able to find that card in a year or two?)

OS:
WIN HOME PREM OEM
- meh..

Questions:

1. With the thermaltake case. The specifications say that several of the fans are optional. If the fans are optional does that mean I need to buy extra fans to fill these ports?

2. Will I have enough power to 2x the MSI card in a year?

3. Monitor upgrade? If so i might run the samsung as a secondary screen.

 

[pro-gamer]

1:stay with 2500k don't think abut 2600k there isn't a huge difference.
2:mobo is very best.
3:choose g.skill series beacuse they perform well as compared to other manufacturer.
4:2 gtx 560ti can beat single gtx 570 but 1 gtx 570 is not bad even it can maxed bf3 with high frame rates.
5:build is very good enough.

 

[PurpleHayes]

That's a very nice build, here's my thoughts:

1. I agree with pro-gamer, there's no reason to go i7-2600k if you're gaming. The only advantages it has are slightly better binning, hyperthreading (and since there really aren't any games that use more than 4 threads that's effectively useless for you), and 100 dollars difference. Furthermore, go with the G.Skill, it's got an excellent reputation and it's CL8, as compared to the Corsair's CL9.

2. I don't know for sure, but I'd presume that if it says "optional fans" that it has the slots for fans to fit in to, but you'd have to go buy the fans yourself.

3. 750W will probably get you 2x GTX570 running, but I wouldn't overclock them at all with that wattage available. If you wanted to be safe, I'd go with an 850W PSU; that would allow for 570s in SLI.

4. If you've got the money to spend, 1920x1080 (1080p, in other words) is a great resolution to have, past that you have 1920x1200, multi-monitor options, or monitors which do 2560x1600, which is somewhat overkill in my opinion (then again, I'm blown away by my 21.5" 1920x1080 monitor). However, if you're comfortable with the monitor you have there's no reason to upgrade, you have a nice monitor as is.

 

[aznshinobi]

Get this motherboard instead. It's cheaper, it'll give you similar performance and offers PCI 3.0 support.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271&Tpk=asrock%20extreme3%20gen3
Get the i5 2500K as prior mentioned since the HT on the 2600K doesn't really help in gaming.

Get the 560 Ti SLI they're really solid, better than a single 570 by a huge margin (obviously) and the pricing isn't that much different. Plus the 560 Ti's run much cooler as well as overclock to the 570's level quite easily. I suggest these 560 Ti's
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127565

A 750w would only power 560 Ti SLI + 2500K OC, you'd need like an 850 for SLI 570s. With that said, I suggest this PSU for 560 Ti's.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341049
OR this for either the 570 SLI or 560 Ti SLI
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817194093&Tpk=Lepa%20850

1. The fans in the MK1 are good enough
2. Answered.
3. Your current monitor should be good, but if it's not 1920x1080 maybe if you have money to spare, go get a 1920x1080 monitor.

 

[p3zd1sp3nx0r]

Just so you know where i'm coming from regarding the gtx560ti's

http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?s=2ee4eccb1d7acf43086022d9644592a7&showtopic=193106&st=600

That link has 400+ users that have had problems with the 560ti's over several brands including asus gigabyte and msi.

It's scared me away from them.

As for the power, yep i will step up to 850W!


ASROCK mobo and $70 vs ASUS mobo.
70 dollars can buy two slabs!!

You guys all had the same points which is really helpful!
1. More power!
2. i5 2500k is fine!
3. 2x 560ti > 570

 

[aznshinobi]

Hmm... Interesting read on that post. I haven't seen any forum members complaining a bout it. In fact many are running pretty good with it. (See THG System Builders: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/page-310222_31_1000.html#t2426786 )

But yeah go with the Asrock I suggested, the money saved would be a lot better than going with the same features for $70 more.

 

[p3zd1sp3nx0r]

GPU:
MSI Geforce GTX570 Twin FrozerIII Power Edition (770Mhz), 1280MB GDDR5 (4000Mhz), PCIE 2.0, 2x Dual Link DVI, Mini HDMI

OR

2x Gigabyte Geforce GTX560 Ti Overclocked (900Mhz), 1GB DDR5 (4000Mhz), PCIE2.0, Dual DVI, Mini HDMI

OR

2x Sapphire Radeon HD6950 (800Mhz), 2GB GDDR5 (5000Mhz), PCI-E 2.1, Fan Cooler, Dual DVI, HDMI 1.4a, DisplayPort


I might drop the blu ray burner too, my tv has wifi i dont see the point of burning cds.

 

[aznshinobi]

I say go with the 2x560 ti OC'd or the 2x6950's

 

[p3zd1sp3nx0r]

Hi all,

I've gone through some changes. Basically I'm removing the SSD and using that cash to upgrade psu, case (slightly), mobo.. maybe.. and GPU.


CPU
Intel Core i5 2500K (3.30Ghz / 6MB / LGA1155 / Quad Core, Overclocking Enabled)
No change

Motherboard
Asus P8Z68-V PRO-GEN3 MB
- Is there a way to get the usb3.0 ports working on the front of the case with an ASROCK?

Memory
G.Skill 8GB Kit (2x4GB), PC-14900 (1866MHz) DDR3, Ripjaws X, 9-10-9-28-2N, Dual Channel Kit

Hard Disk
Samsung 1TB Spinpoint F3, SATAII, 7200rpm, 32MB Cache
- Should be good for storage.

Case
Cooler Master Storm Trooper Black Case
- I feel like you get better bang for buck with CM cases. Case should handle water cooling if required.

Optical Drive
LG Black Blu-Ray Burner, 10xBD-R Read/Write, 16xDVD+-R Read/Write, SATA, Lightscribe, Silent Play
- Cheap, but prob wont use much.

Power Supply
Antec TPQ-1200 1200W TruePower Quattro, 80 PLUS Silver Certified, 80mm cooling fan
- 1200W

OS:
WIN HOME PREM OEM
- meh..

GPU
MSI Geforce GTX580 Lightning XE (832Mhz), 3072MB GDDR5 (4200Mhz), PCI-E 2.0, 2x Dual Link DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort

OR

VTX3D Radeon HD6990 (830Mhz), 4GB GDDR5, PCI-E 2.1, Fan Cooler, DVI, 4x Mini DisplayPort 1.2
(+$50)

 

[rwayne]

Looks SOLID!

+1 on the case (Cooler Master Trooper)

Either the GTX580 Lightning or the HD6990 will serve you well.

However I think I would personally gravitate towards the Lightning.

Reasons:
1.) It by itself should be enough graphical horsepower
2.) I don't know if noise bothers you (it does me). MSI after market cooling solution would likely be quieter than the reference 6990s
3.) The price difference

This would give you some flexibility to save even more money by backing off the wattage on the PSU.

I can't fault you either way. These are some good parts.

Good luck on your new build. Looks like you are going to have FUN!

 

[aznshinobi]

Ehhh disagree with the 580 or 6990, the 2x6950 or 560 Ti would perform MUCH better than a single 580 for around the same price.
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/299?vs=305
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/441?vs=305

As for the the power the 1200w is WAY overkill. A 850w or 750w would be enough. In which I suggest the Lepa 850w for pretty cheap and still modular.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817194093&Tpk=Lepa%20850
A review:
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2011/06/20/lepa_b_series_850w_power_supply_review/9

Motherboards, I suggest the Asrock Extreme4 Gen3 Z68
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157264&Tpk=asrock%20extreme4%20gen3%20z68
Cheaper and you have a extender than allows you to put the 2xUSB 3.0 on the front in your 3.5 inch bays I believe. Just check out the picture of the packaging.
Overall cheaper performs the same and still equivalent if not more features.

 

[pro-gamer]

@ OP
if you can afford to buy an hd6990 then much better than all. or 2 gtx 580 is best too.

 

[p3zd1sp3nx0r]

Ah yeah, The ASROCK does have usb 3 extender! woohoo asrock in for sure.


PSU:

I have the power at 1200w with a view to sli or xfire in the near future.

It's really hard to find out what the power requirements would be for that. I actually put the setup with dual 6990's into a website and got a result of 1001w. GTX580's got 850w. That doesn't include the factory oc'ing though.

http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine

Not sure how reliable those are however.


GPU:
I will add a second gtx580 or HD6990 in a year or two when prices drop because of the new series. So thats why i need more power.

 

[pro-gamer]

your psu is good enough to handle 2 gtx580 get it now! it gives you ultimate power plus performance...

 

[aznshinobi]

I don't really see the need to have SLI 580 or a CrossfireX 6990, I mean 6950 SLI or 560 Ti OC SLI both perform similarly and I highly doubt you'll need that much GPU power. But if you think you need it sure. Just because a new series drops doesn't mean you need more power, games still won't need that much graphical power so it wouldn't even matter that much.

 

[p3zd1sp3nx0r]

Yeah I get your point Az and thanks heaps for all your input!

For me I just want to ensure I can upgrade easily. If in two years the system is not performing well enough I can:
1. drop in a second card for SLI/CF for $250ish.
2. Double the ram - $50ish
3. OC the cpu.
4. Add SSD.
5. Add water cooling or extra fans.

If the system is still performing really well than I wont.

 

[p3zd1sp3nx0r]

Yeah I get your point Az and thanks heaps for all your input!

For me I just want to ensure I can upgrade easily. If in two years the system is not performing well enough I can:
1. drop in a second card for SLI/CF for $250ish.
2. Double the ram - $50ish
3. OC the cpu.
4. Add SSD.
5. Add water cooling or extra fans.

If the system is still performing really well than I wont.

 

[aznshinobi]

In 2 years, I don't think you'll need even more ram, mainly since Windows 8 or whatever releases doesn't really eat up more than 3gb of RAM, in fact Windows 8 is supposed to be lighter than W7.

As for the Water cooling, you'll never need that. I can guarentee. Water-cooling at this point is pointless since with 32nm CPUs can get up to 5ghz on air. Also Aircoolers are so good now, I refer to this Havik 140 that it performs near close to water.
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/4127/nzxt_havik_140_cpu_cooler_review/index6.html

As for the 580 SLI vs 6950 2gb CF/560 Ti OC SLI, it's your decision in the end. I just don't think at this point in time, the 580 is worth the value. Specially a single 580 sits at the price of SLI 560 Ti and CF 6950. If it ever came to upgrading 2 years down the line, it may be better just to get Kepler/7xxx or Maxwell/8xxx since they'll be around the same price range anyways.

 

[p3zd1sp3nx0r]

Best answer selected by p3zd1sp3nx0r.

 

[p3zd1sp3nx0r]

As for the 580 SLI vs 6950 2gb CF/560 Ti OC SLI, it's your decision in the end. I just don't think at this point in time, the 580 is worth the value. Specially a single 580 sits at the price of SLI 560 Ti and CF 6950. If it ever came to upgrading 2 years down the line, it may be better just to get Kepler/7xxx or Maxwell/8xxx since they'll be around the same price range anyways.

Yeah cool. Thanks for the info once again.

I guess at this point i've locked in everything but the GPU (And PSU as a result).

BAH!

 

[aznshinobi]

Haha, it's fine either way, I'm just saying. From price standpoint the 6950 CF or 560 Ti SLI is the best bang for the buck.