Looking to build a pc, need help confirming compatibility and quality.

[Ghostwolf]

I currently have a 3-4 year old dell xps 630i with a GTX 260, and intel core 2 quad 2.4 cpu. Ive been doing some research and im ready tp upgrade to a custom built pc. Id' like to ask you for your opinions on the parts that I have selected, and if they are all compatible or not.

Case: Cooler Master storm sniper

GPU: Matrix GTX 580 platinum

CPU: Intel i7 970

MOBO: Asus Rampage 3 Extreme

1. Are these parts decent products that will give me high end proformance?

2. Are they all compatible?

3. Do you have any other recomendations?

Thanks for your time.

 

[roblaw42]

1. Of course they will, you have the best parts available.
2. Yes
3. No recommendations because you have the best available and apparently no budget ceiling. Make sure to get 16 gb RAM and a quality psu of at least 900W.

 

[Ghostwolf]

I'm hoping to spend under 2k.

16 gigs of ram, really? Will anything less bottleneck my system or what?

 

[roblaw42]

You could get away with 8 gb and upgrade later because it is so inexpensive. You are also going to need a psu, hdd, cpu cooler, and optical drive.

 

[cutebeans]

Get an i5-2500k
Asrock Extreme3 Gen3

Don't buy that i7-970. It's old tech. The i5-2500k is better when it comes to gaming.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/288?vs=186

I don't know what roblaw is talking about, how could that old i7 be better than the i5-2500k. The i5-2500k is cheaper too.

Ram doesn't bottleneck the system btw.

 

[Ghostwolf]

Sorry, what's HDD? I have a 750Watt PSU from my Dell same with an awesome cpu cooler and optical drive. Are there many variations in CPU cooler mount types, or just a couple? I'm hoping i can just transfer my cpu cooler over from my dell, its actually really decent(IMO). It has a fan in the middle and heat sink grills surrounding the fan, what do you think?

 

[Ghostwolf]

Get an i5-2500k
Asrock Extreme3 Gen3

Don't buy that i7-970. It's old tech. The i5-2500k is better when it comes to gaming.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/288?vs=186

I don't know what roblaw is talking about, how could that old i7 be better than the i5-2500k. The i5-2500k is cheaper too.

Ram doesn't bottleneck the system btw.

According to this site, the i7-970 far outperforms the i5, what do you think? The i5 2500k also is not compatible with the MOBO I want.

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/overclocked_cpus.html

 

[roblaw42]

If you want to use the same cooler, make sure the socket types from the 2 cpus are the same. Had is hard drive.
If you get i5 2500K and a different mono then you could pump the savings into an even better gfx card for crazy gaming. If you did that then you would definitely want 16 gb RAM and maybe a better aftermarket cooler for the cpu.

 

[cutebeans]

What do you plan with your CPU anyway? The i7-970 gets beat up by the i5-2500k when it comes to gaming. It's half as expensive as the i7-970.

You can always change your motherboard you know. The asrock extreme3 gen3 would be great.

16gb of ram is crazy for gaming. 4gb is really enough and 8gb is more than enough.

 

[Ghostwolf]

What do you plan with your CPU anyway? The i7-970 gets beat up by the i5-2500k when it comes to gaming. It's half as expensive as the i7-970.

You can always change your motherboard you know. The asrock extreme3 gen3 would be great.

16gb of ram is crazy for gaming. 4gb is really enough and 8gb is more than enough.

Looking over at that site you posted, im starting to see that the i5 cpu is indeed better then a lot of others with gaming. what do you think of this MOBO? ASUS MAXIMUS IV EXTREME

 

[cutebeans]

What you're saying is an understatement. The i5-2500k is THE BEST when it comes to gaming. lol.

What do you plan to do? Do you plan to OC or SLI?

 

[Ghostwolf]

What you're saying is an understatement. The i5-2500k is THE BEST when it comes to gaming. lol.

What do you plan to do? Do you plan to OC or SLI?

Just OC, how high do you think I could overclock the i5 with only air?

BTW that MOBO you showed me looks REAL sexy. Can this mobo support a Matrix GTX 580 platinum? is this mobo DDR3?

 

[cutebeans]

You can get OVER 4.0ghz on air.

Get this asrock.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271&Tpk=asrock%20extreme3%20gen3

 

[Ghostwolf]

Thanks everyone for your help, I'm ready to start ordering now XD

 

[Ghostwolf]

You can get OVER 4.0ghz on air.

Get this asrock.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271&Tpk=asrock%20extreme3%20gen3

Just one last question. Can this mobo support a Matrix GTX 580 platinum? What do you think about the card?

 

[raptorxrx]

Ive been doing some research and im ready to upgrade to a custom built pc.

Yay! I did my first build this summer and I love it! Pressing the power button is so much more satisfying now!

Case: Cooler Master storm sniper

Strong case, but personally i'd go with the HAF X if your ok with the looks.

GPU: Matrix GTX 580 platinum

A GTX 580 is a great graphics card. Me, i'd go with a EVGA GTX 580 as they are a great company. (ASUS is good too)

CPU: Intel i7 970

No. 1366 would be stupid to dump money into as Intel is now using a newer socket , LGA 1155, so you couldn't upgrade. An Intel i5-2500k would actually outperform that processor for gaming, and is cheaper.

MOBO: Asus Rampage 3 Extreme

Well a different processor requires a different motherboard and I would recommend this one. It is compatible with PCIE 3.0 which means it will work with next generation graphics cards. ASUS is also one of the best motherboard companys.

Sorry, what's HDD?

I had to laugh at this! It's the thing your computer stores information on. Usually bigger is better for a HDD. It's also know as a Hard Drive...

I have a 750Watt PSU from my Dell

Honestly I wouldn't reuse it. I have heard bad things about DELL products and since you have a budget that goes up to 2,000 why not stay clear of a possibly shady product? A bad PSU could ruin all of your brand new components. Corsair makes great PSU's and if you ever want to SLI GTX 580's you want at least 1000 watts of power. I do realize your not SLI'ing immediatly.

i can just transfer my cpu cooler over from my dell, its actually really decent(IMO). It has a fan in the middle and heat sink grills surrounding the fan

Basically that is what all CPU coolers look like. That one specifically sounds like a stock one. I would recommend spending 35 bucks and getting a Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO. If you overclock you will want a good cooler and that would fit the bill.

As with the optical drive, as long as it's a SATA drive, yup that is a great way to save twenty dollars. That is unless you want a blu-ray player too.

What you're saying is an understatement. The i5-2500k is THE BEST when it comes to gaming. lol

If you want to get technical the i7-2700k is the absolute best for today. But you may gain 5-10 FPS for that 150 dollars spent, as putting that into a Graphics Card would improve it more. I would definitely say stick with the i5, i'm just saying technically its not the best.

Just OC, how high do you think I could overclock the i5 with only air?

Every CPU (as in EACH and EVERY cpu is a little different but 4.2-4.5 easy. Just make sure to do your homework on overclocking before you do because if done improperly, you could damage your nice new processor. Also plan on SLI'ing a year or two down the road to keep your system up to date. It's a great way to keep your gaming performance up to par.

You might want to consider a SSD (solid state drive) too, especially at your budget. Basically you put your OS and your favorite programs on it, and it gives you insane load times. It would compliment your HDD.

For 2,000 dollars you can make an AMAZING computer!

You might also want to consider filling this out for the best help!

Best of Luck

~Raptor

 

[Ghostwolf]

Ive been doing some research and im ready to upgrade to a custom built pc.

Yay! I did my first build this summer and I love it! Pressing the power button is so much more satisfying now!

Case: Cooler Master storm sniper

Strong case, but personally i'd go with the HAF X if your ok with the looks.

GPU: Matrix GTX 580 platinum

A GTX 580 is a great graphics card. Me, i'd go with a EVGA GTX 580 as they are a great company. (ASUS is good too)

CPU: Intel i7 970

No. 1366 would be stupid to dump money into as Intel is now using a newer socket , LGA 1155, so you couldn't upgrade. An Intel i5-2500k would actually outperform that processor for gaming, and is cheaper.

MOBO: Asus Rampage 3 Extreme

Well a different processor requires a different motherboard and I would recommend this one. It is compatible with PCIE 3.0 which means it will work with next generation graphics cards. ASUS is also one of the best motherboard companys.

Sorry, what's HDD?

I had to laugh at this! It's the thing your computer stores information on. Usually bigger is better for a HDD. It's also know as a Hard Drive...

I have a 750Watt PSU from my Dell

Honestly I wouldn't reuse it. I have heard bad things about DELL products and since you have a budget that goes up to 2,000 why not stay clear of a possibly shady product? A bad PSU could ruin all of your brand new components. Corsair makes great PSU's and if you ever want to SLI GTX 580's you want at least 1000 watts of power. I do realize your not SLI'ing immediatly.

i can just transfer my cpu cooler over from my dell, its actually really decent(IMO). It has a fan in the middle and heat sink grills surrounding the fan

Basically that is what all CPU coolers look like. That one specifically sounds like a stock one. I would recommend spending 35 bucks and getting a Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO. If you overclock you will want a good cooler and that would fit the bill.

As with the optical drive, as long as it's a SATA drive, yup that is a great way to save twenty dollars. That is unless you want a blu-ray player too.

What you're saying is an understatement. The i5-2500k is THE BEST when it comes to gaming. lol

If you want to get technical the i7-2700k is the absolute best for today. But you may gain 5-10 FPS for that 150 dollars spent, as putting that into a Graphics Card would improve it more. I would definitely say stick with the i5, i'm just saying technically its not the best.

Just OC, how high do you think I could overclock the i5 with only air?

Every CPU (as in EACH and EVERY cpu is a little different but 4.2-4.5 easy. Just make sure to do your homework on overclocking before you do because if done improperly, you could damage your nice new processor. Also plan on SLI'ing a year or two down the road to keep your system up to date. It's a great way to keep your gaming performance up to par.

You might want to consider a SSD (solid state drive) too, especially at your budget. Basically you put your OS and your favorite programs on it, and it gives you insane load times. It would compliment your HDD.

For 2,000 dollars you can make an AMAZING computer!

You might also want to consider filling this out for the best help!

Best of Luck

~Raptor

I was looking at the HAF X but a full tower is far too large. Will that MOBO be compatible with Matrix GTX 580 platinum?

 

[Guest]

I was looking at the HAF X but a full tower is far too large. Will that MOBO be compatible with Matrix GTX 580 platinum?

Should be.

 

[raptorxrx]

I was looking at the HAF X but a full tower is far too large. Will that MOBO be compatible with Matrix GTX 580 platinum?

Believe it or not the dimensions are almost identical between those two cases. It's just the HAF X has 9+1 expansion slots on the back, can water cool if you ever go that route better, and has more features. If you realize the Storm Sniper is to big the Storm Scout and HAF 922 are great also!

Will that MOBO be compatible with Matrix GTX 580 platinum?

Yes, as it is PCIE 2.0 2.1 and 3.0 compliant.