Hi All,
With the latest look at the crystal ball showing HD7000 won't be out until next year I've decided it is time to put my triple monitor system together. I've picked out the following items and would like to get the community's opinion before I push the button on this. My goal is a solid gaming system, with a mild OC that is not noisy.
Approximate Purchase Date: 1-2 weeks depending on sales/component availability
Budget Range: ~$2-3K
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming only (Skyrim, SW:TOR, LOTRO)
Parts Not Required: Keyboard, mouse, speakers, case, sound card(thanks for the Forte recommendation everyone!)
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Amazon, Newegg
Country of Origin: USA
Parts Preferences: Intel based system.
Overclocking: Mild OC
SLI or Crossfire: Yes. If there is a single card solution that will get the triple monitor job done, then that is great, but otherwise I am fine with x-fire/SLI.
Monitor Resolution: I'd prefer 1920x1200 monitors but 1920x1080 is acceptable if the cost savings/performance is there.
Additional Comments: Looking to keep things quiet. I'm willing to pay more for parts that will keep the noise down. e.g. more expensive HSF that I can run at a lower speed, or quieter fans.
Motherboard:
ASRock Z68 EXTREME4 GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard $184.99
I was originally looking at the Asus gen3 board but it is out of stock on newegg and pricey on Amazon.
CPU:
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 ... $214.99
HSF:
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R1 Continuous Direct Contact 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler Compatible with latest Intel ... $31.99
I'm also looking at the Noctua NH-D14, but since I won't be doing any extreme OC'ing I didn't want to deal with the hassle of such a large cooler. On the other hand, if it is going to save me a few decibels I'll go for it. I also considered a closed loop liquid cooler (e.g H70) as a potential, quieter, smaller, cooling solution.
Video Card:
2 X HIS IceQ H697QM2G2M Radeon HD 6970 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity $759.98
It looks like Eyefinity has better game support than Nvidia Surround so I went with the AMD cards. I could also go for dual 570's if the Nvidia Surround support in games is as robust as Eyefinity.
PSU:
CORSAIR Professional Series HX850 (CMPSU-850HX) 850W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC ... $169.99
Looks like enough to power the dual cards. I want to stick with at least a silver certified PSU.
SSD:
Crucial M4 CT256M4SSD2 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) $376.99
RAM:
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL8D-8GBXM $64.99
OS:
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM $99.99
Monitors:
3 X Dell UltraSharp U2412M (469-1137) Black 24" 8ms LED Backlight Widescreen LCD Monitor $1,079.97
These are a more expensive than I want to spend, but they match the features I am looking for. Definitely willing to look at other options here.
Total: $2,983.88
Optional
Case:
I currently have a Thermaltake Armor that I am planning on reusing to save some money, but with keeping my quiet requirement in mind I have been looking at the HAF X and Raven RV03 as potential options to improve airflow and reduce noise. A new case is not required, but if there is an advantage here I'll add it in.
Any thoughts the community has to improve my build/reduce cost are greatly appreciated.
With the latest look at the crystal ball showing HD7000 won't be out until next year I've decided it is time to put my triple monitor system together. I've picked out the following items and would like to get the community's opinion before I push the button on this. My goal is a solid gaming system, with a mild OC that is not noisy.
Approximate Purchase Date: 1-2 weeks depending on sales/component availability
Budget Range: ~$2-3K
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming only (Skyrim, SW:TOR, LOTRO)
Parts Not Required: Keyboard, mouse, speakers, case, sound card(thanks for the Forte recommendation everyone!)
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Amazon, Newegg
Country of Origin: USA
Parts Preferences: Intel based system.
Overclocking: Mild OC
SLI or Crossfire: Yes. If there is a single card solution that will get the triple monitor job done, then that is great, but otherwise I am fine with x-fire/SLI.
Monitor Resolution: I'd prefer 1920x1200 monitors but 1920x1080 is acceptable if the cost savings/performance is there.
Additional Comments: Looking to keep things quiet. I'm willing to pay more for parts that will keep the noise down. e.g. more expensive HSF that I can run at a lower speed, or quieter fans.
Motherboard:
ASRock Z68 EXTREME4 GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard $184.99
I was originally looking at the Asus gen3 board but it is out of stock on newegg and pricey on Amazon.
CPU:
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 ... $214.99
HSF:
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R1 Continuous Direct Contact 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler Compatible with latest Intel ... $31.99
I'm also looking at the Noctua NH-D14, but since I won't be doing any extreme OC'ing I didn't want to deal with the hassle of such a large cooler. On the other hand, if it is going to save me a few decibels I'll go for it. I also considered a closed loop liquid cooler (e.g H70) as a potential, quieter, smaller, cooling solution.
Video Card:
2 X HIS IceQ H697QM2G2M Radeon HD 6970 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity $759.98
It looks like Eyefinity has better game support than Nvidia Surround so I went with the AMD cards. I could also go for dual 570's if the Nvidia Surround support in games is as robust as Eyefinity.
PSU:
CORSAIR Professional Series HX850 (CMPSU-850HX) 850W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC ... $169.99
Looks like enough to power the dual cards. I want to stick with at least a silver certified PSU.
SSD:
Crucial M4 CT256M4SSD2 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) $376.99
RAM:
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL8D-8GBXM $64.99
OS:
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM $99.99
Monitors:
3 X Dell UltraSharp U2412M (469-1137) Black 24" 8ms LED Backlight Widescreen LCD Monitor $1,079.97
These are a more expensive than I want to spend, but they match the features I am looking for. Definitely willing to look at other options here.
Total: $2,983.88
Optional
Case:
I currently have a Thermaltake Armor that I am planning on reusing to save some money, but with keeping my quiet requirement in mind I have been looking at the HAF X and Raven RV03 as potential options to improve airflow and reduce noise. A new case is not required, but if there is an advantage here I'll add it in.
Any thoughts the community has to improve my build/reduce cost are greatly appreciated.