Gaming/CAD Build

[Rickywhit]

Approximate Purchase Date: Within the next month

Budget Range: 1700ish after MIR

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, CAD, watching movies.

Parts Not Required: Mouse, keyboard, monitors

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg.com

Country: United States

Parts Preferences: I would like to stick with the Intel i5 or i7

Overclocking: Maybe, I have never overclocked a computer and don't want to mess anything up.

SLI or Crossfire: Yes

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1200, I am probably going to run games split across 3 monitors

Additional Comments: I would just like great performance for the money.

Below is the current build I am thinking about.

CPU (They seem to be sold out of the 2500k for right now): Intel i5 2500 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115073

Mobo: AsRock Z68 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157263

GPU: 2X Sapphire HD 6950 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102929

Ram: 12 GB Corsair Vengeance http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233146

PSU: Corsair 800w (im pretty sure this isnt enough power) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139025

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148697

SSD: 120g http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227726

Case: Corsair graphite 600t http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139005

Dvd/Blue-ray Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135252

OS: Windows 7 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

 

[amirp]

I would wait for the 2500k if I were you, im sure you could find it locally. Or if you can spend more for the 2600k, I am not sure but it may benefit your CAD usage.

And that is not the right ram to buy as its meant for mobo's with 6 ram sockets since it comes in a pack of 3. 1155 motherboards have 4 ram sockets, so to run in dual channel mode you fill them up in pairs (not 3/4 of them). So buy any 2x 4gb ram kit (8gb total is more than enough at this point) and make sure it's 1600mhz, and 1.5v.
any of these would be fine:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231461
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145345

Also since you're looking for price/performance your motherboard is kind of expensive, do you need it's extra features? you could easily save quite bit there.
For example this one which is alot cheaper will let you crossfire, it has pci-e 3.0, and is Z68
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271

 

[Rickywhit]

Oh ok, i was also considering this motherboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131771

 

[g-unit1111]

CAD does not require a lot of horsepower - especially with anything Autodesk makes. I'm getting by with an i3-2100 and I never come even remotely close to using the full CPU load even on heavy redraws. The dual 6950s are going to be major overkill unless you're running 3 or more displays. Where I work we run memory intensive programs like Revit on like 775 and P55 systems. I'm the only Z68 system on the network.

And you definitely want to change the RAM - you're using triple channel RAM on a dual channel system.

The Graphite 600T is a great case though - it's what I have. But I will tell you it is BIG. Really big. You might want to consider the Carbide series - same quality and it's quite a bit leaner than the Graphite.

But one thing I'd say is stay away from the OCZ Agility series - I've heard of TONS of BSOD issues and that sort of thing with the drives. Try Intel, Samsung, or Crucial - much better choices.

 

[Rickywhit]

CAD does not require a lot of horsepower - especially with anything Autodesk makes. I'm getting by with an i3-2100 and I never come even remotely close to using the full CPU load even on heavy redraws. The dual 6950s are going to be major overkill unless you're running 3 or more displays. Where I work we run memory intensive programs like Revit on like 775 and P55 systems. I'm the only Z68 system on the network.

And you definitely want to change the RAM - you're using triple channel RAM on a dual channel system.

The Graphite 600T is a great case though - it's what I have. But I will tell you it is BIG. Really big. You might want to consider the Carbide series - same quality and it's quite a bit leaner than the Graphite.

But one thing I'd say is stay away from the OCZ Agility series - I've heard of TONS of BSOD issues and that sort of thing with the drives. Try Intel, Samsung, or Crucial - much better choices.

Well i was planning on running triple monitors for gaming. The only reason I mentioned CAD was to better decide between the i5 and i7 (I will probably just be sticking to the i5). Thank you for telling me about the ram ill fix that.

I am actually counting on it being rather large, i would like an easy fit

And yeah, I will definitely check out some different SSD's then

 

[amirp]

yes choose either of the ram kits I linked above, they are both good.

The asus motherboard you linked is pretty good, it's the same one I am running right now but I bought it before z68 came out. You would pretty much be paying more for fewer features compared to the Asrock Z68 mobo that I linked you in my first post.

And holy *** have Sata hard drive prices increased!!

EDIT** I would change your hard drive to this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185&Tpk=spinpoint%20f3
better, more reliable than the seagate one and it has an extra year of warranty (3 vs 2 years).

 

[Rickywhit]

Best answer selected by Rickywhit.

 

[g-unit1111]

Well i was planning on running triple monitors for gaming. The only reason I mentioned CAD was to better decide between the i5 and i7 (I will probably just be sticking to the i5). Thank you for telling me about the ram ill fix that.

I am actually counting on it being rather large, i would like an easy fit

And yeah, I will definitely check out some different SSD's then

I have the white version of the Graphite 600 - it's excellent for cable management, and adding extra drives or anything else is fairly easy. The best part is that you can use oversized video cards without it blocking access to your SATA ports.

And the thing to keep in mind is the only platform that uses triple channel RAM is the Intel X58 - but that's going away pretty quickly. Triple channel systems require 3 sticks per set to function properly for each channel, while dual only require 2 per set.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

The RAM should be 8 GB and low profile so as not to interfere w/ ya CPU cooler.

While the Braracud XT is an excellent drive, the Barracuda (no XT) is one that has had spotty reports of reliability issues...... not a lot of reports but it's 2 year warranty gives me pause....unless ya gonna move up the XT, I'd recommend the 7200.12, WD Black or Spinpoint F3.

That's a Tier 8 SSD.....might wanna consider something faster
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-price-ssd,3070-6.html

The Corsair Carbide Series 500R White is $80 this weekend

Given what ya paying for the 6950's, I'd put the new 560-448 (release date = Tuesday) in this build. Twin 560 Ti's (900 MHz) are $30 cheaper per card and already top the 6950's by 100+ fps in Guru3D's game test suite (top the 6970's by 37 fps) and this is reportedly coming in at same price.

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Nvidia-s-GTX-560-Ti-448-Core-Get-Detailed-Expected-on-Nov-29-233176.shtml

While comparable in performance, the XFX Core Edition 850 @ $90 saves ya $35 (9.5 jonnyguru performance rating).

As with the HD, I can't get behind a MoBo manufacturer who is alone in not offering an industry standard 3 year warranty.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100006519%2050001315%2040000280%20600158412&IsNodeId=1&srchInDesc=GEN3&page=1&bop=And&CompareItemList=280|13-131-790^13-131-790-TS%2C13-131-792^13-131-792-TS