Rate this rig

[madchemist83]

Please review and rate my rig (have not bought it yet). Let me know if there is room for improvement.

Case - Bitfenix Raider or Fractal Design Arc Midi
Mobo - not sure
CPU - i5-2500k
GPU - Asus GTX 560 Ti DCII TOP
PSU - Corsair TX750 V2
RAM - Corsair Vengeance LP 8Gb 1600 Mhz
SSD - Corsair Force GT 120Gb
Cooler - Hyper 212+ or EVO or 612 pwm
Quantum Thermal Grease
Thanks

 

[CamaroZL1]

Everything looks great. What is your current CPU clock? One of the only upgrades you could possibly do at this time is going SLI.

 

[dish_moose]

That card is limited edition - if you plan on SLI do it sooner than later.
-Bruce

 

[madchemist83]

I actually haven't purchased anything yet ( except PSU).

@moose
I know about the card .. thinking of swapping to Asus 560ti

 

[madchemist83]

I think I'll switch mobo to Asus P8P67 R3.1.

 

[raptorxrx]

If you don't plan on SLI'ing, you could get a 650w or 550w.
I would pay for a Hyper 212 Evo, as it's not much more.
Looks good.
Oops just read your PSU comment.

 

[madchemist83]

yeah I do plan sliing
i might end up with 612 PWM

 

[Emelth]

Stick with the Z68 motherboard since you are getting an SSD

 

[madchemist83]

How is z68 and ssd related? I don't need ssd caching. That's why I'm getting 120gb.
@pothead yeah but 6970 cost 200 more. And I'm pretty sure if I'll get another 560ti for extra 20 it'll murder 6970

 

[madchemist83]

Where did u see 6970 that cheap?

 

[madchemist83]

well let's take HD 6970 from Sapphire cause i'm definitively not sinking money into powercolor. So with shipping and taxes it'll cost me $383 ($20 mir)
while I can get Asus gtx 560Ti from amazon for $250 ($20) which I can OC 30% and have it at the level of 570.
Now I don't think $130 bucks justify extra 5fps in gaming. Also it consumes more power and with my TX750 iI won't be able to cf 6970 but can sli 560Ti
changing my build

 

[andrewcarr]

Would get this 560 Ti they its a good card to overclock.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127594
6970 is a full $100 more and as you said not worth it.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102957

 

[madchemist83]

unfortunately newegg charges taxes and shipping which will bring the price up extra $10. I'll stay with Asus.

 

[cbrunnem]

I think I'll switch mobo to Asus P8P67 R3.1.

why switch from a z68 to p67. there are no advantages to a p67 motherboard but the z68 has advantages over the p67.

you can get 6970 for around 350 on newegg.

 

[madchemist83]

sure it does .. it's cheaper
yes but again with taxes and shipping it comes out higher and 5fps is not justify paying extra $100-$150

 

[cbrunnem]

its not cheaper when your gpu goes up in smoke and you cant use integrated graphics lol

 

[madchemist83]

meh don't be jinxing my un-bought GPU
yeah but it doesn't do you any good either when ur mobo ( Asrock extreme 3 gen 3 - a.k.a flimsy rock) goes up in smoke in 2 years and warranty expired oops .. then u'll be sitting with components pluged in into nothing lol

 

[cbrunnem]

yeeah we all know your an Asrock hater so carry on.

 

[a4mula]

I know I abuse this link, but for anyone considering crossfire or sli it's a must read:

Micro-Stuttering and Scaling in SLI and Crossfire

Personally I wouldn't come within 100 yards of any 2-card solution until this is resolved, let alone a 2 card solution that cannot be upgraded to 3+ cards.

560ti was never meant to compete with the 6970.

You can still get your hands on dual-bios 6950s though. For a $20 bump over the 560 ti the Sapphire 6950 2GB is a beast. Even at 6950 speeds it bests the 560ti in most benchmarks, unlocked it's no contest. The side benefit is this is a card that has 2x CF bridges so if you do want to avoid micro-stuttering 3x is just an upgrade away (assuming you choose your mobo wisely).

 

[madchemist83]

First of all from what I've heard that issue is resolved.
There are a lot of people that game with sli or cf without any problems
Second newer 6950s coming out can not be flashed and it's 50/50 plus even flashed it will not perform as 6970 .. true it beats 560ti stock ..but 560ti is smaller, runs cooler and quieter.
The only thing I can see is that it has 2Gb of ram which helps at 1080p

 

[a4mula]

First of all from what I've heard that issue is resolved.
There are a lot of people that game with sli or cf without any problems
Second newer 6950s coming out can not be flashed and it's 50/50 plus even flashed it will not perform as 6970 .. true it beats 560ti stock ..but 560ti is smaller, runs cooler and quieter.
The only thing I can see is that it has 2Gb of ram which helps at 1080p

Microstuttering won't be resolved until there is another option other than AFR. There are still flashable (read the reviews of the MSI Twin Frozr II/III) 6950s, and a flashed 6950 IS a 6970. There's absolutely no difference other than the exterior badging. The 2gb 6950 is the Cayman, it's just had disabled shader cores (1536 vs 1408) and lowered texture units (96 vs 88). Paired with an underclock and presto you have a 6950. The Sapphire doesn't even require a flash as it comes stock with 6970 bios, all you have to do is use Sapphires own Trixx OC suite to put it at 6970 speeds.

http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/3762/sapphire_radeon_hd_6950_2gb_unlocked_to_hd_6970/index1.html

As far as people gaming with no problems. This falls into one of two categories. There are people that play games that don't push them under 60 fps, in which case the microstuttering while always existent is difficult to detect. Then there are those people that while they might play under 60fps just aren't bothered by it. Under no circumstances are there 2x cf or sli setups that aren't affected however. It's the very nature of Alternate Frame Rendering.

Good luck with your build.

 

[madchemist83]

Hm. Yeah but what are the chances for a flash to be successful?

 

[a4mula]

That's why I'm recommending the Sapphire. It doesn't require a flash. It ships with dual bios that are changeable via a physical switch. Stock 6950 bios, and the unlocked 6970 bios. After you flip the switch it's just a matter of using their Trixx software which is bundled to raise the memory and clock speeds. If this is the route you choose I wouldn't wait too long to pull the trigger. Newegg lists it as deactivated and it won't be long before finding them new is all but impossible. The link I listed earlier is via Amazon which at that time still had them in stock.

 

[madchemist83]

yes but I've seen some reviews and peeps saying that AMD is cutting out shaders with a laser on a newest boards
will extra $20 will worth performance increase over Asus GTX 560 TI oced 30% ?

 

[madchemist83]

ok here is update
Case - Fractal Design Arc Midi
Mobo - Asus P8Z68-V pro/gen3
CPU - i5-2500k
GPU - Asus GTX 560 Ti DCII TOP or Sapphire HD 6950 2Gb
PSU - Corsair TX750 V2
RAM - Corsair Vengeance LP 8Gb 1600 Mhz
SSD - Corsair Force GT 120Gb
Cooler - Hyper 212+ or EVO or 612 pwm
Quantum Thermal Grease