Is this system compatible/suggestions?

[peanut1313]

Approximate Purchase Date: Next few weeks
Budget Range: $2000-2500 U.S, but I would be happy to spend closer to $2000 if the increase in gaming power isn't worth the extra money.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Games, Net, Movies

Parts Not Required: Keyboard, Mouse, HDD, DVD Drive, Monitor

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: I have been using newegg for pricing but they don't deliver outside the U.S =( Will probably use Amazon but cheaper the better really.

Country: New Zealand

Parts Preferences: Intel, EVGA but definitely open to suggestions.

Overclocking: Probably not

SLI or Crossfire: SLI

Monitor Resolution: Again not sure, was planning on buying a 40" LED but I don't know if this will be too much for the system. Maybe a large monitor. Suggestions?

Additional Comments: Would like it to be quiet but isn't a must.

These are the parts I have picked out so far. ANYTHING you guys have to say will be greatly appreciated

CPU
Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623I72600K $319.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070

MOBO
EVGA Z68 FTW 160-SB-E689-K2 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Extended ATX Intel Motherboard $299.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188099

RAM
CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9R $49.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233180

GPU
2x EVGA 012-P3-1571-KR GeForce GTX 570 HD w/Display-Port (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card $679.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130613

SSD
Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) $179.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148442

PSU
CORSAIR Professional Series HX850 (CMPSU-850HX) 850W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply $169.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139011

Case
Antec Twelve Hundred V3 Black Steel ATX Full Tower $149.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129100

Pretty new to this so any help at all optimising/choosing parts will be greatly appreciated! Also going to have a friend help me assemble and he knows what he's doing.

I also need help with the cooling, haven't chosen any CPU fans etc because I'm not entirely sure what the best options would be?

The current price for all the parts I have chosen sits at $1850

Thanks in advance!

 

[Andre2807]

I don't get it. Why are you getting the i7 2600K if you aren't going to overclock it? Another thing, is that I'd rather wait for Kepler, or buy a single GTX 580. One last thing. If you aren't going to overclock, why did you choose that motherboard? Also, with that budget you can even get a X79 motherboard and dual 580's

 

[peanut1313]

I don't get it. Why are you getting the i7 2600K if you aren't going to overclock it? Another thing, is that I'd rather wait for Kepler, or buy a single GTX 580. One last thing. If you aren't going to overclock, why did you choose that motherboard? Also, with that budget you can even get a X79 motherboard and dual 580's

The only reason I said I probably wasn't going to overclock is because I have never done it before and I don't really know how much it would cut the lifespan by, do you know?

I chose two GTX 570's because from what I could tell they gave me better performance for around the same price. And I chose the Z68 because it got quite good reviews from the sites I checked.

I am looking into the X79 and dual 580's now though. Is there anything else you could suggest? Apart from the case, I now realise that it is too small. Thanks heaps though.

 

[peanut1313]

Also are the fins on the Vengeance Ram to help with cooling? I read somewhere on these forums that they were just for show. I only chose them because I kept hearing good things about them but personally I don't like the look of them.

 

[raptorxrx]

I will write more later, but for gaming and normal computer stuff, no need for X79. Also, I can't recommend dual 580's at this time, because of Kepler, and the 7000 series. As I said I will write more later.

 

[6_5x47lapua]

you may be new to over clocking, but you could learn and increase performance for no extra money, so why not?

that cpu and motherboard are practically made for OCing, and life of the cpu depends on how far you go. results vary, but that cpu can push the 5.0ghz range, (but will have a higher chance of dieing). you could go into the low 4's and not worry about it too much, its just its like having a muscle car you never take above 2,500RPM. good board, the only reason i did not go with one is i would have alot of unused expansion slots, so i went with a ASUS Maximus IV Extreme-Z LGA 1155 Intel Z68.

 

[peanut1313]

you may be new to over clocking, but you could learn and increase performance for no extra money, so why not?

that cpu and motherboard are practically made for OCing, and life of the cpu depends on how far you go. results vary, but that cpu can push the 5.0ghz range, (but will have a higher chance of dieing). you could go into the low 4's and not worry about it too much, its just its like having a muscle car you never take above 2,500RPM. good board, the only reason i did not go with one is i would have alot of unused expansion slots, so i went with a ASUS Maximus IV Extreme-Z LGA 1155 Intel Z68.

Oh ok cool thanks. Could you point me to some sort of comprehensive overclocking chart? I know nothing about overclocking whatsoever. I've been told to stick with EVGA if I'm building a gaming rig, supposedly they are better, any chance you could tell me why you went ASUS? The other reason I chose that CPU and motherboard was because they looked quite powerful for the money I'd be spending. If I wasn't overclocking could you please recommend a cheaper CPU and motherboard that would still be as good? Cheers!

 

[azeem40]

You should upgrade those dual 580s to the new 7970 that has been released on newegg.

 

[6_5x47lapua]

still a good combo if you don't overclock, its just that they have such more potential if you do .

evga is definitely a top brand, but it wouldn't be fair to not consider others as well. asus is up there, between the two they are the most common i have seen in high-dollar rigs. will you be using all those slots on that mobo?

as for learning about OCing, head on over to the overclocking forum here on Tom's and read the sticky at the top, there is a guide dedicated to OCing the 2600K and other posts, they'll help you out.

 

[peanut1313]

I will write more later, but for gaming and normal computer stuff, no need for X79. Also, I can't recommend dual 580's at this time, because of Kepler, and the 7000 series. As I said I will write more later.

Probably won't bother with the 7000 series, don't really like AMD but I don't really have much of a reason. Most people I have spoken to have told me to stick with GeForce. As for Kepler would like to purchase sooner rather than later. But hey if you could give me some good reasons as to why I am wrong that would be good. Second opinions are usually a good idea. Cheers!

 

[peanut1313]

still a good combo if you don't overclock, its just that they have such more potential if you do .

evga is definitely a top brand, but it wouldn't be fair to not consider others as well. asus is up there, between the two they are the most common i have seen in high-dollar rigs. will you be using all those slots on that mobo?

as for learning about OCing, head on over to the overclocking forum here on Tom's and read the sticky at the top, there is a guide dedicated to OCing the 2600K and other posts, they'll help you out.

I doubt I ill be using all those slots. I might stick with the config I have now so overclocking is an option in the future. Do you have any other suggestions/advice though? Absolutely any advice you have to give would be awesome. Thanks for taking the time to explain things too.

 

[strausd]

Many motherboards have overclocking presets. By this, I mean you just go into the BIOS and select a preset, and it does all the work for you. You just need to make sure you have adequate cooling. This is a great place to start for those who are new to overclocking and want to try it out.

That is a good SSD you picked out. They are extremely reliable.

 

[peanut1313]

Many motherboards have overclocking presets. By this, I mean you just go into the BIOS and select a preset, and it does all the work for you. You just need to make sure you have adequate cooling. This is a great place to start for those who are new to overclocking and want to try it out.

That is a good SSD you picked out. They are extremely reliable.

Do you have any adequate cpu cooling you could recommend? I am assuming all the stock fans with the case will be enough, or do you think I should bother buying some better fans? And yeah thanks on the SSD, I have read alot about them, this will be the first one I have owned and am quite excited about it.

 

[peanut1313]

I'm really not sure what to do screen wise though. Would a 30" tv be fine? At the moment I only have a 19" 1280x1080 monitor and would like to upgrade.

 

[azeem40]

Those people who told you AMD doesn't make good graphics cards are wrong. The 7970 is only $50 more and surpasses the 580 in performance.

 

[peanut1313]

Yeah but I was hoping to SLI/CrossFire. I have been looking into the new AMD cards and they do look great, but I am quite new to this. So my question to you is how much better is the 7970? would it say be better to SLI two 570's instead of getting a 7970?

 

[Tzoi]

I'm not sure how much of this you already know but I thought I'd give my 2c on Amazon & NZ; I'm in the process of building a computer with parts from Amazon.

Most motherboards (quite possibly all) don't ship from amazon to New Zealand. I found a number I liked on Amazon but I couldn't ship them and it was difficult to find them in New Zealand stores.

Also, there's a certain price where if a shipment from overseas is over this price you have to pay GST on the product. It's something like NZD$400 but could be under that depending on other taxes, etc. Have a look at this link here: http://www.consumer.org.nz/news/view/new-import-transaction-fee

Just a few things you should keep in mind when considering what to buy and your budget

 

[peanut1313]

I'm not sure how much of this you already know but I thought I'd give my 2c on Amazon & NZ; I'm in the process of building a computer with parts from Amazon.

Most motherboards (quite possibly all) don't ship from amazon to New Zealand. I found a number I liked on Amazon but I couldn't ship them and it was difficult to find them in New Zealand stores.

Also, there's a certain price where if a shipment from overseas is over this price you have to pay GST on the product. It's something like NZD$400 but could be under that depending on other taxes, etc. Have a look at this link here: http://www.consumer.org.nz/news/view/new-import-transaction-fee

Just a few things you should keep in mind when considering what to buy and your budget

Ah ah heck... You wouldn't happen to have any other sites to recommend would you? I swear the forces that be are trying to make this as difficult a process as possible for me.

 

[azeem40]

7970 is faster than two 570s for sure. If you get the 580, though, they should be on-par.

 

[peanut1313]

Oh okay. I was thinking of getting this http://www.ascent.co.nz/productspecification.aspx?ItemID=401724

And maybe getting a second one later, your thoughts Azeem?

 

[azeem40]

A 580 alone is still very good. It should run every game on the best settings they can use at good fps (although not max).

 

[peanut1313]

If I was to build a system around the EVGA GTX580 Classified 3G, GeForce GTX 580 3072MB, DDR5, PCIe-16 what would you recommend CPU motherboard wise etc? Thanks for taking the time to help by the way, much appreciated!

 

[azeem40]

GIGABYTE and ASUS are two top-notch Motherboard manufacturers. For the ASUS, I'd recommend any ASUS P8Z68 and GIGABYTE Z68-UD3H Motherboard.

 

[peanut1313]

Oh cool. Thanks. In the simplest possible terms could you tell me the difference between LGA 1155, 1156, 1366 and 2011?

 

[azeem40]

Simply put: All support different CPUs.