Prices on the Ivy Bridges and will my rough draft setup work?

[EddieTripod]

Hi, my 2nd build. I have a CPU question, but that answer doesn't matter until I know if the rest of my plan will work. I do a lot of gaming(Far Cry,Crysis, BF2142, Warhawk, etc) and a lot of watching utube, downloading other movies. Many times I'll have many instances of my Firefox open at once, along with a bunch of other stuff. I'm going to get win 7 64bit.

I'm pretty much settled on getting a z77 MOBO, but I'd like a pci slot. I have a 7.1 Auzen Fata1ity PCI sound card and a header which runs to the front with handy audio ins and outs, plus I paid over 100$ about a year ago for it. I'm considering this mobo - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128545 ($189) There's a video review on that page also. It has a PCI slot for my sound card, plus several various PCIE 3.0x16 3.0x8 2.0x8 1x4 , plus the pcie1 slots etc.. I have 2 EVGA GTX 460 768 mb pcie2 video cards which I'd like to run sli. They would be at pciex2max now, and when they die I will get a pcie3 card and use it in one pcie3 slot, or more, who knows?

Looks to me like I'll need to put the 1st vid card in the top PCIE 3.0 slot(I know it won't be true 3.0 until I get an Ivy bridge). There's a pciex1 slot just below that slot. I think the 2nd card would go in the next pcie3 slot down. The PCI slot for my sound card would be right below that slot.

I have two concerns. I've never done sli. These vid cards are pretty thick, but the specs only require one open PCIE slot. Will my video cards fit in there without hitting these slots or being in the way of the pci sound card slot? I don't have the board yet, since I haven't ordered anything yet, so I can't physically measure it or try to fit them in. Do these mfrs have the spacing info for their mobos, or are they all the same if they are ATX? I thought I read somewhere that some cards take up 1 1/2 to 2 slots. Is that true? If so, these cards are getting so much stuff on them that theses mobo mfrs are going to have to figure a way to add more pcie(and hopefully a pci) slots to their mobos, or more space between them, or scale back the size of the cards, like they do with CPU's!

I think I've also settled on my CPU. I'd like to get this one : Intel Core i7-2700K Sandy Bridge 3.5GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623i72700K
Average Rating 5 out of 5 eggs(130 reviews) So my price would be $289. Full price is $309, plus I have $20 to use, as they just sent me a $20 discount on my next purchase, just to be nice I guess! And another $20 off w/ promo code EMCNFJA25, ends 4/25, which brings me to 289 with free shipping. Here's the link - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115095

I've done so much research in the last few weeks that my head is muddled. If I get a z77 mobo, this CPU will work, right? It's an LGA1155 32nm. And then my plan would be to keep this board for a long time(hopefully) and put in an Ivy Bridge when the prices come down, which brings up my next question. I've looked around and can't find any pricing on the equivalent Ivy Bridge cpu's to what's being sold now. Does anyone know if they will be a certain percentage more than the Sandy Bridges, at least when they first come out? I'm assuming the newest tech usually brings a premium, but if it's not much, I might just go with the Ivy Bridge right away.

When I was looking at the cpu specs, it says "Integrated Memory Controller Speed
Dual Channel DDR3-1066/1333". The mobo says the memory types which can be used are "DDR3 2400(OC)/1600/1333/1066". So since the 1333 is the highest number which I see on each, is that the highest I can go with the memory standard, or can I go up to 1600 or 2400(OC)?

So if that all looks ok, the last question would be "Is this a pretty good setup? Are are there problems with it, whether it won't fit together now, or that I won't be able to upgrade cpus or something later?" I have a 850- watt modular Rosewill psu and an antech 900 case already. Lots of fans already and room for more fans or a cooler if needed.

Oh, if the sound card won't work, I see this mobo has Creative x-fi on the mobo. Has anyone checked that out to listen if it's pretty close to having a discrete sound card, or not good enough for gaming?

I know it's a lot of q's, but I just want to make sure I've got all my ducks in a row before ordering. Thanks a lot! Eddie

 

[Robi_g]

GPUs will be fine, save money and get an i5 2500k unless you have apps that wil use the extra threads
The CPU will work in the z77 mobo
Don't know much about Sli
The sound card should work so I wouldn't worry about on-board stuff
The memory should support at least 1600mhz
Hope this is helpful

 

[amuffin]

:O what a jumble. Anyways, it would be a better choice purchasing the i7-2600k because it is the same as the 2700k but clocked 100mhz slower.

Yes, the new z77 boards support 32nm processors, I just built one with the asus p8z77-v pro with the i5-2500k.

Memory will run at speeds above 1333mhz, this is because intel specifies 1333mhz, however motherboards can support all the way up to 2400mhz ddr3. The best ones or best priced at least are 1600mhz modules. I personally recommend you the corsair vengeance 8gb kit (4gbx2).

If you are worried about stuff fitting dont' worry, it will all fit and they will all run at their correct bandwiths in SLI. In fact, this is actually a better board: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157295

 

[EddieTripod]

Hi Smuffin & Robi,

Thanks for the answer. That's great that everything will fit and that I can use the faster RAM.

If I get $20 off on the 2700k($319 after $20 off), but not on the 2600k, that would make the 2700k only $10 more than the 2600k. ($309)Would it not be worth the extra $10 to get the extra bit of speed? 3.4 vs 3.5?

Robi, that 2500k is quite a price drop down to $219., plus it has a $15 gift card included, so $204 total! I'll have to seriously consider that.

Thanks again for your help,

Eddie

 

[EddieTripod]

this is actually a better board: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157295[/quotemsg]

That board does look interesting, and the ram is faster. I'll check into it. Thanks!

 

[EddieTripod]

:O what a jumble. Anyways, it would be a better choice purchasing the i7-2600k because it is the same as the 2700k but clocked 100mhz slower.

Yes, the new z77 boards support 32nm processors, I just built one with the asus p8z77-v pro with the i5-2500k.

Memory will run at speeds above 1333mhz, this is because intel specifies 1333mhz, however motherboards can support all the way up to 2400mhz ddr3. The best ones or best priced at least are 1600mhz modules. I personally recommend you the corsair vengeance 8gb kit (4gbx2).

If you are worried about stuff fitting dont' worry, it will all fit and they will all run at their correct bandwiths in SLI. In fact, this is actually a better board: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157295

Thanks all for the help. I wound up going with the Gigabyte Z77x-UD5H http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1890/
Actually the GA-Z77x-UD5H-WB. I got the version of the Gigabyte board with the WIFI and Bluetooth. Only $20 more. I was looking for a kit to do the wireless already. Most cost $30-60, so I'm happy to get it all cheaper in one package.) The Gigabyte has 3 pcie3 slots (True pcie3-None are pcie2-now that I have the Ivy Bridge chip). I bought the Ivy equivalent of the 2600k, which is the i7-3770k. My decision was narrowed down to this board and the ASROCK mentioned above. I read a lot of reviews about the asrock, and it seemed like people were experiencing a lot of problems. It was the opposite on the Gigabyte. Everyone gave it rave reviews, including many online sites which fully tested it with the new Ivy chips vs other boards. Plus the Gigabyte was the only one who would have 3 full pcie3 slots and a legacy PCi slot for my sound card. I should receive everything 5-3, so hopefully all will go smoothly!

 

[bacole08]

If you haven't bought the Gigabyte mobo yet, you might want to check out this deal if you have a micro center near you.

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0386887

Bought with a i5-3570k, it's a great deal almost $100 cheaper than other retailers. I bought this combo yesterday and was told it's good until May 13th. They have a couple other boards too if you don't prefer this one.

 

[EddieTripod]

If you haven't bought the Gigabyte mobo yet, you might want to check out this deal if you have a micro center near you.

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0386887

Bought with a i5-3570k, it's a great deal almost $100 cheaper than other retailers. I bought this combo yesterday and was told it's good until May 13th. They have a couple other boards too if you don't prefer this one.

Thanks for the info, but I already ordered everything and there's no Microcenters near me. I wanted to go with the i7-3770 also. Have a good one!

 

[EddieTripod]

:O what a jumble. Anyways, it would be a better choice purchasing the i7-2600k because it is the same as the 2700k but clocked 100mhz slower.

Yes, the new z77 boards support 32nm processors, I just built one with the asus p8z77-v pro with the i5-2500k.

Memory will run at speeds above 1333mhz, this is because intel specifies 1333mhz, however motherboards can support all the way up to 2400mhz ddr3. The best ones or best priced at least are 1600mhz modules. I personally recommend you the corsair vengeance 8gb kit (4gbx2).

If you are worried about stuff fitting dont' worry, it will all fit and they will all run at their correct bandwiths in SLI. In fact, this is actually a better board: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157295 " If you are worried about stuff fitting dont' worry, it will all fit and they will all run at their correct bandwiths in SLI"

Just a follow thru on this thread. I bought the Gigabyte z77x-ud5h, plus an i7-3770k. I got a dual channel kit of 1600mhz Ripjaws 2x8gb, on sale for about $95 w/free shipping.

I went to install everything and right way, as soon as I saw the spacing between the the 2nd pcie slot and the pci slot, I knew the GTX 460's would NOT fit without blocking the PCI slot for my sound card, which is why I posted the question. The video cards are thick and the one completely covered the pci slot. I was considering installing the 2nd GTX460 in the 3rd pcie slot, but same thing there. It would have covered up the slots to plug in for fans, firewire, etc, plus hang an additional 1/2" over the edge of the mobo after blocking those ports.

So I had to decide what to do, buy a pcieX1 sound card, a pcie16 sound card, or just go with the on board sound and hope that it is good quality. If the mobo sound is good, then I can reluctantly keep this board and not pay a restock fee, yet have no use for my sound card, which I really wanted to use. If the mobo sound is not good, I'll have to pay a restock fee or buy another sound card, which I wanted to avoid, seeing as I already had a $179 sound card.

So I guess I'll find out once I get all my parts and assemble the rest of the system. So "If you are worried about stuff fitting dont' worry, it will all fit and they will all run at their correct bandwiths in SLI." was NOT correct. The thickness of the video cards was the problem. I did consider the mobo you thought was better, the ASROCK, but there were a lot of complaints in the reviews. With that board, the GTX460's may have both fit and allow me to use the sound card, but I bought the Gigabyte because it had a pci slot, had great reviews, and was advised "everything will fit." I'll know better for next time now. Just FYI.

 

[EddieTripod]

Best answer selected by EddieTripod.