Seeking advice on i7 homebuild!

[sam_sam]

Hello all!

I was wondering if any of you could possibly help me with regards to my new setup, compatibility, graphics card choice and the wattage needed on a PSU for the build.

First of all, here's the components for the build (and prices).

(Windows 7 Ultimate, already have).

Thermaltake Level 10 GT Case - Snow Edition or Black - £192.26

Intel Core i7 2600k 3.4GHz Socket 1155 (8MB Cache) - £227.40

OCZ Vertex 3 Series SATA III 2.5-inch Solid State Drive 120GB - £144.99

Asus Maximus IV Extreme R3.0 P67 Socket 1155 8 Channel - £263.23

Kingston HyperX 16GB (4x4GB) Memory Kit 1600MHz DDR3 Non-ECC CL9 240-pin DIMM with Intel XMP Support - £60.91 ))

Sapphire Technology ATI Radeon 7970 HD 925MHz 3GB PCI-Express 3.0 HDMI - £449.98

Antec High Current Pro 80Plus 1200W - £208.85


The first question I wanted to ask was about the graphics card choice, a few of my friends have been squabbling over ATI and Nvidia. Originally I chose the GTX580 but checked out the 7970 HD and saw that it was faster and cooler. I eventually (in about 9 months) want to SLI or Crossfire with either of these cards, both my friends are persuading me to go back to the GTX580. What do you guys and girls suggest?

Secondly, the wattage... I have no idea to be honest, I'm not going to be overclocking as of yet but I'm not sure if I will require this in the future. Basically, what do you guys suggest on wattage?

Thirdly.

Is this a good setup? I will want to be playing Starwars: The Old Republic on full graphics. Battlefield 3 on full graphics and also be HD video/audio capturing at the same time.

Any suggestions on anything about the system are extremely welcome!

Many thanks,

Sam.

 

[legendkiller]

7970 is way better than 580... What you could do is buy a GT 220 and get GTx 680 later which is rumored to be our in Feb...
http://vr-zone.com/articles/rumour-nvidia-geforce-gtx-680-to-release-in-february/14552.html
Both 7970 and 680 is said to be in similar performance but 680 is 80% faster than 580 so i think 7970 should be the same... the 680 is pack with 2GB VRAM which is good for it performance...

 

[sam_sam]

I will happily go for the 7970 to be honest, I don't want to wait until February though I'm currently running games on like 5fps (please do not ask for my current PC's specs) haha



Also just to add because I couldn't edit my post, I want to be spending around £1500 max. But ideally want to buy it now which leaves me with £1100-1300.

Not bothered about it being quiet as long as it doesn't destroy my ears. It will be situated at the end of my bed on top of a desk.

Brands and such do not bother me, I just want good reliable components that can create a high end gaming machine.

Mouse / Keyboard = Razer Naga Molten Edition - Razer Blackwidow Stealth.

And I like in the UK(England).

Will be purchasing a 24" screen eventually which will be a pretty high resolution I'm guessing.

(Apologies for not adding links to my components).

Cheers

 

[legendkiller]

So your basically ganna play games? what kind of games? A GT 220 can play(Which I have) MW3 on max setting with little lags(probably the 20-30s FPS)....

 

[sam_sam]

Play games, record HD audio and video, edit the video's, upload the videos. Download media, Facebook, Listen to music whilst playing etc etc.

I don't want any lag to be honest, not like literally nothing... but pretty much nothing. I borrowed my friends computer and he had a 2-3year old Radeon HD card and it ran Starwars: The Old Republic full on 100+ fps. Surely the 7970 should eat that game up even more?

 

[sam_sam]

Sorry Legend, I want to play Starwars: The Old Republic and FPS's like Battlefield 3

 

[legendkiller]

Sorry Legend, I want to play Starwars: The Old Republic and FPS's like Battlefield 3

LOL, I was just telling you to wait than get the GTx 680 which is said to have performance of 80% faster than GTx 580...

 

[jeremyp1979]

Both the 580 and the 7970 have some pros and cons

The 580 is proven, it works, it was the best card around for quite a while. It's got lots of room to overclock. If you buy an EVGA reference 580, and the 680 comes out within 90 days, you can trade it in and just pay the differences in the prices and get the 680(which is supposed to be in a couple of weeks).It's also 50 or more bucks cheaper than the 7970. The 580 also uses a lot more power than the 7970, and because it does, will need more cooling, which means it's generally going to be louder.

The 7970 is the fastest card around right now. It uses less power than the 580, has lots of room to overclock. It's new technology. AMD has a reputation for crappy drivers. Being new, there are going to be some bugs, but as the bugs get worked out, it's just gonna get faster as AMD learns to utilize it's fullest potential.

Personally, I would go with EVGA 580, and trade it for a 680 when they come out, but that's because the AMD driver issues would annoy me to no end....

One more thing, EVGA makes a version of most of their cards that has a lifetime warranty. I'm sure there are 7970's out that do the same, but EVGA's quality is top notch, and their customer service is great.