SLI GTX560TI Gaming Build

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peter_soj

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Approximate Purchase Date: Couple of weeks

Budget Range: $1500-$2000 (not really on a budget just don't want to waste money unnecessarily)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Movies (may run an additional screen at a later date, 32" or larger).

Parts Not Required: Keyboard, Mouse, Speakers, Screen.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: www.pccasegear.com

Country: Australia

Parts Preferences: Intel, Mid tower.

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Yes

Monitor Resolution: (1920x1080)

Additional Comments: I've got a DELL 24" LCD thats a couple of years old so not sure whether it would be a good idea to upgrade that as well?
All my parts are most likely going to be bought from pccasegear.com, so I guess that sort of limits the amount I can save. With this build I know for sure that I want the I5 2500k, and SLI GTX560TI's. What I need help with is how to support them, that's where you guys come in!!! :D

Parts list - Here goes...

CPU - I5 2500k - $229
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=16531

MOBO - ASRock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3 - $175
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=18041

CASE - CoolerMaster HAF 922 - $125
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=11754

OR

CASE - Corsair Carbide 500R Case Black - $159
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=25_961&products_id=18307

GPU - 2x ASUS GeForce GTX 560ti DirectCU II TOP 1GB in SLI - $558
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=17207

RAM - Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3 - $115
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=17037

PSU - Corsair HX-850 Power Supply - $215
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=12111

CPU COOLER - CoolerMaster Hyper 212 EVO - $39
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=18670

SSD - Corsair Force Series GT 60GB - $129
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=18744

HDD - Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB - $215
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=16482

OPTICAL DRIVE - Samsung SATA DVDRW - $22
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=17348


TOTAL PRICE - $1822 (with HAF case not Corsair)


Thats the list I've come up with so far with my limited knowledge/research. A few questions about what i've suggested;
Is a 60gb SSD drive enough just for my OS?
I wasn't sure with the Power supply as to which corsair series to go, theres AX, HX? Is a better one needed or will what i've picked be fine, or is 850w overkill?
I like the HAF 922 but I dont really want my case to have that bare alu look on the inside, it reminds me of older computers, thats why I like the look of the 500R.
Is that motherboard really needed? I'd be happy to go down to the extreme 3, I really like the look of the ASRock mobos though :)
Also - I wanted to save like $80 or so and go with a Seagate Barracuda Green 2TB but I figured it might hinder my map loading times in games slightly?


ANY suggestions are welcome as i'm sure there's at least 1 dumb choice I've made :)

Thanks!

 
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striker410

striker410

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Hi there! Welcome to the forums.

Looks like you've got a pretty good setup. I would however make a few changes.
-Switch to CFX 6950's. A pair of 6950's in Crossfire scale better than a pair of GTX 560 Ti's for the same price.

-Grab a cheaper PSU. 850w is good but there are cheaper options. This Enermax http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=16689 Is just as good but $35 less.

-Get this SSD instead (maybe?) http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=17976 Vertex 3 for $11 less.

-Drop to 8GB RAM. It's PLENTY! http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=16437

-For sure grab the cheaper HDD. Use that $80 to grab a 120GB SSD, problem solved! 60GB SSD is enough for OS and maybe a few games. With a 120 you can fit probably around 6-10 games.

Cheers!

 
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Tavo_Nova

Tavo_Nova

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grab the gtx560ti tf2/oc 2GB version and sli them if you don't like 6950's 2gb/1gb, but imo with more monitor you might need more than 1gb.
8gb memory is good enough
for psu if you can fit it in your budget go get the AX850w 80PLUS gold from corsair, it will serve you well and on my other build which uses an i5 2500k also got msi gtx560ti twin frozrII/oc 2GB in SLI, using ax850w, i hardly reach 850w but it does do the job i can even upgrade to 580 sli but im currently eyeing for 580 on my new build so overall those are good, and yes get a 120gb ssd
 
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peter_soj

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Thanks for the input guys!

I'd sort of prefer to stay with the well known brands. As I mentioned in my first post, I'm not really on a budget, It's more just a guideline of what I'd like to spend.

And the CFX 6950's look like a good option, the GT560ti that I linked though is one of the newer asus models i think? Looks like it's factory overclocked a lot higher than the others, as well as higher than most 6950's i looked at? Not sure if that means all that much maybe someone can shed some light?

And i'm not really planning on purchasing of newegg so no rebates or anything for me as I mentioned I'm in australia :)

And i've seen a lot of builds sticking with 8GB ram, just wanted to ask what benefits if any would I get from going 16gb? It's only 50 bucks extra and if that means it will last me down the track I dont mind as i said, $2000 is just what i'd like to keep my max it but if i need to go over;couldnt care less.
 
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striker410

striker410

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Sounds good.

Enermax is actually a well known and respected brand. However, there's an even better deal on that site, the Silverstone Strider Plus 850w http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=13278 $160. Here's a few reviews.
http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews/981/pg6/silverstone-strider-plus-850w-power-supply-review-conclusion.html 10/10 on hardware heaven.
HX 850: http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews/795/pg6/corsair-hx850w-psu-conclusion.html

http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Cases-and-Cooling/SilverStone-Strider-Plus-850W-Power-Supply-Review/Final-Thoughts-and-Concl silver award. I think saving $75 and getting the same level of quality is a steal!

To be honest, the clocks it leaves the factory with don't matter. 15 seconds in an overclocking program and you can easily achieve the same performance. Go for the cheapest card with the best cooler you can find.

16GB ram vs 8GB ram. 16GB won't be utilized (hell, 8GB won't even be used!) unless you plan on doing some SERIOUS video editing. Unless you are a professional editor, you certainly don't need 16GB.
 
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peter_soj

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Sweet! I'll go with the silverstone then, seems like a great deal, also like the fact that it's quiet anything under 75% load.

Does anyone have any suggestion as to what case i should go with? Prefer mid tower as I've got a fairly small room, and a very big bed LOL. Will barely have enough room for a desk. I want one that looks good, preferably with a side window, and considering the price of most mid cases would prefer to spend around $150 on it.
 
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7ccccc7

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One more thing this EVGA card is created for overclocking and after OC easly beats up 2X560Ti. I have a reference GTX580 and I did 7600pts in 3dmark 11. Two GTX560Ti has a score around 7300. This EVGA easly will do 8500-9000pts
 
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striker410

striker410

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I wouldn't buy the GTX 580 right now. Bad value. The 7970 just came out and smokes the 580 in both performance per dollar and overclockability.

Additionally, two GTX 560 Ti's (or 6950's) offer more performance than a GTX 580 for sure. http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/305?vs=441
You COULD overclock the 580, but then it's not a fair comparison unless you overclock the 560's (which can reach much higher clocks) too.
With 6950's the gap is even bigger. WAY bigger. http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/305?vs=299
 
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7

7ccccc7

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Evga's GTX580 bests two 560Ti for sure because it stock clocks are 900MHz instead default 772 in other GTX580. And a record in OC of this card is 1,6GHz. At 900Mhz it has identical performance as 7970
 
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7ccccc7

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But in this case EVGA card is not overclocked you can start overclok it. Manufacturer set it clocks like this. For normal GeForces it would be overclocking but this is a totaly rebuilded card and it comes like this by default as 7970 comes so it is a fair fight. One Classified GTX580 destroys a pair of GTX560Ti for couple of reason:

1. Higher performance
2. Better ability for OC
3. Less power consumption
4. No micro stuttering issues like SLI
5. You have a free PCIe for another monster to put in
6. Lower CPU usage than in SLI configuration
 
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7ccccc7

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vargis14

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I am currently running a 2600k @ 4.5ghz and evga 560ti SC stock clock is 900 core i can break the 1ghz mark with both evga cards,Smokes a overclocked 580 even at my usual 950mhz 24/7 core at stock volts.
The card to get is a vanilla AMD 7950 its the lowest price and it overclocks better then the other manufac cards sapphire,powercolor etc.it clocked over 1200mhz core 1225 and the power consumption is resonable and much better then 2 560s or 1 580 especially a overclocked 580.
The 7950 is a beast of a card 3gb mem etc etc etc,much better multimonitor support very low 2d wattage draw.
Plus you can add another down the road for 60-102% scaling as long as you have a crossfire profile for the game.
Another thing with the 7900 series drivers are very new and not optimized imm sure in a few months another 10-20% performance increase.
@1080p you can run all sorts of aa and af maxed and still get awesome frame rates and not have muti card stuttering or tearing
 
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vargis14

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I also have the haf922 case tons of room great fans,I moved my top 200mm fan into the side+ i had 2 120mm fans lying around so i put them in the top as exhaust,it did a great job at lowering my gpu temps and chipset and vrms since im am running a h80 120mm watercooling with push pull fans mounted on thje rear 120/140mm exhaust fan mount on back of case.The one con of the case is no fan filters so plan on bi montly dustings:)
To top that off i happen to have my computer on top of my desk right next to a window,so i put a large dryer vent hose mounted in foam insulation that mounted into the window,that lead right to the 200mm side intake fan pulling in 30f degree or colder air into my caseright now my case ambient temp is 9c,gpus at 12c and cpu at 17c.Its very effective keeping everything cool my gpu fans might hit 40% and i cannot hear them+ the only reason they do hit 40% is because i set a very aggressive fan profile with afterburner OCed and loaded they almost hit 50c :)cpu 45c prime 95
 
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