Help with a 2500-ish dollar build!

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Centruno

Centruno

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Hey there! This is what I'm trying to get for a 2500-ish USD build, with liquid cooling. I left graphics cards out of the equation, but am looking to reserver about 1000 for them (excluding waterblocks).. nVidia Kepler is going to be released soon, might as well wait.
Instead I will be running two nVidia GT 9800's 1.5GB's in SLI.

This is NOT my first build! I have built a handful of servers and computers for friends and businesses, but I always am looking for recommendations for parts as staying up to date with technology can be challenging!

Parts not Required: Keyboard, Mouse, 1080p Monitors, Speakers, and OS (Windows 7 Ultimate x64)

Resolution: 3840x1080, looking for 5948x1080 in near future

Approximate Purchase Date: The sooner the better. Graphics cards will be purchased after the Kepler release, however.

Country/Websites: USA. Newegg, Amazon, Ebay and FrozenCPU to name a few. Obviously open for input.


$199 - Case - COOLER MASTER HAF Full Tower Case

$129 - HDD - Caviar Black 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s

$19 - CD/DVD Burner - ASUS Black SATA DVD-ROM DVD-E818A7T

$169 - PSU - CORSAIR Professional Series Gold AX750 750W

$13 - Thermal Paste - Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound

$47 - RAM - G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB DDR3 1600

$254 - MOBO - ASRock Z68 PROFESSIONAL GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68

$329 - CPU - Intel Core i7-2600K 3.4GHz (Should I wait for Sandy Bridge-E prices to go down, or Ivy Bridge?)

$145 - SSD - Corsair Force Series GT 90GB SATA III

This in total is about $1304

Now, give it a watercooling kit:
$190 - Watercooling Kit - XSPC Rasa 750 RX360
$300 (for two good waterblocks and 'generic watercooling stuff')

This gives $1794 leaving 700 for graphics cards.. Is that doable? Should I sacrifice watercooling for bigger GPU's?

This computer will be used primarily for gaming. Photo editing, test servers, and programming will also be happening.

**NOTE** The build has been updated, scroll down for the update!
 
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mjmjpfaff

mjmjpfaff

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no go with sandy bridge-e. at those high of resolutions you are better off with it because of the 40 native lanes of pcie. you want to run 2 cards at x16/x16 at that resolution it will make a big difference over x8/x8.

now all you need is 4 cores for gaming so the i7 3820 is a good start. and a solid motherboard that will allow you to overclock that sucker past way past 4.5ghz: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.835892 580$

Seagate 1tb- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148840 100$ after promo code

Samsung 830 128gb ssd- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147134 175$ after promo code 120gb-128gb would be the minimum for a high end build like yours

*both of these are great deals i would spring and get them right now.

Corsair 16gb 1600mhz ram- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233203 90$ you need quad channel for sandy bridge-e. ram is very cheap these days so why not 16gb's?

psu- id wait to see what card you are getting to determine psu power.

Finally, do you really need water cooling? are you planning on doing crazy overclocking? with the recent downsize in the die size for the gpu's it has caused temps to drop. the need for water cooling is almost non existant. you will be pretty much wasting 1000$ on things you dont need. with the money you save you can probably be able to max out every game a monitor setup like that (with 2 7970's or 680's).
 
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Centruno

Centruno

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Amazing suggestion for the CPU mjm. I am having trouble deciding what to go with for it. The extra lanes in SLI/CrossFire will make a big difference. I didn't think about the possibility of not being able to run in x16/x16.

Is the SSD significantly better besides the space? I do know that 120GB seems to be the current sweet spot for price-performance in an SSD, but which brand is better? I've heard a lot of good things about the Corsair GT Series (was also used in the more recent handful of MaximumPC builds)

RAM prices are predicted to drop even more over the next following year, as DDR4 won't really hit the market until Q3-4 of 2013.. So I was thinking of going for 8GB now and getting 32 or 64GB for a measly price later on.

Liquid cooling is NOT necessary, obviously. But I would like to see it used for the purpose of overclocking. Hell, even an H60 suits my needs on that. I would like a quieter computer as it's going to be chugging away right beside my face, but if you think performance gains will be better without it, and instead I should invest that money in something else.. Then I will do so.

Thank you again for the suggestions!
 
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mjmjpfaff

mjmjpfaff

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the corsair gt is a good ssd but samsung makes the most reliable ssd's it is almost as fast/as fast as the sandforce ssd's

i see your point on the ram.

ya it will probably be better without liquid cooling. i would just get a 680 with a good aftermarket cooler like a twin frozr II card if they ever have one.

for the cpu cooler get an h80 and replace the loud fans on it with quieter ones. Then i would get a silverstone case because of how quiet they are but still give amazing airflow. your pc will be running practically silent.
 
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xtremegamer2da-max

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case: cooler master haf x
mobo: asus p6p67
cpu: i5 2500k
cpu cooler: cooler master hyper 212 evo
psu: corsair ax850
ram: g.skill ripjaws x series 8gb
hhd: western digital caviar black 1.5tb
ssd: corsair force series 3 60gb
optical drive: lg black 12x d-rom
 
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A

azeem40

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Sure liquid cooling has a chance to go horribly wrong, but I am sure a true enthusiast will be very careful with that kind of system. That RASA kit will be a good choice. HOWEVER, I would still say that if you can live without water cooling, definitely get 2 7970s.
 
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Centruno

Centruno

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I shall change to the Sandforce then, I have been doing some research and apparently Corsair is knowing for Bait-and-switch'ing their SSD's to cheaper parts.

Alright, I can wait for 680's no problem. Supposedly a 40-45% performance increase over the 7970's (which I don't get since it only has 2 GB of RAM)

I like the HAF X, what case would you recommend by Silverstone that looks rugged/industrial?





Liquid cooling with something simple like the H60, or even the Rasa cheaper-end kits will probably happen, even with Sandy Bridge-E... 7970's or 680's in your opinion? I've always loved nVidia for the PhysX and generally more stable drivers.. But for triple monitors is Eyefinity a better choice?
 
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brpeden82

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if they leaks are right then then the 680 are going to be about 700 a piece the 660ti is suppose to beat the 7970 and be about 350 i s suppose to have 768 cuda cores but also people say nvidia gonna release the 600 series as OEM and the 780 are going the top end, there alot of rumors yeah the 45 percent performace over 7970 for alot more price i be smart and wait for the 660ti
 
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mjmjpfaff

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cases- http://www.amazon.com/Silverstone-Extended-90-Degree-Motherboard-Mounting/dp/B005JW6VUW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1330148455&sr=8-2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139007
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005X3E4YC/ref=s9_simh_gw_p147_d0_g147_i2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0VWKG9WVDFZZETCHHDQY&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Obsidian-Aluminum-Enthusiast-Computer/dp/B004UE1W9K/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1330148971&sr=1-1

only 2gb's of vram for the 680, cutting it close for an surround setup... 45% seems a little exaggerated.

I shall change to the Sandforce then
Click to expand...
you mean the samsung. sandforce is the corsair.

an h80 will cool an overclocked 3820 nicely. and if you put quieter fans on it its a home run.
 
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Centruno

Centruno

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Current update to the computer build:

$199 - Case - COOLER MASTER HAF Full Tower Case or Silverstone a silverstone TJ- series.

$100 - HDD - Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM

$19 - CD/DVD Burner - ASUS Black SATA DVD-ROM DVD-E818A7T

$170 - PSU - CORSAIR Professional Series Gold AX750 750W (Will determine later)

$13 - Thermal Paste - Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound

$47 - RAM - G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB DDR3 1600 (Planning on grabbing 32GB to 64GB when prices drop)

$579 - MOBO and CPU Combo - Intel - Intel Sandy Bridge-E i7-3820 OC'ed and ASRock X79 Extreme6 MOBO

$170 - SSD - Samsung 830 Series 128GB

$1279 Total
Still debating what to do on liquid cooling.
I really love the TJ10, but it is rediculously espensive. The HAF X is a hundred cheaper with USB 3.0 aswell. The TJ10 has no plexiglass as siding either, and if I was to make a custom liquid cooling loop, showing it off is half the fun.

Still debating on 7970's or 680's. Not factual, but there is a rumored leaked spec sheet of the Kepler cards. Going by that, the 660 and 660Ti ($319 and $399 respectively) are about equal to the performance of a 7970, which is $550-$600.. The difference from 1200 for a crossfire build and 800 for a SLI build means getting a 400 dollar liquid cooling setup going..
 
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Centruno

Centruno

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I've been looking at a bunch of reviews of LGA 2011-socket coolers, still haven't narrowed down to anything.
As far as a possible watercooling option goes, however, if I were to do that I'd go with a EK Supreme HF

Been looking to change RAM. I am now dead set on either a Blue-Black or Green-Black color scheme, and I'd like to keep everything clean/color coded. Luckily the ASRock Motherboard you've suggested is straight black, so an accenting RAM would look great with it.
The MDPC store opens tonight, so I'll look for some cable sheaths and management tools then.

$70 - RAM - Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) - It looks like it should be easy to spraypaint the "Vengeance" Logo green. I can't find any green RAM modules otherwise..
 
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g-unit1111

g-unit1111

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Don't use liquid cooling - air is always the safest way to go. Remember that if a water pipe breaks, there goes your system. If a fan breaks you just replace the broken fan. Not to mention most manufacturer's warranties don't cover equipment damaged by water. A strong fan like the Noctua NH-D14 or the Phanteks TC14 will give you the same results and will be worry free.

I'd go with the 7970 - until there's actual Keppler cards on the market I'm not recommending waiting until I see the actual numbers. The thing is it's incredibly difficult (and in some cases near impossible) to base a system around hardware that is not out yet. I always try to build systems around what's out now, not what's going to be out in six months.

You don't need the extra thermal compound either - most fans include their own, and on the higher end cooling solutions most are really good.

Try this for a >$2500 build:

Case: Corsair Carbide 500R - $139.99
PSU: Corsair Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 - $109.99
Motherboard: Asrock X79 Extreme 7 - $289.99
CPU: 3.6GHz Intel Core i7-3820 - $319.99
Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 - $89.99
RAM: 16GB Mushkin Enhanced Redline 1600MHz 1.65V - $159.99
SSD: 128GB Crucial M4 - $149.99
HD: 1TB Seagate Barracuda ST - $129.99
Optical: LG BD-R Burner - $79.99
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 - $559.99
OS: Windows 7 Pro - $139.99

Total: $2,099.38
 
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Centruno

Centruno

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I am still debating on what RAM to go with. I can get low-profile RAM for the same price, if not cheaper. If I go with a liquid cooling setup, and properly vent all of the heat to the outside of the case with my Radiator, I imagine that I won't need to worry about my RAM overheating.




I love the Optical Drive you suggested, I think I might go with Bluray (it isn't that much more expensive, anyways)

An OS is unnecessary in my build. I have a copy of Windows 7 Professional x64, and I will also be installing BackTrack Linux.

Is there any reason I should switch from the AX series to the TX series for my PSU? The AX is the better one, no? (Also, will running two high-performance cards require me to get a 850-1000W PSU?)

I really want to drop in liquid cooling if my budget allows. Besides the functional aspect of this computer, I am going to make it look pretty damn professional. And liquid cooling adds a whole new level of depth/detail to my project, which I like.
If I take good measure to ensure that there won't be a leak, what is the problem? There is a very very small chance of a breakage within high-quality parts anyways.

As far as the graphics cards go, I won't be able to purchase them until the Kepler cards are already out anyways.
 
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g-unit1111

g-unit1111

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I love the Optical Drive you suggested, I think I might go with Bluray (it isn't that much more expensive, anyways)

An OS is unnecessary in my build. I have a copy of Windows 7 Professional x64, and I will also be installing BackTrack Linux.
Click to expand...

That's fine - I use Windows 7 Pro and it's great. I don't use Linux though. I have that same optical drive - handles all movies easily, burns great, and is relatively quiet.

Is there any reason I should switch from the AX series to the TX series for my PSU? The AX is the better one, no? (Also, will running two high-performance cards require me to get a 850-1000W PSU?)
Click to expand...

The AX is modular, TX is non-modular. It's just my personal preference but I like the non-modular PSUs better. I've had modular PSUs and they caused nothing but problems left and right - the wired ones I've used have been problem free.

I really want to drop in liquid cooling if my budget allows. Besides the functional aspect of this computer, I am going to make it look pretty damn professional. And liquid cooling adds a whole new level of depth/detail to my project, which I like.
If I take good measure to ensure that there won't be a leak, what is the problem? There is a very very small chance of a breakage within high-quality parts anyways.
Click to expand...

That's fine - it's your system and you ultimately decide what's in it. I personally try to advise against water cooling because it's too much risk for not a lot of payoff - even if you take all the precautions something can still go wrong. I try to play it safe in my builds as I don't have the money to replace something if it goes wrong (and I'm sure a lot of builders here don't either), so as a result I try to really be cautious in the hardware I select. Liquid cooling is too much risk for not a lot of payoff and in the end you'll get the same results using a strong fan / heat sink like the Noctua D14 or the Phanteks TC 14 and you won't have to worry about them.

As far as the "professional look" goes - you can achieve that on an air-cooled system with a wired PSU and be fine. It's all in how you route your cables that will make all the difference. The Corsair case I linked to has one of the best cable management systems on the market. There's similar cases from NZXT and Fractal Design that have the same system - but most Cooler Master cases I've seen and used can't match that.

As far as the graphics cards go, I won't be able to purchase them until the Kepler cards are already out anyways.
Click to expand...

That's fine - it's really hard to build systems around hardware that's not out yet and I understand you want to future proof your build as much as possible.
 
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Centruno

Centruno

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Oh. I really want to go with something that is full-modular as I will be sleeving my own cables.

That's fine - it's your system and you ultimately decide what's in it. I personally try to advise against water cooling because it's too much risk for not a lot of payoff - even if you take all the precautions something can still go wrong. I try to play it safe in my builds as I don't have the money to replace something if it goes wrong (and I'm sure a lot of builders here don't either), so as a result I try to really be cautious in the hardware I select. Liquid cooling is too much risk for not a lot of payoff and in the end you'll get the same results using a strong fan / heat sink like the Noctua D14 or the Phanteks TC 14 and you won't have to worry about them.
Click to expand...

I'll try to be careful. Still not dead set on liquid cooling, but it probably is going to happen. As far as casing goes, I'm still open for suggestions. Been doing my research, and I really don't like the HAF X as much as I previously did :/. I wish the front bays were covered like in the TJ10. For the 800D, the bottom half is covered, but the top isn't. Don't much like that.
I plan on taking this to the local fabrication place, and getting them to laser-cut a section big enough for me to put an LCD on.

That's fine - it's really hard to build systems around hardware that's not out yet and I understand you want to future proof your build as much as possible.
Click to expand...

Exactly.
 
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g-unit1111

g-unit1111

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Oh. I really want to go with something that is full-modular as I will be sleeving my own cables.
Click to expand...

Lately building systems I usually route my cables behind the case now so you don't see them anyways.

I'll try to be careful. Still not dead set on liquid cooling, but it probably is going to happen. As far as casing goes, I'm still open for suggestions. Been doing my research, and I really don't like the HAF X as much as I previously did :/. I wish the front bays were covered like in the TJ10. For the 800D, the bottom half is covered, but the top isn't. Don't much like that.
Click to expand...

Like I said - it's your system and you ultimately decide what goes in it. I'm not gonna stop you from using liquid cooling but for the most part, I've had bad experiences using experimental hardware and I generally never go down that road if I can possibly help it.

The Obsidian 800D is a good choice but it's incredibly expensive and kind of overkill. If you're gonna drop that kind of money on a case I'd take a look at the Cooler Master Cosmos II: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119252

I plan on taking this to the local fabrication place, and getting them to laser-cut a section big enough for me to put an LCD on.
Click to expand...

Interesting idea - I'd like to see the end result of that.

 
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Centruno

Centruno

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Man, I totally missed those cable management features, and I just read some reviews, and they now come with a SATA III board, and the USB 3.0 replacement is only 20 bucks. The SATA II board killed it for me since the hotswapping was one of the biggest features.

It's flat enough to where laser cutting would work, and already has a window. I really wanted to invert the mobo on the TJ07, but whatever.

Current update to the computer build:

$200 - Case - Corsair Obsidian 800D, with USB 3.0 board replacement Already Obtained!

$110 - HDD - Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM

[strike]$19[/strike] - [strike]CD/DVD Burner[/strike] - ASUS Black SATA DVD-ROM DVD-E818A7T Free with case!

$190 - PSU - CORSAIR Professional Series Gold AX850 850W (850 should be more than enough for high-powered SLI and possible watercooling)

$13 - Thermal Paste - Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound (Will be buying a few waterblocks, I really love Arctic Silver)

$60 - RAM - Corsair VENGEANCE 4 x 2GB DDR3 1600 (Going to paint green)

$319 - CPU - Intel i7-3820 3.6GHz (Shall be OC'ed, Newegg ran out so I changed to TigerDirect)

$389 - MOBO - ASRock Extreme9 LGA 2011 (The step up from the Extreme6, a lot more features, and room for expandibility with more RAM slots and other tidbits. I used the 70 I would've saved from the case)

$170 - SSD - Samsung 830 Series 128GB

$1448 total

And I'll reserve 1000 for graphics cards down the road. (Will presently use my SLI-9800's as I said)
How is this looking, you guys? I'm adding 50 for shipping there. The shipping on the case + DVD burner was free!
 
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mjmjpfaff

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Arctic silver 5- http://www.amazon.com/Arctic-Silver-Polysynthetic-Thermal-Compound/dp/B0002VFXFE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1330529259&sr=8-1 6.95$ shipped

for the mobo take a look at the Asus P9X79 WS in this review it seems to be much better than the Extreme9- http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/p9x79-deluxe-g1-assassin2-x79-ud5-extreme9,3086.html
 
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Centruno

Centruno

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Thanks for the finds! I might be ordering little pieces and a new soldering iron, so the three dollars off might as well happen.

For the motherboard, that is actually the exact review I was looking at in the first place to find it :). The X79 chipset with LGA 2011 is where I want to go, so I started looking at all of the reviews.
The ASUS motherboard performs well in extremely high overclocking, but in about half of the games (including Starcraft II which I play heavily) the Extreme9 wins.
I was looking for a Green/Black motherboard, and I was looking at the G1.Assassin G2. The Assassin board got heavily criticized and most of the reviewers say they got a DOA board or the BIOS wasn't working properly.
I recently built three identical computers, all with ASRock motherboards (my first time with ASRock) and I had a great experience. Thorough manual, easy setup, great BIOS, and a very very fair price.

Also, from what I can tell from the outputs on both boards, the ASRock motherboard has more USB 3.0 ports, more SATA III connections, and a more stable timing setup.
 
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Centruno

Centruno

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Current update to the computer build:

$200 - Case - Corsair Obsidian 800D, with USB 3.0 board replacement Already Obtained!

$110 - HDD - Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM

[strike]$19[/strike] - [strike]CD/DVD Burner[/strike] - ASUS Black SATA DVD-ROM DVD-E818A7T Free with case!

$190 - PSU - CORSAIR Professional Series Gold AX850 850W (850 should be more than enough for high-powered SLI and possible watercooling)

$7 - Thermal Paste - Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound (Will be buying a few waterblocks, I really love Arctic Silver)

$60 - RAM - Corsair VENGEANCE 4 x 2GB DDR3 1600 (Going to paint green)

$319 - CPU - Intel i7-3820 3.6GHz (Shall be OC'ed, Newegg ran out so I changed to TigerDirect)

$389 - MOBO - ASRock Extreme9 LGA 2011 (The step up from the Extreme6, a lot more features, and room for expandibility with more RAM slots and other tidbits. I used the 70 I would've saved from the case)

$170 - SSD - Samsung 830 Series 128GB

$1442 total without WC

Now for the fun stuff: Watercooling! (All in 3/8" ID 1/2" OD)

$20.97 - Fans - Yate Loon 120x20mm 1800RPM (x 3)

$79.99 - Radiator - Alphacool NexXxoS XT45 triple 120mm

$79.95 - Pump - Swiftech MCP355 12v (120 GPH)

$38.95 - Reservoir - Bitspower Z-Multi 150 Inline

$71.95 - CPU Waterblock - EK Supreme HF LGA 2011

$24.75 - Tubing - Tygon 2375 Clear (x 9)

$28.98 - Quick-Release - Male and Female Koolance ODC High Flow Compression

$27.96 - Fittings - Bitspower Ultimate Compression Silver

$25 - Coolant - Non-conductive FluipXP+ Ultra UV Green (extremely little conductivity for little to no performance decrease!)
$398.50 total (without GPU waterblocks later)

Total computer: $1840.50

Leaving $659.50 for a Waterblock and GPU!
 
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