Parts Ordered, Cheers, or Flame?

[dadof1hunter]

CPU - 2500k from local Microcenter $40 Cheaper then NewEgg
MoBo - Asrock Professional 7 Gen 3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157269
RAM - G.Skill RipJaw 2133 8gig http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231476
PSU - Corsair 850w http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139015
SSD - Samsung 830 128gig. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147137
GFX - Sapphire 7970 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102961
CASE - Corsair 650D http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102961
COOLER - Corsair H100 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181017

Things I've considered...

1. The Mobo is a little more then I wanted to spend, but I wanted a GOOD overclocker.
2. The CPU Cooler is more then I wanted to spend but I wanted to OC, and I want the case to look Clean.
3. THE RAM IS BLUE!!! UGGGG! I'll have a missmatch looking set of parts.. I may replace the heatspreaders with aftermarket later to make it match.

 

[catatafish]

Cheers on the build. Flame that you care that the RAM is blue .

 

[xtremegamer2da-max]

mostly good parts BUT try to get a refund on the h100 and get the cooler master hyper 212 evo it can easily handle a 2500k oc to 4.6!!!

 

[g-unit1111]

Thanks, i was kindof thinking that myself. Any thoughts on the Asus Sabertooth motherboard?

You can OC and still have the case look clean on plenty of air coolers, no need for the H100. I generally try to stay away from liquid cooling and try to advise against it if I can possibly help it.

3. THE RAM IS BLUE!!! UGGGG! I'll have a missmatch looking set of parts.. I may replace the heatspreaders with aftermarket later to make it match.

Not to mention it's a speed that your motherboard won't be able to handle. Z68 usually doesn't process speeds above 1600, and actually has difficulty if you go beyond that. Plus take into account that Intel will void your warranty if they find out you've been using RAM above 1333 due to the design of SB processors - the memory controller is on the chip. If you can return the RAM and get at least 1600.

Otherwise everything looks good. Wish I could afford that 7970. :lol:

 

[dadof1hunter]

xtremegamer1da thanks for the input. I can't get a refund on the H100, I ordered it last night and newegg already shipped it!!(wow newegg) the EVO is the best air cooling unit, but I like the clean look of the H100, and it's a bit quiter.

 

[dadof1hunter]

G-unit1111 That board / Ram was chosen purposefully. 2133 is normally achievable with that combo. I've read a few reviews where people poppped it in and enabled XMS and the board defaulted to that speed, others where they had to manuall set it, and with the correct timmings too.

 

[geofelt]

Cheers, in general, but...

Flames:
For asking AFTER you ordered, not before.
Spending on fast ram; sandy bridge is insensitive to ram speed.
7970 with 28nm construction needs only a good 500w psu, you spent more than necessary here. Corsair is excellent though.
Any current Z68 motherboard will overclock to sane levels. You spent too much for a competitive, record seeking oc board.
Just my opinion, a H100 is not worth it. It is more expensive, noisier, and not any more efficient than a decent air cooler in a well ventilated case.

 

[dadof1hunter]

Geofelt My THOUGHT on the PSU was that I could always pop another 7970 in. 40 bucks more for easy upgradeablity was kind of the thought there.

The Ram has been used at that speed many times with that board, I did quite a bit of reading befor I decided, but I agree It prolly was a bit wasteful, but I do believe I'll get that speed out of it..

Went with the H100 MOSTLY for looks. It looks cleaner then an Air Cooler.

 

[Pezcore27]

For the MB, you could have went with the ASUS P8Z68 V-PRO/GEN3 for 209.99 from microcenter and gotten an additional $50 off when purchasing a "k" series processor that would do everything you want the ASRock to do, with the same specs, color matched your ram , and saved almost $100.

 

[willard]

Pretty good, but here's what I would have changed.

The timings on that memory are pretty bad. DDR3-1600 with better latencies would be just as fast, if not faster.

H100 is a waste unless you're using it specifically for a silent rig, in my opinion. It's not going to give you any better overclocking ability than a good air cooler. If you just want it for the cool factor, I understand, but personally I think the H100 isn't worth the cash.

Since you're going for a crazy OC, I probably would have picked the 2600k over the 2500k. Costs quite a bit more, but swapping your H100 for a Hyper 212 would cover most of that cost.

That said, it's a solid build, maybe about $150 more expensive than it could have been.

 

[geofelt]

Read this article on sandy bridge ram scaling:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4503/sandy-bridge-memory-scaling-choosing-the-best-ddr3

I do not like cf/sli when a great single gpu will do the job.
My reasoning is probably unpopular, but...
a) How good do you really need to be?
A single GTX560 or 6870 can give you great performance at 1920 x 1200 in most games.

A single GTX560ti or 6950 will give you excellent performance at 1920 x 1200 in most games.
Even 2560 x 1600 will be good with lowered detail.
A single 7970 is about as good as it gets.

Only if you are looking at triple monitor gaming, then sli/cf will be needed.
Even that is now changing with triple monitor support on top end cards.

b) The costs for a single card are lower.
You require a less expensive motherboard; no need for sli/cf or multiple pci-e slots.
Even a ITX motherboard will do.

Your psu costs are less.
A GTX560ti needs a 450w psu, even a GTX580 only needs a 600w psu.
When you add another card to the mix, plan on adding 150-200w to your psu requirements.

Case cooling becomes more of an issue with dual cards.
That means a more expensive case with more and stronger fans.
You will also look at more noise.

c) Dual cards do not always render their half of the display in sync, causing microstuttering. It is an annoying effect.
The benefit of higher benchmark fps can be offset, particularly with lower tier cards.
Read this: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-geforce-stutter-crossfire,2995.html

d) dual card support is dependent on the driver. Not all games can benefit from dual cards.


e) cf/sli up front reduces your option to get another card for an upgrade. Not that I suggest you plan for that.
It will often be the case that replacing your current card with a newer gen card will offer a better upgrade path.

For what it is worth, your link to the case goes to the 7970.

Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. If it is only you that is looking, then by all means suit yourself.

If you expect others to admire your work, realize that they might have different ideas about looks, efficiency, performance, economy, or whatever, and and might admire them more.

 

[dadof1hunter]

Geofelt, GOOD read on the RAM. HOnestly it was the 1 thing I felt like I screwed up on... Although NOT for the right reasons!! Cost was the first... I didnt like the cost/gb of ram, and secondly was the color! I'll end up with Red Orange and Blue in my case and I'm a bit OCD when it comes to things LOOKING like the belong.
Now knowing theres really not much real world benefit to the RAM, I'm a little disapointed...

I agree on the graphics card. I went SLI when Nvidia first released SLI, 2 6600GT's, and was pretty disappointed. I'll Stick to the best card I can get for now on.. I wanted the head room because I think I might add a 2nd 24 inch Monitor

 

[dadof1hunter]

Best answer selected by dadof1hunter.

 

[g-unit1111]

G-unit1111 That board / Ram was chosen purposefully. 2133 is normally achievable with that combo. I've read a few reviews where people poppped it in and enabled XMS and the board defaulted to that speed, others where they had to manuall set it, and with the correct timmings too.

It is, but after reading about what Intel will void your warranty if you use ridiculously high speed RAM, I generally advise against it.

 

[azeem40]

And also, you don't gain a big benefit from jumping to 2133 MHz RAM. 1600 MHz is pretty much the standard.