Infamous Topic - My First Build - Suggestions/Advice/Feedback

[butching314]

Budget: $$ < 2,000
Goal:
- Play the latest games for the next year or 2.
- Be able to upgrade cpu and possibly going for xfire or sli configuration when the price drops for the 2nd vid card.
- USB 3.0 a must

So here's the lineup.

CPU: Intel Core i7-2700K
MOBO: ASRock Z68 Extreme7 Gen3 LGA 1155
VIDEO: ASUS HD7870
RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB)

Cooler: Noctua NH-C14
Case: NZXT Switch 810
Power: SILVERSTONE ST1000-P 1000W

HardDrive:
Intel 520 Series Cherryville SSD
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3

Planning to buy the parts this week to start working on it. I forgot to mention, I'm aiming to build this in preparation for diablo 3!

 

[kajabla]

Get a 2500K, a 680, a Gigabyte Z68X-UD3H-B3, a good 750W PSU and a much cheaper CPU cooler, like a Scythe Mugen 3. There: that's a far better GPU and still a few hundred dollars less. Maybe throw in a mechanical keyboard. Also, get RAM sticks without such giant, annoying heat spreaders. Here we are: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231547

Note: the 680 isn't actually currently available. If you don't want to wait for it to come back into stock, grab a 7970.

 

[aicom]

Get a 2500K, a 680, a Gigabyte Z68X-UD3H-B3, a good 750W PSU and a much cheaper CPU cooler, like a Scythe Mugen 3.

+1. For gaming, the 2700K (or the 2600K) is overkill. Using the money you save to purchase a 680 is also a great decision. The Gigabyte Z68 motherboard will give you PCI-E 3.0 (when Ivy Bridge comes out) which you will probably want when you get a second 680 for SLI so you avoid cutting your bandwidth in half, especially for a card of that caliber. This is a much better gaming system and will be more futureproof.

 

[butching314]

The Gigabyte Z68 motherboard will give you PCI-E 3.0 (when Ivy Bridge comes out) which you will probably want when you get a second 680 for SLI so you avoid cutting your bandwidth in half, especially for a card of that caliber. This is a much better gaming system and will be more futureproof.

Hi, wouldn't the ASRock Z68 Extreme7 Gen3 LGA 1155 also support ivy bridge based on it being gen3?

 

[aicom]

Hi, wouldn't the ASRock Z68 Extreme7 Gen3 LGA 1155 also support ivy bridge based on it being gen3?

It would. The main reason for going the Gigabyte route is saving that $100. My fault for not checking that one.

 

[kajabla]

Actually, I don't think it does support PCI 3.0. Go for the ASRock Z68 Extreme3 instead. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271

 

[butching314]

Also, get RAM sticks without such giant, annoying heat spreaders. Here we are: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231547

Hi, I'd like to get more info on the mem sticks, picked those sticks primarily since I can always upgrade for an extra 2x more 8gb.

 

[butching314]

Between the board and the 680 all boils down to the following:

Extreme7: 3way sli but single pcie 3.0
Extreme3: 2x pcie 3.0

 

[kajabla]

^Yep. I don't think it's worth the extra cash.

Mem sticks: if you insist. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231558

 

[serialkiller]

That motherboard has x16 and x16 setup for dual gpu setup and will give more performance than pci 3.0 x8 and x8

 

[serialkiller]

My recommendation.

Intel i5 2500k
Cooler master hyper 212 evo
asrock z68 extreme3 gen3
Corsair vengence 2x 4 gb 1600 mhz low prpc powerofile ddr3 ram
evga gtx 680 2 gb oc or sapphire hd 7870 ghz edition 2gb
Pc power and cooling silencer mkii 950w 80+ silver
Crucial m4 128 gb sata 3 ssd
seagate green baracuda 2tb 5900 rpm hdd
asus 24x dvd writer
cm storm sniper mid tower.

Windows 7 home premium x64

 

[kajabla]

^similar to my recommendation but with an overpowered PSU.

PCI 3.0 x8 has exactly the same bandwidth (and performance) as PCI 2.0 x8.

 

[Why_Me]

Sandy Bridge cpu's and the P67/Z68 boards are being phased out or Ivy Bridge, Z77/Z75 motherboards (Panther Point chipset w/native USB 3.0) and PCI-E 3.0

Ivy Bridge is due out April 29th.

http://www.asrock.com/microsite/PCIe3/overview.html <----- Quick and brief rundown of Ivy Bridge, PCI-E 3.0 cards and the new gen boards.

http://www.asrock.com/mb/index.asp?s=1155 <---- Asrocks Z77 and Z75 boards to date. They all get released with Ivy Bridge.

http://usa.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/Intel_Z77 <---- Asus Z77 board lineup to date.

http://www.gigabyte.us/products/list.aspx?s=42&jid=2&p=2&v=24 <----- Gigabyte Z77 board lineup to date.

http://us.msi.com/product/mb/#/?sk=Socket%201155%20(Intel%20i3/i5/i7) <----- MSI Z77 board lineup to date.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/5626/ivy-bridge-preview-core-i7-3770k/9 <---- Ivy Bridge cpu review with benchmarks

http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-680-overclock-guide/ <----- Overclocking the gtx 680 w/benchmarks

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Carbide-Series-Gaming-CC-9011012-WW/dp/B005E983JW/ref=sr_1_3?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1332866663&sr=1-3 $118.98 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Corsair Carbide Series 500R Mid Tower Gaming Case CC-9011012-WW

This XFX psu down below is manufactured by Seasonic as are all XFX psu's and the mid and upper tier Corsair psu's.

http://www.amazon.com/XFX-ATX-850-Power-Supply/dp/B0050751YS/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1332866828&sr=1-1 $122.75 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
XFX PRO850W XXX Edition Semi-Modular 80 Plus Silver Certified 850 Watt Active PFC Power Supply

http://usa.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/P8Z77_WS/#overview
ASUS P8Z77 WS (4 x PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16 dual x16 or x16, x8, x8 or quad x8)

http://www.anandtech.com/show/5166/ivy-bridge-overview $220 should be a close guesstimate
Intel i5-3570K Ivy Bridge CPU 3.4Ghz

http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Hyper-212-RR-212E-20PK-R2/dp/B005O65JXI/ref=pd_cp_e_0 $34.64 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler (RR-212E-20PK-R2)

http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-BladeMaster-Silent-R4-BMBS-20PK-R0/dp/B0030DL37I/ref=sr_1_5?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1333218396&sr=1-5 $11.99 Free Standard Shipping (3-5 days)
Cooler Master BladeMaster 120mm PWM High Air Flow Silent Case Fan R4-BMBS-20PK-R0

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231546 $44.99 FREE SHIPPING
G.SKILL Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-1600C9D-8GAB

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226236 $128.99 FREE SHIPPING
Mushkin Enhanced Chronos MKNSSDCR120GB 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Barracuda-3-5-Inch-Internal-ST1000DM003/dp/B005T3GRNW/ref=sr_1_9?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1333216718&sr=1-9 $109.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Seagate Barracuda 7200 1 TB 7200RPM SATA 6 Gb/s NCQ 64MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Bare Drive ST1000DM003

http://www.amazon.com/Asus-24xDVD%C2%B1RW-Serial-Internal-DRW-24B1ST/dp/B0033Z2BAQ/ref=pd_bxgy_e_img_b $19.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25
Asus 24xDVD±RW Serial ATA Internal OEM Drive DRW-24B1ST (Black)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121626 $499.99
ASUS GTX680-2GD5 GeForce GTX 680 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card


http://www.corsair.com/pc-cases/carbide-series-pc-case/carbide-series-500r-mid-tower-case.html <---- a better look at that case