New CyberPower Build

[kiLLscaLLion]

Hi, guys,

Fairly new to this custom PC thing so please review and comment on any part of this build, whether the components make sense, whether the part I selected is not a good brand, etc. I'd like to play Diablo 3 and Skyrim on max settings, and possibly other new upcoming games as well.

NZXT H2 Classic Silent Mid-Tower Gaming Case
Default case fans (upgrade?)
Sound absorbing foam on side, top and bottom panels (worth it?)
Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4 GHz 6MB Intel Smart Cache (upgrade to 3770K?)
No overclocking
Asetek 510LC Liquid Cooling System 120MM Radiator & Fan, Single Fan
Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H Intel Z77 Chipset DDR3 ATX Mainboard
16GB (4GBx4) DDR3 / 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory, Corsair or Major Brand
GeForce GTX 580 1.5GB Video Card, EVGA superclocked (will this last 2 years?)
Standard case 500 Watts power supply
120 GB Corsair Force Series SATA-III 6.0 GB/s SSD, single drive (My files only consist of maybe 10 GBs of music so don't need that much space - this enough otherwise?)
No USB flash drive (don't get this - doesn't the case come with an USB drive?)
LG UH12LS28K 12X blu-ray player & DVDRW combo drive
HD on-board 7.1 audio

I intend on using my plasma TV (Samsung PN59D8000) as my display. Will the GPU I selected allow me to connect to my AV receiver via HDMI (both display and 5.1 audio?).

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[kiLLscaLLion]

After reading a few threads here, I decided to change it to the following:

NZXT H2 Classic Silent Mid-Tower Gaming Case
Maximum Enermax 120MM case cooling fans (maximum silent operation)
Sound absorbing foam on side, top and bottom panels (worth it?)
Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4 GHz 6MB Intel Smart Cache (upgrade to 3770K?)
No overclocking
Corsair Hydro Series H60 high performance liquid cooling system 120MM radiator & fan, Single Fan (liquid or air cooling?)
Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H Intel Z77 Chipset DDR3 ATX Mainboard
16GB (4GBx4) DDR3 / 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory, Kingston HyperX
GeForce GTX 680 2.0GB Video Card, EVGA superclocked
650 Watts Corsair 80 Plus power supply (this enough for the video card?)
120 GB Corsair Force Series SATA-III 6.0 GB/s SSD, single drive (My files only consist of maybe 10 GBs of music so don't need that much space - this enough otherwise?)
No USB flash drive (don't get this - doesn't the case come with an USB drive?)
LG UH12LS28K 12X blu-ray player & DVDRW combo drive
HD on-board 7.1 audio

Sounds like the HDMI output from the GPU will be able to output video and audio to my receiver. Any idea if the upgrade from GTX 580 to 680 is worth it?

 

[kiLLscaLLion]

I'm also trying to minimize noise here as you can see from some of my selections. Heard liquid cooling is quieter but is more of a pain to maintain. Would anyone mind clarifying what kind of maintenance is needed?

 

[begnme]

I have had a liquid cooled Cyberpower pc for 5+ years and have done no maintenance on the liquid cooling setup. I did have one of the fans start getting noisy after 3.5 years. Cleaned out the case and fan but no luck quieting it. I had trouble locating the power feed to it so I just ignored it Personally I would never own a gigabyte motherboard. I would go with ASUS or Asrock. I think you would be happy with either video card.

 

[mojorisin23]

whats your budget?

First off, for gaming you don't need more than 8 gb of RAM. even 8 you probably will not use. go with 4gb x 2 Hyper X. you can always get more and add it in the two slots later on.

no idea on the sound absorbing but if the unit is sitting on the desk next to you it might be worth it. mine is a good 5 ft away and under a desk so sound is minimal already.

I heard the same thing for the liquid/ air cooling. i just went with a Thermaltake FRIO and thank God everyday i did. its probably louder but again the computer is a distance away and under the desk. but i dont want to have to do anything as far as maintanence. i'm not sure what that entails but i've heard horror stories and would like to avoid them.

lastly the video card. the 580 is a great great card. obviously the 680 is better but that may delay your shipment as there are serious backordering or 680s. is the 59" samsung going to be your primary display? i'm not sure using a plasma screen that size to play games is a good idea. games usually have fixed images around the border and those may burn in. i know theyve made advances (i have the 58C8000) but i still wouldnt trust it with something that cost over 2k....

 

[kiLLscaLLion]

Thanks for the replies, guys. I made the following changes:

1) Switched my motherboard to Asus Intel Z77 Chipset DDR3 ATX Mainboard (3x PCIe x 16 (2 Gen3, 1 Gen2), 2 PCie x 1 & 2 PCI)
2) Reduced my RAM to 8 GB HyperX

Going to call them before I order to see if the GTX 680 is on backorder.

My budget is around $2K. Just looking for a solid, quiet system that'll last me a couple of years before I have to tear it apart to upgrade.

 

[mojorisin23]

There was a 5% off promo code. i think it was SPRING0410. make sure you use that too.

With Cyberpower as long as you steer clear of any item that says (...or major brand), you should be fine. PSU, RAM, Vid Card...etc.

 

[kiLLscaLLion]

Thanks.

Should I go with the Corsair or Kingston HyperX SSD?
Any thoughts on the PSU wattage?
Never mind about the USB flash drive question. I just realized it was an option to add a separate USB drive, not the USB input.

Edit: One more question - I've decided to switch to air cooling. Should I go with CoolerMaster V6 GT or Thermaltake FRIO overclocking cooler fan?

 

[mojorisin23]

i dont know anything about SSD so i'll leave that for someone else.

i have the thermaltake FRIO... my temp on load never went above 68C. so it works. so i can't say anything bad about it. obviously there's noise but all fans have that. i would compare decibel outputs on newegg and just go on blind faith.

650w is plenty for a single card config. it might be a little short if you decide to SLI later in life... thats why i went with an 850w, so that option is there without having to upgrade my PSU. but i would think if youre deciding between a 580 and a 680 - there will be no need to SLI...