About to BUY - *last min advice!*

[theniceguy]

Ideas on this custom build below please!!
£1800.00 approx

System Overview

Custom Coloured Cases: *No Custom Colour Required*
Case: Thermaltake Level 10 GT Visionary Black
Motherboard - Intel Z77 Chipset: Asus Sabertooth Z77 Intel Z77 Chipset
CPU: Intel Core i7 3770K Ivy Bridge 3.5GHz Quad Core + Hyperthreading 8MB Cache
CPU Coolers: Corsair H100 Hydro Series Extreme Performance Cooler
Overclocking - CPU: Extreme Overclock - 4.6Ghz - Tuned to absolute safe maximum - Performance prioritised over acoustics.
Memory - DDR3: 16GB (2x8GB) Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600MHz
NVIDIA Graphics - Multi GPU SLI Options Available: 2GB EVGA GTX 680 1006MHz GPU 1536 Cores 6000MHz GDDR5
ATI Graphics - Multi GPU Crossfire Options Available: *No ATI VGA Card Required* (NVIDIA Required)
Power Supply Unit: 1050W Corsair HX Series V2 Modular (Dual GTX590 & ATI 6990)
Solid State Drives: 120GB Corsair Force 3 Sandforce SSD Read 550Mb s Write 510Mb s
System Drives: *Hard Drive Not Required - Using SSD drive above!*
Storage Hard drives: *Storage Hard Drive Not Required*
Optical Drive 1 - DVD Blu Ray: LG BH10LS38 Blu-ray & DVD Reader & Writer
Optical Drive 2 - DVD Blu Ray: *DVD Writer Not Required*
Sound Card: Asus Xonar DG 5.1 PCI Sound Card & Headphone Ampifier
Gaming Network Card: BigFoot Network Killer 2100 Pro Gaming Network Card
Internal External (USB) Wireless Adaptors: *Wireless Adaptor Not Required*
Lighting Effects: Sharkoon 4" UV CCFL 2in1 Kit
Operating system: *Operating System Not Required* (System Tested under Windows 7)
Software - Acronis True Image 2011 complete back-up software. : *No Backup Software Required*
Software - Application: *No Software Required*
Software - DVD Blu Ray Decoding: *DVD Blu Ray Decoding Software Not Required*
Software - Security: *No Software Required*
Software - Hottest PC Games: *No Software Required*
TFT Monitor: *Monitor Not Required*
NVIDIA 3D Vision TFT Monitor - Requires NVIDIA Graphics Card: *NVIDIA 3D Vision Not Required*
Gaming Keyboard : *Gaming Keyboard Not Required*
Gaming Mouse Option: *Gaming Mouse Not Required*
Gaming Mouse Mat: *Gaming Mouse Mat Not Required*
Headphones: *Gaming Headphones Not Required*
Speakers: *Speakers Not Required*

 

[tsnor]

re: "Overclocking - CPU: Extreme Overclock - 4.6Ghz - Tuned to absolute safe maximum " make sure you know how to set the CPU to not overclocked, most of the time you will not need to pump up an i7 3770K and it will live much longer at stock voltage/frequency. Make sure you understand how long CPU will live at 4.6ghz. find out what voltage they are using and make sure you are OK with it.

re: "16GB" guess this is future proofing, or maybe you do some video editing that needs it? else 8 is more than enough, 4 is adequate.

re: "Solid State Drives: 120GB Corsair Force 3 Sandforce SSD Read 550Mb s Write 510Mb s. System Drives: *Hard Drive Not Required - Using SSD drive above!* "

you are not installing many games on a 120GB drive. Grab a 2TB WD back or equivalent (or a pair in raid 0).

"Gaming Network Card: BigFoot Network Killer 2100 Pro Gaming Network Card " most reviews say this does *nothing* good.

"Operating system: *Operating System Not Required* " ??? you'll need an OS. you thinking linux? Make sure you know how to install the right drivers for whatever OS you are installing. Make sure its a 64bit system (you have 16gb ram).

 

[theniceguy]

thanks for the response,

overclocking: im only looking to yet a maximum of one year in full use, after which most likely it will be returned to default levels

memory: the 16GB is for future proofing, but also encoding/transcoding large video files etc.

hdd: this pc is not for gaming, i chose that GPU for possible calculations.

network: a mistake i wanted to choose the dual band 6300 AGN by intel.

os: i have a spare copy at home of windows 7, lol not pirated haha but fedora dual boot for research apps made for linux

now that you know this is not for gaming, what would you reccomend i change? i was thinking the mutil core GPU can be utilized for some calcs within linux.

thanks in advance for any info

 

[tsnor]

If this is a compute node then I'd start with what Software you'll be running and see what works well for you. For example, some programs may be known to work or not work with gtx680. I'd also check the linux distro and see if it supports the MB chipset/cpu you spec'ed. You'll want power management working correctly.

If it is mostly a toy system (like mine) and you just want high end parts because that fits budget then this is a really nice system. It should last a long time.

Even though the i7 3770 and GTX680 are both really power efficient you'll be heating the room with the CPU and GPU both running. Consider the placement of the system. For example, a compute bound job that uses CPU and GPU will dump 300W - 400W into your environment. Make sure where you place the PC can get rid of the heat. Your case should be fine expelling the heat as long as the environment doesn't send the hot air from the case exhaust in back to the case intakes in front.

re: cpu overclock. For me --> I'd run stock first then overclock later in life when if I torched the CPU i could replace with a better part. No way I could run for a year then turn it slower. For you --> whatever works. You've get a system configured to handle the OC, it's just bad luck if the CPU/MB fails under the load.

Aside, I have a honda S2000, it revs to 9000 rpm. It's designed for short bursts to 9000, not for running there 24X7. No one would take the s2000 engine and put it in an airplane where the engine runs at a good percent of max load constantly. I'd worry more about your CPU overclock in a compute environment than a game environment because the hours of power-on full load use are so much higher. I use a q6600 system in a compute grid -- it sits at 60+C all day long at 100% cpu, no OC. It never hit those temps when used for gaming. The failure curve for electronics is very heat/voltage/frequency sensitive.

 

[theniceguy]

Firstly thank you for the insight, clearly your an individual who has a fair bit of knowledge in terms of hardware, hence why I want to pick your brain further, my research assistant is not avaliable who knows 'hardware', he did highlight these components as well as many similar that fully accept the requirements I need (for full compat).

I'm looking to also use this for other means such as transfers of large data constantly from servers this material e.g 4TB/6TB per month, will this build have any issues? In terms of overheating whilst multitasking on its own, there is ventilation but lol my previous pc's ALL reached TJ max and failed lol. Do I need other cooling methods?

You are right the pc will actually be at 80-100% all the time, hence my prior overheating issues (there were not water cooled just stock fans utilized), I'm only looking to get 1 year with this CPU I will then replace if need be.

Also the build will be by scans.co.uk, are they ok? I'm a newbie with no time to follow tutorials to do this myself.

Oh and this case isnt the actual level 10 initially designed its a smaller more basic version, is it a good case, metallically? Not cheap plastic...

Thanks bro, clearly I'm a n00b at this but need to order today!

 

[tsnor]

Data transfer == this build has no problems, but that 120GB drive will need many cycles to move "4TB/6TB per month". Expect a 1gbit ethernet network to deliver 20-50MB/sec. With a sequential pattern your SSD will do that too. (ignore the 500MB/sec nonsense they quote, best you will hit is 25mb/sec @4K random or 200 @ 128K sequential). 6TB/month averages to only 2MB/sec over a month. So sustained rates are no problem. If you send all the data at one time it'll take a while. 5TB @ 50Mb/sec = 5000 000 / 50 = 100K seconds = about a day to transfer.

aside: Intel rates their SSDs with the same controller and better flash as "The SSD will have a minimum of five years of useful life under 5 years
typical client workloads with up to 20 GB of host writes per day." 5TB/month = 160 GB/day pushing you into early wearout range on the drive. You should monitor this using SMART data provided by the SF controller in your Corsair Force 3 drive. Plan to replace before drive fails.

"my previous pc's ALL reached TJ max and failed" not good. was this a room temp issue? even bad heatsink should prevent this. Google hwmonitor by cpuid. it's free. run it or something else that records max temps. Take action long before you fry the cpu. could be blocked heat sink/dust. or bad ambient temps or bad case cooling.

I don't know the water cooling system or case you are using. However both the CPU and GPU are pretty power efficient, so may be are not pushing the cooling solution like other parts might.

"Build will be by scans.co.uk, are they ok? " Don't know, maybe google a bit and see. Call and ask if this is the right Heat/sink/fan for system running 100% 24x7.

"is it a good case, metallically? " no clue, again google. Ask the builder about extra case fans.

 

[theniceguy]

Just ordered the unit, thanks for your help tsnor!