Need help deceiding on GPU

[psyadj]

hello there,
i am building my first gaming pc and have trouble deceiding what GPU to get due to lack of knowledge, im reading alot about it since weeks but i am still confused.
I was pretty sure i get myself a GTX 580, but i have now deceided to get a Dell Ultrasharp 27" monitor and have read somewhere that this card might not be that great for this high a resolution, or that i might need to get the 3gb version.
So far i have:

Obsidian 800D case
Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 mobo
corsair h100 cpu cooler
i7 2600k
Corsair ax1200 gold powersupply (not bought yet)
16gb corsair vengaence ram (not bought yet)
120gb ssd (not bought yet)
3tb seagate hd

any help, any opinions welcome

thanks

 

[ricardois]

i would look over the 680 before jumping to the 580 if i were you.
for high resolutions 2gb is not enough (high resolutions is 3 screens) but for a single screen 2560 x 1440 2gb is enough...

you could also check the 7970 if you really need 3GB gpu.

 

[psyadj]

thanks...did i understand correctly that the 680 is better in all categorys only lower bandwith, and i assume thats not that important. 680 would be better future proof wise aswell i assume..

 

[freddy1765]

I'd say that PSU is overkill, no point spending that much money on one. A good 750W is plenty, and you'd save a lot of money/put it into a GPU.
This seems a good option, also has 4 PCIe 6pins if you decide on 2 GPUs at one point.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182133

 

[freddy1765]

Also, you could easily make due with an Arctic Cooling Hyper 212 Evo CPU cooler, unless you want to overclock like a maniac or something.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099

 

[ricardois]

yes agreed you could go with a good 750W corsair PSU, it will handle a 680 and any overclock you put there.

 

[geofelt]

Good choice on the monitor.

I use two 2560 x 1600 monitors, and I never had a problem with the 1.5gb GTX580.
If you want, a GTX680, start shopping now. They are hard to find. There will be 4gb versions available, but who knows when? I find the 2gb version to be no problem.

One nice thing about the GTX680 is that it needs only a 550w psu.
Even if you were contemplating sli, 750-850w would be plenty.
Corsair is good, along with Seasonic, XFX, PC P&C, and Antec.

For gaming, a 8gb(2 x 4gb) kit should be plenty. Nothing wrong with 16gb.

For gaming, the 2500K will be just as good as the 2600K.
The 3750K will be available by the end of the month, and should be 10% beter than the 2500K.

Look at the new Z77 chipset based motherboards. They seem to have more features at a lower price.

I would exchange the H100 cooler for a good air cooler. It will be quieter, less expensive, more reliable, and will cool just as well in your case.

For the ssd, Intel 520 or Samsung 830 series seem to be the best.

 

[psyadj]

i thought i get the 1200 psu because to be totally future proof. might want to do wsatercooling later on and whatever else comes around. but i see i could save some money there...i just thought it would be annoying to buya biggerone later.
i already have the mobo and the cpu

 

[psyadj]

i am glad about youre info that the cards are good enough. i totally misunderstood the info i read so far.

 

[psyadj]

so i definately consider the 680. Also the advice with PSU, might get a corsair 850..
also the i5 is quite a bit cheaper..is there no advantage at all to get an i7?
I`m wondering why the H-100 is not so good? i read in reviews that its good and cools enough on the lowest, most quite setting.
If i understand correctly, with the 680 i could even later on add a second dell 27" and wont need a dual GPU?

 

[geofelt]

so i definately consider the 680. Also the advice with PSU, might get a corsair 850..
also the i5 is quite a bit cheaper..is there no advantage at all to get an i7?
I`m wondering why the H-100 is not so good? i read in reviews that its good and cools enough on the lowest, most quite setting.
If i understand correctly, with the 680 i could even later on add a second dell 27" and wont need a dual GPU?

Most games use only 2 or three cores. The extra hyperthreads on the 2600K will go largely unused.
The 2500K will OC to about the same sane levels as the 2600K, which I figure is 4.0 to 4.5. Plenty for any games. So there is not much value there.

Cooler reviews are usually done on an open test bed.
Installed in a case, the H100 wants you to draw in air from the outside to cool the cpu radiator. The heated air then gets dumped into the case where you now have two fewer 120mm fans to get the heat extracted.
The H100 has more moving parts, namely the pump.

If you were trying for record CPU overclocks, I could see an argument for the H100.
But when a $30 cooler like the cm hiper212 will get you within a few c. , I don't see the point.
If you wanted the best, and quietest, look at the Noctua NH-D14 air cooler.

I don't know of any games that use two monitors; There must be some. If you have two monitors attached, you will game on the primary, and the other will normally have low gpu requirements, like monitors or e-mail. That is what I do. Even showing a HD movie is not gpu intensive. I can't imagine watching a movie while gaming though.

My plan for upgrade, if I ever need to is to simply replace my GTX680 with the next best thing. Either the dual gpu version, or the stronger kepler follow on.

 

[psyadj]

thanks geofelt. Since i already have it, i guess i just give it a try and see how it goes.
Might sell it on ebay or somewhere if my temps are too high.
had a look around and looks like the MSI Twin Frozr 680 is a good one, good cooling.
forgot to mention aswell that im into Photography and use CS5 alot, also plan in the future to buy a camera and play with adobe after effects

 

[geofelt]

thanks geofelt. Since i already have it, i guess i just give it a try and see how it goes.
Might sell it on ebay or somewhere if my temps are too high.
had a look around and looks like the MSI Twin Frozr 680 is a good one, good cooling.
forgot to mention aswell that im into Photography and use CS5 alot, also plan in the future to buy a camera and play with adobe after effects

Again, cooling on the twin frozr will look good in an open testbed. In a case, all of the heated gpu air is sent to the case where it recirculates. Tha heats up both the gou and the cpu. I prefer the direct exhaust type coolers that come with the stock reference cards.
It really is a non issue, since the GTX680 stays relatively cool regardless.

CS5 is, I believe 64 bit enabled. I think it can use all the ram you can give it; go with the 16gb kit.
You can get 16gb either with a 2 x 8gb kit or a 4 x 4gb kit. The 8gb sticks are a bit more expensive, but it preserves you option to go to 32gb.

 

[psyadj]

thanks for all the good info. i was wondering wich ram to get,im going for 2 8gb blue vengaence sticks..looks good on this mobo i think

 

[psyadj]

i reread those h100 reviews, and they where actually tested in a case, compared to other similar coolers and aircoolers...and the result is in all of them that the h100 is rather impressive. even at its lowest setting wich practically inaudible. it gets only noisy on medium or performance setting..wich im not gonna need anyway