CyberPower Pre-Built PC Help/Advice needed

[diethoney]

Hello all. Thank you in advance for your help.

I'm looking to have a computer built from CyberPower or iBuyPower. The budget is about $1,600 top end. I'm looking for something that can handle high game settings while streaming/recording.

I know that I can save money by purchasing the components and building the machine myself. I prefer a prebuilt for a few reasons, but the 3 year warranty/tech support is the biggest.

Anyway, here is the build I'm looking at so far. I have a couple of concerns/questions:

Wireless card? Depending on what room this goes in I won't have a wired connection.
Video card suggestions/changes? I've looked around and read suggestions to just install a video card myself because they're overcharging. I've honestly no idea how to do this//difficulty level. For a less than novice would this be advisable? I'm not
Motherboard suggestions/changes?
Will the options I've selected make heat a nonissue? I'm going to look in to overclocking, I've never done it before and don't know if I want to pay them for something I might be able to figure out on my own (unless it's suggested).
I haven't heard anything about the "smart response technology", any advice?

Anything obvious I'm overlooking/should fix would be appreciated. Thanks!

Build

Spoiler

Case: Thermaltake Level 10GTS Mid Tower Gaming Case w/ EasySwap HDD bays, 2x Front USB 3.0 Ports, & Headset Holder [+38] (White Color)

Internal USB Extension Module: None

Extra Case Fan Upgrade: Default case fans

CPU: Intel® Core™ i5-3570K 3.40 GHz 6MB Intel Smart Cache LGA1155 (All Venom OC Certified) [+34]

Cooling Fan: Corsair Hydro Series H60 High Performance Liquid Cooling System 120MM Radiator & Fan (Dual Standard 120MM Fans (Push-Pull) [+9])

Motherboard: * [CrossFireX] ASUS P8Z77-V LX Intel Z77 Chipset DDR3 ATX Mainboard w/ IRST, Lucid Virtu MVP, 7.1 HD Audio, GbLAN, 2x PCIe x16 (1 Gen3, 1 Gen2), 2x PCIe x1 & 3 PCI (Extreme OC Certified) [+6]

Intel Smart Response Technology for Z77: None

Memory: 8GB (4GBx2) DDR3/1600MHz Dual Channel Memory [+19] (Corsair XMS with Heat Spreader)

Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 4GB 16X PCIe 3.0 Video Card [+518] (EVGA Superclocked)

Power Supply Upgrade: 850 Watts - Raidmax RX-850AE 80 Plus Gold Power Supply [+95]

Hard Drive: 2TB (2TBx1) SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 64MB Cache 7200RPM HDD [+25] (Single Drive)

External Hard Drive (USB3.0/2.0/eSATA): None

Optical Drive: 24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive (BLACK COLOR)

Sound: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO

Network: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network

Wireless 802.11B/G Network Card: None
External Wireless Network Card: None
Wireless 802.11 B/G/N Access Point: None

Internal USB Port: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports

The total price is $1,509 at CyberPower

I've customized a similar machine at iBuyPower for $1,428. They don't seem to have the same cooling options though.

Spoiler

Case 1 x NZXT Vulcan Gaming Case-Black
Case Lighting 1 x Liquid Neon Thunder Pattern Light
i
Processor 1 x Intel® Core™ i5-3570K Processor (4x 3.40GHz/6MB L3 Cache)-Intel Core i5-3570K w/ Intel Performance Tuning Protection

Processor Cooling 1 x Certified CPU Fan and Heatsink-

Memory 1 x 8 GB [4 GB X2] DDR3-1600 Memory Module-G.Skill Ripjaws X

Video Card 1 x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 - 2GB - EVGA Superclocked - Core: 1046MHz-Single Card

Motherboard 1 x Gigabyte GA-Z77M-D3H -- 1x PCI-E 3.0 x16, Lucid Virtu Technology-

Power Supply 1 x-Free Upgrade to 750 Watt Corsair CMPSU-750TXV2 ($20 Savings)

Primary Hard Drive 1 x 2 TB HARD DRIVE -- 64M Cache, 7200rpm, 6.0Gb/s-Single Drive

Optical Drive 1 x 24X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive-Black

Sound Card 1 x 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard-
Network Card 1 x Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100)-
Operating System 1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium + Office Starter 2010 (Includes basic versions of Word and Excel)-64-Bit

Warranty 1 x 3 Year Standard Warranty Service-

My last option would be a machine built by the company that built my fiance's machine, which would look something like this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110901978765#ht_5268wt_985

No video card is selected yet. Advice from their options?

Sorry for the huge post. Thank's again for your help.

 

[ubercake]

USB wireless controllers run around $20:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833320049

I use one of these on one of the desktops in a part of my house that's not wired.

The iBuyPower build is decent. I like the PSU better on that one, though you're right about the cooling.

Overall, I like the Cyberpower build better. I like the Asus motherboards. You should upgrade to the P9Z77-V Pro though so you have the SLI option available to you. It's only a few bucks to upgrade (~$30).

The Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo will be as effective if not better than the H60. I'd choose this option unless you just want a smaller footprint over your processor.

With the exception of the Velociraptor drives, I don't like the fact that these builders don't allow you to pick your brand of HDD. Because of that, it leads me to believe you'll end up with a Cheapo Maxtor/Seagate or Hitachi that will probably last as long as the warranty on your PC.

One thing I'd do is get a Corsair Force GT 120GB. They'll install the OS to this. Then buy your own 1TB WD Caviar Black and add disks as necessary from there for $120:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533

Everything else about the Cyberpower build is decent.

 

[diethoney]

Thanks for the reply. I didn't see the motherboard you listed. The v-pro they have is ~125 or so upgrade, which will put me way above my budget. I upgraded to the next SLI, should be reflected in my new link. Also changed the cooling and HD.

Since the adapter is roughly the same price as an (as far as I can tell) mostly equal wireless card.

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/saved/1E92N2

Second build.

 

[mojorisin23]

change the PSU on the CP build to the corsair offering. its much better.

both sites have 5% off coupons so don't forget those.

agree with the second post. air cooling is much easier and just as good/better than water. i like the Thermaltake FRIO. the evo is good too...

 

[ubercake]

Thanks for the reply. I didn't see the motherboard you listed. The v-pro they have is ~125 or so upgrade, which will put me way above my budget. I upgraded to the next SLI, should be reflected in my new link. Also changed the cooling and HD.

Since the adapter is roughly the same price as an (as far as I can tell) mostly equal wireless card.

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/saved/1E92N2

Second build.

Everything looks great. Something to consider though regarding getting the 4GB card... When you want to go with an SLI setup, the VRAM on the second card will have to match the VRAM of the first or else you're going to have to jump through hoops to get it to work. The SLI FAQ item addressing this:

http://www.geforce.com/hardware/technology/sli/faq#c19

Coolbits is software that is not even readily available on the Nvidia site any longer and was developed in conjunction with drivers released around five years ago. I don't know too many people having success with this. This means, if you want to go with an SLI setup in the future, you would have to find another 4GB card and pay the premium. If you go with a 2GB GTX 670, they'll be readily available when you make the move to SLI and they will cost significantly less.

At any rate, I really don't think you're going to benefit much by going with the 4GB vs the 2GB at this stage in technology. Five years from now, I will be saying something different. Right now, there is no game out requiring 4GB to run at max potential. Also, even if you plan to run across 3 screens and go with SLI someday, all reviews indicate two 2GB 600-series card outperform two 3GB 7000-series cards at 5760x1080 (3x1080p screens) with most games:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-680-sli-overclock-surround,3162-5.html

The exceptions are Alien Vs Predator, Metro 2033, and Crysis 2. But this has nothing to do with a VRAM requirement.

I know it's not the GTX 670, but it demonstrates the performance of the 2GB Nvidia cards vs the 3GB Radeon cards across three screens. When we get into 4K monitors as the norm, a higher VRAM requirement may be more practical, but you'll probably be updating your whole system by that time.

As a result, I'd say you could go with the 2GB GTX 670 and sink the money you save into your WD Caviar Black drive.

 

[diethoney]

Thank you again for the replies. I've changed a couple of things and now just have a few decisions to make.

The first concerns the motherboard, the choice is between:

[CrossFireX/SLI] ASRock Z77 Extreme4 Intel Z77 Chipset DDR3 ATX Mainboard w/ IRST, Lucid Virtu MVP, XFast Technologies, 7.1 HD Audio, GbLAN, 3x PCIe x16 (2 Gen3, 1 Gen2), 2x PCIe x1 & 2 PC

[CrossFireX/SLI] ASUS P8Z77-V LK Intel Z77 Chipset DDR3 ATX Mainboard w/ IRST, Lucid Virtu MVP, 7.1 HD Audio, GbLAN, 3x PCIe x16 (2 Gen3, 1 Gen2), 2 PCie x1 & 2 PCI

They're both about the same price with MIR.

Second choice is between the 3 listed 8GB (4x2) memory options.
Corsair XMS with Heat Spreader
Kingston HyperX
Corsair Vengeance

Third choice- Mojorisin suggested the Corsair power supply but I'm not sure which was being referred to:

The options are:

Spoiler

* 650 Watts - Corsair CMPSU-650TXV2 80 Plus Power Supply - Quad SLI Ready

[FREE upgrade from Corsair 650W PSU] * 750 Watts - Corsair CMPSU-750TXV2 80 Plus Power Supply - Quad SLI Ready

750 Watts - Corsair Professional Series CMPSU-AX750 Gold 80 Plus Power Supply

[FREE upgrade from Corsair 750W PSU] * 850 Watts - Corsair CMPSU-850TXV2 80 Plus Power Supply - Quad SLI Ready

850 Watts - Corsair Professional Series CMPSU-AX850 80 Plus Gold Power Supply

The upgrade to the Thermaltake FRIO is doable if that's a better option than the Evo.

Lastly, the new build/case/MIR's and 5% discount put me about $200 under my budget. Any final suggestions?

I can upgrade to the i7-3770k for 126$, perhaps change graphics card, or make other smaller changes to soak up the rest of my budget. Just pocketing the difference is an option as well, but I'd like a good solid build to expand upon later so investing the extra money now isn't too much of a problem.

Also, any final thoughts on the 'intel smart response technology'?

 

[ubercake]

An AX-750 would handle everything. Even if you got a second 670. Personally, I'd go for the 850 (tx or ax) simply for the additional available power if ever necessary (depending on how far you go with the OC, you may want this).

With regard to the Frio, I'd refer you to the frostytech.com web site:
http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm

They've tested just about every cooler out there and have comparisons. The Frio with two fans is in the top 10 for controlling temps.

You don't need intel smart response technology since your boot drive will be SATA 3.0 6GB/s. Your disk rating will be 7.9 on the Windows Experience Index (this is the highest) with the SATA 3.0 SSD you've chosen. Intel smart response would be good if you were already running your OS on an HDD and you didn't want to buy an SSD drive large enough to fit all the data you'd clone from your HDD C:\ drive to the new SSD. Using smart response tech, the SSD would act as a cache for commonly used info from the HDD. As a result, you'd experience performance gains with the HDD. Not worth it if you already have an SSD for your boot drive.

If you upgrade to one of the Corsair PSUs and you still have additional monies available due to the 5% discount, I'd go with the Asus P8Z77-V Pro board.

 

[diethoney]

Thank you for all of your help. I truly appreciate it.

 

[diethoney]

Best answer selected by diethoney.

 

[mojorisin23]

right... always go a little more than necessary. you might not think of sometihng that would require that 100W now, but who knows what will come out in a few years that require more power. better to drop another 10 or 20 bucks now then have to buy a whole new PSU later on.

i recommended the Corsair TX850W.

both of those mobos are great. i have the ASRock so i know its good, but ASUS is great too so youre safe either way.