New Gaming Rig

[sirbob77]

about to fly home from a deployment over here in Afghanistan and i've been pretty psyched to build a new desktop for gaming as i've been using a laptop for the past two years.

I'm still not sure if i want to go water-cooled for the cpu and OC it or just leave it at stock and go with a heat sink. also will this or a similar build require a special power strip or surge protector or will any work? also i haven't built or even look at building a desktop for a long time and im way behind on the new stuff out aside from the little bit of research i've been doing the past month, so any recommendations would be awesome.


case -
Antec Lanboy Air Yellow ATX Mid Tower Computer Modular Case

cpu -
intel i7 3770k

motherboard -
asus p8z77-v pro thunderbolt

ram -
corsair vengeance 16gb ddr3 4x4 1600mhz 9-9-9-24

graphics -
evga geforce gtx 680 2gb SLI (2)

psu -
corsair hx850

ssd and hdd -
OCZ Vertex 4 Series - Solid state drive - internal - 256 GB - 2.5" - Serial ATA-600
Seagate Barracuda ST3000DM001 3TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5"

sound -
ASUS Xonar DX 7.1 Channels PCI Sound Card

 

[inzone]

Hi and here's hopeing for a safe retrn from where you are , My brother just ame back from there (civilian contractor) and unfortunately is heading back at the end of the month. He has told me of what it's like there and I can't imagine dealing with that situatioin so let's get you a nice gaming powerhouse for you to use.
I would like to know the budget amount that your working with , there are a few choices that need adjusting.
You don't need or will you ever use 16gb of ram for gaming. 8gb will be good and you won't use more than 6gb of that.
The motherboards have HD sound and some have Dolby Digital and DTS of THX so a sound card is not needed. I can look up a few parts for you to look at and consider.

 

[inzone]

CORSAIR H70 Core High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler
$79.99 and a $10 rebate makes the final price $69.99.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181019

CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 15000) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1866C9B
$59.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233170

An Intel SSD is much more reliable than the OCZ and when given a choice between the two I would take the Intel.

Intel 520 Series Cherryville SSDSC2CW240A3K5 2.5" 240GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
$328.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=20-167-086

Western Digital Caviar Black WD2002FAEX 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
$199.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136792

You can certianly go with the two GTX 680's but benchmarks have shown that the GTX 670 is only a few fps off of the 680 and certianly not worht the extra $100 for the 680. The 670 will max out any game just like the 680 and when compared side by side in sli they are only seperated by 5-8 fps. Don't ask me why Nvidia did this and it makes no sense from a retail stand point but the benchmarks are there.

EVGA 02G-P4-2678-KR GeForce GTX 670 FTW 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
$419.99 and a $10 rebate makes the final price $409.99.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130787

No sound card needed unless you have a specific use for it , I use onboard sound for gaming and it's just as good. The MB you have chosen has 8 channel HD sound with DTS.

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/P8Z77V_PROTHUNDERBOLT/

The psu could be a top quality brand and I have this same brand in my computer and like the quality.

SeaSonic X Series X-850 (SS-850KM Active PFC F3) 850W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS 12V v2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply
$159.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151102

So the case , MB , and cpu are good and no changes there.

 

[inzone]

http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-670-2-and-3way-sli-review/15

http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-670-2-and-3way-sli-review/17

Here are a few benchmarks to show you what I was refering to.

 

[sirbob77]

thanks inzone, and thanks to your brother, the civilian contractors help out a ton! i'm infantry and it's definitely crazy out here and i've been waiting for a new rig for some time! as far as my budget, i'd like to aim for around the 2k mark and on top of that i'll most likely be grabbing a new monitor, and all the other goodies like keyboard, mouse, and headphones but those i can grab later down the road.

for the cpu cooler you suggested i'll need to grab a fan as well for it?

for the ssd, i'll definitely check out the intel ones. for the hdd, the western digital black series was one of the original choices i had so i'll go back and check it out.

thanks for pointing out the gtx 670's rather than the gtx 680's. the benchmarks speak for themselves and the price difference is definitely a nice bonus! i'll probably be grabbing the gtx 670's.

as far as the ram goes, i was kind of waiting for some feedback on not needing 16gb cause so far i've been seeing that 8gb is plenty like you said. is there any chance that needing more than 8gb in the near future (year or two) is a possibility?

will drop the sound card if the on board is good enough. i'm no audiophile and i don't know too much about it but as long as it gets the job done, i'll be happy.

the SeaSonic psu looks good and is a bit cheaper than the one i listed so i'll check it out for sure.

 

[sirbob77]

questions:
for the ram, is 2x4gb better than 4x2gb sticks?

also, on the hdd, why the western digital 2tb over the seagate 3tb? relatively the same price. i've always had western digital hdd's and never had any problems so that'd be one point for me but are they better or faster in any way? or is seagate not up to par?

 

[inzone]

You do need to get a 120mm fan for that cooler but if you go with this one the fam comes with it.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835209049

With the ram by going with 2x8gb it leaves you with two open slots so if you do want to add another set of the same you can. I have a second monitor that I have running when gaming so I can keep some things open like programs that monitor the heat and performances of the cpu and gpu. I had bought 24gb of ram thinking it would be great for gaming and other things so while I had a game up I also had the performance monitor running and it showed me how much ram was being used by the system for everything that was open and running and I was only using 5gb of ram. That includes the game and any open programs running in the background , so it will take a while for games to get up to needing 8gb or more and you will have those two open slots to add if needed.
As far as the hard drive goes I have had both WD and Seagate brands and prefer WD , 2TB is an enourmous amount of space and if you fill it up it can take the OS a good amount of time to search through it for what your needing so if you start to come close to capacity you can always add another , or you can get the 3tb Seagate it's not a major choice if you decide to go with the Seagate and I won't be afended by that choice.(LOL)
If your looking for a good monitor they have come out with some nice 2560x1440 27" monitors and the price range is $600 to $900 , but if those are too expensive then there are other 1920x1080 like these;

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001553

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001551

 

[sirbob77]

the one you linked was the first choice i looked at when i considered liquid cooling, coincidentally. so i'll probably end up going with that one.

good point on the ram.

i'll have to start checking out monitors. i've ran with a 27" vizio on my previous rigs and i may grab another (new) one but i was also entertaining getting a 24" one as well, like this one

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006HIKIP6/ref=ox_ya_os_product

 

[inzone]

There are a ton of monitors to choose from and you do want to get one that has a low ms response time , a 2ms time is very good.

 

[azeem40]

That response time isn't really the response time. It is a marketing ploy. The actual GTG response time is quite higher.

 

[sirbob77]

That response time isn't really the response time. It is a marketing ploy. The actual GTG response time is quite higher.

for the BenQ RL2450HT?

 

[inzone]

That seems to go against the maketing ploy. When it says 5ms and (2msGTG). So with this monitor it's the opposite the GTG is much lower than the advrtised 5ms.

 

[azeem40]

What says 5ms and 2ms GTG? No monitor is going to be exactly what the manufacturer states it is. 8ms and below is fine for a response time.

 

[inzone]

BenQ RL2450HT Black-Red 24" 5ms (2ms GTG) HDMI Widescreen Height & Pivot Adjustable LED-Backlit LCD Monitor 250 cd/m2 DC 12M:1 (1000:1)
$259.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824014269

 

[azeem40]

Still doesn't prove that it is the exact response time. Like I've said before, no monitor is going to be what the manufacturer states it is.

 

[inzone]

All I'm saying is that if the times are not correct as you say then what do you have to go by and I go by the response time . If they exaggerate the times then you can still go by the lowest since the times will be still lower then the next one that says a higher number.

 

[azeem40]

As long as the response time is 8ms or less, you are fine. That is why the U2312HM is still good cuz of its low input lag (tested).

 

[sirbob77]

i figure that specs for most things aren't going to be 100% but as long as it says 8ms or lower i should be good, right?

 

[azeem40]

According to what I have seen most people notice, yes. There is more to a monitor than response time, though.

 

[sirbob77]

ok well with this build i'm working on, could i do a 27" with 2560x1440 like inzone mentioned for monitors? i'm not sure if when i had my last desktop rig that doing that sort of res was even an option for anything near what i was willing to pay and my laptop i've been using for the past 2 years (asus g73jw) and i've been used to 1920x1080 so jumping up in res would be sweet.

 

[azeem40]

Yes, but there is a panel that is IPS that is 27", but only $300. Get the Yamakasi Catleap.

 

[inzone]

Where would you get this monitor from? The only place I have seen it is on e-bay and the people selling them are in South Korea. The ones on Newegg are more expensive and if your wanting to get one then you could shop around and see if there is any lower prices. The thing is that once you get one you won't want to go back to 1920x1080 you'll be hooked with that higher resolution. I have the HP 30" with 2560x1600 and a second monitor that is 27" and 1920x1080 besde it and what a difference , I thought the 27" was a very nice monitor but not now. There's nothing better than gaming on a 30" 2560x1600 monitor and the second best is the 27" 2560x1440.
There is another option that is less expensive and that is to go with a 120hz monitor , I was actually deciding between the 30" and a 27" 120hz monitor because there is also a big difference in the 120hz monitors.

HP ZR2740w Black and Brushed Aluminum 27" 12 ms (GTG) IPS Panel Height & Pivot Adjustable Widescreen LED-Backlit LCD Monitor 380 cd/m2 1000:1
$679.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824176242

Dell UltraSharp U2711 IPS-Panel Black 27" 6ms HDMI Swivel & Height Adjustable Widescreen LCD Monitor with PremierColor 350 cd/m2 80000:1 (1000:1)
$819.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824260038


ASUS VG Series VG278H Black 27" 2ms HDMI Swivel & Height Adjustable Widescreen LED Backlight LCD 3D 120Hz Monitor 300 cd/m2 ASCR 50,000,000:1 w/ 3D glasses and speakers
$599.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236206

Acer HN274Hbmiiid Black 27" 2ms Full HD HDMI WideScreen LED 120Hz 3D Monitor 300 cd/m2 ACM 10,000,000:1 w/Speakers & 3D glasses
$549.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009300

The 120hz monitors are also used for 3D so you don't have to use the monitor for 3D , it can be used both ways.

 

[azeem40]

http://www.overclock.net/t/1225919/yamakasi-catleap-monitor-club/950

 

[sirbob77]

Best answer selected by sirbob77.

 

[sirbob77]

ok so i've been reading up on monitors a tad bit and here's what i've come to:
ISP - good image quality and response time, lower input lag on most aside form the tested ones (as azeem40 brought up)
TN - not up to par for image quality but good response time and low input lag

refresh rate im not so sure about...im assuming the higher the better as inzone suggested 120hz monitors for the 27"

also the yamakasi catleap monitor azeem40 suggested i looked at and read up a bit on it via that monitor club forum. again, there was a lot of talk about overclocking the monitors for different hz or something which was a bit over my head but for an ISP panel at 300-500 it looks decent and people seemed happy with it but if oc'ing is needed then i probably wont consider it