Questions and Looking for advice on ~$2000 build

VoidXC

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Jul 17, 2012
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I think I have a pretty good build here, but before I buy I want to get some questions answered and take any suggestions you may have.

Questions:
I don't think I will be overclocking, and if I am it will be minimal. Is the ASUS Sabertooth still worth getting or is the increased price simply due to its better overclocking abilities?

Is having a boot drive SSD and Storage SSD any better performance-wise for games due to the OS processes going on at the same time as the game running, or is a single larger SSD like I am leaning towards the same or not a noticeable performance hit?

I'm thinking about getting 3 monitors sometime in the future. Should I go with the GTX 670 with 4gb RAM? It's cheaper not to, and I don't mind turning down graphics, or simply using 1 monitor for a game if the performance is lacking.

Is the X79/Sandy Bridge-E worth it for future-proofing? I don't want to have to spend a whole bunch on upgrading in another year simply because my motherboard doesn't support the socket out at that time. I'm upgrading from my trusty LGA-775 gaming desktop that is finally getting sluggish.

Approximate Purchase Date: This week/next week

Budget Range: $1600-2200

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, compiling, every day use

Are you buying a monitor: Yes
ASUS VS Series VS238H-P Black 23" 2ms HDMI LED Backlight Widescreen LCD Monitor 250 cd/m2 50,000,000:1
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236175
(Unless anyone suggests something better/cheaper)

Parts to Upgrade:

GPU:
EVGA 02G-P4-2678-KR GeForce GTX 670 FTW 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130787

CPU:
Intel Core i7-3820 Sandy Bridge-E 3.6GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 2011 130W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80619i73820
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=19-115-229&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Page=2#scrollFullInfo

Mobo:
ASUS Sabertooth X79 LGA 2011 Intel X79 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131801
OR
ASUS P9X79 PRO LGA 2011 Intel X79 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with USB BIOS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131800


SSD:
SAMSUNG 830 Series MZ-7PC256D/AM 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) Desktop Upgrade Kit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=20-147-135&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Page=4#scrollFullInfo

RAM:
CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ16GX3M4X1600C9G
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233247&nm_mc=OTC-pr1c3grabb3r&cm_mmc=OTC-pr1c3grabb3r-_-Memory+(Desktop+Memory)-_-Corsair-_-20233247

Case:
Corsair Carbide Series 400R Graphite grey and black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Gaming Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139008

CPU cooling:
CORSAIR H100 (CWCH100) Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181017

Power Supply:
SeaSonic X750 Gold 750W ATX12V V2.3/EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151087


Do you need to buy OS: No

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg/amazon

Location: Keene, NH

Parts Preferences: Intel/Nvidia

Overclocking: No or maybe slightly

SLI or Crossfire: Not now. Possibly in the future

Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080
 
Solution
I would seriously recommend investing on a 27 or 30" IPS panel instead of going for a 3-monitor setup. No TN panel comes close to the color accuracy and clarity of an IPS panel. There is a Korean brand called Catleap that sells 27" panels for a ~$300 that are almost exactly the same as the equivalent Dell, HP, or Apple IPS display. If you don't know what are IPS panels, you better look that up!

If your rig is mostly for gaming, a 2500k or 3570k should be more than enough. That extra money can be used for the monitor.

For the CPU, an Asus P8Z77 V should suffice, but spend a bit more if you need higher clocks.

Try to aim for the Asus DirectCU Top or Gigabyte Windforce GTX 670 instead of the EVGA one. The OC are just as high and run...

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator
I don't think I will be overclocking, and if I am it will be minimal. Is the ASUS Sabertooth still worth getting or is the increased price simply due to its better overclocking abilities?

No - and neither is the H100. You can eliminate both of these and save some money there. Go with a Hyper 212 Evo or Noctua NH-U9B instead.

Is having a boot drive SSD and Storage SSD any better performance-wise for games due to the OS processes going on at the same time as the game running, or is a single larger SSD like I am leaning towards the same or not a noticeable performance hit?

Yes - the small SSD / large HD combo will yield the lowest cost per GB possible - which is what I always try to emphasize. It's best to get 128GB for now and then you can always add more if your needs increase. You have to keep things in mind like formatting when you buy drives.

I'm thinking about getting 3 monitors sometime in the future. Should I go with the GTX 670 with 4gb RAM? It's cheaper not to, and I don't mind turning down graphics, or simply using 1 monitor for a game if the performance is lacking.

Yeah it's cheaper not to, but it certainly doesn't hurt to have the extra VRAM.

Is the X79/Sandy Bridge-E worth it for future-proofing? I don't want to have to spend a whole bunch on upgrading in another year simply because my motherboard doesn't support the socket out at that time. I'm upgrading from my trusty LGA-775 gaming desktop that is finally getting sluggish.

There's no such thing as being completely future proof. Intel says LGA 2011 is going to be around the next few years but it took them so long to release Ivy that there's no telling what can happen. Games are far more dependent on GPUs than CPUs anymore and it's better to invest in the GPU than it is the CPU. You don't want to overpay for performance that isn't there.

Try something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($339.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 1.5TB 3.5" 5900RPM Internal Hard Drive ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 4GB Video Card ($492.55 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom (White) ATX Full Tower Case ($134.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($22.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (64-bit) ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1795.43
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
 

venur

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Dec 7, 2011
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Well what are your going tod o with that PC ? Gaming ? editing ?

For gaming the i5-3570k is the best CPU available, going for the i7 bring nothing.

And well for 2000$ you can easely have a crucial m4 512gb and a top gaming system if you already have the monitor.

As for the 4gb well my bro run BF3 on ultra with 4MSAA with a single 670gtx 2gb on a 3 monitor set-up (5000x1200p) just fine.

At the price of the 670gtx 4gb I,d rather buy a HD7970 as it has 3gb bether peformance and cheaper. The 670gtx at 500$ make no sense as nowaday not a single game even need 3gb sot he radeon card with 3gb is realy futur proof.

so well like I said don,t waste 340$ ont an i7 if its for a gaming PC as the i5-3570k for 230$ will bring the exact same performance.


 

VoidXC

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Jul 17, 2012
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No - and neither is the H100. You can eliminate both of these and save some money there. Go with a Hyper 212 Evo or Noctua NH-U9B instead.

The reason I chose the H100 is due to its decreased size over the motherboard mainly. Of course, it's cool looking and could potentially slightly increase the life of my CPU too. I was just concerned that a large aftermarket CPU cooler would block the RAM slots. Any good CPU coolers you know of that won't do that to my RAM/mobo combination?
 

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator


Not really - there's no proof that liquid coolers will increase the life of your CPU. An aftermarket cooler won't block the RAM slots provided you get low profile RAM - which is what I always recommend.
 

ohhgourami

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Sep 6, 2011
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I would seriously recommend investing on a 27 or 30" IPS panel instead of going for a 3-monitor setup. No TN panel comes close to the color accuracy and clarity of an IPS panel. There is a Korean brand called Catleap that sells 27" panels for a ~$300 that are almost exactly the same as the equivalent Dell, HP, or Apple IPS display. If you don't know what are IPS panels, you better look that up!

If your rig is mostly for gaming, a 2500k or 3570k should be more than enough. That extra money can be used for the monitor.

For the CPU, an Asus P8Z77 V should suffice, but spend a bit more if you need higher clocks.

Try to aim for the Asus DirectCU Top or Gigabyte Windforce GTX 670 instead of the EVGA one. The OC are just as high and run much cooler and quieter.

Go with a Noctua NH-D14 as your CPU cooler instead. It will perform the same as the H100 and also quieter. If you're hellbent on water cooling, get a proper custom loop instead of psuedo water cooling like the H-series.

Try to get the Samsung Low Voltage 30nm ram as it is very low profile and no gimmicky heatsinks. Also OCs very very high.

Case is fine and so is PSU.

Buying all of the above without a monitor should cost roughly $1600 at normal prices. That means you can fit a 27" IPS monitor into your budget!
 
Solution

phenom90

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Jul 27, 2010
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in general x79 platform won't show much improvement in games compared to z77 platform.. should you want to build a pc for general usage i'd say z77 are much better because it is cheaper to boot...

cpu: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504
Intel Core i5-3570K - $230

mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157293
ASRock Z77 Extreme4 - $130

ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233280
CORSAIR Vengeance LP 16GB - $105

hsf: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus - $20

xtra fan: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103069
COOLER MASTER R4-BMBS-20PK-R0 Blade Master - $12

hdd: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148840
Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB - $90

ssd: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820171567
SanDisk Extreme SDSSDX-120G-G25 2.5" 120GB - $110

psu: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341051
OCZ ZT Series 650W Fully-Modular - $80

gpu: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130802
EVGA 02G-P4-2676-KR GeForce GTX 670 FTW LE - $400

lcd: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824005240
LG IPS231B-BN Black 23" - $210
 

ohhgourami

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Sep 6, 2011
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the bay. just know that some will come with a dead pixel or slightly off backlighing. you probably would not notice unless you look really hard. the monitor is so pixel dense that a grain of dust would be more noticeable than a dead pixel. thats why its so cheap, but it is still one hell of a bargain!
 

venur

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Dec 7, 2011
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No dead pixel on mine and be aware that even Asus monitor can have dead pixel and some dealer won't exchange your monitor unless you got 4 dead pixel.

The catleap is graded A- instead of A+ (those sell for 600-700$) but A- still a dam good quality as your average 200$ monitor from asus got a lower grade.
 
Here is my suggestion with the left over money get whatever monitor you want also if this is mostly for gaming get the i5 instead
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($339.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master V6 GT 93.7 CFM CPU Cooler ($46.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V PRO ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($209.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($117.85 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 4GB Video Card ($492.55 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 500R White ATX Mid Tower Case ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Sony AD-7280S-0B DVD/CD Writer ($22.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1775.30
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
 

ohhgourami

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Sep 6, 2011
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I really wouldn't bother with a TN panel, especially at this budget. It would be stupid to spend so much on a computer which all displays on your monitor and have a sub par experience.

It would be like buying spending a track day on economy tires.
 

VoidXC

Honorable
Jul 17, 2012
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Thank you for the input everyone!
I've updated my build a bit as per your suggestions. Here is what I'm looking at now:

CPU: i5-3570k
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504

GPU: EVGA 02G-P4-2678-KR GeForce GTX 670 FTW 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130787
OR
The 4gb version of the above. Will I see improved performance if I go with the catleap monitors with an extra RAM GPU as well or is that a tri-monitor thing only?

mobo: ASUS P8Z77-V PRO LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131819

PSU: SeaSonic X750 Gold 750W ATX12V V2.3/EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151087

Case:Corsair Carbide Series 400R Graphite grey and black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Gaming Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139008

Ram: G.SKILL Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-1600C10D-16GAO
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=20-231-558&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Page=2#scrollFullInfo

DvD burner: Sony Optiarc 24X DVD Burner, Bulk Package 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model AD-7280S-0B - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118067&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-CD/DVD%20Burners%20(RW%20Drives)-_-Sony%20Optiarc%20America%20Inc-_-27118067&AID=10440897&PID=3938566&SID=


CPU cooler:
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R2 Continuous Direct Contact 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler Compatible with latest Intel 2011/1366/1155 and AMD FM1/AM3+
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099

I don't really need an HDD since I have a 2tb external Hd and a laptop for storage. This computer will only really have games and some programming stuff.

Monitor:
27" IPS panel 2560x1440p (catleap)
OR
3x LG IPS231B-BN Black 23"

So: Catleap versus 3 monitors. 2gb gtx 670 versus 4gb gtx 670. What shall I get?
 

daamz

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Jul 9, 2012
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how big your monitor untill you want to buy 4GB GPU? 2GB GPU with 256bit is enough for the time being. When u want to upgrade again in the next 2-3 years, u may buy another 2GB GPU with a very cheap price.. i5-3570k is good enough but it is not wrong either to go for 17-3770k.. but 4GB GPU? Is that will beneficial you on your 1920 x 1080 monitor?
 

ohhgourami

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Those 23 inch LG IPS are e-IPS panels which are inferior to the S-IPS used on the Catleap. For the price of triple 23", why not get dual 27"? You would obviously need a 4gb GPU for both choices. But at this point, I think the choice is pretty obvious (2x27")!

Also, is there a specific reason why you picked the Asus V-Pro instead of the regular V? If you don't plan on pushing a very high OC, >4.5GHz, the regular V would be more than enough, unless there are features on there you really need. If you live close to a Microcenter store, you can get the cpu and mobo combo for ~$100 less than what you pay at newegg. That is extra money that can go to your monitor or gpu.

Make sure you get a 240/256gb SSD as you will definitely need it for games being put on it. You see very decent ones going for ~$180 at that capacity.

Too bad you missed out on the X-750 deal a few days back. If you already bought it, then GOOD JOB!
 

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator


I think it's personally better to get a single 1TB hard drive and a 128GB SSD - store all your games and everything else on the 1TB, use your SSD for boot and a few main programs only.
 

daamz

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Jul 9, 2012
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Agreed with you..

I think it is the best way...

meantime, if the owner want to use dual screen 27" or 3x 22", the 4GB card will run very smoothly in every single program or app..

but still, the 4GB GPU price is doesnt make sense for normal person like me.. haha
 
I agree and i will add keep Asus V-Pro i wouldn't change the motherboard for nothing lol my cousin has that mobo and it kicks ass!