Which mobo and RAM for i7 3770 upgrade?

GuyScharf

Distinguished
Aug 26, 2006
58
0
18,630
I'm ready to make a major upgrade to my main computer--replacing mobo, processor, memory as required. I'm motivated by need for increased virtualization support. While I had planned to wait until next Spring, I need to reinstall Windows now because something has gone wonky so I decided to upgrade the hardware at the same time.

My biggest questions are: which motherboard and which memory? And is it wise to trust a 5-yr old power supply or should I replace it?

Approximate Purchase Date: (in two weeks)

Budget Range: $1,000 - $1,200

System Usage from Most to Least Important: software development and management, websites, web surfing, computer maintenance (so need lots of connection options), Lightroom, Photohsop, virtualization (Virtual XP, VirtualBox), listening to radio broadcasts

Parts Not Required: keyboard (IBM Type "M"), mouse (Wacom Intous4 & Logitech wired), monitor (Dell U2711 and old ViewSonic), speakers, OS (Windows 7 Ultimate), case (Antec P180), power supply (Seasonic SS-650HT, now 5 yrs old), display adapter (PowerColor AX5750 SCS3 - Radeon), optical (1) & hard (6 1TB drives) & SSD (OCZ Vertex 4 256GB)

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: I like newegg and have used others

Country: US

Parts Preferences:
CPU: Intel i7-3770
Mobo: I have most experience with Asus mobos and have been pleased with them. But which one? Probably Z77 chip?
Mobo minimum requirements: 12+ SATA including some SATA 6, 2 eSATA, USB 2&3, 1-2 gigabit NIC, 1 modem, 1 firewire
Memory desired: 16GB, maybe 32 GB
Heat sink: I want an extremely quiet heat sink and will look to SPCR for their thoughts

Overclocking: No

SLI or Crossfire: No

Monitor Resolution: Now have: 2560 x 1440 (Dell U2711 primary), 1280x1024 (secondary, will probably replace with higher res monitor within a year)

Additional Comments: Want a PC as near to completely silent as possible. I cannot hear my current computer and want to keep it that way.
 

GuyScharf

Distinguished
Aug 26, 2006
58
0
18,630
no motherboard has 12 sata ports
Thanks. Looks like I misread a review and confused the count of USB ports with SATA ports.

I need 8 SATA and 1 eSATA to support the drive configuration in my current build. That build uses an add-on SATA card, and that card would not be compatible with newer motherboards, so I was hoping I could find a motherboard with more SATA ports.

I'd like to have some room for added SATA connections internally.

Are there any motherboards that will give me more than 8 SATA ports?
 

GuyScharf

Distinguished
Aug 26, 2006
58
0
18,630
I'm currently focusing in on this build:

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: Asus P8Z77-V DELUXE ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($279.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Z Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($134.99 @ Newegg)
Other: TIM Shin-Etsu G751 ($0.00)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-08-27 19:57 EDT-0400)

I'm still debating with myself about the heatsink. I don't expect to be overclocking much. I've looked at the Noctua but it may be overkill for my needs, and I'm uncertain how difficult it will be to remove and install RAM with the heatsink installed. Knowing my style, once I get the mobo in the case and running, I'm unlikely to take it out again later to switch heatsinks, so I'm trying to make a reasonable selection now.

I lean towards the Asus P8Z77-V Deluxe because it has 2 eSATA ports on the back. As I read the specs, the Gigabyte Z77X-UDH5 has only one. The Gigabyte does have firewire, which Asus does not, but that's low priority for me (I've used it only once in the last 5 years). I do like the additional SATA port in the Gigabyte, but that appears to come at the cost of an eSATA port in the back.
 

TheLittleTroll

Honorable
Aug 21, 2012
65
0
10,640
sorry for being gone for so long

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/g14M

id personally never get the deluxe board because it is completely not worth it to spend a hundred dollars just so that you can get a extra esata port. its not that hard to keep a spare bay empty with the power plug and the cable easy to access so that you can swap hard drives quickly
 

GuyScharf

Distinguished
Aug 26, 2006
58
0
18,630
I want to thank everyone for their responses when I was looking into this build and thought I would update you on what I did.

The two changes from this list is that I decided to use the ThermalRight HR-02 Macho heatsink and the Prolimtech thermal paste.

I encountered several problems:

The supplied 3.5" adapter with the OCZ Vertex 4 SSD cannot be attached to any 3.5" bay in the Antec P182 because the adapter doesn't support all standard 3.5" screw positions. Also, the way the SATA ports are positioned on the P8Z77-V Deluxe makes for a very tight and impenetrable cable mess below the second removable hard drive bay. I solved both problems by removing the bay entirely and attaching the SSD to the floor of the bay area with Velcro. Now there's just a rat's nest of cables where the bay used to be, but at least it is loose enough that I can get in and make changes.

The fan on the heatsink is too close to the G.Skill RipJaws Z memory and barely touches the top of the memory card. I didn't think a constant source of vibration would do the memory any good, so I removed the fan and built a shroud with coroplast and rubber foam weather stripping. So far, CPU temperatures appear quite good with two fans pulling air through the heat sink.

For now, I'm using the video on the I7-3770K rather than a discrete card. It's working well in limited testing.