$2500-$4000 Eyefinity Gaming Build

[Omniblivion]

Hi All! Please suggest some good builds for the following price range and needs:

Approximate Purchase Date: This Weekend

Budget Range: $2500-$4000

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Eyefinity gaming, Surfing Internet, Work (remote desktop, outlook, etc)

Are you buying a monitor: Yes- 3 monitors for Eyefinity

Do you need to buy OS: No

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg (USA)/wherever

Location: Newport Beach, CA

Parts Preferences: Whatever has the best performance and graphics for Eyefinity

Overclocking: Most Definitely.

SLI or Crossfire: Probably to support Eyefinity.

Your Monitor Resolution: Eyefinity for applicable games- otherwise largest resolution possible.

Additional Comments: I play games like Diablo 3, Skyrim, Guild Wars 2, Fallout series, Battlefield 3, etc etc.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: I love building PCs, haven't done so in a while. This new machine is rewarding myself for getting a well deserved promotion (and fat raise) at work

I do not /need/ to build this machine. I haven't been following current trends/releases, so if there is an upcoming release of the new generation of gear then please let me know when and I will evaluate whether or not to hold off. Price isn't /really/ an issue, but that doesn't mean I want things that I don't need. Thank you!

 

[g-unit1111]

Here you go:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3930K 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($569.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 CPU Cooler ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus Sabertooth X79 ATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($329.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Green 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($114.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Plextor M3 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($269.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card ($449.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Switch 810 (White) ATX Full Tower Case ($145.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On IHBS112-04 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VH236H 23.0" Monitor ($158.98 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VH236H 23.0" Monitor ($158.98 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VH236H 23.0" Monitor ($158.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (64-bit) ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $2847.83
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-08-30 18:27 EDT-0400)

 

[Sleepingforest]

I object somewhat to the i7-3930K only because returns diminish so greatly after the i7-3770K. Wouldn't it be better to drop to the i7-3770K or even the i5-3570K (and maybe an Asus Maximus V Extreme/Formula)? Similarly, he's probably not editing video on this rig (especially because he's basically doing this for fun), so more than 8GB of RAM is probably overkill. He could then put the money saved from the CPU/motherboard/RAM into getting two 7950s in CFX (or even, given his budget, two GTX 680s in SLI) rather than a single 7970, which should support three monitors better.

 

[g-unit1111]

I object somewhat to the i7-3930K only because returns diminish so greatly after the i7-3770K. Wouldn't it be better to drop to the i7-3770K or even the i5-3570K (and maybe an Asus Maximus V Extreme/Formula)? Similarly, he's probably not editing video on this rig (especially because he's basically doing this for fun), so more than 8GB of RAM is probably overkill. He could then put the money saved from the CPU/motherboard/RAM into getting two 7950s in CFX (or even, given his budget, two GTX 680s in SLI) rather than a single 7970, which should support three monitors better.

Yeah it's definitely debatable whether or not the 3930K is worth it but strategy games on multiple displays requires some serious processing power. The 3770K could handle it, doubtful the 3570K could.

 

[Omniblivion]

Assuming that I'll be gaming it up and probably dabbling with FRAPS and basic video editing, I may stick with the 3930K.

Would the below build make sense? Please let me know if this doesn't work-
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3930K 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($549.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 CPU Cooler ($81.85 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus Sabertooth X79 ATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($314.98 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Green 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($99.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Plextor M3 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($269.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 680 4GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($609.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 680 4GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($609.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Switch 810 (White) ATX Full Tower Case ($135.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair 1050W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($154.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On IHBS112-04 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VH236H 23.0" Monitor ($149.98 @ NCIX US)
Monitor: Asus VH236H 23.0" Monitor ($149.98 @ NCIX US)
Monitor: Asus VH236H 23.0" Monitor ($149.98 @ NCIX US)
Total: $3447.68
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-08-31 12:29 EDT-0400)

I dropped the OS from the original build because I already have a copy.

Also, are the dual 4GB 680s even worth it? Should I just stick to 2GB? Where would there be the most difference in using 4GB vs 2GB (bf3???)

 

[Omniblivion]

Yeah it's definitely debatable whether or not the 3930K is worth it but strategy games on multiple displays requires some serious processing power. The 3770K could handle it, doubtful the 3570K could.

I do in fact play Civ5, generally on larger maps. Maybe the 3930 can help speed up the 3-5 min turns at the end of the game

 

[g-unit1111]

I do in fact play Civ5, generally on larger maps. Maybe the 3930 can help speed up the 3-5 min turns at the end of the game

Civ V on larger maps will kill even an AMD FX-8150. :lol:

 

[Riferder]

you can't eyefinity with a gtx? its amd only i thought

 

[g-unit1111]

you can't eyefinity with a gtx? its amd only i thought

NVIDIA has their own platform for multiple monitor setups but I can't remember what it's called at the moment. But it's been vastly improved on the Keppler cards over previous generations from what I hear.

 

[excella1221]

I would suggest the ASRock x79 Extreme9.
It clearly has better features/specs than the ASUS, for only $15 more.

Check here.

 

[azeem40]

NVIDIA has their own platform for multiple monitor setups but I can't remember what it's called at the moment. But it's been vastly improved on the Keppler cards over previous generations from what I hear.

It is called NVIDIA Surround.

 

[g-unit1111]

I would suggest the ASRock x79 Extreme9.
It clearly has better features/specs than the ASUS, for only $15 more.

Check here.

The only real differences are that it includes an actual sound card instead of built in sound and a front USB 3.0 bracket which you probably won't need.