First gaming build, Expert opinions would be helpful

[Ed_25]

Here's a list of the components going into my new gaming rig, the few things I would like to know are:

-Is my PSU good enough for a three way GTX 660TI setup? (Mostly for future proofing reasons)
-Is there any components you have strong feelings against and would advise me to reconsider?
-Are there any bottlenecks or even any overkill's? (Take in mind I will be adding one/ two more GPU's in the future depending on previous questions)
-Also are there any recommendations on which case I should get? Preferably Corsair and something to fit the H100. (Not bothered on H100 push pull setup)
-Is there anything you would recommend me swapping to take down the price without effecting the performance too much (For example, using a H80 rather than a H100)

I also recently watched a video where someone said that you have to go into the motherboards bios enable/setting up an XMP profile for the RAM otherwise it wouldn't
be safe to overclock it, I may be mistaken and this may not apply to me. But it did get me a bit confused.


SYSTEM SPECS (Minus Case)

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£175.27 @ CCL Computers)

CPU Cooler: Corsair H100 92.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (£81.72 @ Scan.co.uk)

Motherboard: MSI Z77 MPOWER ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£144.92 @ Scan.co.uk)

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£67.28 @ Amazon UK)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£76.26 @ Amazon UK)

Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB Video Card (£246.79 @ Scan.co.uk)

Power Supply: Corsair Professional 1050W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply

Optical Drive: Pioneer BDR-207EBK Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer (£67.44 @ Scan.co.uk)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) (£69.10 @ CCL Computers)

Total: £928.78


Thank you in advance.

 

[malbluff]

That all looks very good. Power supply fine. You could probably get away with 850w, but probably wise to go 1050w, if 3 GPU's is likely. Corsair Carbide 500r would do you, and it's good case (prefer them to Graphite)

 

[idroid]

here:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£175.27 @ CCL Computers)
CPU Cooler: NZXT HAVIK 140 90.3 CFM CPU Cooler (£39.59 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£117.98 @ Dabs)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£31.99 @ Scan.co.uk)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£57.62 @ CCL Computers)
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£84.99 @ Dabs)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB Video Card (£233.70 @ Scan.co.uk)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (£78.49 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: OCZ ZT 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply (£63.98 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Total: £883.61
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-09-17 02:31 BST+0100)


Read this: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/forum2.php?config=tomshardwareus.inc&cat=prive&post=1483829&page=1&p=1&sondage=0&owntopic=0&trash=0&trash_post=0&print=0&numreponse=0&quote_only=0&new=0&nojs=0

 

[Ed_25]

That all looks very good. Power supply fine. You could probably get away with 850w, but probably wise to go 1050w, if 3 GPU's is likely. Corsair Carbide 500r would do you, and it's good case (prefer them to Graphite)

Thanks for that, I've been looking at the 500R and I'll probably get that case.

 

[Nw333]

3-way SLI is totally overkill. You would only need that if your running like 5 monitors.
You want futureproof? No such thing. Best thing you can do is get the 670 and SLi it when performance gets to a crawl. Even then, new GPUs would have come out and you will want those. With 2-way SLi (670s) you only need 750W. Since video card makers are trying to make their GPUs consume less power, 1000W will be useless and a waste of money.

8GBs RAM is more than enough.

 

[malbluff]

3-way SLI is totally overkill. You would only need that if your running like 5 monitors.
You want futureproof? No such thing. Best thing you can do is get the 670 and SLi it when performance gets to a crawl. Even then, new GPUs would have come out and you will want those. With 2-way SLi (670s) you only need 750W. Since video card makers are trying to make their GPUs consume less power, 1000W will be useless and a waste of money.

8GBs RAM is more than enough.

Certainly agree that it's difficult to think of any likely upgrade where adding two more 660TI's, in SLi, would be the BEST option. Even if you wanted to go for three high res monitors, by the TIME you wanted to do that, it would probably be better to sell the single 660Ti, and have two of whatever is the latest GPU, in two way SLi. A single 670, now, and 750w power supply, is probably a more practicable way of future proofing (not that there REALLY is any such thing). What you save on power supply, would go much of the way (if not all) towards the extra, for 670.

 

[Ed_25]

3-way SLI is totally overkill. You would only need that if your running like 5 monitors.
You want futureproof? No such thing. Best thing you can do is get the 670 and SLi it when performance gets to a crawl. Even then, new GPUs would have come out and you will want those. With 2-way SLi (670s) you only need 750W. Since video card makers are trying to make their GPUs consume less power, 1000W will be useless and a waste of money.

8GBs RAM is more than enough.

Thanks for the advice, you make a fair point. What PSU would you recommend me getting? (Preferably Corsair)

Although I doubt I'll get the GTX 670 as there isn't much of a difference for the price (Unless one's on offer), so I'll most likely get a second GTX 660 TI down the line.

I'll also have a look around for a 750W-850W PSU. Take in mind that I'll be overclocking my CPU, so I don't know how much of a difference that'll make.

 

[Nw333]

Corsair TX-M 750W, or the TX750W, maybe the HX750W if possible. 750W will give you enough headroom for 2-way SLi, and an OCed CPU.

In this case, 7870s will have you going for AMD cards. 660Ti or maybe even better performance for $250. ($50 less than the 660Ti)

 

[malbluff]

Ideally you want Corsair HX750 MODULAR, or a Modular Seasonic. Both very good (in fact often the same, as Seasonic make a lot for Corsair to rebadge)
When it comes to graphics, I reckon your best bet is GTX 670, out of all the various options, more flexible. Radeons tend to have a good performance, across a wider range of games, but nVidia tend to be better in many of the most popular games, as they are often optimised for nVidia graphics.

 

[idroid]

3-way SLI is totally overkill. You would only need that if your running like 5 monitors.
You want futureproof? No such thing. Best thing you can do is get the 670 and SLi it when performance gets to a crawl. Even then, new GPUs would have come out and you will want those. With 2-way SLi (670s) you only need 750W. Since video card makers are trying to make their GPUs consume less power, 1000W will be useless and a waste of money.

8GBs RAM is more than enough.

Are you crazy? i have 3 monitor and my 4 OCed GTX680s can play BF3 @90fps with everything maxed out and about 55fps with everything maxed out and 3D mode.

 

[Ed_25]

Ideally you want Corsair HX750 MODULAR, or a Modular Seasonic. Both very good (in fact often the same, as Seasonic make a lot for Corsair to rebadge)
When it comes to graphics, I reckon your best bet is GTX 670, out of all the various options, more flexible. Radeons tend to have a good performance, across a wider range of games, but nVidia tend to be better in many of the most popular games, as they are often optimised for nVidia graphics.

If you think it really necessary for me to pay the extra £50ish towards a GTX 670 I will. But what would be the advantage of two GTX 670's rarther than two GTX 660 TI's?
I always thought they're about the same on performance. (Please do correct me if I'm wrong)

Also if your sure that a 750W will be fine for two of http://uk.msi.com/product/vga/N670-PE-2GD5-OC.html#?div=Overview these GPU's plus a CPU overclock with it still having a bit of headroom so its not running at maximum capacity I'll go with a 750W unless you think it may be wise to go for a 850W?

 

[malbluff]

They are not equal. At 1920x1080 resolution, a good 660Ti can virtually equal a basic 670, but not like for like GPU's. Also the 670 is better equiped for higher resolutions. In terms of upgrades, to handle possible higher res, or multi -monitor rigs, you are more likely to find 2x670's adequate than 2x660Ti. By the time you came to do it, adding 1 extra 670, would make a lot more sense than adding 2 660Ti's. If you needed to do that, it would probably better to sell the 660Ti, and get to different cards. It's just the first way is likely to be more efficient, in the long run.

 

[malbluff]

750w is adequate for 2x670's, even with a bit of overclocking. There's nothing wrong with using 850w, if that gives you peace of mind, you can add virtually whatever, and overclock fairly aggressively, without worrying about PSU rating. The important thing is a good power supply, like Corsair HX.

 

[Nw333]

Are you crazy? i have 3 monitor and my 4 OCed GTX680s can play BF3 @90fps with everything maxed out and about 55fps with everything maxed out and 3D mode.

Thats complete and utter overkill. No one needs 3-4 high end GPUs in one. Even 2 cards can handle 3 monitors.

 

[idroid]

Thats complete and utter overkill. No one needs 3-4 high end GPUs in one. Even 2 cards can handle 3 monitors.

So??? i NEED 4 cards to play with the settings i want with the framerate i am getting, anything lower than 60fps is a no-go for me.

 

[Nw333]

So??? i NEED 4 cards to play with the settings i want with the framerate i am getting, anything lower than 60fps is a no-go for me.

Do you think everyone has the budget for that? The 120Hz/3D monitor alone would cost around $200 already.

 

[malbluff]

We can all think of ways to make any system more powerful, with an unlimited budget. In the real world, it's usually more about getting the best & flexible system, for a budget. I reckon, once you get past $2000, maybe $2500, you want to be thinking about getting peripherals perfect. If there's money left, after that, THEN come back to making SYSTEM even beefier, if you want.

 

[idroid]

Do you think everyone has the budget for that? The 120Hz/3D monitor alone would cost around $200 already.

i am not saying that everyone has the budget but, for ME the setup i have is not overkill FYI, the monitors i have cost 550$ each (i have 3) Asus VG278H but they're worth every penny

 

[Nw333]

i am not saying that everyone has the budget but, for ME the setup i have is not overkill FYI, the monitors i have cost 550$ each (i have 3) Asus VG278H but they're worth every penny

Not everyone is going to be gaming 3 120Hz/3D monitors. Maybe you, but not everyone. End arguement.