Old build finally crapped out. Need advice on the new set up!

[DJBootforge]

Alright, so I built my first epic system over two years ago and it finally crapped out on me, so I decided it's time to completely upgrade. If you'd be so kind as to take a look and give me your thoughts and opinions that would be great! I am running a dual monitor 1080P set up, and will use this mostly for gaming and graphic design.

To start I am going to get the NZXT Phantom case (I can't believe how sexy this thing is ):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146067.

Gonna put in the I-5 3570 CPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504

Cooled with the Corsair H-100:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181017

Coupled with the ASUS P8Z77-V PRO:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131819

For RAM I am going to be using some G-Skill 1600 DDR3:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231445

For hard drives I am using one SSD and a 1TB 7200 RPM drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231445
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533

For disk drive I wanted to be able to burn Blu-Rays so I picked out the LG drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136249

For my gaming pleasure I decided to cough up the little extra cash and get the GTX 670:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130782

And to power all of this I will be a 1000W beast:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171049

So there you have it - my $1700 rig I plan to purchase this weekend/next week. So please I would love to hear some feedback and maybe some alternative suggestions!

 

[ckholt83]

Looks like you've got a pretty awesome build lined up here, I only have a few suggestions:

Ditch the H-100 and get either a Noctua NH-D14 or a Coolermaster Hyper212 Plus for a good deal less.

Newegg is currently running a promotion for 8GB free RAM with the motherboard you have picked out, so no need to spend extra buying another 8GB.

I'd go with the Gigabyte Windforce version of the 670 , which has a much better cooling solution than the reference design on the EVGA.

I can't actually see which SSD you picked out, I think you linked your RAM choice twice on accident. I'm sure whatever it is will be fine though.

You don't need a high performance WD Black for your secondary data storage drive since you'll have all your critical apps on your SSD, save some money and power by getting a Seagate Green 1TB instead.

1000W is massive, massive overkill for this build and is both inefficient power-wise and also a waste of money. Better off getting a nice high quality Seasonic 750W at most instead, currently $110 with an instant promo code.

 

[kevin83]

There are a few interesting issues here to debate
The biggest problem is that the 1000w power supply is completely unnecessary. you can run two gtx 670s and a 3570k all overclocked on a 750w power supply with 50 to 100 watts of spare room. On modern devices 750w is a highly upgradable power supply.
You would do yourself a huge favor to drop down 140w to the seasonic 860 platinum and gain better power bills through highly improved efficiency, much less risk to your components through cleaner power, and a much more trusted brand. for only $15 more.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151111

You would also do yourself a huge favor by spending $30 more and getting the best gtx 670 on the market, with a cooling solution only rivaled by the gigabyte windforce 3x, an overclock only rivaled by the asus directcu card, and unmatched overclocking capability.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127685

Want to spend a few bucks more to get much better ram with adjustable heat spreaders and better overclocking potential? g.skill 2400mhz 2x4gb is only $70
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231587

your motherboard sits in the middle of two boards that would either increase overclock potential or decrease cost.
Asrock Z77 OC Formula - better overclocking, more expensive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157328
Asrock Z77 Extreme4 - much cheaper, same overclocking potential and ability to run sli.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157293

ckholt83, you may be right about the cooler being expensive, but in a purely performance based comparison the h-100 will be much more powerful and allow greater overclocking potential of all components. I would concur in suggesting the nh-d14 as the most powerful air-cooler, along with the dark knight as a cheaper yet still very powerful competitor.

Have fun!

 

[DJBootforge]

Alrighty, thanks Ckholt83, I am definitely dropping that G-skill memory, and I am gonna go with the Blue, it's a bit cheaper than the one I had previously, and it performs better than the green.

And Kevin83, thank you tremendously for the Asrock recommendation, they seem like a decent company on the rise to compete with the big names, and I can't wait to try them out!

I am happy with the tweaks I have made, saving almost 300 bucks off of my original build!

 

[kevin83]

Great! Try to make sure you get a platinum level power supply from antec or seasonic though. Those two brands are what you want in terms of low power bills through high efficiency and incredibly clean power that contributes to anything from more precise overclocking to long component lifespans.

 

[Nw333]

The H100 is crap and loud. Either get real watercooling or ditch the whole thing. 80+ Platinum is good, but the only difference you will notice is on your power bill, compared to any other 80+ Silver PSU. (and even then, wont make a significant difference.)

@kevin, really? 2400MHz? That will be underclocked due to the processor not supporting it and you will have higher timings. You will have to manually go into BIOS and set the RAM speeds back to 2400Mhz and if Intel finds out you did this, they WILL void the warranty. Difference between 2400MHz and 1600Mhz isnt noticeable anyways, unless your running an AMD CPU.

 

[kevin83]

The usefulness of 80+ platinum can be heavily debated but essentially from my perspective if you leave the computer on for half of a day every day for 3 years, you'll save 52 dollars. And that is assuming an incredibly kw-hr energy cost.
They guy was throwing in a lot of higher-end parts and was looking at overclocking the cpu a lot, I thought he would want to know that it can't hurt to spend $15 and be certain that you'll never run into a memory bottleneck. Plus the memory is supported by most motherboards this generation. If you have a big enough problem, you could join the intel overclocking warranty program.
The team xtreem ram being thrown in with motherboards on newegg right now is completely adequate, but has no use 2 years down the road. 2400mhz ram will also have the advantage of being viable for reuse as part of an upgrade.

 

[Nw333]

Not saying anything negative about it, just saying it would not make a SIGNIFICANT difference.

If hes going to use RAM above 2000MHz, he should just probably get 2133MHz. Just to be on the safe side. Hot temps from RAM isnt a usual sight.

@OP, noticed your doing dual monitors. 7970 GHz Edition is the card for you. The Sapphire 7970 GHz is a great card. It has more vRAM than the 670 (which is better for more monitors) and a bigger memory bus.

 

[kevin83]

The biggest differences with the 7970 ghz and gtx 670 are proce and factory overclocking. Basic models of the 7970 compete at the same level as mid-range gtx 670 models. The highest end gtx 670 in my opinion, msi's power edition, currently runs both an excellent factory overclock and is only a $10 premium. The highest end 7970 ghz edition cards have little room to factory overclock over the base ghz edition, and therefore fall into direct competition with msi's card.
In the end what I'm saying is the 7970 only wins the comparison if you are buying the cheapest cards and looking at price/performance. Otherwise high-end 7970s can not best the power edition by enough margin to justify their cost.

 

[Nw333]

Show me proof that the 7970 cant overclock much. Even the reference ones OC quite well, and all this is true with all the 7xxx cards.

Also, why are you considering factory overclocks in the story? Any manufacturer of 7xxx cards know they OC well and they wont overclock it much. An OCed 7970 will beat a GTX670, even if thats OCed, especially at dual or more monitors.

 

[kevin83]

I realize that this isn't with the 7970 overclocked but this can explain a lot:
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/56546-msi-gtx-670-power-edition-oc-review-20.html
The basic 7970 models that sell for $400 are massively outrun by the power edition. Then on top of that the most expensive models ($450-$500), including msi's lightning edition, only scale up to 10-15% performance past the base models.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-7970-overclock-review,3186-8.html

The 7970 can probably overclock further and barely edge past a gtx 670, but not to be worth spending $40-$90 for. Especially when you can get msi's insane gpu quality.

 

[Nw333]

Not barely past a 670, maybe about 30% more.

 

[kevin83]

I'm sorry I'm waiting for data from you showing a 7970 under $425 that can overclock more than 15% past stock. And even then, for a victory it would probably need to be 20%. I saw a few running around a 17% boost in the tom's hardware article.

 

[Nw333]

You already are telling me proof. You are saying you saw a 17% boost in the article from Toms. OCing doesnt have any STABLE MAX overclock. You just have to get lucky. (Like CPUs, some can OC to 5GHz some cannot.)

 

[kevin83]

Nope, because every 7970 on that list except the crappy visiontek card and a cheaper sapphire model costs more than $440, and stops being price/performance competitive. None of the tweaked vendor based models even come close to being price/performance competitive with the msi gtx 670 pe.

Theoretically this is the only 7970 I could endorse as it is cheaper than $410 and maxes out at around that 17% overclock.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102982

 

[Nw333]

The 7970 at STOCK when compared to the 670 at STOCK, the 7970 is faster, thus higher price.

This debate will never end, and lets leave this at the 670 and 7970 overclock very well. XD