Would this system perform?

mitchellmck

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Sep 28, 2012
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Hey guys, I've finally decide to ditch console gaming and move on to the world of PC gaming (yay). I'm a complete noob with gaming on the PC so I am just wondering if this system I have planned out would work:

PSU: ModXStream Pro 600W ATX
GPU: EVGA GF GTX 660Ti 2GB
CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K
RAM: Corsair 8GB Vengeance
Motherboard: Gigabyte SKT-1155 Z77-D3H
CPU cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
Case: Antec Three Hundred
(I have a 500GB hard drive and an optical drive lying around that I plan to use with this build as well)

I've been researching for a week and this seems to come to a reasonable price within my budget. So basically I'm just wanting to know if this build would 'bottleneck' due to certain components or should I go ahead and build it?

thanks
 

strife_ff7

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Jul 24, 2010
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jtenorj

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The seasonic is too expensive for what it is. Get an xfx 550w(built by seasonic) with a 44A +12v rail(vs 40A on the seasonic). It has only 1 6pin and 1
8pin/6+2pin, but that is more than plenty for the hungriest of single gpu cards (not an advocate of multi gpu rendering, myself). It has been shown
able to deliver more than its rated wattage at higher than ambient temps(like inside a case) and deliver clean power while doing so by several sites
that know how to properly evaluate a psu. Has a ball bearing fan for longer life(vs shorter lived sleeve bearings0 and a 5yr warranty. Here's the link:

http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=59615&promoid=1210

Here is the newegg page for the xfx 550w with specs and site recommendations(that's kitguru.net, not kitguru.com)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207013

If you can fit the 11.5 inch length, go for this card:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202006&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

If it must be a geforce, get this:

www.amazon.com/dp/B008PFE4CW/?tag=pcpapi-20

If you case has major space issues, get this:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008VXYWV6/?tag=pcpapi-20

edit: darn, someone beat me to the xfx 550 recommendation. I agree about a cheaper 7950 and overclocking, or a gtx660ti with a decent cooler(especially the
Galaxy 3GB card, which was well received at hardocp). But if you do have major issues with space in your pc case,(never mind, you specced an antec 300. but you
should check out the antec 300 Two. Not many cases in that price range have so many great features except maybe the HAF 912).
 

Bolivious

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Apr 4, 2012
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I agree with the XFX PSU, will have to put that on my recommendations list. I like the 7950 and I think the case would support it, barely.

Eh, I tend to avoid Galaxy like the plague. Have had nothing but problems with their GPUs personally.

The Zotac on the other hand I recommend. My wife has a Zotac GTX560 that we have had zero problems with.
 

jtenorj

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The zotac is good, but not required with a decent sized case. The antec 300 Two can fit cards 12.5 inches in length(longer than any card out there).

Edit: The link I found at ncix for the xfx 550w is for only 44.99 with free shipping after a 10 dollar MIR. Got it by using the search box at ncix.com.
 

PanicMaster85

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yeah that is a nice system... the 660ti will perform well! and the cpu is also good

like they have been saying get another psu and here is one(corsair, they are very trusty and have long as *** warranty[not that you ever need it :p])
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139027
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139028
this one i recommend because it has a nice voltage and can supply any card you want with only 2 power ports it has 2 pci-e 6+2 connectors(basically its 6 pin but if you need 8 then it is also 8)

also this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139027
has a deal for 10% off today
 

mitchellmck

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Sep 28, 2012
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Thanks guys really appreciate the advice. Think it's a no brainer to get a different PSU then, will also have a look over some more GPU's before I go ahead and build this thing! Thanks again guys
 

jtenorj

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The cx500 and cx600 only have 34A and 40A on their +12v rails respectively. They also have sleeve bearing fans and shorter warranties than the xfx 550w.

I believe they are made by cit, which isn't a bad thing per se, but not as good as being made by seasonic like the xfx 550w.
 

jtenorj

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Yes, 40A is fine for this build. However, a few bucks more gets you an even better quality psu.

You can get a 7870 for 200 bucks shipped after a 10 dollar mir:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161404&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

It's almost as fast at stock as both gtx660ti and hd7950, and it's a pretty good overclocker as well.

7950 is cheaper than gtx660ti(see my links above) and a little faster at stock. Both overlclock very well. At least the Galaxy 3GB does(vs other gtx660ti).

You can get a gtx660ti to behave like a gtx670(better, in fact) and you can get a 7950 to perform better than 7970(non ghz ed.). 7950 may be faster.
 

Bolivious

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Apr 4, 2012
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You may be able to clock up the 660ti to match the 670, but with it's narrower memory bus, it won't be able to keep up with the 670 with things like AA turned up.

Of course, the 7950, OC'd that is, will perform better than both a 670 or 660ti with AA turned up and other goodies turned on.
 

jtenorj

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That's true. If I had around 300 bucks to puchase a new gpu, I'd go with a 7950 over a gtx660ti. The combo of both a 3GB frame buffer and more rops/
wider memory interface is appealing. I don't care much about physx or the games that use it. On a different note, I'd like to address power supplies:

Supplies like the cx430 and xfx 550w give you a good idea of what they are capable of based on their pcie connectors while cx500 and cx600 do not.

With a 28A +12v rail(336w), the cx430 could power an overclocked 965BE(maybe 181w at 4ghz+ and 110% of stock voltage) and an overclocked 7850
or gtx660(non ti) which max at 150 overclocked without modding them or using water cooling(or risking gpu, psu ,mobo, or anything connected to it).

With a 44A +12v rail(528w), the xfx 550w could power the same cpu and an overclocked HD7970(non ghz ed.) on its 1 pcie 6pin and 1 8pin/6+2pin.

The cx600 with a 40A +12v rail(480w) could handle the likes of a gtx590 or HD6990 on its 2 pcie 6+2pin connectors, but who wants those? You would also
be limited to what cpu you could buy with cards like those(maybe an overclocked 77w ivy i5 without changing voltage ie ~100w or a stock 95w sandy i5).

The cx500 with a 34A +12v rail(408w)has the same pcie leads as the cx600. If you try loading those up with a decent cpu, you're asking for trouble.

Power supplies are most efficient at about 60% load. Very small loads or very high loads can be damaging.

Ok. Maybe the cx600 isn't so unrealistic, but only with certain processors( no OCed 965BE and dual gpu card). An older model 130w i7 like 920 or 930
overclocked to 4ghz+ would be even worse. A 50% oc would be 195w, and a 10% voltage boost would put it around 240w. Maybe with an xfx 550w, but
not with a cx600. No system will hit anywhere near max tdp on all parts at once, not even if you ran prime95 and Furmark simultaneously(much less
something simpler like a game). These are hypothetical combos of cpu and gpu, but perhaps ya'll can see the point I'm trying to make.

Edit: Maybe a cx600 could do an overclocked 965BE and a gtx690, but I'm not a fan of multi gpu setups for several reasons. I also implied that I'm not
a fan of liquid cooling(though the 2 things are unrelated for the most part). I won't get into reasons I don't like sli/crossfire or watercooling at this time.
 

mitchellmck

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Sep 28, 2012
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Went ahead and ordered the Sapphire 7950. Think I'll need to reconsider the case because it looks like it will be a tight squeeze in there
 

mitchellmck

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Sep 28, 2012
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Looks a nice case and not too pricey either. As long as I can get the GPU in I'm satisfied!
 

PanicMaster85

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yeah... it wont look like it but the top hardrive bay has these clamps and when I took that out it gives you like 4-5 more inches... soooo yeah its a nice case, the only thing i would recommend that you get 3 120mm fans and 1 200mm fan
 

jtenorj

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You might consider the antec 300 Two for 49.99 at ncix(features like the HAF 912 plus front usb 3.0 ports, and it fits 12.5 inch video cards) :

http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=67326&vpn=THREE%20HUNDRED%20TWO&manufacture=Antec&promoid=1375

Normally shipping is sort of expensive, but if you spend at least 50 bucks(bundle the 49.99 antec case with something else) shipping is free.

Here is the newegg page for that case with more info on the specifications. Just click on the details tab to read more specific information.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129180&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

You might consider a hyper 212 plus over the hyper 212 evo(same heatpipes and heatsink). It's only 19.99 shipped after a 10 dollar MIR at newegg:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

Both have 12cm fans, but the 212 plus' fan is a bit slower(a bit less airflow & a bit quieter) while the evo's is a bit faster(a bit more airflow & a bit louder).

If you still want the evo(only 27.98 at ncix), you can bundle it with the Antec 300 Two so you can get them both shipped for free. Here's the link:

http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=64385&vpn=RR-212E-20PK-R2&manufacture=COOLERMASTER&promoid=1375
 

mitchellmck

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Sep 28, 2012
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Right guys I've went ahead and ordered most of the build. Heres what I've went with:

PSU: Corsair CMPSU-600CXV2UK
GPU: Sapphire HD 7950
CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K
RAM: Corsair 8GB Vengeance
CPU cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
Case: HAF 912 (planning on buying some fans for it next week)

However, I'm still yet to make a decision on the motherboard...
 

jtenorj

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The HAF 912 is the same price at ncix right now(but no usb 3.0 in front) and superbiiz is only 50 cents less(but costs a lot for shipping). HAF 912 @ncix:

http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=55583&vpn=RC-912-KKN1&manufacture=COOLERMASTER&promoid=1375

I'd go with the antec. Both could benefit from a few more cheap 12cm fans, but the antec's simple design is easer to mod(if op wants). USB 3.0, too.

Edit: I'm working on typing faster, but it's a process that doesn't happen overnight.