Help: Asus or EVGA & Other Concerns

[Qwynn]

Hello everyone!

This is my second time putting a new PC together, and I'm looking for some advice for a couple things. First off, I plan on building it sometime in the nest few months, probably around November, however I've already been scoping out parts and looking into what I want.

My new build will mostly consist of a new mobo, GPU, CPU, and RAM (as my current PSU is fine, as in my case). I've come to a bit of a problem though, as I'm not sure what I want to go for in terms of brand/components/features.

My current PC is EVGA based (mobo/GPU), and I haven't really had issues with it. Looking into replacing both the mobo and GPU at the same time though has me now looking towards Asus.

Now, it seems that currently Asus parts are running more expensive, and I'm wondering if there's a reason for this I'm overlooking? Is it now a fact that Asus has surpassed EVGA in quality, or is it something else?

I'm looking at a Z77 board and a 3rd gen I7, alongside a GTX 690.

Here are a few links to what I've been looking at.

GPU: Asus GTX 690 | EVGA GTX 690

CPU/Mobo Bundle: Intel i7-3770/Asus P8Z77-V Deluxe

Mobo: EVGA Z77 FTW | (I haven't singled out an Asus mobo I really like. Any recommendations? Should I maybe be looking at the Maximus line? Most of the Asus boards have features I don't need like Wifi or bluetooth.)

CPU: Intel i7-3770K

Another concern is that I'm having trouble finding CPU fans to fit the LGA 1155/Socket H2. Not only that, but the ones I have found tend to have mentions that you need to tweak/fiddle/modify the fan (which I am not comfortable doing) to get them to fit, or worse yet: That the larger fans touch/won't work with high heatsink RAM.

The later is a large issue. I was looking at picking up this RAM for my new build (as my current sticks are tri channel and those CPUs/mobos are designed for dual channel IIRC), which much like my other dominator RAM have rather high fins.

Or would I be fine just keeping my tri channel for this set up?

Anything other advice would be greatly appreciated.

Approximate Purchase Date: Between now and November

Budget Range: $2000 to $2200

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming

Are you buying a monitor: No

Parts to Upgrade: Mobo, CPU, GPU, RAM | Current PSU (Reusing): Corsair CMPSU-1200AX

Do you need to buy OS: No

Preferred Website(s): TigerDirect, NewEgg

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Parts Preferences: Intel CPU, EVGA or Asus mobo/GPU

Overclocking: Yes/Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: No

Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional Comments: Unsure on going with either ASUS or EVGA components, interested in opinions. Looking to make sure the PC is future proof and always for easy upgrades in terms of GPUs and RAM in the near future. Enthusiast for graphics, must run smooth as butter and be beautiful.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: I haven't upgraded my mobo/CPU since I built my current machine in 2008ish. CPU is bottlenecking me, and my GPU is already suffering. Current GPU is EVGA GTX 470. Had two in SLI, but one died out earlier than the other.

 

[FinneousPJ]

First thing you should realize is that price is not a measure of quality or usefulness as such. It seems you've just blindly picked the most expensive components, with that mobo, CPU & GPU. Not necessary, not very wise. It'd help if you filled in the sticky form.

 

[Qwynn]

While it may look like that, that isn't the case at all. There's nothing blind about my selections, and I've carefully gone through what I do and don't want, and am now looking for advice.

 

[malbluff]

We could argue about whether high frequency RAM, and GTX690's, are worth the trouble, but if you are going to use that sort of set-up you've really got to be thinking Republic of Gamers mobo, and water (or at least "liquid") cooling. I think you will have problems fitting any air cooler.

 

[bigcyco1]

You can't overclock that cpu you linked bundled with the asus mobo you do realize that correct ?

 

[FinneousPJ]

High end gaming build. Spending more on an i7 and GTX690 would be silly for 1080p gaming. Even this build is on the bad side of price/performance but not as bad as it could be (if you spent 2k).

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($27.98 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Pro4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($94.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($35.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($189.00 @ B&H)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card ($413.78 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 500R White ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $1127.70
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

 

[Qwynn]

We could argue about whether high frequency RAM, and GTX690's, are worth the trouble, but if you are going to use that sort of set-up you've really got to be thinking Republic of Gamers mobo, and water (or at least "liquid") cooling. I think you will have problems fitting any air cooler.

Thanks. I'll take a look at those mobos, though I'm not that comfortable doing a liquid cooling build.

High end gaming build. Spending more on an i7 and GTX690 would be silly for 1080p gaming. Even this build is on the bad side of price/performance but not as bad as it could be (if you spent 2k).

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($27.98 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Pro4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($94.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($35.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($189.00 @ B&H)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card ($413.78 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 500R White ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $1127.70
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

I'm set on the i7 and the GTX 690. I won't buy a Radeon card, but I'll take a look at the mobo you linked.

 

[Qwynn]

After much consideration (and going through PCPartPicker (I had no idea that website even existed)), I've decided on the following:

CPU/Motherboard: Intel Core i7-3770K & ASUS Maximus V EXTREME
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100 Liquid Cooler
Memory: Corsair Dominator Platnium 16GB (2 x 8) DDR3-2400
GPU: ASUS GTX 690

Thank you to the person who mentioned looking at the ROG boards (as I really like them), as that's what I ended up going with. Helped me decide versus ASUS or EVGA this time around, and obviously I went with ASUS.

I had to accept the fact that I probably wouldn't be able to fit an air cooler on that socket, but luckly I stumbled into the self-contained liquid cooling units. I had some trouble deciding between the H100 and the H80, but I ended up choosing the H100 as I feel it will fit better in my case and have a more aesthetic appeal (and probably be cooler, of course).

Does anything on this list seem out of place? I think I have my bases covered and everything is compatible. I already mentioned reusing my current case and PSU (and HDDs and optical drives).

While I wanted to add an SSD into the list, that extra part ended up bringing the total even higher than my original budget, so I decided to drop it for a later date. That, and the only ones I could find in stock were with the SandForce controllers (at least from Corsair), and I had read those had some rather nasty issues with BSODs and the like.

 

[Qwynn]

One other additional question.

I may also consider picking up a new monitor, and wondering if anyone had recommendations?

Nothing larger than 30 inches (as I sit fairly close), and I have a preference for high gloss.

I've been using an HP w2338h for a few years, but am thinking of moving into something larger (27 inch).

Once again, I prefer high gloss if possible.

 

[eliasmoose]

Just so you know, you'll have to put up 3 monitors to even try to test that card. And that goes for every game that will be out in the next 2 years. IMO, save the $900 and go with the build Finneous provided. You're getting a 5% performance bump for that cash amount. And its not set to become more pronounced in the future. If you got the cash to blow, by all means do it. But realize that you're reaching a point of severe diminishing returns past a $1200 build.

 

[Qwynn]

I realize that, yes.

I'm not interested in 'testing' the card though. Just making everything run like butter.

 

[bigcyco1]

Not sure what kind of monitor your looking for but what's your budget for the monitor then i will recommend you a monitor these are very good if you want something better going to cost you allot of money http://www.amazon.com/Asus-VE276Q-27-Inch-Integrated-Speakers/dp/B003UT2C4U%3FSubscriptionId%3D19BAZMZQFZJ6G2QYGCG2%26tag%3Dsquid922028-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB003UT2C4U
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-S27A350H-27-Inch-Class-Monitor/dp/B004QNHNWK%3FSubscriptionId%3D19BAZMZQFZJ6G2QYGCG2%26tag%3Dsquid922028-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB004QNHNWK
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004KCI80I/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=hhmsquiddiscount-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B004KCI80I
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824014270

 

[bigcyco1]

High gloss i see you wrote my bad no those are the only ones i know for sure are good

 

[malbluff]

In real terms of practical benefits vs hassle, I'm not sure about 2400 MHz RAM. For SSD's, genarally regarded best are Samsung 830's, Crucial M4's, and OCZ Vetrex 4's. Not much else.

 

[nstiver]

Just so you know, you'll have to put up 3 monitors to even try to test that card. And that goes for every game that will be out in the next 2 years. IMO, save the $900 and go with the build Finneous provided. You're getting a 5% performance bump for that cash amount. And its not set to become more pronounced in the future. If you got the cash to blow, by all means do it. But realize that you're reaching a point of severe diminishing returns past a $1200 build.

That's a little extreme. I would say that the point of diminishing returns is hit once you go above two 670s in SLI and a i5-3570 CPU. There is a lot of performance to be gained going from one to two GPUs. Also, if you wan't to run high res monitors or if you want to hit 120 fps in a 120 hz monitor then two GPUs is the way to go. Beyond that, the performance increase per dollar decreases exponentially.

 

[FinneousPJ]

Strictly speaking the point of diminishing returns is hit much earlier. Very rarely do you get performance that scales linearly with price.

 

[nstiver]

Yes, technically the point of diminishing returns hits earlier, but the point at which it is no longer concievably reasonable for most people to spend more money hits about where I said it did.

 

[FinneousPJ]

Well arguably that is different from person to person.

 

[nstiver]

that's why I said "most" people. I listed situations in which people may want to go with 2 GPU's. That is not to say that each computer user does not have their own standards or needs for gaming.