Criticisms on my to-be build ~$2500

[fazi13]

Hey guys I was thinking about finally upgrading my PC and I've a decently hardcore gamer and definitely want Ultra settings at 1080p with TRIPLE MONITORS!! I also use my build for video editing/rendering and photo editing. So, just wanted opinions on my build because outside info is always appreciated!

My approximate budget is (as calculated w/ shipping and rebates before tax via PC Part Picker) $2,500 for a Christmas sale build so prices may vary from now and then but I'm just looking for an overview at the moment.
Throughout my entire build I am trying to keep somewhat of a black/blue theme on the inside of my case leading outside to its white/blue theme

PC Part Picker List
-does not include second GPU

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K

Cooler: Corsair H100i
-definitely like the larger tubes and the new look

MoBo: Asus P8Z77-V
-is the PRO worth $10 more?

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3-1600

Storage: Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB
-leftover Seagate 1.5TB + 1TB + .75TB, I might run some sort of Windows software RAID 0 with these, if not I'll probably RAID 0 the 1.5TB and 1TB (will lose 500GB if I'm not mistaken)

GPU: EVGA GTX 680 4GB w/ Backplate
-SLI w/ Gigabyte Windforce 2GB
-my thoughts behind this were that the Windforce would go in the 1st slot in order to get the proper cooling and the EVGA card would go in the second slot since it has a reference cooler
-also does anyone know if this will fit on the motherboard itself?

Sound card: Creative Audigy 2 ZS (from current PC)
-also have Tritton AX720's that I use with my Xbox 360 w/ its own separate USB amp.

Optical Drive: Some DL DVD/Lightscribe burner (from current PC)

Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (White w/ blue)
-really like this case though it does have plastic parts
-will also be adding cooler master LED 140mm/120mm fans to fill up every single fan slot

PSU: Rosewill Lightning 1000W 80+ Gold
-I've only currently chosen this because of its fancy lights but could change
-definitely want at least 1000W for this setup so it'll run hopefully around 60-70%

Monitors: Three ASUS VE248Q 24" monitors
-probably won't be changing these because they have relatively small bezels and displayport connectivity

Your useful opinions are appreciated

 

[bardacuda]

No sense getting a 4GB card to SLI with a 2GB card as the VRAM does not stack and you will only have 2GB available for each card. Also both cards will run at the lowest of the 2 clock speeds so your Gigabyte Super Overclock card would only run at the same 1019/1084 clock of the EVGA instead of the 1137/1202 that it's supposed to.....defeating the purpose of that monstrosity of a cooler (unless you were to overclock the slower one but that would void your warranty so I'm not sure if you planned on doing that or not). The cards will fit the board but that gigabyte one looks like it would be extremely loud with those 5 small fans. If you want 4GB you should just go with 2 EVGAs...or if you're worried about temps you could get a couple MSI Twin Frozr 4s with dual fans and still have an empty slot of space in between each one

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127695

With such a powerful graphics setup you might want to consider 120Hz monitors to get up to 120fps or 3d vision but then again they would cost significantly more.

Raid 0 does not provide any data redundancy, it just gives a small performance increase for small random reads and writes, but since you have an SSD which offers astronomically higher performance than a magnetic disk you may as well use them for storage, either as separate drives, or in RAID 1 for data protection in case of a disk failure. In either type of RAID array you will lose the other 500GB.

 

[mrdowntownkiller]

how about this ?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($314.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master V6 GT 93.7 CFM CPU Cooler ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte G1.Sniper 3 EATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($267.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Gaming Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($97.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB Video Card (3-Way SLI) ($269.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB Video Card (3-Way SLI) ($269.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB Video Card (3-Way SLI) ($269.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: NZXT Phantom (White) ATX Full Tower Case ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 850W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($122.75 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Asus VH236H 23.0" Monitor ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Asus VH236H 23.0" Monitor ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Asus VH236H 23.0" Monitor ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $2483.62
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-05 11:57 EST-0500)

 

[g-unit1111]

Cooler: Corsair H100i
-definitely like the larger tubes and the new look

I'd stay away from closed liquid loops. Even though the new H100i is the new and improved version they're still not that great. If you want to run liquid cooling, use the real thing or don't use it at all.

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K

MoBo: Asus P8Z77-V
-is the PRO worth $10 more?

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3-1600

Gaming will not benefit from the i7 or 16GB of RAM - that money is better spent elsewhere.

Storage: Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB
-leftover Seagate 1.5TB + 1TB + .75TB, I might run some sort of Windows software RAID 0 with these, if not I'll probably RAID 0 the 1.5TB and 1TB (will lose 500GB if I'm not mistaken)

No point in purchasing outdated Sandforce controlled SSD drives when you have Indilinx and new Marvell controllers available.

PSU: Rosewill Lightning 1000W 80+ Gold
-I've only currently chosen this because of its fancy lights but could change
-definitely want at least 1000W for this setup so it'll run hopefully around 60-70%

Not a good idea. PSUs with fancy lights are often not the best you could get on the market.

Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB Video Card (3-Way SLI) ($269.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB Video Card (3-Way SLI) ($269.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB Video Card (3-Way SLI) ($269.99 @ NCIX US)

Why would you pay for 3 x 660TI when you could get 2 x 670 and get a better GPU?

Here's what I would suggest:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($214.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U9B SE2 37.9 CFM CPU Cooler ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UP4 TH ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($192.86 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($37.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($88.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($366.97 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($366.97 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($109.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk II 950W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($143.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($22.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1840.67
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-05 13:59 EST-0500)

The difference will allow you to get whatever monitors and anything else you want (keyboard, mouse, etc). I don't suggest that stuff as it's entirely personal preference.

 

[bardacuda]

Gaming will not benefit from the i7 or 16GB of RAM - that money is better spent elsewhere.

See below.

I also use my build for video editing/rendering and photo editing.

Not a good idea. PSUs with fancy lights are often not the best you could get on the market.

The Rosewill PSU he chose is actually a good quality Superflower OEM unit whereas the PCP&C you suggested uses a passable Sirfa OEM unit not Seasonic like they used to use. It's still decent though and could maybe be worth shaving a few bucks off the build.

I have to agree with g-unit about the cooler and SSD though.

As far as video cards personally I would want 3GB or 4GB cards. While 2GB might be adequate for a triple monitor setup, a year or 2 down the road it might not be. (But then again, it might still be. This is just my personal opinion)

I'm pretty sure 3 x 660 TIs would outperform 2 x 670s, since a single 660 TI offers about 90% of the performance of a single 670. I know the scaling is not linear, and maybe with 1 x 1080p monitor the 670s would be better, but I'm sure it can't be that bad...especially at such a high resolution. OTOH 2 x 670s is definitely more cost-effective. I don't think the original idea of 2 x 680s was a bad idea either for maximum gaming performance....it's just the mixing of different brands with different VRAM doesn't make sense.

EDIT: Oh I should mention too that the performance of nVidia cards tends to drop off faster at 2560 x 1600 and above resolutions than the Radeons so if you don't care about 3d Vision then a couple of 7970 GHz Edition cards might be a better choice. Apparently there is a tool out that fixes AMD's micro-stutter issues. Tom's did a good article recently about 2 x 7970s vs a 690 you can read here:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-7990-devil13-7970-x2,3329.html

 

[g-unit1111]

I'm pretty sure 3 x 660 TIs would outperform 2 x 670s, since a single 660 TI offers about 90% of the performance of a single 670. I know the scaling is not linear, and maybe with 1 x 1080p monitor the 670s would be better, but I'm sure it can't be that bad...especially at such a high resolution. OTOH 2 x 670s is definitely more cost-effective. I don't think the original idea of 2 x 680s was a bad idea either for maximum gaming performance....it's just the mixing of different brands with different VRAM doesn't make sense.

EDIT: Oh I should mention too that the performance of nVidia cards tends to drop off faster at 2560 x 1600 and above resolutions than the Radeons so if you don't care about 3d Vision then a couple of 7970 GHz Edition cards might be a better choice. Apparently there is a tool out that fixes AMD's micro-stutter issues. Tom's did a good article recently about 2 x 7970s vs a 690 you can read here:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-7990-devil13-7970-x2,3329.html

I'd have to see benchmarks before I know if 3 x 660TI would in fact outperform 2 x 670. I've never really done triple monitor setups before - most I've used are dual.

 

[bardacuda]

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/evga_geforce_gtx_660_ti_sc_review,23.html

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/geforce_gtx_670_2_and_3way_sli_review,8.html

I believe in both reviews both/all 3 cards were clocked down to reference clocks though they didn't use reference cards. The 3 x 660s edge out 2 x 670s. But for the cost difference and not needing 3 PCI-E slots I think 2 x 670s makes more sense.

 

[fazi13]

The reason I opted for the 5x cooler Gigabyte 680 was that the fans would be mounted sideways allowing for better airflow since the NVidia 680 would be blocking the first card. And the question I was sort of thinking was if the vRAM did stack and if SLI-ing different cards was going to limit speeds.

The reason I'm definitely going to buy SLI 680s is because according to Tom's BM they can barely run BF3 1080p triple monitors with Ultra
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-680-sli-overclock-surround,3162-5.html

I'll definitely look at the newer SSDs though I do like the H100i's new look compared to a fan/heatsink and without the difficulties of a full on open loop liquid cooler, though I may just jump down to a CM Hyper 212 EVO if the money is needed elsewhere.

I may bump the RAM down to 4x4GB sticks or 2x4GB sticks though the price difference is not phenomenal compared to the rest of my build.

Also the may switch to the 23" Asus monitors; I only picked the pricier 24" because of the DisplayPort connectivity but my cables should be behind a desk anyways.

I've also decided what the heck, why not get the P8Z77-V Pro since its $10 for an eSATA PCI card, 1 extra fan header, and a thunderbolt header for future use.

 

[bardacuda]

If you get two-slot cards you will have an empty slot of space between cards allowing for better cooling. The Gigabyte cards with 3 larger fans mounted at a normal orientation are probably just as effective and no doubt waaaay quieter. If you go for 4GB cards the twin frozr 4s should stay nice and frosty.

If you want to save money on the cooler that performs even better than the H100i go with a Phanteks PH-TC14

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835709001

Noctua NH-D14

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608018

or a Thermalright Silver Arrow

http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=58634&vpn=Silver%20Arrow&manufacture=Thermalright

EDIT: Oh also the NZXT Havik 120 is good

 

[Vicpdx17]

I would say do not get a 680. All your gonna do is see like 5-10% performance over a 670, plus if you get the FTW(for the win edition) of the 670 the clocks are pretty much the same as a stock 680.