Any problems with this build?

TDSmile

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Dec 14, 2012
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10,510
Hello all,

I have made my final decisions on my new build and I just need to be sure that there will not be any bottle necking occurring and that I will get the most out of these components.

CPU - Intel Core i7-3770K
Motherboard - Asus Sabertooth Z77
RAM - G.SKILL Sniper Gaming Series 16GB (2 x 8GB)
GPU - Asus GeForce GTX 690
PSU - Antec High Current Pro 850W
CPU Cooling - Thermalright True Spirit 140
Case - ?
Optical Drive - SATA DVD-RW
Storage - 2TB Western Digital Caviar Black & Intel 330 Series 180 GB SSD
Sound Card - Asus Xonar DX

At the moment I do not have a case picked out because I really do not know what to look for. If anyone knows any good cases for air cooling. Also I saw on newegg.com that there is a EVGA 690 and the Asus 690. There is about a $50 difference and some have said the EVGA has better customer support so if anyone has any input on that it would be helpful as well.

Thanks again
 


You have, well... several problems.

What is this going to be used for? Mostly gaming?

What resolution? I'm going to go ahead and say three monitors - if not, it's even MORE of a waste of money than before.

Once I know both those things, I can save you a LOT of money without losing any performance at all.
 

TDSmile

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Dec 14, 2012
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Yes I will be running a multi-monitor setup and yes this is going to be mostly for gaming but I also do a lot of 3D rendering, video editing and a small amount of programming.
 
All right then, into the fun!

The i7 doesn't help at all for gaming - it's an i5 with hyperthreading, which actually slows down some games. It'll speed up 3d rendering a bit, but personally, it's not worth the $100 extra just for that. (If it was better for gaming, it'd be different.)

The Sabertooth is a straight-up waste of money. It's not a high end board - it's a mid-end board with "thermal armor" and an extra $200 price tag... and the thermal armor does nothing but make the motherboard run hotter, as to be expected. Get a real high-end motherboard, or go with a mid-end. A Gigabyte z77x-ud3h is more than enough to handle an i5 or i7 and crossfire / sli setup.

You don't need 16GB of ram. With GIMP, BF3, and 20 tabs in chrome, all at once, my computer didn't even go over 7GB. Just get 8GB of 1600Mhz with a CAS of 7 or 9. No point in buying more than that if you're never going to see it used, even if you can afford it - you wouldn't throw money in the garbage disposal just because you could afford it, would you?

You picked decently on the power supply, but it's overkill for a single 690. I'd go with a 750w, 80+ GOLD psu. (Though yours is fine, just don't get more than 850w.)

For cooling - you have the room and the budget, so get the best: a Noctua D14. (Or similar 140mm heatsink, if you so prefer. That one is simply too thin to provide decent cooling.)

As for the case, I like NZXT's Phantom series, but there are a lot of other good ones out there. I wouldn't spend more than $120, max.

Think about if you really need an optical drive. You can install windows from a USB drive easily, and most people don't use their drive for more than that.

Good pick on the hard drive (Though you probably only need 1TB), but meh pick on the SSD. Get an 840 PRO, Vector, 830, Vertex 4, m4, or 520, in that order.

Do you honestly need a sound card? If you do, it'll be about $150 for any significant upgrade over onboard sound. Keep that in mind.


Now then. The elephant in the room:

Don't buy a GTX 690. Period. They're a waste of money and will NOT perform well on three monitors. Why? Because it lies about having 4GB of VRAM. Yes, it has 4GB total, but each chip uses 2GB - just like having two 2GB cards in SLI (If you don't know how this works, the VRAM of cards in SLI don't stack - two 1GB cards don't give 2GB of usable ram, because each card has to hold all the information). This won't be enough for multi-monitor.

Instead, buy two 4GB model GTX 670s. It'll perform way better, AND be considerably cheaper.

I like this one for the warranty:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130824

And this one for the cooling:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125449


If you follow my suggestions, not only will you end up with a more powerful build, it'll be cheaper - letting you save some of that money for future upgrades. (And no, it's not better to spend it now to "future proof" - there is no such thing as future proofing, and it's been shown many times that it's better to save now so you can upgrade later.)
 

TDSmile

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Dec 14, 2012
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10,510


I knew that the i7 isn't for gaming but I got it for the rendering benefits. I know nothing about motherboards or cases so I'll look into those.The 16GB of ram was advised from a friend who I trust. The optical drive is there because I personally still believe in buying CDs for music. The 2TB HDD is there because I record almost all of my gameplay to review and check what I should have done, which means I need the extra space. After research on the sound card dilemma, I found that sound cards aren't needed so thanks for that. I have been doing a lot of research about the 690 and in all of my findings the 690 does quite better than two 670s in sli on most resolutions. Also I'm only gaming on one monitor(Sue me if you want). I will have two but the other will mostly be used when I am designing and programming. I personally see it as pointless to game on multiple monitors so I will be sticking to one good monitor for that.
 
How often do you render objects, and in what program? For an i7 to be of any use, the program has to:

1) Support hyperthreading.
2) Be able to make use of eight cores effectively.

A lot of programs don't do that, because joe modeler doesn't have a nice computer to play around with, and thus there's low need for support for fancy parts. That being said, even if you're using programs that do support it, the difference isn't that huge - the i7 will render in, say, a minute thirty, and the i5 will do it in two.

As for the ram, I agree that it's good ram - you just don't need 16 GB of it. There's no point in spending money on something that's just going to sit there, is there?

I see the need for storage, but I might consider buying two drives and using them separately. That'll let the game read off of one drive, and the recorder write to the other drive - it'll actually speed your framerates up a fair bit. (Just something to consider, as it might cost a bit more.)

I wouldn't say the 690 does quite better - it's about 5-10%, which can be expected for $200 more. That being said, it's also going to be hotter and noisier, so you better have good airflow.

No need to get antagonistic - I game on a single, 120 hz monitor myself. I'm going to, however, relate a bit of a story to you.

That single 670 of mine? Will max out basically any game, at 120 frames a second. The games it doesn't max (there are a small few it can't max at even 60), are either badly coded, like Metro 2033, or have features that are only helpful on lower resolutions that can be disabled without any visual loss, such as super-sampling on the Witcher 2. (That being said, the 690 is better for one screen than three - it's biggest problem is the lack of VRAM.)


So is the 690 going to be faster than a 670? Of course. But here's the thing, and you should think about this for a second...

If you're going to get equal performance out of the two cards, why would you spend the extra SIX HUNDRED dollars?

You'd be way better off buying a single 670, maxxing everything out anyways, and then spending another $400 in three years on a video card that makes the 690 look like a children's toy.

You end up saving money and getting far better performance at the end of it. (And again, I'm going to emphasize... you won't see a single difference between the 670 and the 690.)
 

Praxeology

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Dec 16, 2012
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Every issue dark is raised is very valid and I completely agree with him. And to be perfectly honest if you are going with a 3 monitor setup, eyefinity > nvidia surround, that is

crossfire 7970s for $850 over the 690. If you need cuda cores for your renderings then obviously you will need to go NVIDIA and if that is indeed the case the 690 is not the

way to go at all. It has 2GB of vram for a very high price tag and will not outperform SLI 680s which will be cheaper, and easier to overclock/cool. Depending on how long

your rendering tasks typically are will decide whether or not the i7 is a good idea, but if you are really into it, be smart and go with a z79 build and grab a 3820. It will cost

you 50 bucks more for a different motherboard, and everything else is the same. So if I understand things correctly, this is what you should get:

Motherboard

Processor

Ram Buy 2 sets, configure for quad channel, 16GB is good for future proofing definately, your trusted friend is right. At an extra 60 bucks there is no reason not to, I would go with this ram though.

HDD

SSD Buy the 256GB Pro series if you need a bigger one, make sure it's pro. If you want something cheaper then go with a Corsair GS 180GB for 169.99 or the Corsair GS 240GB for 200.

PSU Stick with Corsair or Seasonic for PSU. This is a good model and can handle SLI well for this gen and probably the next 2 gens.

GPU 4GB680 Buy 2, it will outperform your 690 considerably, though it will cost 60 bucks more. Well worth it. And to outclass the 690s for a cheaper price, go GPU 2GB680 Which is 60 dollars cheaper, has better overclocking capabilities, and is gives 40 bucks in rebates to buy you that new toaster you've been wanting.

For cooling I would want an h100i or 80i if I was overclocking, if you aren't your cooling is fine though I'd look at the hyper212 as it seems to be the main pick. And the last suggestion for a case would definitely be Thrustmaster 10000





 
^Never saw the point of the 680.

I'd go with 4GB 670s if you want Nvidia, or dual 7970s, which will smash just about anything out there.

EDIT:

But again, there's no point if you're on a single monitor. A 670 will max out anything out there just as well as two 7970s would.
 

Praxeology

Honorable
Dec 16, 2012
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10,860


I agree there is no point BUT if he wants the 680, then I gave him the better 680 SLI performance route over the 690 pick. Which is ofc the 4GB models SLi or even the 2GB models SLI.
 

hiporc

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Aug 26, 2012
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10,790
Dude, forget about what the guy said about the ram, i have 8gb. i use after effects cs6. and i max out at pre rendering 20 seconds. you defiantly need 16gb. anyways memory is dirt cheap. GO FOR 16GB! YOU NEED IT! (he doesn't video edit, he doesn't know how much memory it uses)
 

Thank you for using my name, addressing me, and speaking in a civil manner.

That being said, I don't have any such problems, and while I don't video edit, I do achieve some complicated renders with 3d modeling programs.