Help me build my dream machine

[ModKiller]

I have it in my head that I am capable of building my own mod, where I get that idea I have no idea. This will be my second attempt; my first was a complete disaster. Meaning, I installed a Koolance external water cooler only to find (the hard way) that they NEED to be tested “before” powering the motherboard. OUCH!!

So why am I here? Why not just get to work making a mess of things again? Well to answer honestly, I’m not happy with my current build. It is seven years old and still going but its graphics and memory are too limited. I have spent countless hours reading this site (packed full of awesome mods) and reviews to get ideas for this build. And thought you might be willing to look over what I have and make a few suggestions.

The build itself is a few weeks away as I went slightly over budget, so this will give me time to tinker with it on paper before the commitment. This build is IMO looking toward the future with 1 screen and 1 video card now but 3 screens and 2 cards in a year.

I have a lot to learn in a short time, always used cable select to manage drives but now desire raid 0, hope that is easy to set up. I also desire a 15% - 20% over-clock of the CPU and maybe a slight over-clocking of the video card as well; I have never attempted an over-clocking. For data backup I will be installing an eSATA/USB external HDD case with a 1TB SATA HDD and using Casper™ 7.0 for daily auto backups. The rest of the components I am sure you will understand better than I do. Your comments, suggestions, and criticism are welcome.


2- Intel 335 Series SSDSC2CT240A4K5 2.5" 240GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

1- Thermaltake CLW0217 Water 2.0 Extreme/All-In-One Liquid Cooling System (closed system, no leaks)

1- Seagate SV35 Series ST1000VX000 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

1- Rosewill Tachyon Series Tachyon-1000 Continuous 1000W @ 50 Degrees C ATX12V v2.31 & EPS12V v2.92 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready (maybe a little overkill)

1- Rosewill RX-358 U3C BLK 3.5" Black USB3.0 & eSATA External Enclosure

1- Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 64-bit – OEM

1- MadCatz M.M.O. 7 MCB4371300C2/04/1 Glossy Black 15 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB Wired Laser Gaming Mouse for PC and Mac

1- Intel Core i7-3770K Ivy Bridge 3.5GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I73770K

1- GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD5H-WB LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

1- Creative Sound Blaster Tactic3D Rage Wireless USB Connector Circumaural Gaming Headset

1- Corsair Vengeance K90 Black/Metal USB Wired Gaming Performance, MMO Mechanical Keyboard

1- CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2400 Desktop Memory Model CMZ16GX3M4A2400C9

1- COOLER MASTER HAF X RC-942-KKN1 Black Steel/Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case

1- ASUS VG Series VG278H Black 27" 2 ms (Gray to gray) HDMI Widescreen LED Backlight LED Backlight LCD Monitor (2 more next year)

1- ASUS GTX690-4GD5 GeForce GTX 690 4GB 512-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card (another next year)

1- ARCTIC COOLING DCACO-V780001-BL Fluid Dynamic VGA Cooler

1- BitFenix Recon Fan Controller model BFA-RCN-KS-RP (front, side, rear, VGA duct)



I know giving you everything is a bit overboard, but I am looking for opinions, your knowledge and experience might save me some frustration later. I play World of Warcraft, Counter-Strike, RoM, and tinker with some video editing. I am disabled so I spend a lot of time on my computer.

Thanks for looking

 

[manofchalk]

You might want to distill that list down to the important stuff, the fact that the CPU is buried dead center in it doesn't help for communication. Also we dont need to know your buying a HDMI cable and cable ties.

 

[ModKiller]

sorry about that. I took out what i don't need opinions on. thanks for looking

 

[manofchalk]

It looks like an ultimate gaming machine with a not so ultimate but still strong video editing/compute performance.

Couple of things I can see.

- You dont need a 1000W PSU, something like an 850W will cover you for dual 690's.

- You dont need Windows Ultimate, there is just simply no point for it over Professional for the home user (or even Home Premium if you dont need 16GB+ RAM). If fact I advise getting Windows 8 64bit.

- On a rig of this caliber, you can get real watercooling and not the all-in-one solutions that barely perform better than air. Something like an XSPC Raystorm RX240 kit will perform way better and is only ~$30 more. It will also allow you to expand the loop later to cool those 690's, though I think you will need a lot of radiator to cool two of them.

- No point for RAM above 1600Mhz, and chances are that kit runs at 1.65V, which is bad your your Intel CPU. Need a RAM kit that runs at 1.5v or less. Also you may want to get Low-Profile RAM, you considering that your at least going to get an all-in-one watercooler this probably isnt an issue.

- The HDD you picked is optimized for surveillance systems where it will have to cope with sustained writes, not really desktop usage. Get a HDD from the Barracuda series.

 

[g-unit1111]

Are you buying from Cyberpower or are you building your own? There's a lot of stuff that you don't need in that build (the fan controller, external enclosure, 16GB RAM, Windows 7 Ultimate for starters) and I think that cooling system is ridiculous overkill. You could build your own for far less and get a better system out of it.

I personally wouldn't purchase an aftermarket VGA cooler - there's potential for something to go wrong there and manufacturers will void warranties if they find out you've been using one. On a $1K video card I wouldn't take that chance.

I also wouldn't purchase a 690 - dual GTX 670s will give you near identical performance for far less money. Don't purchase Intel SSDs either - I had one and had nothing but problems with it. Get something like a Vertex 4 or a Crucial M4 instead. I'd also drop the closed liquid loop and instead purchase a Noctua D14 instead.

For a gaming rig you don't need a 1K PSU and you certainly don't need the 3770K either - you can drop that to the i5-3570K.

Try something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($204.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U9B SE2 37.9 CFM CPU Cooler ($60.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UP4 TH ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($192.86 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($104.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Vector Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card (CrossFire) ($424.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card (CrossFire) ($424.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 500R White ATX Mid Tower Case ($129.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk II 750W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1985.72
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-06 20:23 EST-0500)

 

[ModKiller]

Thank you for your advice, looking everything up and reading about it now but wanted to post this. I am buying most everything from Newegg. I am saving it to a wish list that is now public titled rick7425. The few items I cannot get from Newegg will be purchased from quality site.

 

[thetechnoobguy]

When I was building my computer I was told that 850W wouldn't be enough for dual 690's. Considering you're putting all the bells and whistles in your computer, I would say 1000W would be fine and would give you that extra sense of security. Honestly though if you're just playing WoW or counter strike this machine is insanely overkill. You would be able to max out those games and do some video editing for 1/3 the price.

Also the guy who said two gtx 670s can reach the same performance is dead wrong. A single 690 is almost as powerful as two 670s.

Go for a 660Ti or single 670 and a 450W platinum power supply, the i7 3770k is great if you're doing video editing. 8gb @ 1866ghz is fine for video editing, if you're a hardcore editor consider getting 12GB. If you want the best Z77 chipset mobo go for the Sabertooth Z77, it looks nice performs nice and has a 5 year warranty. For what you're doing you don't need a Noctua nor liquid cooling, just get a hyper 212 evo unless you're a hardcore overclocker (which you wont need to be) then you can go for the noctua otherwise it's not worth it. With the money you're saving from not getting dual 690's you'll be able to get a 480gb+ SSD and a 1tb 10000RPM velociraptor hard drive and a nice full tower case.

 

[ModKiller]

My ultimate goal is to have a triple 3d monitor gaming system for WoW 3d (completely insane I know, but hey). I want a system that knows no lag in video editing (I do very little now but might pick up a bit when the computer can handle it) and can render Daz Studio better without that black-screen reboot). Counter-Strike and Diablo do ok now, I’m sure they will be awesome later.

Going down to the i5 was a thought at first, but I like the reviews of the 3770k much more I in fact considered the 3930k for a brief period (according to what I have read it will do nothing for me except empty my pocket).

As for the Sabertooth, that is one mean board, but when comparing the bench tests side by side (if I remember correctly) the Z77X-UD5H out performed it. And this option gives me a cable less link to printer/fax in the other room (I hope). When I finish reading about the cooler and options regarding it I will try to find that link and double check.

I have little faith in Windows 8 ATM, but I am changing from 7 ultimate to 7 professional. I am also changing from the 2400 1.6v memory to 1600 1.5v low profile (sticking with 16gig for now). Maybe after the build there will be room for a memory fan.

Not sure about the Vertex 4…
http://hothardware.com/Reviews/Intel-Solid-State-Drive-335-Series-SSD-Review/?page=2

Please… this is a learning experience for me and I am dead set on getting it right. Don’t stop telling me where I am wrong, you are providing so great information and I am very grateful for it.

edit: P.S. after market VGA cooler on a 1k video card IS a bad idea... thank you, you may have saved me.

 

[thetechnoobguy]

If you really want to improve the cooling of the GPU you could always replace the thermal paste, this usually decreases the temps from 5-10 degrees. I suggest Arctic MX4, from what I've heard it's the best for that.

16GB is overkill. Unless what you're saying is you already have it. I'd go for 1866 ram, it's the highest you can go while staying safe.

This build will allow you to max WoW on 3D and utilize the 120hz for super smooth gameplay, along with great multitasking and video editing capabilities:

http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/p/wiYa

I don't know much about SSD's so I didn't put one in.

 

[ModKiller]

this motherboard does not support 1866 ram. Starting to think i need to start this planning all over... And the water cooling setups I am looking at are starting to scare me LOL, but I am up to the challenge.

There are some nice systems out there, but this one will take your breath...

http://www.benchtec.co.uk/forums/threads/8956-my-new-gaming-water-cooled-pc

I will never do anything like that but it gives me some great ideas

**Continue reading water cooling or rethink Motherboard**

 

[thetechnoobguy]

Wow that is incredible. I've been interested in modding and making custom cases but I don't really know anyone with the tools to do it or what tools you would need lol.

1866 isn't really that important, if you really want that motherboard then you can go for it. Otherwise I would look for something slightly better and more aesthetically pleasing.

 

[g-unit1111]

When I was building my computer I was told that 850W wouldn't be enough for dual 690's. Considering you're putting all the bells and whistles in your computer, I would say 1000W would be fine and would give you that extra sense of security. Honestly though if you're just playing WoW or counter strike this machine is insanely overkill. You would be able to max out those games and do some video editing for 1/3 the price.

Also the guy who said two gtx 670s can reach the same performance is dead wrong. A single 690 is almost as powerful as two 670s.

How am I wrong? I cite this benchmark: http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/graphics/39605-nvidia-geforce-gtx-670-sli-vs-the-beasttm/

Every single benchmark in this article puts the GTX 690 within +- 2 FPS of each other.

Go for a 660Ti or single 670 and a 450W platinum power supply, the i7 3770k is great if you're doing video editing. 8gb @ 1866ghz is fine for video editing, if you're a hardcore editor consider getting 12GB. If you want the best Z77 chipset mobo go for the Sabertooth Z77, it looks nice performs nice and has a 5 year warranty.

Wait - the OP wants to get a powerful gaming / general use PC and you're suggesting a far less powerful GPU and a 450W power supply?

Also don't purchase the Sabertooth - it's overrated, expensive, and the thermal armor traps more heat than it prevents.

or what you're doing you don't need a Noctua nor liquid cooling, just get a hyper 212 evo unless you're a hardcore overclocker (which you wont need to be) then you can go for the noctua otherwise it's not worth it. With the money you're saving from not getting dual 690's you'll be able to get a 480gb+ SSD and a 1tb 10000RPM velociraptor hard drive and a nice full tower case.

Why would you waste money on a Velociraptor HD? Don't purchase expensive storage devices that aren't worth the cost per GB and don't give you that much of an extra benefit. Also the 480GB SSD isn't really worth it right now.

As for the Sabertooth, that is one mean board, but when comparing the bench tests side by side (if I remember correctly) the Z77X-UD5H out performed it. And this option gives me a cable less link to printer/fax in the other room (I hope). When I finish reading about the cooler and options regarding it I will try to find that link and double check.

Here's the thing about the Sabertooth - every single review of it I've read has said that the thermal armor covering the board isn't ready for prime time and it actually gets hotter with higher usage. And you know what Asus has done to counter this? Include two very cheaply made 80mm fans that can be mounted below the motherboard.

I have little faith in Windows 8 ATM, but I am changing from 7 ultimate to 7 professional. I am also changing from the 2400 1.6v memory to 1600 1.5v low profile (sticking with 16gig for now). Maybe after the build there will be room for a memory fan.

Yeah you don't need Windows 7 Ultimate unless you need the language packs or XP emulation. I have Windows 8 - once you get past Metro it's Windows as normal.

Not sure about the Vertex 4…
http://hothardware.com/Reviews/Int [...] ew/?page=2

I have a Vertex 4 - have had zero problems with it so far.

 

[CaptainTom]

Are you buying from Cyberpower or are you building your own? There's a lot of stuff that you don't need in that build (the fan controller, external enclosure, 16GB RAM, Windows 7 Ultimate for starters) and I think that cooling system is ridiculous overkill. You could build your own for far less and get a better system out of it.

I personally wouldn't purchase an aftermarket VGA cooler - there's potential for something to go wrong there and manufacturers will void warranties if they find out you've been using one. On a $1K video card I wouldn't take that chance.

I also wouldn't purchase a 690 - dual GTX 670s will give you near identical performance for far less money. Don't purchase Intel SSDs either - I had one and had nothing but problems with it. Get something like a Vertex 4 or a Crucial M4 instead. I'd also drop the closed liquid loop and instead purchase a Noctua D14 instead.

For a gaming rig you don't need a 1K PSU and you certainly don't need the 3770K either - you can drop that to the i5-3570K.

Try something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($204.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U9B SE2 37.9 CFM CPU Cooler ($60.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UP4 TH ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($192.86 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($104.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Vector Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card (CrossFire) ($424.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card (CrossFire) ($424.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 500R White ATX Mid Tower Case ($129.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk II 750W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1985.72
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-06 20:23 EST-0500)

I second this build. Far more sensible.

 

[thetechnoobguy]

How am I wrong? I cite this benchmark: http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/graphics/39605-nvidia-geforce-gtx-670-sli-vs-the-beasttm/

Every single benchmark in this article puts the GTX 690 within +- 2 FPS of each other.

Go for a 660Ti or single 670 and a 450W platinum power supply, the i7 3770k is great if you're doing video editing. 8gb @ 1866ghz is fine for video editing, if you're a hardcore editor consider getting 12GB. If you want the best Z77 chipset mobo go for the Sabertooth Z77, it looks nice performs nice and has a 5 year warranty.

Wait - the OP wants to get a powerful gaming / general use PC and you're suggesting a far less powerful GPU and a 450W power supply?

Also don't purchase the Sabertooth - it's overrated, expensive, and the thermal armor traps more heat than it prevents.

or what you're doing you don't need a Noctua nor liquid cooling, just get a hyper 212 evo unless you're a hardcore overclocker (which you wont need to be) then you can go for the noctua otherwise it's not worth it. With the money you're saving from not getting dual 690's you'll be able to get a 480gb+ SSD and a 1tb 10000RPM velociraptor hard drive and a nice full tower case.

Why would you waste money on a Velociraptor HD? Don't purchase expensive storage devices that aren't worth the cost per GB and don't give you that much of an extra benefit. Also the 480GB SSD isn't really worth it right now.

As for the Sabertooth, that is one mean board, but when comparing the bench tests side by side (if I remember correctly) the Z77X-UD5H out performed it. And this option gives me a cable less link to printer/fax in the other room (I hope). When I finish reading about the cooler and options regarding it I will try to find that link and double check.

Here's the thing about the Sabertooth - every single review of it I've read has said that the thermal armor covering the board isn't ready for prime time and it actually gets hotter with higher usage. And you know what Asus has done to counter this? Include two very cheaply made 80mm fans that can be mounted below the motherboard.

I have little faith in Windows 8 ATM, but I am changing from 7 ultimate to 7 professional. I am also changing from the 2400 1.6v memory to 1600 1.5v low profile (sticking with 16gig for now). Maybe after the build there will be room for a memory fan.

Yeah you don't need Windows 7 Ultimate unless you need the language packs or XP emulation. I have Windows 8 - once you get past Metro it's Windows as normal.

Not sure about the Vertex 4…
http://hothardware.com/Reviews/Int [...] ew/?page=2

I have a Vertex 4 - have had zero problems with it so far.

The benchmarks compare a 690 to 670's in SLI and the 690 is better than the 670's every time.

Well he doesn't need dual 690s to play WoW, but since he's playing it using three monitors in 3D he will.

It's not wasting money, it's the fastest mechanical hard drive you can get. 7200RPM drives are already too slow for loading certain games so it wouldn't hurt to upgrade. Also a 480+ gb SSD is totally worth it if you can afford it. I would rather get two 480gb ssds than an ssd and a mechanical hard drive.

I hadn't seen a single review that proves that the thermal armor is counter productive. When I was asking for new build advice, it was one of the most recommended Z77 motherboards I received. I've been using it for months and can assure you that the temps stay consistent and do not raise more than a degree or two when playing games like crysis 2. It's a solid MB, easily one of the best and ASUS provides a 5 year warranty.

 

[g-unit1111]

The benchmarks compare a 690 to 670's in SLI and the 690 is better than the 670's every time.

Well he doesn't need dual 690s to play WoW, but since he's playing it using three monitors in 3D he will.

Yeah three 3-D monitors will require an incredibly powerful setup to pull that off yeah.

It's not wasting money, it's the fastest mechanical hard drive you can get. 7200RPM drives are already too slow for loading certain games so it wouldn't hurt to upgrade. Also a 480+ gb SSD is totally worth it if you can afford it. I would rather get two 480gb ssds than an ssd and a mechanical hard drive.

Yeah but that's not the place I would spend money on a build. When you have a fast SSD as your primary the speed of your second, third, fourth, fifth hard drives becomes a moot point. It doesn't really matter if it's 7200 RPM or 10K RPM. On my work PC I run everything off a central file server and I can open files as fast as if they were on the primary drive. The thing you have to remember with SSDs is that the read - write times are far more limited and can slow down when you load them over 80% capacity (a big problem with Sandforce based drives and some Marvell and Indilinx drives even have this problem). Mechanical hard drives can take a lot more punishment than SSDs can.

 

[thetechnoobguy]

The benchmarks compare a 690 to 670's in SLI and the 690 is better than the 670's every time.

Well he doesn't need dual 690s to play WoW, but since he's playing it using three monitors in 3D he will.

Yeah three 3-D monitors will require an incredibly powerful setup to pull that off yeah.

It's not wasting money, it's the fastest mechanical hard drive you can get. 7200RPM drives are already too slow for loading certain games so it wouldn't hurt to upgrade. Also a 480+ gb SSD is totally worth it if you can afford it. I would rather get two 480gb ssds than an ssd and a mechanical hard drive.

Yeah but that's not the place I would spend money on a build. When you have a fast SSD as your primary the speed of your second, third, fourth, fifth hard drives becomes a moot point. It doesn't really matter if it's 7200 RPM or 10K RPM. On my work PC I run everything off a central file server and I can open files as fast as if they were on the primary drive. The thing you have to remember with SSDs is that the read - write times are far more limited and can slow down when you load them over 80% capacity (a big problem with Sandforce based drives and some Marvell and Indilinx drives even have this problem). Mechanical hard drives can take a lot more punishment than SSDs can.

It's kind of crazy how 3D is so demanding, I hope the technology is made so that it only cuts 1/4 of the frames instead of 1/2 in the future.

Well I just think that if you can afford a 500GB SSD then totally go for it, sure they're crazy expensive but what can you do. Then get another 256gb or higher ssd if you can afford it and if not then a velociraptor hd and if not then a 7200RPM drive. I just think that although a mechanical drive may be more durable and cheaper, in the end an SSD is going to offer a massive speed increase, and to me speed is most important. I can compensate for lack of space when my loading times are always blazing fast. That's how I see it.

 

[fudoka711]

I would stick with the 690 over getting 2 670's or 2 7970's, simply because it'll produce less heat, use less power, perform the same, and have less microstuttering and such. Also takes up less space than 2 cards.

Stick with an SSD over an HDD as your main drive (like 240-256gb) You can always go with something like a 1-2tb HDD (go for a WD Black Edition) as your data drive and expand as you need. The brand of SSD doesn't matter as much now, but stick with something like the Samsung 830/840/840 Pro, OCZ Vertex 4, Crucial m4, or Intel.

For 3D gaming, I think the 3570k should be good enough for now and in the future. But if you're not going to update again for 7 years. I'd go big now with a 3770k.

Go with Win 7 Pro or Win 8 as your OS. I also agree that you don't need Professional.

Stick with max 16gb of Ram at 1600mhz. Any higher and you'll gain maybe 1-3 fps. Going above 1.5v is also not good for Intel CPU's.

EDIT: What is your price range? Like how much are you willing to spend right now?

 

[CaptainTom]

I would stick with the 690 over getting 2 670's or 2 7970's, simply because it'll produce less heat, use less power, perform the same, and have less microstuttering and such. Also takes up less space than 2 cards.

Stick with an SSD over an HDD as your main drive (like 240-256gb) You can always go with something like a 1-2tb HDD (go for a WD Black Edition) as your data drive and expand as you need. The brand of SSD doesn't matter as much now, but stick with something like the Samsung 830/840/840 Pro, OCZ Vertex 4, Crucial m4, or Intel.

For 3D gaming, I think the 3570k should be good enough for now and in the future. But if you're not going to update again for 7 years. I'd go big now with a 3770k.

Go with Win 7 Pro or Win 8 as your OS. I also agree that you don't need Professional.

Stick with max 16gb of Ram at 1600mhz. Any higher and you'll gain maybe 1-3 fps. Going above 1.5v is also not good for Intel CPU's.

EDIT: What is your price range? Like how much are you willing to spend right now?

-A 690 has all of the same sli problems and microstuddering normal cards have. Also microstuddering is easily fixed by free programs anyways.

-A 690 will be at least 20-50% weaker than 2x7970 GHz overclocked (You can't really overclock a 690 much). Don't kid yourself.

-Two 670's is around 40% cheaper and will overclock better than a 690.

-Two 670's will use around 50w more. Big deal!

 

[ModKiller]

Ok. A quick reply and I’m off to bed for a bit. I build a new PC every 6 to 8 years so when I do it I try to build one that will still be of use when it’s time is up (I clean them up and give them to neighborhood high school kids needing one). That last PC I tried to mod I made a complete mess of it, had to pay a shop to finish the job. But it is still up to date and expandable for the most part. I set myself a $5k cap this year and have gone over it many times on paper. I have been playing with configurations for over a week now, review after review, but I am learning and accepting to your opinions (just don’t get upset if it doesn’t get through my hard head)

Motherboard change…

ASUS Maximus V EXTREME LGA 1155 Intel Z77 is now my preference, I know the other has the water blocks already on them (can replace with aftermarket anyway) but I am not a fan of the reviews and the onboard Bluetooth and 3gig chip was a seller. Not to mention the OC Key. Wish I had seen this board earlier. The suggested ram for this board is CORSAIR Dominator Platinum DDR3 2666 chip, but you have me worried about any 1.6v ram with an Intel processor. I have an AMD processor in my current system and will never make that mistake again.

I read using the 960’s I can only use 2, but to compete with the power needed to run 3 screens in 3D I would need a 4 sli of the 670’s. (forgive my terminology) To me (novice at best) it would cost more to keep them cool than to go with the 690 pair. I was reading something about soldering a wire to the video card but my brain is mush ATM, will get back to that tomorrow (err. later today).

Just talking to you guys/gals has saved me from ruining a warranty on the 690, moved me to a better mobo, set me on the right track for cooling (long track for a noob), have me rethinking the ssd drives (maybe 2x 500gig 7200 on raid 0). And believe it or not I am still under cap (though I have no idea what the cooling will cost yet). Please accept my thanks and continue to offer suggestions. As for now, GoodNight


edit: Just noticed your reply Captain Tom. Hmmmm more to consider.

What are your thoughts on 2 of these, ASUS GTX670-DC2-4GD5 GeForce GTX 670 4GB 256-bit? Haven't seen test yet but same core clock and boost clock within reason. Not to mention 4gig on the 960 is only 2 gig each chip, maybe the 4gig has a little more to offer than to 2gig version. Tired, time to shut up.

 

[fudoka711]

-A 690 has all of the same sli problems and microstuddering normal cards have. Also microstuddering is easily fixed by free programs anyways.

-A 690 will be at least 20-50% weaker than 2x7970 GHz overclocked (You can't really overclock a 690 much). Don't kid yourself.

-Two 670's is around 40% cheaper and will overclock better than a 690.

-Two 670's will use around 50w more. Big deal!

Yes, 2 670's oc'd will beat a 690. Just remember that the 690 is two 680's, not two 670's. So by default it's faster. Also, you're the first person ever on Tom's or anywhere else, and I mean ever, to mention a simple program fixing microstuttering. So I don't exactly trust what you say anymore. Also having 4 cards (4 670/680/7970 or 2 690 renders that whole problem moot).

What I'm trying to figure out is what is best of the OP in the long run. He will build a new pc to last 6-8 years. Getting 2 690's in SLI is much better than getting 4 670's or 680's in terms of power usage, heat (omg the heat), and simplicity (moving parts, cooling, etc.).

Now that I know your cap is $5k, you have a LOT of room. How much are you spending on the three 3D screens? That way we can figure out how much left you have to spend on the actual desktop.

 

[ModKiller]

Didn’t plan on getting the other 2 monitors until late October but the one I currently have on mind is $600. At this point I am at 4.2k and I have hit 3k playing with cooler parts, going to rethink that if I ever get to sleep LOL. But I think I would need 1x 360 radiator (push/pull 6 fans), 1x 240 radiator (2 fans), a good pump, a large reservoir (would like to find one that isn’t in a drive bay, need to remove to many to fit everything in), and all the hose, water blocks, and adaptors.

I have all the time I need to get this right, but I had hoped to start ordering parts in the next week or so. I would like to make sure I have the right mobo, processor, power supply, and radiators before I order anything, which will get me started on the build. As for what is in my list atm. Not sure how they like them but this might work. Yes I know it needs work LOL.

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=21373532

turning the screen off before i see another response LOL

 

[g-unit1111]

-A 690 has all of the same sli problems and microstuddering normal cards have. Also microstuddering is easily fixed by free programs anyways.

-A 690 will be at least 20-50% weaker than 2x7970 GHz overclocked (You can't really overclock a 690 much). Don't kid yourself.

-Two 670's is around 40% cheaper and will overclock better than a 690.

-Two 670's will use around 50w more. Big deal!

Microstuttering isn't really an issue with NVIDIA cards. It is with certain AMD cards - mainly in the 78XX and 79XX models but NVIDIA doesn't really have that problem.

Just talking to you guys/gals has saved me from ruining a warranty on the 690, moved me to a better mobo, set me on the right track for cooling (long track for a noob), have me rethinking the ssd drives (maybe 2x 500gig 7200 on raid 0). And believe it or not I am still under cap (though I have no idea what the cooling will cost yet). Please accept my thanks and continue to offer suggestions. As for now, GoodNight

I still don't think I would spend a ton of money on drives. All you really need is one 256GB SSD and one 1 - 2 TB mechanical HD. I wouldn't get anything more or less, and you certainly don't need to pay huge premiums for expensive gimmicks like the Velociraptors or OCZ Revodrive - they won't offer you any benefits for the prices you would pay for said drives.

 

[ModKiller]

Ok, so reading seems to just make things worse if I don’t know what I’m reading LOL. Can someone help me understand this please?

The board I have chosen has an MSATA option, now if I drop a 120gig MSATA card in and load windows on that, would it make enough difference that I could, drop to a couple Western Digital Blacks or Seagate Constellations and set them on raid 0 for more speed. I know the load times on the games will be slower but it isn’t load time I’m concerned with as much as it is performance. Or would the MSATA be better to used for cache?

I have a few questions about cooling as heat seems to be a major concern with this build but right now I want to get the basic needs down so I know what I have to play with cash wise.

Winners so far...
Maximus V Extreme motherboard,
Intel 3770 ivy bridge 3.5,
Dominator GT 16gb 2133 ram,
Windows 7 Professional,
HAF X RC-942 case.

Still going back and forth on the GTX690 or dual GTX670’s and now SSD or HDD; I really appreciate your help and advice; I just want to get this right the first time.

 

[thetechnoobguy]

I strongly recommend that you go for 690 SLI. If I had the money to get an 690 I would have totally got one however I settled for a 680. It makes absolutely no sense to quad sli a 670 over a sli 690. Everyone has been offering pretty solid advice but telling you to not go for the 690 is like suggesting getting 8 tires for your car when you only need 4. Especially since 3D is so demanding, you'll need all the GPU power you can get your hands on.

I wouldn't recommend you go for anything faster than 1866, it'll wear out your motherboard and parts a lot faster. Also 16GB is insane and unless you're running heavy load servers or rendering up the ass I wouldn't recommend anything higher than 12GB. 8GB is perfect for your needs. 6GB is all you need for gaming, however 8GB gives you some room for rendering and the sort.

That MB is overkill. You do not need to spend more than $300 unless you're going to be overclocking 24/7.

I don't recommend a rosewill power supply for your computer. They are a great brand for budget builds but for a high quality build like yours I would not settle for anything short of the best. If you cheap out on the PSU, and it shorts or something happens and it fries your entire build, that's $5,000 down the drain.

Intel SSD's are kind of overpriced.

ASUS VG278HE from what I've heard is better than that monitor and cheaper. It's the newer model I believe.

Windows 7 home premium should be fine, DO NOT waste your money on windows 8.

 

[thetechnoobguy]

Winners so far...
Maximus V Extreme motherboard, waste of over $100
Intel 3770 ivy bridge 3.5,
Dominator GT 16gb 2133 ram, No. Just no. waste over $200
Windows 7 Professional,
HAF X RC-942 case.

Still going back and forth on the GTX690 or dual GTX670’s and now SSD or HDD; I really appreciate your help and advice; I just want to get this right the first time.

Save at least $400 by not buying things you don't need, and use that to allow you to get two 500GB SSD's. You'll have 1TB of SSD storage, and you'll be the envy of many. Don't go for intel because theirs are way too overpriced.

Get the 690.