High End build- Programming/editing/gaming

[manshiny]

Hi all

So I decided to sell my current computer, and look into something new. I'll be using it for university (I do computer science), gaming, editing, programming and hosting some games between friends (like Minecraft, DayZ etc etc), I will eventually be running in surround.
My budget is around $2500 USD

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3930K 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($499.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 CPU Cooler ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus Rampage IV Formula ATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($362.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Dominator Platinum 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($289.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 64GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($389.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($389.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($104.55 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional Gold 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($144.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $2517.46
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-09 21:46 EST-0500)

I want to replace all the fans with Corsair SP Performance 120mm fans. So what do you think? This is meant to be a very high end computer.

 

[g-unit1111]

The Dominator Platinum RAM isn't worth wasting money on - you can get far cheaper RAM - even in a 4 x 8GB configuration - for 1/2 the cost if you go with Crucial, Kingston, or G.Skill.

Otherwise that's a solid build - everything looks good to me. I didn't see an optical drive - no need for BD-R if you aren't using it for backups, just get a cheapo Lite On and call it a day there.

 

[manshiny]

The Dominator Platinum RAM isn't worth wasting money on - you can get far cheaper RAM - even in a 4 x 8GB configuration - for 1/2 the cost if you go with Crucial, Kingston, or G.Skill.

Otherwise that's a solid build - everything looks good to me.

I was thinking the same. I quite like the look of the G.Skill Z Series or even Corsair Vengeance, however my friend insists I look into platinum lol. That would make this setup look something like this though, if I were to go with G.Skill:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3930K 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($499.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 CPU Cooler ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus Rampage IV Formula ATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($362.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Z Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($219.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 64GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($389.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($389.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($104.55 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional Gold 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($144.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $2447.46
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-09 21:57 EST-0500)

I should probably add that I don't like using internal optical drives. As you know, the R4 only has two 5.25 bays, and I'd rather not waste one with a Blu-ray or normal DVD internal optical. I have a external already. I'd rather use one of the bays for a NZXT Sentry 2 fan controller, and have the second free, in case something sparks my interest.

 

[djangoringo]

The asus x79 deluxe has more power phases than the rampage formula and in my opinion better board for less price, also get a 256GB ssd at least, 64 ssd is useless, the hdd 2TB can be a seagate, no performance loss between those two hdds, want you want is a good large sdd.
Also the corsair hx750 will do, it's also plus gold and modular, cheaper price.


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3930K 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($499.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 CPU Cooler ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus P9X79 DELUXE ATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($357.55 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($165.59 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Crucial M4 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($189.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($389.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($389.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($104.55 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional 750W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $2392.62
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

 

[manshiny]

The asus x79 deluxe has more power phases than the rampage formula and in my opinion better board for less price, also get a 256GB ssd at least, 64 ssd is useless, the hdd 2TB can be a seagate, no performance loss between those two hdds, want you want is a good large sdd.
Also the corsair hx750 will do, it's also plus gold and modular, cheaper price.


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3930K 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($499.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 CPU Cooler ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus P9X79 DELUXE ATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($357.55 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($165.59 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Crucial M4 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($189.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($389.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($389.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($104.55 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional 750W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $2392.62
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

Wouldn't Intel or Samsung be a better choice for SSD? I don't have much info on Crucial, but it seems those two brands are the best for reliability and stability. Otherwise, I do agree with those changes. Thanks

Any other words of wisdom? I'm quite surprised no ones said "go with 1155"

 

[jonjonjon]

what resolution are going to use the sli 670's on? do you really need 32GB of memory? 64GB ssd is way to small on a $2000+ build. you could get a cheaper ssd but the samsung 840 pro is just about the best one you can buy. get non reference 4GB cards.


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3930K 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($569.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 CPU Cooler ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock X79 Extreme6 ATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($228.49 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($75.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($247.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 4GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($419.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 4GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($419.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($104.55 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional Gold 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($144.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $2376.94
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-09 22:07 EST-0500)

 

[djangoringo]

Wouldn't Intel or Samsung be a better choice for SSD? I don't have much info on Crucial, but it seems those two brands are the best for reliability and stability. Otherwise, I do agree with those changes. Thanks

Any other words of wisdom? I'm quite surprised no ones said "go with 1155"

Crucial is fine.
But you can also get the samsung pro 840 : http://pcpartpicker.com/part/samsung-internal-hard-drive-mz7pd256bw

 

[manshiny]

what resolution are going to use the sli 670's on? do you really need 32GB of memory? 64GB ssd is way to small on a $2000+ build. you could get a cheaper ssd but the samsung 840 pro is just about the best one you can buy. get non reference 4GB cards.


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3930K 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($569.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 CPU Cooler ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock X79 Extreme6 ATX LGA2011 Motherboard ($228.49 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($75.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($247.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 4GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($419.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 4GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($419.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($104.55 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional Gold 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($144.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $2376.94
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-09 22:07 EST-0500)

Another motherboard change :O haha
I plan on running 3x 1920x1200 monitors.
I figured 32gb would be a good safety, I want to be hosting and editing/programming a lot, plus having 2011 socket, it might be a better option to make the most of quad channel.
I was initially going to pick the 4gb non reference cards, but they were an extra $30, but heck, why not right?
I don't want to grab a high end CPU like the 3960K and get a lower end X9 motherboard. I'd feel I would be cheating it. If I was getting the 3820, then sure, but I reckon the Deluxe, WS or Formula is a better choice for mobo.

 

[manshiny]

Crucial is fine.
But you can also get the samsung pro 840 : http://pcpartpicker.com/part/samsung-internal-hard-drive-mz7pd256bw

Thanks for your input I guess It's a decision between Samsung, Intel and Crucial XD

 

[djangoringo]

Two 2GB card is fine for Nvidia surround, only if it's 3D surround it's recommended 4GB, like three 3D monitors.

 

[jonjonjon]

motherboard is just preference and what features you need. i just think you could save money on the motherboard. you can get 16GB for $80 and still have 4 more slots if you ever needed more. i can almost guarantee you wont use 32GB unless your doing something very unusual. the crucial m4 is a good drive and you wouldn't actually notice any difference between it and the more expensive 840 pro.

 

[manshiny]

motherboard is just preference and what features you need. i just think you could save money on the motherboard. you can get 16GB for $80 and still have 4 more slots if you ever needed more. i can almost guarantee you wont use 32GB unless your doing something very unusual. the crucial m4 is a good drive and you wouldn't actually notice any difference between it and the more expensive 840 pro.

Ah yes, that is a fair point with the motherboards. Just out of curiousity, what is Mushkin ram like? I've heard of the brand recently, and I was curious to whether it is actually good or not

Also, I'll continue putting thought in to SSD's, but it will have to be between those 3 brands.

 

[jonjonjon]

Two 2GB card is fine for Nvidia surround, only if it's 3D surround it's recommended 4GB, like three 3D monitors.

there are actually some games that you need 4GB to use max aa on high resolutions. plus going forward he would be much better off with more memory. there is really no reason not to on a $2500 pc.

 

[djangoringo]

It's gonna take a hit no matter what the size of the ram, cause of the bandwidth, in my opinion not worth the extra gb cost, performance is the same(only in 3D it will require more GB usage, not bandwidth).
Also two FTW are good for SLI, due to the space between the pcie slots, and they got the 680 gtx pcb, meaning they got a high oc from factory and oc well.
As for the ram, he could switch indeed for 16GB quad channel, mushkin is a good brand.
For the ssd either the crucial M4 or samsung 840 pro(830 is hard to find) for reliability.
For the mobo, you can also change for a lower one, it depends on your preferences, i just put an asus, cause i was comparing with the one you put, which deluxe is better.

 

[manshiny]

It's gonna take a hit no matter what the size of the ram, cause of the bandwidth, in my opinion not worth the extra gb cost, performance is the same(only in 3D it will require more GB usage, not bandwidth).
Also two FTW are good for SLI, due to the space between the pcie slots, and they got the 680 gtx pcb, meaning they got a high oc from factory and oc well.
As for the ram, he could switch indeed for 16GB quad channel, mushkin is a good brand.

Would it be worth investing into 2x GTX680's? the 4gb versions? I don't want to get the FTW because I fear there will never be any Waterblocks for them, in case I decide to one day invest in water cooling. But that can be saved for another day.

I'll look into Mushkin for sure Also, my preference for GPU is EVGA.

 

[djangoringo]

The 670 gtx FTW uses the 680 gtx pcb, so two reference 680 gtx waterblocks fits the card.
Don't get two 680 gtx, they're not worth, if you want 4GB get this : http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-video-card-04gp43673kr

But i still recommend going with two 2GB versions.

 

[jonjonjon]

i disagree if im spending that much to run multiple monitors im getting 4GB cards for $40 more. the gigabytes are only 21Mhz difference. 2 reference blowers are going get really loud. i hope you use headphones. read what anand said about the 690.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/5805/nvidia-geforce-gtx-690-review-ultra-expensive-ultra-rare-ultra-fast/19

Wrapping things up, there is one question left I feel like we still don’t have a good answer to: how much RAM a $999 card should have. NVIDIA went with a true equal for the GTX 680 SLI, right down to the 2GB of VRAM per GPU. Looking back at what happened to the Radeon HD 5970 and its 1GB of VRAM per GPU – we can’t even run our 5760x1200 benchmarks on it, let alone a couple of 2560x1600 benchmarks – I’m left uneasy. None of our benchmarks today seem to require more than 2GB of VRAM, but that much VRAM has been common in high-end cards since late 2010; the day will come when 2GB isn’t enough, and I'm left to wonder when. A GTX 690 with 4GB of VRAM per GPU would be practically future-proof, but with 2GB of VRAM NVIDIA is going to be cutting it close.

 

[djangoringo]

It's not that loud, actually the FTW uses a vampor chamber, not the reference cooling.
http://img.hexus.net/v2/graphics_cards/nvidia/evga/GTX670FTW/graph-09.jpg

And see the differences between 2GB and 4GB : http://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Video-Card-Performance-2GB-vs-4GB-Memory-154

 

[manshiny]

Is the Asus GTX670 better than the EVGA 670 in terms of performance + noise + heat. I'm concerned with size as all.

 

[jonjonjon]

It's not that loud, actually the FTW uses a vampor chamber, not the reference cooling.
http://img.hexus.net/v2/graphics_cards/nvidia/evga/GTX670FTW/graph-09.jpg

And see the differences between 2GB and 4GB : http://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Video-Card-Performance-2GB-vs-4GB-Memory-154

i find those numbers weird. that says a reference 670 is pretty much the same as a the asus 670. i dont know how they measure the noise but that's clearly not that case. maybe they test while idling in batman. even if it has a vapor chamber that wont change the fact that it has the reference radial fan.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-670-test-review,3217-14.html

 

[djangoringo]

Is the Asus GTX670 better than the EVGA 670 in terms of performance + noise + heat. I'm concerned with size as all.

The 670 GTX FTW EVGA is fine, it has a custom vapor chamber, and good low noise for it's performance.
But the asus is more quiet of course, less performance(doesn't have the 680 gtx pcb), but lower noise and heat.
You can find plenty of waterblocks for the asus.

http://www.fudzilla.com/home/item/27432-evga-gtx-670-ftw-reviewed/27432-evga-gtx-670-ftw-reviewed?start=10

 

[jonjonjon]

even in the article you linked they say.

For future games, or perhaps current games that were not tested in this article, you might be better off with a 4GB card if - and only if - you plan to run across a multi-screen configuration.

 

[djangoringo]

Yes, they say also that six core cpus(not that review) is good for future proof, but for gaming it's only need four.
There's several out there that says the same thing, the usage in BF3 at 5760x1080 doesn't reach more than 1.8-1.9GB.
Of course if you put crazy amounts of aa, it will take a hit.

 

[jonjonjon]

so if today's games are just barely under the 2GB mark that should prove that more ram will be needed.

 

[djangoringo]

They could need also more gfx power, ram size isn't everything, etc.
You can have 10GB card, if the future games need more texture units, rops, shaders, memory bandwidth, that 10GB card is worthless.

Also a rather good review recently : http://hardocp.com/article/2013/01/08/asus_geforce_gtx_670_directcu_ii_4gb_gpu_review/10

They're gonna use it for triple monitor analysis next week.