A few small questions and concerns about my new build

[xstalkrx]

Cooler Master HAF X Blue Edition ATX Full Tower
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119239

Dual Monitor Setup: ASUS VS248H-P 24" Black LED
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236153

SLI: GIGABYTE GV-N680Oc-2GD GTX 680 2GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125422

SeaSonic Platinum-1000 1000W ATX12V / EPS12V 80 PLUS PLATINUM Certified Full Modular Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151105

CORSAIR Dominator Platinum 32GB (4 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233345

ASUS Maximus V EXTREME LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131858

Intel Core i7-3770 Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116502

SAMSUNG 830 Series MZ-7PC512D/AM 2.5" 512GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147136

NO overclocking. This build will be used for game and graphics design using software such as Unity, 3D Studio Max, etc.


CONCERNS:

1) Do I really need 1000W of power for this build or will 850W be plenty?

2) I need a wi-fi card that will be suitable for gaming and I would like for it to be internal instead of one of those USB dongles. Please suggest one for me as I am not knowledgeable in this area.

3) I would also like to be able to use this computer for recording high quality vocals with a mic. Would a sound card be beneficial or will the onboard mobo sound be sufficient? If I get a sound card, will I even have room to install it since I will be running SLI mode?

4) Do I need water cooling or will one of the high end cooler master heat sinks be sufficient? Is aftermarket cooling even necessary at all with this build?

I also just noticed that the EXTREME has more than one x16 slot and the Formula only have one x16 slot. How will this affect my SLI performance?

Thank you for any insights and help!

 

[Martin9630]

2) You won't need a wi-fi card. The onboard LAN is suitable.
3) Not sure about the sound card, the HAF X has 9 expansion slots, should be okay.
4) I wouldnt choose water cooling for this, air cooling will be sufficient if you're not OC'ing.

 

[Martin9630]

2) You won't need a wi-fi card. The onboard LAN is suitable.
3) Not sure about the sound card, the HAF X has 9 expansion slots, should be okay.
4) I wouldnt choose water cooling for this, air cooling will be sufficient if you're not OC'ing.

 

[austing]

1) Do I really need 1000W of power for this build or will 850W be plenty?

More watts at a high 80+ cert the better.

2) I need a wi-fi card that will be suitable for gaming and I would like for it to be internal instead of one of those USB dongles. Please suggest one for me as I am not knowledgeable in this area.

The MAXIMUS has gaming grade wifi onboard.

3) I would also like to be able to use this computer for recording high quality vocals with a mic. Would a sound card be beneficial or will the onboard mobo sound be sufficient? If I get a sound card, will I even have room to install it since I will be running SLI mode?

My friend records vocals for a metalcore band on his PC (He wants good cleans, and rough screams) So, I got him a sound card and he can hear what he is recording much better on his Sennheiser headphones. (You should have good headphones with your good soundcard)

The Maximus has a Sheet ton of PCI-e expansion, you're covered.

4) Do I need water cooling or will one of the high end cooler master heat sinks be sufficient? Is aftermarket cooling even necessary at all with this build?

Air cooler: Needs high end to match preformance, but can surfice. If you move the PC around alot, it can be a problem as air coolers are HEAVY, and can strain the motherboard.

Liquid cooling: CLC (closed loops like corsair) are effiecent, and keep the processor lasting longer. Custom loops are the most quiet things ever and give you best tempratures.

 

[xstalkrx]

I also just noticed that the EXTREME has more than one x16 slot and the Formula only have one x16 slot. How will this affect my SLI performance?

 

[Martin9630]

Both motherboards have a dual card performance of x8/x8, so it should be the same. For three or more cards, the Extreme will be better.

 

[austing]

I also just noticed that the EXTREME has more than one x16 slot and the Formula only have one x16 slot. How will this affect my SLI performance?

With third gen PCIE, two 8x SLI run cards basicly have the same bandwidth of two 16x PCIE Gen 2 lanes.

Current GPU's cant even use up that much bandwidth anyways, GT6xx series cards can barley be held back by PCIE gen 1 lanes.

 

[xstalkrx]

Thanks for all the replies.

I just noticed that my selected processor will not support the quad channel ram setup I have? I am assuming that's what is meant by the description on the box that states dual channel memory support.

Ok just realized that I need to drop my current selection...but that I can still retain 32gb of ram by selecting dual channel instead of quad channel.

 

[austing]

Thanks for all the replies.

I just noticed that my selected processor will not support the quad channel ram setup I have? I am assuming that's what is meant by the description on the box that states dual channel memory support.

Ok just realized that I need to drop my current selection...but that I can still retain 32gb of ram by selecting dual channel instead of quad channel.

2 sticks of 16GB?

 

[xstalkrx]

2 sticks of 16GB?

I got 4 sticks of 8gb ram. They are all dual channel sticks so I'm assuming I can use all 4 at the same time? Here is the product.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231569

 

[austing]

I got 4 sticks of 8gb ram. They are all dual channel sticks so I'm assuming I can use all 4 at the same time? Here is the product.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231569

Dual channel means the offset DIMM slots are linked.

Like the red pair, and the black pair, on an ASUS board.

You're fine, itl work at its fullest speed.