New Build Revisited

[jon the cpa]

I posted last week about a new build, but I wanted to revisit because I have given some more thought about my needs.

Here is what I have put together:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/B3aZ

I could not find the case I wanted on Part Picker, but it's this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119257&Tpk=haf%20xm. This case seems to offer a LOT of air flow.

I realize 16GB of RAM is a lot, but I plan on setting half of it up as a RAM drive.
I'm not convinced on the Noctua. It seems like it would take up a LOT of room inside my case and make cable management difficult. I've considered a closed loop water cooler, even though I know it doesn't necessarily cool better. My question is which is going to be quieter - the Noctua or a closed loop cooler?
The motherboard is selected for the built-in WiFi. I hate USB wireless adapters. Does anyone know how well the built-in WiFi performs? Would I be better off with an ASRock Extreme4/6 and a PCI wireless adapter?

So, any recommendations or thoughts on this build?

 

[djangoringo]

If you want a cheaper cooler without taking the space of the noctua : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835709020

Are you planning to add a second 670 ?
Also the 670 4GB is not worth it, get 2GB one, like the gigabyte 670gtx windforce 3x.
You can get the asrock extreme 6 and a good wifi pcie card.
Also that psu is good but way to expensive, there's cheaper psus as good as that one.
There's this one for SLI : http://www.amazon.com/XFX-Edition-Semi-Modular-Power-Supply/dp/B0050751YS/

For a single card, i'd get this one : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151095

 

[jon the cpa]

I wasn't necessarily looking for a cheaper cooler, but I want to make sure it does the job effectively and is quiet. How is the noise with the Phantek?

I was not planning on adding a second 670, which is why I was going to go with the 4GB. Does the 4GB not perform as well as the 2GB? If I stick with a single 2GB, how will a game like Skyrim perform?

I'd prefer to stick with SeaSonic for my PSU, because I've had good results in the past (I'm brand loyal).

 

[djangoringo]

The xfx is made by seasonic, the design is xfx, but the internal parts of the psu is made by seasonic, yes, seasonic units are of high quality and reliable.
The phanteks is as quiet as the noctua, it's cheaper, offers good temperatures.
See the review here : http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/phanteks_phtc12dx/5.htm
Since you don't plan to add another card, i'd get the seasonic 620 for 80$ in newegg, it's more than enough for the whole system, with cpu and gpu overclocked.
The 4GB is useless in such card, 2GB is suffice for skyrim even with a lot of mods.

 

[jon the cpa]

I made some tweaks based on your recommendations. I kept the Noctua, but I switched out the motherboard, PSU, and GPU. I also selected a different case because the one I originally linked had some pretty bad reviews on it.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/B46L

 

[djangoringo]

I'd get a 670 gtx 2GB, the performance difference is really minimal vs a 680 gtx, the value is on the 670 gtx side, i listed an evga 670 gtx, there's a slightly better one which is the 670 gtx msi pe, so if you want a dual fan system get the 670 msi pe, i'd get a ssd with the price difference, also there's no difference between the caviar black or the blue to justify the price difference, specially if can get a ssd.
My suggestion : http://pcpartpicker.com/p/B4dl

Also make sure that you really need the bluray drive, otherwise, just get a dvd drive.

 

[jon the cpa]

I assumed the dual fan would allow for more overclocking potential. Is this a good assumption?

Also, if I am currently using desktop speakers, is there any reason to consider a discrete sound card?

 

[jon the cpa]

I'm also curious to know how well my mobo will hold up with new technology. Do we know if the next generation of Intel processors will use the LGA 1155 sockets? Will it be able to run the next generation of nVidia cards?

 

[djangoringo]

No reason to get a sound card, the dual fan will allow to have better temperatures.
The 670 gtx msi pe is a good option.
There's no more cpus coming for that lga 1155, the new intel haswell cpus that are coming in June will have another socked, lga 1150.
As for the cards, yes, it will run any newer generation cards, that cpu will last, and it has pci 3.0 support for if any day a high end card take advantage of it.

 

[jon the cpa]

What's the expectations from the new Intels? Is it worth waiting for? If I wait for the new processors and get a board with 1150, how long will it be a viable option as new CPUs are released?

 

[djangoringo]

It will not be a huge difference, for reports it says it will have a lower power consumption and some performance improvements, within the range of 10-15%, with a more powerful on die gpu.
It depends on what system you have, if you need to have a new one right now, i'd get it now.

 

[jon the cpa]

Alright, I'm having second thoughts on a whole new build with new Intels coming out in a few months (and hopefully new nVidias, as well). I'm considering now just upgrading a few components of my current build. Here's the important features of my current build:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/B5r0

So, here's my question. Will my current motherboard handle this card? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127685&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

My concern is that my mobo only has PCI 2.0, while that card says PCI Express 3.0. Yet, Part Picker does not show a conflict.

 

[djangoringo]

So you have an i5-2500k ?
It's not worth spending more for the i5-3570k or a new build.
Just get the card, that psu will do for it, the i5-2500k doesn't bottleneck the card.
And yes, it's compatible with that motherboard, any pcie 3.o is backwards compatible with previous pcie, either 2.0 or 1.1, with 2.0 at 16x, there's no restrains for the card, it will perform at the maximum capability.

 

[jon the cpa]

Great. I think the new card and an SSD (had one, it stopped working and I haven't replaced it yet) should boost my performance enough for now.

Any reason to look at a different cooler? I got this one because I liked that it didn't take up as much space. It seems to be working fine, but I haven't tried overclocking with it yet.

 

[djangoringo]

That one is fine, you don't need a new cooler, that cpu was made to be overclocked, it can easily reach ~4.5 ghz with that cooler with good temperatures.
Yes, a new ssd will also be a good option.

 

[jon the cpa]

Best answer selected by jon the cpa.