I'm finishing the planning/research stage of a new build this week, and I was hoping someone could look it over to see if they can suggest something that is a better price or performance than what I have selected. I am not new to building PCs, water cooling, or any of that; I mainly want to see if I can shed $300 off the cost or squeeze out more performance. Any comments, constructive criticism, or benchmarks that say I'm wrong are welcome!
Approximate Purchase Date: Starting now, modding will be from now through September. The rig sould be done by November.
Budget Range: $5000 goal, currently priced at $5300-5400 with tax before shippng
System Usage from Most to Least Important: compiling mass amounts of code, Photoshop, coding and 3D application performance profiling, rendering high resolution videos, HD video editing, 3D Studio Max, Folding@Home and bitcoin mining during down time just for fun, the occasional few minutes of gaming, and benchmarking once or twice for curiosity (from most to least important, approximately).
Are you buying a monitor: Not until 4k monitors reach <$2000
Parts to Upgrade: Everything
Do you need to buy OS: No - MSDN account
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: NewEgg.ca, TigerDirect.ca, DazMode.com, FrozenCPU.com, CanadaComputers.com (local)
Location: Ontario, Canada
Parts Preferences: See bottom**
Overclocking: Yes, 4.7-5.0 Ghz or bust!
SLI or Crossfire: 2-way SLI for now, potentially 2-way Crossfire (if released this summer with good drivers) or 3 way in the futue
Your Monitor Resolution: 1x 3D 120hz 1920x1080 occasionally, 3x 1920x1080 (separate from 3D monitor, not simultanously), 4k when becomes <$2000
Additional Comments: Aiming for silence: my current rig is ~75 db and I want to try for <40 db with still good overclocks. My goal is lowest possible noise at a 4.7-5.0 Ghz CPU performance point.
And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: Because I can and because my current rig is too loud(multiple 15k RPM 250 CFM Delta fans on a radiator!)
**This is my parts list so far:
- Corsair 900D case, every surface lined with accoustic dampening mats/blocks
- 2x XSPC RX480 radiator: top and bottom; may add another one or two 120.2 rad if needed; sub 8 FPI great for low noise justifies the XSPC selection.
- Swifttech modded D5 Vario pump with new controller for quieter operation
- 16x Corsair SP120 Quiet Edition fans for radiators with thin foam spacers if they fit to reduce noise and keep air from escaping
- AF140 rear exhaust fan with rubber mounts
- 3x AF120 Quiet Edition front intake fans with rubber mounts
- Raystorm CPU block OR Koolance CPU-380I, undecided
- Bitspower cylindrical reservoir, $40, nothing sepcial but functional
- RAMPAGE IV motherboard - May wait to see if new 2011 ones out in September; undecided which model
- i7 4930k CPU - May just get a 3930k if it does not appear to come in September
- 16 GB Corsair Dominators CL9 1600 - use these in all builds
- 2x GTX 780 Hydrocopper or GTX 780 stock with other block
- Corsair AX1200i - may change to AX1200 to save money, but its louder ("i" version turns off fan at below 50% load, runs cooler)
- Modded individually sleeved PSU cables, either in white, red, black, or combination (undetermined)
- Phoybia (speling?) hard acrylic tubes bent to shape with heat gun for piping
- NZXT sleeved LED string, white, 2m
- LCD pwm capable fan controller - undetermined model, prefer <$50, must be 12+ Watts each of 5+ channels (4 SP120 fans per channel comfortably)
- 2x Sata 6gbps 120-128 GB SSD, whichever brand is cheaper, in raid 0 for Photshop scratch directory and paging file, etc
- 2 TB 10k rpm enterprise class drive for data storage
- Weird elasticy mounting thing to dampen hard drive noise
- 2x 1L FrozenDragon high performance fluid
- Window etching (tapped and sand blasted) and air brushed case art (not included in budget)
So, my questions are as follows:
1. Does anyone have a suggestion to cut costs slightly if I can without losing much performance?
2. Anything here that could have better performance without going way over budget? Researched each part thoroughly to max out every angle for under $6000, but sometimes a part at the same cost performs better.
3. Can anyone recommend a fan controller with LCD screen, PWM capable to display fan RPMs, preferably 12+ watts per each of 5+ channels? Every one I see has terrible reviews so far!
4. CPU block: Koolance CPU-380I is pretty good, or does anyone have definitive benchmarks to recommend a better performing block?
5. Can anyone recommend which of the Rampage IV motherboards for such a build, or would it be better to see what comes out with the i7 4930k in September that I want in this build? I'm new to 2011 socket, going from a 4.7 ghz 3770k
6. Will the 3 GB GTX 780s suffice for 3x 1920x1080p monitors, or should I wait for a 4 GB version or the next AMD cards? 2x GTX 780 vs 3x HD7970? 2x GTX Titan is over budget, and 1x GTX Titan is insufficient.
Any criticism, comments, or suggestions are welcome!
Approximate Purchase Date: Starting now, modding will be from now through September. The rig sould be done by November.
Budget Range: $5000 goal, currently priced at $5300-5400 with tax before shippng
System Usage from Most to Least Important: compiling mass amounts of code, Photoshop, coding and 3D application performance profiling, rendering high resolution videos, HD video editing, 3D Studio Max, Folding@Home and bitcoin mining during down time just for fun, the occasional few minutes of gaming, and benchmarking once or twice for curiosity (from most to least important, approximately).
Are you buying a monitor: Not until 4k monitors reach <$2000
Parts to Upgrade: Everything
Do you need to buy OS: No - MSDN account
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: NewEgg.ca, TigerDirect.ca, DazMode.com, FrozenCPU.com, CanadaComputers.com (local)
Location: Ontario, Canada
Parts Preferences: See bottom**
Overclocking: Yes, 4.7-5.0 Ghz or bust!
SLI or Crossfire: 2-way SLI for now, potentially 2-way Crossfire (if released this summer with good drivers) or 3 way in the futue
Your Monitor Resolution: 1x 3D 120hz 1920x1080 occasionally, 3x 1920x1080 (separate from 3D monitor, not simultanously), 4k when becomes <$2000
Additional Comments: Aiming for silence: my current rig is ~75 db and I want to try for <40 db with still good overclocks. My goal is lowest possible noise at a 4.7-5.0 Ghz CPU performance point.
And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: Because I can and because my current rig is too loud(multiple 15k RPM 250 CFM Delta fans on a radiator!)
**This is my parts list so far:
- Corsair 900D case, every surface lined with accoustic dampening mats/blocks
- 2x XSPC RX480 radiator: top and bottom; may add another one or two 120.2 rad if needed; sub 8 FPI great for low noise justifies the XSPC selection.
- Swifttech modded D5 Vario pump with new controller for quieter operation
- 16x Corsair SP120 Quiet Edition fans for radiators with thin foam spacers if they fit to reduce noise and keep air from escaping
- AF140 rear exhaust fan with rubber mounts
- 3x AF120 Quiet Edition front intake fans with rubber mounts
- Raystorm CPU block OR Koolance CPU-380I, undecided
- Bitspower cylindrical reservoir, $40, nothing sepcial but functional
- RAMPAGE IV motherboard - May wait to see if new 2011 ones out in September; undecided which model
- i7 4930k CPU - May just get a 3930k if it does not appear to come in September
- 16 GB Corsair Dominators CL9 1600 - use these in all builds
- 2x GTX 780 Hydrocopper or GTX 780 stock with other block
- Corsair AX1200i - may change to AX1200 to save money, but its louder ("i" version turns off fan at below 50% load, runs cooler)
- Modded individually sleeved PSU cables, either in white, red, black, or combination (undetermined)
- Phoybia (speling?) hard acrylic tubes bent to shape with heat gun for piping
- NZXT sleeved LED string, white, 2m
- LCD pwm capable fan controller - undetermined model, prefer <$50, must be 12+ Watts each of 5+ channels (4 SP120 fans per channel comfortably)
- 2x Sata 6gbps 120-128 GB SSD, whichever brand is cheaper, in raid 0 for Photshop scratch directory and paging file, etc
- 2 TB 10k rpm enterprise class drive for data storage
- Weird elasticy mounting thing to dampen hard drive noise
- 2x 1L FrozenDragon high performance fluid
- Window etching (tapped and sand blasted) and air brushed case art (not included in budget)
So, my questions are as follows:
1. Does anyone have a suggestion to cut costs slightly if I can without losing much performance?
2. Anything here that could have better performance without going way over budget? Researched each part thoroughly to max out every angle for under $6000, but sometimes a part at the same cost performs better.
3. Can anyone recommend a fan controller with LCD screen, PWM capable to display fan RPMs, preferably 12+ watts per each of 5+ channels? Every one I see has terrible reviews so far!
4. CPU block: Koolance CPU-380I is pretty good, or does anyone have definitive benchmarks to recommend a better performing block?
5. Can anyone recommend which of the Rampage IV motherboards for such a build, or would it be better to see what comes out with the i7 4930k in September that I want in this build? I'm new to 2011 socket, going from a 4.7 ghz 3770k
6. Will the 3 GB GTX 780s suffice for 3x 1920x1080p monitors, or should I wait for a 4 GB version or the next AMD cards? 2x GTX 780 vs 3x HD7970? 2x GTX Titan is over budget, and 1x GTX Titan is insufficient.
Any criticism, comments, or suggestions are welcome!