£2000 Gaming Build. Would you change anything?

[DzGds]

Hi everyone.

I'm looking for some opinions on my planned build for a high performance gaming rig. It will also be used for video editing and normal everyday use.

CPU: Intel Core i7-3930K 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor £446.44 Amazon UK

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 CPU Cooler £72.98 Overclockers.co.uk

Motherboard: ASRock X79 Extreme4 ATX LGA2011 Motherboard £161.37 Amazon UK

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory £96.19 Scan.co.uk

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive £59.83 CCL Computers
Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive £109.98 Scan.co.uk
OCZ Vertex 4 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk £168.05 Ebuyer

Video Card : EVGA GeForce GTX 680 4GB Video Card £479.99 Amazon UK

Case: NZXT Switch 810 (Black) ATX Full Tower Case £134.36 Scan.co.uk

Power Supply: Corsair 850W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply £111.42 Scan.co.uk

Optical Drive: Sony AD-7261S-0B DVD/CD Writer £15.02 CCL Computers

Monitor: Asus ML239H 23.0" Monitor £156.73 CCL Computers

I have the SSD for my boot drive, 1TB drive for all of my programs and the 3TB drive for all of my music, films, and recorded/edited video data.

 

[Spicy_benie]

One main thing that will save you 100$, downgrade gpu to a 670, its not worth 100$ for 4-5% increase, When gaming turn hyperthreading off to get better performance

Cheers

 

[metal orient]

How serious is your video editing?
Do you plan to use 2 or more graphics cards?
Do you have the HDD/SSD's already?

 

[g-unit1111]

Make sure your RAM is low profile if you get Corsair Vengeance. Something like this: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/16gb-(4x4gb)-corsair-ddr3-vengeance-lp-cerulean-blue-pc3-12800-(1600)-cas-9-9-9-24-xmp-15v

And then I think I would switch the SSD - the Vertex 4 is hit or miss depending on the driver updates and OCZ hasn't, let's say - earned the best marks for that. Try something like this: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/256gb-samsung-830-series-ssd-notebook-kit-75mm-sata-iii-3-core-mcx-nand-flash-read-520mb-s-write-400

Otherwise everything else looks good.

 

[DzGds]

One main thing that will save you 100$, downgrade gpu to a 670, its not worth 100$ for 4-5% increase, When gaming turn hyperthreading off to get better performance

Cheers

The price does't really bother me. I'd rather have a better card and wait longer before i have to add a second. Thanks for the HT tip.

 

[DzGds]

Make sure your RAM is low profile if you get Corsair Vengeance. Something like this: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/16gb-(4x4gb)-corsair-ddr3-vengeance-lp-cerulean-blue-pc3-12800-(1600)-cas-9-9-9-24-xmp-15v

And then I think I would switch the SSD - the Vertex 4 is hit or miss depending on the driver updates and OCZ hasn't, let's say - earned the best marks for that. Try something like this: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/256gb-samsung-830-series-ssd-notebook-kit-75mm-sata-iii-3-core-mcx-nand-flash-read-520mb-s-write-400

Otherwise everything else looks good.

Thanks for the SSD info. I'm curious as to why you say get low profile RAM. Will that not degrade its cooling capabilities or will the normal vengeance not fit with the CPU Cooler i'm going to use?

 

[DzGds]

How serious is your video editing?
Do you plan to use 2 or more graphics cards?
Do you have the HDD/SSD's already?

1. My Video editing will be gameplay edited in Sony Vegas.

2. I don't want 2 cards at the minute but i probably will in future when i need to upgrade. Hence the 680 instead of the 670.

3. I don't have any of my parts at the moment other than a KB/Mouse. I'm making sure everything is planned out before i buy so i can be up and running ASAP.

 

[idroid]

for 2000GBPs you can get something MUCH MUCH better:

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£244.49 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: NZXT HAVIK 140 90.3 CFM CPU Cooler (£48.49 @ Scan.co.uk)
Motherboard: Asus Maximus V Formula EATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£222.92 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£73.93 @ Scan.co.uk)
Storage: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£64.80 @ Novatech)
Storage: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£64.80 @ Novatech)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£144.99 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card (CrossFire) (£329.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card (CrossFire) (£329.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Case: Cooler Master HAF X ATX Full Tower Case (£127.01 @ CCL Computers)
Power Supply: OCZ 1000W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£144.99 @ Amazon UK)
Monitor: Dell U2312HM 23.0" Monitor (£178.20 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £1974.60

*You can even add a third 7970 if you want... the 7970 beats both the 670/680 in the majority of games and brutally rapes them (by almost 4 times) in apps that take advantage GPGPU performance like most video editing apps.

*The monitor linked is in no way standard, that's an IPS monitor for ultra vivid colors and amazing viewing angles.

*Before you say anything....no, there is no noticeable difference between the 3930k and 3770k in rendering/video editing, the 3930k performs slightly better (but slightly slower in games) so if your primary goal is to get the highest frame rate possible then you should get a 3770k and not a 3930k --->look: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/551?vs=552

*the 1000w PSU is for adding a third 7970 in case you ever go nuts and decide to get 2 more monitors for 5760x1080 gaming

 

[Silvune]

I'm curious as to why you say get low profile RAM. Will that not degrade its cooling capabilities or will the normal vengeance not fit with the CPU Cooler i'm going to use?

RAM these days don't need that much cooling for a start. And no the 'normal' Vengeance heatsinks won't fit under the NH-D14, Noctua states that it is compatible with RAM up to 44mm tall. Corsair Vengeance memory is 52.5mm tall.

 

[g-unit1111]

Thanks for the SSD info. I'm curious as to why you say get low profile RAM. Will that not degrade its cooling capabilities or will the normal vengeance not fit with the CPU Cooler i'm going to use?

The tall heat sinks won't fit underneath any aftermarket coolers you plan to buy and can actually restrict your system's air flow.

- 0 +

MP

Regular
More Information

for 2000GBPs you can get something MUCH MUCH better:


CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£244.49 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: NZXT HAVIK 140 90.3 CFM CPU Cooler (£48.49 @ Scan.co.uk)
Motherboard: Asus Maximus V Formula EATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£222.92 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£73.93 @ Scan.co.uk)
Storage: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£64.80 @ Novatech)
Storage: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£64.80 @ Novatech)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£144.99 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card (CrossFire) (£329.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card (CrossFire) (£329.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Case: Cooler Master HAF X ATX Full Tower Case (£127.01 @ CCL Computers)
Power Supply: OCZ 1000W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£144.99 @ Amazon UK)
Monitor: Dell U2312HM 23.0" Monitor (£178.20 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £1974.60

Why not just get 1 2TB 5400 RPM hard drive? There's no point in going RAID 0 anymore even if the motherboard has lots of SATA ports. And 16GB of RAM won't be of use on a gaming rig, and neither will the 3770K.

*the 1000w PSU is for adding a third 7970 in case you ever go nuts and decide to get 2 more monitors for 5760x1080 gaming

Even 3 x 7970 won't come close to using 1KW. Maybe 850W - 950W at best. You have to keep in mind that GPU manufacturers grossly overestimate their cards' power requirements and that most online wattage calculators are way off. And if you are going to pay that much for a PSU, I'd personally go for the DSP controlled Corsair AX1200i.

 

[idroid]

Why not just get 1 2TB 5400 RPM hard drive? There's no point in going RAID 0 anymore even if the motherboard has lots of SATA ports. And 16GB of RAM won't be of use on a gaming rig, and neither will the 3770K.

Buddy you're:

*He needs 3 drives, 1 for the OS (The SSD) 1 for storage (1 drive) and third one is for direct recording. Recording applications save the data in raw format (they're very heavy) so he needs one 7200rpm drive dedicated to recording.

*When recording, CPU usage increase and he will need the i7 for that (with HT turned ON)

*16GB of RAM are needed for video editing, and even if they're not, the extra RAM will somehow come in handy (eventually)

Even 3 x 7970 won't come close to using 1KW. Maybe 850W - 950W at best. You have to keep in mind that GPU manufacturers grossly overestimate their cards' power requirements and that most online wattage calculators are way off. And if you are going to pay that much for a PSU, I'd personally go for the DSP controlled Corsair AX1200i.

*Wrong again... the 7970 consumes 230w under full load, 3 cards draw 690w together + 95w CPU + fans+drives+peripherals+capacitor ageing + overclock = 1KW (under full load)

 

[g-unit1111]

*He needs 3 drives, 1 for the OS (The SSD) 1 for storage (1 drive) and third one is for direct recording. Recording applications save the data in raw format (they're very heavy) so he needs one 7200rpm drive dedicated to recording.

*When recording, CPU usage increase and he will need the i7 for that (with HT turned ON)

*16GB of RAM are needed for video editing, and even if they're not, the extra RAM will somehow come in handy (eventually)

I was under the impression that this was a gaming machine with video editing on the side, not a strict video editing system. On video editing systems yes I agree that the 3770K and 16GB of RAM are needed, even more so.

*Wrong again... the 7970 consumes 230w under full load, 3 cards draw 690w together + 95w CPU + fans+drives+peripherals+capacitor ageing + overclock = 1KW (under full load)

Why would you need three cards though? That seems quite a bit overkill to me.

 

[idroid]

Why would you need three cards though? That seems quite a bit overkill to me.

Exactly...overkill to you but some people like overkilling stuff so i am just giving options to the OP

Edit: Actually...if he buy another 2 monitors 3 7970 would not be overkill for some games like metro 2033 where with the highest settings @5760x1080 3x 7970s will MAYBE output ~30-35fps.

 

[g-unit1111]

Exactly...overkill to you but some people like overkilling stuff so i am just giving options to the OP

Edit: Actually...if he buy another 2 monitors 3 7970 would not be overkill for some games like metro 2033 where with the highest settings @5760x1080 3x 7970s will MAYBE output ~30-35fps.

Hey don't get me wrong - I'm all for overkill, but there's times when things like that are, and then there's the age old question "why would you buy this"? :lol:

 

[idroid]

Hey don't get me wrong - I'm all for overkill, but there's times when things like that are, and then there's the age old question "why would you buy this"? :lol:

I very sorry but i dint quiet understood that (i am german...)

 

[azeem40]

Two 7970s will be enough to game at 5760x1080. Around 60fps on max.

 

[idroid]

Two 7970s will be enough to game at 5760x1080. Around 60fps on max.

hahahahaha, really???

 

[azeem40]

Hahaha, you actually thought I was referring to Metro 2033. Since the 7970 is now faster than the 680 with the 12.7 driver update and that a GTX 680 played BF3 at that res on hardocp's review when it was released at 36.8 fps, I am pretty sure 2 7970s will get 60fps. It is pretty simple.

 

[idroid]

Hahaha, you actually thought I was referring to Metro 2033. Since the 7970 is now faster than the 680 with the 12.7 driver update and that a GTX 680 played BF3 at that res on hardocp's review when it was released at 36.8 fps, I am pretty sure 2 7970s will get 60fps. It is pretty simple.

Not really buddy.... look, even 2 7970s beat the quad sli GTX680s [2GB version] because metro 2033 at those settings requiere 3GB+ of VRAM... that changes when you get 4 GTX680s [4GB edition]