I7 Eyefinity Gaming Rig £2500 - Build Advice - Help please!

[paddy fogarty]

Hi all,

So... im planning a parts list for a pc that I plan to buy in the next couple of weeks.

The primary use for his build will be gaming, running a 3x eyfinity monitor setup, probably 3x 24".

I have a pretty decent budget, ill consider anything under £2500, however I dont want to waste cash on bleeding edge tech if cutting edge will be just as good.

I built the below list recently with the help of the community but I ran into some trouble and had to put off the purchase. I'd really appreciate some analysis of my buy list and any advice on improvements, cost savings etc.


My Build...

Case, Silverstone Fortress FT02B: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/silverstone-fortress-ft02b-w-v17-black-full-tower-aluminium-case-wide-side-window-plus-ap181-fan : £209.72

PSU, 850w XFX Black: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/850w-xfx-black-edition-modular-80-plus-silver-88-eff-sli-crossfire-eps-12v-135mm-quiet-fan : £106.31

MOBO, Asus P8P67 Pro: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asus-p8p67-pro-rev3-intel-p67-s1155-pci-e-20-x16-ddr3-2200(oc)-sata-6gb-s-sata-raid : £148.40

CPU, Intel Core i7 2600K Unlocked Sandy Bridge Quad: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/intel-core-i7-2600k-340-ghz-sandy-bridge1155-qd-core-gpu-850mhz-8mb-cache-95w-retail : £239

Cooling, Megahalem RevB : http://www.thecoolingshop.com/product/Prolimatech-Megahalems-RevB-Processor-Cooler-Intel-LGA775--LGA1366--LGA1156_23369.html : 43.19

Cooling, Scythe Gentle Typhoon: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/120mm-scythe-gentle-typhoon-1850-rpm-cooling-fan : £12.84

Ram, G.Skill RipJawsX 8GB: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-060-GS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1517 : £76.79

Optical Drive: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/liteon-ihas124-19-24x-dvdr-8x-dvddl-dvdplusrw-x8-rw-x6-dvd-ram-x12-sata-black-oem : £11.95

Hard Drive, Western Digital 1TB: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/193712 : £66.86

SSD, Intel 120GB ElmCrest: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/120gb-intel-elmcrest-25-ssd-mlc-flash-450mb-s-read-and-210mb-s-write-speed-plus-free-shogun-2 : £219.74

GPU’s, 2x XFX 6970 2GB: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-xfx-hd-6970-pci-e-21-(x16)-5500mhz-gddr5-gpu-880mhz-1536-cores-2x-mdp-dl-dvi-i-dvi-hdmi : £551.26

OS, Windows 7 Home Premium: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/173791 : £73.15


As I mentioned, I want to run an Eyfinity setup. Im not quite sure how to configure this, im thinking a 3x 24"- 30" setup in landscape... any advice on this? good options? expected frame rates with my setup?


Thanks in advance,

P.

 

[venom2]

well its not the size of the monitor you are getting but the resolution of the monitor...and then that will depend on what DP adapter you will have to get unless the monitors you are getting have a DP connection built in.

 

[paddy fogarty]

Thanks for that, any advice on the build itself?

 

[Why_Me]

That build looks solid.

Down below will knock a few pounds off that total price.

http://www.aria.co.uk/SuperSpecials/Other+products/ASUS+P8P67+Pro+Intel+P67+%28REV+B3%29+Socket+1155+DDR3+PCI-Express+Motherboard+?productId=43854 £139.99 inc. VAT
ASUS P8P67 Pro Intel P67 (REV B3) Socket 1155 DDR3 PCI-Express Motherboard

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/CPUs+%2F+Processors/Intel+Core+I7+%281155%29/Intel+Core+i7-2600K+3.40GHz+%28Sandybridge%29+Socket+LGA1155+Processor+-+OEM+?productId=43574 £233.99 inc. VAT
Intel Core i7-2600K 3.40GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - OEM

 

[paddy fogarty]

Awesome, thanks for that.

The only remaining niggle I have is around water cooling. At the start of my planning stage I planned to build a w/c rig to limit noise and allow for decent o/c'ing. A few people told me not to bother with this rig as from a cost/benefit analysis I wouldn't be adding that much value.

Would you agree with this? its a bit disappointing for me because I was looking forward to building my first w/c rig however im not keen to waste money and time on something that wont really help.

Thoughts?

 

[Why_Me]

Awesome, thanks for that.

The only remaining niggle I have is around water cooling. At the start of my planning stage I planned to build a w/c rig to limit noise and allow for decent o/c'ing. A few people told me not to bother with this rig as from a cost/benefit analysis I wouldn't be adding that much value.

Would you agree with this? its a bit disappointing for me because I was looking forward to building my first w/c rig however im not keen to waste money and time on something that wont really help.

Thoughts?

No need for w/c with these SB cpu's. If you want a top of the line air cooler that runs quiet than look no further than this one down below.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-078-TR&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat= £54.98 inc VAT
Thermalright Silver Arrow CPU Cooler

 

[paddy fogarty]

OK brilliant, so...

Stock coolers for the GPU's
Silver Arrow for the CPU (ditch the Megahalem)
Ram???
Any other cooling considerations?

Will I need to use additional case fans, if so any suggestions?

Thanks again for sharing your knowledge.

 

[dsM22]

Make sure the case has good airflow, as for RAM cooling IMO its a pointless waste of money.

 

[paddy fogarty]

Cool, thanks.

What do u guys think of the thermaltake level 10? Quite like it but not sure how cool/quiet it is...

 

[Silvune]

There's no need to ditch the Megahalems, it is still a really good heatsink. And if anything the Thermalright Archon is better than the Silver Arrow and is cheaper, not sure if it will fit in a Fortress tho as it is quite tall at 170mm, otherwise it is much slimmer the Silver Arrow.

 

[paddy fogarty]

ok cool, re the case I might switch to the case I started with, the 800d. I know its designed with watercooling in ind but I really like the style and it sounds like it runs pretty cool.

Any opinions on the termaltake level 10? Other than its to expensive!

Finally, I think ive decided to run with 3x dell US 24". How do you think eyefinity will run on this set up with my rig??

Thanks for all the help!

 

[asantesoul]

The ft02b looks great, and cools significantly better..I've played with both, and although the 800d looks nice, the cooling is a little less than stellar..which is why, it is ideal for w/c. If you running two cards like the 6970 the ft02 is perfect... an even better idea may be to get a single 6990 to reduce heat

 

[paddy fogarty]

The ft02b looks great, and cools significantly better..I've played with both, and although the 800d looks nice, the cooling is a little less than stellar..which is why, it is ideal for w/c. If you running two cards like the 6970 the ft02 is perfect... an even better idea may be to get a single 6990 to reduce heat

Not sure it'll be large enough... Silvune mentioned that it might be a bit of a struggle with a Megahalem, do you think there will be space issues?

 

[Silvune]

Not sure it'll be large enough... Silvune mentioned that it might be a bit of a struggle with a Megahalem, do you think there will be space issues?

Actually I was referring to the Thermalright Archon. I've tried a few times to find a review which states the maximum height of CPU coolers for the FT02, but I haven't had any luck yet. And the Archon is taller than most other tower coolers which are ~160mm, the Archon is 170mm.
The FT02 can take graphics cards up to 31cm in length (if you remove one of the bottom intake fans - which you will definitely need for a 6990).

I wouldn't consider a 6990 unless you were going to water cool it, because it produces a hell of a lot of heat and noise, and doesn't necessarily beat two 6970s.

 

[asantesoul]

it should be able to accommodate it actually...and airflow would be soo good too