Please bear with me as I know this is a lengthy post. I’ve been mulling things about in my head for weeks and have finally concluded that (since the 5970 from my two year old rig is in the RMA pipeline with XFX due to desktop/2D artifacting) it’s time to reach out for other opinions.
I’m a software engineer, so I know a bit about hardware -- but hardware isn’t my profession and I only tend to catch up on the latest tech every couple years, before the next big new build. This time around, the options, complexities, and potential gotchas seem more numerous than ever. I normally plan a build in a few hours, pick up the parts, slap it together that evening and I’m done. I buy high-end, but not highest and I don’t bother with cabling or water-cooling. This time around, I’m being more patient and plan to really put effort into this. I want to try water-cooling, cabling, and making this a pretty high-end system. I’d like to come out of this knowing if I have myself a new hobby or not.
I’ll try to keep my thoughts as concise as possible and am grateful for any input:
1) What will you be doing with this PC?
High-end gaming rig.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Uncertain, but I’d probably like to keep it as far under $3,500 USD as possible. That includes everything inside the chassis (likely a Caselabs STH10), but not the chassis itself or any external components.
3) Which country do you live in?
Denver, USA
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget?
CPU, GPUs, RAM, MOBO, SSD, PSU, cabling, water-cooling, possibly a sound card.
NOTE: I intend to water-cool (my first time doing so) and I intend to go 3xSLI with GTX 680s.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing?
Nothing.
6) Will you be overclocking?
Possibly, but I’m not looking to claim benchmarking records.
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
It’ll be a minimum of a single 30” ACD at 2560x1600 and possibly will be 3x27” or 3x30” at up to 7680x1440
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Most likely in June.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard?
Real USB 3.0 and SATA 6gb would be nice. Firewire would be a bonus.
10) OS.
It’ll be running Windows 7 for gaming and Debian the rest of the time.
QUESTIONS:
1) Other than warranty and support, is there any reason to select one brand (EVGA, ASUS, MSI, etc) over another? In the context of 3xSLI, should I give one brand more weight than another?
2) Should I buy the more expensive version with water block already attached (is EVGA the only card with this, right now, with their $700 Hydro Copper?) or should I attach my own blocks? I know that if I attach my own, I’m basically limiting myself to only choosing a standard reference design card, but if I go with the pre-blocked, I’m also only looking at the one card option, it looks like. Any thoughts or advice on this subject would be appreciated. Also, EVGA has a 4gb 680 for $630 without a waterblock, which may perhaps be the better deal(?) . . . but . . . for all I know, another waterblock might not fit on it.
3) I know that SLI can be finicky, so is there any reason to pair card and motherboard brands? For example, ASUS 680 with ASUS mobo or EVGA 680 with EVGA mobo? I suppose maintaining the same ecosystem would perhaps facilitate interactions with support, but is there any technical reason?
4) Sandy Bridge or Ivy Bridge? I know that Ivy Bridge comes out of the box with 15-20% greater performance, but is hotter and has poorer over clocks. I suppose the heat is mitigated by my intention to use water-cooling and I am not positive if I intend to over clock any of my components or not. In the past, I wouldn’t hesitate, but with such a huge investment, I’m not eager to break my warranty and eat $1500 in cards or $500 in a CPU. That said, I *may* still OC, anyway. I’m just not looking to push some sort of record-setting benchmark or anything.
5) Is there any value in PCI 3.0 for 3xSLI? There seem to be conflicting statements all over the place. If so, then the question of Sandy versus Ivy, above, is obviously already made for me, then.
Again, I’m very grateful for any advice. If left to my own devices, I’d spend another six months reading and watching everything and making lists and charts and still never get around to pulling the trigger. At this point, I think I just really need to have someone give me a sanity check and move on from there.
I’m a software engineer, so I know a bit about hardware -- but hardware isn’t my profession and I only tend to catch up on the latest tech every couple years, before the next big new build. This time around, the options, complexities, and potential gotchas seem more numerous than ever. I normally plan a build in a few hours, pick up the parts, slap it together that evening and I’m done. I buy high-end, but not highest and I don’t bother with cabling or water-cooling. This time around, I’m being more patient and plan to really put effort into this. I want to try water-cooling, cabling, and making this a pretty high-end system. I’d like to come out of this knowing if I have myself a new hobby or not.
I’ll try to keep my thoughts as concise as possible and am grateful for any input:
1) What will you be doing with this PC?
High-end gaming rig.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Uncertain, but I’d probably like to keep it as far under $3,500 USD as possible. That includes everything inside the chassis (likely a Caselabs STH10), but not the chassis itself or any external components.
3) Which country do you live in?
Denver, USA
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget?
CPU, GPUs, RAM, MOBO, SSD, PSU, cabling, water-cooling, possibly a sound card.
NOTE: I intend to water-cool (my first time doing so) and I intend to go 3xSLI with GTX 680s.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing?
Nothing.
6) Will you be overclocking?
Possibly, but I’m not looking to claim benchmarking records.
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
It’ll be a minimum of a single 30” ACD at 2560x1600 and possibly will be 3x27” or 3x30” at up to 7680x1440
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Most likely in June.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard?
Real USB 3.0 and SATA 6gb would be nice. Firewire would be a bonus.
10) OS.
It’ll be running Windows 7 for gaming and Debian the rest of the time.
QUESTIONS:
1) Other than warranty and support, is there any reason to select one brand (EVGA, ASUS, MSI, etc) over another? In the context of 3xSLI, should I give one brand more weight than another?
2) Should I buy the more expensive version with water block already attached (is EVGA the only card with this, right now, with their $700 Hydro Copper?) or should I attach my own blocks? I know that if I attach my own, I’m basically limiting myself to only choosing a standard reference design card, but if I go with the pre-blocked, I’m also only looking at the one card option, it looks like. Any thoughts or advice on this subject would be appreciated. Also, EVGA has a 4gb 680 for $630 without a waterblock, which may perhaps be the better deal(?) . . . but . . . for all I know, another waterblock might not fit on it.
3) I know that SLI can be finicky, so is there any reason to pair card and motherboard brands? For example, ASUS 680 with ASUS mobo or EVGA 680 with EVGA mobo? I suppose maintaining the same ecosystem would perhaps facilitate interactions with support, but is there any technical reason?
4) Sandy Bridge or Ivy Bridge? I know that Ivy Bridge comes out of the box with 15-20% greater performance, but is hotter and has poorer over clocks. I suppose the heat is mitigated by my intention to use water-cooling and I am not positive if I intend to over clock any of my components or not. In the past, I wouldn’t hesitate, but with such a huge investment, I’m not eager to break my warranty and eat $1500 in cards or $500 in a CPU. That said, I *may* still OC, anyway. I’m just not looking to push some sort of record-setting benchmark or anything.
5) Is there any value in PCI 3.0 for 3xSLI? There seem to be conflicting statements all over the place. If so, then the question of Sandy versus Ivy, above, is obviously already made for me, then.
Again, I’m very grateful for any advice. If left to my own devices, I’d spend another six months reading and watching everything and making lists and charts and still never get around to pulling the trigger. At this point, I think I just really need to have someone give me a sanity check and move on from there.
Last edited: