Eyefinity Build - Advice?

[Lusker]

Basic Information

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
This system will be primarily used for gaming. I will also be doing a lot of video editing/rendering on it. I also plan on running Eyefinity on this system.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
I'm hoping to keep this under $2,000. If it goes a little over, no big deal.

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
Indianapolis, IN, USA.

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
Case, Power Supply, Motherboard, Processor, RAM, Video Card, 3 x Monitors, SSD Main HDD, Secondary HDD, Optical Drive.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Aside from the Razer Naga and Razer Lycosa, I won't be reusing anything.

6) Will you be overclocking?
No.

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
I plan on having 3 monitors that are roughly 23" each.

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
I plan on ordering all parts for this system on November 15th, and I'll put everything together when I get home from this deployment around December 15th.

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video? etc.
Must have USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
No.

Alright, now... Here's the build I've come up with so far.


Cooler Master HAF 932 $149.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160

GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD3P LGA 1155 $179.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128506

Intel Core i7-2600 Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz $299.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115071

G.SKILL Sniper 8GB DDR3 1600 $59.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231461

Sapphire FLEX Radeon HD 6970 2GB $279.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102929

Crucial M4 2.5" 64GB SATA III SDD $114.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148441

Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB 64MB $79.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136892

CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V $119.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006

3 x ASUS VH236H 23" 2ms $539.97 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236059

ASUS 24X DVD Burner $19.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

Cooler Master Hyper 212 PLUS Cooler $29.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

ICY DOCK 2.5" to 3.5" Adapter $19.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817994064

Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit OEM $99.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

Any recommendations or changes you would make to this build?

 

[Dangman]

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
I plan on ordering all parts for this system on November 15th, and I'll put everything together when I get home from this deployment around December 15th.

Good luck with your deployment. Hope you make it home safe and sound.

Now, unfortunately you're planning this build too early. A lot can change within the next month let alone the 2.5 to 3.5 months when the build will be ordered and built. In fact, a lot of our recommendations tend to change month from month. So we can't guarantee whatever parts we recommend will be the same parts that you should be buying in November. Especially considering that AMD is releasing their new GPUs and CPUs within the next few months.

So if possible, wait until 2-3 weeks before you build/buy and then ask for advice then. You'll get up to date advice and you won't be buying an outdated build list.

Though I am curious: why are you ordering the parts on the 15th of November? Why not wait till you get back to order?

With all of that said, there are some issues that I see with your build that'll still be evident 2-3 months from now:

Cooler Master HAF 932 $149.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160
...
ICY DOCK 2.5" to 3.5" Adapter $19.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817994064

At a total of $170 shipped, not that good of a choice for the money IMO considering that you can get these better looking, slightly roomier, and equally well performing cases for around that price range:
$160 - Corsair Graphite Series 600TM ATX Case
$170 - Corsair Special Edition White Graphite Series 600T ATX Case

The above Corsair cases already supports 2.5" drives right off the bat.

Sapphire FLEX Radeon HD 6970 2GB $279.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102929

You've linked the HD 6950 2GB, not the HD 6970

Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB 64MB $79.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136892

This drive will be a little too slow if you're planning on using it to install programs on. Not to mention that you've linked the 1.5TB. Even if you were using it just for storage, there are better bang for the buck drives now:
$80 - Samsung Spinpoint F4 HD204UI 2TB 5400 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

However, for large program installations, I'd recommend this drive as well:
$60 - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

Though if you want to stick with a single drive, the Samsung 2TB should be ok.

CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V $119.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006

This is an outdated choice these days considering that the newer, better quality, cheaper, and slightly better performing 750TX V2 is already out:
$110 - Corsair 750TX V2 750W PSU

 

[Lusker]

Thanks for all the advice and the good wishes! I really appreciate it.

I appreciate you looking into the build for me, even though it is too early for me to ask any advice. It definitely showed me that I need to do more research when putting together a build. Haha I'll make the necessary changes you suggested and keep this build, but when the time comes for me to order, I'll throw together a whole new one, just base it off this old one.

The reason I want to order Nov 15th and not after I get home is because I want to have all the parts to the system when I get home. There's no telling how long it could take to get everything shipped, so I figured ordering a month earlier is my best option. I guess waiting couldn't really hurt though.

Again, thanks so much for the advice.

 

[Dangman]

Again, thanks so much for the advice.

No prob. Safe journey man.

 

[tonytnnt]

The reason I want to order Nov 15th and not after I get home is because I want to have all the parts to the system when I get home. There's no telling how long it could take to get everything shipped, so I figured ordering a month earlier is my best option. I guess waiting couldn't really hurt though.

If you're ordering from Amazon or Newegg it generally takes about a week for the parts to be shipped. So I would order right around/after Black Friday/Cyber Monday, leaving about 2 to 3 weeks for your parts to arrive in case of processing delays from Black Friday, and it also leaves you time to regroup if you don't get all the Black Friday deals you want.

 

[Lusker]

Yeah, I'll just wait until Black Friday/Cyber Monday to order anything. Hopefully I can find some great deals.

Does anyone know if Eyefinity can be run off 3 separate video cards? Say... 3 x 6950's, one for each monitor? I don't have any experience with the Eyefinity system, so I don't know if that would work or not.

Thanks again for all the help, guys.

 

[Deleted member 88227]

Yeah, I'll just wait until Black Friday/Cyber Monday to order anything. Hopefully I can find some great deals.

Does anyone know if Eyefinity can be run off 3 separate video cards? Say... 3 x 6950's, one for each monitor? I don't have any experience with the Eyefinity system, so I don't know if that would work or not.

Thanks again for all the help, guys.

AMD is the the only GPU that can actually run 3 monitors off a single card. So you do not need 3 cards for Eyefinity, just one will get it done though with that budget I'd recommend going with two cards in CF. Right now, something like two 6950s 2GB, but in November it will probably be one of AMDs new cards which should be out by then.

 

[Lusker]

AMD is the the only GPU that can actually run 3 monitors off a single card. So you do not need 3 cards for Eyefinity, just one will get it done though with that budget I'd recommend going with two cards in CF. Right now, something like two 6950s 2GB, but in November it will probably be one of AMDs new cards which should be out by then.

I've never messed with CrossFire, and I should probably just look it up, but it just seems easier to ask... Do I need any specific motherboard to run 2 cards in CF? Most should be compatible by now, right?

 

[Deleted member 88227]

Youll need a motherboard that at least has 2 pci x16 slots or x16 and x8. Most boards that have it support both cf and sli, but you'll want to make sure.

 

[Lusker]

Youll need a motherboard that at least has 2 pci x16 slots or x16 and x8. Most boards that have it support both cf and sli, but you'll want to make sure.

Alright, cool. I'll keep that in mind as I put together this build. Thank you.

Also, what are some of the more updated tech sites you guys keep up with in terms of the new hardware that's being released? I typically keep up with techspot, but that's about it. I've been sorta out of the loop since I got in country over here. lol

 

[Deleted member 88227]

I use the specific forums here for updates on new hardware releases. [H] community stays pretty current most of the time.

 

[Dangman]

Alright, cool. I'll keep that in mind as I put together this build. Thank you.

Also, what are some of the more updated tech sites you guys keep up with in terms of the new hardware that's being released? I typically keep up with techspot, but that's about it. I've been sorta out of the loop since I got in country over here. lol

The ones I visit frequently:
HardOCP
Bit-Tech.net
Xbitlabs.com
TechReport.com

 

[Tak Ne]

If you're doing Eyefinity I would suggest looking at monitors with DisplayPort on them. AMD seems to be going towards DP/miniDP lately. You can use adapters but getting DP monitors would make things easier and might be cheaper. I believe there have been some issues with flickering when using adapters in Eyefinity.

 

[Lusker]

Thanks for the sites, I'll have to check them out.

If you're doing Eyefinity I would suggest looking at monitors with DisplayPort on them. AMD seems to be going towards DP/miniDP lately. You can use adapters but getting DP monitors would make things easier and might be cheaper. I believe there have been some issues with flickering when using adapters in Eyefinity.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102929

I don't know about the new cards that are going to be released in the future, but if I go with something like this, I wouldn't really have to worry about DisplayPort, right? Or is this probably not a good thing to rely on?

 

[Dangman]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102929

I don't know about the new cards that are going to be released in the future, but if I go with something like this, I wouldn't really have to worry about DisplayPort, right? Or is this probably not a good thing to rely on?

My main issue is that its a Sapphire card which means a short warranty and crappy customer support.

But yeah, you wouldn't have to worry about Display port.

 

[Lusker]

My main issue is that its a Sapphire card which means a short warranty and crappy customer support.

But yeah, you wouldn't have to worry about Display port.

Yeah, the only cards I've ever owned were EVGA and I never had any problems with them. I've still got a lot of research to do before I decide on anything solid.

Might have to take a look at some DisplayPort monitors though, like you said. Not sure how much more pricey they are, if any at all, but I'll definitely look into them. Quality is more important than the cost to me, so I'm not too worried about it. Just gotta figure out how much I should be putting back for this build.