Moving to 1155 - components critique

[DejaWiz]

[edit 11-21-11]
I'm about 15-30 days away from ordering the final two components:
MoBo
CPU

3 options:
1. Do I go all out now and get Z68 and i5-2500K? ($375 max)
2. Do I get a Z68, but put in a Pentium or i3 to hold me over until IB comes along to just drop in? ($250 max)
3. Do I get a basic 1155 MoBo and a dual core Celeron or Pentium and wait for Z77 + IB in March/April '12? ($200 max)

If I go with option 1, I really want to get the Asus Gene-Z.
If I choose option 2, then I'd ike a board with an onboard USB 3.0 header so I can use the header bracket I already have.
If option 3 is the winner, I'll probably be leaning toward the Celeron, as it'll still beat the tar out of what I have now.

Parts I have -
RAM: G.Skill 2x4GB 1333 1.5V
HDD: Seagate SATA-II 500GB
ODD: Lite-On 24x SATA DVD w/LS
HSF: Xigmatek Dark Knight
PSU: Cooler Master Real Power Pro 750W
GPU: GTX 570
Case: Thermaltake Shark
Case Fans: AC 120mm PWM (x2)

[/edit 11-21-11]



1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing?
GAMING

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Flexible, up to $375

3) Where do you live?
USA - NE

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.
CPU and MoBo

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Case = Thermaltake Shark
PSU = Cooler Master Real Power Pro 750W
GPU = MSI GTX 570
HDD = Seagate 500GB SATA-II

6) Will you be overclocking?
About a 95% chance of hell yes

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
24" LCD 1080p

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Within the next 2-4 weeks.

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.
RAID 1 and SLI maybe sometime down the road, but probably not for a while, if ever.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Already have legit Win7 Ultimate x64

 

[Dangman]

It would help if you answered the stickied "ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS FIRST!" so that we can help you better. Also, please tell us what PSU, case, and GPU that you plan on reusing.

Though right off the bat:
- That AsRock mobo only has a one year warranty. As such it's not a good buy at $190. In addition, if that mobo dies after that one year warranty you basically have to get a new mobo anyway.So IMO, it's a poor buy unless you absolutely postively have to have PCI-E 3.0. Besides that sole feature, that AsRock mobo is not worth $190.

- That RAM is definitely not a good choice for the money as a lot of unless you were planning for a super ultra energy efficient build and if you live in a place where electrical costs are high

- That HSF isn't a good choice for the money unless you have a really small case

- Are you planning on install a large number of applications on those Seagate drives?

 

[xBanzai89]

Answer these questions first located in this sticky.

What is that i3 system in your sig you cannot use that?

EDIT: Dan ninja'd me .

 

[DejaWiz]

First post updated to answer "the questions"

 

[Dangman]

Case = Cooler Master Shark

Did you mean Thermaltake Shark? Because I can't find any Coolermaster "Shark" case from google.

PSU = Cooler Master 750W

Which Coolermaster 750W? Coolermaster has both shitty and good 750W PSUs

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Within the next 2-6 months.

Too soon to start planning for a build then. I'm fairly sure that whatever build you or I come with up today, even a $5000 build, will not be the same build I recommend two months from now, 3 months from now, and so forth. So please come back when you're two weeks away from actually buying the PC and ask for advice then. You'll get more up to date advice and you won't be saddled with a out of date build list or concept. And as I already pointed out, that build is pretty bad today. So it's definitely gonna be extremely bad two months from now.

 

[DejaWiz]

Did you mean Thermaltake Shark? Because I can't find any Coolermaster "Shark" case from google.

Sheesh, my bad. Yes, the Tt Shark... had the PSU on the brain!

Which Coolermaster 750W? Coolermaster has both shitty and good 750W PSUs

CM Real Power Pro 750; got it for two reasons: because it was on sale and JonnyGuru/HardOCP gave it decent props oh so long ago...

Too soon to start planning for a build then. I'm fairly sure that whatever build you or I come with up today, even a $5000 build, will not be the same build I recommend two months from now, 3 months from now, and so forth. So please come back when you're two weeks away from actually buying the PC and ask for advice then. You'll get more up to date advice and you won't be saddled with a out of date build list or concept. And as I already pointed out, that build is pretty bad today. So it's definitely gonna be extremely bad two months from now.

So, no go on the motherboard because the warranty sucks.
No go on the memory because the lower voltage isn't worth the price premium over 1.5V modules.
No go on the HSF because I have a larger case.
And finally, no go on the HDDs because it's likely overkill in size right now for my needs.

The reason I'm researching parts right now being so far off from my build date is because I feel the 1155 platform is going to be around a while with socket compatible 22nm parts on the distant horizon (which is what I'm ultimately after: lower power consumption with hopefully a performance benefit clock-for-clock over current SB sku's).

Motherboard manufacturers have already seemingly flooded the market with fully-loaded products containing features that I feel leaves little room for refinement/added features in upcoming models 2-6 months from now compared to what's available right now (hell, it was recently brought to light that some motherboards touting PCI-e 2.0 have unlockable PCI-e 3.0 with a BIOS/UEFI flash when IB is installed).

I can live with a different mobo, not a problem.
I can live with different RAM, also not a problem.
I can get by with smaller HDDs, but I just want to ensure I'm good to go with newer games 2-5 years from now since I build a system on the long term. The only part I upgrade within that timeframe is the GPU before a complete system overhaul is warranted.
I'm still on the fence about the HSF... I like the idea of the smaller 92mm unit, especially since I'm assuming it would do great on a 22nm part vs 32nm clock-for-clock.

However, if I absolutely need to wait before bringing all this up again when I'm about 2 weeks out from my actual build date, then so be it. Thanks for the feedback anyway.

 

[DejaWiz]

What is that i3 system in your sig you cannot use that?

That's my wife's system, so no.

 

[plugwash]

I'd agree with waiting until you are about to build, as ivy bridge gets closer it should become clearer which boards will or won't get support for PCIe 3 unlocked through bios updates (This will depend on both the quality of the original design and the board manufacturers attitude).

Personally I strongly suspect that in the foreseeable future PCIe 3 will only be relevant for dual GPU setups. Remember 3.0 x8 is equivalent to 2.0 x16.

 

[rpchip]

I think all the 6xxx series gigabyte boards with latest bios update will support PCI 3.

 

[Dangman]

CM Real Power Pro 750; got it for two reasons: because it was on sale and JonnyGuru/HardOCP gave it decent props oh so long ago...

Cool. Just making sure you didn't get something like the Coolermaster GX series or something.

So, no go on the motherboard because the warranty sucks.

Exactly. I'm willing to bet that there will be motherboards from Asus, MSI, or Gigabyte that has the features that you want at virtually the same price but with a longer warranty.

No go on the memory because the lower voltage isn't worth the price premium over 1.5V modules.
No go on the HSF because I have a larger case.

Exactly.

And finally, no go on the HDDs because it's likely overkill in size right now for my needs.

Kind of: It's just that the price of those particular hard drives are rather high for the performance they offer. They're barely good buys today even if you were planning on installing 2TB worth of programs and games.

Motherboard manufacturers have already seemingly flooded the market with fully-loaded products containing features that I feel leaves little room for refinement/added features in upcoming models 2-6 months from now compared to what's available right now (hell, it was recently brought to light that some motherboards touting PCI-e 2.0 have unlockable PCI-e 3.0 with a BIOS/UEFI flash when IB is installed).

You'd be amazed at how many different motherboard versions can come out in a short amount of time even with so called "refinement" and added features. There's still a lot of room for refinement and added features IMO.

 

[DejaWiz]

I appreciate all the help thus far. I suppose I was running on the notion that, because I keep my systems for so long, what's good enough now will be good enough come time to build and for years beyond that for my needs.

Couple more questions, then:

1. Which SATA3 HDDs in the 1.5 to 2 TB range should I keep in mind?

2. Would the Xigmatek Gaia 120mm be a much better choice for the 22nm equivalent of the i7-2600K, considering the lower power consumption and heat?

3. Since I'm running a pretty capable GPU, does it make sense to focus on PCI-e 3.0 now, even thoughts current GPUs don't yet saturate a 2.0/2.1 topology?

 

[xBanzai89]

I appreciate all the help thus far. I suppose I was running on the notion that, because I keep my systems for so long, what's good enough now will be good enough come time to build and for years beyond that for my needs.

Couple more questions, then:

1. Which SATA3 HDDs in the 1.5 to 2 TB range should I keep in mind?

None. Last I knew no HDD makes use of even Sata II fully yet.

2. Would the Xigmatek Gaia 120mm be a much better choice for the 22nm equivalent of the i7-2600K, considering the lower power consumption and heat?

Not sure, but if you are considering overclocking the lower power consumption is not going to mean anything.

3. Since I'm running a pretty capable GPU, does it make sense to focus on PCI-e 3.0 now, even thoughts current GPUs don't yet saturate a 2.0/2.1 topology?

Start worrying about it when you are doing your build whenever you finally get to it. PCI-e 3.0 is a marketing gimmick right now, so I would not worry about it.

^^^

 

[DejaWiz]

Thanks, xB.

 

[DejaWiz]

Will be updating this thread shortly. Details to follow...

 

[DejaWiz]

1st post updated with new info. Have at it!

 

[tonytnnt]

3) Where do you live?
USA - NE

Wow, another one! We almost have a handful on here now! (I'm in Omaha.)

1st post updated with new info. Have at it!

Eyeballing it you're right at about $600 with the parts you've listed before you get a HSF. You could use the stock Intel cooler until you upgrade to a IB part. I'm not sure which Corsair Vengence sticks you're referring to. Some of the heatspreaders on RAM modules (Corsair and other companies) can be too tall for certain HSFs, however I'm not sure if it'll cause issues on that motherboard. I don't really see any major issues with the build besides that.

If you do decide to get a HSF, Overstock.com has the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus at about $26 including shipping.

 

[DejaWiz]

Yep, in Omaha as well!

Everything listed prices out as follows:

CPU + RAM = $170
Mobo = $180
SSD = $200
ODDs = $40

Total = $590


Gives me plenty of room in the budget for a HSF. I want to install it now, so I don't burden myself with the task of having to remove the mb to install the backplate once I do upgrade to a QC SB/IB down the road.

 

[DejaWiz]

1st post updated (again). Have at it!

 

[Dangman]

Whether or not to wait for Ivy Bridge really depends on whether or not the extra 20% performance increase is worth the wait for you.

Even if you go with option 1, I would not go with that Gene-Z mobo as its price to performance ratio isn't too good unless you actually have a mATX case.

 

[DejaWiz]

Eventually I would like to transition to a uATX case, and I'm leaning towards the Fractal Arc Mini.

I can deal with a full size board for now until Z77 + IB. Any suggestions?

 

[Dangman]

Eventually I would like to transition to a uATX case, and I'm leaning towards the Fractal Arc Mini.

When will you be going with a mATX case?

I can deal with a full size board for now until Z77 + IB. Any suggestions?

Depends on which option you're going for.

 

[DejaWiz]

Probably going uATX if a sale on the Arc Mini ever happens at around $50-75 shipped.

Meant I can use a full ATX board if the best bet would be to get P67/H67/Z68 now on the cheap and wait for Z77 since IB is what I'll end up with eventually anyway at some point.