Need help with work/gaming build

[bb23]

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Mostly running 3 or more monitors for my work situation: Programming; databases that I like to stretch across 3 screens, several apps at once, accounting apps, browsers, music, MS Office...

Also, at other times I do some video editing/rendering and I like to play games on it - but the games are already on a second Win7 boot drive. I mainly like screenshooting in Oblivion and playing Dirt 2 using Eyefinity on 3 monitors.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$1800 MORE (I have already spent $300 on the CPU and $200 for a second video card but those are not included in the $1800)

3) Where do you live?
Maryland, close to DC

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.
Motherboard 1155
RAM - 8 GB (perhaps 16GB while prices seem so low)
Full Tower Case
CPU cooler
Power Supply (Gold)
100 GB SSD
One 2TB Hard drive (fast)
Internal Blu-Ray burner

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Intel 2600K CPU (which I already bought for $300 + $18 tax)
Sapphire HD 5870 (for six monitors - which I just bought for $200 the other day)
XFX HD 5850 Black Edition (I have this already and may want to X-Fire the two)
3 WD 1.5 TB internal SATA hard drives
4 External 1 TB hard drives - USB2, USB3, Sata3
1 Plextor PX-B310U external Blu-Ray reader

6) Will you be overclocking?
Not likely, but I never thought I would X-Fire either, so maybe at some point. That is why I opted for the K version of the CPU - I like to keep my options open.

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
3 ASUS VE276Q (I already have these 3, and they have a DP. I will need to buy 3 mini DP to DP cables to plug them into the Eyefinity 6 card so the other two smaller monitors (20" Samsung DVI can also be used. Right now they run off two of the DP and one of the DVI ports on the HD5850. I may not X-Fire right away, and will then want to run them all off the one HD 5870.

I think this will work with adding two more DVI monitors, but please let me know if I am wrong about this - though I already own the monitors, so it is mainly about what cables and/or adaptors to get.

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
As soon as I can get the Motherboard from a retailer and know which one to get.

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? etc.
All of those except RAID and not SLI, just Crossfire. A bluetooth connection sounds cool too - like the one on the ASUS for phone transferring, though not a deal breaker.

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

Case - I don't know except that I want a full tower because I have 4 hard drives to put in and two DVD drives. I also want USB 3.0 on the front of the case if possible. And as quiet as possible but without water cooling.

So I have been reading about the ASUS P8P67 Deluxe motherboard on this Forum. Maybe the Pro version, dunno. Or a Gigabyte or MSI? The ASUS seems a bit quirky from what I have read, though they are all so new given the 1155 architecture.

Also, RAM - is the 1600 worth the extra $s over the 1333? I figure I will go with Corsair if left to my own devices.

Power Supply - I have a Seasonic 850w and am happy with it in another machine, and I figure I need possibly 1000w if I do X-Fire with those two cards, and 4 hard drives, etc.? I want a Gold level psu and figured the Corsair Gold 1000w for about $300, but am not sure about wattage nor best value.

So I figure my budget is something like this:
MB - $250
RAM - $300
PSU - $300
SSD - $200
HD - $200
Case - $300
Air Cooler - $75
DVD/Blu-Ray Burner - $150

Total = $1775 (Sales tax is only 6% here or if I buy from Newegg, then nothing but very cheap shipping. So another $100 on top of the $1775 is okay.

I am probably forgetting something, but I think that is it. A very big thanks for any help - much appreciated!

 

[Dangman]

Case - I don't know except that I want a full tower because I have 4 hard drives to put in and two DVD drives. I also want USB 3.0 on the front of the case if possible. And as quiet as possible but without water cooling.

I recommend these cases:
$90 - Cooler Master CM690 II Advance ATX Case
$90 - Cooler Master HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$100 - Lian Li PC-60FN ATX Case
$100 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K7B ATX Case
$110 - Lian Li PC-7B Plus II ATX Case
$110 - NZXT Whisper WHI - 001BK ATX Full Tower Case
$120 - Velocity Micro GX2-W Silver Classic Aluminum Case with Side Window
$140 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White Full Tower ATX Case
$140 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001BK Black Full Tower ATX Case
$140 - Cooler Master HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$160 - Fractal Design Define R3 Black ATX Case (US Shipping Factored in) (Fill in the ++++ with "N C I X" without the spaces)
$160 - Fractal Design Define R3 Titanium ATX Case (US Shipping Factored in) (Fill in the ++++ with "N C I X" without the spaces)
$160 - Fractal Design Define R3 Silver ATX Case (US Shipping Factored in) (Fill in the ++++ with "N C I X" without the spaces)
$160 - Corsair Graphite Series 600T ATX Case
$160 - Silverstone RV02B-W ATX case
$200 - Cooler Master ATCS 840 RC-840-KKN1-GP Full Tower ATX Case
$200 - Lian Li PC-B25F ATX Case
$230 - Silverstone FT02B ATX Case
$240 - Lian Li PC-A71F Black ATX Case
$300 - Corsair Obsidian Series 800D CC800DW Full Tower ATX Case

So I have been reading about the ASUS P8P67 Deluxe motherboard on this Forum. Maybe the Pro version, dunno. Or a Gigabyte or MSI? The ASUS seems a bit quirky from what I have read, though they are all so new given the 1155 architecture.

I recommend the Pro version.

Also, RAM - is the 1600 worth the extra $s over the 1333? I figure I will go with Corsair if left to my own devices.

1600 is not worth it at all. You'll be fine with DDR3 1333 RAM. Make sure that the DDR3 RAM you're getting is rated at 1.6V or lower. Timings really don't matter I recommend this RAM set:
$85 - G.Skill Ripjaws F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL 2 x 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM

Power Supply - I have a Seasonic 850w and am happy with it in another machine, and I figure I need possibly 1000w if I do X-Fire with those two cards, and 4 hard drives, etc.? I want a Gold level psu and figured the Corsair Gold 1000w for about $300, but am not sure about wattage nor best value.

Actually you don't need a 1000W PSU. You'll be just fine with a good quality 750W PSU even if you overclocked (which you're not) and have HD 5870 Crossfire. Gold PSUs are rarely "best value". For best value, I recommend this PSU:
$100 - Antec Truepower New TP-750 750W PSU

Though if you really want Gold, I recommend this PSU:
$140 - NZXT HALE90-750-M 750W Modular PSU

Though if you want overkill:
$170 - Corsair Professional Series Gold 850AX 850W Modular PSU

SSD - $200

I recommend the Crucil C300 series SSDs. Get the biggest one you can afford.

Air Cooler - $75

For the Core i7 2600K, you don't need that much of an expensive HSF even to OC:
$30 - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus HSF for LGA 1366 and LGA 1156

 

[bb23]

Thank you, and for the speedy reply!

I figured the 5870 with 2 GB running 5 or 6 monitors would need lots of extra wattage, but I guess not.

The case is tricky for me - it sits on another desk at the end of my main desk so I want the machine as quiet as possible, but with two cards in there it could get noisy. Since I am not wanting to try and install water cooling, I figured lots of open air/fans in the case. Of course that makes for more noise. So that is what I am trying to figure out too. At least the CPU runs fairly cool comparatively speaking. In other words, I need to reach some kind of middle ground with an air cooled case and low noise.

Thanks again.

 

[Dangman]

The case is tricky for me - it sits on another desk at the end of my main desk so I want the machine as quiet as possible, but with two cards in there it could get noisy. Since I am not wanting to try and install water cooling, I figured lots of open air/fans in the case. Of course that makes for more noise. So that is what I am trying to figure out too. At least the CPU runs fairly cool comparatively speaking. In other words, I need to reach some kind of middle ground with an air cooled case and low noise.

Then I highly recommend the Silverstone RV02 or FT02 cases. They're highly recommended for quiet gaming cases.

 

[bb23]

I researched the Obsidian 800D because it looks great in so many ways. But I was not excited about the hot swappable drives having a back plane board that only allows SATA2 speeds, given my new mobo will handle SATA3. I presume I could have bypassed it, but then why pay extra for it...

Fortunately, I found a new Obsidian 700D at my local Microcenter for $199 and given that the lack of hot swappable drives and the side window are the only two differences between the 700D and the 800D, I went for the 700D. I don't want either of those features anyway.

Oh yeah, I also got the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus for $24 there.

So a big thanks for your help, Danny!

Now to wait for the mobo...

 

[bb23]

So as of a few days ago, this is where things were at...

I think other than perhaps an SSD, all that I am now missing is the motherboard...

2 WD Black 1 TB Sata3 drives
4 Cooler Master fans
16 GB Corsair (Vengeance) 1600 RAM
LG Blu-ray burner
Hyper 212 Plus CPU cooler
Sandy Bridge 2600K CPU
HD 5870 2GB video card
Corsair AX1200 PSU
Corsair 700D case

(Plus a 5850 card, 2-3 more hard drives, an Evoluent mouse (great ergonomics), and various external HDs, USB devices, etc. that I already have from the current system.)

However, this is how I really felt with my mobo-less pile of parts...
Oh Mother, where art thou?

****************************
As of yesterday...

After checking Newegg and Microcenter.com and a few other sites, I gave up getting an Asus ordered by this weekend. Microcenter said April, at first, then by maybe March 15th.

Anyway, last night I went to my favorite brick-and-mortar store around here - which happens to be Microcenter - this evening to get the Corsair H70 (since I have decided to get into overclocking) and an SSD drive before their sales end this weekend, and decided to look through their wall of mobos for fun and because of some idealistic hopefulness. After seeing endless numbers of 1156s, etc., I looked higher up, and on top of the cases the mobos are displayed in, there were two ASUS boxes, and lo and behold, they read P8P67! These numbers are ingrained in my brain after so many google searches, but I still did a double-take, and couldn't believe my eyes. At no time during the day had Microcenter said anything about getting in the boards, online or at their store.

A sales person soon came by and said they got a few in today. Obviously they were not advertised anywhere, nor even in the online inventory, otherwise they would be gone, like the mATX versions were. So if anyone still looking is close to a Microcenter store, they may want to call or visit.

Anyway, I got real lucky, and though it is just the Pro version (I had decided I wanted the Deluxe), I decided to go for it. It also ran $230, but I figured a bird-in-hand at this point - plus I love visiting this brick-and-mortar store. I got an extended, no questions asked warranty, for another $30. So now I can start my build...

Thanks again for all the help!

 

[PersonalJ]

So as of a few days ago, this is where things were at...

I think other than perhaps an SSD, all that I am now missing is the motherboard...

2 WD Black 1 TB Sata3 drives
4 Cooler Master fans
16 GB Corsair (Vengeance) 1600 RAM
LG Blu-ray burner
Hyper 212 Plus CPU cooler
Sandy Bridge 2600K CPU
HD 5870 2GB video card
Corsair AX1200 PSU
Corsair 700D case

(Plus a 5850 card, 2-3 more hard drives, an Evoluent mouse (great ergonomics), and various external HDs, USB devices, etc. that I already have from the current system.)

However, this is how I really felt with my mobo-less pile of parts...
Oh Mother, where art thou?

****************************
As of yesterday...

After checking Newegg and Microcenter.com and a few other sites, I gave up getting an Asus ordered by this weekend. Microcenter said April, at first, then by maybe March 15th.

Anyway, last night I went to my favorite brick-and-mortar store around here - which happens to be Microcenter - this evening to get the Corsair H70 (since I have decided to get into overclocking) and an SSD drive before their sales end this weekend, and decided to look through their wall of mobos for fun and because of some idealistic hopefulness. After seeing endless numbers of 1156s, etc., I looked higher up, and on top of the cases the mobos are displayed in, there were two ASUS boxes, and lo and behold, they read P8P67! These numbers are ingrained in my brain after so many google searches, but I still did a double-take, and couldn't believe my eyes. At no time during the day had Microcenter said anything about getting in the boards, online or at their store.

A sales person soon came by and said they got a few in today. Obviously they were not advertised anywhere, nor even in the online inventory, otherwise they would be gone, like the mATX versions were. So if anyone still looking is close to a Microcenter store, they may want to call or visit.

Anyway, I got real lucky, and though it is just the Pro version (I had decided I wanted the Deluxe), I decided to go for it. It also ran $230, but I figured a bird-in-hand at this point - plus I love visiting this brick-and-mortar store. I got an extended, no questions asked warranty, for another $30. So now I can start my build...

Thanks again for all the help!

Your board already comes with a 3 year warranty from Asus. You may be able to swap it out in store with microcenter's warranty which is something you can't do with Asus, but the only thing the store warranty would cover that Asus doesn't is bent pins.

 

[bb23]

The quick swap out is very important to me as this is a work machine too. "Insurance" for the convenience of no shipping, some day service, etc., is worth it to me.The warranty also lets you just get a store credit for whatever the board cost you - to put to whatever else you want.

Granted, nothing will probably ever be exercised, but like car insurance, that is what I hope for.

 

[Almighty ODST]

So as of a few days ago, this is where things were at...

I think other than perhaps an SSD, all that I am now missing is the motherboard...

2 WD Black 1 TB Sata3 drives
4 Cooler Master fans
16 GB Corsair (Vengeance) 1600 RAM
LG Blu-ray burner
Hyper 212 Plus CPU cooler
Sandy Bridge 2600K CPU
HD 5870 2GB video card
Corsair AX1200 PSU
Corsair 700D case

I wouldn't have chosen the 700D at all. Those cases aren't exactly good at air cooling. I would have gone with Danny's suggestion of the FT-02 or RV-02. Much better cooling and they're still quiet. Also, the AX1200 was complete overkill (and overpriced) and the Vengeance ram is unnecessary and overpriced. 1600Mhz is of no benefit on Sandy Bridge builds, let alone most other builds as well.

 

[bb23]

Danny also recommended the 800D which is the exact same box as the 700D except for the see-through side panel and hot-swapping, neither of which I cared about. The 700D was also on sale locally for $199, so once I saw he had recommended the 800D, it seemed like the 700D would be at least as adequate.

The 800D's hot swappable drives are controlled by a backplane that is only Sata2 and will not be upgraded by Corsair apparently. So no go for me on both counts - don't need and don't want the potential hassle.

Yeah, the AX1200 was $250 the other day - I ended up getting it from Newegg on a 10% off sale, and I am not sure what I am going to build into this machine, so for a bit more money I leave myself a lot of headroom. Just my preference to be flexible. I mainly am upgrading to drive 5 monitors and lots of hard drives, and Crossfire, so for a bit more money, I get a very good and powerful psu. Plus with its efficiency rating, I will probably save the difference within a year or so.

The Vengeance ram was available locally for $104 for 8 mb, so I went for it. I like Corsair. My understanding is that 1600Mhz is the top end for SB, even the Intel mobo supports it, so I am not sure what is what about this. You probably know more about it than me but I am sure I read that it will address the 1600 natively.

Can you elaborate?

 

[Dangman]

Danny also recommended the 800D which is the exact same box as the 700D except for the see-through side panel and hot-swapping, neither of which I cared about. The 700D was also on sale locally for $199, so once I saw he had recommended the 800D, it seemed like the 700D would be at least as adequate.

I think it's at least as adequate. With that said, I can't vouch for how quiet the system will be in that case.

Yeah, the AX1200 was $250 the other day - I ended up getting it from Newegg on a 10% off sale, and I am not sure what I am going to build into this machine, so for a bit more money I leave myself a lot of headroom. Just my preference to be flexible. I mainly am upgrading to drive 5 monitors and lots of hard drives, so for a bit more money, I get a very good psu. Plus with its efficiency rating, I will probably save the difference within a year or so.

Are your electricity rates that high?

The Vengeance ram was available locally for $104 for 8 mb, so I went for it. I like Corsair. My understanding is that 1600Mhz is the top end for SB, even the Intel mobo supports it, so I am not sure what is what about this. You probably know more about it than me but I am sure I read that it will address the 1600 natively.

Can you elaborate?

Well the problem is that even with overclocking planned, DDR3 1600 offers ZERO tangible benefits when using the Sandy Bridge CPUs. There's also very very little real world difference between DDR3 1333 and DDR3 1600 RAM. So in other words, you paid an extra $24 for no benefits whatsoever.

 

[bb23]

Thanks for the feedback guys. Yes, our electric rates are pretty high around here, but I was more concerned with flexibility. I don't want to think about a psu for a long while.

Regarding the Corsair memory, I have always had great luck with theirs, plus I liked the look of the Vengeance, I could buy locally which I like, and I know it will simply get replaced by my local store if I need. I pay more locally, but I have a good relationship with the folks there and they take care of me when I have needed it - like taking an overrated Thermaltake psu back after 8 weeks of use, and giving me full credit, etc. Like I said before, it's insurance and I like to support locally when it is justified. If the price diff is too great, well that is a different story.

All in all, I may take the memory back and trade down for 1333 like you originally recommended, Danny. But the price probably won't be much different locally given the good price I got on the 1600.

Thanks again for the input.

 

[bb23]

After reading a bunch about X-Fire between "heterogenous" 58xx cards, it sounds like if I mate the 5870 2GB with a 5850 1GB card, the system only uses 1GB. So now I am looking to buy another HD 5870 2GB and leave the 5850 in the older machine.

This combination of two 5870 2GB cards runs much faster than it would with one 5870 and one 5850. But this may also make use of the AX1200. Here is some of what I read:
****************
"With six 22 inch displays connected to the Radeon HD 5870 2GB, idle system power jumps to 160W (in excess of a GeForce GTX 480 with a single display attached) and load power increases to 359W.

Adding a second Eyefinity 6 card in CrossFire and attaching a sextet of displays has a minor impact on idle power, bumping it up to 180W. But the shot to load power is more severe, peaking at 581W.

Of course, the Radeon HD 5970, 5870, and 5850 are also viable options if you’re going the 3x1 route. One gigabyte of memory per GPU won’t hurt the performance of these cards until you start cranking up the anti-aliasing. And even then, you’ll want to consider Eyefinity 6 cards in CrossFire to keep the frame rates playable.

In 3DMV and F.E.A.R.2, simply running a “compatible” pair of ASUS RADEON EAH 5850 boosted the benchmark results way beyond the scores of the “heterotypical” RADEON 5870 combination. The jury is still out whether it is the difference in memory space or the difference in the cards’ BIOS strings that threw the monkey wrench but whatever it was, the results were less than satisfactory. "
********************
Does anyone know if I matched my 5870 2GB with a 5870 1GB, what the impact on performance be? Also, would 2GB or 1GB be used? I do like using AA.

P.S. I think I need a fan controller as I want to turn things down when the phone rings, etc. Any recommendations? I would like it onboard. A temp reader might be useful too.

Much appreciated!

Edit: I ended up getting a KazeMaster fan controller and it seems to be doing its job. Thanks again for you help - the build is more or less done, Windows is installing. The new BIOS interface is very slick. Now only the Run Command in Windows reminds me of DOS days...