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New Build - final check

nuclearactiveguy

Weaksauce
Joined
Dec 2, 2011
Messages
66
Before stating all the components Id like to say after much reasearch this is what i have come up with by myself as a FIRST time builder.

anyone willing to contribute with helpful information and perhaps compatibility issues I may have overlooked PLEASE DO TELL ME lol

anything WILL help me


THANKS in advance!



MAIN USES:
1- Video Editing
2- Gaming
3- Home Office/Work

------------------------------------------------------HDD

Seagate Barracuda XT ST32000641AS 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

259.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148506

-------------------------------------------------------VGA

2 x EVGA GeForce GTX 580 Classified Ultra 3072mb

1,099.98
(549.99 each)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130751

-------------------------------------------------------PSW

CORSAIR Professional Gold AX850 ATX12V (850W)

199.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139015

-------------------------------------------------------RAM

CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8gb) 240-pin DDR3 1600mhz
(comes with free 8GB 2.0USB flash drive) (8.99 value)

119.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233246

--------------------------------------------------------MOBO

Asus Sabertooth Z77 LGA1155 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Mobo
(Smart Digi+,TUF w/5 yrs warranty,Thermal Armor)

239.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131821

---------------------------------------------------------PCU

Intel Core i7-2600k Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W quad-core Intel HD 3000

309.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070

---------------------------------------------------------COOLER

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7

29.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

---------------------------------------------------------DVD/BLUERAY

ASUS Black 12X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DVD+R 12X DVD-RAM 8X BD-ROM 8MB Cache SATA Blu-ray Burner BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS

89.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135252

---------------------------------------------------------SSD

SAMSUNG 830 Series MZ-7PC128D/AM 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) Desktop Upgrade Kit

189.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147134

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TOTAL = 2,539.90
SHIPPING = 76.22 (next day)

TOTAL = 2616.12

BUDGET
-3000$-

LEFT IN BUDGET

383.88


----------------------------
Still have to buy:

-FULL TOWER CASE
-OPERATING SYSTEM
 
Last edited:
It would help if you answered the stickied "ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS FIRST!" so that we can help you better. Though off the bat there are some issues:

1) Unless you're planning on using a true hardware RAID 5 card and 2 more of those drives, don't bother with the Seagate Barracuda XT. Outside of special circumstances, you're better off with the regular consumer drives. You can almost get two x 2TB drives for that much money:
$120 - Samsung Spinpoint F4 HD204UI 2TB 5400 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$140 - Hitachi Deskstar 7K3000 HDS723020BLA642 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s Hard Drive

2) The GTX 580 are now old cards. The GTX 680 outperforms the GTX 580 3GB, uses less power while doing so, and has a MSRP of $500, $50 less than the GTX 580. However, the main problem is availability of the GTX 680. But by all other factors, the GTX 680 is the clear winner and ideal choice. Only semi-decent reason to get the GTX 580 3GB is if you need the PC today or something. Even then the HD 7970 3GB would be the better choice for the money.

Also, I hope you have at least a 2560x1440 monitor or triple 1920x1080 monitors as GTX 580 SLI or GTX 680 SLI would be a waste of money on a single 1920x1080 for most games unless you're the type that needs 500+ FPS at the lowest settings in a game. Otherwise, a single GTX 680 will be enough for a 1920x1080 monitor.

3) If going for GTX 680 SLI, you would be fine with a solid 750W PSU like the Corsair HX750. Maybe even the HX650W. You really only need that 850W if you're sticking with GTX 580 SLI.

4) The RAM's heatinks are fairly tall and will interfere with the placement of the Coolermaster HSF. I recommend this RAM instead:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231558

5) OS wise, if you're planning on 32GB of RAM, you will need at least Windows 7 Professional 64bit as Windows 7 Home Premium is artificially limited to 16GB of RAM.

6) The motherboard, while probably a good motherboard, is fairly pricey. Not to mention that Asus' customer support has been going down the drain lately. As such, I don't feel comfortable recommending an Asus mobo to another human being. At least one I didn't dislike for any reason. Not 100% sure what you're looking for in a mobo since you didn't answer the questions, but taking a wild stab at it anyway. If you're looking for high-end, I'd recommend this:
$190 - Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H Intel Z77 ATX Motherboard

7) SSD wise, from a price per GB basis while still retaining quality, reliability, and stability, I'd recommend the Crucial M4 128GB SSD instead:
$125 - Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB SSD

8) If you're still looking for a case, I recommend these cases:
$76 - Corsair Carbide Series 300R ATX Case
$100 - Corsair Carbide Series 400R ATX Case
$100 - Lian Li PC-7B Plus II ATX Case
$100 - Antec 1100 ATX Case
$115 - Corsair Carbide Series 500R ATX Case
$120 - Fractal Design Define R3 Arctic White ATX Case
$120 - Fractal Design Define R3 Silver Arrow ATX Case
$125 - Fractal Design Define R3 Black Pearl ATX Case
$120 - Lian Li PC-9F ATX Case
$120 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White Full Tower ATX Case
$130 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001BK Black Full Tower ATX Case
$130 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-002OR Black Finish w/Orange Trim Full Tower ATX Case
$140 - Antec P280 ATX Case
$140 - Antec Performance One Series P183 V3 ATX Case
$140 - Corsair Obsidian Series 550D ATX Case
$144 - Silverstone RV03B-WA ATX case
$150 - Silverstone TJ04B-EW ATX Case
$160 - Corsair Graphite Series 600TM ATX Case
$160 - Silverstone RV02B-W ATX case
$164 - Corsair Special Edition White Graphite Series 600T ATX Case
$178 - Silverstone RV02B-EW ATX case
$162 - Corsair Obsidian Series 650D ATX Case
$220 - Silverstone FT02S-W ATX Case
$230 - Silverstone FT02B ATX Case
$270 - Corsair Obsidian Series 800D CC800DW Full Tower ATX Case
 
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hey thanks and sorry for not posting the questions but i didnt think i didnt need it since this was a final chekup!

but also thanks for your time!

I have one question! one more

If I get dual gtx570's will it run any game on ultra? or no?

causeif i do it'll be about 650$ for both, and later on (1 or 2 years from now) i could upgrade to something better when my system starts to slow down

note. I have 2x 1920x1080p screens so yeah ill be running most aplications on dual screens since im a video editor with no actual hardware knowledge (im trying lol)

and thansk again
 
hey thanks and sorry for not posting the questions but i didnt think i didnt need it since this was a final chekup!
Didn't realize you had an earlier thread here. In any case, please answer the sticky again. There ahve been plenty of times where the OP may have changed his mind and thus his second or even 3rd thread about the same build may have different requirements/answers to the sticky.

However if you want the general recommendations and not specific to you recommendation, then don't answer the sticky.

If I get dual gtx570's will it run any game on ultra? or no?

causeif i do it'll be about 650$ for both, and later on (1 or 2 years from now) i could upgrade to something better when my system starts to slow down
Not really. BF3, Skyrim with the appropriate mods, Metro 2033 and Crysis 2 to a certain extent may not run on GTX 570 SLI on Ultra settings due to the 1280MB of combined VRAM. The games I've mentioned uses quite a lot of VRAM.

IMO, a brand new GTX 570 SLI isn't worth it considering the limited VRAM and the fact that the GTX 570 runs fairly hot and uses quite a bit of power. Granted not as hot or power hungry like their GTX 4xx brothers but still hot and power hungry comapred to current AMD GPUs or Nvidia's GTX 680 card. For the money, the GTX 680 is still gonna be your best bet. Maybe not Ultra with all games with the GTX 680 though. Yes the GTX 570 SLI will have higher FPS than the GTX 680 but the GTX 680 uses significantly less power, generates less heat, is cheaper, and will provide a more smoother gameplay experience due to the 2GB of VRAM.
 
i think ill still be going with the 2 gtx 580 ultras, because i need the power and i need it now man :/

before i have to leave country

and i just cant go with AMD. dont trust them lol
 
i think ill still be going with the 2 gtx 580 ultras, because i need the power and i need it now man :/
Then go for a single GTX 580 1.5GB if you insist on a poor choice. Don't add onto a poor choice by magnifying it into a very stupid choice of two GTX 580 3GB SLI.

Also, you distrust AMD so much that you're willing to pay more money for less performance and more power usage, correct?
 
ok ok...

ill give it a listen. im willing to spend 1100.00 on the GPU section of the PC build im working on.

what does AMD have that i can get the biggest bang for my buck? and yes I have to run it in SLi

unfortunally having less then 2 GPU's is not a choice right now.
 
what does AMD have that i can get the biggest bang for my buck? and yes I have to run it in SLi
The HD 7950 2GB and the HD 7970 3GB are all better bang for the buck cards than the GTX 580. Both cards outperforms the GTX 580.
unfortunally having less then 2 GPU's is not a choice right now.

Why? You're only gaming on a single 1920x1080 monitor. You haven't mentioned gaming with three monitors nor have you mentioned getting a larger 2560x1440 monitor. So I don't see a real reason for you to have dual GPUs
 
I actually have 2 monitors that are each 1920x1080p

and yes i do intend on getting a 3rd and perhaps a 4th one too
 
not necessarily. but i do want to have a honestly... just a kick-ass set up and ive always wanted multiple monitors and i do plan on getting the 3rd one 1 month from now.

also ill be doing a lot of video editing.

still... i think you get that i just want to have the capacity to support 4 monitors in the near future.
 
not necessarily. but i do want to have a honestly... just a kick-ass set up and ive always wanted multiple monitors and i do plan on getting the 3rd one 1 month from now.
You still haven't answered my question: Are you planning on gaming on those all three monitors? i.e AMD's Eyefinity and Nvidia's Surround tech.

If you're not gaming on all three monitors, again, no need for a dual GPU setup. Remember that if you have a Ivy Bridge CPU like the Core i7 3770K or Core i5 3570K and a Z77 motherboard, you already get the ability to power three monitors at once just using the motherboard and CPU's integrated GPU. Add that to the number of monitors most video cards support without adapter and you're already looking at 5 monitor capability as is. Then if your new monitors uses display ports or you have displayport to HDMI/DVI adapters, thats another monitor right there. So you have six monitor capability. So you don't need a second GPU to add on additional monitors unless you're actually gaming on three of those monitors.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814103201

7970 3gb,

is this a good one. I never owned anything by Diamond before

It's ok but considering your budget, I'd for Gigabyte since they're a bit more trustworthy:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125413
 
Antec DF-85 Black Steel / Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129087

HITACHI Deskstar 7K3000 HDS723020BLA642 (0f12115) 2TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145473

DIAMOND 7970PE53G Radeon HD 7970 3GB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814103201

CORSAIR Professional Series Gold AX850 (CMPSU-850AX) 850W ATX12V v2.31 / EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139015

G.SKILL Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-1600C10D-16GAO
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231558

ASUS SABERTOOTH Z77 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131821

Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623I72600K
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

ASUS Black 12X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DVD+R 12X DVD-RAM 8X BD-ROM 8MB Cache SATA Blu-ray Burner BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135252

Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148442

Is this all compatible with each other?
 
ok ok...

ill give it a listen. im willing to spend 1100.00 on the GPU section of the PC build im working on.

what does AMD have that i can get the biggest bang for my buck? and yes I have to run it in SLi

unfortunally having less then 2 GPU's is not a choice right now.

Bang for the buck would be 2x HD 7950s IMO, but if you want bang for the buck and not OCing then Crossfire two of these Diamond 7970s: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814103201

Yes, but I would suggest this case over that one: NZXT Switch 810
 
Is this all compatible with each other?
They're compatible but there still are some issues:

Antec DF-85 Black Steel / Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129087
Not a good choice for a case. Relatively cramped, limited cable management, and there are better quality cases for the money. So no reason to get that DF-85 unless it's like $60 or so. Not to mention that it doesn't have a side fan, needed if you actually are going to go for a Crossfire or SLI setup.

CORSAIR Professional Series Gold AX850 (CMPSU-850AX) 850W ATX12V v2.31 / EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139015
Still overkill for your needs even if you're planning on HD 7970 Crossfire. As I said earlier, this PSU will be more than enough:
$156 - Corsair HX750 750W Modular PSU
G.SKILL Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-1600C10D-16GAO
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231558
Do you actually have Windows 7 Professional or above? Otherwise, no point in getting this RAM since Windows 7 HP cannot use more than 16GB of RAM.
ASUS SABERTOOTH Z77 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131821
Ok, you know Asus' customer support has been shitty lately right? And it's pricey for what you're actually getting. So why get this mobo?

And for the love of god, you still haven't answer my question: Are you planning on gaming on those all three monitors? i.e AMD's Eyefinity and Nvidia's Surround tech.
 
yes i do plan on it. sorry i just keep asking so much and forget your questions, my bad

Yes i know asus costumer support has been bad. but that motherboard has gotten some awesome quality reviews and i have friend that has one right now that says its pretty awesome board.


ill be using windows professional as a operating system

as far as the case. from that entire list. which would YOU choose for this set up?
 
Yes i know asus costumer support has been bad. but that motherboard has gotten some awesome quality reviews and i have friend that has one right now that says its pretty awesome board.
Then good luck.
as far as the case. from that entire list. which would YOU choose for this set up?
Any of the Corsair, NZXT, or Silverstone cases. There's a good reason why those cases are on my personal list of cases to buy. But for bang for the buck, the 500R would take the cake.
 
you've been absolutely great help!

saved me about 700$ on my build!

just wanted to thank you a lot for your time, donating free time is extremely rare to find nowadays and im thankful you've had the patience this far!

thank you alot!
 
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