New Build

[Silver5656]

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

I plan on using it for games (10%), general usage(50%), video processing/converting(30%) and some coding/programming (10%)

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?

Flexible, but would like to keep it at around 1500, but willing to go to 1700 total, heck lets me honest i'll go even higher if it means a better value lol

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

Los Angeles, CA and yes i can get to a microcenter and there are at least 5 frys i can go to

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, cpu fan/cooler, ram, motherboard, graphics card, SSD

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.

reusing a corsair hx850, and reusing/upgrading my silverstone ft-02, a buncha hard drives, bluray drive, and dvd drive

6) Will you be overclocking?

Yes, but my history of oc'ing has been i oc when i get new stuff, and then go back to stock. why? i dunno just what i've done

7) 7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?

Currently running 3x24" dell's at 1900x1200 each. I do run eyefinity sometimes but find it kind of annoying, so i play with it sometimes but 90% of my gaming is done on a single 24"

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?

anytime from now ----> a month, depending on deals i find or waiting for stuff to come into stock

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.

The motherboard has to be atx to fit my ft-02. Almost certain it will be a z77 as that is the newest one to work with the 3770k. It needs to have usb 3.0 on the back and on the board, the more sata 6 the better, eSATA not a deal breaker but it should have it, onboard vid is not necessary although most likely it will come with it

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

I do have a legit transferable win 7 prof 64 bit.


These are the parts i'm pretty set on:

$290 - i7 3770k from Microcenter
$240 - Crucial m4 256 (i'd rather have more reliable than outright speed)

The things i'm hung up on are the video card (i am coming from a 5870), how much ram I need (is 16 good enough or should i get 32), and the motherboard. I want to stay away from ASUS as i've had a problem with them in the past, but will buy from them again if they are a clear leader. I have been leaning towards the gigabyte ud5h because it has dual lan, and if i get the sapphire 7970 it still gives me 2 pci 3.0 slots and a pciex1 slot for upgrades in the future. Are there any higher end motherboards? or have they not come out yet?

Oh i'm also unsure about cpu cooling. I've always done air cooling but was wondering if an all in one water cooling setup like an h70/h80 would be better.

 

[Dangman]

The things i'm hung up on are the video card (i am coming from a 5870),

I'd aim for the HD 7970 or GTX 680 in your case.

how much ram I need (is 16 good enough or should i get 32)

You should be fine with 16GB of RAM. With that said, if you have extra cash leftover or feel like spending a bit more money, 32GB of RAM would not be an unreasonable choice.

I want to stay away from ASUS as i've had a problem with them in the past, but will buy from them again if they are a clear leader.

Their customer support have been problematic the last few weeks.months so we're probably not gonna recommend that much.

Are there any higher end motherboards? or have they not come out yet?

There are but they're honestly not worth it unless going for the epeen. In addition, it's a tad awkward, IMO, to spend more than $220 on a socket LGA 1155 mobo when another $80 to $100 gets you a socket LGA 2011 CPU. Granted the LGA 2011 platform is a bit picky/finicky but probably more cost-effectve if you're spending more than $220 on a motherboard.

Oh i'm also unsure about cpu cooling. I've always done air cooling but was wondering if an all in one water cooling setup like an h70/h80 would be better.

If you're looking for that WOW factor, then those all-in-water cooling setups would be the best choice.

 

[Silver5656]

are there any 2011 sockets that are designed for the new ivy bridge? also the 3770k will not worth with 2011 no?

also, i am not looking for the wow factor, but want the cpu cooler to be quiet(ish) and perform well. Price really isn't an issue as long as its somewhat reasonable

 

[Dangman]

are there any 2011 sockets that are designed for the new ivy bridge?

It's the other way around: Ivy Bridge CPUs have to be designed for socket 2011. And no, those won't be out for awhile

also the 3770k will not worth with 2011 no?

No, the 3770K will not work with 2011.

also, i am not looking for the wow factor, but want the cpu cooler to be quiet(ish) and perform well. Price really isn't an issue as long as its somewhat reasonable

In that case you're gonna want an aircooler as the pump included in those all-in-one liquid cooling kits are fairly noisy.

 

[Silver5656]

any air cooler you would recommend? I was thinking of the prolimatech super mega (as I currently run the megahalems).

 

[Dangman]

For high-end I'd recommend the Noctua NH-D14.

And just in case:
- The UD5H is a solid choice. Probably the highest-end mobo that I can recommend
- RAM wise, you should be fine with this set:
$93 - G.Skill Sniper F3-12800CL9Q-16GBSR 4 x 4GB DDR3 1600 RAM

If you want to go for 32GB:
$200 - G.Skill Ripjaws X Series F3-10666CL9Q-32GBXL 4 x 8GB DDR3 1333 RAM