New Build

[cjv89]

Hey guys. Was looking for some help on a new build. I'll answer the questions first.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
PC Gaming, CAD, Programming, Streaming, general usage.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Could probably go up to $1500 if worth it.
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
Alberta, Canada
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, CPU, CPU Heatsink, Mobo, RAM, Video Card, PSU, SSD, HDD
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
HDDs, Keyboard, Mouse, Monitors
6) Will you be overclocking?
Maybe a bit. Nothing too extreme.
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
Currently have 2 @ 1920x1080. Looking to up it to 3 @ 1920x1080 + 1080P TV.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
In 1-2 months.
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.
Either XFIRE/SLI, USB3, 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?
Windows 7 Professional 64 Bit

So far, what I am looking at buying is:

Case-Corsair Obsidian Series 550D Quiet Mid-Tower Case ATX 4X5.25 6X3.5INT USB3.0 1394 No PS
CPU-Intel Core i5 3570K Unlocked Quad Core Processor LGA1155 3.4GHZ Ivy Bridge 6MB Retail
CPU Heatsink-Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus Direct Touch 4 Heatpipe Heatsink AM2 AM3 LGA1366 LGA1155 LGA1156 120mm
Motherboard-ASUS P8Z77-V Pro LGA1155 Z77 DDR3 SLI 3PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 2PCI SATA3 DisplayPort USB3.0 Motherboard
RAM-G.SKILL RipjawsX F3-1866C9D-16GXM 16GB 2X8GB DDR3-1866 CL9 240PIN 1.5V Dual Channel Memory Kit
Graphics Card-XFX Radeon HD 7970 Double D 925MHZ 3GB 5.5GHZ DDR5 2XMINI-DP HDMI DVI PCI-E Video Card
SSD-Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5in SATA3 MDX Solid State Disk Flash Drive SSD
HDD-Western Digital Red 3TB SATA3 64MB Cache 3.5in Internal Hard Disk Drive HDD
PSU-Corsair Enthusiast Series TX850M 850W ATX Modular Power Supply Active PFC 120mm Fan 5 Year Warranty

Anything major I should look to change here? Thanks.

 

[Dangman]

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
In 1-2 months..

Can you narrow down that time frame any further? Our recommendations tend to change monthly and sometimes even weekly.

Anything major I should look to change here? Thanks.

If you were building that setup within the next 30 days, yeah there's a lot of things you should change there.

 

[cjv89]

Can you narrow down that time frame any further? Our recommendations tend to change monthly and sometimes even weekly.

If you were building that setup within the next 30 days, yeah there's a lot of things you should change there.

I will be building it when my 2012 work bonus comes. It will be sometime in the next 1-2 months, probably closer to the 1 month side.

For the sake of clarity, lets say I am building it within the next 30 days. What changes would you make?

 

[Dangman]

The motherboard, RAM, GPU, and PSU I would change right off the bat.

Motherboard: You haven't mentioned doing heavy duty overclocking nor does your answer to question 9 show any desire for the exclusive features that the Asus P8Z77-V Pro has. So in other words, from your post, you'll be fine with the cheaper Asus P8Z77-V LK.

RAM: For current Intel systems, there's not much of a noticeable performance increase above DDR3 1333 and DDR3 1600. SO the extra money for DDR3 1866 RAM isn't worth it.

GPU: If you truly plan on hooking up four monitors to your video card, I'd look at the GTX 670 since you can attach four monitors without having to buy special adapters like you would with the HD 7970. Most HD 7970 models only supports three displays max and one of those displays have to be connected by DisplayPort or a DisplayPor to DVI/HDMI adapter.

PSU: Even with your plans for SLI/Crossfire, you don't need a 850W PSU. Not to mention that it's semi-modular which means only a few cables are actually removable. Considering that there are significantly higher quality and actual modular 650W to 750W PSUs in the price range of the TX850M, little reason to go with the TX850M. Go for the Corsair HX650 or HX750 or the Seasonic X650, X660, or X750 modular PSUs.

 

[cjv89]

Motherboard: You haven't mentioned doing heavy duty overclocking nor does your answer to question 9 show any desire for the exclusive features that the Asus P8Z77-V Pro has. So in other words, from your post, you'll be fine with the cheaper Asus P8Z77-V LK.

This was something I was very curious about. I was kind of thinking the same thing, about not needing the pro, but wasn't sure it was worth dropping down a tier for the savings.

RAM: For current Intel systems, there's not much of a noticeable performance increase above DDR3 1333 and DDR3 1600. SO the extra money for DDR3 1866 RAM isn't worth it.

Awesome. Thanks for the tip.

GPU: If you truly plan on hooking up four monitors to your video card, I'd look at the GTX 670 since you can attach four monitors without having to buy special adapters like you would with the HD 7970. Most HD 7970 models only supports three displays max and one of those displays have to be connected by DisplayPort or a DisplayPor to DVI/HDMI adapter.

Right now I have 2 monitors and the TV. I was thinking of hooking up the 7970 to those for now, and then grab the third monitor and another 7970 in the near future and cover it that way. Will look into the 670 as well though.

PSU: Even with your plans for SLI/Crossfire, you don't need a 850W PSU. Not to mention that it's semi-modular which means only a few cables are actually removable. Considering that there are significantly higher quality and actual modular 650W to 750W PSUs in the price range of the TX850M, little reason to go with the TX850M. Go for the Corsair HX650 or HX750 or the Seasonic X650, X660, or X750 modular PSUs.

I didn't realize that one was semi-modular. Thanks for the heads up. I'm assuming the 750 would still be capable once I had XFire/SLI?

Thanks for all the help.

 

[Dangman]

T
I didn't realize that one was semi-modular. Thanks for the heads up. I'm assuming the 750 would still be capable once I had XFire/SLI?

Yup. Even the 650 would be enough.