New system building/Critique

[thewooster]

So I'm putting together a new system, and thought I would hit you guys up and see what you thought. I will be multi-booting Windows 7, Arch Linux, and Backtrack. I do some hard-core gaming, but not a lot. I will be doing a good amount of gpu intensive CUDA applications (on backtrack) in the future. Games I play most frequently include Skyrim, Mass Effect 3, and Borderlands (both).

Specs:
PSU: Antec NEO ECO 620W

CPU: Core- I5 3570 Ivy Bridge 3.4 Ghz

GPU: I'm actually going to skip this and survive on integrated until I have the cash for a good card. I'm thinking the GTX 660 TI or higher.


Motherboard: Either -
AsRock z77 Extreme6 lGA 1155
OR
AsRock Z77 Extreme4 lGA 1155

Aside from form factor and a couple minor specs, they are basically identical as far as I can tell, but the Extreme4 goes on sale and ends up being a little bit less than the Extreme6. Anything in the more expensive model that would be worth a couple extra bucks?

Memory: depending on the motherboard I get, my budget is a little tight right now.
Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2X4) $52.00
OR
Corsair Dominator 8GB(2x4) - $78.00

I will eventually be upgrading to at least 16GB. I don't see myself doing much Cpu over-clocking immediately, but possibly yes on the memory if I go with the lower option. Anyway, thanks ahead of time for the input!

 

[Eureka!]

Answer the sticky,, it would help.

Do you already have the 3570? If not, do you live near a Microcenter? The I5-3570K is $180 there and you can take $40 off a motherboard, including the Extreme4.

 

[thewooster]

Sorry, was making a quick post and thought I hit most of the main stuff, here's the rest.

I do not already have the I-5, but I do not live near a microcenter . I'm in the Portland, Oregon area. I already have the PSU, and will just be putting my old Seagate Sata II drives in the system for now (I will upgrade to SSDs later).

1. Mostly GPU intensive work, some gaming.

2. Budget for CPU, RAM, and Motherboard is 450 - 470 max.

3. US - Portland, OR area.

4. Need CPU, RAM, Mobo for now.

5. Keeping old Seagate Sata II drives (7200 Rpm).

6. Over-clocking - probably not right away, maybe in the future. I may overclock the memory modules some if I go with the lower option.

7. Asus VS248H-P 24" ; 1920 x 1080

8. Probably be buying these components in the next couple of weeks (I wish I could wait for Intel's next architecture to come out, but I need to put something together right now).

9. USB 3 is a must, RAID not likely, Esata yes, need at least 3 SATA 6Gb/s for future upgrades, need onboard video for now, and Cross-fire is a maybe but not a deal-breaker either way.

10. I'm good on the OS (Windows 7 Pro 64bit and Linux).

Anyway, sorry for not answering all of those beforedhand.

 

[Eureka!]

Get an i5-3570K and an Asrock Z77 Pro3 motherboard. The Extreme4 has nicer features such as better overclocking features, but the Pro3 will do for what you want. It will still overclock but probably can't reach the same overclocks that the Extreme4 will (but people are reporting high overclocks on the Pro3). Since you're not using a GPU, the extra PCI-e lanes means nothing now. Get the 3570K if you ever think you will overclock the CPU. The 3570 non-K is not overclockable. These two should cost you around $320, give or take depending on sales and coupons.

8GB of DDR3 1600Mhz will cost around $35 (here's 8GB of 1866 for $40 today, bringing your total for CPU/MOBO/RAM to $360 or so.

Do you want a SSD now? 250GB for $150 or 160GB for $90 at the moment. You'd still be under $450 if you get the $90 160GB X25-M.

 

[thewooster]

Ok, actually looking at it I think the Pro3 should do fine. I think I will go with that; it does look like it has a few less features, but I think it should fit my purposes fine.

You think the 1600mhz model would make much of a difference in the long run? Would it be better to get some corsair dominator running a little bit faster, or just get the cheaper set and overclock?

That SSD is tempting, but I think wait on that for now and put it in the "future upgrades" section .

 

[Eureka!]

Ok, actually looking at it I think the Pro3 should do fine. I think I will go with that; it does look like it has a few less features, but I think it should fit my purposes fine.

You think the 1600mhz model would make much of a difference in the long run? Would it be better to get some corsair dominator running a little bit faster, or just get the cheaper set and overclock?

That SSD is tempting, but I think wait on that for now and put it in the "future upgrades" section .

Well, I linked you a set of 1866 for $40. The difference between 1600 Mhz and 1866 is minimal, and past that even less so. It's not really worth a huge difference, although you have graphical apps and I don't know the impact of the memory speed on those. In gaming, the 1600 to 1866 mhz barely even makes a jump.

Memory generally can't be overclocked very high. But I wouldn't spend an extra $15 for 1866 over 1600.

 

[airthimble]

I will be doing a good amount of gpu intensive CUDA applications (on backtrack) in the future.

What kind of things do you plan on doing here?

If you are going to be developing CUDA applications you should know that if you plan to debug your kernel code that you cannot use a GPU for both debugging and display at the same time. You also cannot execute a long-running (> 30 sec or so) kernel and run the display at the same time.

If you think you may need multiple GPUs you may consider jumping to the LGA2011 platform, the increase in PCIE lanes can make a huge difference in computing applications.

 

[thewooster]

Thank you all for your input . I decided on the Asrock Extreme4, 8GB of Corsair Vengeance 1600mhz, and the Core i5-3570K. The Asrock pro3 might have been enough, but the Extreme4 had a few features I think I will need for future upgrades.

Airthimble, also good point, but I think anything on the LGA2011 platform is out of my price-range at the moment, though I will keep that in mind. For the most part I think I should be fine with the 1155 setup .