Okay, here is my new build. Please critique it.

S

sram

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jul 30, 2007
Messages
1,699
Been thinking a lot about my new build. I got some help from here and from other forums as well. Anyways, here it is:

CPU : i7 2700k (Many say it will overclock much better than a 2600k). 350 $
Cooler is corsair H100.

Mobo: ASUS MAXIMUS IV EXTREME. I just want this, can't resist. 300$

Ram: CORSAIR DOMINATOR 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 Desktop Memory

PSU: Seasonic Platinum-1000 1 Kilowatt 270$

Video card: EVGA 03G-P3-1595-AR GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) Classified ULTRA 3072MB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card 550$

I might get two of those for SLI. If not, it will just be one of them. Nvidia fan here, no ATI for me.

OS drive: Crucial M4 128 GB. Already bought.

Data drive : Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive 170$

Case: http://www.gigabyte.us/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4055#kf

For now, I can only get gigabyte's boards.


If you want to see the sticky questions answered, here are they:

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Web browsing + little RPG gaming + photoshop + autocad(little) + video editing.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Budget is no problem. You can say it is $8000
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
I'm not in the US currently, but I only buy from the US. I have an address there.
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.
Well, it will a new build so I will need everything except for the monitor which I already have. Since you don't like the word everything, I'll just say I need :
Mobo
CPU
RAM
Storage
Optical drive
Video card
PSU
Case
Cooling system
Mouse/keyboard
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
No reused parts.
6) Will you be overclocking?
Of course.....that's my joy in life.
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
The monitor I already bought is dell 2701 I believe it is called. Anyways it is 27"
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
After one Month.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video? etc.
RAID, SLI, USB 3.0, 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 64-bit
 
Well if cost is no issue, that setup is fine.
 
Danny Bui said:
Well if cost is no issue, that setup is fine.
Click to expand...

That's cool to hear. Do you think I should Raid0 two M4's ? Let me tell you my experience in RAID0. It is cool and faster, but it makes the booting process longer which I don't like. This will make the speed gain for me not worth it unless things changed since 2007.

And yes, I have some nice cash now.....doubt that will change in a one month or so.

One more question: The Ram is the best bang for the buck I could find. Is it top quality? Because if it isn't quality ram, then I'll be willing to pay more for higher quality ram. Also, I know I won't have a need for 32GB, but if it isn't going to make the overclocking harder, then I will just go for it.

Thanks.
 
sram said:
That's cool to hear. Do you think I should Raid0 two M4's ? Let me tell you my experience in RAID0. It is cool and faster, but it makes the booting process longer which I don't like. This will make the speed gain for me not worth it unless things changed since 2007.
Click to expand...
Things has changed since 2007 but I still don't recommend RAIDing any SSD due to the fact that TRIM and/or garbage collecting doesn't work that well (or at all) when the SSDs are in a RAID setup

sram said:
One more question: The Ram is the best bang for the buck I could find. Is it top quality? Because if it isn't quality ram, then I'll be willing to pay more for higher quality ram. Also, I know I won't have a need for 32GB, but if it isn't going to make the overclocking harder, then I will just go for it.
Click to expand...
That RAM isn't good for your PC. I double checked and that RAM is rated at 1.65V. That means that it has a high chance of damaging your CPU. Hence why we generally recommend RAM rated at 1.5V for Sandy Bridge based PCs

However even if that RAM was rated at 1.5V, it would not be the best bang for the buck at all. Or even close to it. In terms of quality it's not all that much different from this best bang for the buck Corsair set:
$95 - Corsair Vengeance CML16GX3M4A1600C9B 4 x 4GB DDR3 1600 RAM

All that Dominator RAM offers you is fancier heatsinks, an unneeded fan cooler, and a slightly better chance of overclocking. All of that is basically useless. And then there's the 1.65V issue. So yeah, ditch the Dominators and go with the Vengeance RAM.
 
Thanks Danny. I'll go with the ram you linked. But, it doesn't hurt to ask: any advantage in going with more expensive ram?? Higher speed, better timings, better latency......etc?
 
sram said:
Thanks Danny. I'll go with the ram you linked. But, it doesn't hurt to ask: any advantage in going with more expensive ram?? Higher speed, better timings, better latency......etc?
Click to expand...

The truth is, there is very little, if any, real-world performance improvement going with extremely low-latency, extremely-high-speed RAM with extremely tight timings in place of more standard RAM. In fact, with the more expensive RAM you will see some change in the benchmark e-peen numbers but virtually zero real-world improvement with this LGA 1155 platform.
 
sram said:
You wanted to say something? I'm open to all comments.
Click to expand...

I was going to ask why you didn't consider the 7970, since it outperforms the GTX 580, but then I re-read your post and saw that you already decided against it.
 
Forceman said:
I was going to ask why you didn't consider the 7970, since it outperforms the GTX 580, but then I re-read your post and saw that you already decided against it.
Click to expand...

All my experiences with ATI in the past gave me stupid drivers issues. That's why I'm not into them.
 
I've had many ATI/AMD and Nvidia cards. Driver issues aren't specific to either "camp." You'll run in to issues with the 580s just as you will with 7970s, but 7970s are the same price or cheaper, and faster. All the time. I'd seriously reconsider if I were you.

Are you completely certain that the Gigabyte case you linked will fit the ASUS Maximus IV Extreme-Z? It is not a ATX standard sized board, but larger than normal.
 
The mobo I want is ASUS MAXIMUS IV EXTREME, not the Z variant. And that gigabyte case is huge. Why wouldn't an ATX board fit?
 
Okay, I can see that the maximus is an extended ATX board. The case specs say it is ATX / Micro ATX. I don't know, but I still think it should fit. Don't know if cases must have extended ATX written in their specs in order to take an extended ATX board.

Thanks for the remark though.
 
sram said:
The mobo I want is ASUS MAXIMUS IV EXTREME, not the Z variant. And that gigabyte case is huge. Why wouldn't an ATX board fit?
Click to expand...

That mobo absolutely requires an e-ATX (Extended ATX) case to even fit at all. The Maximus IV Extreme is larger than a standard ATX mobo to begin with! That means that the case must have eight expansion slots. Unfortunately, the Gigabyte case (despite its huge size) has only seven expansion slots, and thus accepts only standard ATX mobos.
 
Last edited:
E4g1e said:
That mobo absolutely requires an e-ATX (Extended ATX) case to even fit at all. The Maximum IV Extreme is larger than a standard ATX mobo to begin with! That means that the case must have eight expansion slots. Unfortunately, the Gigabyte case (despite its huge size) has only seven expansion slots, and thus accepts only standard ATX mobos.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I'll make sure the case I get is E-ATX.
 
not bad of choices just read some comments on the items make sure its what you want
 
Stick with Nvidia. Photoshop can benefit from it.
 
all I have to say is I wish I have the $$ for this build

for Ram I agree with Danny about Vengeance

for case I would make sure you have another slots for your sweet mobo, for air cooling cooler master has a few nice cases all depends on your preference (I agree with Ashlund about the Cosmos II) also helps with your H100. from when I seen on youtube videos (for example http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BcWDidORME)

looking forward to pictures of your new build once you finish it
 
Skillz said:
Stick with Nvidia. Photoshop can benefit from it.
Click to expand...


I will.

bonnev659 said:
all I have to say is I wish I have the $$ for this build

for Ram I agree with Danny about Vengeance

for case I would make sure you have another slots for your sweet mobo, for air cooling cooler master has a few nice cases all depends on your preference (I agree with Ashlund about the Cosmos II) also helps with your H100. from when I seen on youtube videos (for example http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BcWDidORME)

looking forward to pictures of your new build once you finish it
Click to expand...

A build like this will have to have pictures. Will do when I finish it.

Thanks.
 
Depending on the person a case can be a long term or short term solution. For me I use my cases for quite a long time, actually I have only bought 3 cases the last 8 years. Two CoolerMaster Stacker and one Antec cabinet (can't remember the name and sold after a years use). So now I have only two CM Stackers, one for my home center and one for my workstation PC, the oldest of those two I have had for 8 years now and still serves me well without any intend to replace it.
With this in mind I like to invest i little more money and thoughts in what cases I buy: How is quality? Will the looks be something I would prefer later and not only now? Will I risk feeling limited by the case for future opgrades?
The last was actually the reason I sold my Antec cabinet as the room for harddrives drastically decreased within a year, so it was replaced with my second Stacker (Properly the last one on the retail marked in Denmark :D).
I hope it can help a bit on the thought process :)
 
Aslund said:
Depending on the person a case can be a long term or short term solution. For me I use my cases for quite a long time, actually I have only bought 3 cases the last 8 years. Two CoolerMaster Stacker and one Antec cabinet (can't remember the name and sold after a years use). So now I have only two CM Stackers, one for my home center and one for my workstation PC, the oldest of those two I have had for 8 years now and still serves me well without any intend to replace it.
With this in mind I like to invest i little more money and thoughts in what cases I buy: How is quality? Will the looks be something I would prefer later and not only now? Will I risk feeling limited by the case for future opgrades?
The last was actually the reason I sold my Antec cabinet as the room for harddrives drastically decreased within a year, so it was replaced with my second Stacker (Properly the last one on the retail marked in Denmark :D).
I hope it can help a bit on the thought process :)
Click to expand...

Well yeah, cases live. I have two systems now. My main one have had its case for 5 years. The other case is about to complete its 11th year! The problem though is that an older case might not be enough to accommodate newer hardware.
 
If you want to keep your case there might be a solution. One reviewer noticed, dispite Gigabyte's information, that the case has holes for E-ATX. See here for more information.
A GTX 580 is a bit long a maybe a bit too long, one person here removed the button cage to fit a GTX 580 into the case
 
I like the case you choose. I didn't know Gigabyte still made cases. I have not seen any in a while.
 
When I first looked at that PSU I thought, no way. Then I tried to see who made the PSU, which is a company called Super Flower. Might not sound impressive, but recently they have proven to be a company that challenges the top tier producers while keeping cost low.
I normally get my PSU reviews from a site called Jonny Guru and they have tested many Super Flower PSU's with good results, the one you look at is also tested here
 
Aslund said:
When I first looked at that PSU I thought, no way. Then I tried to see who made the PSU, which is a company called Super Flower. Might not sound impressive, but recently they have proven to be a company that challenges the top tier producers while keeping cost low.
I normally get my PSU reviews from a site called Jonny Guru and they have tested many Super Flower PSU's with good results, the one you look at is also tested here
Click to expand...

+ 1 on Guru and I also used [H] reviews with a few youtube videos when I was looking at my PSU for a build
 
That's an awesome PSU, especially for the price. Dead silent too!
 
Aslund said:
When I first looked at that PSU I thought, no way. Then I tried to see who made the PSU, which is a company called Super Flower. Might not sound impressive, but recently they have proven to be a company that challenges the top tier producers while keeping cost low.
I normally get my PSU reviews from a site called Jonny Guru and they have tested many Super Flower PSU's with good results, the one you look at is also tested here
Click to expand...

silent-circuit said:
Yep, Super Flower is a huge OEM. Generally good stuff.
Click to expand...

bonnev659 said:
+ 1 on Guru and I also used [H] reviews with a few youtube videos when I was looking at my PSU for a build
Click to expand...

The seasonic I wanted is amazing, but if you can save close to one hundred bucks and get identical performance, then why not? I got mine for only 180 $ by the way from ebay.

Good deal is good!
 
The Cosmos II looks nice, but jesus, it's huge. If you like that gigabyte case, go for it. But I prefer a more subdued case -- may I suggest the Corsair 800D?
 
I'd seriously reconsider buying a GTX580. It was a great card, but at current prices and considering AMD competition it's just not worth the money they're asking for it. As far as drivers go, I'd reckon you'll have fewer problems in single card setups with an AMD graphics card than you would with nVidia if we're to go by recent history. Black flicker problems and the TDR bug *still* not being fixed have thrown any sense of nVidia driver superiority out the window. Get the 7970.
 
pelo said:
I'd seriously reconsider buying a GTX580. It was a great card, but at current prices and considering AMD competition it's just not worth the money they're asking for it. As far as drivers go, I'd reckon you'll have fewer problems in single card setups with an AMD graphics card than you would with nVidia if we're to go by recent history. Black flicker problems and the TDR bug *still* not being fixed have thrown any sense of nVidia driver superiority out the window. Get the 7970.
Click to expand...

How well do they scale?
 
The 7970s? Incredibly well with proper crossfire scaling. AMD has been late with crossfire profiles, but when they are provided on time (and recently they've gotten better) the crossfire scaling exceeds SLi scaling by ~10% or so. The 7970s are monsters =P

Do you really need to crossfire, though? A single 7970 will offer unbelievable performance at single monitor setups and even provides enough performance to drive eyefinity resolutions with just a single card. If you're thinking about buying a 7970 then I'd suggest buying one and if you find yourself needing more performance you can pick up another.
 
pelo said:
The 7970s? Incredibly well with proper crossfire scaling. AMD has been late with crossfire profiles, but when they are provided on time (and recently they've gotten better) the crossfire scaling exceeds SLi scaling by ~10% or so. The 7970s are monsters =P

Do you really need to crossfire, though? A single 7970 will offer unbelievable performance at single monitor setups and even provides enough performance to drive eyefinity resolutions with just a single card. If you're thinking about buying a 7970 then I'd suggest buying one and if you find yourself needing more performance you can pick up another.
Click to expand...

Don't need to crossfire, it is just bragging rights bug kicking in;)
 
Okay I'm convinced. I'll get a 7970. Hunting for a good deal somewhere! Any brand recommendation? I hear XFX is best.
 
sram said:
Okay I'm convinced. I'll get a 7970. Hunting for a good deal somewhere! Any brand recommendation? I hear XFX is best.
Click to expand...

Their new warranty sucks. I'd get an Asus, Gigabyte, or MSI, since they all use serial number warranties.
 
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