Rate my build...

[jwimsett]

Hello all. I've recently dove into the world of PC gaming again. First time since my early teens (I'm 32 now.) I started by buying an Alienware laptop (M14X) then upgrading to a larger more powerful laptop (M17XR3 then R4) but couldn't fulfill my desires. So I decided to build my own machine. I'll use it for photo uploads/temp storage before moved to server and word processing and such which is all secondary to gaming.

Please tell me what you think, both good and bad and what could be improved.

Below are the specs:

MB: ASROCK Z77 extreme 4 LINK

Processor: i7 3770 (non-k) LINK

Processor HS: Hyper 212 Evo LINK

Ram: CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 LINK

Boot/Game Drive: Crucial m4 256GB SSD LINK

Data Drives: Western Digital Caviar Green 2TB LINK
Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB LINK

GPU: 2X EVGA GeForce GTX670 FTW in SLI LINK

Optical drive: Sony 24X DVD burner LINK

Media Drive: Rosewill 40 in 1 LINK

PSU: Silverstone 850W Full Modular LINK

Case: Rosewill Challenger (wish I would have spent more and got a better case. Cable management is a challenge) LINK

Additional Fans:120mm side intake and two additional 70mm mounted in the empty 5.25 bays

Win 7 64 bit

Currently I'm only using 1 24" 1080p monitor. Plan on buying either 1 27" 120Hz or 2 more 24" 60Hz

Price total ~ 2000.00

Cables look better now, but not by much

 

[Deleted member 88227]

These types of threads never end well.

 

[BugginOuT]

Like you said, should have put more $$$ into a case w. better cable management.

 

[LigTasm]

0/10, terrible....




Just kidding, looks like a great machine, I would just get a better case with some cable management. And maybe this is just me being a nitpicker, but dear lord red and blue RAM sticks... that would drive me insane.

 

[silent-circuit]

...so, did you ask here before you built? Because I can see several places where money could've been better spent, but over all it's not terrible. Price total seems high for what you got, too. Are you in the US?

 

[jwimsett]

0/10, terrible....




Just kidding, looks like a great machine, I would just get a better case with some cable management. And maybe this is just me being a nitpicker, but dear lord red and blue RAM sticks... that would drive me insane.

Yes red and blue They were on sale (first blue was, then red)

...so, did you ask here before you built? Because I can see several places where money could've been better spent, but over all it's not terrible. Price total seems high for what you got, too. Are you in the US?

Yes in the US.Ordered mostly from Newegg and Amazon.

 

[silent-circuit]

The chokes on that PSU are miserable... and pretty much pointless. Make absolutely sure you're using the minimum of cables necessary and bundle them in the bottom portion of the case rather than up in the middle part like you appear to be now.

 

[jwimsett]

The chokes on that PSU are miserable... and pretty much pointless. Make absolutely sure you're using the minimum of cables necessary and bundle them in the bottom portion of the case rather than up in the middle part like you appear to be now.

Ok thanks for the tips. May I ask what the difference us between the bottom and middle? I put them up the middle to hopefully allow better air flow from the front intake.

Also, is it ok to use 1 power cable per GPU? Each GPU requires two 6 pin connections. My pci express power cables coming from the PSU have two 6 pin connectors in parallel. Is it ok to use one cable with two 6 pin connectors for each GPU? I wasn't sure how much power each GPU will pull vs the power rating per each pci express power cable. I used 4 cables to be safe.