Recommendations for a new build

[CyberKP4]

I'm just now getting back into the PC gaming world. I've been using a mac for all my photo editing needs, but I'm tired of their crap and I'm ready to come back.

I'd like to eventually do a three screen setup but I have to have a monitor that has an IPS panel for color correctness. The new LG 29" ultrawide has sparked my attention for a single monitor.

Currently I'm using a Dell 27" ultrasharp.
Here is the build sheet.
MOBO: ASUS P8Z77-V Premium
CPU: Intel 3770K
RAM 32GB G-Skill Trident X
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100
Case: Corsair 800D
Boot Drive: Mercury Accelsior 480gb PCI-e SSD
PSU: Corsair AX1200i

I want to be able to throw in a game and not have to worry about playing with the settings. I want to be able to max it out. Originally I've been wanting to do a GTX690 and be done with it. But my bank account is starting to run dry to fork out another 1100 for a card. So I'll most likely be running off the intel igpu for a month until I can save up.

I've thought about going with an SLI setup, but I'm not sure which. This would let me buy one now and other down the road. I might even end up being happy with the one. I know a lot of people use duel GTX680s, but they take up three pci slots, right? I have to at least keep one PCI free for my HD, and I'd like to have room for another.

What do you recommend. Save up for the GTX690 or get another good card with the intention of getting another for an SLI setup later?

 

[Jorona]

Well, unless you're going to be running two 690s in the future, your PSU is massive overkill.

So basically what I'm saying is save up for the GTX690 and then get another for quad SLi later. Then you'll atleast be taxing that PSU.

 

[Butter]

For piece of mind, go with one 690. For value, go with 2 670 or 7970. Personal preference on which one you like. Judging on the poll, 670s.

 

[DejaWiz]

Go all out...690.

 

[IdiotInCharge]

Overkill across the board- and the GTX690, while being an amazing card, is limited by it's 2GB/GPU setup (which never made sense to me).

A pair of EVGA GTX670 FTW 4GB cards. Quiet, cool, fast, expandable.

Your PSU is good for four GPUs. If you don't need four, subtract 500W, and you're still overdoing it. Get the AX650 and save some.

Your motherboard is just too much- unless you're trying to hit >5GHz on Ivy, and by the sound of it you want to do real work thus ruling out extreme overclocking. I understand the H100, but it's louder than the equally performing H80 on Low, and the H80 is more versatile. So:
-Cut the motherboard down to a basic Asus that supports 8x/8x on the PCIe bus. Any more is wasting your budget for the hell of it.
-Drop to an H80 and get a quieter system (the savings is negligible)
-Consider a smaller enclosure, possibly Fractal Design's Define R4, which is like a shrunk 800D with added sound dampening material. There are others, but it's one of the best, and it's inexpensive for what you're getting.

The PCIe SSD? You know that Intel 7-series support Trim over RAID right? You'll get the same read-write speeds at a lower cost; hell, you could probably just get more capacity at the same price.

 

[IdiotInCharge]

Also, don't take my post as a negative critique- I'm just suggesting you reorganize your budget.

You'll get that i7-3770k up to about 4.6GHz before you have to start pumping real voltage into it, which exponentially increases the power draw, and more importantly the heat output. That makes it harder to cool and your system louder, assuming the cooler has to increase fan speeds resulting in a noise increase over ambient.

Given that, unless a higher-end board has features that you will use, there's little reason to put your budget there. Put it in things that will be useful, like GPUs, backup hard drives (internal and external), and good external peripherals like a high-resolution mouse, slick mouse-pad, and a nice mechanical keyboard.

 

[schmuckley]

I voted for 7970s.cuz they oc good..and have more vram..more raw powah!
Wow..that ssd drive is smokin! http://www.thinkcomputers.org/owc-mercury-accelsior-480gb-pci-e-solid-state-drive-review/5/
tbh..It seems you have a pretty hefty budget..and want max performance..Y U no go 2011 with 3930K? moar threads.. 6-core Intel

 

[CyberKP4]

Well, unless you're going to be running two 690s in the future, your PSU is massive overkill.

So basically what I'm saying is save up for the GTX690 and then get another for quad SLi later. Then you'll atleast be taxing that PSU.

I probably approached the PSU incorrectly. My thought process was that it would work half as hard to do the same work and I would always have room to upgrade in the future. I already ordered the AX1200i, but I might be able to return it for a swap.

For piece of mind, go with one 690. For value, go with 2 670 or 7970. Personal preference on which one you like. Judging on the poll, 670s.

Overkill across the board- and the GTX690, while being an amazing card, is limited by it's 2GB/GPU setup (which never made sense to me).

A pair of EVGA GTX670 FTW 4GB cards. Quiet, cool, fast, expandable.

Your PSU is good for four GPUs. If you don't need four, subtract 500W, and you're still overdoing it. Get the AX650 and save some.

Your motherboard is just too much- unless you're trying to hit >5GHz on Ivy, and by the sound of it you want to do real work thus ruling out extreme overclocking. I understand the H100, but it's louder than the equally performing H80 on Low, and the H80 is more versatile. So:
-Cut the motherboard down to a basic Asus that supports 8x/8x on the PCIe bus. Any more is wasting your budget for the hell of it.
-Drop to an H80 and get a quieter system (the savings is negligible)
-Consider a smaller enclosure, possibly Fractal Design's Define R4, which is like a shrunk 800D with added sound dampening material. There are others, but it's one of the best, and it's inexpensive for what you're getting.

The PCIe SSD? You know that Intel 7-series support Trim over RAID right? You'll get the same read-write speeds at a lower cost; hell, you could probably just get more capacity at the same price.

A lot of good info here. I got the MOBO for a few reasons. One if for all the I/Os. It's one of the handful of computers with Thunderbolt. It's got the 4 6gb/s SATA ports with a RAID controller. For my photography work, I plan on using those to run a RAID10 set up with Western Digital Red drives. And it had some features built in that I would have paid to add later anyways.

I'm already up in the air about the H100, but it seems like a simple option for water cooling. I was hoping it would be a quiet one without having a huge fan assembly attached to the board. I did get some quiet edition static pressure fans to swap for the included ones. I'm only going to go for around 4.2-4.4 Ghz on the processor.

I'm coming from the Mac world, so I still need to do some reading on TRIM. I had great experience in the past with OWC and I've seen a lot of good reviews on the SSD drive. I haven't purchased this yet so I'm definitely open to suggestions. Honestly, I just want a solid performing main drive that's around the 400-500 gb range. I've thought about even just getting an ADATA mSATA SSD for the slot on the board or the Crucial M4 version.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211664

I know the 800D is massive and really made for custom water cooled setups, but my last case just felt to dang cramped and I wanted something with a ton of expandable options.

Also, don't take my post as a negative critique- I'm just suggesting you reorganize your budget.

You'll get that i7-3770k up to about 4.6GHz before you have to start pumping real voltage into it, which exponentially increases the power draw, and more importantly the heat output. That makes it harder to cool and your system louder, assuming the cooler has to increase fan speeds resulting in a noise increase over ambient.

Given that, unless a higher-end board has features that you will use, there's little reason to put your budget there. Put it in things that will be useful, like GPUs, backup hard drives (internal and external), and good external peripherals like a high-resolution mouse, slick mouse-pad, and a nice mechanical keyboard.

Critique away! I've been overthinking the hell out of everything and I love getting new perspectives.

I definitely need a new direction with my peripherals. I've got a Logitech G110 and Performance MX mouse.

I voted for 7970s.cuz they oc good..and have more vram..more raw powah!
Wow..that ssd drive is smokin! http://www.thinkcomputers.org/owc-mercury-accelsior-480gb-pci-e-solid-state-drive-review/5/
tbh..It seems you have a pretty hefty budget..and want max performance..Y U no go 2011 with 3930K? moar threads.. 6-core Intel

I went back and forth with the 3930k but in the end I wanted to go ahead and build a system setup for an IVY bridge. That way in a year or so when the e version comes out I can just swap the processor .

If I can return the PSU for a AX750 and find a cheaper option for my boot drive, then I could go ahead and get the GTX690.

Would that PSU have any problems with the setup described above along with 4 disk drives, two optical drives, and an SSD drive or two?

 

[DejaWiz]

You won't be able to swap an IB-E onto an 1155 MoBo. IB-E is only for LGA 2011 MoBos.

 

[Tsumi]

AX 750 will have no trouble powering any of the options you laid out above.

IB-E is LGA2011 only. If you wanted to upgrade to IB-E, you should have gone with the 3930k.

Why do you need to use third party SATA6 controllers for Western Digital Red drives? The native Intel SATA3 controllers would probably be just as fast, if not faster. Plus, there is no mechanical hard drive that can max out a SATA3 interface, only SSDs are capable of that.

What other built in features did you need?

The MSI Z77A-GD80, Asus P8Z77-V Pro/Thunderbolt, and Gigabyte Z77X-UP5 all have Thunderbolt, and are about $200 cheaper than that Premium board.

 

[Ali Man]

My vote was two 670's in SLi, best bang for the buck.

 

[KickAssCop]

2 670s in SLI. That's what I have.

 

[jhatfie]

2x7950's would be great performance once OC'd offering fantastic bang/buck. 7950 clock for clock is barely slower than a 7970. I'd personally do two XFX Double D 7950's for $289/each. Sell the 2 free copies of Sleeping Dogs and for about $550 total investment have a sick crossfire setup once I OC'd them to around 1100mhz.