Your opinion about my new setup

S

stevenj

Weaksauce
Joined
Feb 19, 2005
Messages
120
Initially forget the budget without exaggeration. I currently have a monitor 120hz 23 "(AW 2310) and I eventually run three monitors. I am in 1920 x 1080 and I want this config is good for a few years to play the games and potential with max details . So I would appreciate your advice:
CPU: I7 930 (with H50)
MB: Asus Rampage Extreme III
MEMORY: Corsair Dominator 8-8-8-24 GT 3 x 2GB DDR3-2000 or Dominator 1600 8-8-8-24 (I am a little confused there for overclocking)
POWER: Corsair HX 850W or 1000W
VC: Asus 5970 or 5870
HDD: WD Caviar Black 1TB 64MB cache
SSD: 256GB Corsair Performance Series
SOUND CARD: Auzentech Auzen X-Fi Forte 7.1
CASE Thermaltake Level 10 (I know it is very expensive but I love its originality, it likes or dislikes)
OPTICAL DRIVE: LG 10x blue-ray
KEYBOARD: Logitech G15 or G19
MOUSE: Logitech MX518 or G500 (I love the MX518 that I currently)

So, I know it's a config rather expensive but I change the Pc 3-4 years.
 
If you're going all out like this AND are going to OC (and why wouldn't you with that setup!), get the faster RAM.
 
Oh, and the G500 is a great upgrade to the 518. However, if you're used to the footprint of the 518 and you don't need a new mouse, keep it. :)
 
If you want this to last 3-4 years (which is unlikely whatever you do) AND you want to drive three monitors then one 5870 will not be enough.
 
I'll begin by saying all your parts are very good choices. I have some opinions to offer, but not criticizing your choices.

I like the motherboard. With the memory, you'll want to look at the supported memory for the board, especially with Asus. I own an asus board myself, and if you want to get the listed speed, if has to be supported or you are taking a risk. I'm sure the dominator 1600 is supported (because it's been supported on all their other 1336 mobo's), but don't know about the 2000.
Corsair makes great powersupply, or I should say they supply great seasonic power supplies. However, I do prefer the silverstone strider plus for the 1000W range - it's modular, single rail, and very stable. That is definitely not a knock on the corsair though, as I said, they are find as well.
The main benefit of 1336 is the better crossfire. 5870 in crossfire is slightly more right now, but you could buy one now, and expand as time goes on. You won't go wrong with a 5970 though either.

The SSD I don't love though. It's alright, but for very close to the same price (less actually), you can get this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148349
I like corsair as much as the next person, but the sata III you get with your new board will work better with this one. Also, here's the bench on SSD's:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/SSD/65
For the size, the crucial is the top runner at the moment.
Owning a 5870, I can say it's a pain to run a single, non-eyefinity version on 3 monitors. That said, if you acquire your other monitors at the same time as a second card then cake. Obviously a 5970 will run them easily.
Everything else looks great to me. I'd like to see it when it is done.
 
thank you all for responding.
For the crucial ssd C300, I'm going for that one. Now, I want to know your opinion for some alternatives: It is also this motherboard Gigabyte GD X58A UD3R with noctua U12P interests me, And what do you think about G-SKILL RIPJAWS 16000 DDR3 3 x 2? And for the power supply, is 850 enough? If 5870 is not sufficient for 3 monitors, what should I take ? Sorry for the questions but it's a lot of money soI want to make the right choice

Thanks again
 
I like my X58A-UD3R. Takes a bit to get used to the i7 environment in the bios but it grows well on ya.
 
I personally went 1000w with a similar set up - there just not enough cushion with 850. Also power supplies are more efficient when there are used to their limit.
I personally went with two 5870's above a 5970. My reason was that the 5970 has a hard time even getting to 2 5870 specs, and also 5970's were practically nonexistant. That choice cost an extra $100 though. Also depends on when you buy those two monitors - with the 400 nvidia series out, prices are bound to get competitive soon.
Gigabyte makes some good boards, just going by the comparison of the two, they are pretty close. The main difference is that the asus board has 4 x16 pci.e slots vs the 2 gigabyte has (the gigabyte also has 2 x8) It is also $200 less, but I wonder why. They make a board with the exact same specs (the ud7) that cost $120 more, so I'm wondering what the ud3r is missing. If nothing, you can take that $200 saved and put it right into the gpu. Not sure if we're talking about the same board though:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128423 ?

Ripjaw is ok. I'm kind of picky when it comes to RAM with these x58's because they are so finicky. If I were getting G.skill ram, I'd be sorely tempted by this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231335

1.5 voltage (instead of the normal 1.65) means you get less heat and more oc room. cas 7, which is pretty darned good, the lowest you see is 6, and the price is nice.
 
Not bad, but I'd upgrade to SLI 480s or trifire the 5970 and 5870. Don't go single vid card with that setup.

Get the HX1000 at the very least.
 
Some updates, so what do you think
CPU: I7 930 (with H50)
MB: Gigabyte GD X58A UD3R
MEMORY: G-Skill DD3-1600 12800 CL6T 3 x 2gb
POWER: Corsair HX 1000W
VC: Asus 2 * 5870
HDD: WD Caviar Black 1TB 64MB cache * 2 (RAID 1)
SSD: 256GB Crucial C300
SOUND CARD: Auzentech Auzen X-Fi Forte 7.1
CASE Thermaltake Level 10
OPTICAL DRIVE: LG 10x blue-ray
KEYBOARD: Logitech G19
MOUSE: Logitech G500
For the PCU FANS: I hesitate between two models Corsair H50 and Noctua NH-U12P SE2
 
Are you really going to buy the level 10 case? It's freaking $800 and is nothing special... Get a different case and spend the extra $500 on either another SSD and upping your Asus 5870 to XFX.
 
Looks good. You should be very happy with that. I assume you picked out speakers for surround sound 7.1.
As for the H50 vs. Noctua - that's out of my arena. I don't air cool my comps, so I haven't kept up on the coolers, but I'm sure there are reviews and comparisons between the two. As far as I know, the H50 is a lightweight watercooler - so roughtly equal to a mid to high range air cooler. I've heard a lot of the owners say they are pleased with it though.
The memory, I'm not familiar with a 1600 Cas 6 that comes in 3x2gb. The trident is cl6t, but only comes in 3x1. And the PI is CL7T. Is it one not listed on newegg?

Aside from that, I'd like to see the rig when it's all done.
 
The 2000MHz ripjaws I think can go even further if you drop the latencies down to 10 and are already 2000MHz so that's pretty much set, the others are rated at 1600 stock.
 
Note - the speeds listed are the speeds they claim the ram can get to overclocked, not the stock speed. The stock speed will be 1066 for both. To get to the full number, you have to overclock it.
Now that's when things get tricky. The thing with the iCore chips is the memory controller is on the chip. You end up with two ramifications with that. One is that you aren't suppose to supply more then 1.65 volts to your ram. The other is that the voltage heats the chip.
The 1.65 cap can stop you from hitting the 2000 mark. I say that through sad experience. If the board doesn't support the ram, you don't get a guarantee it'll overclock that far. And you can't add extra voltage (it's not completely a hard cap, but you'll lose RMA capability if something goes wrong) even if you're willing to burn your ram because it'll burn your chip insead.
The low voltage ram will also let you overclock your processor higher because it won't add as much heat.
However, 2000MHz is noticeable in my opinion. What I would do is see if you can find out the board's supported ram. A lot of times they have it right on the website. If you see the 2000MHz on that list, i'd go that way. If it isn't supported, I'd probably go with the PI memory. The other nice thing about low voltage ram is you can probably oc it a step or two above it's rating.
 
just popped in a 930 on my new system which has the asus rampage 3 and a H50. Hit 4Ghz in one try and running solid as a rock, definitely recommend the board and cooling. I am running the Gskill tridents many have mentioned and it is top notch stuff that Gskill takes great pride in. If your ram doesnt hit 2000mhz they will rma for you no questions asked
 
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Sorry but I have to say it. You are getting the best of the best. So get a i7 980X!
 
I went to see the Thermaltake level 10 and I'm not sure now than I want this case. then I'll have to make a choice for another case. For the moment I don't know which one. Currently I have a TJ07 but I want a well ventilated case and where you can hide the cables. Have you any suggestions ?
 
FRZ said:
I am running the Gskill tridents many have mentioned and it is top notch stuff that Gskill takes great pride in. If your ram doesnt hit 2000mhz they will rma for you no questions asked
Click to expand...

That's pretty much it, if a RAM is rated at 2000MHz, it's not 'stock' as such, it's just been tested and rated to be able to run at that speed. Obviously will need to clock it to it, but you're near sorted, if not, most brands will rma.
As for 1600MHz stuff, you'll have to read reviews and see how they overclock, if you get a set that can't go further than say 1650 in comparison to a review, then you cant really do anything as they are advertised as 1600MHz.
 
Get a megahalems. The H50 is not enough for a 4ghz overclock. I bought a megahalems for my computer and Im so impressed by the cooling, ease of installation, quality, and if you want to take it off it's easy too. Can't say enough good about them. I bought a second one for my wife's computer.
 
I think the level 10 and the motherbaord are inconsistent. With the level 10 you're going for style, and not so much for performance. Someone correct me if I'm wrong please, but looking on the cooling set up with the level 10 I think temps are not going to be good, and I'm not even sure the traditional tower style TRUE or Noctua HS would work well there. Most of the features on the Asus R3E are beyond the scope of what the case is capable of supporting, so buy a cheaper motherboard or a different case, I say.

HX850 will be noisy, hope that's not a problem. Otherwise it may be the best PSU on the market. I recommend one made by Seasonic is noise is at all a concern. Many of Corsairs cheaper models are Seasonics, but Seasonic sells a power supply at the 800 level directly, I believe.

Don't listen to the people saying that you need to get the HX1000. It's way more than you need, and not as efficient. To need the HX1000 you'd have to have three ATI cards and overclocking going.

At 1080P there are about 4 games on the market that will drop below 60 FPS with an i7 & 5870: Crysis, Metro, GTA IV, and perhaps one other.

I'd go with the G-15 and G500, personally.

take a look at the G.Skill ram too.

Have fun.
 
Picking up some watercooling gear for your Temjin and you're in business! Otherwise...

Good cases right now: FT02 is another great Silverstone case. 800D is best case ever for hiding cables. Also check out the new HAF X. Fun cases you might consider if you're interrested in the Level 10: ABS Canyon/Lian Li Tyr (same case) or the Thermaltake Mozart TX.

Don't stress too much about RAM speed. It makes almost no difference in games. The key thing is that faster RAM allows stable additional overclocking of the CPU in some circumstances. Don't take my word for it, google some benchmarks.
 
Thanks for your answer
UPDATES For my next PC:
CPU: I7 930 (with MEGAHALEMS)
MB: Asus Rampage Extreme III
MEMORY: G.SKILL PC16000 Trident 3 * 2 gb
POWER: Corsair HX 850W
VC: Sapphire 5870
HDD: 2 WD Caviar Black 1TB 64MB cache (RAID 1)
SSD: 256GB Corsair Performance Series or Crucial C300
SOUND CARD: Auzentech Auzen X-Fi Forte 7.1
CASE I don't know again...but OBSEDIAN is one of my choices
OPTICAL DRIVE: LG 10x blue-ray
KEYBOARD: Logitech G15
MOUSE: Logitech G500

For megahalems, what are the fans that I should buy ?
 
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