New system build help/critiques

[tdksp84]

Been a while since I put something together and would like some help/critiques on what I have so far.

 

This is where I am heading. I use a graphics heavy modeling program and mess around with a bunch of different games. Also, I am looking at hooking up 4 monitors in the 22 inch size.

 

 

Intel CPU - Is 980X worth it or should I look at something else in their line?

 

ASUS Rampage III Extreme LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

CORSAIR Professional Series AX1200 1200W ATX12V v2.31 / EPS12V v2.92 SLI Certified 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active

COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive (x2)

 

Crucial RealSSD C300 CTFDDAC256MAG-1G1 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

 

CORSAIR DOMINATOR 12GB (6 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMD12GX3M6A1600C8

CORSAIR Hydro H70 CWCH70 120mm High Performance CPU Cooler

 

Graphics Cards - xxxx

 

I guess it boils down to these questions:

 

CPU - xxx

Crucial SSD - Should I downgrade to a 128GB and use one or two? These will be OS, probably set up RAID 0?

Graphics card - XFX 5970 Black Edition, I like what I have read on these cards???

Critiques on what I have so.

What am I missing?

 

Thanks in advance for any thought, comments, etc.

Edited November 28, 2010 by tdksp84

[Kaikai]

for i7-980x..to me 980x is a little bit expensive. But since youre going to spend lots of money on this system anyways plus it seems youre going for end gaming, i'd say go for it.

for SSD, raid0 or not, i dont think it really matters, you should get another 1 or 2 reg.HDDs for storage. and only install the system and other major software on the SSD such as MS Office, and put other storage data in the reg.HDDs, it's be nice to set them up as RAID0. and a 128GB SSD will be big enough.

video card...im a big NV guy. I'd go with ASUS ENGTX580 x2 for SLI.

we have pretty much the same build. except: the RAM i picked CorsairCMT12GX3M6A1866C9 , case NZXT Phantom, and a sound card from Creative Labs SB0880 Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium.

one last thing...Corsair H70 is very very loud. If you get that cooling system, i'd recommend you to replace the 120mm fans that come with it.

[wevsspot]

TDK - IMHO the i7 980x is a waste of good dollars that could be put to use else where.

 

I'd be looking at the i7 950 with an eye on overclocking that puppy to about 3.6 - 3.8Ghz for 24/7 use.

 

Performance scaling on twin SSD drives in a RAID0 array is pretty outstanding, but you lose TRIM ability - which may make that a no-go for many folks. TRIM is important for helping to keep your SSD in top notch write performance condition. TRIM allows the SSD to collect and delete garbage without having to completely wipe the drive.

 

Accordingly, if you decide to go with SSD I'd recommend a single larger drive, instead of two smaller drives in RAID.

 

Based on your hardware wish list you've kind of overkilled the power supply. A Corsair 950TX or 950HX would be more than adequate - but it's your money

 

The Samsung Spinpoints are nice drives, but I always use WD Black Edition Drives for my critical storage needs - just my personal preference based on experience.......................

 

Video card choice is solid, but a lot of this decision should come down to what resolution you game at and how much eye candy, AA/AF you want to use. These days it's easy to overkill in the v/c department too, especially if you're running anything less than a 1920x1200 resolution.

 

The Corsair H70 is a decent "all in one" solution - but for a little bit more money you could put yourself together a really nice water loop and eliminate the noise problem....................

 

Other than that, you've got a great looking build coming together. Good luck and keep us posted.

[MercuryDoun]

CPU- If you got the dough it doesnt get any better than the 980x right now. So if you can do it, go for it. Thats about as future proof as a system as you will get. But a overclocked i7-950 would do great for several years, but ill be honest, if i had the money to spare, id totally buy a 980x.

 

Mem- Meh, if you really want 12gb of ram, id get 3x4gb sticks. That leaves you open to easy upgrades in the future(upto 24gb if thats your thing, or its every needed), and its alot easier on your northbridge in regards to over clocking. Get something with the lowest latencies that you can find. Perferably DDR3 1600+. If you find a good option in the DDR3-2000 range with higher latencies, usually by running the run much slower than its stock, you can significantly tighten the timings.

 

SSD- That Crucial Sata III SSD is pretty awesome, But i dont understand the desire to raid... If you really want to do the raid thing, thats fine. But i dont think you going to see any real performance increase, they thing is already so fast its not even funny. I think one 256gb would be fine for now. Maybe next year you decide to get another and raid them together for more storage??

 

GPU- The XFX black edition 4gb 5970, is still one of the single most powerful cards on the market(sapphires 4gb model is competitive with it) HOWEVER nVidia's new GTX580... a single 580 is almost as good as the dual gpu 5970, and even beats it in some games/benchmarks/resolutions. If your going fora truly high end system. Go with two of the GTX580's in SLI. With the option to add a third some other time. Thats about as amazing a System as is conceivable right now. If you can, get the Asus voltage unclocked GTX580, better overclocking FTW. Also, two GTX580's would only be roughly the same price as that 4gb 5970, and the 580's in SLI would tototally dominate that 5970, 4gb version or not.

 

HSF- The H70, truthfully, isnt that great, your getting a nice big case, you can fit a Noctua NH-D14 no problem, or a Prolimatech Megahalems, with the NH-D14 being slightly better. Id go with either of those coolers instead, they are better than the H70 and actually cheaper. However, with the NH-D14 and to some degree the Megahalems will have some Memory clearance issues. You may need to pick ram with low profile heatsinks such as these here. Mushkin is a great company and wont let you down, however this suggestion goes against my comments earlier about going with 4gb sticks instead of 2gb, but if you want the best cooler its necessary. Also you might be able to find some of their 3x4gb kits on mushkins website, Just make sure whatever it is, has the frostbyte heatsink set, thats the one thats very low profile, and effective.

 

You appear to have a solid looking build here sir, and for that i am highly jealous. And just because, Have you given any thought to using this new~ish 600gb 10kRPM Raptors drives for data/games drives? Its no SSD, but it a heck of alot faster than standard 7200rpm drives. Right now new-egg has the 300gb models on sale for only $100 which is an absolutely amazing price on them. But you'd need a ton of these to reach the storage you wanted with the 2x 1tb's. Just a thought since you appear to be going all out on this rig, i hope it lasts many many years for you!

Edited November 30, 2010 by MercuryDoun

[TerryC]

RIIIE is a great motherboard but I think it costs too much for what it has to offer, I'd go with a MSI Big Bang X-power.

 

i7-980x is very expensive and will suffer from the tickle down effect sooner or later and end up in quad cores price point therefor I'd go with a i7-920-950 and upgrade if necessary later on.

 

If you really need 12gb of ram grab a 3*4gb kit G.Skills or equivalent. Determine how much ram you're going to need, I think 6gb 1600-2000Mhz 6-7 CAS latency is perfect for gaming nowadays and is very affordable.

 

That hard drive is great however I spotted a equivalent Seagate barracuda on Newegg 20$ cheaper.

 

That SSD is great however I'd go with OCZ Vertex 2, you'll loose in the read department but get a significant gain on the write speed and they're cheaper as well.

 

The H70 would be great with a pair of ultra quiet Noctua or gentle typhoon fans.

 

The 5970 is an amazing video card however they're getting old and you should probably go with two-tri SLI GTX580 or wait for AMD's 6900 series.

 

Good luck.

[tdksp84]

Thanks everyone for the comments. I have been doing more digging and think the I7 950 may give me pretty good bang for the buck and save me about $600- 700 in the process. I am buying this piecemeal as deals come up and found the I7 950 for $200 at microcenter and am going to see if my brother will wander down and get it for me.

 

I really appreciate the comments on the H70 and the memory. I was thinking about the NH-D14. I think I may bag the SSD RAID 0 and stick with one.

 

I have been stuck on the Radeon and didn't really give NVIDIA a thought, but I like the sound of it. I did like the Eyefinity on the XFX card, but I assume that I can get something like that from NVIDIA possibly. I am an electrical engineer so I like power, hence the 1200... lol.

 

Well, I am going back to the drawing board and re-thinking some of the items I have on my list and will keep you all updated. Photos too when I get moving forward with everything.

 

Thanks again,

 

tdk

[MercuryDoun]

Thanks everyone for the comments. I have been doing more digging and think the I7 950 may give me pretty good bang for the buck and save me about $600- 700 in the process. I am buying this piecemeal as deals come up and found the I7 950 for $200 at microcenter and am going to see if my brother will wander down and get it for me.

 

I really appreciate the comments on the H70 and the memory. I was thinking about the NH-D14. I think I may bag the SSD RAID 0 and stick with one.

 

I have been stuck on the Radeon and didn't really give NVIDIA a thought, but I like the sound of it. I did like the Eyefinity on the XFX card, but I assume that I can get something like that from NVIDIA possibly. I am an electrical engineer so I like power, hence the 1200... lol.

 

Well, I am going back to the drawing board and re-thinking some of the items I have on my list and will keep you all updated. Photos too when I get moving forward with everything.

 

Thanks again,

 

tdk

 

Sweeeet, sounds good man. Just dont forget what i said about the need for low profile RAM with the NH-D14, that thing is MASSIVE! Sounds like you have an interesting build coming up real soon.

 

If you got time to spare. The AMD Radeon 69xx series is coming out soon, Should atleast give the gtx580 a run for its money, if not AMD's in trouble, lol, so they better. So if this build isnt a big rush project id say wait for the 69xx series to launch, and find out whats going to be better. the GTX580, or HD6970, The new dual-gpu Radeon will be the 6990, so you could potentially look into that as well. But i think thats coming out after the 6970 and 6950, so more waiting if thats the case. Im looking to upgrade from my 5770 to either the HD6970(MAAAYBE a HD6990 if the price is right) or GTX580, whichever one turns out to be the better deal/card in the end. Ive always been a die hard AMD/ATI fan, and for the first time in a long time i considering going back nVidia just because of the fantastic offerings they have now, but im still going to wait and see what the 69xx series has to offer first.

[dihartnell]

Sweeeet, sounds good man. Just dont forget what i said about the need for low profile RAM with the NH-D14, that thing is MASSIVE!

 

+1 Theres only 44mm clearance and in all likelihood it will block the first 2-3 RAM slots. My DOM GTs only fit when I take of the top cooling fins but thats not an option for a lot of taller RAM modules. That being said the NH-D14 is a really great CPU cooler.

[tdksp84]

Sweeeet, sounds good man. Just dont forget what i said about the need for low profile RAM with the NH-D14, that thing is MASSIVE! Sounds like you have an interesting build coming up real soon.

 

If you got time to spare. The AMD Radeon 69xx series is coming out soon, Should atleast give the gtx580 a run for its money, if not AMD's in trouble, lol, so they better. So if this build isnt a big rush project id say wait for the 69xx series to launch, and find out whats going to be better. the GTX580, or HD6970, The new dual-gpu Radeon will be the 6990, so you could potentially look into that as well. But i think thats coming out after the 6970 and 6950, so more waiting if thats the case. Im looking to upgrade from my 5770 to either the HD6970(MAAAYBE a HD6990 if the price is right) or GTX580, whichever one turns out to be the better deal/card in the end. Ive always been a die hard AMD/ATI fan, and for the first time in a long time i considering going back nVidia just because of the fantastic offerings they have now, but im still going to wait and see what the 69xx series has to offer first.

 

I have the time to spare, so I will look into the Radeon 69xx series (whenever that comes out, hopefull soon) and the GTX 580. The only real need that I have is to be able to run 4 monitors when I am not gaming. I really liked the XFX EyeFinity as well. I will head to the 3x4GB Mushkin frostbyte mem, so I think that may help with the NH-D14 size. That seems to be the non water cooler of choice, now that I am looking at it. Plus, it is about $30 cheaper too. I am picking up the parts and pieces as I go and when I see a good deal, sale, MIR, etc. The I7 950 for $200 looks like a great deal and that is next on the list. Seems like I have seen Mushkin 3x4gb blackline for around $200 as well, but I can't seem to find the website I was on.

 

Everyone has given me new avenues to explore and I thank you all for that. I thought I may have gotten lost in the Turkey day shuffle as no one replied until today and now I have all of this homework.! lol

[MercuryDoun]

I have the time to spare, so I will look into the Radeon 69xx series (whenever that comes out, hopefull soon) and the GTX 580. The only real need that I have is to be able to run 4 monitors when I am not gaming. I really liked the XFX EyeFinity as well. I will head to the 3x4GB Mushkin frostbyte mem, so I think that may help with the NH-D14 size. That seems to be the non water cooler of choice, now that I am looking at it. Plus, it is about $30 cheaper too. I am picking up the parts and pieces as I go and when I see a good deal, sale, MIR, etc. The I7 950 for $200 looks like a great deal and that is next on the list. Seems like I have seen Mushkin 3x4gb blackline for around $200 as well, but I can't seem to find the website I was on.

 

Everyone has given me new avenues to explore and I thank you all for that. I thought I may have gotten lost in the Turkey day shuffle as no one replied until today and now I have all of this homework.! lol

 

 

Well its not XFX EyeFinity, its ATI/AMD EyeFinity, any of the middle/high-end 5 & 6 series Radeons are capable of EyeFinity. And its not going away with the 69xx series. So thats definitely still a great option for you. Umm... pretty sure if you use 2x gtx580's you will be able to use upto 4 monitors... As far as ive seen both EyeFinity and nVidia Surround are best with 3 or 6 monitors. But i think if you only played games on one monitor, or stayed to 3 with the games it would work alot better. The benefit of using 3 monitors in EyeFinity, is it puts the center of your screen on the middle monitor. Thus important things such as your main field of vision and your cross hair are also centered on this monitor.

 

Either way they both have decent options for Mutli Monitor setups. Only difference is, ATI/AMD can do it with just one card. nVidia needs 2 cards. But your probably going to be buying two anyways, so heh. No problem i guess.

 

You should be able to find what you need on Mushkin's website, they sell direct. Im a avid fan of mushkin which is why i recommend them. But you dont have to do with them either, just find something with a similarly low profile heatsink in the memory. Id still recommend Mushkin though! Good quality American made Memory.

[camaro_dude15]

Well its not XFX EyeFinity, its ATI/AMD EyeFinity, any of the middle/high-end 5 & 6 series Radeons are capable of EyeFinity. And its not going away with the 69xx series. So thats definitely still a great option for you. Umm... pretty sure if you use 2x gtx580's you will be able to use upto 4 monitors... As far as ive seen both EyeFinity and nVidia Surround are best with 3 or 6 monitors. But i think if you only played games on one monitor, or stayed to 3 with the games it would work alot better. The benefit of using 3 monitors in EyeFinity, is it puts the center of your screen on the middle monitor. Thus important things such as your main field of vision and your cross hair are also centered on this monitor.

 

Either way they both have decent options for Mutli Monitor setups. Only difference is, ATI/AMD can do it with just one card. nVidia needs 2 cards. But your probably going to be buying two anyways, so heh. No problem i guess.

 

You should be able to find what you need on Mushkin's website, they sell direct. Im a avid fan of mushkin which is why i recommend them. But you dont have to do with them either, just find something with a similarly low profile heatsink in the memory. Id still recommend Mushkin though! Good quality American made Memory.

 

 

are just saying all this because you won the mushkin contest, lol, great build by the way +1 on the mushkin mem and the gtx 580's, cant wait to see pictures of it all set up with massive desktop space

[MercuryDoun]

are just saying all this because you won the mushkin contest, lol, great build by the way +1 on the mushkin mem and the gtx 580's, cant wait to see pictures of it all set up with massive desktop space

 

My fan-isms of Mushkin has nothing to do with winning that Mushkin Power Supply.

 

I've been using Mushkin Ram for alittle over a year now in 5 or 6 builds... its always not only been the lowest price, but possibly the highest quality. The ram i have in my current i7 rig is absolutely amazing, and over clocks like a champ! I havent had a single dead stick of ram yet out of about 20 or so, which is more than i can say for OCZ ram, i got 4 bad sticks out of 10 in 3 different builds... And every set of Mushkin Ram ive gotten have always been good over clockers too! Why Pay more for Corsair or G.Skill for the same if not better quality stuff? Especially if it fits your needs regarding low profile heat sinks.