New Build, need opinions

[Railz]

As I was looking for the best equipment for my build I came across this place. Finally a place to discuss anything computer related with intelligent people.

 

The last computer I built was 10 years ago and is probably in a retirment home being used for solitaire now. Any opinions or suggestions will be greatly appreciated. I am wanting a computer for gaming mainly, but want it ready to accept any programing that comes flying at us in the future as well. I am also wanting something with alot of room to upgrade, but something I will not have to upgrade for awhile.

 

 

Budget: Basicly unlimited, but I do not want to spend hundereds of extra dollars just for bragging rights.

 

Case: Custom, I have alot of experience designing and building so I would just like to build a custom case.

 

OS: Windows 7 Pro 64-bit

 

CPU: I7 2600k

 

Motherboard: Asus Maximus IV Extreme

 

Video Card: Sapphire 2gb HD 6950

next upgrade, get another and crossfire

 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X 8gb (2x4gb) DDR3 1600

next upgrade, get 2 more

 

Storage: OCZ RevoDrive 120GB Solid State Drive

I will run my OS on the SSD. I am not sure if a 1tb to 2tb hard drive, or two Velociraptor 600gb sata 6.0 in RAID0 would be better for running my games and other files or if the Velociraptors would just be wasted overkill.

 

PSU: Rosewill BRONZE Series RBR1000-M 1000W Continuous

I am not set on that, but it looked good for the price and seemed to get decent reviews. It may be a little overkill, but I do want room for upgrades.

 

CD Drive: I have no idea. I do not need a burner, only a player. I want it to be able to handle blue-ray, dvd, cd.

 

Monitor: I have a 32" 720p lcd T.V. Would this make a decent monitor? I upgraded my T.V. so this just sits around now.

 

 

I do plan to overclock (with help from this forum I am sure). The case I plan on building will have great airflow, but I do plan on water cooling (mainly due to boredom and a new experience). What are your opions on what I should water cool and what I should put fans and heatsinks on. I do not know alot about water cooling so any suggestions on pumps and radiators would be a nice bonus.

 

Any thoughs, opinions, suggestions and feedback will be greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you,

 

Railz

Edited March 11, 2011 by Railz

[Alexandre]

Welcome to OCC railz!

 

Great to see someone take time out to research and think about what they need to get rather than impulsively buying computer parts

 

It looks like you have yourself a very nice build! The CPU, motherboard and graphics card are all great choices and will last you quite a while into the future.

Did you know you can bios flash 2gb 6950's to perform like 6970s? It has some risks but if you want to find out more check out this article.

 

Case:

Check out OCC's Recommend Case List for ideas and be sure to post up pics of your case modding in the modding section of the forums! Cant wait to see what you get up to

 

RAM:

The RAM you chose is a great pick as well. Does that set run at 9-9-9-24 timings? You can upgrade later to 16 gbs but I am pretty sure you won't need that much RAM for the life of this build. Why? Well just because the rate at which games increase the usage of RAM over time is pretty slow and currently no standard application or game uses more than 4-5 gigs. Generally the reason people get more RAM is due to them needing to do some graphics rendering/designing or something similar where the more RAM the better - but since you're mainly gaming, 8 gb would be more than sufficient for your system.

 

SSD/Storage:

The OCZ RevoDrive 120GB Solid State Drive looks like a great PCIe SSD raid array. Just note that while your OS supports functions like TRIM and garbage collection, this SSD raid card won't be able to use either. This may have been a drawback a few years ago but not so much now days. The card still comes with 3 years warranty and a MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures) of 2,000,000 hours which is plenty. I keep hearing that OCZ is working on a fix for the TRIM/garbage collection issue but I haven't been able to find whether they have done so. Maybe someone can confirm this?

 

As for how you should use the SSD, generally people don't just store the OS onto the drive - they put their games and applications on it too. Any program that you will use regularly (ie a game) would greatly benefit being on the SSD and, given the drive's size, its usable 100 or so gbs will provide enough room for a good number of games/programs.

 

You can get Velociraptors as storage drives if you want, considering money is no object, but in my opinion, they will probably be a bit of an overkill and possibly a waste of your money.

I think you would be fine storing your data on any decent 1-2tb drives (I hear Samsung Spinpoint F3's are great drives) set up in some sort of raid.

 

PSU:

Your system with your CPU overclocked to 4.8 GHz (1.4 core voltage) 2 HDDs, 4 RAM sticks, two 6970s in crossfire (just in case your flash them to 6970s) will draw require about 820w with at least 60A on the combined +12 volt rails. The water cooling system will also add to the power required so a 900-1000w PSU will be a good pick.

In my experience, Rosewill aren't known to make good PSUs so I would probably look for a decent 1000w listed at OCC's Recommended Power Supply List

 

BluRay Player:

Getting a bluray player is a bit tricky because you need software in conjuction with the player to run HD BD ROMs. I know you said you don't need a bluray burner but since you're looking to future proof your build I would probably go for one anyway.

Here is a decent looking BD drive on newegg - one of the few that doesn't have too many bad reviews. It is not the cheapest however so be sure to check out a bunch before you come to a decision.

 

EDIT: If you're still wanting to get a player, this one looks half decent.

 

Monitor:

Being 720p, your screen will only support resolutions up to 1280x720 which will make your 6950 laugh. You can still use it fine but your card(s) won't really be working that hard at that resolution.

Since money is no object have you thought about putting together three 1920x1080 or 1920x 1200 monitors together for eyefinity? You might like such a setup

 

Sorry for the wall of text mate! Hope to hear from you soon

Edited March 12, 2011 by Alexandre

[Railz]

Alexandre,

 

Thank you for such an in depth reply. I have already taken your advice and done some more research in areas suggested and the information you gave is spot on and well above any response I expected.

 

Taking the advice you have given, and the research I have done this morning here is what I have now.

 

CPU: i7 2600k

 

Motherboard: Asus Maximus IV Extreme

 

Graphics: Sapphire 2gb HD 6950, thank you for the bios flash idea and link, I was not aware of that.

 

Case: still building my own, I am one having problems finding a front panel with a power switch and led lights. I have looked around using the custom mod store list here and have had no luck. I am thinking I may have to make my own. I did find a nice usb 3.0 panel though.

 

RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws X 8gb (2x4gb) DDR3 1600, this can be bought in 8-8-8-24 or 9-9-9-24. Would the 9-9-9-24 be better for this build?

 

SSD/Storage: OCZ RevoDrive 120GB Solid State Drive, Velociraptor SATA 6.0 600gb. I understand what you are saying about the Velociraptors being a waste of money, they are on Amazon right now for half price though. I will just get one for now unless someone strongly suggests against that idea. AS far as the SSD for games and applications that makes alot of sense. The reviews I have been reading about them have been from people with 60gb SSDs who do not have alot of room for anything more than the OS and a few applications.

 

PSU: Thank you for the great information once again. I took your advice and went through the list looking at the 1000w PSUs. I came across one that is not on the list but appearance wise would go perfect with my build. It is the Xion Lan-Party 1000w. I am having problems finding very many reviews on this. Any thoughts on this would be great. If it is not a good choice or will not work well with this build I will either be going with a 1000w Corsair or 1000w CoolerMAster, both seem to be very nice.

 

BluRay Player: Wow, you know what I need better than I do . I have looked at reviews on the top 3 and the one you suggested does appear to be the best, I still plan on doing some more research though. Thank you for the thoughts, you are correct. Why build a system like this and then limit it for future use.

 

Monitor: I am not sure now. I will probably go with a Samsung or LG. My wife told me to go ahead and build my dream setup and not to worry about money, but if I went three monitors you would probably only hear about me on the news after the police found my body. That would be a very nice upgrade in the future and something worth setting up for though. Maybe get a good monitor and have the 720p connected and mounted on the wall for monitoring preformance, as I use the actual monitor for gaming and everything else?

 

Once again I can not say it enough, thank you very much, and I hope to get your thoughts on the new build.

Edited March 12, 2011 by Railz

[Railz]

I told my wife what you said about monitors in eyefinity and here first response was "What is that?". I showed her some videos of it and now she eventually wants it to So now I need to make sure I am ready for that as well.

[Alexandre]

Looking great my friend!

 

RAM:

Given the fact that you will not find a noticeable performance difference between 8-8-8-24 and 9-9-9-24 timings, I would probably save money here and get the looser 9-9-9-24 kit.

 

Storage:

If the velociraptors are cheap then by all means go for it! They are the fastest spinning HDDs out so you will love them. Not as fast as that SSD card your thinking of getting but still great.

One will be fine for now unless you want to get another one (since they are cheap) and put it in RAID 0 for faster performance but slightly less stable storage (if one disk breaks you lose your information on both in a RAID 0 setup - hmm that's probably pretty vague so here's some info on RAID setups for a clarification and other options you may have )

 

EDIT: Found this great read which is an up-to-date discussion on which current HDDs/SSDs you could look at getting.

 

Power Supply:

I probably would not go for the Xion PSU for the following reasons:

 

1) Not many reviews on it which means that you don't know how well it performs

- While this doesn't necessarily mean it performs poorly, it also doesn't guarantee that it will perform well.

2) Only 1 year warranty

- this is a really short warranty period and since you want to future proof your build, I would look for at least 5 years warranty on your PSU.

3) Only 4 PCIe power connectors

- while this may not be a huge issue if you stick with 2 cards but if you want 3 cards sometime in the future you will want at least 6 PCIe connectors. The fact that this PSU has only 4 connectors is highly unusual for such a high wattage PSU.

4) They are relabeled PSUs made by the OEM named Superflower

- This company is generally not known to make decent power supplies and should generally be avoided.

 

Given the above, it would probably be better to go for the Corsair HX-1000. I know this is expensive but I must stress that if you want a good computer, which will last you a long time, the place where you will want to definitely NOT cut costs in on the PSU because the PSU affects every single computer component and choosing a bad one will inadvertently shorten the lifespan of all your hardware. You'll be better off spending a bit extra on a good PSU with a bigger warranty period and proven performance, then have to deal with replacing all your hardware in a year's time.

 

Monitor:

If you're looking for a 24" HD 1920x 1080 resolution monitor, then either one of these ASUS monitors are good choice: Asus VE248H or ASUS VW246H.

I have something very similar for my own screen (the ASUS VE246H) and absolutely love the screen quality - so glad I bought it.

But don't just take my word for it, look around at some reviews and some other screens and get a feel for what you need

 

Haha you are pretty lucky to have a wife who wants to get eyefinity! The setup is pretty awesome and I am sure you will both enjoy the extra screen space either side.

 

Overall, it looking great! Keep up the search for the right hardware

 

EDIT: Spelling + Grammar

Edited March 13, 2011 by Alexandre

[DanTheGamer11]

Looking great my friend!

 

wow alexandre you're on a helping spree today! too bad the vote thingy is gone

[Shurman292]

Some great info here, even for some of the more frugal people out there! I just wanted to add a couple thoughts.

 

PSU: I started with a Corsair 650 TX in my rig and moved up to an AX1200 when my dad's PSU gave out, and I gave him my 650. I fully support Corsair as a PSU maker and have had absolutely no regrets staying with them. Just as Alexandre said, you do NOT want to skimp on a PSU because it will be the foundation upon which your build is standing. Now, I'm not saying you should go out and get the best of everything, but the AX1200 may be something you want to consider. With a seven-year warranty and professional build quality it will probably be the last PSU you will ever need. If you do not purchase the AX1200, I still highly recommend staying with Corsair due to their reliability.

 

Also something to think about: 120hz monitors for HD3D by AMD. Since you want to future-proof your system, I would make sure that your monitors are not limited by their refresh rate.

 

Everything else in your system looks excellent! Good luck with your build!

[Alexandre]

wow alexandre you're on a helping spree today! too bad the vote thingy is gone

Haha yeah I like system builds Especially those where money is no object

 

Thanks for the encouragement Dan. I don't really care if I get nominated for anything - I'll be trying to help either way

[Railz]

After compiling all of the advice recieved, this is now what I am planning.

 

OS: Windows 7 Pro 64-bit

 

Processor: I7 2600

 

Motherboard: Asus Maximus IV Extreme

 

Graphics: Sapphire 2gb HD 6950

 

SDD/Storage: Thank you for the links, now I am going to wait for the OCZ Vertex 3 to come out soon and back it up with a 600gb velociraptor

 

RAM: RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws X 8gb (2x4gb) DDR3 1600 in 9-9-9-24 timing

 

PSU: Corsair HX-1000

 

Blue Ray: LG WH10LS30 10X Blu-ray Burner - LightScribe Support - Bulk - OEM I am only going LG because I truly trust thier products.

 

Monitor: LG 23” 1080p LED Backlit LCD Monitor Once again, only because I have had great experience with thier stuff.

 

Case: I needed to know what I was using before I could give dimensions but thanks to Alexandre here it is. I am going to be building a case that looks like what one would assume a U.F.O. looks like. It will be 26" wide, and 22" high. Looking at it from the top it will be perfectly round except part of the back that will be cut off. The part where the back is cut off will be for a mounting device, and an opening large enough to correctly use the motherboard and power supply(about a 16" wide opening, MB and PSU will be stacked with enough room for good airflow). Since it will be mounted on the back I will be putting a 200mm fan on the top, and on the bottom of it. That is about as much detail as I can get into, but I do plan on posting and updating my build here with pictures.

 

Thank you for all of the gread advice and help, especially you Alexandre

Edited March 13, 2011 by Railz

[Alexandre]

Processor: I7 2600

Just a quick question: You getting the i7 2600K or the i7 2600? The K version would be the best choice if you want to overclock in the future.

[Railz]

i7 2600k, sorry about that

 

Yes, I want to finally overclock an intel chip

[paulktreg]

Sorry to throw a spanner in the works but your system as it stands will struggle to pull 300W from the power supply and even crossfired 6970's will struggle to hit 500W.

 

Are you ever going to flash your graphics cards or even go crossfire?

 

Your system as it stands will idle at 125W or so and you won't get the best in terms of efficiency even from the HX1000W, you're down at 12.5% loading for which efficiency figures aren't usually quoted.

 

How often do you game or should I say really push the graphics card?

 

Fitting a power supply that is way over the top can actually start costing you more money in the long term on your utility bill so it's better to get it right from the start.