PC Build help please?

[EricakaDarvin]

Hello everyone! I am building a new pc (for extreme gaming & video editing) and I was wondering two things- 1. Can any of you suggest a motherboard for this build in the price range of 100-150 or so? There is a possibility that I will put in 2 GPU's in the future. 2. If I will be overclocking my CPU, should I get a third party cooler? And if so, a regular heat sink or liquid cooling? Thanks very much in advance!



Parts- Specifics- Site- Price

Chassis- Cooler Master HAF-X 942- Walmart-166
Processor- Intel Core i7-3770k Quad Core 3.50GHz- Amazon- 310
RAM- Corsair Vengeance Blue 16GB 1600mhz- Newegg- 90
Power Supply- Coolmax 700W 120mm Blue LED fan- Amazon- 55
Hard Drive- Hitachi Deskstar 2TB 7200RPM 32MB Cache- Amazon-129
Optical Drive- Samsung Model SH-222BB/RSBS- Newegg-17
Video Card- Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 2GD- Amazon-399
OS- Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit- Amazon-90

---------- Post added 2012-08-14 at 04:50 AM ----------

Also, should I buy a seperate network card or is the one on the motherboard sufficient?

[Deleted]

First, how much video editing are we talking? You will only knock a few minutes off long renders with a 3770 over a 3570.

1. ASUS P8Z77-V LK or ASRock Z77 Extreme4
2. Yes, a tower heatsink is probably your best bet. Going for a closed liquid cooler is a bit gimmicky.
3. No, the motherboard Gigabit Ethernet port is sufficient.

As for your build:
- I'd look away from the HAF X personally. Not at all a big fan of that case. Instead I would look at the Fractal Design Arc and Define R4, Antec P280, Corsair 650D, 500R and 600T.
- Again, look at benches between the 3570k and the 3770k before you make your purchase. Is HT really worth it for you?
- Make sure it's Low Profile (LP) RAM for clearance when it comes to tower heatsinks.
- Big no to that PSU. 700W is too much, Coolmax sounds mediocre (no clue who the OEM is). $55 for 700W screams cheap and crap.
- Throw in a 128GB SSD; Samsung 830.
- I would get a Western Digital Caviar Black > Samsung Spinpoint F3 > Seagate Barracuda > Hitachi Deskstar, but that's just me.

[EricakaDarvin]

Thank you very much! I'm already making changes to my build, now I'm going to use 3570 for my CPU, as rock z77 extreme4 for the motherboard. I have 2 more questions though. What benifits will the SSD bring for me and about how many watts do i need for my PSU? Thanks again

[Butler to Baby Sloths]

A good 500-600W PSU will be more than plenty.

Something along the lines of:

Corsair:
TX M v2 650W
HX 650
AX 650

Seasonic:
M12 ii 520 or 620W

Antec
HPG 550 or 650W
Earthwatts 550 or 650W

They are all pretty much based on Seasonic units, Corsair usually gives an awesome warranty and very fast RMA (oftentimes only opening the box to make sure which model they need to send you)

SSD's let your PC boot in ten seconds and your loading times for programs almost disappear. I can boot my computer and be tanking in WoW LFG in the time it takes somebody without an SSD to boot their computer and load the desktop. Recommended models are Crucial M4 and Samsung 830 in the 128GB or 256GB capacities.

[EricakaDarvin]

Wow, that seems really nice! Thank you very much!

[Deleted]

1. SSD will bring faster boot and loading times. It's also superior as a cache or scratch disk, albeit I'd recommend using a RAM disk primarily for the job.
2. For a single 670 you can go with a 400-450W. Realistically you should go for a ~500W, just to give you headroom when upgrading. If you want to run SLI, you can actually survive with ~500W, but few PSUs of that caliber has 4x6+2pin PCI-E connectors; you need to jump up to 600W+ I believe.

[Butler to Baby Sloths]

You'll really be scraping the limits of a 500W PSU with two graphics cards. Not only this:

few PSUs of that caliber has 4x6+2pin PCI-E connectors;

but also the fact that many "budget" or sub-500W PSUs simply lack the power through the 12V connectors to run two graphics cards.

[Deleted]

You'll really be scraping the limits of a 500W PSU with two graphics cards.

Not really.
http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforc...y-sli-review/4

433W full stress system power consumption with 2 GTX 670 in SLI.

Not saying you should get a 500W PSU for SLI, but the computer won't consume that much power realistically. The only reason for one to get a PSU with higher wattage is for the proper connectors.

[EricakaDarvin]

Wow thank you everyone! This has been really helpful! I now have a revised build that I believe will run great! Thank you guys for each of your input!

[Butler to Baby Sloths]

That, of course, assumes that you can find a 500W PSU with a 38-40 amp 12V rail and a total of 4 PCI-E 6pin (or two 8pin --> 2x6pin) connectors, the seasonic M12 ii 520 only has two 6pin (one of them 6+2). I think we are getting a bit off the topic though

---------- Post added 2012-08-14 at 01:27 PM ----------

Wow thank you everyone! This has been really helpful! I now have a revised build that I believe will run great! Thank you guys for each of your input!

What is the finalized list?

Oh, and forgot to answer the network card question: You don't need one unless you need to connect the computer to a wireless network.

[EricakaDarvin]

Chassis- Cooler Master HAF-X 942- Walmart- 166
Processor- Intel Core i5-3570 Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz- Newegg- 215
Motherboard- ASRock Z77 Extreme4-M LGA 1155 Intel- Newegg- 135
RAM- Corsair Vengeance Blue 16GB 1600mhz- Newegg- 90
Power Supply- CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX650 V2 650W- Newegg- 90
Hard Drive- Hitachi Deskstar 2TB 7200RPM 32MB Cache- Amazon- 129
Optical Drive- Samsung Model SH-222BB/RSBS- Newegg- 17
Video Card- Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 2GD- Amazon- 399
SSD- SAMSUNG 830 Series 2.5-Inch 128GB- Amazon- 105
OS- Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit- Amazon- 90

Changed CPU, PSU, motherboard, added SSD. Not sure about what heatsink I'm going to use yet. I do plan to connect to wireless network. Any suggestion on what I would need to connect? Certain network card?

[Butler to Baby Sloths]

Chassis- Cooler Master HAF-X 942- Walmart- 166

As Marest said, there are much better cases out there for less money. But each to his/her own I guess.

Processor- Intel Core i5-3570 Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz- Newegg- 215

You cannot overclock this processor, you would need the i5 3570K for 229 dollars from Newegg for that. In my opinion, even if you have no immediate wish to overclock, when the processor starts to drop behind the new ones in performance in 3-4 years, a simple 4.5GHz overclock will give it a new lease of life. Spending an extra 10 dollars right now for that option instead of shelling out 350 for a new processor and motherboard in 3-4 year's time seems like a no brainer decision to me

Motherboard- ASRock Z77 Extreme4-M LGA 1155 Intel- Newegg- 135

That is the micro-ATX version of the Extreme4. You probably want the normal version:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157293

RAM- Corsair Vengeance Blue 16GB 1600mhz- Newegg- 90

Make sure it is the low profile RAM (i.e. it doesn't have those silly, spiky and ultimately pointless heatspreaders on top) to avoid issues with the heatsink. You might want to go with the black version (no difference other than the colour of the paint) which would fit better with the black/gold/silver of the motherboard.

I don't really know much about wireless network cards.

[Deleted]

- Read my previous comment regarding the case. I simply can't recommend the HAF X.
- Get the k-version of the CPU (i5 3570k). It's unlocked, meaning it's overclockable.
- You have the mATX version of the Extreme4 selected.
- Make sure it's LP RAM (I think you have LP selected, but not sure).
- I would swap the HDD for a Western Digital.
- Not sure if that's a reference GTX 670. Make sure it's the Windforce edition with a GTX 680 PCB and a custom cooler.

I'd recommend against wireless personally. Heatsink you cna pretty much select between a few good ones: Xigmatek Gaia, CM Hyper 212+, NZXT Havik, Cooler Master TPC 812, Noctua NH-U12P, Phanteks PH-TC14PE, and so on. There are many others.

[EricakaDarvin]

Ok- I got the k version on CPU, I made sure its LP ram, I got the right version of motherboard now. Ok another question, why do you recommend against the HAF X case, and what do you mean by "Not sure if that's a reference GTX 670. Make sure it's the Windforce edition with a GTX 680 PCB and a custom cooler"?

---------- Post added 2012-08-14 at 07:00 AM ----------

I'd rather be wired, but their is only one router in the house and it's on a different level of the house.

[Butler to Baby Sloths]

why do you recommend against the HAF X case

Relatively low build quality, quite a lot of plastic, tacky looks, bad cable management possibilities, costs 170 dollars.

"Not sure if that's a reference GTX 670. Make sure it's the Windforce edition with a GTX 680 PCB and a custom cooler"?

Graphics cards come in two main categories: reference and non-reference - reference meaning either the circuit board with all the processing chips and electronic components was designed by nVidia (in this case) or the cooler is designed by nVidia. The reference GTX 670 happens to perform rather significantly less well than the non-reference models (which have a 30% bigger circuit board with more components). The WindforceX3 GTX 670 (the non-reference model) performs better than the non-windforce GTX 670.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125423

I'd rather be wired, but their is only one router in the house and it's on a different level of the house.

You can get a 20m (that's 60 feet, right?) network cable for something like 10 dollars

[EricakaDarvin]

Ok so is this one http://www.amazon.com/GIGABYTE-GV-N6.../dp/B0080I06WQ the right one? And what do you mean with the network cable? Like connect it to my router downstairs and plug it in to my computer upstairs???? O.O I'm confused now lol

[Butler to Baby Sloths]

Ok so is this one http://www.amazon.com/GIGABYTE-GV-N6.../dp/B0080I06WQ the right one?

Yes.

And what do you mean with the network cable? Like connect it to my router downstairs and plug it in to my computer upstairs????

Yes.

[EricakaDarvin]

Wait are you joking?? Like take a cable run it from the router, across the living room, thru the kitchen, up the stairs, down the hall, into my room, than connect it to the computer?????

---------- Post added 2012-08-14 at 07:24 AM ----------

Just so I don't have to do wireless??

[Butler to Baby Sloths]

I used to play WoW over wireless. It would DC me on intense fights (wave 6 out of 8 in MH would reliably DC me) and I always had a medium to high latency. I switched to a network cable, and my latency dropped from ~180ms to around 50 (which I reduced to 10 by doing that TCPAck registry hack) and I suddenly stopped disconnecting (I went from 2-3 disconnects per night to 1-2 disconnects in 2 months). I would literally set up a cable routing whereever I need it to avoid playing games over wireless, even if that meant making the room have more cables in it than an electricity substation. You can always route the cable around the walls

[EricakaDarvin]

Is it possible to have 2 routers on 1 connection? So I don't have wires running all over the place? (I get really OCD w/ that type of stuff and I would probably have a heart attack) lol

---------- Post added 2012-08-14 at 03:28 PM ----------

Anyone? Would really like wired connection w/o having wires all throughout my house lol.