Hardware advice please

Bageland2000 · Nov 7, 2012

Hey guys, I'm creating another "is this a good setup" thread. Pretty basic, just looking to upgrade and wanted some input.

Here is what I want the machine to do:
1. Gaming at 1080p/ healthy moderate overclock
2. As quiet as possible
3. Relatively power efficient
4. air cooling for now, maybe an upgrade down the road to some basic WC.

No video editing but I may look into supporting folding/SETI whatever once it's built.

Here is the basic hardware I'm looking at:
Mobo: Asus Sabertooth Z77 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131821
CPU: i5 2500K http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072
GFX: Some not-quite newest gen card. Open to suggestions. No SLI/CF now, there's a tiny chance I'll move to this in the future, but unlikely.
RAM: 16GB DDR3 2000
HDD: Samsung 830 256GB SSD
Case: Corsair 650D http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139006
PSU: Tt 850W already purchased

So as you can see nothing mind blowing. I don't really have a budget as I'm currently saving like 25-30% of my respectable government paycheck and I'll just pay what I need to cover what I'm looking for. I'm planning on doing some cable sleeving on my current PSU and adding some aftermarket fans/lighting. Looking for good bang-for-buck and something that will handle what I described above. my backup/file storage will be on a NAS box. I want to have a good idea on what to buy when BF rolls around in a few weeks. Any thoughts and advice is welcome!

kmo_9000 · Nov 7, 2012

That motherboard is way overpriced and the CPU is Sandy Bridge which means you won't get PCI-3.

CPU/MOBO: I would get a Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H motherboard instead, which should be in the 130-150$ range, along with a 3570k ivy bridge cpu.

CASE: If you are looking for as quiet as possible then I would recommend getting a Define R4 instead as it has noise dampening coating all on the inside. It's designed specifically to be silent. It also has six 140mm fan slots, two in the front intake, two at the top and one on the side and bottom. Which should give it plenty of airflow and make it a lot quieter.

RAM Memory: You weren't clear whether or not you bought that memory yet. Sandy Bridge/Ivy Bridge does not have a divider for 2000mhz ram so you will have to run it at 1866 or overclock to 2133. I would recommend getting two 8gb kits of this Samsung 20nm 1600 memory as it would easily overclock to 1866 or 2133. Of course others may have other recommendations, I've had great luck with this stuff though.

Video Card: Personally I would go with a 7950 in this case. It's a great performer for the price and competes very well against the 660 Ti alternative on the Nvidia side. This one here is a good choice to start with, although you might want to check out the newegg or NCIX sales to see if there is a better deal out there.

COOLER: So there are a lot of options here but I would probably recommend getting a Phanteks PH-TC14PE or a Noctua NH-D14. Whichever is cheaper when you are buying. Either would give you all the cooling you need for a pretty high overclock.

Bageland2000 · Nov 7, 2012

kmo_9000 said:
That motherboard is way overpriced and the CPU is Sandy Bridge which means you won't get PCI-3.

CPU/MOBO: I would get a Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H motherboard instead, which should be in the 130-150$ range, along with a 3570k ivy bridge cpu.

CASE: If you are looking for as quiet as possible then I would recommend getting a Define R4 instead as it has noise dampening coating all on the inside. It's designed specifically to be silent. It also has six 140mm fan slots, two in the front intake, two at the top and one on the side and bottom. Which should give it plenty of airflow and make it a lot quieter.

RAM Memory: You weren't clear whether or not you bought that memory yet. Sandy Bridge/Ivy Bridge does not have a divider for 2000mhz ram so you will have to run it at 1866 or overclock to 2133. I would recommend getting two 8gb kits of this Samsung 20nm 1600 memory as it would easily overclock to 1866 or 2133. Of course others may have other recommendations, I've had great luck with this stuff though.

Video Card: Personally I would go with a 7950 in this case. It's a great performer for the price and competes very well against the 660 Ti alternative on the Nvidia side. This one here is a good choice to start with, although you might want to check out the newegg or NCIX sales to see if there is a better deal out there.

COOLER: So there are a lot of options here but I would probably recommend getting a Phanteks PH-TC14PE or a Noctua NH-D14. Whichever is cheaper when you are buying. Either would give you all the cooling you need for a pretty high overclock.

Thanks KMO, some great info here

CPU/MOBO: so I need newest gen (ivy) for PCI-E 3.0? I didn’t know that. More on GPU later, but not sure that I’ll require 3.0. As for the Mobo, I like ASUS, but I’m starting to realize that it may be overkill/overpriced for what I’m looking for. Is that the consensus? I choose that model for stability and aesthetics, but I’m open to other thoughts.
CASE: I should mention that I chose the case for aesthetics and functionality as well, silence is important, but not 100% crucial. I like that fractal case as well, I’ll sleep on it.
RAM Memory: Don’t have it yet. I like that set, but looking for something with heatsinks for aesthetics. I’ll keep looking into this.

Video Card: $280 is way more than I plan on spending. I’m thinking $150 max. Will probably looking in the classies for this, so for now, I may not need the PCI-E 3.0 that the Ivy-bridge offers. I can always upgrade.

COOLER: Again, $90 is way higher than I want to go here. I have a solid performing LGA775 cooler. Can these usually be adapted to work with 1155? I appreciate the linkies anyway. I’ll keep looking. Thanks!

notJUSTguitar · Nov 7, 2012

As kmo_9000 said, you don't need a motherboard that expensive.
And since you're getting a Z77 motherboard, you should get an ivy bridge CPU.

CPU: i5 3570K: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504

Good motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157293

RAM ($60 with promo): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231611

That comes to $395.
The CPU/mobo you linked to would be $460, and that cpu isn't as good and that's without RAM.

For a GPU, the classifieds is a good place to look. There are 560tis for $120, a GTX660 for $170, and some other good deals.

dtrunk · Nov 7, 2012

16gb of ram is overkill, you'll probably find CHEAPER and FASTER ram if you went with a 4gbx2 setup. though it'll only save you 10-30$ overall.

the extreme4 is a good mobo, that's what I'm running and i spent a LOT more than you overall.

i would NOT suggest skimming on the GPU at all, this will be the BEAST of the system as far as you're concerned. considering this is a gaming system, the gpu should be the most powerful item. I would suggest a NEWER PCIe-3 video card to go with all the pcie-3 gear you'e buying in to; will this offer more speed in the end, no; but why upgrade to all pcie-3 gear and them skim on the gpu. for that matter, buy a crappy $50 case and spend the $100 difference on a better gpu. Ugly pc that is a BEAST or pretty pc that is crap? (that's the way i see it)

kmo_9000 · Nov 7, 2012

I should also mention that the Define R4 has really good cable managment. It has literally a full centimeter behind the motherboard for routing cables. That and the extra 140mm fan slots are the only problems I ever had with the R3.

As for getting PCI 3, I just figured you would want to the extra features seeing as how the 3570k is not much more than a 2500k.

Also regarding the ram aesthetics, this might help give you a better idea of what they look like. They are actually really sexy ram and you barely see them once they're in the motherboard. They are practically just as high as the clips that hold them in.

Regarding the video card, you might take a look at this Powercolor Radeon HD 6850 775MHZ 1GB for 129.99$. It's not the best of the best but it can still run games at pretty good settings. I have one in my dad's computer, another 6850 in another buddies comp, and this exact model in another friends computer.

It can max out games like TF2, Dota 2, League of Ledgends, Starcraft 2. One of my buddies confirms that it can play BF3 at playable FPS med to high settings.

Bageland2000 · Nov 7, 2012

notJUSTguitar said:
As kmo_9000 said, you don't need a motherboard that expensive.
And since you're getting a Z77 motherboard, you should get an ivy bridge CPU.

CPU: i5 3570K: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504

Good motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157293

RAM ($60 with promo): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231611

That comes to $395.
The CPU/mobo you linked to would be $460, and that cpu isn't as good and that's without RAM.

For a GPU, the classifieds is a good place to look. There are 560tis for $120, a GTX660 for $170, and some other good deals.

Thanks for the links. Would I save a decent amount of money by looking for an earlier generation mobo chip (is it p67?) and going with a sandy-bridge and a pci-e 2.0 system? I'm not looking for bleeding edge here. Honestly, my Q2D and 4990 are doing OK right now. I'm thinking that ivy and a newest gen GPU are crazy overkill. But maybe I'm not considering some game that'll be out in 3 months that I'll want to play completely maxed and be angry that i didn't upgrade better.

dtrunk said:
16gb of ram is overkill, you'll probably find CHEAPER and FASTER ram if you went with a 4gbx2 setup. though it'll only save you 10-30$ overall.

the extreme4 is a good mobo, that's what I'm running and i spent a LOT more than you overall.

i would NOT suggest skimming on the GPU at all, this will be the BEAST of the system as far as you're concerned. considering this is a gaming system, the gpu should be the most powerful item. I would suggest a NEWER PCIe-3 video card to go with all the pcie-3 gear you'e buying in to; will this offer more speed in the end, no; but why upgrade to all pcie-3 gear and them skim on the gpu. for that matter, buy a crappy $50 case and spend the $100 difference on a better gpu. Ugly pc that is a BEAST or pretty pc that is crap? (that's the way i see it)

As far as RAM goes, it's so cheap right now that I may as well go 16GB. If i find an awesome deal for 8GB though I may just jump on it.
I'll echo what I said above about GPU. Unless the consensus is that I should better future-proof, I'm not sure I need a beast in the system.
Aesthetics are very important to me. I'll be cable sleeving and running lighting for this reason. I'm not going to skimp on the case.

kmo_9000 said:
I should also mention that the Define R4 has really good cable managment. It has literally a full centimeter behind the motherboard for routing cables. That and the extra 140mm fan slots are the only problems I ever had with the R3.

As for getting PCI 3, I just figured you would want to the extra features seeing as how the 3570k is not much more than a 2500k.

Also regarding the ram aesthetics, this might help give you a better idea of what they look like. They are actually really sexy ram and you barely see them once they're in the motherboard. They are practically just as high as the clips that hold them in.

Regarding the video card, you might take a look at this Powercolor Radeon HD 6850 775MHZ 1GB for 129.99$. It's not the best of the best but it can still run games at pretty good settings. I have one in my dad's computer, another 6850 in another buddies comp, and this exact model in another friends computer.

It can max out games like TF2, Dota 2, League of Ledgends, Starcraft 2. One of my buddies confirms that it can play BF3 at playable FPS med to high settings.

Just for reference, I can max TF2 and SCII right now. But I guess I wouldn't come close to BF3. Maybe I will go a little higher on the GPU...

notJUSTguitar · Nov 9, 2012

Bageland2000 said:
Thanks for the links. Would I save a decent amount of money by looking for an earlier generation mobo chip (is it p67?) and going with a sandy-bridge and a pci-e 2.0 system? I'm not looking for bleeding edge here. Honestly, my Q2D and 4990 are doing OK right now. I'm thinking that ivy and a newest gen GPU are crazy overkill. But maybe I'm not considering some game that'll be out in 3 months that I'll want to play completely maxed and be angry that i didn't upgrade better.

I'd go with Z77/Ivy Brige. You really won't save much money by going with older stuff, and if you get current generation hardware now, it will last you longer.

As far as ram, I don't know what you'll be doing, so I'm not sure how much you could use.
I'm running 8GB right now, and It's enough for me. However I don't do much video/phote editing so I don't do many things that max out my ram.

And yeah, TF2 (and probably SC2) don't need much power to max out.
If you're trying to save money, then I guess it makes sense to get an older generation card for cheap.
But, the newer cards have better power optimization. I'd get a current-gen card myself, but I'm not you.

Bageland2000 · Nov 24, 2012

OK, so not a whole lot of movement. I'm being patient and buying stuff when I can. The only thing that I've bought so far is the case. Got the 650D for $130

Mobo: ASRock Z77 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...m1132X509988X7411b983f6484a8a35a41beb3e34060b
CPU: i5 3570K
GFX: Still not sure, but I'll figure it out when the other hardware is in the mail

RAM: 8-16GB DDR3 2000
HDD: Samsung 830 256GB SSD
Case: Corsair 650D purchased
PSU: Tt 850W purchased

I want to do wire sleeving as well. Is this good sleeving for the PSU wires? And is it the correct diameter?

http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...oduct_info&cPath=44_32_1020&products_id=34259

kmo_9000 · Nov 24, 2012

Bageland2000 said:
OK, so not a whole lot of movement. I'm being patient and buying stuff when I can. The only thing that I've bought so far is the case. Got the 650D for $130

Mobo: ASRock Z77 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...m1132X509988X7411b983f6484a8a35a41beb3e34060b
CPU: i5 3570K
GFX: Still not sure, but I'll figure it out when the other hardware is in the mail
RAM: 8-16GB DDR3 2000
HDD: Samsung 830 256GB SSD
Case: Corsair 650D purchased
PSU: Tt 850W purchased

I want to do wire sleeving as well. Is this good sleeving for the PSU wires? And is it the correct diameter?

http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...oduct_info&cPath=44_32_1020&products_id=34259

Looks pretty good except you still have 2000mhz ram in there. As I already said Z77 does not have a divider for 2000mhz ram, you will have either underclock or overclock it.

Bageland2000 · Nov 24, 2012

kmo_9000 said:
Looks pretty good except you still have 2000mhz ram in there. As I already said Z77 does not have a divider for 2000mhz ram, you will have either underclock or overclock it.

You are correct sir! I'll keep that in mind

Bageland2000 · Dec 10, 2012

Moving along.

Mobo: Gigabyte Z77X-UP4-TH purchased
CPU: i5 3570K
GFX: Still not sure, but I'll figure it out when the other hardware is in the mail
RAM: 8-16GB DDR3 1866
HDD: Samsung 830 256GB SSD
Case: Corsair 650D purchased
PSU: Tt 850W purchased

Bageland2000 · Dec 19, 2012

Well, I'm now at the stage where I can at least get the build completed. I'll have to use my old GPU and RAM, but that just gives me time to find what I really want and wait for a deal. I skimmed a little off of my GPU budget anyway for the CPU, but that just means that I have to be a little more patient.

I will be able to run the board with older Patriot 1333 DDR3 correct?

Mobo: Gigabyte Z77X-UP4-TH purchased
CPU: i5 3570K purchased
GFX: Still not sure, but I'll figure it out when the other hardware is in the mail
RAM: 8-16GB DDR3 1866
HDD: Samsung 830 256GB SSD
Case: Corsair 650D purchased
PSU: Tt 850W purchased

Bageland2000 · Jan 9, 2013

OK I got the SSD so I'm good to do the install when the rest of my watercooling stuff gets here on Friday. Can't wait!

Mobo: Gigabyte Z77X-UP4-TH purchased
CPU: i5 3570K purchased
GFX: Still not sure, but I'll figure it out when the other hardware is in the mail
RAM: 8-16GB DDR3 1866
HDD: Corsair Force Series 240GB SSD purchased
Case: Corsair 650D purchased
PSU: Tt 850W purchased

Hardware advice please

Bageland2000

Member

kmo_9000

Member

Bageland2000

Member

notJUSTguitar

Member

dtrunk

Member

kmo_9000

Member

Bageland2000

Member

notJUSTguitar

Member

Bageland2000

Member

kmo_9000

Member

Bageland2000

Member

Bageland2000

Member

Bageland2000

Member

Bageland2000

Member

Similar threads