New gaming computer (~3000 quid)

[Espen]

Hello again

I am thinking of building a new computer, but I am not sure if this is a really bad time to do so. I know there is a lot of new tech comming up, but we all know there will always be a lot of tech around the corner. If someone thinks I should wait for the new GPUs and Ivy Bridge please say so (I guess that will be around Q1/Q2). I will just list up the parts I have been looking at and then ask some questions behind them:

Hardware:
CPU: Intel Core I7 2600K
GPU: 2 x Zotac GeForce GTX 580 AMP!
PSU: Corsair AX 1200
Motherboard: Asus Maximus IV Extreme P67 vs Asus Maximus IV Extreme-Z Z68 (I was going to go for the Gigabyte UD7 motherboard, but the shop has stopped selling it. I guess switching to either of the Asus motherboards is not much of a loss? Which one would you go for?)
RAM: Corsair 8GB DDR3 Vengeance LP 1600MHz CL9 (I was not sure which RAM to go for, but I guess it's not much difference on RAM these days. These are LP (Low profil), so that would be good for a larger heatsink for the CPU)
Case: Corsair Obsidian 800D
Monitor: Asus VG236HE vs BenQ XL2410T (I have been having a hard time to decide which monitor to go for. I want a 120hz monitor that will mainly be used for 2D FPS gaming)
SSD: Corsair Force GT Series 3 240GB (Not decided, just give inputs)
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB 7200RPM vs Hitachi Deskstar 7K3000 3TB 7200RPM (Leaning towards the WD Black atm)
Soundcard: Auzentech X-Fi Forte 7.1
Fancontroller: Scythe Kaze Master Pro
Blu-ray/DVD-rom: LG BH12LS30
3D-equipment: Nvidia GeForce 3D kit
Paste: Arctic Cooling MX-4
CPU-cooler:Noctua NH-D14 (Should I switch the fans?)

I was also thinking of having 3 x Scythe Gentle Typhoon GT-15 120mm 1850RPM in the top, and switching out all the 140mm fans in the Corsair 800D with Noiseblocker BlackSilent Pro PK3 140mm. What do you think?

Hope you guys and girls can help me out. If I forgot anything please don't hesitate to ask!

Kind regards
Espen Andreassen

 

[Knufire]

1. 1200W is utter overkill. Get an 850AX, it'll run the two 580s just fine.
2. Do you have high-end speakers that will take advantage of the sound card? Otherwise, it's a waste
3. You really don't need to get such a high end motherboard. Those are available for the benchers. You don't need anything more then a Gigabyte Z68X-UD3H.
4. NH-D14 is overkill for Sandy Bridge. A Hyper212+, Corsair A70, or a Thermatake Frio would be best. I recommend the A70, then switch out the fans with some of the Gentle Typhoons.
5. The 800D is a water cooling case. If you want to air cool, get something different. The HAF series from Cooler Master is a good choice.

 

[kiru]

Unless you're a bencher or enthusiast, you will have no need for what those Extreme mobos offer in extras. Which leads me to the sound card, unless you are an audiophile and have good speakers/headsets to take advantage of it, you don't need to pay the premium for either.
If anything, I can suggest Gigabyte's G1.Sniper2 mobo and it has more functionality over the motherboards you have listed and with extras you will be able to take advantage of.

Case wise, as Knufire said I would suggest some of the Coolermaster HAF series cases.
SSD, I would suggest the Crucial M4 SSDs over Corsair due to them being one of the most stable SSDs on the current market especially with their new release of the 0009 firmware.

 

[McMoose]

Hello again

I am thinking of building a new computer, but I am not sure if this is a really bad time to do so. I know there is a lot of new tech comming up, but we all know there will always be a lot of tech around the corner. If someone thinks I should wait for the new GPUs and Ivy Bridge please say so (I guess that will be around Q1/Q2). I will just list up the parts I have been looking at and then ask some questions behind them:

Hardware:
CPU: Intel Core I7 2600K
GPU: 2 x Zotac GeForce GTX 580 AMP!
PSU: Corsair AX 1200
Motherboard: Asus Maximus IV Extreme P67 vs Asus Maximus IV Extreme-Z Z68 (I was going to go for the Gigabyte UD7 motherboard, but the shop has stopped selling it. I guess switching to either of the Asus motherboards is not much of a loss? Which one would you go for?)
RAM: Corsair 8GB DDR3 Vengeance LP 1600MHz CL9 (I was not sure which RAM to go for, but I guess it's not much difference on RAM these days. These are LP (Low profil), so that would be good for a larger heatsink for the CPU)
Case: Corsair Obsidian 800D
Monitor: Asus VG236HE vs BenQ XL2410T (I have been having a hard time to decide which monitor to go for. I want a 120hz monitor that will mainly be used for 2D FPS gaming)
SSD: Corsair Force GT Series 3 240GB (Not decided, just give inputs)
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB 7200RPM vs Hitachi Deskstar 7K3000 3TB 7200RPM (Leaning towards the WD Black atm)
Soundcard: Auzentech X-Fi Forte 7.1
Fancontroller: Scythe Kaze Master Pro
Blu-ray/DVD-rom: LG BH12LS30
3D-equipment: Nvidia GeForce 3D kit
Paste: Arctic Cooling MX-4
CPU-cooler:Noctua NH-D14 (Should I switch the fans?)

I was also thinking of having 3 x Scythe Gentle Typhoon GT-15 120mm 1850RPM in the top, and switching out all the 140mm fans in the Corsair 800D with Noiseblocker BlackSilent Pro PK3 140mm. What do you think?

Hope you guys and girls can help me out. If I forgot anything please don't hesitate to ask!

Kind regards
Espen Andreassen

I got the exact same build practically thanks to the help of the Overclocking community... and the Ram you choose was unable to fit with the Noc hd-14.. Unless i was too much of a ***** to fit it in cuz it felt like it would snap... (excuse my language).. but yeah it wasn't really possible to fit in for me lol... Great build tho the Case is a water cooling case..

 

[snowbrd]

Why not get the new asus 580s? They are smexy. Look at the front page, is there any reason in particular you want the zotac ones?

 

[Theocnoob]

2 580s are not a good buy. If you go past 1 card you should be looking at ATI unless you like Nvidia's 3D feature or you just loathe ATI for some reason. Fermi scales poorly for gaming compared to the 6000 series cards.

For less money 2 6970s give you a higher framerate than 2 580s.
If we're working with 3000 GBP (I envy you) then really 3 6970s or a 6990 and a 6970 is not an unreasonable GPU setup and guarantees you the ability to run anything in the forseable future. Also lets you ramp up to 3 monitors with no concern about getting crappy performance. Even 5 monitors although at that point the framerate's going to suffer even if your GPU is a nuclear reactor.

 

[Espen]

I know most people have said that the 800D is not as good for air cooling, but I just love the looks of the 800D. And from what I have read it seems to be very functional. I know HAF X is probably the best case for air cooling, but in my eyes it's just so ugly. And I guess the 800D is a nice investment if I might go water cooling later on.

They don't sell Crucial SSDs The SSDs I can get are for example:

• Corsair Force GT Series 3 240GB
• Corsair Force Series 3 240GB
• OCZ Vertex 3 Max IOPS 240GB
• Kingston HyperX 240GB
• Intel 510 250GB
• Intel 320 300GB

As for the GPUs, I just put the Zotac's in there as the Asus takes 3 slots and I was not sure about the Gigabyte aftermarket cooler. What do you think about the GPUs? What would you go for between SLI GTX 580s vs SLI CF HD6970 vs 1 or CF HD6990 vs 1 GTX 590?

Do you think it's worth waiting for the Bulldozer or Sandy Bridge E release? Or wait until Q1 (probably late Q1) for Ivy Bridge and the new GPUs? It's quite a few months.

Which 120hz monitor would you go for? (Mainly for 2D FPS gaming) Most people seem to recommend the Asus VG236HE or the Samsung S23A750D, but I have heard that the new batch (and firmware) of the BenQ XL2410T is a lot better then the earlier batches. Please give inputs!

I don't really like the colours on the fans that come with the Noctua NH-D14 (like Orcvader), but are there any "good" looking fans that can compare to the noise/performance ratio? I know you have the Thermalright TY-140's that are suppose to be the best fans for CPU coolers when it comes to noise/performance.

Thanks in advance
Espen Andreassen

 

[Aynjell]

1. 1200W is utter overkill. Get an 850AX, it'll run the two 580s just fine.
2. Do you have high-end speakers that will take advantage of the sound card? Otherwise, it's a waste
3. You really don't need to get such a high end motherboard. Those are available for the benchers. You don't need anything more then a Gigabyte Z68X-UD3H.
4. NH-D14 is overkill for Sandy Bridge. A Hyper212+, Corsair A70, or a Thermatake Frio would be best. I recommend the A70, then switch out the fans with some of the Gentle Typhoons.
5. The 800D is a water cooling case. If you want to air cool, get something different. The HAF series from Cooler Master is a good choice.

1. 850 is close and leaves little room to upgrade. If he's got the cash a 1200W power supply is a good investment because they can't get much bigger than that... pretty much ever.
2. The x-fi chip offers more in game audio features, better CPU offloading, and increased sound quality even with bad speakers. Also, the noise floor will be lower and less chance of electrical noise (like hearing your mouse move in your speakers).
3. A high end motherboard isn't required for sandy bridge because they don't require FSB overclocking. You can just up the multiplier and go. that said, if those boards offer superior FEATURES, then why not? If it lets you do MORE with your computer, then go for it.
4. The NH-D14 is extremely underwhelming for the money spent. Buy a corasir water cooling kit, they're better than most air heatsinks dollar for dollar spent.
5. The 800D may be geared for water cooling, but it's honestly not that great of a water cooling case to be honest. The case I'm helping to design is far better, although I don't know when it'll be out. It's already out in the wild in one form or fashion but I'm not permitted to speak of it. The HAF series is decent for air, but the silverstone FT02B is a better choice, The RV02B would be better if you want flashy, but I prefer understated looks.

Also, overkill is good. It means less upgrades.

 

[Knufire]

1. 850 is close and leaves little room to upgrade. If he's got the cash a 1200W power supply is a good investment because they can't get much bigger than that... pretty much ever.
2. The x-fi chip offers more in game audio features, better CPU offloading, and increased sound quality even with bad speakers. Also, the noise floor will be lower and less chance of electrical noise (like hearing your mouse move in your speakers).
3. A high end motherboard isn't required for sandy bridge because they don't require FSB overclocking. You can just up the multiplier and go. that said, if those boards offer superior FEATURES, then why not? If it lets you do MORE with your computer, then go for it.
4. The NH-D14 is extremely underwhelming for the money spent. Buy a corasir water cooling kit, they're better than most air heatsinks dollar for dollar spent.
5. The 800D may be geared for water cooling, but it's honestly not that great of a water cooling case to be honest. The case I'm helping to design is far better, although I don't know when it'll be out. It's already out in the wild in one form or fashion but I'm not permitted to speak of it. The HAF series is decent for air, but the silverstone FT02B is a better choice, The RV02B would be better if you want flashy, but I prefer understated looks.

Also, overkill is good. It means less upgrades.

1. Honestly, when would any normal person ever build a PC that needed more then 850W? You'd need to go triple high end GPU or more. And at that point the scaling drops severely in games, it's just not worth it.
2. Onboard is pretty good these days, good to the point that there really isn't a difference. If you hear noise, it's probably a bad chip. The majority of people hold to the opinion that a sound card isn't worth it with high end speakers.
3. Other then the Gigabyte G1, the high end motherboards don't really offer much more then the lower end other then three way and four way SLI/CFX. And even with the G1, a mid-range motherboard and really good sound card come out to the same priced, and IMO the upgraded NIC isn't required unless you're a serious competitive gamer.
4. Speaking from reviews, only the H80 and H100 are actually better then air heatsinks for dollar spent. The NH-D14 specializes in silence, it'll do better with the quiet fans then almost any other heatsink. It just won't scale with the screamers like a TRUE would. Either way, both the Corsair kits and the high-end air heatsinks would be a waste, as Sandy Bridge simply doesn't output enough heat to require them.

Bulldozer isn't much of an upgrade from Sandy Bridge, and SB-E is still a ways away.

You were right, the Gigabyte aftermarket cooler doesn't have the best reputation. A 6990 is better then a 590 and 6970 CF outperforms 580SLI. But you give up the option of 3D.

 

[Theocnoob]

I know most people have said that the 800D is not as good for air cooling, but I just love the looks of the 800D. And from what I have read it seems to be very functional. I know HAF X is probably the best case for air cooling, but in my eyes it's just so ugly. And I guess the 800D is a nice investment if I might go water cooling later on.

Don't inflict that case on yourself.
You want a nice looking case?

^
In it's natural habitat

8 120mm fans, and a 220mm fan
And it's all aluminum and it costs less. 3 120s in at the front and 1 at the bottom, and 3 120s out at the top and 1 at the back + 1 ginormous 220 on the side (or a transparent window if you prefer. Order seperately from the CoolerMaster website. I'm sick of my side panel and pine for the air flow)

 

[kiru]

Don't inflict that case on yourself.
You want a nice looking case?

^
In it's natural habitat

8 120mm fans, and a 220mm fan
And it's all aluminum and it costs less. 3 120s in at the front and 1 at the bottom, and 3 120s out at the top and 1 at the back + 1 ginormous 220 on the side (or a transparent window if you prefer. Order seperately from the CoolerMaster website. I'm sick of my side panel and pine for the air flow)

For some odd reason, I found working with the Haf X alot more pleasant than working wit the Cosmos S. The Haf X was much light as well, and seem to cool much better too.

 

[Tokae]

+1 for 800D!

I really need to get my water cooling money set aside.

 

[Knufire]

Try the Fractal Design XL, it looks a lot like the 800D.

 

[Espen]

Sorry been a bit busy, thanks for the replies

Before I finish my order I would love to hear your opinions on some of the components.

SSD: As I am not able to get a Crucial M4, which one of these would you go for (I am leaning a bit towards the Corsair GT):

• Corsair Force GT Series 3 240GB
• Corsair Force Series 3 240GB
• OCZ Vertex 3 Max IOPS 240GB
• Kingston HyperX 240GB
• Intel 510 250GB
• Intel 320 300GB

GPU: I must admit that I have always liked Nvidia over ATI, mainly because I have not had problems with my Nvidia cards so far, but some problems with my ATI cards. The drivers have always seemed to be qutie good as well. I guess I am leaning towards SLI GTX 580, but also considering CF ATI HD6970. If price is not a concern, what would you go for? (I guess I can't use the Nvidia 3D kit if I go with ATI). I guess the Zotac GTX 580 card is fine?

Monitor: I am still unsure which one to go for, but after asking some of the people I have been playing against competitively in CSS, they all say BenQ XL2410T is the prefered monitor in the CSS scene. So I guess I am leaning towards this monitor. Also because of this: 120hz monitor for mainly 2D gaming, DumpALump's posts.

Case: It seems most people want me to go for something else then the Corsair 800D, but what do you think of me trying it out with me placing 3 fans in the top and replacing all the stock fans with new fans, and if the temps are not that good I will just order water cooling from the US?

Last question is if anyone know if there are any "good" looking fans that can compare to the noise/performance ratio of the fans coming with the Noctua NH-D14? I know you have the Thermalright TY-140's that are suppose to be the best fans for CPU coolers when it comes to noise/performance.

Thanks in advance
Espen Andreassen

 

[Knufire]

There's extremely little difference between the first four. Intel again, is more reliable but slower, and much more expensive.

CF 6970 performs better then SLI 580, but you lose 3D. Better multiscreen gaming support on AMD though.

If you haven't ordered the CPU cooler yet, don't get the NH-D14. You simply don't need it's performance with Sandy Bridge. And since the increased performance and size doesn't translate to much benefit, it's honestly not worth it. If you want good looking too, there's better looking heatsinks out there. If you still want to stay on the edge of performance, get a Thermalright MUX-120 or a Corsair H80 and some Scythe Gentle Typhoon 1850RPM fans. If you decide to go water cooling, just keep using the GTs.

It's too big and not enough fan slots. But yes, if you order water cooling, then it's a great case. If you want to go water in the future, then by all means get it.

 

[Espen]

Bump

Edit: Another question: Has anyone tested the Xigmatek Elysium Big Tower, ASUS Xonar Essence STX or ASUS Xonar D2X?

 

[Knufire]

High end ASUS sound cards are held in very high regard. Make sure you have the speakers to match, but the built-in headphone amp should drive most high-impedance headphones.

 

[Theocnoob]

Bump

Edit: Another question: Has anyone tested the Xigmatek Elysium Big Tower, ASUS Xonar Essence STX or ASUS Xonar D2X?

Output type will decide soundcard. If you want to drive pure analog get an ST STX. Especially for headphones. For MOST situations though, there are better cards.

If you want to just talk to a stereo receiver via SPDIF, or drive good speakers non digitally, the Auzen Meridian 2 is better.

I would only go to ASUS if you can't find the Auzen card or want to drive headphones. There are many other cards with headphone amps now.