New Rig Build - Feedback or Suggestions?

[ERLoft]

So, after finding out that I'm getting a decent bonus from work, I decided to update my old Core2 Quad system. Here's what I'm tentatively looking at:

Case: Silverstone Raven RV02-EW - I like the concept with the 90 degree rotated motherboard and the case has lots of room. Not available from Newegg currently, so I'll have to order from Amazon. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163173

CPU: Core i7 3820 - Yeah, it's not totally unlocked, but for the money, it's hard to beat. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115229

Motherboard: ASUS Sabertooth X79 - Newest chipset, good features, overclocks like a champ. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131801

Video Cards: (2) EVGA GTX 660 Ti 2gb - I was debating 2 660 Ti's vs 1 680 and found the following benchmark data from BF3, which is my primary game: 2 GTX 660 Ti in SLI - 60fps min, 167fps max. 1 GTX 680 - 49fps min, 102 max. That's 22% better on the low end and a whopping 63% improvement on the max framerate. Yes, there are less expensive 660 Ti cards out there, but I've always had very good luck with EVGA cards. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130809

PSU: Silverstone ST1000P - The downside to SLI, more power sucked up. PSU calculator said I needed high 800's, I figured why cut it close? My current Silverstone 750w PSU has been a champ for the past 3 years. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256057

RAM: Patriot Intel Extreme Master 4x8gb for 32gb - Sure, the board supports 64gb, but why go there? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220710

OS/BF3 HD: G.SKILL Phoenix III 240gb - Gotta go SSD for the OS and BF3. Good reviews, good company. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231614

Existing holdover items:

CPU Cooler - ZALMAN CNPS10X Extreme - Nice to find out that although I'm switching generations, my CPU cooler will work on the LGA 2011 CPU...

All peripherals - G15, G13, Samsung 27" monitor (no room to go multi-monitor), G700, 2 Samsung DVD/RW drives, 300gb WD Raptor, and a couple of 1TB WD Caviar Green drives.

I'm won't be including my old Soundblaster X-Fi Platinum in the new build. I usually use a Logitech G35 USB headset for gaming and only have stereo speakers with a subwoofer for 'regular' audio. I don't believe that the G35 goes through the Soundblaster at all in any case, so it makes sense to remove it for this build. Am I correct in this assumption?

Any feedback or suggestions on the build or components?

 

[Mandrake4565]

I guessing it's going to be primarily a gaming pc, what resolution are you playing on the 27" at? Do you live in the states and if so do you live near a micro center? What is your budget?

 

[ERLoft]

Yes, primarily gaming for now. I used to work from home and could potentially again in the future, but that would be largely web, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Adobe Acrobat based work, so it's not like I'm upgrading for that.

The 27" runs at 1920x1080 - not super high resolution, but it works. Price was right @ Costco on it.

Never heard of Microcenter before, but I'm in San Diego and it appears there's one in Irvine, about an hour and a half away. I'll have to check them and their prices out.

 

[Knufire]

Hey, welcome to OCF!

When trying to recommend a build to you, there's some information that's extremely helpful for us to know. If you could answer these few short questions, we'd be happy to help!

• What are you planning to do with this compuer? Please be as specfic as possible.

• What is your budget?
  
  1. Does this include a copy of Windows?
  2. Does this include peripheals (a keyboard, monitor, mouse, speakers, etc.)?
• Are you from the United States or a different country? Are you ordering from your own country or from across borders?
  
  1. Wherever you may be from, does the store that you are planning to order from have a website? It's okay if it isn't in English, we can manage.
  2. If you are from the United States, do you live nearby a Microcenter?

• Do you have any specific requests with the build?
  
  1. Do you plan on overclocking? If yes, do you have a specific goal in mind?
  2. Would you prefer the build to be particularly small?
  3. Would you prefer the build to be particularly quiet?
  4. In general, do you prefer this to be a computer that you can spend money on now and let it rest, or a box built for continuous upgrading?
  5. Do you ever plan on utilizing NVIDIA's SLI or AMD's CrossfireX technologies? These features, with a compatible motherboard, allow a user to link multiple identical graphic cards together for added performance. In real world terms, this lets you buy a second identical graphics card down the line as a relatively cheap and easy way to gain a fairly large boost in performance. However, this requires buying a SLI/CFX compatible motherboard and PSU now, which may result in slightly higher initial cost.

Once again, thank you in advance for taking the time to answer these, and I hope you enjoy your stay at OCF!

 

[EarthDog]

Well, here is what I would change...

1. I would go Z77 for a gaming machine. There is no reason to go X79 and pay the premium that comes with their motherboards and useless quad channel memory.
2. Mobo - If you still choose that platform, save yourself $100 and get a lesser board. The Sabertooth is a solid board, however, its priced way too high and is 'gimmicky' with its armor and special coating. There are better/same boards for much less. For example, the Asrock X79 Extreme 6.
3. GPUs - For a single monitor, even at 2560x1440/1600, I would still use a single card. I'm not a fan of multi card setups (scaling on new titles, potential microstutter, power consumption and heat). That said, I would go single 7970 3GB
4. Power - That PSU calculator couldnt be anymore off. Do the math. 125W CPU, 2 130W GPUs, and 100W for fans, HDD/SSD, mobo. You can easily get away with a 650W PSU with everything overclocked with the setup you listed. Your Silverstone will be fine.
5. Ram - For a gaming machine, 32GB is overkill by a mile. 4x4GB would be what I get.

EDIT: 27" @ 1080p, that is single card territory, no way I would go SLI/CrossfireX at 1080p no way.

 

[dtrunk]

^BAM... pretty much right on.

get z77 mobo (even the sabertooth z77 is $100 cheaper), but you could even go as cheap as a asrock z77 extreme6; get a 3570k or 3770k CPU. (this will save you $100+ right off the bat.)

for ram, drop the 1866 and step up to 2133. 8gb is enough, 16gb is more than enough, 32gb is overkill. if you go with 8gb of 2133 with CL9, you'll be more than please. (save another $50) and you get way better ram.

PSU... i think silverstone is OK... really, you don't need more than 800-900w of a high quality PSU. I would go through the power supply section here and see what people are suggesting. this is one area where saving $ is not worth it. depending on what gear you start with, the 750w psu you have might be enough. if you went with the 3570k and only one 7970 to start... more than enough power.

with the saved $, get the second GPU you want... though it will be pointless for now (overkill) the 3gb 7970 card is a great suggestion and two would be some serious GPU power for YEARS to come.

 

[EarthDog]

I would drop 1866 and go DOWN to 1600Mhz honestly. Faster ram is nothing but slightly more expensive unless you are benchmarking or doing heavy mathematical computations.

 

[ERLoft]

Thanks for all the feedback!

So, with the Micro Center tip and changing to a z77 setup, here's what I'm looking at updating:

ASRock Z77 Extreme6 - $159.99 @ both Micro Center and Newegg - Better price and just as good of a board as the Sabretooth Z77?

Core i7 Ivy Bridge 3770k - $229.99 @ Micro Center

G.SKILL Ripjaws Z Series PC2133 4x4GB - $129.99 @ Newegg

Changing out the SSD to a Samsung 840 Pro Series 256GB - $229.99 @ Micro Center

Changing out the video cards to:

EVGA 03G-P4-3663-KR GTX 660 Ti Superclocked - $619.98 for two after $20 rebate on one of them. I've bumped this up from the 2GB version. Is it really worth the extra money (about $40 for both cards)

The total for everything this way is $1768 or so plus tax and shipping, so should get in under my $2000 budget nicely.

 

[EarthDog]

I just dont see the point in two cards where a single will be just fine...

 

[Mandrake4565]

This is what I would change, you don't need an I7 for gaming and I agree with the posts above about going SLI just get this card which is still overkill for 1 monitor.

 

[Knufire]

When you buy a 3570K from Microcenter, they also give you $50 off of a Z77 motherboard, I'd go that route. Here's what I would do, should smash the SLI 660Tis in gaming.