SOLVED New System Build. Looking for your feedback. Starting with CPU's

[RGone]

One note Proxish and that is EarthDog did NOT put the XFX up high on his list. His words were that it would NOT be high on his list due to voltage lock. Plus he said the Asus card was a 3 slot card and therefore he would not really choose it. That is from rereading what he wrote.
RGone...

 

[Proxish]

Thank you for pointing that out RGone, and thank you for adding to this post.
Dyslexia messing with me again, I must of read his post 3 times over and didn't read it right once...
My fault, thank you again for pointing that out.

 

[Proxish]

In order to keep this up to date, here is my latest informative post.

I know Ram is Ram, but is there a specific type anyone suggests?
I also know nothing about Water Cooling Systems, what should I be reading or what do you all suggest?
I'm also looking for a Case and a SSD then I'm done and can order.

A quick revision of everything that has been chosen so far.
Processor: i5 3750k 3.4GHz
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme 4 Intel Z77
Graphics Card: SAPPHIRE AMD Radeon HD 7950 Vapor-X 3GB GDDR5
Power Supply: Corsair Gaming Series GS800 - 800 Watt 80 PLUS 2013

 

[ASUS ROG]

I think you should stick with XFX, their regular card, the voltage is lock but the card i suggest are the black edition, XFX flagship card so voltage shouldn't be lock.
At for RAM, 16gb of DDR3 1866 is solid, you can go with DDR3 2400 but you will not see the different unless you benching.
For ssd try Sandisk Extreme ssd
review here
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/5052/sandisk_extreme_480gb_ssd_review/index.html

 

[Proxish]

Can someone please tell me what they think of this?

http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/cooling/watercooling/cw-9060008-ww.html

This is the only decently priced Water Cooling system with a good rating I can find....

 

[Proxish]

Updated Spec.

I've decided to go with the i7 3770k, I'll just regret it in the long run if I don't. If I'm going to spend £1040, why not spend £1140...

I've just about decided on the Corsair Hydro Series H60 2013 model High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler.
http://www.ebuyer.com/411328-corsai...h-performance-liquid-cpu-cooler-cw-9060007-ww

So what do you guys think? If I can get the go ahead, then I'm going to order it straight away.
Only things I'm not sure about are the memory and the case.
I'm starting to lean towards a Corsair case, as if I get the above cooling system, then they fit nicely to Corsairs, plus the PSU is Corsair as well.

This is what I have right now...
Processor: £276 - 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7 3770K 3.50GHz Socket LGA1155
Motherboard: £129 - ASRock Z77 Extreme 6 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) Motherboard
Graphics Card: £250 - XFX AMD Radeon HD 7950 Double D Black Edition 3GB GDDR5
Power Supply: £86 - Corsair Gaming Series GS800 - 800 Watt 80 PLUS 2013
Memory: £120 - G.Skill TridentX 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C10 2400MHz
SSD: £150 - SanDisk Extreme SSD SATA III 2.5" 240GB Solid State Hard Drive
Case: £109 - NZXT Phantom Full Tower Case

 

[EarthDog]

H60 is a weak cooler. H80 or h100i.

SanDisk ssd... A little concerned there honestly. I'd stick with the big boys here. Ocz vertex 4, crucial m4, Intel 510 series, Samsung 840 pro, in no order.

I think all the xfx cards are now locked.... That is what I was saying above.

 

[briansun1]

you wont really need 16gb of ram for gaming.

 

[EarthDog]

Let me summarize my thoughts...

1. Dont need 16GB for a gaming machine... though if you end up rendering, you may want it. Id go 2x4GB now and if you need it, 2x4GB of the same stuff later.
2. GS800 is massive overkill for a single card, and overkill for two. If you are going one card and know that, get CX500. If you are going two cards eventually (which I wouldnt at 1080p resolution), GS700.
3. Sandisk SSD is a questionable pick to me. Its IOPS and speeds are not up to par with OCZ Vertex 4 or the Samsung 840 Pro for example. That said, it is inexpensive... but not sure if that is a good thing or not. Id rather pay the premium for the two I listed than that Sandisk SSD.
4. For the AIO coolers like that Corsair, the H60 performance is midgrade air, go H80 or H100i if you can fit it in your case.

 

[Proxish]

Right, I will go with one of the SD's and Cooling Systems you suggested,

Right, I was getting majorly confused with GPU's.
I'm getting a 9750, I don't know what one though. Can you please tell me which one is best for overclocking and I'll just buy that one? Free games, etc are not a concern.
http://www.novatech.co.uk/search.html?s=7950&o=2

That would be a major save cash wise....
What do you suggest?
This is currently at a good price, and is 2133MHz
G-Skill 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 2133MHz RipjawsX Memory Kit CL11 (11-11-11-30) 1.5V
The rest are all 2x4GB 1866 by Corsair and and Crucial.
I don't know how to choose as I don't know what the voltage and timing actually do or effect.

The reason I chose the GS800 was because it was only an extra £10. I most likely will go CFx in the future, a year to three years down the line, so I will go with the GS700 then.

 

[LoganG]

I have a sandisk extreme 120GB SSD and it benches/boots about the same as my Vertex 3 and PNY XLR8 SSDs, which I know aren't top of the pile, just thought I would add that for comparison.

 

[briansun1]

or not get a AIO cooler and get a good air one. air in my experience is more reliable. you could also wait for the H220 from swiftech as they are out of stock.

 

[EarthDog]

Yep so its 2 gen's behind essentially. Thanks for the comparison!

 

[Proxish]

OCZ 256GB Vertex 4 SSD or Samsung 256GB 840 Pro Series SSD? Both are the same price.

 

[Proxish]

I preferred to get a cheaper SSD, but quality of Hard Drive is important I understand.

 

[EarthDog]

Right, I will go with one of the SD's and Cooling Systems you suggested,

Right, I was getting majorly confused with GPU's.
I'm getting a 9750, I don't know what one though. Can you please tell me which one is best for overclocking and I'll just buy that one? Free games, etc are not a concern.
http://www.novatech.co.uk/search.html?s=7950&o=2

That would be a major save cash wise....
What do you suggest?
This is currently at a good price, and is 2133MHz
G-Skill 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 2133MHz RipjawsX Memory Kit CL11 (11-11-11-30) 1.5V
The rest are all 2x4GB 1866 by Corsair and and Crucial.
I don't know how to choose as I don't know what the voltage and timing actually do or effect.

The reason I chose the GS800 was because it was only an extra £10. I most likely will go CFx in the future, a year to three years down the line, so I will go with the GS700 then.

I would find some DDR3 1600Mhz CL9 @ 1.5v. Anything faster than that isnt a good deal and like was mentioned before, doesnt yield any better performance outside of benchmarks. Brand doesnt really matter.

As far as cards.. its a crapshoot which ones have voltage control and dont. Last I read, the XFX cards are voltage locked. Even the double D. I dont think the Asus is, and I dont think the MSI is, but I am not sure.

ANother member here has/had the Sapphire Vapor X and it is voltage locked IIRC. Since the Asus is a triple slot, that cant be a choice, so it looks like the MSI is the only one left.

OCZ 256GB Vertex 4 SSD or Samsung 256GB 840 Pro Series SSD? Both are the same price.

Either or... really.

 

[Proxish]

Right, I'll find that Ram now.

The MSI is out of stock for a week, I'm an idiot for not noticing before hand.
And the XFX has the highest settings on sale.... FUDGE!
Think I might take a gamble on the XFX.... Feel like an idiot for not waiting though...

 

[EarthDog]

You will still be able to overclock, just not as far with no voltage changes.

Why not order everything but the GPU and run off the integrated GPU on the CPU for a while. You wont be able to play games on that PC (modern ones), but at least you can have your cake and eat it too...

 

[briansun1]

i have a xfx... have not overcloked it though so can't help you there... but lifetime warranty

 

[EarthDog]

You can tell him if you have voltage control...