Critique My Build Please!

[RedlineDyno]

Update: 6/12/2013

I have installed my U120eXtrem1366RT using Artic MX-2 paste and re routed my fans correctly as advised below. This lowered my temps substantially. I also ordered an OCZ Vertex 4 128gb SDD. I should receive this in the next few days and look forward to the increase in load times!

I have 3 new questions:

1. I have done nothing in the bios for my ram, can someone point me in the direction on how to get them operating at the called for timing/voltage? The OCZ ram call for 10-10-10-30 1.65v

2. What is the best way to mirror my current raid 0 setup to my new SSD? Or is a clean install better?

3. I'm currently using the gigabyte "smart6" OC utility on "twin turbo" which pushes my processor from 2.8ghz to 3.5ghz. Is this safe? My idle temps are 40c to 45c with a tjmax of 100c. I've read a few articles on OC and am still not comfortable with it on my own so I've used this utility. Is it better to continue reading and become comfortable with doing it myself?

I've also noticed a lot of people running dual channel memory, has tri channel become not important?




Case: Antec 900 Black Steel ATX Mid Tower w/ USB 3.0
MB: Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6gb/s USB 3.0 (rev. 2.0)
GPU: Gigabyte GV-N460C-1GI GeForce GTX 460(Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5
PSU: OCZ GameXStream OCZ850GXSSLI ATX12V v2.2 EPS12V 850watts PS
Processor: Intel Core i7-930 Bloomfield 2.8GHz LGA 1366 130w
HD: 2x RAID 0 WD Black WD6401AALS 7200rpm SATA 3.0Gb/s
Cooling: Stock (I have Thermalright U130eXtrem but it doesn't fit that good)
Memory: OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3 2000 (PC3 16000) Low Voltage OCZ3G2000LV6GK
Dedicated USB drive for ReadyBoost
Logitech G510 keyboard
Logitech G9x Laser Mouse
LG 22" LCD 3000:1 Digital Fine Contrast - 2ms response time - DVI cable Connection







I'm running gigabyte cat6 to a gigabyte router to a gigabyte comcast modem with an upgraded speed. Everything is plugged into a power stabilizing surge protector. I have the fans bring the air in from the front and exit the big top fan.

I want to upgrade to an SSD as my primary drive and change my Raid 0 setup to just storage. I've also thought about adding 6gb more ram (12gb total) and adding a second GPU (SLi). In the near future I will buy an all-in-one liquid cooling solution for the cpu.

What are your recommendations? Also I'd like to stress test and do benchmarks. I just downloaded Prime95 and will run it tonight, any other ideas? Once I get my setup perfect I will want to overclock.

Thanks

 

[mokrunka]

Now is a good time to get into the SSD market, prices are very low. I just picked up the Kingston HyperX SSD, less than a dollar per gigabyte, you can get a 240 Gb for around $220.

Also, it might be fun for you to try out a RAID card, you can get a relatively inexpensive PCIe version for around $150, that will boost your speeds and are also much more reliable (in general) than the software RAID your mobo uses.

Rather than go SLI on the videocard, since it's 2 generations old (and maybe even tough to find now), your money would be better spent going with maybe a GTX670. Check out some benchmarks and see how one 670 stacks up to two 460s, you might be surprised. Also, it will run a heck of a lot cooler, and require less power to boot (or at least more efficient).

If you really want to test your hardware, run your benchmarks simultaneously, like Furmark and Prime. Linpack is a great CPU stress tester--don't be surprised if even a factory clocked CPU fails that test.

Let us know how it goes!

 

[RedlineDyno]

Thanks man! Do you have any insight on more ram? Also, my processor is a "bloomfield" and I read everywhere about people using "ivy bridge" can you point me in a direction to some info on this?

 

[Knufire]

Here you go: http://www.overclockers.com/3-step-guide-overclock-core-i3-i5-i7/

If you're not vRAM limited, GTX460 SLI is surprisingly powerful. AFAIK, it shouldn't perform that much worse than a GTX670, since it's about the same as a GTX580. The killer is that it only has 1GB of vRAM, and games are continuously using more and more.

If you're willing, I'd look into some case mods. You could improve the wire management and probably get the your TRUE (which is a very good heatsink) to fit.

 

[azanimefan]

Thanks man! Do you have any insight on more ram? Also, my processor is a "bloomfield" and I read everywhere about people using "ivy bridge" can you point me in a direction to some info on this?

fair enough... a few things pop to mind...

1) first of all your MB is sporting an LGA 1366 socket... no go on an IB or SB processor. You can upgrade the CPU to an i7-980 or i7-990x... of course finding one for an affordable price will be a trick. you would save a lot of money just buying a new MB/CPU over getting one of those new. a SB i5-2500k or IB i5-3570k will both out perform an i7-990x... so there is something to be said for upgrading. Especially since the new MB/CPU will cost you half of what the new Bloomfield CPU will cost you.

2) getting 8gbs of ram is so cheap these days i'd just hit up that.

3) The biggest shortcoming in your system apart from the lack of an SSD is definitely your GPU... i'd upgrade it. If you're a fan of NVidea the 660ti is in the sweet spot for price/performance as are the Radeon HD 7870 or 7950.

 

[mokrunka]

Thanks man! Do you have any insight on more ram? Also, my processor is a "bloomfield" and I read everywhere about people using "ivy bridge" can you point me in a direction to some info on this?

Yea, see the other posts regarding the CPU.

RAM is ridiculously cheap nowadays. I'm sure you can get even 16Gb for under $100. I got the 32 Gb set in my sig from the 'egg for $190 5 months ago.

The other guy is right about the GPU performance in terms of GTX670 vs 2X 460, I was only thinking in terms of future upgradeability. If you stick another 460 in there, your next upgrade will likely be something in the 6XX series anyways (at least if it's in the next year or so), but if you go with a single 6XX series card now, you'll get virtually the same performance, more VRAM, AND you'll have the option of adding another for a top of the line setup later on if you want.

 

[Culbrelai]

Gotta second a GTX 670, I love mine, and in Passmark tests in 3D Graphics, it ranks 5% better than a GTX 680.

I don't really know what to make of that, but there it is.

Plus, SLI creates more heat, plus microstuttering...

 

[wingman99]

+1 GTX 670 will be better than SLI GTX 460. As far as the ram goes games don't need more than 5GB now so why waste the money on that, by the time games need more ram it will be time to upgrade you system and you will have to purchase different ram anyway.

 

[RedlineDyno]

Thanks for the help so far guys!

So my new plans will be:

• Kingston HyperX SSD 120gb once it goes on sale
• Keep memory as is for now unless a good deal comes by
• GTX670 (which one do you recommend? probably around $250.00) but I might hold off until I find a game I'm really in to, by then there might be a better card.
• I'm not too worried about upgrading the cpu/mb anytime soon
• I'll put my U130eXtrem back on the cpu with some new paste (any recommendations on paste? I think I have AS5 kicking around)

My new dilema is fan orientation. What should I do? This is kind of what discouraged me from the U130eXtrem because I didn't know which orientation to use and I didn't want the fans next to it fighting against each other. I don't know which directiong the gpu fans are but they appear to vent into the case and I doubt the matter much. Here are some diagrams:









Thanks

 

[Knufire]

Front and side are intakes. Back and top are exhaust. Mount the heatsink vertically, blowing directly on the back exhaust fan.

GTX670 isn't a $250 card, it's more of a $400 card. In the $250 range, you'd be looking at a GTX660 or a Radeon HD 7870.

 

[RedlineDyno]

Ah, I see. That makes a lot more sense lol. For some reason I never even thought about mounting it vertically . As for the card I don't mind spending that if I find a game I really love.

 

[Knufire]

Wait, I meant heatsink vertical, fan blowing horizontally. Exactly like in your 2nd picture.

 

[RedlineDyno]

That makes sense too, thanks.

 

[RedlineDyno]

Update: 6/12/2013

I have installed my U120eXtrem1366RT using Artic MX-2 paste and re routed my fans correctly as advised previously. This lowered my temps substantially. I also ordered an OCZ Vertex 4 128gb SDD. I should receive this in the next few days and look forward to the increase in load times!

I have 3 new questions:

1. I have done nothing in the bios for my ram, can someone point me in the direction on how to get them operating at the called for timing/voltage? The OCZ ram call for 10-10-10-30 1.65v

2. What is the best way to mirror my current raid 0 setup to my new SSD? Or is a clean install better?

3. I'm currently using the gigabyte "smart6" OC utility on "twin turbo" which pushes my processor from 2.8ghz to 3.5ghz. Is this safe? My idle temps are 40c to 45c with a tjmax of 100c. I've read a few articles on OC and am still not comfortable with it on my own so I've used this utility. Is it better to continue reading and become comfortable with doing it myself?

I've also noticed a lot of people running dual channel memory, has tri channel become not important?

 

[wingman99]

It's best to do a clean install on the SSD, so you don't have to do drive alignment.

Triple and quad channel does not show hardly any improvement in real world applications over dual channel memory.

 

[Conumdrum]

Mobo software for overclocking really isn't the best way. Too many volts get pumped to the CPU, making it run hot. Go to your CPU forum here and read how to manually overclock it in your BIOS. You can ask about ram settings in the Ram or CPU forum. It's in your manual how to change things and info can be learned from the STICKIES in the CPU forums here.

Have you run any stress test yet? Prime 95? have the right Temp monitoring software? RealTemp for your CPU.

 

[Theocnoob]

Update: 6/12/2013

I have installed my U120eXtrem1366RT using Artic MX-2 paste and re routed my fans correctly as advised previously. This lowered my temps substantially. I also ordered an OCZ Vertex 4 128gb SDD. I should receive this in the next few days and look forward to the increase in load times!

I have 3 new questions:

1. I have done nothing in the bios for my ram, can someone point me in the direction on how to get them operating at the called for timing/voltage? The OCZ ram call for 10-10-10-30 1.65v

2. What is the best way to mirror my current raid 0 setup to my new SSD? Or is a clean install better?

3. I'm currently using the gigabyte "smart6" OC utility on "twin turbo" which pushes my processor from 2.8ghz to 3.5ghz. Is this safe? My idle temps are 40c to 45c with a tjmax of 100c. I've read a few articles on OC and am still not comfortable with it on my own so I've used this utility. Is it better to continue reading and become comfortable with doing it myself?

I've also noticed a lot of people running dual channel memory, has tri channel become not important?

1 set xmp profile in bios

2 fresh install is better

3 learn to do it in the bios