Final Check + Questions

A

Alien

Member
So, I posted here a couple of months ago about a desktop computer that I would build myself.

I have changed my mind slightly, and have been investigating the different components since then, and have switched some.

This is my current build, minus the components I have questions about:

CPU: Intel Core i7 3770K 4x 3.50GHz So.1155 BOX
Link

RAM: 16GB Kingston HyperX Blu DDR3-1600

SSD: 120GB Corsair Force GT Series CSSD-F120GBGT-BK 2.5" (6.4cm)

HDD: 2000GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.14 ST2000DM001 64MB

GPU: eVGA GTX 680 4GB w/Backplate

Soundcard: Asus Soundcard Xonar DX/XD Low Profile 7.1 PCIe x1
Case: CoolerMaster HAF X Window Big Tower

Monitor: 24" (61,00cm) Asus VS248H D-Sub+DVI black FullHD LED.

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So, the few questions I have are these...

Motherboard:
Asus P8Z77-V
(Asus P8Z77-V Pro?)
Asus P8Z77-V Deluxe.

I've searched Google and other forums again, and again, and again, but I can't seem to find a definite answer as to which is better to get.
Would someone be able to say which is better for general use and perhaps slight overclocking of the 3770k?

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Cooler:
Noctua NH-D14
Zalman 9900CNPS

Which would perform better? I've heard many internet horror stories of the Noctua not being compatible with 1155 Sockets (For whatever reason), and am just investigating this further.

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And finally... PSU:
Corsair Enthusiast Series TX750 V2
Antec 900W Gaming Standard

The Corsair is €30 cheaper, and the 750w would be enough for the 680 (Or so I've heard?).
I'm just confirming that the Corsair would be a better choice, or should I pick a completely different PSU?

Thanks again for all of your help!
 
I have some suggestions:

Firstly, I wouldn't buy a Corsair SSD myself. I'd go for a Crucial M4, or a SanDisk Extreme, or a Samsung 830/840 or a Kingston Hyper-X drive. The other drives are usually faster than the Corsairs.

Board wise, I have the P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 (the previous generation to Z77), so I'd recommended picking up the Pro if you want an ASUS Z77 board. However, I'd take a Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H or UD5H over the P8Z77-V PRO, especially the UD5H for overclocking.

The Noctua cooler is good. I don't know much about coolers, but the Noctua will be fine. Be aware it is huge so you need to make sure it can clear your RAM before you buy it.

You could easily the single 680 off the 750W PSU. Save the money and get that.

Not sure why you think you need a sound card. Save the money and get a UD5H with it. :)
 
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Go with a Gigabyte UD3H or UD5H. No Asus, unless you get a good deal on one. Corsair drives are known for unrealiablity, go with a Crucial M4, a Samsung, or Intel 520 (Intel is the best, but most expensive), or a Sandisk, or a Kingston.
 
Where do you live? Alternate is a good store in Europe, I can help you build then. And you can get the Silver Arrow SB-e there, it's really good and €15 cheaper then the noctua.
 
byteninja2 said:
Go with a Gigabyte UD3H or UD5H. No Asus, unless you get a good deal on one. Corsair drives are known for unrealiablity, go with a Crucial M4, a Samsung, or Intel 520 (Intel is the best, but most expensive), or a Sandisk, or a Kingston.
Click to expand...

ASUS is fine but I prefer Gigabyte's Z77 boards. I wouldn't ever write them off completely.

I've used the M4 and the SanDisk myself and they are both fantastic drives. Using the SanDisk right now.
 
The nicer Full towers have support for watercooling, better airflow, and more room to work and have better cable management.
 
Unless you're going to do some hardcore editing/multi-tasking or VM, you could probably stick with 8 GB of ram and upgrade it to 1866Mhz.
 
Alright, thanks for all of your help.

@Spirit; I will use your suggestions, and have changed everything around. I appreciate it. And as for the soundcard, I always thought you needed one for sounds. :P

@Byteninja2; Thank you for that and for confirming what Spirit said!

@Smileman; Ireland. And from what I've seen, Hardwareversand is cheaper than Alternate, but thanks for the suggestion.

@Astro; Yes, I plan to do some editing, and besides, I've already purchased the RAM.
 
Alien said:
@Spirit; I will use your suggestions, and have changed everything around. I appreciate it. And as for the soundcard, I always thought you needed one for sounds. :P
Click to expand...
Unless you're doing professional audio editing or you're just crazy about getting perfect sound quality and have very expensive headphones and speakers to go with the card, you don't need a sound card. Onboard sound will work fine. Save the money and spend it elsewhere - maybe on a 256GB SSD.

bigfellla said:
Ram is cheap, plus increasing frequency of DDR3 makes very little benefit.
Click to expand...
Exactly.
 
I looked at your site. It seems to be a bit cheaper then alternate.de (not very much though)
Nice to know btw :P. But mind you, the shipping will cost at least 50 euro.

And also, I saw that site sells the Thermalright silver arrow SB-e. Go with the extreme edition since it's at the same price as the noctua :D. The normal SB-e is already very good. I'm getting 66 degrees max on 4.7ghz 1.375v.

Thermalright Silver Arrow SB-e (60.99): http://www2.hardwareversand.de/Intel+AMD/67111/Thermalright+Silver+Arrow+SB-E.article

Thermalright Silver Arrow Extreme (74.99): http://www2.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?adp=0&aid=67106&agid=669&apop=3

Noctua D-14 (74.79): http://www2.hardwareversand.de/Intel+AMD/31818/Noctua+NH-D14%2C+Sockel+AM2+AM2%2B+AM3+775+1366+1155+1156.article

Read alot of reviews where the Silver Arrow is better then the noctua, and the extreme just cools 5°C extra!
I'm very happy with this cooler though. Good luck with your build! Looks good to me now.
 
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