Need Advice/Help with my New Build Specs... ($2500-$3000 budget)

spirit

spirit

Moderator
Staff member
Yeah a 1000W PSU would be fine, it's just it would be a waste of money. 850W would be fine for SLI'ing two 670s or 680s I reckon.

I'd just go for two 670s or 680s now if you want to SLI. No point really waiting, there's gonna be another year or maybe longer until the 7xx series gets released.
 
Jamebonds1

Jamebonds1

Active Member
vistakid10 said:
Yeah a 1000W PSU would be fine, it's just it would be a waste of money. 850W would be fine for SLI'ing two 670s or 680s I reckon.

I'd just go for two 670s or 680s now if you want to SLI. No point really waiting, there's gonna be another year or maybe longer until the 7xx series gets released.
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I agree. Crysis 2 playing so well on GTX 670.
 
Jamebonds1

Jamebonds1

Active Member
G80FTW said:
I hate to just jump in here on page 9....

but $3000 budget? Can you not just get almost the best hardware for that kind of money? I mean, in hardware I only spent $1,500 on my computer and its by no means slow...

Id say if you got that kind of money, go for this:

https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.aspx?ID=19885852

$500 to spare. I just threw those parts together. That $500 will get you the best IB 39xxx whatever it is. But yea, $3000 is alot of money.
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Your link is not work. it show log in.
 
spirit

spirit

Moderator
Staff member
If you saw the first post that's pretty much what we specced for him. We've got a better SSD than that Vertex 4 as well (Samsung 830) and a 680 SLI setup possibly.
 
G80FTW

G80FTW

Active Member
vistakid10 said:
If you saw the first post that's pretty much what we specced for him. We've got a better SSD than that Vertex 4 as well (Samsung 830) and a 680 SLI setup possibly.
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But wouldnt a 690 be better for the money? If he buys 2 680 2GBs for SLi, that will run him $1,000 for the reference models which is the same price as a 4GB 690.
 
G80FTW

G80FTW

Active Member
vistakid10 said:
680 SLI is usually a tiny bit faster than a single 690, see here http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/585?vs=586 but of course he could get two 690s later on and SLI them, but that'd set him back 2 grand.

It's a tough decision.
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That 690 is also clocked lower than the 680s. So if they were clocked the same, then they should be identical if not on the 690 side.

Im saying though, that if he spends the grand on the 690 he gets 4GB of VRAM (which will prove MUCH more useful than 2GB very soon) and it will take up less space and I think even save power.

Win win if you ask me.

If you ask me, there is no need for SLi 680s or a 690 right now but if you got the money then go for it!
 
Jamebonds1

Jamebonds1

Active Member
vistakid10 said:
Hmm yeah that would probably a good route to go, remember you can overclock the 680s though.

OK so OP, go for a single 690 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130781 there's an EVGA one.
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Plus. Sometime overclock on SLI mode can be more unstable than single video card. Good news is gigabyte have SATA power on motherboard for stable power. Plus it can connection wire on motherboard for check voltage. It was used for overclocked 7 GHz.
 
C

Chameleon

New Member
G80FTW said:
IB 3770K
ASUS Maximus V
EVGA Signature 690 4GB
Antec HCG 900W
Corsair Vengeance 16GB 1600MHz
Fractal Design R4
OCz Vertex 4 128GB SSD
Western Digital 2TB HDD

Total = $2,372.92
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So I've seen all the input on the last two pages, and I'm going to consider it all... also, thanks for the complete build suggestions above. Gives me some more pieces to check out!

Seems the GPU is where I need to put a lot of thought into. I've come to the point where I'm going to try to cap my budget at right about $2800 actually. And I'm going to be needing a brand new 27"+ 120Hz monitor. So that will also be a factor in all my decisions...

But back to the GPU... Now that I've seen the comparison between 2 680's SLI and one 690... given that would roughly be the same price ($1k), I definitely agree that a single 690 would be the way to go! HOWEVER, I'm still going to weigh all my options and make my decision when I'm about to make all the purchases. But I totally appreciate the input. I don't think I would have even considered the 690 until you all brought it up. So thank you again!


G80FTW said:
If you ask me, there is no need for SLi 680s or a 690 right now but if you got the money then go for it!
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So what would you suggest (right now), given you don't think there is a need for SLI 680s or a single 690? (Just out of curiousity)... and why do you think this? (Again, I'm just curious)
 
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spirit

spirit

Moderator
Staff member
An SLI 680/single 690 setup is very powerful indeed and is probably overkill but still good t have. Really something like a 670 is all you'll ever need for a long while.
 
C

Chameleon

New Member
vistakid10 said:
An SLI 680/single 690 setup is very powerful indeed and is probably overkill but still good t have. Really something like a 670 is all you'll ever need for a long while.
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Yeah... which was kinda my mindset. Especially given that I could just spend like $400ish on a single 670 now (which will be BEAST as is, and save me money); then, later down the line, I can look into nvidia's new 7xx series and see about upgrading at that point. As opposed to going all-out right now with a single $1k 690, which would probably just be overkill, especially in the $$ department.

I mean, dx12 looks like it may be coming out next year, so I might just want to wait and see if that will coincide with the 7xx series.

Anyways... thanks for the thoughts!
 
C

Chameleon

New Member
G80FTW said:
ASUS Maximus V
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Ok, so I've actually added the ASUS Maximus V FORMULA to my MoBo options. It's a bit more expensive, but it has better onboard audio. I've been reading that the Realtek ALC892 chipset is "MEH" when it comes to audio (not horrible, but certainly not the best). So, if I go with the Sabertooth, I might have to spring for a better standalone sound card... the only thing that is REALLY grabbing me about the Sabertooth, is the plastic covering on the whole thing. Basically, given we have two cats and a lot of dust where we live, I am really going for as CLEAN of a build as I can (hence the dust screens in the case). So anything that will help keep the inside AS dust/cat hair-free as possible is a plus. BUT, given I am an avid audiophile, the onboard audio option on the Maximus may just be a better solution... Though, a standalone sound card is not necessarily out of the picture...

What are your guys' opinions on both of these MoBo's as well as the onboard audio/soundcard options?
 
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spirit

spirit

Moderator
Staff member
Onboard audio is fine really, you probably wouldn't need a sound card even with the Sabertooth.

I'd say save the money and get the ST.
 
C

Chameleon

New Member
vistakid10 said:
Onboard audio is fine really, you probably wouldn't need a sound card even with the Sabertooth.

I'd say save the money and get the ST.
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Yeah... you're probably right. And hell, given I'm a DJ, and plan to start using my PC for digital DJ'ing, I may very well need a better sound solution than even the Maximus MoBo will be able to give me. So I'd probably have to get a standalone card anyways! So yeah... I'm heavily leaning toward the Sabertooth still, as I don't see anything (other than the audio difference) that would sway me to spend that bit extra on the MoBo.

As for GPU... I think I may have found the card I'll go with (which I've added to my list of options). Seems like this one has the best of all worlds... It's in the $450 range, and it has 4Gb!

EVGA GeForce GTX 670 Superclocked+ 4GB -- (Newegg Price: $459.99)

Thoughts?
 
G80FTW

G80FTW

Active Member
Chameleon said:
So what would you suggest (right now), given you don't think there is a need for SLI 680s or a single 690? (Just out of curiousity)... and why do you think this? (Again, I'm just curious)
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Well, technically a GTX 670 will do just fine right now for any game. But the important thing to remember is that there are 5 new game engines coming out the beginning of next year and may or may not be more demanding (judging from the console driven gaming development world we sadly live in).

So, I would still suggest the single 690 over SLi 680s. Reason being, Iv never been one for SLi or even dual GPU cards. I just dont believe there is any reason to need that kind of power. But, if I had the kind of money you do then there is no reason not to get a 690. Because in the long run it will last you much longer.
 
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