New Build - a couple questions

butter

butter

New Member
Dear Forum:


It is the time (once in 4-5 years) for my home PC to get a boost up. I was hoping to get a decent machine together, avoiding insane expenses. So here's my pick:

Full list: http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=18051351

1) MotherBoard: ASUS Sabertooth X79 LGA 2011
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131801
(natively supports CPU and RAM listed below @1600, which is good)

2) CPU: Intel Core i7-3820 Sandy Bridge-E 3.6GHz LGA 2011 130W Quad-Core
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115229
(The other two LGA 2011 are quite expensive, but this one should be powerful enough though)

3) RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Z Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231537
(only 4/8 slots, so I can add more later, 16GB should be plenty for now)

4) Video: ASUS GTX660 TI-DC2O-2GD5 GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121656
(using 1/2 SLI slots, so I can add another one like that into SLI later, but hopefully this one should be enough for now)

5) Storage: SAMSUNG 830 Series MZ-7PC256D/AM 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147135
(this is only for the OS files. I also have a couple of regular HDDs in RAID0 for additional storage)


Questions: :confused:

a) power supply? It has to be good enough for the possible future Video SLI and memory upgrades. In PSU101 section I found this http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256006 but still confused

b) CPU cooling??? perhaps liquid? something like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181017&Tpk=Corsair H100
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181015

c) will my case (full ATX tower) fit it all? or as long as it fits the MotherBoard it's all that matters?

d) Once I'm done with the upgrade, I'll have a bunch of older (fine and working) parts to get rid of. What's the best way to sell/donate them? Post them here? eBay?

e) Should I plug 4 memory planks next to each other or rather in the slots of the same color? Or it won't matter whatsoever?

f) What else I have to think of?


Thank you! :)
 
The i7 3770K is cheaper and faster than the 3820 and overclocks far better and the boards are cheaper too - it's a no brainer.

You can get the Sabertooth Z77 for the 3770K if you like.

That is an old PSU. You want something like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207011 that should do you good for a 660 Ti SLI setup.

It will all fit into any ATX case, so long as it's not ITX or Micro ATX.

Cooling wise, air cooling should be fine unless you want to go mad with overclocking. Cooler Master Hyper 212+ would be good.
 
spirit, thank you very much for your response!

Overall MB and CPU I agree with you. No OC planned, thus just a fan should be fine, too.

CPU:
3770K is actually 30$ more expensive, but overall I like it better for double the feedback, better Turbo, and most importantly 22nm tech, which means that i'm going to save a tree (and a couple bucks for the electic bill) - for it's energy efficient. Plus comes with a fan. So I won't have to buy a separate water cooling system like I originally intended.
3820 - the only advantages I could think of is that it's newer and has 2MB more of L3 cache.
I agree - no brainer here.

MB:
X79 has a newer socket, double RAM slots, quad-channel ready, but more expensive.
Basically the question here is how much better is quad-channel RAM compared with two-channel?? I personally doubt it would have any significant impact on performance.

Also, what do you think of this one?
ASUS P8Z77-V DELUXE
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131818
It's a bit more expensive, but has WiFi and BlueTooth conveniently built in, plus comes with free memory! (not the best CAS latency, but still pretty nice and solid planks as they seem)

PSU:
Here's the PSU I found that seems to be meeting all requirements (SLI certified, 4 x 6-pin connectors for the Video cards)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371022
The only thing I'm not sure about is the total power - it's only 750W. Should I rather be aiming at 850?
 
The 3770K is actually newer than the 3820 I think.

Z77 runs with dual channel RAM. There isn't much noticeable speed difference between dual- and quad-channel, the major difference is the maximum supported RAM. 32GB is the max for dual-channel, 64GB for quad-channel. Z77 is a great setup.

I would actually get the Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H. Gigabyte make some nice Z77 boards.

750W should be fine.
 
ok, clear on the MB and CPU, thanks!

I personally have been using Gigabyte so far myself. Just recently started considering ASUS as heard that they are a bit more expensive but more reliable. But I will research GB too.

Now, does that mean I should be looking for a Gigabyte Video card too? I mean if all other factors, like price, being equal.

PSU:
Found this one:
CORSAIR HX Series HX750 750W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - $144.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139010
A bit pricey, but I can't go better, right?
 
HX 750 is a great PSU.

Gigabyte's customer support is better than ASUS', but I've had three ASUS boards (P5, P7 and now P8) and not had a problem. I think though right now Gigabyte are offering better value for money than ASUS, so I'd go for the Z77X-UD5H.

No you don't need a Gigabyte video card unless you absolutely want one, a Gigabyte board will work with any PCI Express card. The ASUS 660 Ti you picked will be fine.
 
Found this one:
CORSAIR HX Series HX750 750W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - $144.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139010
A bit pricey, but I can't go better, right?
Click to expand...

You can always get better. Over the top, but absolutely the best out there, check out this EVGA (just showing that you made a good choice as far as price and features). http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438004

The HX, though not the best, is a very good PSU.
 
The GA-Z77X-UD5H motherboard you suggested has x8 on the second PCI3.0 - could be a potential bottleneck for SLI in the future, no?
 
Personally I prefer running one fast card rather than two slower ones. A single 660 Ti should set you up for a while.

You could always have a look at the G1 Assassin (I think it's Z77 and LGA 1155?), that may be better?
 
wolfeking, hahaha yea right 500$!!! But I got the point.

It's just that I just read a bunch of scary stories of how a bad PSU can fry the system. So after allocating 1k+, I want to make sure my PSU is sufficient and reliable, that's all.
 
not really. SLI is specced out at x8/x8. Most boards have x8/x8 SLI. Though this always in my mind leads me to a day dream of the 780i EVGA board that had x16/x16/x16 3 way SLI. ...


You are fine with x8/x8
 
butter said:
wolfeking, hahaha yea right 500$!!! But I got the point.

It's just that I just read a bunch of scary stories of how a bad PSU can fry the system. So after allocating 1k+, I want to make sure my PSU is sufficient and reliable, that's all.
Click to expand...

Corsair is a very reliable brand. It will do fine. As said, it might not be the absolute best, but it is one hell of a runner up.
 
spirit said:
Personally I prefer running one fast card rather than two slower ones. A single 660 Ti should set you up for a while.

You could always have a look at the G1 Assassin (I think it's Z77 and LGA 1155?), that may be better?
Click to expand...

I agree with you, that's why I'm starting with a single one for now, too. It's just thinking ahead, for a quick upgrade in the future - throw another GPU in and keep rolling. ;)

G1 Assassin is great, but not cheap. And again that would put us back to LGA 2011. Which I'm almost convinced to turn away from.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128533
 
wait, so SLI can't work on x16? So does it mean that by adding another video card, I'm dropping the bandwidth of the first in half???? That's some shocking news for me actually. Is it a motherboard/chipset limitation? Or all SLI are like that?
 
Yeah you halve the bandwidth when you go SLI I think. Only a few boards do x16/x16/x16, the old EVGA 780i was one of them.

I have a feeling it may be a chipset limitation. Don't take my word for that though.
 
no no no. I was saying that you don't have to go 2011 to get that board. It is made in 1155. But you are fine no matter if it is x16/x16 or x8/x8.
 
spirit, x16/x16/x16 - that's a triple SLI you are talking about??? I wasn't even considering that. Honestly, I didn't even know about it till now, when I looked it up. Apparently even quad-SLI is possible. Gosh, sky is the limit!

wolfeking, I need to find out whether x16/x16 or x8/x8 matters. (I mean SLI - two cards both running at x16 or both at x8). Because if not, then why bother getting x16 at all??

Also, there's a rumor that SLI can't see more that one monitor. True or false?
 
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