6MonitorTrader
New Member
Hi everyone. New member at cf, glad I found you, as I can see from the posts there are lots of smart people here. Any help would be very much appreciated. Here's the context for this new build:
I'm a trader, working from home trading forex, options, and stock. I've been making do on a 17" laptop, with a 19" lcd for an additional screen. It's possible to trade this way, but not optimal. I'm feeling more and more need for screen real estate, and so I decided to make my laptop + 19" lcd be just my backup system in the event my main PC fails, and that I will move to a new 6-monitor desktop system. Tried configuring this new PC with HP, then Velocity Micro, then CyberPower, but none were flexible enough... too many constraints and compromises. So now I'm building it myself, though I'm a first-timer, long on ambition and short on knowledge. My plan is that this be a premium, no compromises, system that I can still be happily using 5 years from now.
My budget is $2000-2800 for the PC (or whatever additional it takes) and $1500 or so for the 6 monitors, desk-clamp stands, and peripherals. I'm not a gamer, so don't need high performance graphics, but at the same time I do not want slow-graphics issues either. Mostly it needs to drive six independent displays (dual-link DVI) at their native 1920x1080. I'll have several trading applications open, each with many windows, and will sometimes have Internet Explorer, iTunes if things get slow, email, and other stuff going on. I plan to use UltraMon software, and want to be rid of the hassle of minimizing and shifting between windows all day.
My other requirements, roughly in order: 1. Cool... don't want highest speed CPU & GPU if that means a hot and noisy PC 2. Quiet (as near silent as possible) 3. Highest quality, reliable components 4. Fast, and expandable/future-proofed to the limited extent I can do that 5. This system will probably run 24x7, with only occasional shutdowns. I'd like to run SETI@home or folding@home in the idle periods. I am interested in liquid cooling but know very little, and need your expertise there. I know zero about overclocking, but want to gradually learn about that, and after 6 months or so with the new PC, start experimenting with some moderate overclocking. So far the main resource I have, other than you guys, is Chambers' "Build Your Own PC, for Dummies" (2009 ed). Pathetic, I know, but that's where I'm at. Everyone has a first build, we don't learn it in the womb. And with you lending your expertise, what could possibly go wrong?
I plan to order my parts no later than Jan 15, and have it in working order by Febr 6. We'll see. Here's the configuration so far:
Case= CoolerMaster Storm Sniper Black Edition $166. This is a mid-tower, with 3 200mm fans on the front, side, and top, and 120mm fan on the rear. Liquid cooling ports/support at rear top, rear bottom, and under the top 200mm fan.
http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/product.php?category_id=19&product_id=2950
PSU= Corsair 750HX modular power supply $158 Is 750W the right choice? Each of my 3 graphics cards has a peak draw of I think 45W.
http://www.corsair.com/products/hx750/default.aspx
MB= Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD7 $375 Has 6 PCIe (2 are x16 and 2 are x8, but if more than 2 are populated, all 4 drop to x8 bandwidth... is that a problem given my choice of GPU?) USB3.0, SATA6Gb/s, eSATA among lots of other great stuff. I don't see much said about Gigabyte, mostly people seem to like EVGA and Asus and some others. What's your opinion?
http://www.giga-byte.com/Products/Motherboard/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=3251
CPU= Intel Core i7-920 2.66GHz LGA1366 $290... Consensus seems to be that this has the most potential of any of the i7s for overclocking. I'm still considering the i7-975, but it's hard to find as many users reporting their experience with it. The 975 would give me some of that future-proofing I want, but will it run hotter (and so more system noise) than the 920? Since they all say 130W, can I assume all the i7 cpus will run at the same temperature if given the same clock speed? Can the 975 be overclocked 30-40% as the 920 supposedly can?
http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Processor-2-66GHz-LGA1366-BX80601920/dp/B001H5T7LK/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I2S3DADT0L1SGD&colid=2LUQKFN99817X
RAM= Corsair Dominator 1600MHz DDR3, 6-12GB, $206-412. Originally was 12Gb, but now I'm wondering. Will the multiple applications use I described in third paragraph above make good use of 12GB, or is 6GB more than I'll ever need and 12GB is just a waste? Also is 1600MHz the right choice, the best match to my mb and cpu and the overclocking I plan to do later, or should I be getting the 1800MHz?
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-TR3X6G1600C8D-Dominator-PC3-12800-1600MHz/dp/B001L4A76G/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I31JSIULCP9P19&colid=2LUQKFN99817X
CPU Cooler= Zalman CNPS9700LED Ultra Quiet, $40. Here I especially need help, and this probably is not the right choice at all. Bottomline: I want the best cooling performance and lowest-noise cooler for the i7 that money can buy. What would that be in your opinion? I'm willing to use liquid cooling or air cooling, whichever will be the absolute best available solution.
http://www.amazon.com/Zalman-CNPS9700LED-Ultra-Quiet-Cooler/dp/B000JSFZPS/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I3GFC8DRDTJHH6&colid=2LUQKFN99817X
HD= Western Digital 1.5TB Caviar Green SATA 32MB cache, $110. This is not 7200rpm, but is alleged to be lower power, cooler, and quieter than the Black drive. I'm OK with a minor performance drop if it means a quieter PC.
http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Intellipower-Desktop-WD15EADS/dp/B0021L9HE6/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=IVB6ENREU1NR5&colid=2LUQKFN99817X
DVD= Samsung Internal Half Height DVD-W Supermulti SATA 22x Lightscribe, $31. This does DVD-RAM which I want because I have lots of the media. Anyone know what DVD-W is? Does anyone know of a better drive you can suggest, which does Lightscribe and DVD-RAM, as well as the usual formats? I have no interest in BluRay for the computer.
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Internal-Height-Supermulti-Lightscribe/dp/B002HFWBIA/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I19SXC80A7SLBS&colid=2LUQKFN99817X
GPU= EVGA GeForce 9500GT 1GB DDR2, 3 each, $65 each. This one still feels like just a stab in the dark. Again, I don't need high-end gaming performance at all, although I wouldn't want to preclude the ability to play a game at some point. What I do need: Dual-Link DVI, 2 of them on each card, 1920x1080 res on all 6 monitors, good enough graphics performance that I won't notice any defects or slowness, the ability to get the job done in spite of only x8 bandwidth on the PCIe path, low power, cool, and quiet. Those are the needs I had in mind choosing this GPU. Can you suggest a better alternative? Also I have a question about SLI. My plan is to not use SLI, because as I understand it, SLI would give me graphics acceleration which I don't really want, and I would end up with output to only 1 or 2 monitors? Is that correct?
http://www.evga.com/products/moreInfo.asp?pn=01G-P3-N959-TR&family=GeForce 9 Series Family
Sound= Onboard 7.1 audio. What do you think? If I went with a sound card, what would it do for me that my on-board hd audio chip won't? If it matters, I'm getting Logitech X540 5.1 speakers. Not great, but a big upgrade from what I had before.
Monitor= ViewSonic VA2223wm 22in 16x9 1080p LCD, 6 each, $159 each. Too late for input on this, already bought 3 of them.
http://www.viewsonic.com/products/desktop-monitors/lcd/value-series/va2223wm.htm
OS= Windows 7 Professional 64bit OEM, $140
http://www.amazon.com/Windows-PRO-Bit-OEM-1pk/dp/B002NGQLIE/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I3OD5CMC7FNG56&colid=2LUQKFN99817X
Sorry about the long-winded post, but I wanted to give you the full picture. Any light you can shed on any of my questions would be very much appreciated. Thanks so much, in advance.
I'm a trader, working from home trading forex, options, and stock. I've been making do on a 17" laptop, with a 19" lcd for an additional screen. It's possible to trade this way, but not optimal. I'm feeling more and more need for screen real estate, and so I decided to make my laptop + 19" lcd be just my backup system in the event my main PC fails, and that I will move to a new 6-monitor desktop system. Tried configuring this new PC with HP, then Velocity Micro, then CyberPower, but none were flexible enough... too many constraints and compromises. So now I'm building it myself, though I'm a first-timer, long on ambition and short on knowledge. My plan is that this be a premium, no compromises, system that I can still be happily using 5 years from now.
My budget is $2000-2800 for the PC (or whatever additional it takes) and $1500 or so for the 6 monitors, desk-clamp stands, and peripherals. I'm not a gamer, so don't need high performance graphics, but at the same time I do not want slow-graphics issues either. Mostly it needs to drive six independent displays (dual-link DVI) at their native 1920x1080. I'll have several trading applications open, each with many windows, and will sometimes have Internet Explorer, iTunes if things get slow, email, and other stuff going on. I plan to use UltraMon software, and want to be rid of the hassle of minimizing and shifting between windows all day.
My other requirements, roughly in order: 1. Cool... don't want highest speed CPU & GPU if that means a hot and noisy PC 2. Quiet (as near silent as possible) 3. Highest quality, reliable components 4. Fast, and expandable/future-proofed to the limited extent I can do that 5. This system will probably run 24x7, with only occasional shutdowns. I'd like to run SETI@home or folding@home in the idle periods. I am interested in liquid cooling but know very little, and need your expertise there. I know zero about overclocking, but want to gradually learn about that, and after 6 months or so with the new PC, start experimenting with some moderate overclocking. So far the main resource I have, other than you guys, is Chambers' "Build Your Own PC, for Dummies" (2009 ed). Pathetic, I know, but that's where I'm at. Everyone has a first build, we don't learn it in the womb. And with you lending your expertise, what could possibly go wrong?
I plan to order my parts no later than Jan 15, and have it in working order by Febr 6. We'll see. Here's the configuration so far:
Case= CoolerMaster Storm Sniper Black Edition $166. This is a mid-tower, with 3 200mm fans on the front, side, and top, and 120mm fan on the rear. Liquid cooling ports/support at rear top, rear bottom, and under the top 200mm fan.
http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/product.php?category_id=19&product_id=2950
PSU= Corsair 750HX modular power supply $158 Is 750W the right choice? Each of my 3 graphics cards has a peak draw of I think 45W.
http://www.corsair.com/products/hx750/default.aspx
MB= Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD7 $375 Has 6 PCIe (2 are x16 and 2 are x8, but if more than 2 are populated, all 4 drop to x8 bandwidth... is that a problem given my choice of GPU?) USB3.0, SATA6Gb/s, eSATA among lots of other great stuff. I don't see much said about Gigabyte, mostly people seem to like EVGA and Asus and some others. What's your opinion?
http://www.giga-byte.com/Products/Motherboard/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=3251
CPU= Intel Core i7-920 2.66GHz LGA1366 $290... Consensus seems to be that this has the most potential of any of the i7s for overclocking. I'm still considering the i7-975, but it's hard to find as many users reporting their experience with it. The 975 would give me some of that future-proofing I want, but will it run hotter (and so more system noise) than the 920? Since they all say 130W, can I assume all the i7 cpus will run at the same temperature if given the same clock speed? Can the 975 be overclocked 30-40% as the 920 supposedly can?
http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Processor-2-66GHz-LGA1366-BX80601920/dp/B001H5T7LK/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I2S3DADT0L1SGD&colid=2LUQKFN99817X
RAM= Corsair Dominator 1600MHz DDR3, 6-12GB, $206-412. Originally was 12Gb, but now I'm wondering. Will the multiple applications use I described in third paragraph above make good use of 12GB, or is 6GB more than I'll ever need and 12GB is just a waste? Also is 1600MHz the right choice, the best match to my mb and cpu and the overclocking I plan to do later, or should I be getting the 1800MHz?
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-TR3X6G1600C8D-Dominator-PC3-12800-1600MHz/dp/B001L4A76G/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I31JSIULCP9P19&colid=2LUQKFN99817X
CPU Cooler= Zalman CNPS9700LED Ultra Quiet, $40. Here I especially need help, and this probably is not the right choice at all. Bottomline: I want the best cooling performance and lowest-noise cooler for the i7 that money can buy. What would that be in your opinion? I'm willing to use liquid cooling or air cooling, whichever will be the absolute best available solution.
http://www.amazon.com/Zalman-CNPS9700LED-Ultra-Quiet-Cooler/dp/B000JSFZPS/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I3GFC8DRDTJHH6&colid=2LUQKFN99817X
HD= Western Digital 1.5TB Caviar Green SATA 32MB cache, $110. This is not 7200rpm, but is alleged to be lower power, cooler, and quieter than the Black drive. I'm OK with a minor performance drop if it means a quieter PC.
http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Intellipower-Desktop-WD15EADS/dp/B0021L9HE6/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=IVB6ENREU1NR5&colid=2LUQKFN99817X
DVD= Samsung Internal Half Height DVD-W Supermulti SATA 22x Lightscribe, $31. This does DVD-RAM which I want because I have lots of the media. Anyone know what DVD-W is? Does anyone know of a better drive you can suggest, which does Lightscribe and DVD-RAM, as well as the usual formats? I have no interest in BluRay for the computer.
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Internal-Height-Supermulti-Lightscribe/dp/B002HFWBIA/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I19SXC80A7SLBS&colid=2LUQKFN99817X
GPU= EVGA GeForce 9500GT 1GB DDR2, 3 each, $65 each. This one still feels like just a stab in the dark. Again, I don't need high-end gaming performance at all, although I wouldn't want to preclude the ability to play a game at some point. What I do need: Dual-Link DVI, 2 of them on each card, 1920x1080 res on all 6 monitors, good enough graphics performance that I won't notice any defects or slowness, the ability to get the job done in spite of only x8 bandwidth on the PCIe path, low power, cool, and quiet. Those are the needs I had in mind choosing this GPU. Can you suggest a better alternative? Also I have a question about SLI. My plan is to not use SLI, because as I understand it, SLI would give me graphics acceleration which I don't really want, and I would end up with output to only 1 or 2 monitors? Is that correct?
http://www.evga.com/products/moreInfo.asp?pn=01G-P3-N959-TR&family=GeForce 9 Series Family
Sound= Onboard 7.1 audio. What do you think? If I went with a sound card, what would it do for me that my on-board hd audio chip won't? If it matters, I'm getting Logitech X540 5.1 speakers. Not great, but a big upgrade from what I had before.
Monitor= ViewSonic VA2223wm 22in 16x9 1080p LCD, 6 each, $159 each. Too late for input on this, already bought 3 of them.
http://www.viewsonic.com/products/desktop-monitors/lcd/value-series/va2223wm.htm
OS= Windows 7 Professional 64bit OEM, $140
http://www.amazon.com/Windows-PRO-Bit-OEM-1pk/dp/B002NGQLIE/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I3OD5CMC7FNG56&colid=2LUQKFN99817X
Sorry about the long-winded post, but I wanted to give you the full picture. Any light you can shed on any of my questions would be very much appreciated. Thanks so much, in advance.