Looking for advice on my $2000 i7 buildPost Date: 2012-04-13 |
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smurfzilla
Newbie Joined: 13 Apr 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5 |
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Topic: Looking for advice on my $2000 i7 build Posted: 13 Apr 2012 at 12:47pm |
Budget: $2000-$2500 |
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bprat22
DS ELITE DigitalStorm East -- (Unofficially!) Joined: 08 Jun 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 20391 |
Quote Reply Posted: 13 Apr 2012 at 1:57pm |
Hi smurfzilla.....Welcome to the forums.
To game on the 30" Dell monitor at 2560x1600 resolution the single gtx 570 wouldn't do it. The gtx 680 is a much better fit. Here's a build to look at and I'll explain. Config # 675328 Cost $ 2422 Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Cooler Master 942 HAF X Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish Processor: Intel Core i7 2600K 3.40GHz (Unlocked CPU for Extreme Overclocking) (Quad Core) Motherboard: ASUS P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 (Intel Z68 Chipset) (Features Intel Quick Sync Technology) System Memory: 8GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested) Power Supply: 750W Corsair HX (Dual SLI Compatible) Expansion Bay: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (120GB Solid State (By: Corsair) (Model: Force GT Series CSSD-F120GBGT-BK) (SATA 6Gbps) Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks Optical Drive 1: Blu-Ray & DVD Writer/Reader (Burn + Play Blu-Ray & DVDs) (12x BD-R) (LG WH12LS39) Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections) Video Card: 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 2GB (Includes PhysX) (Overclocked EVGA 02G-P4-2682-BR) Add-on Card: - No Thanks Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 2: Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 Extreme Performance H20 Tube Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans Internal Lighting: - No Thanks Enhancements: - No Thanks Chassis Mods: - No Thanks Noise Reduction: - No Thanks LaserMark: - No Thanks Boost Processor: Stage 2: Overclock CPU 4.5GHz to 4.8GHz (Requires Pro or Deluxe Series Motherboard) Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s) Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory Boost OS: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition) Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows 7 CD) Virus Protection: - No Thanks Office: - No Thanks Game: - No Thanks Display: - No Thanks Surge Shield: - No Thanks Speakers: - No Thanks Keyboard: - No Thanks Mouse: - No Thanks External Storage: - No Thanks Exclusive T-Shirt: FREE: Digital Storm T-Shirt - Black (Large) Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 5-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty I changed the case to the HafX , the best for air cooling. The Storm Trooper does have decent airflow but the HafX is the best. Your call of course. As far as dust, the HafX intake fans all have dust filters on them. Changed the i7-2700 to the 2600, the 2700 does nothing you'll ever see. Changed memory to the 1600Mhz, again the difference is very little if any. The psu I changed to the 750HX which has a better efficiency rating actually giving you more power than the 800W and it has a 7 year warranty. The 800W will work but the 750Hx is the best. I changed gtx570 to gtx680. For the 30" monitor you really do need it. The single 570 would mean turning alot of settings down to get good fps. I put in the D14 cpu cooler and upped overclocking to stage 2, the i7-2600k a perfect fit for it. If budget is real tight you could drop cpu cooler to the A50 and oc to stage 1, but you would loose cpu performance. You mentioned video processing. If that means rendering, affects, etc then the best would be the X79 platform with the quad channel memory but it would be a few hundred $$$ more. This would do it just fine. You know more than I your requirements. See what you think and good luck. Edited by bprat22 - 13 Apr 2012 at 2:02pm |
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Alex
Admin Group Digital Storm Supervisor Joined: 04 Jun 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 16314 |
Quote Reply Posted: 13 Apr 2012 at 1:59pm |
As always, I'm impressed to see the support from this community. Thank you everyone for all of your great support!
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FrankW
DS Veteran Joined: 22 Feb 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2254 |
Quote Reply Posted: 13 Apr 2012 at 4:19pm |
Hi smurfzilla,
That is a great build by bprat22 but with some games one 680 may not be enough for 2550 x 1600 resolution. For instance Metro will drop down to an average of 48fps so some speeds will be slow. It is higher with BF3. I just want you to know that even with a 680 you may have to turn down some settings on some games. A 570 is not going to cut in with a 2550 monitor. Frank |
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smurfzilla
Newbie Joined: 13 Apr 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5 |
Quote Reply Posted: 13 Apr 2012 at 5:33pm |
hmmmm..... ok so it seems like the consensus is - trust DigitalStorm overclocking :) - I had issues years ago with random blue screens and reboots with an overclocked system so I was a little apprehensive about it but sounds like it's the right thing to do - I'm really concerned with running into issues due to the shear size of the Noctua NH-D14 for stage 2 overclocking would the corsair H100 be a reasonable alternative or should I not worry about the size of the NH-D14?
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bprat22
DS ELITE DigitalStorm East -- (Unofficially!) Joined: 08 Jun 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 20391 |
Quote Reply Posted: 13 Apr 2012 at 5:51pm |
The size of the D14 is big but reaaly doesn' t pose a problem. The mobo can handle it plus it is very reliable. Not much to go wrong with a big block of cooling fins. The H100 is a very good alternative. It's the first 'H' seies cooler that can cool and stay quiet as the D14. Either one is good.
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smurfzilla
Newbie Joined: 13 Apr 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5 |
Quote Reply Posted: 13 Apr 2012 at 6:07pm |
thanks for the info @bprat22 - so in regards to @FrankW's comments about gaming in 2550 x 1600 resolution - would it make any sense to swap out a single 680 for 2 570s or even 2 560 TIs running in SLI mode?
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bprat22
DS ELITE DigitalStorm East -- (Unofficially!) Joined: 08 Jun 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 20391 |
Quote Reply Posted: 13 Apr 2012 at 6:25pm |
Frank is right on with certain games on a 30" monitor, actually even a 24" monitor for 60fps at all times with all games on Ultra. Problem is, at that level gaming with the 30" monitor it would take a tri-sli, 3x 570 to do it. I would stick with the gtx680. Sli 680 if you play all maxed out with certain games like Metro. Diablo 3 would be fine with single 680.
Edited by bprat22 - 13 Apr 2012 at 6:28pm |
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smurfzilla
Newbie Joined: 13 Apr 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5 |
Quote Reply Posted: 15 Apr 2012 at 7:18am |
ok, so after a lot of back and forth and much consternation, and reviewing memory configurations, flip flopping between the Intel 320 SSD and Corsair Force GT I think I've finally settled on the following build.
Ticket Number: 675872 Total Price with Instant Savings: $2,510.00 Specifications: Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Cooler Master 942 HAF X Processor: Intel Core i7 2600K 3.40GHz (Unlocked CPU for Extreme Overclocking) (Quad Core) Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V DELUXE (Intel Z77 Chipset) (Higher Overclocks and Unique Wi-Fi Features) System Memory: 8GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested) Power Supply: 750W Corsair HX (Dual SLI Compatible) Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (120GB Solid State (By: Corsair) (Model: Force GT Series CSSD-F120GBGT-BK) (SATA 6Gbps) Optical Drive 1: Blu-Ray & DVD Writer/Reader (Burn + Play Blu-Ray & DVDs) (12x BD-R) (LG WH12LS39) Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections) Video Card: 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 2GB (Includes PhysX) (Overclocked EVGA 02G-P4-2682-BR) Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 2: Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 Extreme Performance Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans Boost Processor: Stage 2: Overclock CPU 4.5GHz to 4.8GHz (Requires Pro or Deluxe Series Motherboard) Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s) Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory Boost OS: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition) Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows 7 CD) Exclusive T-Shirt: FREE: Digital Storm T-Shirt - Black (Extra Large) <b></b> Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 5-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty Only final change I made was switching out the motherboard from the ASUS P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 to the ASUS P8Z77-V DELUXE for no other reason than future compatibility and upgrades. Anyone have any last thoughts on this before I order later today? |
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bprat22
DS ELITE DigitalStorm East -- (Unofficially!) Joined: 08 Jun 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 20391 |
Quote Reply Posted: 15 Apr 2012 at 7:38am |
That is a real nice rig.The Z77 mobo is the latest and does give you Wifi, native USB 3.0 and on and on, so why not. Some that love to oc or play around in Bios or mess with fan speeds will love it. To use the PCI e3.0 you'd need the new Ivy Bridge chip later on, but with your single 680 and even another one in sli you'd probably never see the difference. Good move.
If I was buying a system right now, this would be it exactly, but with the 1050HX in case I went crazy later. This will give you great gaming. Keep us updated and best of luck. Edited by bprat22 - 15 Apr 2012 at 7:42am |
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