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Skit112
join:2001-08-06
Hoboken, NJ

Skit112

Member

New system advice please

Saying it's been way too long would be an understatement so it's time for a new build. Here is a list for a new build. I'm not sure which mobo to go with (I have 2 listed) or if I should go for higher rated RAM or a different case. I will be overclocking, air cooling no water. Any suggestions or comments would be much appreciated. Right around the $1700 mark.

»www.newegg.com/Product/P ··· 13128559

»www.newegg.com/Product/P ··· 13157293

»www.newegg.com/Product/P ··· 19116504

»www.newegg.com/Product/P ··· 35103099

»www.newegg.com/Product/P ··· 14130787

»www.newegg.com/Product/P ··· 17139010

»www.newegg.com/Product/P ··· 20231568

»www.newegg.com/Product/P ··· 20167115

»www.newegg.com/Product/P ··· 22136533

»www.newegg.com/Product/P ··· 27135247

»www.newegg.com/Product/P ··· 11129178

»www.newegg.com/Product/P ··· 35100007

Krisnatharok
PC Builder, Gamer
Premium Member
join:2009-02-11
Earth Orbit

Krisnatharok

Premium Member

I'm not sure where you're getting $1700--I have $1429.87 with the cheaper mobo, $1,553.82 with the Thunderbolt motherboard.

Thoughts:
• This amount of money is an awful lot to spend to only get a single 670. At that price, I would be looking at more from the GPU.
• Mobo: That Thunderbolt mobo is way too expensive. I think there is an MSI mobo with Thunderbolt under $200. If you want that connectivity, go for it--if not, I'd go for the Asrock.
• Ram: Don't spend more money on higher ram. Get 1.5v 1600 ram and then OC it. BuildaPC likes Samsung ram because it OCs well.
• Case is personal preference. I like Corsair, Rosewill, and Cooler Master.
me1212
join:2008-11-20
Lees Summit, MO
·Google Fiber

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The 212 evo comes with a tube of thermal paste, sure its not quite as good as the arctic silver but its also $10 less and will do a very good/acceptable job.

Really can't go wrong with the 3570k, that cooler should be able to get you 4.5ghz-4.7ghz overclock.

I'd get the asrock motherboard, the other one is too expensive for what you get. I have the p67 model of the asrock, I love it.

A lot of money to spend and only get a 670. for $10 more you can get a 7970 (»www.newegg.com/Product/P ··· 14125413), which preforms on par(sometimes better) with the 680. The 7950 preforms on par with the 670 for $100 less, based on the recent benches I have seen anyway. That said if you just prefer nvidia or want to use the cuda cores then yeah go ahead and get nvidia. Ether way I'd get 2 gpus if I were spending $1700.

If you don't mind using an 80+ bronze as opposed to an 80+ gold corsair has »www.newegg.com/Product/P ··· 17139040 still 750W, but not modular. I know some people care about that a lot more than others do.

Heres 16GB of ram, »www.newegg.com/Product/P ··· 20231558 , still by G.Skill. its $9 less and is lower profile. And with the 212 heatsinks thats a good thing, as they often cover up some ram slots making it harder to fit taller ram in there. Its got a cas latency of 10 as opposed to 9, but its not that big a difference. Or if you don't care about the height this gskill comes with a free 16GB flash card »www.newegg.com/Product/P ··· 20231486

No comment on the ssd, really know nothing about them.

I'm assuming the hard drive is just a storage drive? If you don't mind having a drive thats just a tad slower: 1TB WD blue for $85 »www.newegg.com/Product/P ··· 22236339 plus it looks like it has an extra $15 off right now with promo code.

If you want 2TB for $5($110) more you can get »www.newegg.com/Product/P ··· 22149397

Case is a personal thing, I like cooler master and corsair, never really touched anything else so I wont comment on other brands. but I'd get a full tower with a 200mm side fan were I spending that much money, it could help keep dual gpus cooler too.

Never used a blu-ray disk drive so I have no valuable input for that.

Skit112
join:2001-08-06
Hoboken, NJ

Skit112

Member

Thanks for the replies guys. I see that ASRock board I picked is not full size. It is 12"x 8.6" and won't reach the stand offs on the right side. I would like a full size board so I'll have to check more out.

If OCing is there a down side if I run 4 sticks? I know you use to be able to get higher clocks with less sticks.

I see you're both not liking the vid card selection for the money I'm spending. I would like to stay with nvidia. I thought since it's a EVGA FTW and is clocked higher @stock it would be a good choice. Any other suggestions?

The height of the RAM was/is a concern due to the HS. I will look for a different full size case.

Krisnatharok
PC Builder, Gamer
Premium Member
join:2009-02-11
Earth Orbit

Krisnatharok

Premium Member

How much wiggle room do you have at $1700? Gimme a couple hours...
me1212
join:2008-11-20
Lees Summit, MO

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A good case wont care what size the motherboard is, my mobo is normal atx but my my case supports full e-atx works just fine.

not sure about the ram sticks, I only use 2.

Skit112
join:2001-08-06
Hoboken, NJ

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to Krisnatharok
I could go to $1800. I could go much higher but there are always more guitars and amps to add to the collection.

Ghastlyone
Premium Member
join:2009-01-07
Nashville, TN

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to Skit112
A 670 FTW isn't bad by any means. But if you can cut down on other hardware in cost and opt for a 680/7970 instead, then you'll be golden.
me1212
join:2008-11-20
Lees Summit, MO
·Google Fiber

me1212 to Skit112

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to Skit112
If you uses the stock thermal paste from the 212evo, instead of buying the extra, you would have enough to get the 7970. But since you want nvidia, the 680 would take a bit more cutting down, you'd have to get the 80+ bronze 750w corsair instead of the 80+gold and use the stock thermal paste for that. Still it would be worth it, you can still overclock it yourself and get amazing performance. Just a thought my good sir.

»www.newegg.com/Product/P ··· 14130768

Krisnatharok
PC Builder, Gamer
Premium Member
join:2009-02-11
Earth Orbit

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said by Skit112:

I could go to $1800. I could go much higher but there are always more guitars and amps to add to the collection.

OK, here's how I would do it. You didn't include an OS in your original build, so I didn't include one here.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 OC Formula EATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($235.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($73.74 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($157.99 @ Adorama)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($204.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 680 4GB Video Card ($529.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master HAF XM (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Rosewill Capstone 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1648.64
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-27 21:40 EST-0500)

Skit112
join:2001-08-06
Hoboken, NJ

Skit112

Member

Thanks Krisnatharok and everyone else. I like that list. I was actually looking at that vid card as you posted. I have a Lite-On DVD/CD Writer. I just thought it might be nice to have the Blu-Ray too.

One question. How is the on-board sound on these new mobos? Right now I use a Creative SB Platinum card. Will the on-board sound be as good?

As far as an OS I run XP Pro now but I know I should upgrade and probably go with Win 7 Home Premium.
me1212
join:2008-11-20
Lees Summit, MO

me1212

Member

I have no idea how they compare to the on-board stuff, but I only use on-board because its more than what I need right now.

Krisnatharok
PC Builder, Gamer
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join:2009-02-11
Earth Orbit

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What sound system are you going to be using? Headphones or speakers?

Skit112
join:2001-08-06
Hoboken, NJ

Skit112

Member

I have an older Cambridge Sound works system. Sub with 4 speakers. It sounds amazing. It is a Henry Kloss designed system.

Ghastlyone
Premium Member
join:2009-01-07
Nashville, TN

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to Skit112
said by Skit112:

Thanks Krisnatharok and everyone else. I like that list. I was actually looking at that vid card as you posted. I have a Lite-On DVD/CD Writer. I just thought it might be nice to have the Blu-Ray too.

One question. How is the on-board sound on these new mobos? Right now I use a Creative SB Platinum card. Will the on-board sound be as good?

As far as an OS I run XP Pro now but I know I should upgrade and probably go with Win 7 Home Premium.

The sound on my Z77 Gigabyte board is superb. It's got Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi MB2 audio. Installing a sound card would be a complete waste of money.

I guess if you're doing digital audio editing or something along the lines of that, a sound card might benefit you, but otherwise, I see no need.

Krisnatharok
PC Builder, Gamer
Premium Member
join:2009-02-11
Earth Orbit

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said by Skit112:

I have an older Cambridge Sound works system. Sub with 4 speakers. It sounds amazing. It is a Henry Kloss designed system.

You might want a soundcard if you are an audiophile. If you were using headphones, I'd say use onboard.

I don't know enough about audio to recommend a sound card.

Skit112
join:2001-08-06
Hoboken, NJ

Skit112

Member

Thanks guys. I'll just go with on-board and if it needs it I'll throw a card in.

Any drawback to running 4 sticks of RAM while OCing?

Krisnatharok
PC Builder, Gamer
Premium Member
join:2009-02-11
Earth Orbit

Krisnatharok

Premium Member

I think it's easier to run with 2 dimms--I've never gotten into OCing ram, so I can't say--except that you can reach higher freqs with 2 dimms vs. 4.

Skit112
join:2001-08-06
Hoboken, NJ

Skit112

Member

Man that was fast, thanks.

Krisnatharok
PC Builder, Gamer
Premium Member
join:2009-02-11
Earth Orbit

Krisnatharok

Premium Member

Snow day tomorrow... up late lurking, trying to combat misinformation in other threads....

Skit112
join:2001-08-06
Hoboken, NJ

Skit112

Member

Snow day, nice, enjoy. I'm always up late as I work 4 - midnight and usually hit the sack about 5 am. Thanks again for the help I do appreciate it. I see the overclocking forum isn't very active anymore.

Krisnatharok
PC Builder, Gamer
Premium Member
join:2009-02-11
Earth Orbit

Krisnatharok

Premium Member

Check out Overclockers.com or Reddit if you want help with OCing. There are tons of resources out there, but I think DSLR's crowd isn't very much into enthusiast OCing.

Skit112
join:2001-08-06
Hoboken, NJ

Skit112

Member

I'll do that. 10 years ago that place was a hot bed of activity.

Krisnatharok
PC Builder, Gamer
Premium Member
join:2009-02-11
Earth Orbit

Krisnatharok

Premium Member

Overclocking has also become a lot easier to do, especially for the casual enthusiast (like me). You simple raise the multiplier and adjust voltage until stable--can't really go wrong with it. XMP memory profiles make OCing your ram pretty easy too.

Skit112
join:2001-08-06
Hoboken, NJ

2 edits

Skit112

Member

Yeah back then I was OCing a KT333 mobo with no AGP/PCI lock. As you upped the voltage everything got more juice. It took a lot of work to get high OC's and run stable. It was quite the balancing act. Bump up as far as you can go then burn in and then bump some more. I know things are a bit different now but I'll see what I can do. What is a safe high temp on the 3570K?

TRU
join:2005-07-21
Michigan

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said by Krisnatharok:

said by Skit112:

I could go to $1800. I could go much higher but there are always more guitars and amps to add to the collection.

OK, here's how I would do it. You didn't include an OS in your original build, so I didn't include one here.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 OC Formula EATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($235.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($73.74 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($157.99 @ Adorama)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($204.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 680 4GB Video Card ($529.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master HAF XM (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Rosewill Capstone 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1648.64
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-27 21:40 EST-0500)

Hey just a fyi... that CPU at Microcenter is for in-store pick up only. So it might not be $189.99 if you don't have a Microcenter nearby.

Krisnatharok
PC Builder, Gamer
Premium Member
join:2009-02-11
Earth Orbit

Krisnatharok

Premium Member

It's 27 min for OP. He can make the trip.

TRU
join:2005-07-21
Michigan

TRU

Member

That works then
me1212
join:2008-11-20
Lees Summit, MO

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IIRC in February mircocenter has $50 off a motherboard when you buy the 3570k, so theres even more savings for you.

Skit112
join:2001-08-06
Hoboken, NJ

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Thanks for the heads up. I could make the trip if I had a car. I got rid of it years ago as I didn't use it much. I've looked at a couple Porsche 911's recently but then I'd really need to drive it a lot to justify having it parked out front. NYC is right next door and I take cabs or trains if I'm going into the city. The money really isn't an issue for me but I do appreciate it.