Rate/Suggest My New Build

[MCleveland]

I'm looking for some suggestions for my build below. I'm going to order the parts tomorrow.

Case: Newegg.com - Corsair Obsidian Series 650D (CC650DW-1) Black Steel structure with black brushed aluminum faceplate ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Motherboard: Newegg.com - ASUS SABERTOOTH Z77 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
CPU: Newegg.com - Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623I72600K
GPU: Newegg.com - EVGA 025-P3-1579-AR GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) HD 2560MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
Memory: Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL8D-8GBXM
PSU: Newegg.com - OCZ ZX Series 850W Fully-Modular 80PLUS Gold High Performance Power Supply compatible with Intel Sandybridge Core i3 i5 i7 and AMD Phenom
Buray Drive: Newegg.com - LG Black 12X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DVD+R 12X DVD-RAM 10X BD-ROM 4MB Cache SATA 12X Super Multi Blue with 3D Playback & M-DISC Support WH12LS39 LightScribe Support - Blu-Ray Burners
Lights: Newegg.com - LOGISYS Computer CLK12BL2 12" DUAL COLD CATHODE KIT - Case Accessories

I'm ordering from Amazon and Newegg, so the price for everything with shipping is about $1365. I have a WD Cavair Black 1TB 7200RPM I'm putting in it. The CPU is also Unlocked. Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

[IownAmoneyPit]

I would also recommend an SSD for the OS over traditional spinner as read/write speeds can be up to 10x faster and program access is almost instantaneous. I have Windows + all of my programs + 16GB paging file = (same amount of ram installed) and only using 66 GB of 111 GB available.

I keep all larger files such as music and video files on a separate drive. Also SSD drive prices are dropping to around $120 for 120 GB for some brands but the cost is well worth the investment to achieve an complete up to date fast system.

 

[MCleveland]

I was thinking about that too. My buddy is about to buy an old Netbook I have for $150 so I was going to put that money towards a SSD and use the 1TB I have now for storage like you use. I've been holding off buying one, but these new prices are definitely worth it.

 

[linnemeyerhere]

MCleveland,
You won't regret the purchase and use of the SSD and with prices for 128gb SSD's now at around $100.00 you would be nuts not to. Even loading the OS and software is faster but the first time you boot and then hit the Photoshop icon and in a blink it's ready you'll forever be a convert!

 

[Wishmaster]

You can save a few dollars with a PSU like this:

High Quality and more power than you need.
Newegg.com - SeaSonic X Series X650 Gold ((SS-650KM Active PFC F3)) 650W ATX12V V2.3/EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply

If you plan on SLI in the future then this one is capable of SLI 570s and a OCd CPU without issue.
Newegg.com - SeaSonic X750 Gold 750W ATX12V V2.3/EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply

Yes, i am now a huge fan of Seasonic PSUs. Very well made.

I too agree, grab a SSD for the OS. I would at least get a 64-80GB and use it for just the OS and installed apps.
Put games and all other DATA on other drives. That will help a huge amount with the overall feel of things.

 

[linnemeyerhere]

+1 on the Seasonic. From what I've heard they are outstanding and as far as I'm concerned get the 750w either way. Enjoy the cooler running, quieter and more efficient running.

 

[pparks1]

Would also recommend the SSD drive. However, I would go no smaller than 80GB, and personally wouldn't go less than 120GB these days. If you are a gamer, you may also want to go even bigger like the 240GB Corsair Force 3...which is $199 from NewEgg with a $20 MIR. Newegg.com - Corsair Force Series 3 CSSD-F240GB3A-BK 2.5" 240GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

I'm actually thinking of getting that SSD for my box and moving my 80GB intel to another machine. I'm down to about 25GB free on my 80GB with BF3 and now Diablo III installed.

 

[MCleveland]

MCleveland,
You won't regret the purchase and use of the SSD and with prices for 128gb SSD's now at around $100.00 you would be nuts not to. Even loading the OS and software is faster but the first time you boot and then hit the Photoshop icon and in a blink it's ready you'll forever be a convert!

That does sound pretty amazing. Especially for someone as impatient as me.

You can save a few dollars with a PSU like this:

High Quality and more power than you need.
Newegg.com - SeaSonic X Series X650 Gold ((SS-650KM Active PFC F3)) 650W ATX12V V2.3/EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply

If you plan on SLI in the future then this one is capable of SLI 570s and a OCd CPU without issue.
Newegg.com - SeaSonic X750 Gold 750W ATX12V V2.3/EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply

Yes, i am now a huge fan of Seasonic PSUs. Very well made.

I too agree, grab a SSD for the OS. I would at least get a 64-80GB and use it for just the OS and installed apps.
Put games and all other DATA on other drives. That will help a huge amount with the overall feel of things.

Will 750w be enough? I do want to SLI eventually. The Newegg PSU calculator said everything I want to eventually do will take around 825w.

Would also recommend the SSD drive. However, I would go no smaller than 80GB, and personally wouldn't go less than 120GB these days. If you are a gamer, you may also want to go even bigger like the 240GB Corsair Force 3...which is $199 from NewEgg with a $20 MIR. Newegg.com - Corsair Force Series 3 CSSD-F240GB3A-BK 2.5" 240GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

I'm actually thinking of getting that SSD for my box and moving my 80GB intel to another machine. I'm down to about 25GB free on my 80GB with BF3 and now Diablo III installed.

I was thinking the 240GB one as well. I'm sure the 120GB will be enough for me, but I mine as well be sure.

 

[linnemeyerhere]

MCleveland,
60 would be enough space as you can always place software and games on the spinner to open. This is what I did and even after a year I still had 18% free after upgrades and updates and I'm told that you can use up much more of the available drive space and it operates with ease unlike a spinner. But old mind sets are tough to change so I put it in my girlfriends system and purchased (2) 128gb's for my lappy and desktop and this is really the sweet spot as all the music, photos, data and for me games go on the spinner.
Lastly the time is now to consider your case and power supply and if chosen wisely they will outlast your build and future changes many times over. With this future savings in mind please consider a 1000+watt PSU. You will have so much voltage headroom that it will run cooler, quieter, more efficiently and as the caps age and lose a little power each year you will still be safe for upgrades and add on. Smart money spent now will save big for many mobo's and CPU's.

 

[pparks1]

MCleveland,
60 would be enough space as you can always place software and games on the spinner to open.

While true, why would you want to open the apps and games from the spinner? I'd rather have my apps and games open almost instantly and be in game and playing as quickly as possible. If it comes down to $100 for an 80GB drive, or $199 for a 240GB drive...I would strongly consider spending 2x as much for 3x as much space. Now, if budget dictates this extra $100 cannot be spent on more SSD space, by all means, install those apps and games on your spinner.

Lastly the time is now to consider your case and power supply and if chosen wisely they will outlast your build and future changes many times over. With this future savings in mind please consider a 1000+watt PSU. You will have so much voltage headroom that it will run cooler, quieter, more efficiently and as the caps age and lose a little power each year you will still be safe for upgrades and add on. Smart money spent now will save big for many mobo's and CPU's.

On the flip side, if you know that you probably won't upgrade much for the next 2-4 years, you might want to save the money now on the PSU, wait until your ready to upgrade 2-4 years down the line and see what is available, or what might have changed. For example, a few years ago modular power supplies weren't popular. Today they are. Just because you buy over and above the # of watts you need today, doesn't necessarily mean the PSU will provide the feature set you want in the future.

I'm not saying that any other opinions are wrong, I'm just not convinced that overbuying is a sure fire guarantee for success.

 

[Wishmaster]

Will 750w be enough? I do want to SLI eventually. The Newegg PSU calculator said everything I want to eventually do will take around 825w.

Yes. the Seasonic x750 is a very high quality, high effeciency PSU. Its even listed as a certified SLI PSU for 570s. Also, the new generation of Nvidia GPUs (the 670s) use a bit less power so youd be fine there as well.
There are actually reports the x650 will run SLI 570s, but its likely pushing it.

The 850W will allow more headroom though. But you may not need it unless running higher power draw GPUs than a 570.

Now for 580s, you might be getting close to its limits.

But SLI 570s will pull around 650-750 watts from the wall in game at the high end.
Lets say your pulling 750W, the PSU will be about 88% efficient or so.

So that means, if pulling 750W from the wall, at only 85% effeciency, you only using arounf 630W from the PSU. Well within its range.
And thats a bit exaggerated. realistically, you'll only be pulling 650-700 at most from the wall.

They are also capable of delivering more than the rated power for a time. Though I wouldn't want to let it do that for any length of time, or avoid it if possible.

Now, if you run Furmark and Prime95 at the same time to stress the system, you may have issues. But bear in mind, No app or game will ever come anywhere close to that type of power draw.



--On the SSD
I know many have thier own opinions and thats fine, no one is wrong is what they prefer.
But personally, I prefer a 80GB SSd for the OS and Apps only. Pagefile, Temp, all programs (except games) go here.

I use a dedicated spinner for most games, and for games that Im currently playing or have high disk use, I have a secondary SSD thats dedicated to games as well.

A 2nd spinner for User DATA and Media.

And finally a 3rd Spinner for Backups only.

I prefer to keep games off of my OS SSD, as it makes System Images/restores faster and easier.
But thats just my way of doing it. I know some do prefer one large SSD, rather than 2.

 

[Solarstarshines]

I agree with Wishmaster but like everyone else I have my Opinion too

I bought a 80 Gb SSD just for Os and My STEAM gaming application

everything else is on a spinner ,I honestly don't see any more get up from going from SSD to spinner maybe because I do more streaming and Gaming vs Burning/Apps /Editing etc ....

My other Rig I have it set up for just streaming movies but very capable of doing everything like my other unit still I figure there is no need for a SSD on there because most people don't even notice till you point it out

It does open everything quicker and shave off start up time but in the end QUANITY over takes QUALITY in the end ! less money for more space but not super speedy performance

 

[pparks1]

My other Rig I have it set up for just streaming movies but very capable of doing everything like my other unit still I figure there is no need for a SSD on there because most people don't even notice till you point it out

SSD's are still a luxury and not a required item. But as far as bang for the buck goes, it's one of the best upgrades out there for the money. It's likely going to contribute more than a slightly faster CPU, faster or more RAM, a slight upgrade on a video card, etc.

 

[Wishmaster]

I would agree.
In the past upgrading CPU and/or Memory saw gains, but they were marginal, and in some cases only in certain areas or apps.
Same with GPU, only the gain was with games.

SSD on the other hand seemed like a huige overall boost, that was apparent on 1st boot. At least to me.

 

[MCleveland]

MCleveland,
60 would be enough space as you can always place software and games on the spinner to open. This is what I did and even after a year I still had 18% free after upgrades and updates and I'm told that you can use up much more of the available drive space and it operates with ease unlike a spinner. But old mind sets are tough to change so I put it in my girlfriends system and purchased (2) 128gb's for my lappy and desktop and this is really the sweet spot as all the music, photos, data and for me games go on the spinner.
Lastly the time is now to consider your case and power supply and if chosen wisely they will outlast your build and future changes many times over. With this future savings in mind please consider a 1000+watt PSU. You will have so much voltage headroom that it will run cooler, quieter, more efficiently and as the caps age and lose a little power each year you will still be safe for upgrades and add on. Smart money spent now will save big for many mobo's and CPU's.

I want to be able to just install all my programs on the SSD and use the spinner as storage really. I figure if I'm going to spend the money I mine as well get the full effect.

MCleveland,
60 would be enough space as you can always place software and games on the spinner to open.

While true, why would you want to open the apps and games from the spinner? I'd rather have my apps and games open almost instantly and be in game and playing as quickly as possible. If it comes down to $100 for an 80GB drive, or $199 for a 240GB drive...I would strongly consider spending 2x as much for 3x as much space. Now, if budget dictates this extra $100 cannot be spent on more SSD space, by all means, install those apps and games on your spinner.

Lastly the time is now to consider your case and power supply and if chosen wisely they will outlast your build and future changes many times over. With this future savings in mind please consider a 1000+watt PSU. You will have so much voltage headroom that it will run cooler, quieter, more efficiently and as the caps age and lose a little power each year you will still be safe for upgrades and add on. Smart money spent now will save big for many mobo's and CPU's.

On the flip side, if you know that you probably won't upgrade much for the next 2-4 years, you might want to save the money now on the PSU, wait until your ready to upgrade 2-4 years down the line and see what is available, or what might have changed. For example, a few years ago modular power supplies weren't popular. Today they are. Just because you buy over and above the # of watts you need today, doesn't necessarily mean the PSU will provide the feature set you want in the future.

I'm not saying that any other opinions are wrong, I'm just not convinced that overbuying is a sure fire guarantee for success.

I agree about the SSD. I want these to open as fast as possible and I don't mind spending a little more money. The build I have now is 3 and half years old. I figure this new one will last me at least 4 years. Mostly because I want to get the new tech around that time. I could make my current build last longer but I like some of the new stuff out. One of them being the modular PSUs. With me being a neat freak, the less cords the better. I can't imagine what they'll have in 4 years but I'm sure I'll want it.

 

[MCleveland]

I would agree.
In the past upgrading CPU and/or Memory saw gains, but they were marginal, and in some cases only in certain areas or apps.
Same with GPU, only the gain was with games.

SSD on the other hand seemed like a huige overall boost, that was apparent on 1st boot. At least to me.

I'll have to do some research on the programs I use before I make my choice to see which ones get the extra boost so I can decide what size I'm going to get. Maybe I'd be better off with a 128GB so it's not too big.

 

[linnemeyerhere]

MCleveland,
It's real easy to add up your programs and do some quick math. You'll find 128 will work well but I agree if you find a larger drive and it fits in the build budget then go for it. Also you can save some monies and get the larger PSU but get a semi-modular design. With this the cables you must use are connected internally and then the others are modular, great idea and saves serious coin without giving up a thing!
Newegg.com - CORSAIR Professional Series HX1050 1050W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Semi Modular Power Supply
I just saved you enough for your 240gb SSD!

 

[smarteyeball]

Also, the new generation of Nvidia GPUs (the 670s) use a bit less power so youd be fine there as well.

If you can afford it (and find stock) I'd seriously consider a 670 over a 570. You might find you may not need to go SLI for quite a awhile.

And a 128GB SSD is the sweet spot (119GB usable). Plenty of rooms for pretty much all your apps and several large games.

(Some games, particularly those with long level/frequent load times) benefit the most from SSDs. Others are quite happy to be run off a spinner without out any real noticeable difference).

 

[Solarstarshines]

seems that's since the SSD's are getting cheaper paying 120.00 to 130.00 on a 120 to 128 Gb ssd would be something to go for since htey are dropping pretty fast

I'm considering getting a newer one just to get better read and write times i am using a sata 2 when i should be use-ing a sata 3 so I will be looking into this and reformating my machine to see the overall boost a sata 3 vs sata 2 gives me because i am under utilizing my board

Micro Center - OCZ Technology Agility 3 AGT3-25SAT3-120G 120GB SATA 6Gb/s 2.5" Solid State Drive (SSD) with SandForce 2281 Controller AGT3-25SAT3-120

Only thing about the second one the times are degraded by a few points
not really a big deal Micro Center - OCZ Technology Agility 3 AGT3-25SAT3-240G 240GB SATA 6Gb/s 2.5" Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) with SandForce 2281 Controller AGT3-25SAT3-240 or split for 2 of the 120 and toss the 80 gb in the old board fit for a sata 2 controlled ssd

 

[MCleveland]

seems that's since the SSD's are getting cheaper paying 120.00 to 130.00 on a 120 to 128 Gb ssd would be something to go for since htey are dropping pretty fast

I'm considering getting a newer one just to get better read and write times i am using a sata 2 when i should be use-ing a sata 3 so I will be looking into this and reformating my machine to see the overall boost a sata 3 vs sata 2 gives me because i am under utilizing my board

Micro Center - OCZ Technology Agility 3 AGT3-25SAT3-120G 120GB SATA 6Gb/s 2.5" Solid State Drive (SSD) with SandForce 2281 Controller AGT3-25SAT3-120

Only thing about the second one the times are degraded by a few points
not really a big deal Micro Center - OCZ Technology Agility 3 AGT3-25SAT3-240G 240GB SATA 6Gb/s 2.5" Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) with SandForce 2281 Controller AGT3-25SAT3-240 or split for 2 of the 120 and toss the 80 gb in the old board fit for a sata 2 controlled ssd

I just watched this video on that SSD. I just drooled everywhere.

http://youtu.be/nf0C73LG4jA