Looking for advice on my new build

[spookypuppy]

I am currently in the process of getting the parts together for my new gaming rig and I'm looking for some input. So far I have purchased a Samsung 840 Series 250GB SSD for my OS & apps, an EVGA GeForce GTX 680 FTW+ 4GB GPU and G.SKILL Sniper Gaming Series 16GB 1866 RAM. The items that I'm planning to add are, a Samsung 840 Series 500GB SSD to run my games from, a WD 1TB HDD for additional storage, a Corsair AX860i 860W Full Modular PSU, Windows 7 64bit Home Premium OS. I'm kind of stuck on the CPU and Mobo, I had planned to go with the Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge CPU and an ASUS Maximus V FORMULA Mobo, but I'm wondering if I should wait for the new Haswell processors and Z78 mobo's to come out? Any advice would be most welcome

 

[TwoCables]

I'm not sure if it would be worth it to wait, but the reason I'm posting is to ask about your PSU: why do you want the AX860i? To give you an idea of how overkill this PSU is, you could easily power this with a good quality-made 450W PSU even if you were to overclock your CPU quite heavily. What's nice about that is you could potentially spend $150 less by getting a good quality-made 450W PSU instead of the overpriced AX860i. That means you'd have an extra $150 to spend on your build that you don't have now due to planning on the AX860i.

 

[spookypuppy]

I was getting the 850 for plans of future 2 or 3 way SLI.

 

[TwoCables]

Would you be interested to know that even a good quality-made 750W PSU would still be more than enough for 3-way SLI?

After shopping around on Newegg for a few minutes, the AX760 seems to be a good choice because it has 6 x 6+2-pin PCI-E connectors and it's only $169.99 shipped ($60 less than the AX860i).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139042

However, if you were to overclock the GTX 680s pretty heavily, then a PSU with a larger capacity would be better.

Note: For the record, I wasn't looking for another Corsair PSU. It just so happens that all of the others I could recommend either have 4 x 6+2-pin PCI-E connectors, or a much higher price. For 3-way SLI, you'd want 6 connectors so that you don't have to use those ugly Molex to PCI-E adapters.

 

[spookypuppy]

Absolutely, that's why I posted here, so I could learn from people who know way more than I do

 

[TwoCables]

Absolutely, that's why I posted here, so I could learn from people who know way more than I do

Well, after shopping around on Newegg for a few minutes, the AX760 seems to be a good choice because it has 6 x 6+2-pin PCI-E connectors and it's only $169.99 shipped ($60 less than the AX860i).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139042

However, if you were to overclock the GTX 680s pretty heavily, then a PSU with a larger capacity would be better.

Note: For the record, I wasn't looking for another Corsair PSU. It just so happens that all of the others I could recommend either have 4 x 6+2-pin PCI-E connectors, or a much higher price. For 3-way SLI, you'd want 6 connectors so that you don't have to use those ugly Molex to PCI-E adapters.

Anyway, this is of course only attractive if you're interested in spending $60 less than you otherwise would with the AX860i. I only say this because I've come across people where to them, $60 is nothing. To me, that's a huge difference.

 

[spookypuppy]

That $60 will cover shipping for my next 4 or 5 orders, or get me a CPU Cooler. That's awesome, thank you

 

[TwoCables]

Oh wow. Cool! You're welcome.

Will you be doing any overclocking at all on either the GTX 680s or the CPU?

 

[spookypuppy]

CPU for sure, probably the 680's when I have more than one. I think I'll stick with the CPU & Mobo that I listed up there, but I'll wait a while to see if the price drops any after the Haswell's and Z87's come out.

 

[TwoCables]

CPU for sure, probably the 680's when I have more than one. I think I'll stick with the CPU & Mobo that I listed up there, but I'll wait a while to see if the price drops any after the Haswell's and Z87's come out.

Do you know what kind of overclocking you might attempt on the GTX 680s? I mean, will you increase their voltages in addition to overclocking them? If so, then a PSU like the AX760 might not be enough for that. I'd have to ask around to be sure, but I think that overvolting the GTX 680s increases their power consumption dramatically.

 

[spookypuppy]

I don't think that I'll be messing around with the voltages. Seriously, I'm a noob at all this, so before I overclock anything I'll be on here asking questions about it. It just wouldn't do for me to go and blow up a rig that I spent so much time and money on

 

[TwoCables]

I don't think that I'll be messing around with the voltages. Seriously, I'm a noob at all this, so before I overclock anything I'll be on here asking questions about it. It just wouldn't do for me to go and blow up a rig that I spent so much time and money on

Oh. Well, when you're feeling ready to begin overclocking, I recommend asking for help over at Overclock.net! That's their specialty after all while SevenForums is focused on help and support as it relates to Windows 7. Sure, there are a few people here who can help with overclocking, but it's nothing like the help you'd get over at OCN (that's what members of Overclock.net call it).

 

[spookypuppy]

Sweet, I'll check that out

 

[whs]

If you are not in a hurry, it might be worthwhile to wait for Haswell. But given the experience with new Intel shipments in the last years, I would wait at least for 6 months after initial ship to give them a chance to shake out the bugs. That would get you into 1Q2014.

If you want to build now, I would recommend this CPU and Board:

Intel Core i7-3770 Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I73770 - Newegg.com

ASRock Z77 Extreme6 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - Newegg.com

And always consider a better CPU cooler because the stock Intel coolers are not too good.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099

 

[TwoCables]

Not only that, but of course good aftermarket CPU cooling is required for overclocking.

 

[linnemeyerhere]

Spookypuppy,
Great name and welcome to SF. You are building a tremendous gaming rig and to this end I would consider these items.

1)SeaSonic SS-660XP2 660W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS PLATINUM Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Newegg.com

2)NZXT RL-KRX60-01 280mm Ultra Performance Liquid CPU Cooler - Newegg.com

3)ASUS Maximus V FORMULA LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Extended ATX Intel Motherboard - Newegg.com

4)Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I53570K - Newegg.com

5)NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White Steel / Plastic Enthusiast ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Newegg.com

Of course many case options and I love Corsair as well as Coolermaster and Thermaltake cases!

 

[TwoCables]

But that PSU isn't enough for 3-way SLI, which is a possibility in his future upgrade plans.

 

[spookypuppy]

Actually, I was thinking of getting the NZXT Phantom 820, of course it is big enough to rent out space in, but that might come in handy if I ever decide to go with water cooling

 

[COMPUTIAC]

Looks like a real good choice for the case.

Plenty of room to do anything in the future, planned or not. Really like all the filters.

 

[spookypuppy]

Indeed, the filters are a nice touch, lots of airflow too.