Spanner in the works
First Grade
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Hey guys. Building my first computer in quite some time and need some advice. Primarily, I am going to be using the computer for work, but I would like to do some overclocking with it as well as play most of the newest games at quite high settings (DX11, almost maxed out, 60fps, 1920 x 1080). This is what I am thinking:
Case: Corsair 400r Carbide Series
PSU: OCZ Z Series 1000w 80 Plus Gold Certified
Motherboard: Gigabyte G1.Sniper 2 LGA1155
CPU: Core i7 2600k
Video Card: Gigabyte GTX 580 1536mb
SSD: OCZ Solid 3 SATA III 60gb Solid State Drive
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 1tb
RAM: G.SKILL Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 or Mushkin Enhanced Redline 8GB (2 x 4GB)
Cooling: Corsair H60 Liquid Cooling
CD/DVD: Lite-On 24X iHAS324 DVD writer
OS: Windows 7 Professional 64bit
Monitor: ASUS VH242H 23.6" 5ms response
PSU: Anyone had much experience with OCZ PSUs? This is a pretty good price and is 80 Plus Gold Certified so I thought it might be a good buy. A stable, good quality power supply is all that matters right?
Motherboard: In general I am really happy to spend on a motherboard. I figure its the link between everything in the computer so skimping here is not really an option. This motherboard hasnt being out for long at all (less than 10 days I think). But jeez its got some great features and Gigabyte is a brand I quite like. Ive nearly future proofed with this board support for Ivy Bridge, PCIe 3.0 support for future cards, dedicated onboard sound card (X-Fi based including EAX 5.0 support), USB 3.0, SATA III etc etc. Questions:
Eventually I want to SLI with this build (hence the 1000w PSU) computer, but I am thinking that I will move to the new PCIe 3.0 cards when they are released, so it makes sense to get this now right? It might save me a few dollars now I figure.
Ive heard the X-Fi has driver/compatibility issues. Would a built-in dedicated, already compatible card be better? Should save me $100-150 if so.
RAM: I definitely need 8gb before you say anything. At times when I am doing work stuff I need 12-16gb. But thats expensive and Ill do that stuff at work most times. Not sure which RAM to choose here. The G.Skill specs are 1600mhz, 7-8-7-24-2N, 1.6 volts, while the Mushkin specs are 1600mhz, 7-9-8-24 and 1.65v. Thoughts? Better timings are almost always better than MHz, and these are up there with some of the better ones. Mushkin is $10 cheaper than the G.Skill if that helps.
Cooling: Anyone had much experience with the H60? I wanted to build my own, or get a high-end system, but that would be a waste at this stage. I want to OC and keep it cool, but I dont want to set records or anything. Figured a watercooling system would beat most air-coolers, excepting only the most high end units. The H80 (and other manufacturers equivalent) are fifty bucks more so
Are there any bottlenecks you can see, or parts that could be improved on? Alternatively, is it worth waiting for at least Sandy Bridge-E and PCIe 3.0 cards?
Case: Corsair 400r Carbide Series
PSU: OCZ Z Series 1000w 80 Plus Gold Certified
Motherboard: Gigabyte G1.Sniper 2 LGA1155
CPU: Core i7 2600k
Video Card: Gigabyte GTX 580 1536mb
SSD: OCZ Solid 3 SATA III 60gb Solid State Drive
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 1tb
RAM: G.SKILL Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 or Mushkin Enhanced Redline 8GB (2 x 4GB)
Cooling: Corsair H60 Liquid Cooling
CD/DVD: Lite-On 24X iHAS324 DVD writer
OS: Windows 7 Professional 64bit
Monitor: ASUS VH242H 23.6" 5ms response
PSU: Anyone had much experience with OCZ PSUs? This is a pretty good price and is 80 Plus Gold Certified so I thought it might be a good buy. A stable, good quality power supply is all that matters right?
Motherboard: In general I am really happy to spend on a motherboard. I figure its the link between everything in the computer so skimping here is not really an option. This motherboard hasnt being out for long at all (less than 10 days I think). But jeez its got some great features and Gigabyte is a brand I quite like. Ive nearly future proofed with this board support for Ivy Bridge, PCIe 3.0 support for future cards, dedicated onboard sound card (X-Fi based including EAX 5.0 support), USB 3.0, SATA III etc etc. Questions:
Eventually I want to SLI with this build (hence the 1000w PSU) computer, but I am thinking that I will move to the new PCIe 3.0 cards when they are released, so it makes sense to get this now right? It might save me a few dollars now I figure.
Ive heard the X-Fi has driver/compatibility issues. Would a built-in dedicated, already compatible card be better? Should save me $100-150 if so.
RAM: I definitely need 8gb before you say anything. At times when I am doing work stuff I need 12-16gb. But thats expensive and Ill do that stuff at work most times. Not sure which RAM to choose here. The G.Skill specs are 1600mhz, 7-8-7-24-2N, 1.6 volts, while the Mushkin specs are 1600mhz, 7-9-8-24 and 1.65v. Thoughts? Better timings are almost always better than MHz, and these are up there with some of the better ones. Mushkin is $10 cheaper than the G.Skill if that helps.
Cooling: Anyone had much experience with the H60? I wanted to build my own, or get a high-end system, but that would be a waste at this stage. I want to OC and keep it cool, but I dont want to set records or anything. Figured a watercooling system would beat most air-coolers, excepting only the most high end units. The H80 (and other manufacturers equivalent) are fifty bucks more so
Are there any bottlenecks you can see, or parts that could be improved on? Alternatively, is it worth waiting for at least Sandy Bridge-E and PCIe 3.0 cards?
