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Which build would you choose and why ?

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Hello all you computer guru's !

I am deciding on several builds and would want to pick 1. Please advise which one would you pick and why ? Thank you all !


Build 1

Case: Thermaltake New Soprano Snow Edition
PSU: Corsair HX750
Motherboard: Asus Sabertooth X79
CPU: Intel Core i7-3820
Cooler: Corsair H80i
Graphics Card: MSI GeForce GTX 670
RAM: 16 GB Corsair Vengeance
Optical Drive: Asus BW-12B1ST
SSD: OCZ Vector 256GB
Hard Drive: 2TB Seagate Barracuda

Build 2

Case: CoolerMaster Cosmos II
PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower Grand 1050W
Motherboard: Asus P9X79 Deluxe
CPU: Intel Core i7-3930K
Cooler: Corsair H100
Graphics Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 680 Classified
RAM: 16 GB Corsair Vengeance
Optical Drive: Asus BC-12B1ST BD-R Burner
SSD: Corsair Neutron GTX 240GB
Hard Drive: 2TB Seagate Barracuda

Build 3

Case: Enermax Fulmo GT
PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower Grand 850W
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V Pro
CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K
Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC14PE
Graphics Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 680 Classified
RAM: 8GB Corsair Vengeance
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-222AB CD/DVD Burner
SSD: Corsair Neutron GTX 240GB
Hard Drive: 1TB WD VelociRaptor
 
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I would take build 2, its powerful than the other two (It has a 6 core unlocked processor, that catches my attention most, then followed by a GTX 680 then the 240GB SSD and the 1050Watt PSU).
 
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If money ain't a problem then I'd go with 2. What will you be using the computer for if you don't mind me asking? Are the parts fixed? I mean can you change them? Where would you be buying your parts? Sorry if I've got too many questions... :)
 
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1 or 2, definitely not 3.
 
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Thanks Protagonist for your answer.

Aduulamin, sorry that I didn't include this in my OP. I will be using the computer mainly for programming like with alot of different languages and macro programming, compiling, working with programs like Adobe Masters Collection, multitasking, doing alot of graphic work. Sometimes gaming, but to the minimum... not much of a gamer. Regarding you question about whether or not I can change the parts.. the answer to that question is yes.. I can. I live in Poland, so I will be buying my parts here locally. I lived in the USA for 23 years.... so I used to buy my parts with NewEgg or Microcenter. Because they were very good choices. NOw here in Poland, they have these local computer stores which really suck... the prices are off the margin. But hey.. you live once !! :D

Claylomax, why not 3 ?
 

Aquinus

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I too am programmer and I've been more than happy with the 3820 and the P9X79 Deluxe. Although if you're going to overclock you're not going to get amazing numbers. Not to say that I don't like it and that it doesn't do a good job. It's my only gripe about the motherboard. Unless you're doing really heavily threaded programming I would go with build 2 but put a 3820 in the 3930ks place. Despite not being a K chip it still over clocks plenty fine. Otherwise build 2 is still the best option IMHO.
 
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No 2 for me all day long, looks like a solid build, I wouls stay away from TT cases based on past experience I don't know if they have improved somewhat though their build quality definately used to leave something to be desired.
 
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Thanks Protagonist for your answer.

Aduulamin, sorry that I didn't include this in my OP. I will be using the computer mainly for programming like with alot of different languages and macro programming, compiling, working with programs like Adobe Masters Collection, multitasking, doing alot of graphic work. Sometimes gaming, but to the minimum... not much of a gamer. Regarding you question about whether or not I can change the parts.. the answer to that question is yes.. I can. I live in Poland, so I will be buying my parts here locally. I lived in the USA for 23 years.... so I used to buy my parts with NewEgg or Microcenter. Because they were very good choices. NOw here in Poland, they have these local computer stores which really suck... the prices are off the margin. But hey.. you live once !! :D

Claylomax, why not 3 ?

Well I'd say no if you plan to overclock it, 3770k's get really hot because of the heatspreader problem; lga 2011 cpu's don't have this problem, especially the i7 3820 overclocks very well (check mine) and temps are OK with the right cooling.
 

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Well I'd say no if you plan to overclock it, 3770k's get really hot because of the heatspreader problem; lga 2011 cpu's don't have this problem, especially the i7 3820 overclocks very well (check mine) and temps are OK with the right cooling.

This, you should jump on the i7 3820 band wagon. Screw a K edition chip, we overclock the fun way. :cool:
 
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Aquinus

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The Intel 300 series SSDs are also getting old and there are plenty of better SSDs out there.
 
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Aquinis, intel ssds are good but have u checked out samsung 840 pro? they rock! THEIR benchmarks are quite high. i liked the intel neutron gtx. :) Most people say to me to go for the 3820...but then again my mind does reverse psychology on me and its saying 4 cores vs 6....choose! hands down the 3930k kills it.
 

MxPhenom 216

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2nd. Is that even a question?

Aquinis, intel ssds are good but have u checked out samsung 840 pro? they rock! THEIR benchmarks are quite high. i liked the intel neutron gtx. :) Most people say to me to go for the 3820...but then again my mind does reverse psychology on me and its saying 4 cores vs 6....choose! hands down the 3930k kills it.

Only if that application will use that many cores. The difference between 3770k and 3930k in gaming is negligible.
 

Aquinus

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Only if that application will use that many cores. The difference between 3770k and 3930k in gaming is negligible.

Gaming is not the main purpose of this rig, but you're right. Unless you're doing something that specifically calls for a lot of threads, the 3820 will perform just as well as the 3930k will.
 

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Gaming is not the main purpose of this rig, but you're right. Unless you're doing something that specifically calls for a lot of threads, the 3820 will perform just as well as the 3930k will.

I missed that post. after reading what he will be doing. Rig 2 for sure with the 3930k. Or you could even save a bit of money, get the 3820 now, and then get a 6 core Ivy Bridge E chip coming Q4 this year.
 

Aquinus

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for what you do grab the 2nd build. you won't list it there anyway if you can't afford it.
 
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Or you could even save a bit of money, get the 3820 now, and then get a 6 core Ivy Bridge E chip coming Q4 this year.

MXPhenom 216... true.. but there is a possibility that Intel will skip Ivy Bridge-E. Read this article: http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/will_intel_skip_over_ivy_bridge_e2013

Unless you're doing something that specifically calls for a lot of threads, the 3820 will perform just as well as the 3930k will.

Acquinus... true... but... the main question is how many applications really do utilize 6 cores ? :) I mean from what I know, some Adobe programs utitlize 6 cores, winzip I think... and some other ones.. like 3Ds Max... :) That is just a short list but when you think of building a rig, you think of what is in store for the future ? SInce some programs utilize 6 cores already ( even though they are minimal )... in about 4 or 5 years I probably can expect to see more programs which utilize 6 cores. :)
 

Aquinus

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in about 4 or 5 years I probably can expect to see more programs which utilize 6 cores.

In 4 or 5 years I would expect that you would need something faster anyways. I also find the claims that IVB-E is being scrapped a little odd. Intel hasn't commented about it officially. Considering we've heard next to nothing about Haswell-E, I doubt that this is the case.
 
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You're looking at apples and oranges here.

Builds 1 and 3 are more budget oriented. They aren't slouches in the CPU department, or the GPU department. If you were looking at a budget, while programming, I'd go for the 3770. The build utilizing the 3820 won't allow for overclocking, is based on the SB architecture, and only outclasses IB in the amount of RAM channels and PCI-e.

Build 2 has got to be crazy expensive when compared to the other two. An unlocked hexa core runs somewhere around 2x the cost of a 3770 locally, not to mention the pricing premium for the board.



Price no object, option 2. Budget in mind, option 3. You can hope that Intel releases a decent IB-e processor (and get option 1 now), but there are some people who are already predicting that IB-e won't see the light of day. Whether you believe that or not, you'll be the one spending the money.
 

Aquinus

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The build utilizing the 3820 won't allow for overclocking, is based on the SB architecture, and only outclasses IB in the amount of RAM channels and PCI-e.

Obviously you've never owned a 3820. It overclocks plenty well. I couldn't get it to hit 5Ghz but I suspect that's a limitation of my motherboard rather than a limitation of the CPU.

This is my current overclock, I'm still working with it a little bit.

3820_oc.PNG


The 3820 has 10Mb L3 rather than 8 like its skt1155 counter-part. IVB/SB has 20 PCI-E lanes, SB-E has 40. It has a decently strong IMC considering I'm running four DIMMs a little over 2400Mhz. Also officially skt2011 isn't EOL and IVB-E is still coming. Despite rumors, until Intel calls it they are only rumors.

A 3820 is going to usually cost less then a 3770k will as well so the difference in CPU cost can offset the price of the motherboard. So honestly as far as features and being able to upgrade (maybe) in the future, skt2011 is the way to go. The 3820 is no slouch. It falls somewhere between the 2600k and the 3770k in most cases as far as performance out of the box is concerned. Also X79 chipset boards can offer a lot. For example my P9X79 Deluxe is loaded full with ports. Not a single PCI slot in sight, more VRMs than the CPU knows what to do with, 6 USB 3.0 ports on the back (with headers for 4 more up front I think,), 2 powered eSATA ports, 4 more USB 2.0 ports, all your typical audio ports, dual lan, wifi, blue tooth, and a BIOS flash button that lets you flash without a CPU, RAM, or the machine turned on.

So all in all, not to say that IVB is bad, skt2011 is pretty awesome though. I've had a lot of fun with it. I've built a 2600k machine and it wasn't bad but SB-E and X79 offers a lot.

You said you program. Do you use VMs a lot? If you do, go with skt2011 anyways because VT-d will speed up your virtualized disk I/O, something 1155 k-edition chips do not have. They only have VT-x.

Here, quick VT-d comparison. I used hdparm to do buffered reads from the hard drive with and without VT-D.

With VT-d on:
plum_vtd_on.PNG


With VT-d off:
plum_vtd_off.PNG


They eventually speed up to the same speed, but random reads and a lot of I/O tends to favor VT-d. A reason to get it if you use virtualization for anything.
 
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Hello all you computer guru's !

I am deciding on several builds and would want to pick 1. Please advise which one would you pick and why ? Thank you all !


Build 1

Case: Thermaltake New Soprano Snow Edition
PSU: Corsair HX750
Motherboard: Asus Sabertooth X79
CPU: Intel Core i7-3820
Cooler: Corsair H80i
Graphics Card: MSI GeForce GTX 670
RAM: 16 GB Corsair Vengeance
Optical Drive: Asus BW-12B1ST
SSD: OCZ Vector 256GB
Hard Drive: 2TB Seagate Barracuda

Build 2

Case: CoolerMaster Cosmos II
PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower Grand 1050W
Motherboard: Asus P9X79 Deluxe
CPU: Intel Core i7-3930K
Cooler: Corsair H100
Graphics Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 680 Classified
RAM: 16 GB Corsair Vengeance
Optical Drive: Asus BC-12B1ST BD-R Burner
SSD: Corsair Neutron GTX 240GB
Hard Drive: 2TB Seagate Barracuda

Build 3

Case: Enermax Fulmo GT
PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower Grand 850W
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V Pro
CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K
Cooler: Phanteks PH-TC14PE
Graphics Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 680 Classified
RAM: 8GB Corsair Vengeance
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-222AB CD/DVD Burner
SSD: Corsair Neutron GTX 240GB
Hard Drive: 1TB WD VelociRaptor


1. Seems to be the only one with a decently paired PSU that is not unnecessary. Has a decent platform for future upgrades. Overall your best choice of budget and performance for what you do. I would not choose the 2TB Barracuda. They have decent performance but reliability is not there.

2. The parts here does not seem to be thoroughly thought out. 1050W PSU? waste of money. 3930x? if you really need it then sure but if you are anticipating widespread hex core adoption in 4-5 years then not the best idea. Chances are you will change CPU before 4 years. H100 cooler? waste of money if you are using this for work. Why would you ever OC on a work computer? Why the 2TB barracuda if you're paying this much? there's so many good choices out there.

3. Like everyone said this is a solid budget system. It will get everything you need done. I would bump the RAM to at least 16GB. The HDD choice here seems to be the best performance and highest reliability. The PSU is also too much. Getting a 600W is all you need.
 
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