Need advice on first build

[BarbaricSoul]

Originally Posted by Kevin117007

Again I think I could go a bit pricier with the SSD/graphics card



Also, would I be able to overclock with the setup? I'm not terribly familiar, so I'm not sure what kinda of cooling system I would need

No need to go pricer on the SSD and video card. The 256gb crucial I listed is one of the best, and the HD7970 is AMD's best video card. If you really want to spend more money(which IMHO isn't needed), you could look into a custom water-cooling system after you get the system up and running. The Hyper 212 heatsink and Gelid thermal paste I listed should allow for OC'ing up to around the 4.5ghz mark. But honestly, I can OC my 2600k to 4.9ghz with my current hardware, but instead just run it at 4.2ghz as that is plenty of power for my needs.

[Kevin117007]

Cool case, not so cool price. XD

I'd like to limit the case to around $200. I'd rather spend my budget on more functional things i.e processor/graphics/SSD ect.

[PLSG08]

Well the extra money could be used for PC Modding. Not every pricey part out there is the best, you just have to do research before buying. When do you need this build OP?

[BarbaricSoul]

case wise, if I was to buy a case in the $100-200 price range, this would be my pick- Corsair Obsidian Series 550D Black Aluminum / Stee...

[Kevin117007]

Originally Posted by BarbaricSoul

No need to go pricer on the SSD and video card. The 256gb crucial I listed is one of the best, and the HD7970 is AMD's best video card. If you really want to spend more money(which IMHO isn't needed), you could look into a custom water-cooling system after you get the system up and running. The Hyper 212 heatsink and Gelid thermal paste I listed should allow for OC'ing up to around the 4.5ghz mark. But honestly, I can OC my 2600k to 4.9ghz with my current hardware, but instead just run it at 4.2ghz as that is plenty of power for my needs.

Ever watch Home Improvement? You can never have enough power lol

But all joking aside, I'll take your word for it. If I don't need the extra money on the graphics, I'll probably put it towards making the computer "snazzy"

Also can you update your build with the SSD, I don't see it in the links

For the HD7070, would I just hook one monitor up to the DVI and the other two into the mini display ports? In that case I'll need adapters as well.

[Kevin117007]

Originally Posted by PLSG08

Well the extra money could be used for PC Modding. Not every pricey part out there is the best, you just have to do research before buying. When do you need this build OP?

If possible, by the start of next week, or the week after that is fine.

Really any time is fine, I'm in no rush

[PLSG08]

Why not the 300R? Corsair Carbide Series 300R Black Steel / Plastic ... great case IMO.

How about saving the money for other things other than making the comp snazzy.
the $1000 could help you out get good things for college (I just started college here) Like better calculators, apparatuses, and more stress food

Kidding aside; $1500 is already too much for a guy like me, but that's just me

[BarbaricSoul]

Originally Posted by Kevin117007

Also can you update your build with the SSD, I don't see it in the links

256gb SSD added.

As for the gfx, save some money, and if your not happy with the video performance, add another 7970. But, if you think you'll be adding the 2nd 7970, up the PSU I listed to this- XFX PRO850W XXX Edition Semi-Modular 80 Plus Silve...

Originally Posted by Kevin117007

For the HD7070, would I just hook one monitor up to the DVI and the other two into the mini display ports? In that case I'll need adapters as well.

Basically, yes.

[Kevin117007]

Originally Posted by PLSG08

Why not the 300R? Corsair Carbide Series 300R Black Steel / Plastic ... great case IMO.

How about saving the money for other things other than making the comp snazzy.
the $1000 could help you out get good things for college (I just started college here) Like better calculators, apparatuses, and more stress food

Kidding aside; $1500 is already too much for a guy like me, but that's just me

Lol I know what you mean. But between my internship this summer and my current one, I've accumulated quite a bit of money on my hands. And I don't have a desktop, so I figured its time for a computer Don't worry, It'll make me more productive

But yeah, probably wont snazz up the computer, I'll just save it for something else.

Wouldn't mind having a few lights though :\

[PLSG08]

isn't 128GB enough for a boot drive?

@OP: Well if I were you I'll use that spare money to get me a Laptop (a powerful one) so I could carry my work and play anywhere, then I'd use the desktop for some hardcore gaming and crunching

[BarbaricSoul]

Originally Posted by PLSG08

isn't 128GB enough for a boot drive?

@OP: Well if I were you I'll use that spare money to get me a Laptop (a powerful one) so I could carry my work and play anywhere, then I'd use the desktop for some hardcore gaming and crunching

Agreed on both points(SSD and powerful laptop)

AFK for 20-30 mins, got to go to the store. But I will be back to check in on this build

[Kevin117007]

Originally Posted by PLSG08

isn't 128GB enough for a boot drive?

@OP: Well if I were you I'll use that spare money to get me a Laptop (a powerful one) so I could carry my work and play anywhere, then I'd use the desktop for some hardcore gaming and crunching

Well I was hoping I'd use the SSD for most everything. I honestly don't use that much space, and the HD would just be for big stuff I have (music, video, ect). I think on my current laptop I've used only like 250 gb, and thats WITH a bunch of large videos and movies.

As I've said, I've already got the laptop. It's pretty decent for work, but not enough that it'll distract me with gaming

[PLSG08]

then we'll just thrown in a 512GB SSD so everything would be hella fast :-bd

EDIT: How old is your lappy anyway?

And it's already midnight here in the Philippines, got me some classes tomorrow that starts at 8am.... I'll be back on this thread tho

Don't worry bro, we got your back on this build

[Kevin117007]

Originally Posted by PLSG08

then we'll just thrown in a 512GB SSD so everything would be hella fast :-bd

yes plz :x

[Kevin117007]

Originally Posted by PLSG08

then we'll just thrown in a 512GB SSD so everything would be hella fast :-bd

EDIT: How old is your lappy anyway?

And it's already midnight here in the Philippines, got me some classes tomorrow that starts at 8am.... I'll be back on this thread tho

Don't worry bro, we got your back on this build

Lol, its 8 am here...stayed right up through the night. damnit

Bought my laptop this year. I was in a bind for a competition, so I bought it at a local computer store without really looking to much in the specs. Good laptop, just some kinda unnecessary things (dr.beat speakers and blu ray player come to mind)

[Kevin117007]

Alright I'm headed out to sleep. I'll be back tomorrow(today). Thanks for the help!

[dude12564]

Originally Posted by Kevin117007

Well I was hoping I'd use the SSD for most everything. I honestly don't use that much space, and the HD would just be for big stuff I have (music, video, ect). I think on my current laptop I've used only like 250 gb, and thats WITH a bunch of large videos and movies.

As I've said, I've already got the laptop. It's pretty decent for work, but not enough that it'll distract me with gaming

Go for a Samsung 840 Pro (when it comes out).

[Kevin117007]

EDIT:

See below for latest build

[Kevin117007]

Originally Posted by dude12564

Go for a Samsung 840 Pro (when it comes out).

What's the difference that would make me want to pay an extra $200 for the same space?

[Aquinus]

Don't get the 3770k if you're planning on running virtual machines, you will benefit from the VT-d on non-K edition skt1155 chips and all SB-E chips. Second, you're not going to need 32Gb of memory as a student (The most I've used for real-world work was about 14Gb doing development for work, and that included a game in the background eating up 4Gb), so it is a little unnecessary for a Comp Sci student. I know, because I use to be one before I graduated and 8Gb was way more than adequate.)

Honestly I would go for a 3930k, 16Gb of memory (across 4 DIMMs, higher density costs more and you don't really need it), a slightly smaller SSD (256Gb?), and a slightly larger PSU. Consider for a moment that the 3930k will give you better ability to multi-task, it will give you something more long term for upgrading than a 3770k (1155 is EOL after the 3770k so you'll be replacing motherboard and CPU if you decided to upgrade the processor.) IVB-E is also slated for sometime later next year. Also I would consider getting 3 1Tb drives and running RAID-5 so you have some redundancy there. It would be a real shame if you were working on a project all semester and then your drive fails on you.

Also, as a student you won't be developing anything big enough where 3 displays will really benefit you, that's just bragging rights and for eyefinity. With a budget like that, you're looking at a beast. I know what you're doing. I was a Comp Sci student once. Although, just consider that when push comes to shove, what ever you end up building will most likely do way more than you need it to, but it looks like that is what you want. In all seriousness, I would stay away from skt1155 with a budget like that despite what people have been saying thus far.

Also consider for a moment that if you're living in a dorm that you will be moving this computer a lot and 3 monitors takes up a lot of space and dorms tend to be small. I know that I couldn't fit more than my 22" + 28" on my desk before I decided to live off campus.

Keep in mind that just about anything you program for an under-grad comp sci degree will most likely run just fine on something as old as a Pentium 4, so you're building this computer so more fun than productive.

[Kevin117007]

Originally Posted by Aquinus

Don't get the 3770k if you're planning on running virtual machines, you will benefit from the VT-d on non-K edition skt1155 chips and all SB-E chips. Second, you're not going to need 32Gb of memory as a student (The most I've used for real-world work was about 14Gb doing development for work, and that included a game in the background eating up 4Gb), so it is a little unnecessary for a Comp Sci student. I know, because I use to be one before I graduated and 8Gb was way more than adequate.)

Honestly I would go for a 3930k, 16Gb of memory (across 4 DIMMs, higher density costs more and you don't really need it), a slightly smaller SSD (256Gb?), and a slightly larger PSU. Consider for a moment that the 3930k will give you better ability to multi-task, it will give you something more long term for upgrading than a 3770k (1155 is EOL after the 3770k so you'll be replacing motherboard and CPU if you decided to upgrade the processor.) IVB-E is also slated for sometime later next year. Also I would consider getting 3 1Tb drives and running RAID-5 so you have some redundancy there. It would be a real shame if you were working on a project all semester and then your drive fails on you.

Also, as a student you won't be developing anything big enough where 3 displays will really benefit you, that's just bragging rights and for eyefinity. With a budget like that, you're looking at a beast. I know what you're doing. I was a Comp Sci student once. Although, just consider that when push comes to shove, what ever you end up building will most likely do way more than you need it to, but it looks like that is what you want. In all seriousness, I would stay away from skt1155 with a budget like that despite what people have been saying thus far.

Also consider for a moment that if you're living in a dorm that you will be moving this computer a lot and 3 monitors takes up a lot of space and dorms tend to be small. I know that I couldn't fit more than my 22" + 28" on my desk before I decided to live off campus.

Lots of good comments:

You're right this machine is a bit of overkill. I kinda want to just have it and not deal with a new computer for the next few years. Obviously nothing I program is going to have a hard time on any computer I'm running. It's more of if I want to try out 3D modeling, or for game development, circuit simulation, or other intensive programs like that. And of course for gaming

I honestly would like to have 3 monitors, because at work with 2 I still find myself alt tabbing the crap out of everything. I think 3 would be pretty cool, and I believe it would create a slight boost in productivity(when I'm programming I usually have 2 windows source code + debugger + window for API) I definetly have a soft spot for monitors And I have a custom build bed/desk that I made myself(yay carpentry!) that's plenty big to fit 3 monitors and then maybe another 3 and then some more. So plenty of space But I digress...

As far as VMs go, I don't really see the need why I would want to do that? I was thinking about more of the lines of dual booting with Linux and Windows (that's reasonable, right?), and I'll probably be spending 95% of my time on windows. That's probably the most I'd ever do. Unless you can give me a convincing argument for virtualizing....

I'll take your word on the processor. Upgradability is desirable, and multi-tasking is a MUST. If I change to the 3930k, would I have to change the motherboard as well. If so, suggestions? I not familiar with the new processors, so I'll take all the advice you have.

I'll also take your word on the extra RAM. 32 is a bit overkill, and I can always expand if needed. 16gb it is. Any suggestions for the RAM?

3 1 Tb drives seems like overkill! I'll take the 1tb and back up everything from the SSD, but really I don't use that much space. I'll honestly probably store everything on the SSD, and just have my computer that much faster. the HD will just be for backup + any really large files(movies, backup disk images, ect.)

Thanks for the advice

[Aquinus]

Originally Posted by Kevin117007

Unless you can give me a convincing argument for virtualizing....

You never have to restart to work in Linux. It's very unlikely you will need the full resources of your system for development and a lot of the code you will be writing will most likely be in linux if you're Comp Sci program is anything like the way mine was a few years ago. Plus, it gets you good at Linux without potentially wreaking your computer if you're not experienced with *nix.

Originally Posted by Kevin117007

I'll also take your word on the extra RAM. But because it's so cheap, unless it causes a negative performance boost, I don't really see the problem with getting 32gb?

Not for faster memory. By the time you upgrade the rest of your machine you might want another 16, but there is no way that this rig will ever need 64Gb of memory so using high density memory will just be a waste of money IMHO, it also doesn't typically overclock as well as lower density memory.

Originally Posted by Kevin117007

3 1 Tb drives seems like overkill! I'll take the 1tb and back up everything from the SSD, but really I don't use that much space. I'll honestly probably store everything on the SSD, and just have my computer that much faster. the HD will just be for backup any really large files(movies, backup disk images, ect.)

You say that now, but if you lose your 1Tb drive, you will be wanting a new one. At least with RAID-5 you know that if you lose a drive you won't lose all of your stuff. RAID-5 also gives you better I/O performance, writes are a little better and reads are amazing. I highly recommend it. It's only 2TB usable with 3 drives, but I recommend reading up what RAID-5 actually does and your stance might change. You don't need to get 1TB drives, but the redundancy that RAID offers will save you a lot of headache if a drive does decide to fail on you.

Originally Posted by Kevin117007

I'll take your word on the processor. Upgradability is desirable, and multi-tasking is a MUST. If I change to the 3930k, would I have to change the motherboard as well. If so, suggestions? I not familiar with the new processors, so I'll take all the advice you have.

I personally got the ASUS P9X79 Deluxe. It's a little expensive but it's an amazing motherboard. TPU actually has a review here on the site by Cadaveca. He actually convinced me to get it and it was one of the best purchases that I've ever made. The 3930k is better at multi-threading, but any decent modern processor will "multi-task" plenty well. The 3930k is more of an indulgence than anything else. Otherwise I would recommend the 3820 (which is what I have.)

[xxdozer322]

what part of socal are you from? if youre near the OC area, Microcenter and 2 frys are in your range, with Frys price matching things you dont have to wait for shipping, and microcenter usually has the best deals on processors if your willing to pick up.

[xxdozer322]

let me help you out here, hopefully microcenter and frys isnt to far from you


3770k - http://microcenter.com/product/38857...1155_Processor
ram - http://www.frys.com/product/7346644?...%20date:110212

[Kevin117007]

Recombining:

CPU = $569 Intel Core i7-3930K Sandy Bridge-E 3.2GHz (3.8GHz ... or $299 Intel Core i7-3820 Sandy Bridge-E 3.6GHz (3.8GHz T...
MB = $379ASUS P9X79 DELUXE LGA 2011 Intel X79 SATA 6Gb/s US...
RAM = $69 G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3...
GFX = $389 SAPPHIRE 100351SR Radeon HD 7970 3GB 384-bit GDDR5... (Could Change)
PS = $99 XFX P1-650X-XXB9 650W ATX12V 2.2 & ESP12V 2.91 SLI... (Could Change)
Heat Sink = $30 COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatp...
Thermal paste = $12 GELID Solutions GC-Extreme Thermal Compound
KB = $59 Logitech G110 Black USB Wired LED Backlighting Gam... (Could Change)
Mouse = $54 Logitech G500 10 Buttons Dual-mode Scroll Wheel US...
Monitor = $150 (x 3 ) = 450 ASUS VH236H Black 23" 2ms Full HD Widescreen LCD M... or SAMSUNG B300 Series S23B300B Black 23" 5ms GTG Wid..., cant decide, first one has better response time though
SSD = $269 256gb SAMSUNG 840 Pro Series MZ-7PD256BW 2.5" 256GB SATA... or $390 512 gb Crucial M4 CT512M4SSD2 2.5" 512GB SATA III MLC Int...
HD = $84 SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cac...
Case = $169 Antec DF-85 Black Steel / Plastic ATX Full Tower C...
DisplayPort to DVI = $8 http://www.amazon.com/Premium-Black-...layPort+to+dvi

Total: $2640

I'm worried that the choice in graphics card isn't the best. Should I stick with the 7970 and possibly crossfire it, or should I go with a GTX 670 or 680?
Do I need to improve the heatsink for overclocking/is it even possible with this processor?

Thing I still need:
Better PSU (not sure if it's powerful enough for current processor/graphic card needs)
Better keyboard

Any more comments on how I can increase performance bottlenecks? (For gaming or multitasking)

@Aquinus

Honestly, I doubt both my solid state and my HD drive are going to fail at the exact same time. if one fails, I always have the other. I think spending a bunch of money on backing up more than once is a mute point for me in college

@dozer
Yes I am, actually. I'll check right now to get a ballpark for how much the processors are at microcenter. No pre-optimization though, I'll wait until I figure out all the parts before checking prices locally.


Is there a way to delete old posts? I want this to be on the bottom post and get rid of all my old build posts.