its build time again.. need some advice on a setup

[simaomacaco]

Ok folks, its time for the computer loan from my work to funnel into gaming PC. This is my plan so far:

The plan upgrade:
Mobo: ASUS Rampage IV Formula Republic of Gamers - motherboard - ATX - LGA2011 Socket - X79
CPU: CORE I7 3820 - 3.6 GHZ - 10 MB L3 CACHE - LGA 2011 SOCKET
Cooler: H80I EXTREME PERFORMANCE LIQUID CPU COOLER - LIQUID COOLING SYSTEM
Memory: 16GB 2400MHZ DDR3 CL11 DIMM KIT OF 4 XMP BEAST SERIES
Disk: OCZ Vector Series solid state drive - 256 GB - SATA-600

Existing stuff:
DELL 30" monitor in 2560x1900
ATI 6970 2gb DDR5 (maybe buy another an x-fire or Ebay and upgrade the card to something with 3gb DDR5)
1 TB snail sata drive for storage
800w Tagan PSU
Antec P180 case
USB headset sound
Fast enough Wifi card

Old stuff:
CPU: QX9650 @ 10x380
Cooler: Prolima megahalems R2
Memory: 1333 Reaper X
Mobo: P5Q-E
probably try to ebay some of it.

I have around £1000 for the loan, thoughts on the 5 items at the top?

As always, I love you guys and appreciate your help

 

[RCoon]

Maybe a 7970/770(780 even if your money allows) for those high resolutions.
8-16GB of 1600mhz RAM minimum.
i5 3570k, just because that's a good baseline, 3770k if your budget allows. (I dont see a reason to go socket 2011 if you're gaming)
Decent £125+ Z77 Motherboard, any brand is good IMO.
128GB SSD because they're becoming bread and butter nowadays!
H80i is a good cooler option, even a H100 if your case allows.
Decent Gold rated 850watt PSU, Corsair, OCZ, NZXT, or any other with a decent OEM brand like seasonic.

 

[repman244]

For gaming only I would go for socket 1155 (or even wait for 1150) and 8GB of RAM, put the rest of the cash towards a better GPU due to the high-res monitor.

 

[BarbaricSoul]

agreed with what others are saying, go with socket 1155 for gaming. 3570k/MSI Z77GD65/8 gig DDR3 1600/HD7970 (nonGHZ edition and OC to GHZ speeds or higher).

In fact RCoon's build is exactly what I recommend, very similar in gaming to my 2600k/HD7970 rig running on my HP ZR30w 30" 2560*1600 monitor

 

[RCoon]

If you can sell any of your old stuff, put the money towards a really powerful GPU, like a 780 or something, it will help for that high resolution. The above build is pretty rock solid.
(sandy bridge is way cooler to overclock though)
The difference in gaming between 1600mhz and 2400mhz is something like 1-3% frame increase? Not worth the money.
Also OCZ SSD's are something to avoid for now, until they fix their problems. A lot of them die within months. My file server is living on the edge at this point.
Also - Haswell is out in a month

 

[Hood]

Looks great, and no point waiting for Ivy Bridge Extreme, it will debut in q3 or q4 2013 if at all. The 3820, while not a "K" or "X" series with an unlocked multiplier, can be overclocked by using the bclk set to 125 MHz, as implemented by the X79 chipset, for 4.5 GHz and beyond. Paired with the quad channel memory controller and 2400 RAM, it should be wicked fast (I have the 2x4GB Beast 2400 kit and it's awesome). Good luck on your new build!

 

[simaomacaco]

Cheers for the input guys. A few amendments based on your feedback, how about this?

There are two options for the CPU

1. INTEL IVY BRIDGE I5 3570K QUAD CORE 3.4GHZ SOCKET 1155 PROCESSOR UNLOCKED
2. CORE I5-3570K 3,4GHZ LGA1155 CORE I5-3570K 3,4GHZ LGA1155 6

Is the I53570 unlocked as a standard?

 

[d1nky]

if I was ya, definitely get a 7970 or even 7950. brilliant price and performance.

ooh cant wait to start my next build, with about £1.5k

 

[RCoon]

Cheers for the input guys. A few amendments based on your feedback, how about this?

http://imageshack.us/a/img560/8245/rigk.jpg

There are two options for the CPU

1. INTEL IVY BRIDGE I5 3570K QUAD CORE 3.4GHZ SOCKET 1155 PROCESSOR UNLOCKED
2. CORE I5-3570K 3,4GHZ LGA1155 CORE I5-3570K 3,4GHZ LGA1155 6

Is the I53570 unlocked as a standard?

i53570k is unlocked, anything without a k isnt. Your build looks good to me!
Why not 2 x 8 gb RAM instead of 4 x 4gb?

 

[drdeathx]

If the 3770K is not much more, I would go for that. Gaming will be essentially the same but hyperthreading gives you 4 more vitual cores. The Gene is a micro itx board and bad for air circulation. Unless you don't need a small build look at ATX form factor. You were prepared to get a X79 platform so a 3770K and ATX board makes sense

 

[simaomacaco]

The 7970 vapor-x seems to need a whopping 500w of power, so I checked out my PSU and surprised myself finding an:

Akasa PowerMax 850W dual 12V rail PSU 80PLUS & NVIDIA SLI certified

I think the Tagan broke some time ago and got replaced

Okay, some further modifications:

Out:
1x Gene board (the Formula is too pricey and probably excessive for me anyway)
1x 4x4gb Vegence
1x 3550k

In:
1x Asus P8Z77-V - 1155 SOCKET - Z77 CHIPSET - ATX
1x Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) Memory Kit PC3-12800 1600MHz DDR3 DIMM (Red)
1x Core i7 Ivy Bridge 3770K - 3.5 GHz - 8 MB L3 Cache - LGA 1155 Socket (BX80637I73770K)

Order now looking like:

Final note on some prices:

110 - Asus P8Z77-V
105 - MSI Z77GD65 is a little cheaper and seems perhaps the better option as suggested by BarbaricSoul
115 - MSI Z77A-GD65 GAMING - SOCKET 1155 - CHIPSET Z77 - ATX

I had some nice experiences with Asus boards. hmmmm maybe I am biased

 

[drdeathx]

Upgrade the H80, it will not do good on Ivy(3770K).. Use H100. Everything else looking good.

 

[simaomacaco]

Yeah, I would like the twin but my case won't house it. So my thinking was that the H80i was probably as good as I could get. If you know something better then feel free. I have some Viper S-flow fans to assist any cooling system in addition to a couple of more quiet case fans, sharkoon golf style iirc.

 

[Aquinus]

The only thing I have to say is: Unless you have a specific reason for thinking about skt2011, you shouldn't invest in it. It costs more and the reasons for investing in it are pretty specific. You're better off going with a skt1155 CPU or waiting for Haswell and skt1150, which is what I would do in your shoes (wait for Haswell, that is).

 

[BarbaricSoul]

The 7970 vapor-x seems to need a whopping 500w of power, so I checked out my PSU and surprised myself finding an:

Akasa PowerMax 850W dual 12V rail PSU 80PLUS & NVIDIA SLI certified

I think the Tagan broke some time ago and got replaced

Okay, some further modifications:

Out:
1x Gene board (the Formula is too pricey and probably excessive for me anyway)
1x 4x4gb Vegence
1x 3550k

In:
1x Asus P8Z77-V - 1155 SOCKET - Z77 CHIPSET - ATX
1x Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) Memory Kit PC3-12800 1600MHz DDR3 DIMM (Red)
1x Core i7 Ivy Bridge 3770K - 3.5 GHz - 8 MB L3 Cache - LGA 1155 Socket (BX80637I73770K)

Order now looking like:

http://imageshack.us/a/img580/7631/rig2k.jpg

Final note on some prices:

110 - Asus P8Z77-V
105 - MSI Z77GD65 is a little cheaper and seems perhaps the better option as suggested by BarbaricSoul
115 - MSI Z77A-GD65 GAMING - SOCKET 1155 - CHIPSET Z77 - ATX

I had some nice experiences with Asus boards. hmmmm maybe I am biased

Save some money and get a non-GHZ edition 7970. All non-GHZ edition 7970 can OC to GHZ speeds, making them the same as a GHZ edition. Use MSI Afterburner to OC for easy OC'ing.

If it's less expensive, get the GD65 board. I wasn't really a fan of MSI myself, until I got my GD80. I was more of a EVGA and Gigabyte fan. I have been nothing but completely satisfied with it since I got it. After a little research, I found that the majority of people that own MSI boards feel the same as I do.

 

[drdeathx]

Save some money and get a non-GHZ edition 7970. All non-GHZ edition 7970 can OC to GHZ speeds, making them the same as a GHZ edition. Use MSI Afterburner to OC for easy OC'ing.

If it's less expensive, get the GD65 board. I wasn't really a fan of MSI myself, until I got my GD80. I was more of a EVGA and Gigabyte fan. I have been nothing but completely satisfied with it since I got it. After a little research, I found that the majority of people that own MSI boards feel the same as I do.

The MSI Z77 GD65 overclocked as well if not better than any board for me FYI. Yes, I would save money on the board. The GD65 is more than you will need. I pulled 5.2GHz on SandyBridge 2600K which was the processors high overclock with it and 5.1GHz with a Ivy 3770K. I have a Gigabyte Z77 UP7 and MSI Z77 GD65 and am using the GD65 if that says anything. Love the board

 

[simaomacaco]

Ok, so thanks for the input, its been unbelievably useful and reshaped my plans entirely. Thanks given to everyone. My plan now, buy the SSD and play with it a bit. Wait a few weeks and see what happens with the haswell. Depending on what happens either take advantage of price drops or a faster architecture, invest more in the GFX and stick to 1150.

 

[RCoon]

The MSI Z77 GD65 overclocked as well if not better than any board for me FYI. Yes, I would save money on the board. The GD65 is more than you will need. I pulled 5.2GHz on SandyBridge 2600K which was the processors high overclock with it and 5.1GHz with a Ivy 3770K. I have a Gigabyte Z77 UP7 and MSI Z77 GD65 and am using the GD65 if that says anything. Love the board

+1, my 3570k is happy on that board at 4.4ghz.

 

[simaomacaco]

Initial benchmarks seem to suggest Haswell won't do much for performance over the 3770 or 3570. I think we are all systems go on the plan outlined by RCoon, DrDeath, barbaric and Repman

 

[Arjai]

I concur with all of these guys. I am an ASUS fan myself but, my next build is gonna be an MSI. I feel like the features are simular but the durability and OC's abilities have outpaced ASUS boards.

Writing this on an ASUS S56C with an i5, even this 3317u 1.7GHz has a nice turbo to over 2.6 GHz...getting a K series Desktop CPU would probably be more than enough. i7's are impressive but, the IVY i5's are nearly as impressive. AND, a good savings.

I've seen some things about Haswell...on the fence, at the best. I can't, at this point, justify building a Haswell with the K series chips out there and kicking butt.

My two cents. OUT!

Good Luck!

 

[simaomacaco]

Okkies, musing on:

Core i5 Ivy Bridge 3570K - 3.4 GHz - 6 MB L3 Cache - LGA 1155 Socket (BX80637I53570K)
SSD 840 Series Basic 2.5" - 250 GB (MZ-7TD250BW)
Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) Memory Kit PC3-12800 1600MHz DDR3 DIMM (Blue)
Z77A-GD65 Gaming - Socket 1155 - Chipset Z77 - ATX
---
£531

OcUK Tech Lab H2O Custom HD 7970 3072MB GDDR5 Watercooled Graphics Card
---
409

Watercooling res>pump>CPU>rad1>CPU>Rad2>res
---
320

Ooops = 1260

The main issue I have with a the high end ATI cards is that they are really noisy, okay, I use cup headphones but still. The water system is something of a future'sh investment? Pros, well its a toy innit? Cons, over budget, would need to get a good price for my old kits.

--water details
1xXSPC RayStorm CPU WaterBlock (Intel)
1xXSPC X2O 750 Dual 5.25” Bay Reservoir Pump V4
1xXSPC RayStorm GPU
2xHardware Labs Black ICE Radiator GT Xtreme 120
Various connectors + coolant

 

[simaomacaco]

Hi guys/gals,

I know you will be curious and maybe even losing some sleep wondering what I plan to do or is it because no-one else even vaguely cares about my PC hardware except tech forums and some feigned interest from the GF eitherway

Ordered:
MSI Z77A-GD65 - grade B - £83.99
Samsung SSD 250gb basic - £134.99
VTX3D7970 3gb GHZ X-Edition - £299.99
i5-3570k - £149.99
HyperX Beast 2x8GB 1600Mhz - £108.99
----
Total £797

So I decided to save £200 towards a water cooler once my old hardware sells on the ebay. That should give me a decent chunk of change to spend.

 

[RCoon]

Hi guys/gals,

I know you will be curious and maybe even losing some sleep wondering what I plan to do or is it because no-one else even vaguely cares about my PC hardware except tech forums and some feigned interest from the GF eitherway

Ordered:
MSI Z77A-GD65 - grade B - £83.99
Samsung SSD 250gb basic - £134.99
VTX3D7970 3gb GHZ X-Edition - £299.99
i5-3570k - £149.99
HyperX Beast 2x8GB 1600Mhz - £108.99
----
Total £797

So I decided to save £200 towards a water cooler once my old hardware sells on the ebay. That should give me a decent chunk of change to spend.

Good choices