$2000 - New Pc Incoming!

[R31Nismoid]

My old E8400 is starting to struggle with newer games these days and is a serious bottleneck (even @ 4.2ghz)... And it's almost time to close off for tax

So it's time to build a new PC.

Here is the list of bits I'll be using, i'll decide later tonight on the final parts but its looking like this will be it.

Intel Core i7 2600

ASUS P8Z77-V PRO Motherboard

Corsair Vengeance CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3

Samsung 830 Series 256GB SSD Retail Box

Enermax Platimax 850W EPM850EWT

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 OC 2GB

Noctua NH-D14 CPU Cooler

Anything not listed like mouse/keyboard/monitor I already have so no drama there. This would be closer to a $2500 build if i needed such things.

The choice of a 2600k will likely surprise people in that I didn't go Ivy Bridge... From what I've seen the temps are not as friendly when over clocking, which is what i'll be doing. For a 8mb L2 Cache the IB processor (3770K) is another $50 to boot.

I can always update later on anyway, so i believe this will best serve what I'm after and rattle off an easy 4.5ghz overclock on air with temps staying nice and say for 24x7 use.

Love playing with near gear

[SoFreshSoClean]

Yeah, sandy vadge is the way to go. IVB just isn't worth the extra hassle/heat.

Good choice on the vid card, I have one myself

Apparently they stink for SLI though so keep that in mind if you plan to do that down the track.

[T4NK]

go with a giga mobo, and get a 2011 socket if ur not getting ivy, i have run SLI off this with no issues.

CPU

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=187_346_1298&products_id=18759

mobo

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=138_711_1299&products_id=18772

SSD

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=210_902_1376&products_id=20077

Dont get an SSD under 200GB you will fill it fast with a few programs, i bought a 60gb one and it was full with OS and 1 game. the Sandisk drive is like $100 cheaper and has a faster read/write speed 550/520 compaird to the 520/400 it does not list the IOPS on the samsung so i cant compair that.

Cooling

for the CPU cooling i would use the H80 water cooler, its closed so it will never leak, with my 3930K clocked to over 4ghz i dont get tepms above 55 under full load.

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=207_160_45&products_id=17919

I build these things like once a month so if u want more info PM me.

[R31Nismoid]

Not interested in LGA2011

It dies with the next architecture move... And going that path adds $500 to the build which I'm not going to spend and performance for gaming isn't any better, its actually worse

I chose the Samsung drive as its 256gb over a Sandisk (was my second choice), as the Samsung is slightly larger and offers a bit better performance whilst still being reliable and not suffering the random blue screens that some Sandforce based drives have been having.

[Cowboy1600]

I'd go Sandy Vagina over Ivy too but i5 2500k > i7 2600k for gaming. The 2500k is the choice for SB gamers.

Hyper threading is useless and i5s overclock way better.

PSU seems way overkill. It's even overkill for 2 x 670s should you add another down the track. I'd go an Antec High Current Gamer 750w and save $130.

Aside from that, the build looks good. With the money saved on the PSU you could consider a Corsair H100 water cooler. Just got to make sure your case has 2x120mm fans side by side.

[pkblade]

Besides camera gear, I got several Crucial M4 SSD's from B&H last year for cheap. So, might want to check out if they have any others on your list or equivalent...helps if you purchase a couple items to spread the shipping costs. Although, their CPU's tend to cost more.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/845681-REG/Samsung_MZ_7PC256B_WW_256GB_SSD_830_SERIES_INTERNAL.html

Postage usually takes 6 days (to SA) with the cheaper UPS option.

[Grimesy]

Another vote for the Corsair H80 watercooler here.

My Phenom 2 overclocked to 4ghz is similar to t4nk maybe slightly hotter.

With the cooler it pushes the air out the case not inside like air, so it doesnt put heat into other components on the MB.

Surprisingly it lowered the temperature on my GTX570 too which was a nice bonus.

[R31Nismoid]

I'd go Sandy Vagina over Ivy too but i5 2500k > i7 2600k for gaming. The 2500k is the choice for SB gamers.

Hyper threading is useless and i5s overclock way better.

PSU seems way overkill. It's even overkill for 2 x 670s should you add another down the track. I'd go an Antec High Current Gamer 750w and save $130.

Aside from that, the build looks good. With the money saved on the PSU you could consider a Corsair H100 water cooler. Just got to make sure your case has 2x120mm fans side by side.

I’m getting the 2600k as whilst the PC is generally gaming, it’s not all I use it for so the extra 2MB L2 cache will make a difference.

Oh RE: PSU… I forgot to add that I have about 6-7 HDDs currently in the case that I’ll be keeping (in addition to the SSD). J

And then there is the:

• Sound card that requires power
  
• Extra case fans
  
• Overclocking the CPU/memory.
  
• GPU overclocking from time to time just for benching fun as well.
  
• 
  

Hence I’ve gone the 850W route just to ensure there is enough room “as is” if I also decide to upgrade to a bigger card down the track or maybe add in another hardware RAID card. I have a Corsair 650W in there now, but I’ll move that over to a media centre as its 4.5 years old. Rather not risk… Enermax will do the job nicely as well as it’s Platinum rated & very well received in all reviews and user reports.

I don’t ever plan to run SLI, scaling is never good enough to justify the expense in my eyes at this point, so I just stick with a single faster card and upgrade ever 18months or as required. That could change however so spending an extra $40 now could work out a good move in a year

I am debating the Corsaid H100 as well. I do have mounting for it with 2 big exhaust fans. Only issue I see is the control of the damn thing is on the actual unit itself. You can control them via external controller but I've been reading that people are having issues when doing so which is putting me off.

There is no real budget lol, I can spend as much as i want really. Just that it all fell in @ around $2000 which is pretty good for the performance I'll get (its always a trade off)

Besides camera gear, I got several Crucial M4 SSD's from B&H last year for cheap. So, might want to check out if they have any others on your list or equivalent...helps if you purchase a couple items to spread the shipping costs. Although, their CPU's tend to cost more.

http://www.bhphotovi...S_INTERNAL.html

Postage usually takes 6 days (to SA) with the cheaper UPS option.

M4s have also been having issues with BSOD doing a bit of reading. My current system has never had one reliabilty issue in 4.5 years so aiming for that again and hence going the Samsung route as my investigations have proved them to be the most reliable. Not the pinncale of performance in all benches, but they regularly come close so near enough for me and my needs.

[25GTT]

so will you be OCing the CPU? if so i know you didnt want to, but i am sure i have read reviews about the 2500k being great for OCing.

I have the 2500k, not oc'd mind you, but for gaming and general things it runs really well.

Yup my 60GB SSD sucks, OS and skyrim fills up that 60GB no worries!

[R31Nismoid]

Yeah the 2500k and 2600k both clock just as well as the other. I just would like the extra cache for non-gaming activities. So its kinda the best of both worlds. Hence I'm paying a bit more, and I feel it should be better for my needs.

Ha ha yeah that's why I'm getting a 256gb SSD, 60gb wouldn't be anywhere near enough for me as ill run some games off it BF3 being one of those.

[J34]

got one of these the other day http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=210_902_903&products_id=18864

makes windows a little more responsive, I was thinking of getting a new mobo, CPU and RAM but with this I should get another year out of the system.

[R31Nismoid]

Yeah they ain't a bad idea for the cost.

I need a full rebuild though so a 256 that can hold some games as well as other programs I use regularly will make me happy camper

[DivHunter]

I would get 2 x 120GB SanDisk Extreme in RAID 0, but that's me.

[R31Nismoid]

Don't you lose TRIM in that scenario?

Throughput would be spastic though

[SoFreshSoClean]

I used to have an SSD as a games drive. Ended up selling it off because all it means is that you get into the game before every other chump and have to wait anyway. Plus, I really need more capacity.. at this point I have 576GB of games, and not all of them are installed.

I play a lot of multi though, I admit an SSD is still way better for single player.

[bozodos]

looks like a decent build, I would go an IB though, everyone I know who has them (with the Corsair H80 self enclosed water loops), gets just as good if not better clocks than SB.

I'd probably go G Skill RAM as well, but that's a personal preference, prob look for more mhz over better latencies next time

[Cowboy1600]

I would get 2 x 120GB SanDisk Extreme in RAID 0, but that's me.

Why? SSDs are so fast that they will simply be bottlenecked somewhere else in your system.

People have tried it and found absolutely no increase in performance on a gaming/home rig.

RAIDing SSDs is simply futile.

[R31Nismoid]

I'm still not convined

Nothing i've read suggested the clocks vs temps are as good as SB

RAM is usually a personal choice haha.The sticks i chose had good latencies @ their given range. Obviously overclocking will alter but its all trial and error.

Mhz and latency are generally directly related though anyway. More Mhz & better latency (keeping at 12gb) - the more cash you are going to be forking out.

The price rises steeply as well.

[R31Nismoid]

Why? SSDs are so fast that they will simply be bottlenecked somewhere else in your system.

People have tried it and found absolutely no increase in performance on a gaming/home rig.

RAIDing SSDs is simply futile.

Mate of mine has actually has 2 SSDs in RAID0

I'll have to ask him how its going - will report back once i do

[DivHunter]

Don't you lose TRIM in that scenario?

Throughput would be spastic though

Depends on the controller.

Why? SSDs are so fast that they will simply be bottlenecked somewhere else in your system.

People have tried it and found absolutely no increase in performance on a gaming/home rig.

RAIDing SSDs is simply futile.

Because you can, obviously. It's also cheaper and he has multiple other drives for backup capacity.

Please link to these 'people'.