Heyas everyone. Been narrowing down parts and peices last few months for a new rig and want some feedback and suggestions before I hit the button. This'll prolly be considered a "gaming" rig, but I don't really hardcore game. It's more for an all-rounder that'll last a few years. I don't do very much video editing, but do on occasion. I do a lot of audio editing and multi streaming. I might OC it mildly (the CPU I plan to get seems to run pretty cool @ 4mhz) I don't want liquid cooling, but more of a sealed LC system - would rather overkill a bit on that - don't want a bulky Air cooling system. Fan controller feedback would be greatly appreciated as well as I'll stuff as many as I can (for overkill ofc). I'll use a 24" monitor @ 1920 x 1080 rez. Thermal lvl10 is big and ugly, but it's def the case I'll be getting because of the room and modular design. Ima just list the "guts" I have lined up. THERMALTAKE Level 10 GT ASUS P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 INTEL Core™ i7-2600 CORSAIR 8GB (2 x 4GB) Vengeance™ PC3-12800 DDR3 1600MHz CORSAIR HX1050w or COOLER MASTER 1200w Silent Pro Gold Series RSC00-80GAD3-US CORSAIR 60GB Force SSD (or?) BTW - I already have the new Keplar series PNY GTX680 sitting here waiting to be put in. I am not "locked" in to any of the above besides the case and viddy card of course... I DO like, or more "want" an x79 board/3820cpu but it is probably overkill for what I do, thus the z68/2600 combo. I'm not super tech savvy, I just read a lot about the products before I decide to buy. Any feedback/opinion? Tippin'
Don't like it, I've been building computers for quite some years now, if you want to take my advice: - THERMALTAKE Level 10 GT Expensive for what it gives, some plastic and it isn't as clean and easy as it looks. I'd get a Corsair 650D anytime over that one. - ASUS P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 Excellent mobo, nothing else to add. - INTEL Core™ i7-2600: NO Switch to Intel Core i5-2500k (Cheaper and better than i7-2600) - CORSAIR 8GB (2 x 4GB) Vengeance™ PC3-12800 DDR3 1600MHz Good, but I'd switch them for a kit of low latency G.Skill RipjawsX, cas-8 or even cas-7. Cheaper and better again. - CORSAIR HX1050w or COOLER MASTER 1200w Silent Pro Gold Series RSC00-80GAD3-US Overkill, a 650W or 750W one will suffice. Best brands for PSU are Seasonic, Corsair and Silverstone in that order, don't get the coolermaster please. - CORSAIR 60GB Force SSD (or?) Nope, go for a Crucial M4 64Gb I almost forgot, for the CPU Cooling if you don't like the big bulky air coolers (I don't either) get a Corsair H80. That's what I would do.
Ty for feedback. Why i5-2500 over i7-2600? I had just assumed i7>i5s...Reviews seem good on them as well (for i5s as well)... No CoolerMaster psu? Okay...Overkill on wattage, I know. But leaves plenty of room for furure power additions. I was leaning at Corsair anyway...CM just had a few more watts for same price. Can you elaborate briefly on Latency re: mem? Was looking at H100 or Antec KUHLER H2O 920. Like h100 better - 240 mm rad, but it is LOUD (on hi) and doesn't seem adjustable w/o opening the case. Antec is adjustable via their software, but has smaller Rad. Might have to throw a dart to decide on these. Haven't seen comparable options to these two. I'll peek at that Corsair case, but really like the ugly GT's (interior) design. Not asking ya to spend hours "coaching" me, but any further comments totally apreciated. Tippin'
You said you wanted to OC the CPU, the 2500K has it's FSB unlocked (the last 'K' for unlocked models) and it's a much better chip both in performance and price/performance ratio. I thought the same 5 years ago, spent 300€ on a 850W PSU. And here I am today, never using over 500W. Reason?: Tech grows both in power and efficiency. The seasonic one is better. CoolerMaster PSUs are just medium quality rebrands (not all, but...you know..). Latency (also called cas or CL): Lower=better, it's the delay between requesting data access and actually getting it (more or less, not really precise). The standard seems to be CL9, but CL8 and CL7 modules perform better at aprox. the same price tag which means you also get lower operating voltages and higher quality chips. Both the Corsair and Antec coolers are just rebranded products from Asetek, they just buy them in bulk, put their stickers and maybe some fans and sell them. So basically they are the same product. But keep in mind that what matters is the radiator thickness, and anyway I'd go with Corsair for the extended guarantee and great tech support. Go for the GT case if you really like it, I'm just telling you for a $200+ case it has way too much plastic, and less room than normal cases, the cable management can be a bit messy too =)
Allright. Tyvm for the feedback. Good insight on the i5 vs i7, will take into consideration. Ripjaws vs Corsair mem I can get at same price...Guess it'll be up to red vs. blue (I really don't care about looks, it's performance. ) I'll look into the psu options, would like gold rated and as noise really doesn't bother me, I'll prolly go to h100 (not like I'll be maxing cpu load very often, or at all). BTW - ever heard of Coollaboratory Liquid MetalPad? Any take on that? Tippin'
I guess it's a thermal compound for better temp transfer between CPU and Cooler, but no clue on how good or bad it performs.
Yea, I'll just get some AC MX-2...Doubt there's much difference for my purpose between all of 'em. ED: Oh yea...I am sold on the Seasonic psu's. ty! Tippin'
I won't give much here since O2 has you covered other than I don't like Intel or nVidia. I hear more complaints than praises about nVidia. More people ingame have graphics glitches with nVidia cards than ATI cards. So I stick with AMD/ATI when I can. And I haven't had any problems with the machine I've got. Besides, (in my experience) AMD builds are cheaper for comparable performance/reliability. Also: If your CPU is running at 4MHz, I would hope it's nearly stone-cold.. Though with the low number, I doubt it's really worth overclocking.
I've been using this nVid GTX220 forever and it still runs EU decent for what it's ancient ass is. The "hype" on nVid's new Kepalr cards was just too tempting and if they're even 50% of what they say it is, they'll smoke all nVid/AMD cards in thier price class. Only the GTX680 has been released (afaik) so us mid-users were their initial target. Needless to say, that was an insta $500 spent. I'll letcha all know what I think about it. I personally didn't prefer one over the other as I have used both and all have seemed just fine for their class (low-mid in my case). This old GTX220 has been put to the hardest stress - it's outlasted 4 mobos so far - I haven't OC'd any of the CPU or it's GPU - so if anything because it's been so bullet proof, and because new Keplar "hype", I have to lean at nVid/Intel. I might OC the new setup some but not initially. Atm I have been whittled down to a good old Pentium 2 @ 1.6ghz so the i5 above will prolly seem like light speed. (Yep...My rigs have been dropping left and right last 6 months. ) From what I have read, the i5 2500 chipsets run pretty cool @ 4-4.2 and I decided on the H100 so that should be plenty enough cooling. I am sure I'll be adding 2 Nuctuna fans to push and move the stocks to pull (or maybe just 4 Nocs...) as the Corsair fans are said to be noisy. What sold me on h100 over the Antec was the longer rad. Though thinner, the length will dissapate heat better. Also the Corsair Link kit is right up my alley. (A 'puter in your 'puter! ) http://www.corsair.com/corsair-link/corsair-link-kits.html I am so glad Angel brought up the Seasonic PSUs! I have heard of 'em before ofc, but more about Corsair, Raidmax and the like. From what I have just reveiwed, Seasonic PSUs are bulletproof. So I found a killer deal on them as well....Yea, I went overkill and snagged a 1000w Platinum rated. You knew I would! Hey if the 680 is all it says, I'll put 2 in sli to use some power from it! And yes Angel...I got the ugly GT case. Only thing I didn't like about it was the LED fans. I'm not like a lot of the other peeps I see on YouTube or whatever. I don't want my ferkin rig to look like a damn discoteque. But you can turn them off so it's optional "bling".... Heard from a few that the ASUS P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 onboard audio records shitty, but only from a few. We'll see on that. I have a few SoundBlasters I can swap from backup boxes if needed. So after asking around on like 5-6 forums about builds, and a few months research-price checking, I'm pretty much locked in to this setup. We'll se how it performs. I really, really wanted the x79 chippy but I couldn't justify it for what I do...Damn. Guess I'll have to spend the savings on beer. Thank you all for your insight and opinion! Tippin'
Top of the line doesn't impress me. If you're buying top of the line, you're paying waaaaay too much.
Only thing that could be considered "top of the line" is the vid cards i have. I suppose the brand names could be considered that but I get them because of their quality. Tippin'
That's very true, and I can attest to what Rick said. I took Rick's advice and we literally put together a system taht runs this game like a dream (save for the usual lags that the game throws at us. (Which is more client softwar issues than anything). But imagine building a system for say 500 bucks that will run this game on very high settings. It's doable, and like Rick said, if you are pthinking high end, it's way way too much. Benjamin Ben Coyote "The Bline Sniper"
I was making a new syst from scratch to upgrade my old systems. So if I want a rig to last some years from now, one would prolly want to get the Sandy Bridge chipsets (if going Intel). The i-5 cpus and the mobos will eat $500 right off the bat, and those aren't top of the line. A decent vid card at least $200. This build isn't for EU, or games only, but for all around usage. I did go overkill with some compopnents that give me upgradeability for years ahead - such as the psu, case and cooler. And I do not mind paying a bit more for names that I know are quality. I don't need some Brand X component crapping out after a year of useage. Nonetheless, it's built and semi burned in. I still have to do some minor tweaking but it's pretty much done. I bop around Celeste Harbor @ 50~ fps on very high atm. Go over 100fps in other places. I'll slap a few pics up in near future. Tippin'
For those who are/were interested: It's up and running fine. Had to RMA the H100 for a bad pump but no prob. Thing is, my uber 10 year old camera decided it would die after I (finally) put new batteries in it, so I gosta get a new one so I can show you all what I spent too much money on! Tippin'
