New build. Is cool?

[Lambda Llama]

Hi!
Long time gamer - first time builder.

Have been obsessing over my new build for the past few days and am finally ready to order everything. Being a relative noob at this I'd love to get some feedback if anyone think that it:

a) sucks, b) that the parts are not compatible or out of place or just wrong, c) is sSS-ahhh-wEEEEt

two things I dont know about are the caviar green. is 5400rpm worse than 7200, or does it mean it simply draws less power?
also with the silver compound, do I need that? it seems to be standard in every build Ive seen thus far. But i'm pretty sure the H70 comes pre-compounded... Is it worth a double layer anyhow? on that note, should i also invest in one of those anti-static wrist bands?

NOW THE MAIN ATTRACTION!!!

CASE: cooler master 932
CPU: intel i7-950
GPU: pny gtx580
RAM: corsair 12Gb (6 x 2Gb) 1600
MO-BO: asus rampage iii formula
COOLING: H70 Liquid Cooling
PSU: corsair 1000W
SSD: OCZ Vertex 2 120 Gb
DVD-ROM: cheap one
HARD DRIVE: wd caviar green 1tb 5400rpm
Artic Silver 5 compoud




Please and thank you all!

[matsta31]

you dont need 12 gig for gaming. But other than that, good choice and you should be able to get a nice OC.

[ilya]

You should be able to get 3x4GB at DDR3 1600 for about the same price or less. More upgrade room and *potentially* easier overclocking. But you probably won't need 12GB anyhow.

Unless you plan on more than 2 way SLI, you probably won't need more than an 850W PSU, check out the AX850 from Corsair.

[_dangtx_]

go with the ssd and 2tb for storage, if needed.

nice cooler, maybe look at the top aircooling dogs as well. hr-02? :)

nice psu, wayy overkill.

case wise,preferring the 922. the 923 unless in super uber were broke special aint worth it :)

[Rasparthe]

12gb is way overkill as well, I rarely even crack 4gb when gaming. The 5400 refers to the spin speed of the hard drive. The greens draw less power but spin slower = slower access speed.

[Soultribunal]

I'll second that the PSU is way overkill. And Even a Solid AX850 , NZXT HALE 90 would be more than enough to sustain even a pair of those 580's.

If you plan on using the stock compound that comes on the H70 then you don't need to apply any more thermal paste, but be forwarned that installation on that is...not as idea as other solutions. You could also consider the Cool It Vantage (reviewed recently here) as that might be a good alternate.

The PNY GTX is a good choice, they have good customer support and of course lifetime warranty.
Corsair memory is nothing special, you could opt for G.Skill and stay with 6GB for now if you have to shave a little cost. I've found G.SKill to really be Top Tier these days when it comes to both support and product.

Forget about the Green and just get a WD BLack HDD to load all your other apps and programs onto. Keep the SSD nice and lean.
If you need a cheap DVD-ROM most out there are all the same, I lean towards LG as some of their Drives come with a nice Software Suite.

Good Luck,

ST

[draemn]

Well, you've picked out something that an o/c enthusiast would like (mostly).

The Rampage III extreme has a lot of o/c features that most users will never need (even those who push 4.3 GHz). If you're going to use all the features in the Rampage III, sure buy it, otherwise save a few bucks and get a mobo around $270-$290 with good o/c stability. The GA-X58A-UD5 is my board and I think it's a great option. I'm not a fan of the GTX 580 because I don't like paying a HUGE price premium (about $80 right now) just to have the fastest card. I'd rather step down to the GTX 570 (HD 6970 for 2560x1200 resolution) or get a SLI/CF combo with 2x GPUs.

If you plan to o/c like a mofo as your hardware suggests, I'd buy an 80+ gold PSU like the corsair AX line. There are a few other 'preferred' brands that are also good 80+ gold options, but I'm a corsair PSU fanboy :) 1000W is reasonable for heavy o/c + high end SLI/CF solutions, so it's not overkill if you plan to toss in a 2nd GPU, otherwise 750W would be plenty for 1 GPU + i7 everything else.

Vertex 2 is one of the best choices for price/performance/quality and a pretty damn good SSD when used properly.

Make sure you're buying RAM that's good for high o/c as I can't offer help here... I also know nothing about your case selection.

You can buy better TIM for about $5-10 more if you want... probably get 2-4 degrees difference. As for Caviar green, I don't know the whole line, but my 500GB is great! It has a 32MB cache which really gives it a kick and the "green" is that it will operate at 5400 RPM to save power but can rev up to 7200 RPM when requested for solid performance. I'm not sure that all Caviar green's have extra cache and can reach 7200 RPM, so you'll want to check that out first. Otherwise, it seems that 2 TB drives are the fastest on the Market (or the MomentusXT) due to their many platters + high cache levels. (5400 RPM has slower read/write/seek times than 7200)

DO NOT DOUBLE LAYER TIM! Remove all the TIM on the H70 and the apply your own!!!! :D You will get better performance by buying better TIM that what comes on the H70.

Anti static wrist strap is a $15 investment to avoid accidental $2000 damage. If you don't buy one and you ground yourself before working (to discharge), there is a 95% chance you'll be fine. Your choice if you want to take that risk or not... especially if you have carpet or get lazy and don't ground yourself before work.

[Kevard]

Your setup seems pretty similar to the Vesta 6050 (except with one 580). NCIX.com - Canada's Premier Computer Store - Great Technology, Service and Selection.. That seems like a pretty good build, but there are a couple things you might want to consider.

First of all, if your main use is going to be gaming, 6GB of RAM will be plenty. Also, I would opt for G.Skill or Mushkin over Corsair.

Second, a 1TB WD Black HDD would be much better than the WD Green you had in mind, especially when you put it up next to your SSD.

Another thing, the PSU is WAY overkill. If you only have one graphics card, a 620W PSU like this would be sufficient. NCIX.com - Buy Seasonic S12II 620W EPS12V 20/24PIN ATX Power Supply Active PFC 80+ Bronze 6+8PIN PCI-E W/ 120MM Fan - S12II 620 In Canada. If you're going to add a second GTX 580 in the future, then you should look at a Corsair TX850 or around that.

Lastly, unless you plan on going 3-way SLI, that motherboard is probably unnecessary. It has some nice features, but you could get a decent x58 board that still supports SLI for $100 less. Newegg.com - ASUS Sabertooth X58 LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

[frontier204]

Welcome! I don't own an i7 build but can answer some of the misc. questions you have there:

Originally Posted by Lambda Llama

two things I dont know about are the caviar green. is 5400rpm worse than 7200, or does it mean it simply draws less power?
also with the silver compound, do I need that?... Is it worth a double layer anyhow?
on that note, should i also invest in one of those anti-static wrist bands?

The Caviar Green is meant as a low power consumption drive, so it's not meant to be fast - don't look at the RPMs alone - heck IIRC a WD Caviar Black 2TB (also 7200RPM) can out-pace older 10000 RPM WD Raptors. I own a WD Caviar Green 1.5TB and WD Caviar Black 1TB. The WD Green is meant for storage, so if you're just piling on music, pics, videos, etc. then it'll be fine. If you want to put games on your hard disk and expect fast loading times, get a faster drive like the Seagate 7200.12 or WD Caviar Black. I noticed a difference when I went from a Samsung F1 1TB to a WD Caviar Black 1TB for my games folder, so there will probably be a more pronounced difference between a WD Green and Black.

From Corsair Hydro H70 CPU Cooler Review, you are correct that the H70 comes with compound pre-applied. Either REMOVE the pre-applied compound and replace with your Arctic Silver 5 or use it as is. You don't want to have 2 types of compound, nor do you want a thick layer of compound. People may argue that there's better compounds out there, but I wouldn't know because I'm still trying to use up a 15mL tube of the stuff

I believe in the use of anti-static wrist straps, although grounding yourself by touching exposed metals of the case WHILE THE CASE IS ALSO ATTACHED TO GROUND works as well. When I open up my computer I actually have the power supply plugged in but not turned on so I maintain the connection to ground. The issue is that there's no way to know if you actually damaged a component by ESD zapping it, or by other stuff such as power surge, *mild* overheating, etc.

[Lambda Llama]

Now this may be crazy, but lets just say I did one day go 3-way SLi, is the rampage iii formula going to be able to fully utilize the power (im sure the processor may need to be updated too at that point), and what kind of PSU would that take? Would the corsair AX850W suffice

also, I dont really understand the concept of grounding fully... Do i need to first install the PSU to the wall to have the benefit of being able to just touch the case to become grounded (electricity is like magic! and that scares me. because i dont understand it. lol).
I think i will just do the wrist strap. cheap investment. but with the strap... how does it work? what do i attach the grounding wire to?? sorry for all the questions!

I already ordered most my parts, just not the PSU, OS, SSD and larger HDD, CPU and ROM. which makes me want to ask if any changes would be recommended?

I dont want to be wasteful with power, because thats a future cost right there to consider, but i also dont want to have to buy a new PSU if lets say i found a good deal for two 580s down the road.. so its between a 850W, this Silerstone1000W which is the same price and which I have in the cart right now, or this more expensive Corsair 1000W