Long Time Lurker....First Build

[jef.paas]

Hello HC'rs,

I'm building my first gaming PC!!

Still need some help or suggestions with the build.

so far...

Box = Corsair Carbide 500R
PSU = Cooler Master 1000W Silent Pro
SSD = OCZ Vertex 2
HDD = Seagate Green 2Tb.
Water = Corsair H100.
ODD = Pioneer BD.

Still need a CPU.. Thinking i7-2600K
Still need MOBO.... Thinking Asus z68 v-pro gen.3 (haven't seen any for sale yet)
Still need a GPU... thinking GTX 590, then save for second to run in SLI.
Still need 3 x 3D screens for BF3.

Stock Box w/H-100 has 6 fans.... 7 if you include the PSU fan..enough?? or should i spring for a couple more.??

any suggestions would be appreciated.


thx

JP

[severity]

Mind as well get the i7 2700K, it's like 50$ more, and for your 120hz monitors I would get

NCIX.com - Buy BenQ XL2410T 23.6IN Widescreen 120HZ LCD Monitor LED 1920X1080 2MS DVI HDMI HAS Pivot 3D Vision - BenQ - XL2410T - in Canada

I personally use 2x of the Samsung 2233rz 3D monitors but they're only 22" and are 1680x1050, and they're like 2-3 years old now, I want to upgrade to these BenQ one's how ever I cannot bring my self to do it, They're really amazing though a few of my friends have them...

edit:

I'd get 2x 580GTX's over the 590s, Also I have the z68-pro v motherboard and I've had no issues with it so far

[dandelioneater]

For video cards, I've been told that 2 way sli is the way to go for a surround setup. 3 or 4 way is terrible for surround because of load balancing issues. So I think 2 GTX 580's are the way to go. Maybe even the 3GB versions would be beneficial for a large resolution of 3 monitors.

For CPU, a 2500K is more than enough for games, as the hyperthreaded cores on a 2600K/2700K aren't utilized in games.

[dma0991]

Originally Posted by severity

Mind as well get the i7 2700K, it's like 50$ more

$50 for an extra 100MHz and similar overclocking potential as the Core i5 2500K and Core i7 2600K?

@jef.paas
If you're strictly building a gaming rig you would not need anything more than a Core i5 2500K. For a GTX590 SLI you would need a beefy PSU preferably from Corsair, Silverstone or Seasonic with at least 1000W+. The Vertex 2 is old, it is better to consider getting the Vertex 3 or get a SSD from Crucial instead. Get the right amount of fans that you would only need as more fans would mean more noise.

[jef.paas]

Originally Posted by dma0991

For a GTX590 SLI you would need a beefy PSU preferably from Corsair, Silverstone or Seasonic with at least 1000W+. The Vertex 2 is old, it is better to consider getting the Vertex 3 or get a SSD from Crucial instead. Get the right amount of fans that you would only need as more fans would mean more noise.

THX.

three guys at the PC stores said the Cooler Master 1000w silent pro could handle the gtx 590 x 2 for SLI.

and the upgrade to the newer OCZ Sata3 SSD is definetly on the X-mas list.

JP

[ilya]

Originally Posted by jef.paas

three guys at the PC stores said the Cooler Master 1000w silent pro could handle the gtx 590 x 2 for SLI.

You won't find much love for CM PSU's around here. They're one of the manufacturers that typically take a good platform and butcher it into a POS to cut costs. The Silent Pro Hybrid units they just released seem to be a big step in the right direction though. I would consider getting a lower wattage, higher quality unit.

I would get a single 590 and forget about SLI, the scaling isn't good enough to justify the extra ~$750. You'll be much better off selling the 590 and buying the latest gen when new cards come out in the coming months. The 590 will retain its resale value much better than dual 580's will as well and performance will be almost the same.

The 2600k might not be a bad idea since you're building the rig around BF3. It *should* be able to make use of the extra threads - but I would wait for some benchmarks to see how well BF3 takes advantage of the extra threads.

[keto]

I'd stick with the 590 personally, though admittedly I have no experience with surround. There's just no replacement for more GPU horsepower for gaming.

I picked up a V Pro Gen3 at BCom in Edmonton yesterday, $222 I think it was, so $15-17 more than a non Gen3. I also picked up a 2600K, replacing a 2500K and Giga Z68 UD3H B3. The board is nicer to work with, obviously better built and much better voltage regulation. The cpu is meh as an overclocker, so far takes more voltage than the 25 did, but that's luck of the draw BUT I'm still trying to figure out if the temp difference of +10-11C at load is due to the chip having more cores, or the fact that I changed from the stock compound on my H80 to AS5 or maybe do I need to reseat my cooler. Logically, I think more cores with more voltage is the answer but still puzzling it out. In reality, 2500K is fine, I could run P95 blend and still surf at full speed. 2600K a little better at benchmarking, 3DM11 score at 4.4 is already a little past my 2500K score at 4.8..but the differences are small and may not be worth the heat trade off.

3D screens are very subjective. I picked up an ASUS VGA236 a couple weeks ago and am thrilled to death with it, but I'm no monitor expert and it was a huge upgrade over my old LG 22". The gloss finish is a non factor, I get very little reflection despite having a window right beside me and a light above and slightly behind me. The colours are super sharp, the blacks very deep. I had looked at a Samsung S950 but even in a well lit store, it had a ton of bleed around the edges. My ASUS has a little if you aren't looking at it dead straight on, but sitting down in front of it I have never seen any in a game.

[jef.paas]

Originally Posted by ilya

I would get a single 590 and forget about SLI, the scaling isn't good enough to justify the extra ~$750. You'll be much better off selling the 590 and buying the latest gen when new cards come out in the coming months.

THX

Could save for a New LED TV!!

JP

[jef.paas]

what do you guy ssuggest for additional fans??

high CFM with low Db...

I was looking at the Thermalright x-silent 140mm's

thx

JP

[Avenger212]

By Experience the best fans to use are the Noctua 140mm fans. A bit expensive than the usual fan but great airflow and low DB. HWC Recommended it to me and loved it since. But the colour scheme is a bit to be desired, might want to get a can of spray paint (void your fan warranty).