My new build.

[nicholasontheway]

Hey guys i'm going with a new build this year and here are my spec...
Intel core i5 3570k
Asrock z77 Extreme 4
Kingston Hyper-X DDR3 8GB 1333
Corsair H100
MSI GTX680 Lightning
Seasonic S-Series GOLD 660W
WD 1TB GB 7200RPM SATA III
Crucial m4 120gbX2 SSD
Corsair c70 black

that msi lightning is 2 gb and in a few years time i would like to set up a triple monitors gaming pc....so i wanna add a 4gb gtx680 next year...is it possible to mix a 2gb GTX680 with a 4gb GTX680??

[Dzzope]

Originally Posted by nicholasontheway

that msi lightning is 2 gb and in a few years time i would like to set up a triple monitors gaming pc....so i wanna add a 4gb gtx680 next year...is it possible to mix a 2gb GTX680 with a 4gb GTX680??

Yes but you will be limited to 2GB.. so no point in getting a 2 and 4 GB version.

I would personally spend a lil more on the motherboard and a little less on the GPU..
Asus Sabertooth or P8Z77 V Pro would be my first choice. But I am using the Extreme 4 myself for my brothers new build.(He's on a tight budget)
The Lightning is VERY expensive and the features it brings are only really meant for people that really want to push the limits of their hardware (and boy do you pay for it)
The Asus DCII TOP is very nearly as good and much cheaper.. Many other options are available too which will cost less and the differences are only really seen in benchmarks.

The PSU, 660 watt is plenty for 1 card but the seasonic is a fair bit more than say the Corsair TX650V2 and it's built by seasonic..
For 2 cards I would suggest an 850 watt psu.. The TX 850 will probably be around the same price as the Seasonic..

Also I would bump to a single SSD that is 256GB or more given the price drops recently and to a drive that uses TRIM.. Vertex 4 is really good.
This should allow you to install all your programs and all / most of your games on the much faster SSD.
Though if your set on raid the M4 is a good choice but the Intel 520 with it's button press to clean is better (though more expensive)

For a little bit more than the price of the WD 1TB Black you could have a 2TB Seagate 7200.14.. faster and larger with a tiny bit more spend.

[nicholasontheway]

Originally Posted by Dzzope

Yes but you will be limited to 2GB.. so no point in getting a 2 and 4 GB version.

I would personally spend a lil more on the motherboard and a little less on the GPU..
Asus Sabertooth or P8Z77 V Pro would be my first choice. But I am using the Extreme 4 myself for my brothers new build.(He's on a tight budget)
The Lightning is VERY expensive and the features it brings are only really meant for people that really want to push the limits of their hardware (and boy do you pay for it)
The Asus DCII TOP is very nearly as good and much cheaper.. Many other options are available too which will cost less and the differences are only really seen in benchmarks.

The PSU, 660 watt is plenty for 1 card but the seasonic is a fair bit more than say the Corsair TX650V2 and it's built by seasonic..
For 2 cards I would suggest an 850 watt psu.. The TX 850 will probably be around the same price as the Seasonic..

Also I would bump to a single SSD that is 256GB or more given the price drops recently and to a drive that uses TRIM.. Vertex 4 is really good.
This should allow you to install all your programs and all / most of your games on the much faster SSD.
Though if your set on raid the M4 is a good choice but the Intel 520 with it's button press to clean is better (though more expensive)

For a little bit more than the price of the WD 1TB Black you could have a 2TB Seagate 7200.14.. faster and larger with a tiny bit more spend.

Well thks for you tips but the ASUS DCII TOP is much more expensive than the MSI GTX680 Lightning, this is because I'm living in Asia and SSD aren't cheap, a single 120gb SSD which best performance in like 70USD is that, Vertex 4 in my country converted into USD would cost about 110USD....things in my country aren't cheap.....

Well then if 2 gtx680 2gb sli, can I still do triple monitor setup? Will the performance drop compared to the 2 4gb GTX680?

[Leviathan-]

The 4GB version will give you a better performance at high resolutions and since you want to use triple monitor its the best choice.

[Dzzope]

Originally Posted by Leviathan-

The 4GB version will give you a better performance at high resolutions and since you want to use triple monitor its the best choice.

Would depend on the resolution of the 3 monitors, the game being played and the settings being played at.

Generally you'll find that your run out of performance from the chip rather than ram.. If your doing 5760x1080 then you will have some issues but nothing too severe.. 4 GB would help but you can turn down some of the high ram using settings (like aa) a notch or so and you'll be fine without compromising the quality much.

Originally Posted by nicholasontheway

Well thks for you tips but the ASUS DCII TOP is much more expensive than the MSI GTX680 Lightning, this is because I'm living in Asia and SSD aren't cheap, a single 120gb SSD which best performance in like 70USD is that, Vertex 4 in my country converted into USD would cost about 110USD....things in my country aren't cheap.....

Well then if 2 gtx680 2gb sli, can I still do triple monitor setup? Will the performance drop compared to the 2 4gb GTX680?

To me that is cheap.. a 120GB HDD here is more like $140.. But yea, pick and choose according to local prices..
I was going by the recommended retail price set by the manufacturer, where a Lightning is $499 and a TOP is $459.. Neither are the best value but ASUS is one of the best with one of the best warranties and customer service.

[nicholasontheway]

Originally Posted by Dzzope

Would depend on the resolution of the 3 monitors, the game being played and the settings being played at.

Generally you'll find that your run out of performance from the chip rather than ram.. If your doing 5760x1080 then you will have some issues but nothing too severe.. 4 GB would help but you can turn down some of the high ram using settings (like aa) a notch or so and you'll be fine without compromising the quality much.




To me that is cheap.. a 120GB HDD here is more like $140.. But yea, pick and choose according to local prices..
I was going by the recommended retail price set by the manufacturer, where a Lightning is $499 and a TOP is $459.. Neither are the best value but ASUS is one of the best with one of the best warranties and customer service.

Asus GTX680 DCUII TOP takes up 3 slots while the MSI GTX680 Lightning only takes up 2 slot and MSI has come out with the thing call GPU boost which has an additional PCB at the back to put more capasitors which make the GPU more stable.

I say the MSI wins alot more in terms of performance to it size :)

[Dzzope]

Size isn't really an issue with any of the boards or case chosen.. Even SLI will be fine.. (3 cards would require water for cooling but if going for 3 anyway you'd want water)

Performance for price would be more of an issue for most people..
The features you pay for with the lightning would require serious cooling and the vast majority of people won't use them..
That and the $100 premium over reference was why I suggested something else.