Build in progress

NinjaMittens

NinjaMittens

Forum Fiend
Joined
Jun 7, 2009
Messages
590
Hey guys,

I had a thread up a couple of months ago looking at some hardware, and I wanted to share my finalized inventory with you. I'll be putting photos up after it's done.

I'm happy to answer any questions as to why I chose some of the parts I did. One thing to know going in to this build is that the CPU and SSD were gifted to me, hence the generation old CPU.

Tower:

Case: Corsair Carbide Series 300R Windowed

MB: GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-D3H

CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K

CPU Cooler: CORSAIR H80

RAM: Patriot Viper 3 8GB

Video Card: GIGABYTE GV-N670OC-2GD GeForce GTX 670

PSU: Antec HCG-900 900W

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FAES 1TB 7200 RPM

SSD: Intel 320 Series SSDSA2CW160G3K5 2.5" 160GB

Optical Drive: ASUS 24X DVD Burner

Periphery:

Monitor: Acer G235HAbd 23''

Keyboard: Logitech G510

Mouse: Logitech G600

Router: D-Link Wireless N750
 
Do you live near a Microcenter? If so consider getting a i7-3770k (I think that's it) and Z77 board since you get 50 off the board when buying the i7. There really isn't a good reason to buy a Sandy Bridge chip when the Ivy Bridge chips are out and cost just a bit more. A

Another question, are you planning on doing anything other than gaming? If you aren't you probably won't benefit from the hyperthreading the i7 offers and you could save money by getting an i5-3570k which also qualifies for the 50 off select motherboards at Microcenter.

Other than that looks to be a solid build.
 
Here, let me quote myself,

One thing to know going in to this build is that the CPU and SSD were gifted to me, hence the generation old CPU
Click to expand...


And the mobo is already a z77 board. Unfortunately, the only pc store around is best buy, and they are kind of awful.
 
NinjaMittens said:
Here, let me quote myself,

And the mobo is already a z77 board. Unfortunately, the only pc store around is best buy, and they are kind of awful.
Click to expand...

Before I start, can I just say: owned...

Anyways, on to the critique. I haven't seen the other thread you mentioned, but just looking at this rig, it looks like you did a pretty good job. I think that a 2600K is more than fine, especially if you got it gifted to you. I'd prefer your SSD to be SATA III (6 Gb/s), but since it's a gift, you can't be that choosy.

One thing that does stand out though is that PSU. It's overkill. For what you'll be doing (mostly playing WoW, I'd assume) you don't need any more than 650W. I'd recommend the Rosewill Hive Series 650W. That give you plenty of juice for that GPU, as well a decent amount of headroom for overclocking.
 
I don't think there's anything wrong with the i7-2600K since it was a gift to NinjaMittens. It may be a generation older than Ivy, but it's still a strong, solid processor and it's not so far behind the i5-3570K that I'd complain if I got the 2600K, especially as a gift! :>

It looks like a pretty damn good setup. Most of my comments would be more nitpicks than "you MUST change this or it'll doom your PC or what have you." The only real brow-raiser for me is the PSU (see below).

*Why the Carbide 300 over other mid-tower cases like the 500R? I'm just curious here since cases tend to be personal preference anyway.

*I'm wary about that motherboard because it seems to be lacking in reviews and Gigabyte hasn't been overly impressive with their latest generation AMD and Intel boards. From what I hear, that particular board is one of the better Z77s but I think it may be better to invest in a motherboard that's proven to be reliable and impressive like this ASRock:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157293
(I don't think you'll go wrong either way. I'd just personally vouch for the ASRock since it is a might bit cheaper for the same feature sets and slightly better components.)

*Again, personal preference to an extent, but this RAM is not only cheaper but it is based off better architecture and will outperform those pricier Patriot sticks:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147096

*Yet again personal preference, as the Gigabyte 670s are pretty awesome. This is more of an 'alternate option' since the EVGA GTX 670 FTW is about the same price, but is clocked a fair bit faster and has an incredible cooling solution and PCBs from a GTX 680. Something to consider, maybe:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130787

*I really would try to avoid that refurbished drive. It's a huge gamble. For $20 more, you can get a brand-new, bad@$$ Samsung (wow I'm really advertising for Samsung components today) HDD:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

*That PSU is questionable and definitely overkill for a 600-series GPU. If you're spending that much money on a power supply, it's better to get the best you can buy--

--This 650w SeaSonic X650 will let you add a second GTX 670 without the risk of frying your entire system:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151088

--Or you could run dual GTX 680s on the 750W version if you want more headroom for upgrades later on:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151087

Hope this helps! Good luck with whatever you end up putting in your final build!
 
NinjaMittens said:
Here, let me quote myself,




And the mobo is already a z77 board. Unfortunately, the only pc store around is best buy, and they are kind of awful.
Click to expand...

I've been up 10 hours and it's only 1PM. Sorry my reading comprehension isn't very good :P.
 
Impressive build. Wish someone would gift me a 2600k and 160gb ssd.

For psu, I would go with a corsair tx v2. Based off of seasonic design. They also have a modular version if that is your thing. 750w is good for future crossfire and other upgrades, so probably a good option.

RAM is definitely overkill. No real performance boost over 1600 except in benchmarks. The samsung ram runo linked is all the rage. Low profile, low power, and can be overclocked quite high to similar speeds of the other stuff.

I like the gigabyte 670. Great cooling solution and an impressive card. However, I would also look at the 7970 gigabyte. Depending on purchase date, this one is currently going for cheaper than the 670:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161412

7970 is closer to a 680 in performance, and usually overclocks further than it. If BF3 is one of your main games though, it is definitely nvidia favored so than I would stick with the 670. Also, the borderlands 2 coupon is a nice addition to the nvidia cards, so I wouldn't blame you on the choice with that incentive either.

And not a fan of the refurbished hdd either.
 
*Why the Carbide 300 over other mid-tower cases like the 500R? I'm just curious here since cases tend to be personal preference anyway.
Click to expand...

This was based mostly on price vs feature comparrison. Nothing i needed on the 500R that warranted the difference. Yes I've sunk a lot in to the build, but i've been trying to eek as much out of the cash as I can.

I've always built with gigabyte MoBos, and the reviews i've read on ASRock were pretty split on stability over time, and I'm familiar with the overclocking settings on the gigabyte boards.

I wanted RAM with heatsinks, that looked good in the build, call me vain :p

As far as the power supply, is there a risk in having a PSU with more headroom? The main reason I have been looking at it is because I want to add a second of the same video card in the future, a bunch of case fans/LED stuff, and have room for more HDD's and an upgraded processor. Trying to make the build as upgradable as possible.

Also, the borderlands 2 coupon is a nice addition to the nvidia cards, so I wouldn't blame you on the choice with that incentive either.
Click to expand...
Yes, this, also I have always favored Nvidia personally, so that was a big aspect of this choice. The cooling solution is also fantastic.


Let me address the refurb HDD, probably a risky choice yes, however it is going to be a storage drive with a double redundancy. The system and my games are on the SSD. I've had extremely bad luck with seasonic drives in the past and have tried to avoid them. with WD, i've used refurb drives before that were fine. I'll be doing testing on the drive prior to use for sure, and the return policy is effective.

Thanks for the help guys!
 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139011

I suggest this unit. The new Gold version HX850. Since you are looking for a clean build, a semi modular power supply is probably going to be important. It is also quite a bit cheaper than the ax850 corsair gold unit which is fully modular. You are likely to use most of the cables that come attached, so you still get the benefit of modularity. Also looks to be at a good price as it is an excellent unit according to the retest at jonnyguru:

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=299

Only thing they found fault with really was the value at $200. It is obviously well below that now.

No concern really in getting a larger than needed power supply. They are actually most efficient at 50% load anyway.
 
Very similar to mine actually

Antec 902 Case

Corsair 850HX Powersupply (Overkill in a sense but I like the headroom and stability and my work bought it for me)

ASRock Z68 Extreme4 Mobo

I5-2500K @ 4.6Ghz (I see no reason to go to the Ivy at this time I have a discrete GPU and the CPU ability over Sandy is nominal at best, while I have seen the Sandys to be better overclockers, may go haswell next year we will see)

8GB Corsair Vengeance 1866 DDR 3

Currently have a Sapphire 6950 Dirt 3 Edition but have a Galaxy GTX 670 GC 4GB on order should get it by the end of the week.

OCZ Octane SATAIII 256GB SSD

Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB HDD

Corsair A70 CPU Cooler (Had a H70 but this cools better)

Asus Xonar DG Soundcard

Turtle Beach Z6a Headset (Great Headset one of my best buys)

Logitech G5 Mouse

Asus 23" LED (will replace soon with a BenQ XL2420T)

I think you will be pretty happy with your build.
 
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