My 3rd PC, some advice please

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1

Hello everyone. First of all, I'm a frenchy, so please be tolerant.



So, because I am a little good boy, here are my answers:

 

  • Budget. How much are you willing to spend?

I am willing to spend multiple Ks, as long as it gives me enough for my money. 

  • Where do you live (what country),  and what currency do you use?

I live in good old Canada, in Quebec

  •   -Is there a retailer you prefer?

Anyone capable of giving me good service and good prices. I've had good times with tigerdirect.ca (when they were actually a good retailer) and now with Newegg.ca

  • Do you need or already have peripherals? (this can add to costs)

I am going to take it slow on buying those since I already have the basic things... 10 times (like we don't all have 10 keyboards somewhere).

  • What will you be using your future computer for? Gaming? Rendering? Mix of both? Or is this a home media PC?

So this is the reason for many decisions you might find irrational. I will be using my PC as a main gaming machine for the next 2 to 4 years (I am going to upgrade it in times as GPU requirements becomes more demanding, etc). I am also going to use it for main storage or data for about 1 to 3 years, then switch to a NAS. Finally, after it's gaming times, I might use what's left of it for a VERY LITTLE home server (might end-up as a server-storage machine if the NAS experiment doesn't go well).

  • Do you overclock or want to get into overclocking?

I got no problems regarding overclocking, except that it might reduce the lifespan of my hardware, and since I'm planing on using it for multiple things for a long time, I might now go into O.C. on this one.

  • Do you plan on going for custom watercooling now, or in the future?

Well, I don't think so on this machine, but I'm going to experiment it in the future of course.

  • OS. Do you need a new one?

I can get one. 7 might be it for me.

  • What kind of settings do you like or what FPS do you want to play at?

I'm trying to aim at playing what comes out at max for as long as my mobo can support what's gonna run it. Going for a 1150 was in case the next CPU gen is compatible with my mobo (I know there's a chance it won't). Also, I'm getting ready for multiple GPUs (that's why I got that PowerSupply). 

  • What resolution will you be playing at? //or would like to play at.

I'm an old classic 1 screen player. So 27 inches of 1920x1080 or maybe 2560x1440 at first, then 4k when they are affordable. I will also have a second display for watching movies while mining at StarCitizen... of course. Finally, the Oculus Rift won't be far on my desk.

  • What kind of games do you like to play?

What kind of games can you give me? I got my 1st PC when WoW got out... then my 2nd one when I needed to play EVE online. Now, I'm running on my poor little university laptop while playing SC2, LoL, WoT, GW2, Minecraft, name it.

  • What specific game will you be playing (if you only really play one)

StarCitizen if it ain't too crappy.

 

 

So now that you have a better idea of what my mindset was, 

CPU: I chose 4770 over 4770k since I'm not planing on Overclocking over the 3.9 that the turbo software is going to give me. Since 4771 = 4770 almost, I took the 4771

GPU: I want to be able to run the best on 1 card as long as I can, then add another one later.

RAM: from what I read in a lot of forums, 1600 cas latency 9 2x8GB is enough.

Storage: a 500 SDD seems much more than enough for OS + all current games IMO. Torrents will run on the 2TB HDD. Back-up will be safe in a nice RAID 1 setup with 2 4TB HDDs

Cooling: I'm planing on playing a bit with the Kraken X60 with my CPU. If I like it, I might play with other things later in my life :) Other than that, I'll get some nice "Noctua NF-A14 PWM 140mm Case Fan" if the ones I get with the case aren't worth it.

 

Down bellow are 2 links: one pcpartpicker (just did it.. didn't know it existed)

Also, there's a copy of the googledoc I used to build my setup with some info you might find usefull over the partpicker list.

What I would like: some feedback, questions and suggestions, and if necessary, teach me where I goofed ^^

Thx again

 

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/36bjG



https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AiTH0m-h5rVWdEdNTjhvZ0dPdmFoOHRGQTRZRUhHNkE&usp=sharing

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My 4770 overclocked to 4.3 with decent temperatures on .15 volt increase.

3

interesting that you could do it. Even tho I am not planning on doing it.. since I don't really see the point. 

I was under the impression that the CPU is not the bottleneck in anything except video related chiglewizle that I won't be likely to do.

 

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It won't bottleneck there either :P. It increased the heat a lot to make it non viable without a good cooler and even then the noise isn't worth the little increase in performance. I was just stating that it is possible, contrary to what people say.

5

Mind if I give some input?

If you aren't going to overclock (which you can't on a non K part) I would suggest getting a Xeon 1230 V3 as it is exactly the same as an i7 but without the iGPU. Another thought is you can save your money and get an Asus Sabertooth Z87 or a Z87 deluxe. The Maximus VI Formula does not have a good value proposition if you aren't going to overclock. Also you don't need a 1300W power supply, a 750W-800W will do you good.

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I don't mind at all.

 

About the Xeon, it was my understanding that Xeon CPUs were far behind I7s in term of performance in games. Am I wrong? I do understand that I don't need the iGPU, but isn't the CPU part of the chip much better in managing game workload than a Xeon?

Also, I would need about 1050-1100 W of power with a dual GPU (that I am going to get later on), but I didn't find a good PowerSupply over 1000W other than this 1300W, that's why I chose this one.

About the Sabertooth, what made me opt for the Formula vs the Sabertooth was the better onboard audio (gonna try the onboard before getting a standalone soundcard), the onboard wifi, the number of case-fan connectors and the amount of sata 6GB/s connectors. I do agree that it's pretty much the same apart of that, but I estimated that it would be worth a shot.

 

Do you agree?

 

Also, doesn't anyone else have critics about my soon to come build? I would really appreciate some input from pros like the people in here :)

 

7

Kiaxa, I read some articles, reviews, forums, etc, and it seems you were right about the CPU. Also, the E3-1230V3 seems to be the one to go with. Thanks a lot for it.

Apart from the CPU, what might I change about my build guys?
Also, does anyone know of a good powersupply around 1050-1100W that is worth it?

New partpicker: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/36HIV

Thanks again 

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Anyone?

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I don't get why you want to pair a non overclockable CPU with such high end motherboard. That maximus VI is meant for k part CPUs so you can unlock their full potential. Even a Asus Z87-k mobo has 6 Sata 6Gbps ports so that would be plenty for your four drives, unless you want many PCIe lanes.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131983

Why do you want a 1300W PSU? Are you planning on adding two more 780Tis in the future? In that case, the xeon will probably bottleneck you.

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I do get your point about the mobo and non-OC cpu. Imma give it a thought.

 

For the PSU, as I said, I would need a 1050W psu for 2 GPUs, but I didn't find any good one at this voltage. The only one I found was the 1300W one... still searching for a good one tho

 

11

1300w is good for 4-way sli on many gpus.  You'll only need 750-800w for two gpus.

12

but one 780ti is 350W... so 700W for 2...
and only my CPU is 60W... 

13

so as I get it:

either I chose a lower-end motherboard with a nice xeon

or

I keep the formula, choose a 4770k and OC the shit out of that bitch

right?

14

That's exactly right. It just depends on whether you want to overclock or not pretty much.

 

15

250w, not 350w.

16

hummm... guess imma go with the 4770k finally...

damn it.. took me 10 days to choose a CPU... I've put way too much work in this PC :P

17

Yes, that CPU paired with this motherboard will be beastly. Just hope that you win the silicon lottery, but even then a mild overclock of 4.5 ghz will give you lots of speed. 

18

and about the psu, anyone knows of a 1100W or above fully modular psu that is worth it?

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I've built it and it's been running like a charm for A month now... Geez it's powerful! :D

thanks for the advices

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np

Be a good kid and post some pics :)