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What do the experts recommend?! About $550 to spend.

post #1 of 22
7/21/12 at 8:39pm
Thread Starter 
I would like to cool the gpu and cpu and I have about $550 to spend. Here is my build:

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/cIJc
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/cIJc/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/cIJc/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: Asus SABERTOOTH Z77 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($224.98 @ NCIX US)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($45.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($45.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($119.95 @ B&H)
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($389.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($389.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Switch 810 (White) ATX Full Tower Case ($169.98 @ Outlet PC)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($25.97 @ Newegg)
Other: YAMAKASI-CATLEAP-Q270
Total: $1752.82
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-07-21 23:39 EDT-0400)
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post #2 of 22
7/22/12 at 2:34am
Is this rig already in your possession? If so, toss it into rigbuilder and display it in your sig so people can more easily help you later, without you having to keep trying it all out.

If not, do you plan to overclock? If not, you don't need a "K" processor. If yes, you want to use less ram sticks (you can keep 16 gigs, just do it with 2x8 instead of 4x4) because the more ram modules your memory controller has to manage, the less overclock you will get.



With that out of the way, How much cooling are we talking about? Do you want some awesome overclocks or just more stability/peace of mind with mild oc / no oc? Does it need to be quiet or can it be a jet turbine?

$550 is a lot of money for cooling. You can get some pretty nice results, but make sure you actually will make use of them and you aren't just throwing money away that could be better used elsewhere.
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post #3 of 22
7/22/12 at 2:42am
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For that get another 670 and go 3 way, then with the remainer grab the biggest rasa kit I can get, CPU will be nice and chilly and the 670 run nice and cold anyway, biggrin.gif
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post #4 of 22
7/22/12 at 3:39am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zero4549 View Post

Is this rig already in your possession? If so, toss it into rigbuilder and display it in your sig so people can more easily help you later, without you having to keep trying it all out.
If not, do you plan to overclock? If not, you don't need a "K" processor. If yes, you want to use less ram sticks (you can keep 16 gigs, just do it with 2x8 instead of 4x4) because the more ram modules your memory controller has to manage, the less overclock you will get.
With that out of the way, How much cooling are we talking about? Do you want some awesome overclocks or just more stability/peace of mind with mild oc / no oc? Does it need to be quiet or can it be a jet turbine?
$550 is a lot of money for cooling. You can get some pretty nice results, but make sure you actually will make use of them and you aren't just throwing money away that could be better used elsewhere.

I really want to experiment with overclocking, but should I just get another 670? I'll downgrade the ram. I don't care that much about loudness, I really just want it to look cool (The primary function is for it to work)
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post #5 of 22
7/22/12 at 3:55am
I would recommend any of these:

Water cooling
Audio setup - Headphones and sound card
Mechanical keyboard
Gaming mouse
Multi-monitor setup
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post #6 of 22
7/22/12 at 6:59am
Quote:
Originally Posted by SnowBreeze View Post

I really want to experiment with overclocking, but should I just get another 670? I'll downgrade the ram. I don't care that much about loudness, I really just want it to look cool (The primary function is for it to work)

I don't see any point in tri-sli with those cards. The scaling on the third card is terribad, you're gonna be introducing even more micro-stutter, and it's not like you're gonna notice the small fps boost in most games with a single monitor - not even if you get that catleap overclocked.

Also remember even in tri-sli, you've still only got 2GB Vram and a gimped memory bus. You're gonna hit that bottleneck before you need more gpu horsepower in just about any game.



Instead, I suggest either going the no-OC route (this is likely the better option atm since even at stock, that hardware is overkill atm for normal use, and by the time it isn't, you can cheaply upgrade to overclocking-capable components or just get new ones all together), thus saving some money, or you can put together an awesome liquid cooling loop and overclock like crazy with the spare change you've got.

If you do NOT overclock, the above user's suggestions are all valid (except for the liquid loop, which is useless if you don't care about noise or overclocking).

Either choice is up to you, just remember there are a couple hardware changes you need to make (assuming you haven't already bought the stuff) depending on your choice, as I stated in my last post.
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post #7 of 22
7/22/12 at 11:30am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zero4549 View Post

I don't see any point in tri-sli with those cards. The scaling on the third card is terribad, you're gonna be introducing even more micro-stutter, and it's not like you're gonna notice the small fps boost in most games with a single monitor - not even if you get that catleap overclocked.
Also remember even in tri-sli, you've still only got 2GB Vram and a gimped memory bus. You're gonna hit that bottleneck before you need more gpu horsepower in just about any game.
Instead, I suggest either going the no-OC route (this is likely the better option atm since even at stock, that hardware is overkill atm for normal use, and by the time it isn't, you can cheaply upgrade to overclocking-capable components or just get new ones all together), thus saving some money, or you can put together an awesome liquid cooling loop and overclock like crazy with the spare change you've got.
If you do NOT overclock, the above user's suggestions are all valid (except for the liquid loop, which is useless if you don't care about noise or overclocking).
Either choice is up to you, just remember there are a couple hardware changes you need to make (assuming you haven't already bought the stuff) depending on your choice, as I stated in my last post.

Ok, no tri sli. I feel like having a liquid loop would look really good. I already have a great headset, mouse and keyboard. I could always save another hundred and get 3 catleaps. But the liquid loop looks really good. I guess the only question that matters is for this build do I need it? I here my CPU gets hot fast and needs cooling. This is my first build and water coolin is advanced. Should i just get like an h-100 and spend the other 450 on something else?
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post #8 of 22
7/22/12 at 12:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SnowBreeze View Post

Ok, no tri sli. I feel like having a liquid loop would look really good. I already have a great headset, mouse and keyboard. I could always save another hundred and get 3 catleaps. But the liquid loop looks really good. I guess the only question that matters is for this build do I need it? I here my CPU gets hot fast and needs cooling. This is my first build and water coolin is advanced. Should i just get like an h-100 and spend the other 450 on something else?

You're absolutely right, custom liquid looks awesome and that cpu DOES get hot. Not nearly hot enough to matter at or near stock, but you said you wanted to try your hand at overclocking. Looks like providence my friend smile.gif

Those 670s though, those don't get hot at all. You might get some small OC benefit by putting them under water (by removing the potential "kepler throttle") but being voltage-locked, you're likely to run into a voltage-barrier before heat really matters. Up to you if you want to get blocks for those. Would look awesome, but aren't really practical in terms of performance. As a bonus though, it could make your rig quieter by removing noisy stock coolers.

MOBO and RAM coolers are pretty much worthless for anything other than the most extreme overclocks, or absolutely dead silent computers. Not worth the cost of doing it right at all. Look fantastic though if you've got money to burn on vanity.

So, what do you think?
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post #9 of 22
7/22/12 at 12:39pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Zero4549 View Post

I don't see any point in tri-sli with those cards. The scaling on the third card is terribad, you're gonna be introducing even more micro-stutter, and it's not like you're gonna notice the small fps boost in most games with a single monitor - not even if you get that catleap overclocked.
Also remember even in tri-sli, you've still only got 2GB Vram and a gimped memory bus. You're gonna hit that bottleneck before you need more gpu horsepower in just about any game.
Instead, I suggest either going the no-OC route (this is likely the better option atm since even at stock, that hardware is overkill atm for normal use, and by the time it isn't, you can cheaply upgrade to overclocking-capable components or just get new ones all together), thus saving some money, or you can put together an awesome liquid cooling loop and overclock like crazy with the spare change you've got.
If you do NOT overclock, the above user's suggestions are all valid (except for the liquid loop, which is useless if you don't care about noise or overclocking).
Either choice is up to you, just remember there are a couple hardware changes you need to make (assuming you haven't already bought the stuff) depending on your choice, as I stated in my last post.

Totally agree.
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(25 items)
  		  
CPUMotherboardGraphicsRAM
3770k - 4.5 ghz 1.22v Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H EVGA GTX 670 FTW Crucial Ballistix Sport 2x4 GB 
Hard DriveHard DriveHard DriveCooling
VTX4-25SAT3-256G Samsung HD103SJ Raid1 Sandisk Extreme 240G (games) Koolance CPU-300-V10 Water Block 
CoolingCoolingCoolingCooling
DDC 3.1 HEATKILLER® GPU-X³ GTX 680 LT Koolance Exos Pump & Controller (CPU chilled loop) Coolit FreeZone (pelts & pelt water block only) 
CoolingCoolingCoolingCooling
Custom Copper Heat Exchanger For Pelts Koolance TNK-400 (Pelts Hot Side) HW Labs GTX 360 Radiator (Pelts Hot Side) HW Labs GTX 120 Radiator (VGA Loop) 
OSMonitorKeyboardPower
Win7 64/Linux SuSe Samsung 22" 1080 Saitek Eclipse II TP-1200M 
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Cosmo S Logitech mx518 Allsop Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Titanium 
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Just point, and click.
(25 items)
  		  
CPUMotherboardGraphicsRAM
3770k - 4.5 ghz 1.22v Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H EVGA GTX 670 FTW Crucial Ballistix Sport 2x4 GB 
Hard DriveHard DriveHard DriveCooling
VTX4-25SAT3-256G Samsung HD103SJ Raid1 Sandisk Extreme 240G (games) Koolance CPU-300-V10 Water Block 
CoolingCoolingCoolingCooling
DDC 3.1 HEATKILLER® GPU-X³ GTX 680 LT Koolance Exos Pump & Controller (CPU chilled loop) Coolit FreeZone (pelts & pelt water block only) 
CoolingCoolingCoolingCooling
Custom Copper Heat Exchanger For Pelts Koolance TNK-400 (Pelts Hot Side) HW Labs GTX 360 Radiator (Pelts Hot Side) HW Labs GTX 120 Radiator (VGA Loop) 
OSMonitorKeyboardPower
Win7 64/Linux SuSe Samsung 22" 1080 Saitek Eclipse II TP-1200M 
CaseMouseMouse PadAudio
Cosmo S Logitech mx518 Allsop Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Titanium 
Audio
Altec Lansing MX6021 
View all
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post #10 of 22
7/22/12 at 1:50pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Zero4549 View Post

You're absolutely right, custom liquid looks awesome and that cpu DOES get hot. Not nearly hot enough to matter at or near stock, but you said you wanted to try your hand at overclocking. Looks like providence my friend smile.gif
Those 670s though, those don't get hot at all. You might get some small OC benefit by putting them under water (by removing the potential "kepler throttle") but being voltage-locked, you're likely to run into a voltage-barrier before heat really matters. Up to you if you want to get blocks for those. Would look awesome, but aren't really practical in terms of performance. As a bonus though, it could make your rig quieter by removing noisy stock coolers.
MOBO and RAM coolers are pretty much worthless for anything other than the most extreme overclocks, or absolutely dead silent computers. Not worth the cost of doing it right at all. Look fantastic though if you've got money to burn on vanity.
So, what do you think?

I do have some money to burn, I'll try it. I don't think I need ram and mobo coolers, but I would like the tubing and the gpu blocks. Can you recommend some parts?
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