Quote:
Originally Posted by
compuman145 
Hey man
Ok, well i'd ditch the ASRock board for the GA-Z77X-D3H because it's got the better VRMS for overclocking
Have a look at the seasonic 620w or the seasonic X650 I think it is.
If you're getting the 7950, I would really want to push you on the 7970 Ghz edition, those are binned processors and overclock a lot further.
If you're gonna blow $50 on an aftermarket cooler have a look at the H60 - H100, also the silver arrow.
Don't bother with a Blu-ray burner, you'll never ever ever use it.
Case, the silverstone make nice cases, depending on how much you wanna spend maybe the corsair 650D
Don't get a 3tb drive, Go with 2 1TB WD greens, it's purely for storage and in addition to that, replacing a 1tb drive is a lot cheaper than replacing a 3tb drive.
Comps
Picking a PSU was a tossup for me. I had trouble deciding on quality and wattage. In the end I just want one good enough to power a top of the line CPU and single GPU, both overclocked. I went with the Corsair because of its' non exorbitant price, seasonic innards, and 140mm fan. I hadn't looked at the 550w seasonic g series. How does it being 550w compare to others being 650w? I did look at the seasonic x650 which looked nice. I actually just looked and I see it for sale for only $100. Would you guys suggest I go with that? Also I don't really see the importance of high efficiency and modular ones. I myself am more concerned with performance like the parts on the inside, ripple and noise, and potential to go above the rated wattage. Could someone explain to me how the two go together, their point of view, and why a gold rated one really counts as being more high end?
Can you cite where you're getting that the GA-Z77X-D3H has better VRMs? I read these articles:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/z77-express-ivy-bridge-benchmark,3254.html
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6296/gigabyte-z77xup4-th-review-thunderbolt-times-two/6
Can you point out where the GA-Z77X-D3H is winning?
The cheapest 7970 ghz edition I see for sale is $450 while the 7950 is $300. I do see the 7970 ghz edition clearly outperforming the 7950:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/550?vs=618
So I have two questions. Is it worth the price increase to get the 7970 ghz edition. And if I was going to change from the 7950 would I not be better off getting a normal 7970 which I see selling for $380? Keep in mind any money I save goes towards an upgrade in the future like an 8970.
Picking a cooler was also a rough one. Right off the bat I want something that performs better than the hyper 212 I always see being mentioned. I will note now I don't really care for the closed loop water coolers as I'm under the impression they have their fair share of problems, can be noisy, and cool on par with equally priced air coolers. I should also mention, throughout the build noise is definitely something I'm keeping in mind. I had looked at coolers like the noctua d14 and the silver arrow. I decided on the true spirit 140 because it is similar to the thermalright archon, which I believe performs on par with the silver arrow, it includes the chill factor 3 paste, has a quiet fan, and is a good $30 cheaper than the others.
As for the blu-ray burner I think you all are right and I shouldn't bother with it. I guess I chose it as a sort of novelty. I'll switch to a dvd burner. Can anyone recommend a good one and tell me why it is good? I know there are a handful on newegg all for about the same price and I was reading that they can have different chips like NEC versus mediatek.
I don't see the reasoning at all behind the idea to switch to two 1tb green drives. They would perform slower and together would cost more than the 3tb drive.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Forceman
I would ditch the Blu-Ray burner - what's the liklihood of you really burning a Blu-ray disc? - and I would swap the 840 Pro for a Samsung 830. The 830 is going to be just as fast in normal use, and you can save almost a $100 right there. I'd also take TwoCables PSU suggestion - modular is the way to go.
Switching to the samsung 830 from the samsung 840 pro is a valid argument in my mind. I did check out:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/665?vs=532
Seeing as I don't see myself replacing the SSD too soon I think it is worth it for me to start out with the fastest one available.
I'll continue to look into the other parts when I have more time and I look forward to everyone's responses. I was checking out removing the IHS and putting better paste. I think it's something I want to do. What are your thoughts on it?
