[Jtvd78]

Newegg Wishlist: http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=21564885

My friend wants me to build him a new computer, so here is the initial build that I put together. He gave me a budget of ~$3500.
The computer will be mainly for gaming, and some photoshop. Other than that, it will be used for general multitasking and web browsing.

I dont plan on upgrading the computer in the future, so this is how its gonna stay.
The SSD is for the main boot drive, while the 2 3TB drives are for RAID 1.

Any recommendations on the cooler though? Is there a better deal out there? Or maybe a better performing cooler?
And I'm not the most up to date with SSDs. How does the one I chose perform?

Thanks guys.

 

[0CALEFACTION0]

I like everything except for the cooler. I have that solid state and it flies. For a different cooler, how about a better air cooler like the Noctua NH-D14 or a better watercooler like the Corsair H100i.

 

[Farih]

I wouldnt get that PSU, 1200W is to much and that one you picked is to expensive IMO.
A good 850W PSU would do great to, go 1000W if you really want to be safe (but its overkill)

I would get a different set of RAM to, the red will look crap with all the black from the rest of the build (its a bit personal i know)

Then i would get 2x a 7970 instead of 2x 4GB 680's.

Changing the graphics and PSU would save you a nice amount of money so you can ditch the H80 and get a custom WC set.

Why those expensive disk's ?
You could save money there to.

 

[zer0d3gree]

Looks like you have a solid build there, consider the suggestions above, but other than that it looks good

 

[Jtvd78]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Farih

I wouldnt get that PSU, 1200W is to much and that one you picked is to expensive IMO.
A good 850W PSU would do great to, go 1000W if you really want to be safe (but its overkill)

I would get a different set of RAM to, the red will look crap with all the black from the rest of the build (its a bit personal i know)

Then i would get 2x a 7970 instead of 2x 4GB 680's.

Changing the graphics and PSU would save you a nice amount of money so you can ditch the H80 and get a custom WC set.

Why those expensive disk's ?
You could save money there to.

Ahh yes, nice suggestion on the RAM. I was originally planning on red themed build, but then I changed to blue. As for the GPU, I heard bad things about the 7970 and stuttering. That's why I went for the 680s. But I was also a little confused with weather I should get the 2GB cards of the 4GB cards. He's using a 2560x1600 monitor right now, but hes planning to get more in the future.

Newegg doesnt seem to carry any 3TB WD drives other than the red and green series. So I chose the red series which is apparently made for RAID.

 

[BiG StroOnZ]

Ditch the motherboard for an ASRock X79 Extreme6. That will save you almost $150 right there. You won't be losing any features or overclocking ability.

Drop the two 680 FTW + for two 670 FTW +. Save you nice amount of money, and you won't be losing that much performance. Overclock the 670's and you will be over 680 performance. Either that or go red team and grab two 7970's (Sapphire or Gigabyte). If you are running at 1600p resolution like you say then team red might be the best bet, or go the 4GB 670 route.

The PSU is ridiculous, price and power wise. Grab a SeaSonic X Series X-850 for $149.99 after rebate. Fully modular, and Gold certified. (or if you must the SeaSonic X-SERIES X-1050 for $179.99 after rebate but that will be overkill)

The 840 Pro is a nice SSD, but it's so overpriced. Go with an Intel 335 Series or 520 series. Same speed/reliability as the Samsung Pro's but much better priced.

The Mushkin Ram isn't anything special, for about $50 cheaper you can get 32GB of some 1866MHz G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series

Stay away from the Red Drives, to be honest. Just grab two of the 3TB Seagate Barracuda's (ST3000DM001).

Lastly, not sure if an H80 will be enough. If you aren't familiar with a custom loop, and want to go AIO then you will need at least an H100i.

 

[rafety58]

As others have said, that PSU is total overkill. All you need is a good quality 700-750W PSU, or a 850W if you want to feel safe (still overkill imo)

 

[Jolly Roger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rafety58

As others have said, that PSU is total overkill. All you need is a good quality 700-750W PSU, or a 850W if you want to feel safe (still overkill imo)

You'd even be fine with a good 600W.

 

[Jtvd78]

Updated the Memory, HDD, Cooler, and the PSU. Someone above recommended an ASRock board. I was under the impression that ASRock made cheap/Low quality boards.
Also, I would consider switching to the 7970, but I read a lot about stuttering issues, and general micro stuttering.

 

[bdenpaka]

To be honest, I would drop the processor and get a 3770k instead. I don't think you'll benefit very much, if at all with the 3930k.

 

[bdenpaka]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jtvd78

Someone above recommended an ASRock board. I was under the impression that ASRock made cheap/Low quality boards.

ASRock is a sub company of ASUS. They're actually competing against ASUS boards as of currently.

 

[KeyboardXpert]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bdenpaka

ASRock is a sub company of ASUS. They're actually competing against ASUS boards as of currently.

Source please? I am almost 100% sure this isn't true, they split off in 2010. Although yes, their boards are good and they do compete with ASUS.

 

[adridu59]

This build is much overkill, I'd go with i7 3770K + Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H + 16GB of DDR3 and an HD 7950 (they're 2x better than Kepler for GPGPU also they have 3GB of memory and better bandwidth) and save the rest. Like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: NZXT HAVIK 140 90.3 CFM CPU Cooler ($59.98 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($148.98 @ Amazon)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($83.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($73.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Plextor M5S Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($169.99 @ Microcenter)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($297.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($98.98 @ Outlet PC)
Power Supply: Rosewill Capstone 650W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 Full (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1358.82
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-18 18:09 EST-0500)

Honestly, 32GB of memory and X79 is crazy for those usages. 8GB is the norm, but I've thrown in 16GB for Photoshop and multitasking.

Also, Windows 8 is cheaper and you get a full license not an OEM. If you don't like the Modern UI just use Classic Shell.
Quote:

Originally Posted by bdenpaka

ASRock is a sub company of ASUS.

No, they're owned by Pegatron.

 

[Fr33kill]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bdenpaka

ASRock is a sub company of ASUS. They're actually competing against ASUS boards as of currently.

Was. They are separate companies.

 

[Fr33kill]

Quote:

Originally Posted by adridu59

No, they're owned by Pegatron.

Wrong. Pegatron split off AsusTek in 2010(unless you are referring to just asrock, not asus and asrock).

 

[KeyboardXpert]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fr33kill

Wrong. Pegatron split off AsusTek in 2010(unless you are referring to just asrock, not asus and asrock).

This has got to be the most confusing tech conversation I have every been privy to.

 

[alcal]

for $3500, you could get 3 7970 or 4 7950's if you want epicness. I struggle to recommend anything from the green team this gen for price/performance reasons.

 

[KeyboardXpert]

Quote:

Originally Posted by alcal

for $3500, you could get 3 7970 or 4 7950's if you want epicness. I struggle to recommend anything from the green team this gen for price/performance reasons.

Really? I thought the GTX660 was pretty good in this category.

 

[Jolly Roger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KeyboardXpert

Really? I thought the GTX660 was pretty good in this category.

It is. The 7950 will outperform it, but it is mucho more money.

 

[KeyboardXpert]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jolly Roger

It is. The 7950 will outperform it, but it is mucho more money.

Which one? The 7950?