24Gigs is overkill.

Here is decent link to play around with you power usage requirements...http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

 

Don't use online PSU calculators. They're not very accurate.

 

I'd rather use an Asus Rampage 3 Extreme as the motherboard and a GTX 580, they run much cooler and eat less power.

As for the power supply, I think a Corsair HX850 will do.

EDIT: What do you need 24GB of RAM for?

 

Why would you get 24GB of RAM and then try to find a cheap power supply? It's overkill anyway unless you've got a dozen VM's on the rig. I'd suggest getting 12GB of RAM and grabbing a GTX580 with a Seasonic X-650, or an X-850 if you plan on going SLi later.

 

12 GB or 16GB of ram would suit you very well, along with a gtx 580. When you look for ram, don't go with DDR3 1333, go with DDR3 1600. Also if you do go with the 480, get a power supply that has more amps and watts because the 480 runs hot and it eats a lot of power. Your best bet is to go with a gtx 580.

 

Why do you need 24 gigs of RAM?? 6gb is overkill as is but it works for triple channel RAM. Is there a reason for needing that much RAM? Also you can go with an XFX 650 watt for pretty cheap. Also a few of the Antec units are quite nice. The Corsair 650TX V2 is another solid choice. All of those for under $100.

 

What is the rig for and what is the budget?

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by RandomPerson;13386289
What is the rig for and what is the budget?

The right response!

 

2600k > 970 for air

 

If you are looking at like a % of wattage increase from 12GB to 24GB you won't find anything like that.

I will on the other hand tell you there increase in power at full load should technically not be much different than any six sticks of memory configuration.

I would love to suggest you this very reliable, and clean PSU from Corsair, currently on sale.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139010

Its long lasting, great reviews, clean & ample power for now and your future upgrades (in case you attempt GTX 480 SLI.)

Or its slightly less powerful cousin which fits your budget better:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007657%204027&IsNodeId=1&name=%2475%20-%20%24100
Quote:

Originally Posted by Dopamin3;13386312
2600k > 970 for air

8 threads vs. 12 threads though

Us hex-cores can still trump Sandy at somethings

 

Yeah, what is this build for?

Depending on your situation, Sandy Bridge may or may not be better, but if you're willing to wait another 3-6 months you could get on the 2011 socket with quad-channel RAM.

P.S. Corsair (rebranded Seasonic) and Seasonic PSU's are awesome, I use the AX850 and it's cold to the touch.

 

My budget is around $1500. That's why I went with the ASUS and GTX480 because everything better would easily cost me twice as much.

I need the rig for high-end gaming and rendering (Maya). The the price for 24GB RAM sounded fairly reasonable to me, so why not use them?

*edit*
I chose the 970 over the 2600k for the same reason. I'll really need all 6 cores and 12 threads for rendering.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trickymaster;13386419
My budget is around $1500. That's why I went with the ASUS and GTX480 because everything better would easily cost me twice as much.

I need the rig for high-end gaming and rendering (Maya). The the price for 24GB RAM sounded fairly reasonable to me, so why not use them?

I would recommend the XFX Core Edition 650 watt. It is a SeaSonic platform and a great piece of work. You can get it modular or nonmodular and it should be cheaper than the Corsair 650 watt.

[Edit]
Just did a little more research and it's nearly exactly the same internally as the Corsair TX650 V2. The only difference lies in the amount of PCI adapters. Both are based on the new SeaSonic platform.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dopamin3;13386312
2600k > 970 for air

It depends on what the person will be using it for. A 970 can trump a 2600K when all six cores are used.

@OP RAM sticks use very little power so it isn't going to influence your power requirements.

 

Wow! Thanks for the quick replies.
So, then I'll go with the 1600 for RAM. The XFX XXX Edition 650 sounds like something I was looking for.

 

Why not wait for the 6core new intel chips?

 

lol, 24GB of RAM? Do you work for Disney Pixar or something? What're you doing that's even exceeding 4GB? Are you running out of RAM on 4GB-8GB? No? Then what's the point of 24GB? RAM doesn't have some 'recommended' power supply requirements, either. And the only time you need to install more RAM, is if you're running out. So ask yourself this: "Hmm, was I running out on 4GB?" Are you thinking that 24GB would give you super l33t mega-fps in games? Newsflash: it won't. Games don't even utilize more than 2.5-3GB of RAM.

 

Go with 12 I have twelve and I've rarely even used 6 that's doing rendering Linux package compilation and encoding. I don't think you need 24 outside of certain professional applications.

 

Ah! I guess it's better to invest into a better motherboard (Rampage 3 Extreme) and less RAM for the same effect? I guess I'm good with 12 GB for the next 2 years and will upgrade later on.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diabolical999;13387093
lol, 24GB of RAM? Do you work for Disney Pixar or something? What're you doing that's even exceeding 4GB? Are you running out of RAM on 4GB-8GB? No? Then what's the point of 24GB? RAM doesn't have some 'recommended' power supply requirements, either. And the only time you need to install more RAM, is if you're running out. So ask yourself this: "Hmm, was I running out on 4GB?" Are you thinking that 24GB would give you super l33t mega-fps in games? Newsflash: it won't. Games don't even utilize more than 2.5-3GB of RAM.

To expand on this, it can even SLOW YOU DOWN! You have to page all that memory, and the memory controller is going to spend the majority of it's time going through all that ram.. even when it's empty and being underutilized.

Spend your money on a good GPU and a good CPU. You won't need more than 6-8Gigs even with Windows Aero.
Quote:

Originally Posted by Trickymaster;13387652
Ah! I guess it's better to invest into a better motherboard and less RAM for the same effect?

Yep. Moar ram != Moar performance

 

Actually, he really COULD use 12GB of RAM quite easily. If anybody would have read, he stated that he renders using Maya.

I would say get 12GB of DDR3-1600, the Seasonic X650 PSU (well worth its weight in gold), and a GTX580 instead of the 480 if possible. That should set you on the right track for high end gaming AND your rendering.

EDIT:
Oh, and don't let anybody talk you out of that i7 970 for rendering. If you can actually use 6 cores and 12 threads, then do it. 12 threads at 4.2GHz is better than 8 threads at 4.5-4.8GHz.

 

Well that GTX580 will help a lot with the Maya renders.(I didn't read the post about the renders. oops.

) 12GB sounds more sensible than the proposed 24GB.

16GB is pushing server sized VM solutions.

But to be honest depending on the renders you can exceed 12GB. So if you really are into complex renders... you might need 16 or 18 GB of ram.

 

My dad uses all 8GB of ram rendering videos in Sony Vegas. It's used mostly when he renders out said videos to Bluray quality. And yes, Maya WILL use all 12GB when you render. XD I saw my friend try to render using 4GB... it didn't work out as he planned... >.>

 

i am a ram junkie... and i alwasy stick at least 8 gig in all my rigs... my sig rig uses at least 50 % 95 % of the day....

this is ocn.... overkill is never a problem

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by levontraut i am a ram junkie... and i alwasy stick at least 8 gig in all my rigs... my sig rig uses at least 50 % 95 % of the day.... this is ocn.... overkill is never a problem

Except when there's a budget in between

I think you could use a Rampage 3 Gene too, it supports up to 24GB of RAM and it's Micro ATX, it's a bit cheaper than the extreme, but it has almost the same specs as the Extreme version.

Are you from the US? or what country?

Just to add: Do you have a case already? How many hard drives do you need and how much storage space?

Honestly I think you'll need to expand your budget to 2k to build something decent...