[StrifeWolfe]

Hello everyone, I have viewing the forums a lot lately and getting a general idea for how to set up my next gaming rig.
Right now I'm running on:
CPU: AMD FX-4170 @ 4.6GHz
Motherboard: ASRock 970 Extreme3
Power Supply: Cooler Master GX750
GPU: HIS AMD/ATI Radeon HD 6790 Iceq Turbo X
CPU Cooler: Antec Kuhler 620
RAM: Patriot Viper Division 2 Xtreme Series (2x4Gb) @ 1866Mhz

Yes, yes, I know, it's a bit junky for a gaming rig, but that's why I am building new one. So the plan was to make a beast gaming computer that could handle just about anything but not be as crazy as throwing 3 GTX Titans in and an extreme series processor. That's a little much. I also wanted to give this a theme. My last build was just a bunch of chaos shoved into a case with a bunch of blue LED fans. So the next one will be a military theme, and yes, I know that's been done before but my brother is a Marine, and I have a lot of respect for the military. So, onto the fun stuff. The idea started when I saw an unboxing video for Antec's new GX700 case. Although, I'm a huge fan of Corsair and would love their C70, but I'm a poor college kid... well, will be soon (I start this fall as an engineering major)... but I guess that really doesn't matter... . So, I placed an order for a GX700 through one of the few companies that were selling it close to its original price. Well, it turns out, many other people had the same idea, so it's on back order and they don't know when they'll be getting more in. They said within this week, but it's been a while. Another reason why I'm holding off on buying most of the components right now is because I'm waiting for savings bonds to be shipped in the mail and that's just a hassle. The price cap for this build is $2000.

My thoughts as far as components go, were to pick three and narrow it down from there.
So for motherboards, I was weighing in the ASUS Sabertooth Z77, the MSI MPower Z77, and the ASRock OCFormula.
Well I really liked all the boards, and they all were in my price range but some had to be eliminated. First to go was the ASRock OCFormula, after much persuasion from my close gaming friends. This was due to the fact that I'll probably never use half the features and I'm not about to go and try to set an overclocking world record. As much as I love the Lambo on the front of the box (I'm a huge gear head as well), it was too much for this build. So I was down to two and I really like both. the MSI board looked really well build and had a lot of cool features, plus the flat black went with my theme. But that one didn't quite feel right and I'll get to that when I talk about GPUs. So that leaves the ASUS Sabertooth Z77, I've read all the reviews, watched all the unboxings and reviews, and checked all the features, this is the main board going into my gaming rig.

For GPUs, it was kind of a toss up, because I've seen a lot of benchmarks and reviews of most of the modern cards out there. And I've met many people who have their opinions on AMD vs. Nvidia. Well I won't spoil the surprise. So for my graphics cards I had the MSI GTX 680 Lightning, the Sapphire HD 7970 Vapor-X 3Gb, or 2x MSI GTX660ti Overclocked Power Editions. And I liked all of them, they all had really good reviews, they'd all match the theme, and they can run all the latest games at the highest settings. So the first to go was the 680 Lightning, while it's a very good card, and it'd be cool to get one now and maybe another one later in the year, I just couldn't do it. I thought, if I want to run SLI 680s eventually, by the time I have that set up, the 700 series will be out and I'll still be behind. The next was the Sapphire card, while I liked the looks and all the extra features it had, it couldn't keep up with my choice. I decided to go with 2x MSI GTX 660ti OC/PE because they overclock really well, and they can run games like BF3 on full settings on my 1920 x 1080 24" monitor from ASUS (the VS248H) which is a big deal for me, because my current card will lock up even on some low res settings. Some benchmarks said up to 120fps in BF3 on 1080p @ ultra.

So for confirmed parts I have:
CPU: Intel I7-3770k
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i
RAM: Corsair Vengeance Green 2x4Gb @ 1600MHz
Motherboard: ASUS Sabertooth Z77

For a mouse and keyboard I plan to use Corsair's K60 and M65 Mil. Green (of course).

One of the things I'm trying to decide right now is power supply. Either, a Corsair AX760i or AX860i, or an OCZ ZX Series 850W.

I'm open to all suggestions, just keep it clean, and support your thoughts. Sorry for the long winded first post, I hope plenty of people see this, I really want some feedback.

ALSO!!: I plan on doing unboxing videos of all the products I order, I'll post them on youtube, but I'll be sure to throw the links in when they are ready. I will be using a iPod Touch 5th Gen for all the unboxings and I'll try to get my Canon Rebel camera out to shoot the build video.

PLEASE NO HATE!!!!

 

[svenge]

From what I've read, Corsair's AX line suffers disproportionally from coil whine. The OCZ ZX is OK, but you can get better units for less. The ones that come to mind are the following:

Seasonic X750 Gold
Seasonic X Series X-850
Rosewill CAPSTONE-750-M
Rosewill Tachyon-750

The Tachyon is a particularly good buy right now since it's a 750w 80-Plus Platinum-rated model selling for $119 shipped without any rebates.

 

[StrifeWolfe]

I checked all of those out, and you're right. They are some pretty sweet PSUs. I'm fond of SeaSonic, one of my buddies has one and I always liked how simple and reliable it is. Although, I will do more looking at that Rosewill, I wanna know everything about a product before I set it in stone. Thanks Svenge!!

Also, Everyone, I'm up for suggestions on fans. Right now, I'm looking at going with 2 BitFenix Spectre Pro 120mm front intake fans and 4 Cooler Master Blade Master 120mm for push/pull on the H100i and then using the H100i fans for the side and rear fans. Any other suggestions? I'm mainly looking at a good middle ground between cfm and noise level.

 

[jd2195]

This looks like a really interesting build and I will be following it. Subbed. Love you choice of SLI 660 ti, I would to get pair myself in the future.

 

[StrifeWolfe]

Thanks a lot JD2195, I'm really looking forward to getting started with this build. And thanks again to Svenge, I am now going with SeaSonic's X-850 for a power supply. I'll let you guys know as soon as I order the parts, and check my profile to see the rigbuilder set up.

 

[SpicyBacon963]

Hey man, one of your "gaming friends" here. I just saw that you were looking for case fans. I found two that don't completely throw off the military theme.

The 1st being the XIGMATEK FCB, which pushes about 60cfm, and stays a bit less than 20db loud: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233035

The 2nd being the Xigmatek AOS, which pushed about 90cfm, and stays at around 25db for $5 more: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233101

Hope this helps!

 

[goesto11]

Quote:

Originally Posted by svenge

From what I've read, Corsair's AX line suffers disproportionally from coil whine. The OCZ ZX is OK, but you can get better units for less. The ones that come to mind are the following:
The Tachyon is a particularly good buy right now since it's a 750w 80-Plus Platinum-rated model selling for $119 shipped without any rebates.

I've used a Corsair HX850 for about 2 1/2 years and it's been nothing but reliable and quiet. Unless I needed 1000+w of power, the AX860i is my first choice for a new PSU. Every review I've read (Ex. JonnyGuru, Techpowerup, PCPer, HardwareHeaven, and KitGuru to list a few) say the same thing - outstanding/one of the best PSUs whose only real negative is price (FWIW, I do agree with JonnyGuru about Corsair's flat cable design though). None of the reviews I've read mention anything about coil whine, nor so far, has any of the customer comments on NewEgg or Amazon. I'm not saying that one or more AX860i owners haven't experienced coil whine, but it certainly doesn't seem any where near common.

If you can afford it ( $199 at Amazon & might be cheaper elsewhere), I recommend getting the Corsair AX860i. IMO better to go with an 850w PSU for better "future proofing." You may pass on 2x.GTX680 now, but that doesn't mean you won't want to go 2xGTX780/770 (or Radeon equivalent) in a year or so. The extra 100w also helps if you plan to OC dual high-end graphics cards.

I think either a Seasonic 850w model or the Corsair AX860 non "i" model are good lower price alternatives if the AX860i proves too expensive. If you think 750w is enough after taking future upgrades into account, I still prefer either a Seasonic PSU or Corsair (AX760/760i) over Rosewill. Rosewill PSUs are good, but IMO not as good as the top-tier PSUs. (ex Hardware Secrets review). Plus, at least one review had questions about Rosewill build quality (JonnyGuru Techyon 1000w review). While the Rosewill models are less expensive, given the importance of having a good PSU (not just overall reliability, but also voltage regulation for other expensive components), IMO it's worthwhile to spend a little extra money on one.

Two more items:

(1) I'm not sure what the timing is for your build, but if you can wait three more months or so, Intel is supposed to release Haswell in early June. Haswell CPUs will use a different socket = you won't be able to drop one into your Ivy Bridge motherboard. From what I've read, there won't be much of a performance improvement over Ivy Bridge CPUs other than for graphics. However, at least with a Haswell motherboard, you might be able to upgrade to next gen after Haswell (can't remember codename/too lazy to look up

). Plus, it's possible that NVIDIA releases a GTX7xx card around that time as well. Just FYI/reminder - Intel could very well delay release or it simply may not be worth waiting for you.

(2) I like your theme

and want to see some pics as well once you get it built.

Hope this helps & GL on your build.

 

[StrifeWolfe]

Thanks a lot Goesto11, I agree with you ideas on power supplies. Back in the day, my father had a pretty decent, for the time period, gaming computer, and a storm fried his power supply but the computer was fine, so he went out and got a cheap PSU from CompUSA or something, and that's what finally killed the Compy. So I know skimping on a PSU is a bad idea. The reason why I liked the AX860i was for the same reasons you pointed out, it has great reviews and I trust Corsair as company. Plus it will be able to support 2x 680s without too much overclocking. As for the 700 series, that's what I'm really waiting for, and from my point of view, both AMD and Nvidia have been getting better with making their cards more efficient so I expect that it will be able to handle either 760ti's, 770s, or 780s in SLi. If need be, I'll just upgrade to a 1000w when that time comes.

As for the Haswell chip, they say that its release is going to hit around the time of Computex in June. But from past experience with their Ivy Bridge, my thoughts are that it won't be for a few months after. As for gaming performance, I doubt there will be games that will be able to take advantage of it's extra power and how long will it take motherboard companies to make a decent board that would fit this build? I'm going to stick with an Ivy Bridge for now. I'll probably go for an update when Broadwell or Skylake comes to market. By then I'll be out of college and in need of a quality computer that can run CAD software. And maybe by then we'll see the 800 series from Nvidia, the 9000 series from AMD/ATI, and maybe even the GTX Super Titan

And IMO, the LGA 2011 socket and chips are huge, I can only imagine how the Haswell is going to come out. It might lead to bigger motherboards. Just a though. I think, by the time I get my bachelor's in 2017 and hopefully get a decent job, I'll definitely be in the market to build the best of the best. This build is only meant to be middle of field. Thanks for all the advice though. I'll be sure to weigh in the AX860i again.

 

[goesto11]

StrifeWolfe, glad I could help. The Corsair AX860i is a great PSU, and if you only go 2xSLI, it should be plenty for this rig or your next. As for Hawell, you could be right about delays. Nothing wrong with building an Ivy Bridge based PC now. Any performance improvements for gaming (if you use a discrete graphics card(s)) short of a die shrink are likely to be minimal and unnoticeable IMO. I think waiting for Haswell is only worth it if one plans to upgrade CPUs with the next die shrink.

Hope all goes well with the build and post a few pics when you're done.

 

[StrifeWolfe]

So this is kind of the first item for the build , Rosewill RTK-045 45 Piece Tool kit. Pretty happy with the quality. And I got it for pretty cheap on Newegg. Made a video unboxing, but it was boring, shakey and I sound horrible because I'm still sick.

 

[CptAsian]

Nice. That looks like it will come in very handy.

 

[StrifeWolfe]

Hey everyone,
I've got some bad news. The build is going to be postphoned for a little while. At least until I can get a job. I have been having trouble with getting money to fund this build for a while and I just found a good deal on a car. So things take some priority and this computer can wait. So by the time I start it again, it'll probably be a Haswell build. Just a thought right now, not promising. I've been waiting on some savings bonds from my parents and they're taking longer than I would like to hope. So it's either sacrifice the quality of this build to complete it, or wait and get it done the right way. I'm going to hold off for now. Thanks for all your advice and help thus far. I'll post again when I am ready to start this build again.

 

[CptAsian]

Okay, then. I agree that you should prioritize like you did; see ya when you pick up the build again!

 

[goesto11]

No worries. Besides, it might work out for the better in the long run -> nice car + Haswell PC

GL with the job & check back when your ready to build.

 

[StrifeWolfe]

Well, here's some good news and me being pissy for reasons I will get into in due time. So apparently I am not allowed to get the car I've wanted since I was a kid, because "It's too good to be true" according to some people. So I'm pissed. Because this car was verified and inspected by Google Checkout, which is in current possession of the car. SO, I still plan on buying this car, and I really could care less what other people think, because it's my happiness and people have been raining on my parade for years. Even went so far as to throw their opinions and say it looked ugly, when it's my choice, not theirs.

BUT, if by chance they find a way to keep me from buying this car, such as blocking my funds or some other means, then, out of spite, I will be making one of the best gaming PC's I can think of. And here's what I'm thinking:

Case: Corsair C70 Black
CPU: Intel Core I7-3770K (or Haswell CPU, if available)
PSU: SeaSonic Platinum 1000W
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i or Swiftech H220 (Ideas)
GPUs: Looking at either 2x 680 Lightnings or 2x 7970 Ghz
Mobo: MSI MPower or Gigabyte G1 Assassin or ASRock OC Formula or ASUS Sabertooth Z77 (Or similar Haswell socket mobos)

I'm taking all suggestions. It will be a strict gaming machine. BF3 is my preferable benchmark game.
For video cards, I've gone back to the drawing board, this will be a multi GPU machine. So on the table we have:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202008
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127677
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202001
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125437
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127693
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130797

Now keep in mind, this is a military themed build and big things like the graphics play an important role.
And I'm not doing any LEDs, mostly black, maybe a single soft Red LED just to light things up a bit. But Sheela is a tank, a gaming tank.
So I'm looking forward to hearing all your ideas. If this doesn't workout, I'll go back to my original build plan.

 

[goesto11]

@StrifeWolfe: Sucks about the car (BTW, I'm curious as to what model, but OK if you don't want to mention).

[NOTE: Nothing below is priced check so you might find cheaper prices elsewhere]

Case: Why the C70 black instead of the C70 in "military" green? I think that would be the perfect "military case" unless you're up for a real challenge

PSU - The SeaSonic X-1250 might be a better choice. It got a really good review at JonnyGuru and cost about the same. "Gold" vs."Platinum" not an issue IMO.

SSD/HDD: SSD (OS/programs) = Samsung 840Pro 256GB Great drive. 2x fast as 840 write (not as important as read, but still...), and importantly (IMO) has a higher rated life-cycle & longer warranty (5 year warranty vs. 3 year). Read of few reviews on the 840Pro and you'll see. HDD: WD Caviar Black 2TB Older design (maybe still four platters), but still pretty fast as HDD goes + 5 year warranty. Should be as/more reliable compared to other large HDDs. I've been using one for over 2 years and so far so good. FWIW, WD might be coming out with a newer version using 2 platters so you might want to keep an eye on that. A 2 platter 2TB Caviar Black wold be a great data HDD IMO. FYI - Advantage of separate OS/programs & data drives is that if you ever need to reinstall/clean install your OS (virus/whatever), your data is still safe on a separate drive. Plus, SSD speed much more helpful for OS/programs, and all that data writing in on another drive rather than reducing SSD life. Finally, less stuff on your SSD = better overall performance (not a huge difference, but a difference nonetheless.)

GPUs: Since you don't use any GPU compute/accelerate software that requires NVIDIA (ex. PremeirPro/Encore, etc.), I suggest 2x Radeon 7970GE (3GB) over GTX680 for the best overall gaming performance. AMD 384bit memory interface even with 3GB > GTX680 4GB 256bit interface at higher resolutions IMO. Just be prepared to add some fans for extra cooling. Definitely want non-reference design like this one or the ones you listed. FWIW, going with a good non-reference design "plain" 7970 might OC just as well as a GE, but not 100% sure about that. FWIW, AMD is offering Crysis 3 free with purchase of 7800 or 7900 card right now.

However, 2 x 7970 may not be the best value play. From what I've read, the 7950 "Boost" cards OC very well and offer very close performance to a 7970. Rather than 2x7970, you might consider 2x7950 3GB "Boost" such as this, this, this, or even this. NOTE: These are just examples rather than any specific recommendation though HIS 7950 IceQ X² Boost Clock 3GB seems to have some good reviews (right side of web-page). I think the Sapphire Vapor-X model also has good reviews.

Need to get back to you on the motherboard & other.

 

[StrifeWolfe]

Goesto, I'm loving the feedback, thanks so much. As for the car, according to some people I know, it's a fake add. Car of my dreams right there, and I have no way of knowing if it's real or fake. So it looks like I'm passing it up and going back to my crotch rocket. I would have loved to have a car like this, but it looks like I'll be waiting till after college to continue my car passion. As for the C70, I feel more comfortable with the black, but I would love to try a military green case, I'm just nervous about the colors matching up.

Keep the military themed parts coming guys. I'm open to any and all ideas. Thanks again, Goesto.

 

[StrifeWolfe]

Ok, so I've been doing a lot of digging online, and I've seen a bunch of cool builds that are similar to this, but since this is Sheela, a scorpion tank, it's going to be special. After looking on this website I thought it would be cool to incorporate more of the scorpion styling. So a Corsair C70 with the traditional scorpion logo


and using the Halo Wikia, I got a cool idea of using the logo's from all the different tanks seen in Halo story mode. I'm also thinking about getting one of these for something to add on for a little fun. I almost entertained the idea of a Thermaltake Level 10 GT Battle Edition, but that didn't last long. I like where this military theme is going right now, and I want to push it more towards the Scorpion tank look I had in mind. So, if anyone knows where to get custom cut vinyl stickers, for the scorpion logo, and maybe a sticker that says " Hello, my name is Sheela, I am a M808B Main Battle Tank" or just say "Sheela"
and under that say "M808B MBT". Just entertaining these ideas of mine. So ignore me if it sounds crazy.

Another thought that has occurred to me is to go back to my original case pick of the GX700, because I've seen a lot of military themed C70s. Looking at motherboard and graphics combos right now, I'll keep you posted on my ideas.

 

[StrifeWolfe]

Ok, so it's here, or almost here. Get ready for it. Just got my savings bonds in. Sorry for the number of posts in the last few hours. I have everything in my shopping cart on NewEgg, and I'm about to start looking around for lower prices, but it's going to start within the next 2 weeks. Words can't describe how excited I am for this.

Case: Corsair C70 Military Green Mid-Tower
PSU: Thermaltake EVO Blue 2.0 Military Green
Motherboard: ASUS Sabertooth Z77
CPU: Intel Core I7-3770k
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8Gb (2x4Gb) 1600Mhz
GPUs: 2 x MSI 660 ti OC Power Edition in SLi
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i
Front Intake Fans: 2 x COUGAR CF-V12HPB Vortex Hydro-Dynamic-Bearing (Fluid) 300,000 Hours 12CM Silent Cooling Fan with Pulse Width Modulation (Black)
Side Intake Fan: XIGMATEK AOS (Aeronautical Oil System Bearing) XAF-F1451 140mm Case Fan Ultra Quiet Copper Bushing Axis Aeronautical Oil System Bearing
Mouse: Corsair Vengeance M65 Military Green
Keyboard: Razer Blackwidow Ultimate 2013
Headset: Razer BlackShark Expert 2.0

It's time to take kill 'em all.

 

[StrifeWolfe]

Okay, Boys and Girls, just pulled the trigger and hit the order button on Amazon and Newegg. Here's what I have coming in:

Case: Green Corsair C70
PSU: Corsair AX850
Mobo: Asus Sabertooth Z77
Graphics Cards: 2 X EVGA GTX 660 ti FTW Signiture2
CPU: Intel Core I5-3570k
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i
RAM: Corsair 16gb (2 x 8) Vengeance Green
Additional Fans: 4 X Silverstone AP122
Mouse: Corsair Vengeance M65
Keyboard: Logitech G710+
Accessories: NZXT CB-FRPAN Individually Sleeved Front Panel Audio, HDD LED, Power LED, Reset, Power Premium Individually Sleeved Extension
Testor's Flat Black Spray Enamel
Velcro Brand Sticky Back Tape 3/4" x 3.5"
Remove Before Flight Keychain 3 pack

I'll let you guys know the total cost when I get the packing slips. Can't wait to show you what my brain has been cooking up

Game on, my Comrades.