$1800 Gamer/OC

[Ticky]

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. Gaming, Scientific computing (MATLAB)

2. What YOUR budget is. ~$1800

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from. USA

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. Not Really.

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are. No.

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads. Yes.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds. Yes. I used to own a Vapochill....

8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with. 1920x1080

9. WHEN do you plan to build it? December

10. Don't ask for a build configuration critique or rating if you are thin skinned. Pshhh...


Thoughts? Is SSD caching a terrible idea? Is there a better OCing mobo in this price range? Anywhere to trim some fat?



EDIT:
Modified Build 11/3

Case: Undecided



Mobo: ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157271



CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115072



GPU: GIGABYTE GV-N570OC-13I Rev2.0 GeForce GTX 570

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125384



RAM: 2x PNY Optima 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820178333



CPU Cooler: Undecided



SSD: Crucial M4 64GB

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148441



Optical: LG Black 12X BD-R .....

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827136226



HDD: Undecided. The HDD shortage seems to have doubled all of Newegg's drive prices. It'll be whatever is cheap in the ~1TB range when I order.



PSU: OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W Modular

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341017


OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116986

 

[DominionSeraph]

Anywhere to trim some fat?

RAM and PSU.
No need for 1866. There's really no benefit over 1333. You can get that for $90 or 1600 for $100.

An Earthwatts EA-650 would do you for a PSU for half the price.

Also, what do you need Win 7 Professional for?

 

[lehtv]

First off, if you're building this in December, it'd be better to ask critique say a week, max. two before you buy. Can't really recommend a specific build this early since what's good value for money now may not be that in 4 weeks...

Agree with DominionSeraph. Note that EA-650 doesn't have cable sleeving and doesn't come with a power cord, may feel cheap in a $1800 build 😉

Does MATLAB use more than 4 threads? Is it very CPU intensive to begin with? Just checking, cos you could save almost $100 on the CPU and go with 2500K instead.

On your budget I'd spend on a better case, most importantly a case with better cable management. I'd also much prefer a better cooled GPU than that EVGA. E.g. Gigabyte 570 triple-fan, it'll be quieter and will OC better. On your budget though, you could go with a dual-GPU setup like 6950 crossfire +unlock and OC to 6970.

 

[Ken g6]

MATLAB does use CUDA. So nVIDIA's the way to go.

 

[mfenn]

*dons HPC sysadmin hat*

Does MATLAB use more than 4 threads? Is it very CPU intensive to begin with? Just checking, cos you could save almost $100 on the CPU and go with 2500K instead.

Matlab is more of a programming language that an application, so it depends entirely on what your code looks like. Most people use Matlab to efficienctly deal with large matrices and a BLAS is full of FP-heavy, non-branchy routines, so no HT won't help.

MATLAB does use CUDA. So nVIDIA's the way to go.

Again, depends entirely on your code. You'll need to specifically write specific code to use the CPU, not to mention shell out big money for the Parallel Computing Toolbox.

 

[mfenn]

OK, normal mfenn again.

Anywhere to trim some fat?

Hell yes.

Case: Fine
Mobo: If you want to use SRT (SSD caching), you'll need to get a Z68 board. The ASRock Z68 Extreme3 is a good deal at $125.
CPU: Get the i5 2500K for $215 for the reasons below
GPU: A GTX 570 is fine if you want to play around with Matlab PCT, but I would not pay $340 for a single-fan model when you can get the triple-fan Gigabyte for $325 AR.
RAM: It's pretty pointless to spend $144 on DDR3 1866. Two of these GeIL DDR3 1333 8GB kits for $40 will do just fine.
Cooler: Won't do anything more than a reasonable air cooler like the Mugen 3 would for $50.
SSD : Good
ODD : Fine if you want Blu-ray.
HDD : $200 is a hell of a lot to spend on a 2TB drive. Amazon has the Seagate 7200.12 1TB for $75
PSU: Way overkill for a single GPU rig. Check out the Neo Eco 620C for $50 AR
OS : Fine, but I doubt that you really need Pro over Home Premium

 

[lehtv]

*dons HPC sysadmin hat*

...

OK, normal mfenn again.

🙁

But I like it when you talk dirty.

/hides

 

[mfenn]

🙁

But I like it when you talk dirty.

/hides

You want me to show you a picture of my, erm ... racks? :awe:

 

[lehtv]

Well, I'd actually like a hands-on experience..

 

[Ticky]

Ok, thanks all. In order:

Seraph:
Yes, I see what you mean about the ram....
Gotta be a modular psu, but I'll look at something cheaper.
7 Pro has XP mode, never know when you hit that one piece of archaic software that hasn't been updated since 1999.


Lehtv:
I wanted to get a feel for this build, but your right, perhaps I should have waited.
GPU changed.
I'm ok with using a bunch of zip ties for cable management, but was there a case you had in mind?


mfenn:
The board I linked is z68, and I'm leery of OCing on cheap mobos.
CPU has been changed. Not worth the $100 for the blue moon day when I use massively threaded code.
GPU changed.
RAM changed.
Cooler: The H80 seems to work better than anything other than massively huge air coolers, which cost about as much, and dump the heat directly into the case (the H80 can be set up to exhaust heat directly.) Seemed like a reasonable price for a water cooling loop.
ODD: Sometimes a DVD just isn't big enough.
HDD: The 7K3000 seem to be the best disks available. In the 2TB size, the priced seemed reasonable. Two 1TB drive leaves one of them uncached... dunno, I'll think about this.
PSU: Gotta be modular...



A note about MATLAB:
Much of what MATLAB does isn't parallel computing enabled, but much of it is. For example, matrix inversion is a parallel operation, and incredibly CPU intensive (I've spent an annoying number of hours waiting for non-sparse matrices to invert). However, I agree it's probably not worth $100 for hyperthreading. Also, just to note, for a single seat, the parallel computing toolbox is only $200. I do intend to use CUDA, so NVIDIA is a must.

 

[lehtv]

Case options with decent cable management:

Cooler Master HAF 912, 922, 690II Advanced, Corsair 400R, Fractal Design R3... probably many others too but these I usually recommend. These also allow you to set the PSU fan facing down, in Three Hundred you need to have the PSU exhausting hot air from inside the case. Not a big difference, mostly preference and how you want to set up air flow

 

[mfenn]

The board I linked is z68, and I'm leery of OCing on cheap mobos.

Hmm, the link was going to the P67 version for some reason? Anyway, the ASRock Z68 Extreme3 most certainly does not quality as a "cheap" mobo. Check out the cooling on the power delivery section, it is as good if not better than the MSI.

Cooler: The H80 seems to work better than anything other than massively huge air coolers, which cost about as much, and dump the heat directly into the case (the H80 can be set up to exhaust heat directly.) Seemed like a reasonable price for a water cooling loop.

The H80 simply doesn't have enough mass in the radiator or volume in the loop to make a difference. You are paying a bunch of money to move the heatsink fins approximately 3 inches to the right.

PSU: Gotta be modular...

Thermaltake might be name brand, but that doesn't mean that it is any good. 😀 with the cases that lehtv suggested, there isn't really a need for a modular power supply IMHO. If you pick a PSU that is well matched to your purposes, you will end up using 90% of the leads anyway.

Oh, and XP mode is not very good at all. You can do better for free with Virtualbox or VMWare Player (I presume you have a current XP license).

 

[Ticky]

Hmm, the link was going to the P67 version for some reason? Anyway, the ASRock Z68 Extreme3 most certainly does not quality as a "cheap" mobo. Check out the cooling on the power delivery section, it is as good if not better than the MSI.

After more research, I see ASRock's cachet has increased considerably in the time since I was last mobo shopping. Hmmm....

The H80 simply doesn't have enough mass in the radiator or volume in the loop to make a difference. You are paying a bunch of money to move the heatsink fins approximately 3 inches to the right.

Darn it mfenn, you are just selling me on a proper WC loop. Which means I will want a mobo with gobs of power phases. You're just costing me money!

Thermaltake might be name brand, but that doesn't mean that it is any good. 😀 with the cases that lehtv suggested, there isn't really a need for a modular power supply IMHO. If you pick a PSU that is well matched to your purposes, you will end up using 90% of the leads anyway.

This may be a sticking point. I swore to myself I was never buying a non-modular PSU again... I will research more.

Oh, and XP mode is not very good at all. You can do better for free with Virtualbox or VMWare Player (I presume you have a current XP license).

Ok, noted. Might be time to learn to use VM software anyway.

 

[lehtv]

While the bare minimum PSU recommendation for a particular system can mean using 90% of the cables, an optimal PSU in terms of efficiency, longevity and upgradeability will have plenty of unused cables. My Seasonic X-650 is fully modular, and for me it's the perfect size for long term use and upgradeability. Cables that I don't need at the moment:

2 cables with 3 molex connectors each
1 cable with 2 SATA connectors
1 cable with 1 EPS connector (the PSU supports dual CPUs with 1 EPS each)
1 cable with 2 8-pin PCI-e connectors
1 cable with 1 4-pin CPU connector

The Fractal R3's cable management would not handle all these extra cables very well... At least it'd take a lot of work.

 

[mfenn]

While the bare minimum PSU recommendation for a particular system can mean using 90% of the cables, an optimal PSU in terms of efficiency, longevity and upgradeability will have plenty of unused cables.

I disagree. Taking the Neo ECO 620C (hardly "bare minimum") as an example:

Cable with two PCIe 6-pin - used
Cable with 24-pin ATX - used
Cable with ATX12V - used
Cable with 3 SATA connectors - used (HDD/SSD)
Second cable with 3 SATA connectors - used (ODD)
Cable with 3 Molex connectors - used (case fans for most cases)
Second cable with 3 Molex connectors - unused

So that's 6 out of 7 or 85%.

 

[mfenn]

This may be a sticking point. I swore to myself I was never buying a non-modular PSU again... I will research more.

Well, the OCZ that you currently have in the OP isn't very good either. :awe:

Basically, you can have two out of these three: good quality and reasonable power output, modular, <$80.

 

[lehtv]

I disagree. Taking the Neo ECO 620C (hardly "bare minimum") as an example:

[...] So that's 6 out of 7 or 85&#37;.

I'm also using 6 cables, but out of 12, not out of 7. In terms of the available connectors, 620C is a bare minimum unit. And it's also not far from the 550W minimum recommendation by NVIDIA... A 550W power supply like XFX 550 actually has one more cable than 620C (9 SATA connectors total).

 

[mfenn]

The OP's system will use right about 1/2 the output of a 620C, so no I cannot agree with the assertion that it is bare minimum for a single-GPU rig. What upgrades would you make that would cause it to run out of power? Remember that SATA connector count can always be increased via Molex to SATA adapters or SATA Y cables.

 

[lehtv]

Well, it would be inadequate for GTX 570 SLI for instance. Hence it is not an optimal PSU in terms of upgradeability which was one characteristics I said a PSU with many unused cables would have.

 

[mfenn]

Sure, if you want to jump from one class of system (single-GPU) to a completely different class (dual-GPU). That is incredibly unlikely IMHO and not worth paying extra for.

 

[lehtv]

True, most people are fine with one GPU. But dual-GPU being unlikely is a generalization that plenty of gamers, especially those with a near $2000 budget, don't necessarily subscribe to. It can be worth paying extra for, perhaps not for you (probably not for me either).

 

[mfenn]

Fair enough. 🙂 I think the OP has enough info to choose either direction now.