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Another build thread - size up my parts list

WT

WT

Diamond Member
Well, after making it three years on my current rig, the upgrade itch has hit me. Spurred on by a bad ATV accident, I now have a totaled ATV and a $4300 check from insurance for my loss. I've been building my own since '97, so the 3 years out of the hardware loop (while I rode ATVs) has gotten me behind on what's in the pipeline.

I'm a fast learner when it comes to researching whats out there, so this is what I currently have as my gamer rig:
CPU: Q6700@3.5 default voltage
Mobo: eVGA 750i SLI FTW
GPU: BFG GTX280 1gb OC
PSU: PC P&C 750 Silencer

Again, this rig is totally capable of playing the old games that I play. Mostly Company of Heroes, TF2 and Plants Vs. Zombies. The upgrade is to get my mind off of the crash and see if I can rekindle my love for PC hardware. I may try BF3 when it comes out, so as long as my new build plays that, I'm fine.

Prospective upgrade list:
CPU: Intel i5 2500k - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3-iSSD - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128505
GPU: MSI 560GTX-TI Twin Frozr II/OC http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127565
HSF: Corsair H80 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181016

I will re-use the PSU and the 1tb WD Black HD from my current build. I also have an Antec P180b that is still fine, but once the upgrade bug bites, putting the new stuff into an older case (even a classic such as this) takes the newness edge off of it. So I may also be looking at a NZXT Phantom or even a Tt Level 10 GT Snow Edition (love the white on black cases !!).

What I want out of a case is a proper SATA backplane, such as what my WHS MSS offers, but I don't think either the NZXT or the Level 10 do it properly and run the SATA and power leads to each bay. Correct me if I am wrong or you have a case recommendation to offer up that meets those criteria.

Clearly I have enough to buy a lot more, but for what I play and how much I want to invest in it, I am in the neighborhood of a grand depending on the case I go with.

Build notes and cliffs:
CPU - saving $ and passing on the 2600k
Mobo - I really like the onboard SSD. It matches up well with my 1tb WD HD.
GPU - runs very cool and quiet, my top priority.
HSF - see above. My Nirvana NV120 is a leaf blower !! I want this build quiet.
Case - White on black. Corsair 800D SE is another contender. Just so long as its white on black. Ohh, and I really dig those SATA backplanes at any cost. Comments, suggestions and overall build critique welcomed. Thanks !!
 
Here's me suggestions:
- CPU: Good
- Mobo: Not good. That is really a $120 board with the guts from this $120 SSD soldered on. If you buy the SSD separately you can get added flexibility along with a much bigger SSD. For example, ASRock Z68 Pro3 + Samsung 470 64GB
- RAM: I didn't see you list any. Unless you have one of the very rare Core 2 mobos with DDR3, you will need something new. This 8GB G.Skill kit is good.
- GPU: I can't really see paying $225 for a GTX 560. You can get a 6870 which is almost as fast for $150 or a 6950 2GB which is faster for $245.
- HSF: Not nearly worth $91. Remember, liquid cooling does not automatically mean quiet. A liquid cooling setup is only as quiet as its fans + pump. The Noctua U12P costs less, has Noctua fans (some of the best in the world), and has no pump to get noisy and fail.

As for cases, check out the reviews section on the main site. They go into lots of detail about case noise levels and HDD mounting options.
 
Thanks for the suggestions, mfenn !!

As far as your recommendation for the board, I agree the Intel 311 SSD is horribly overpriced, but if you compare its read/write speed and the type of NAND memory, it looks like it is a good deal faster than any other mSATA available, including the Intel 310 40gb and 80gb models. Clearly, if price wasn't an issue, I wouldn't be looking at a Level 10 GT either. I was more or less after an integrated SSD just for its uniqueness.

RAM - I picked up an 8gb Patriot kit 2 weeks ago for $44 AR. DDR3 12800 is so cheap that I couldn't help but buy sooner rather than later.

GPU - I'm not sold on the 560 Ti, but I do like the MSI cooler used on that card. I have never run an ATI/AMD card, and I'm almost ashamed to admit it. I think if the right card came along I would be more than willing to give it a hard look. I admit up front to liking gimmicky stuff, especially if it works, and in my case, I think the GPU and HSF and even the Level 10 GT Snow Ed. case all provide damn near the best cooling that you can buy off of a retail shelf.
 
Well, if you like gimmicks more than functionality, then I really can't help you much. :awe: My reasoning still stands if you decide to change your mind.

EDIT: OK, a bit more explanation on the SSD.

Yes, SLC is faster than the MLC in the Samsung 470.
No, it doesn't matter because the 311 is gimped in terms of the number of NAND channels.

Yes, SLC will theoretically last longer than MLC.
No, it doesn't matter because the MLC will last quite a long time indeed. Several teams have been writing to the 470 continuously since it came out, and they haven't had one fail yet.
 
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Gimmicks with no purpose is one thing, but in the case of the MSI GPU cooler, there are a lot of unhappy 560ti owners who are finding out that their cards are dying a premature death. Th MSI cards runs noticeably cooler, hence why I suggested it.

And as far as air cooling, I am done with that. I currently have a Nirvana NV120 and it is just too loud. I realize the H80/H100 will still make some noise, but I will personally buy you your HSF of choice if the H80/H100 is louder than my current Nirvana 😉

I've been dealing with a pretty loud rig stuffed into a hutch, so I need to get the best cooling I can to deal with the closed confine of the desk. I did try and dial back my 3 120mm Antec fans to low (P180b) but my case and CPU temps shot up dramatically.
 
Still mulling over mfenn's suggestions, and I have a question to answer:

The Gigabyte mSATA SDD will act as a cache drive for my existing 1tb HD, but if I were to go with the Asrock and SSD that was linked, can I designate the 64gb as the same cache drive (I realize it will only use 20gb as a cache) ??

Clue me in on what happens to the remaining 44gb. Do I have to now use that as a cramped boot drive, or can I set more than 20gb to be the cache drive ?
 
You could set more than 20GB as the cache or use the 20GB as a cache and the remainder as a boot drive, depends on what configuration that you want. IIANM the limit of Intel SRT is around 60GB so you could actually use the whole SSD as a cache.

44GB is too small for me to even consider as a boot drive especially if I am installing a ton of software so in this case I'd rather use the whole SSD as a cache or the whole SSD as a boot drive.
 
That's what I needed to know !! Thanks for the info. The new stuff, and especially the Z68 for me, is unknown territory since I have been out of the hardware loop for around 3 years now.
60+gb designated as a cache to a pair of WD 1tb Black drives should perform quite well. That's my plan at this point. The only downside that I see is the possible problem with the way the SSD fits in the drive caddy as pointed out by HardOCP in their review of the case detailed here:
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2011/07/08/thermaltake_level_10_gt_computer_chassis_review/4

Snip n paste for the lazy readers:
After installing my SSD into the caddy I was unable to get the PC to boot consistently. It would boot-up once and then on the next boot the drive would be unrecognized giving me an error that no boot drive was found.

I changed SATA cables and even plugged the power cord directly to the back plane where the drive was located. Thermaltake uses a 5-1 adapter that takes one power plug and shares it between five drives through the back plane. I even tried changing caddies and using different position on the back plane. None of this worked consistently.

Finally, I removed the drive (still in the caddy) and just plugged the data and power cable directly to the back of the drive. VOILA! Consistent boot-ups time and again.
 
I did not read others posts so excuse me if this has been said but dont rely on those back-planes. Look for a dif solution. They never worked right on mine.
 
I had three cases I was looking over:

NZXT Phantom
Corsair 600/800D Special Edition
Tt Level 10 GT Snow Edition

What I was after was a white case with black accents, so in that regard they all met that criteria. After researching each, I am leaning strongly towards the Level 10 GT Snow with either an H80 mounted to the rear or an H100 mounted to the top.
 
WT said:
I had three cases I was looking over:

NZXT Phantom
Corsair 600/800D Special Edition
Tt Level 10 GT Snow Edition

What I was after was a white case with black accents, so in that regard they all met that criteria. After researching each, I am leaning strongly towards the Level 10 GT Snow with either an H80 mounted to the rear or an H100 mounted to the top.
Click to expand...


The gimmick of that case will diminish over time and you'll realize you've made a mistake.
 
The thing about water cooling is that it isn't magic. You still need need to force air over fins via a fan, which creates noise. The only difference is that the fins are on a radiator instead of a heatsink. The advantage to custom water cooling solutions is that you can have a really big radiator with slow moving fans. Corsairs AIO solutions use bog standard 120MM fans, so you really aren't doing anything besides moving the fans a few inches.
 
Sometimes its the little things that get you. I never bothered to measure the hutch that houses my PC. Even my Antec P180 sticks out of the front by 1", negating the hutch door from closing over it (on purpose so my kids can't close the door and bake my PC).

So I measured the cases I was interested in and found that none fit unless I hack out the knockout hole on the back of the hutch itself. Its open to an extent, but not enough to allow a full tower case to poke out completely.

This also brings up the issue of a top mounted dual radiator that vents into the hutch and will presumably not vent the hot air out the back of the hutch compared to a rear mounted single radiator. So I scrapped my H100 cooler plan and replaced it with an H80 to vent out the back.

Its almost a bad time to be buying, what with Ivy Bridge and Bulldozer on the near horizon, and possible releases of newer cards from either AMD or Nvidia. I can definitely wait a month or so if it means I can get better/faster hardware in the long run.
 
Well, next month brings Bulldozer. Sandy Bridge-E is a bit later and Ivy Bridge is even further out. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that AMD and Nvidia's next generation are solidly in the Q4 (think November) timeframe.
 
mfenn said:
Well, next month brings Bulldozer. Sandy Bridge-E is a bit later and Ivy Bridge is even further out. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that AMD and Nvidia's next generation are solidly in the Q4 (think November) timeframe.
Click to expand...

I think that nvidia's 28nm GPUs are due out next year and AMD's are due out by the end of this year.
 
T_Yamamoto said:
TRUE : nVidia and AMD
Click to expand...

As much a I wanted to hold on for just a few more months on my GTX280, the thought of doing a full build only to pop in the now 3 year old card makes me sad.
Not that I need more than what I already have, mind you. I play Company of Heroes and TF2 mainly, so even the GTX280 is freakin' overkill, but I guess it will pay in the long run to see what comes around.
 
Everything finally bought and the build is currently being assembled today:

CPU: Intel i5 2500k - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3-iSSD - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128505
GPU: Zotac GTX580 1.5gb - http://www.sabrepc.com/t-prm09ZoGTX580.aspx
HSF: Corsair H80 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181016
PSU: Antec High Current 750 PSU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371049
Case: Tt Level 10 GT Snow - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133192
RAM: Patriot Signature DDR3 1600 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220570

I made a few changes with some parts. The H80 stock fans were replaced with GT AP-15s and I bought another WD 1tb Black to go RAID (made sure to get an older model to avoid the TLER bugaboo). At some point I decided to sell the old rig and just build a new one rather than cobble parts together.

Thoughts so far:
I really do like the Level 10 GT, as it made for a very easy build, but trying to hide the huge mass of cables that aren't needed is no fun at all. I hate cable clutter, so I'm working on that still. The H80 is set to its medium setting and is much quieter than my current air cooled setup. Temps are at 30c idle, so it looks like I got the H80 seated fairly well.
I now have to tear apart my current PC and use its WD 1tb drive to start installing Win 7 64. Not looking forward to that, as after 3 years on this rig I have everything just the way I like it. I hate change, even if its good change.
 
I'm speechless... Well, almost.

You went with the iSSD, and the Level 10 GT, a 750W PSU (600-650W would have been optimal for one high-end GPU, 850W for two), the H80, and you managed crown it with a GTX 580. All of them terrible choices cost-wise. Sorry 🙁
 
Hey, what you fail to realize is that every build is a custom build suited to the buyer. As much as I appreciate mfenn's comprehensive list and agree with his selections, I myself want something off the well worn 'default' path.

Do you not think my Antec P180b would be fine to be re-used ?? Could I just skip the onboard SSD and go RAID alone ?? Yes to both, but it isn't what I wanted to do in the end. Sorry to not fit into your budget choices with my build, but I got what I wanted with no compromises other than paying more than the rest.

That Antec 750 that you pointed out cost $55 after rebate, so it was not a bad choice at all, especially if I can add a second 580 down the road. As far as the H80, I want quiet more than anything else. It was nearly as easy to mount as any air cooler I have ever used, but it is half the db level of my current HSF.

Clearly I did not buy what I did on a bang for the buck build. I bought all parts because they fit what I wanted out of a gamer PC.
 
Sure, if cost effectiveness isn't relevant, you're doing just fine :thumbsup:. It's just the rationalist in me that's a bit baffled 😛

I still dislike the way Level 10 GT looks though ;DDD

That Antec 750 that you pointed out cost $55 after rebate, so it was not a bad choice at all, especially if I can add a second 580 down the road.
Click to expand...
That's a good price, agreed. But as I said, at least 850W is recommended for two high end GPUs. You do not want to SLI the GTX 580 with a 750W PSU. The cards alone will consume over 500 watts at load, and add over 100W for the rest in a gaming load scenario, you're looking at over 80% load wattage, even more if the CPU is OC'd. If you stress test the SLI setup for stability, it's going to go over 700W.
 
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lehtv said:
That's a good price, agreed. But as I said, at least 850W is recommended for two high end GPUs. You do not want to SLI the GTX 580 with a 750W PSU.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your info on that, lehtv. :thumbsup:
My problem was buying the PSU well before the GPU, and the 750 would indeed run my original 560ti choice in SLI easily. It wasn't until last night when I took the plunge on the 580 that my SLI plans were smashed and dashed. I wrongly assumed without doing the math (I really hated math in school) that the 750 with 40a per quad rail would run an SLI'd 580 setup.
 
You may get lucky with next-gen GPUs though. Being based on the 28nm manufacturing process (as opposed to 40nm for current-gen), they will have superior performance/watt. So you might be able to SLI two high-end 28nm GPUs on your PSU 🙂
 
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