Enthusiast Build, Please Rate & Suggest Improvements!

seanholland7

Junior Member
Mar 9, 2012
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1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

Gaming, Folding, & Bragging rights. I've had a shitty work laptop for the past 5 years and would like to have some horsepower to play around with. Will also run several VMs in a l"ab" environment and I may use it as a file server (dual boot).

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread

Around 2000 is ideal, under 2500 is OK.

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

USA/DE (Tax Free)

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.

I like Intel/ATI but I'm not a fanboy and I'm open to suggestions.

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

No usable parts... last build was 9 years ago (dear god that's scary!).

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

Will likely OC a bit (hence the massive PSU)...

8. What resolution will you be using?

42" LCD TV for gaming

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?

End of April
 

lehtv

Elite Member
Dec 8, 2010
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9. WHEN do you plan to build it?

End of April
Ok. It's relatively pointless to suggest a build or a specific component one month in advance. Come back in 3-4 weeks, we'll sort that out then.

I have some general comments though to get you thinking:

Motherboard First off, you can't put a 3930K on an LGA1155 motherboard. It needs the LGA2011 socket. Those motherboards are considerably more expensive than LGA1155 motherboards. If you were going to stick to LGA1155, the Z68 chipset would be a better choice than P67. But one month from now, we'll probably have the 7-series chipsets around, meant for Ivy Bridge processors.

CPU The tasks you listed would probably benefit from the hexacore and your budget allows for it. However, keeping in mind you're also looking for bang for buck, it would make more sense to go with a hyperthreaded quadcore like 2600K or its upcoming Ivy Bridge equivalent, 3770K. This is especially true because of Ivy Bridge, as it will slightly bridge the gap between 2600K and 3930K in terms of performance.

How often do you plan to upgrade? Don't buy the hexacore to "future proof" your PC - it's better to buy a part like 2600K that costs half that, and save the other half to a CPU upgrade a couple years from now because tech evolves fast.

RAM RAM speed is largely irrelevant on Sandy Bridge, above the 1600Mhz mark. Up to that point, price/performance is good, but anything faster costs more than it's worth. Buy 1600Mhz CL9 RAM, usually can be had for $40-45 per 8GB.

GPU The new GTX 680 is definitely better than HD7970. Check out the review.

SSD Good, Samsung 830 is another choice, in fact better if it costs the same.

Case&PSU Unless you're planning for SLI/Crossfire, the case and power supply are definitely overkill. A mid tower will have enough space and cooling capacity for any single GPU setup. And a 3930K + GTX680 based system, overclocked, will not need more than a good quality 650W-750W power supply.

Cooler Hyper 212+ would only take you so far with a 120W hexacore. 2600K will get to 4.5GHz or so at acceptable temps with a 212+, but to reach the same with the hexacore you'll probably need something with more mass and fin area, shouldn't be a problem with your budget. But since I'd recommend the 3770K, you should be fine with 212+, however there's some talk of 3770K running hot because of the more concentrated die so you may need better cooling than for Sandy Bridge. AS5 is not needed as heatsinks typically come with thermal paste; besides, there are better choices than AS5 (Noctua NT-H1 for example).

Network Why do you need an ethernet adapter? Motherboards already come with network controllers. You'll only need an adapter for wireless.
 
Last edited:

Ken g6

Programming Moderator, Elite Member
Moderator
Dec 11, 1999
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Notes:
- For anyone who questions the need for a 3930k, note that Folding@Home now requires that kind of horsepower for their special "BigAdv" work.
- I missed the mobo problem. You can get some cheap 2011 boards, or if you want to go nuts, you could get a dual-socket board! :eek: (If you want to be ready for F@H to increase their BigAdv minimum again.)
- I don't like that RAM you picked out. I'm not sure about SB-E, but regular SB doesn't like over 1.5V RAM. SB-E does appear to get some benefit from faster RAM, so here's some at 1.5v.
- I believe Folding still prefers nVIDIA. I think it's also still only using single-precision math, so a new GTX 680 should work very well.
- This is a very high-power, high-heat CPU. You'll probably want a better heat sink than that. Perhaps this one. (Thermal compound included.)
 

seanholland7

Junior Member
Mar 9, 2012
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Could either of you suggest a new MOBO/CPU combination (given what I have is incompatible).

Thanks so much guys, I've been out of the loop for too long I appreciate the help!
 

lehtv

Elite Member
Dec 8, 2010
11,897
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i7-3770K + Z77 chipset board (~$150 or so), if buying at the end of April.
 

Ken g6

Programming Moderator, Elite Member
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Dec 11, 1999
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@lehtv: See [post=33160949]here[/post] for why he wants a 3930k. ("Jeesh !!! My second unit is a 6904, and its worth over 412,499, and I am getting 111k ppd !!! This cpu is awesome !")

@sean: Any 2011 board should be compatible with a 3930k.
 

lehtv

Elite Member
Dec 8, 2010
11,897
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@Ken g6: I don't really understand folding related stuff. What are the numbers like for 2600K? Is it worth doubling the cost of CPU+motherboard? As mentioned earlier, whether 3930K is worth it depends also on how often the OP plans to upgrade.
 

Ken g6

Programming Moderator, Elite Member
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Dec 11, 1999
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What do you both think of the Gigabyte GA-X79-UD3?
It's fine. The main differentiation between LGA2011 boards is whether they have 4 slots for RAM or 8 slots. I'm doubting you'll need 8 slots.

And then there's the board with two LGA2011 sockets. Which leads to back to Lehtv's question, because you could add a second chip to that board later.
 

Ken g6

Programming Moderator, Elite Member
Moderator
Dec 11, 1999
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@Ken g6: I don't really understand folding related stuff. What are the numbers like for 2600K? Is it worth doubling the cost of CPU+motherboard? As mentioned earlier, whether 3930K is worth it depends also on how often the OP plans to upgrade.

It looks like a 3930k at least doubles the CPU PPD of a 2600k. (Realize that the GPU will do alot of PPD too regardless of which platform you choose.) The thing to realize is that F@H and bragging rights are the only reasons you have to go for a 3930k. So, is it worth it to you to pay ~$700 more for just these two things?
 

lehtv

Elite Member
Dec 8, 2010
11,897
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More like $350-400 more, but yeah I agree, given those numbers it can only come down to whether it's worth it for the user :)

Be interesting to see how much better IB will do in folding compared to SB.

@OP another thing you haven't clarified - are you planning on SLI/Crossfire in the future and are you going to OC the graphics card(s)?
 

seanholland7

Junior Member
Mar 9, 2012
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@ Meatloaf. Can't I use the SSD for my system? I need very little storage space so I was planning to add a higher capacity SATA drive down the road.
 

seanholland7

Junior Member
Mar 9, 2012
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Will Ivy Bridge CPUs be supported with the 2011 boards that are out new? The one on my wishlist specifically...
 

lehtv

Elite Member
Dec 8, 2010
11,897
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@lehtv. I'd like to think I'll add another GPU down the road & I most likely will at some point.

OK. If you're going to keep to moderate OC only, 850W would be enough. 1000W for heavy OC. You can get a quality 80+ silver semi modular unit for $120 AR: http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=62223&vpn=P1850BNLG9&manufacture=XFX. If you spent as much as for that Silverstone, you could get Corsair AX850.

Will Ivy Bridge CPUs be supported with the 2011 boards that are out new? The one on my wishlist specifically...

Ivy Bridge-E processors presumably will be compatible with X79, not that you'll ever want to upgrade to Ivy Bridge from a powerful SB-E. There just isn't enough difference to justify the cost.