New build - looking for feedback

[Mopetar]

I'm putting a new computer together and am looking for some feedback. It'll mostly be used for work (compiling code, running a few VMs, occasional video encoding) but it will also be used for occasional gaming (1920 x 1200). My current rig is old enough that I won't be salvaging any of the parts and will probably just keep it around as a second machine or find a family member who could use it.

Here's what I'm generally set on:

CPU: i5 3570K
Mobo: AsRock Z77 Extreme 4
GPU: Radeon 7850
RAM: 16 GB
Case: Corsair 600T
HDD: OCZ Agility 3 240 GB, 2x 7200 RPM 2 TB disks

I'll also be adding more hard drives as time goes on, but the prices are still a little high for my liking so I'll just pick up two for now and put them in RAID 1. I'm mainly choosing the Agility 3 as it's more than large enough for holding both a Windows and Linux install, applications, and any VM images I'll need and the price per GB on the drive is quite nice.

I haven't been able to decide how large of a power supply I'll need. I definitely want something modular and want at least 80+ bronze. I'll be overclocking the 7850 for sure and will probably give the CPU a mild overclock, but generally want to keep the heat low. I'd also like to have enough room to add a second 7850 in the future if I run into any games that the single card can't handle.

I'm also not opposed to getting the unlocked i7, but I wasn't sure if I would see much of a performance benefit. If anyone thinks that it's worth it let me know.

Also, since the Extreme 4 supports several varieties of OC RAM, do you think it would be worth considering? I'm not sure how much of a performance benefit it would actually provide. Otherwise I plan on grabbing 2 8 GB sticks so I can upgrade to 32 GB in the future if I need it.

Planning on buying everything within the next week or so. Generally just shopping around for prices right now.

 

[aaksheytalwar]

Get 4 4gb instead. 2 8 go is too expensive

 

[Mopetar]

Get 4 4gb instead. 2 8 go is too expensive

Honestly, it's not that much more expensive ($60) and leaves me with 2 open slots so I can get 32 GB if I need it. Most people would probably never use that much, but it would let me use excess RAM as swap for some of the Linux VMs.

 

[lehtv]

Definitely don't buy an Agility 240GB. Crucial M4 256GB is only $220 AP until tomorrow.

7850 crossfire will run on a Seasonic M12II 620W which is on a discount for $70.

Also, since the Extreme 4 supports several varieties of OC RAM, do you think it would be worth considering? I'm not sure how much of a performance benefit it would actually provide.

You won't notice any difference between 1600mhz and higher speeds, just grab whatever suitable 2x8GB kit you can find for the least cost. I would even consider 1333Mhz RAM to narrow the gap between 4x4 and 2x8.

You'll need Win 7 Pro to take advantage of more than 16GB RAM, by the way.

 

[Mopetar]

Definitely don't buy an Agility 240GB. Crucial M4 256GB is only $220 AP until tomorrow.

7850 crossfire will run on a Seasonic M12II 620W which is on a discount for $70.

Any particular reason to avoid the Agility? I'm mainly using the SSD to store the OS, applications, and VMs so it doesn't need to be particularly amazing at writes. I just wanted an SSD for the speed gains over a regular spinning disk.

Also, that looks like a good PS and the reviews are good. I guess it's only partially modular, but that's not a big deal.

 

[lehtv]

Any particular reason to avoid the Agility? I'm mainly using the SSD to store the OS, applications, and VMs so it doesn't need to be particularly amazing at writes. I just wanted an SSD for the speed gains over a regular spinning disk.

Because Crucial M4 has a better controller - more reliable and faster. It's just a higher quality drive. There's nothing wrong with Agility per se, but M4 at the price it's at makes it redundant.

 

[Mopetar]

Because Crucial M4 has a better controller - more reliable and faster. It's just a higher quality drive. There's nothing wrong with Agility per se, but M4 at the price it's at makes it redundant.

Yeah, $20 wasn't a big difference so I decided to pick up the M4.

 

[aaksheytalwar]

7850 high oc with high oc CPU won't run on that psu

 

[mfenn]

7850 high oc with high oc CPU won't run on that psu

Bullshit. Even GTX 580 SLI on an overclocked Nehalem will only draw 620W from the wall.

 

[lehtv]

7850 high oc with high oc CPU won't run on that psu

860MHz -> 1050MHz overclock, no change in voltages. Another card is going to increase the power consumption only by about 130W for a total of 440W. And that's measured from the wall so the real power consumption would be less than 400W. That leaves plenty of room for additional GPU overclocking, not that it would be needed or make any sense.

The CPU above is an Intel Core i7-3960X @ 4.3GHz.

 

[Mopetar]

7850 high oc with high oc CPU won't run on that psu

I probably won't go with a super-high OC on the CPU since IB runs pretty hot and I'd like to keep the temps down. It's hot enough during the summer without my PC dumping out 80 C air into the room.

Based on the AT article for IB overclocking, it looks like 4.2 GHz is about where I'd want to stop. How much of a difference do you think a good heat sink would make at that speed?

 

[mfenn]

IB doesn't really get hot until you crank up the voltage. 4.2GHz is close to what you can do on stock volts, so I wouldn't be too worried about temps. You will obviously want something better than the stock Intel cooler, but even something like the Hyper 212+ would be fine.