New Build

[Nogram]

This system will drive 2, and maybe 3, 30" monitors.

Usage will be:
60% - MS Office / Web / E-Mail (across all monitors)
20% - Watching Videos (primarily on one monitor)
20% - Games - mostly non-graphic intensive, but I do plan to try out Diablo 3 and Guild Wars 2 when they come out. (Gaming only on one monitor but @ 2560 x 1600)

I will overclock both the Processor and Video Cards, but not too much, I am hoping to just use an 'auto-tune' function for both.

I expect this machine to last 2-2.5 years. That is my general time frame for a new build.

Key consideration - NOISE, I like quiet.

System:

Case - Corsair Graphite - 600T - $170
Processor - i7 2600K - $310
Cooler - Arctic Cooling Freezer 13 CPU - $40
Motherboard - P8P67 Deluxe - $240
Memory - Corsair - Vengence 4x4GB - $220
Hard Drive - OCZ Vertex 3 - 340 GB - $550
Data Drive - From current computer - 2TB WD Black
Optrical Drive - Samsung DVD - $23
2x Video Card - MSI N560GTX - Ti Twin Frozr II - $520
Power Supply - Corsair HX 750 - $140
Windows 7 64 Bit Home

Questions:

What do you think?

On Video Card - I thought of the GTX 590, nice and quiet, but blows lots of hot air into case, and since I want to OC processor, thought this would be bad. I also considered 2x 6950, but the reviews showed this to be loud, and I like quiet.

All comments appreciated, likely going to buy in the next few days.

Thanks,

Nogram

 

[dma0991]

16GB of RAM may be too much unless you're doing a lot of video editing, 8GB of RAM should suffice.

Did the reviewers used a reference cooler HD6950? If they are using the reference cooler HD6950 then you could consider a HD6950 with the Twin Frozr II, they are cooler and quieter than the reference but may be more expensive than the GTX560 Ti TFII.

If you want it quiet you can consider adding in an aftermarket cooler for your CPU as well. It will run quieter compared to the stock Intel cooler. The best price/performance is the CM Hyper212+

 

[Davidh373]

16GB of RAM may be too much unless you're doing a lot of video editing, 8GB of RAM should suffice.

16GB RAM may be too much unless he's doing a lot of video COMPOSITING. Video editing has become fairly light on hardware (except storage)

 

[dma0991]

16GB RAM may be too much unless he's doing a lot of video COMPOSITING. Video editing has become fairly light on hardware (except storage)

Noted.

 

[ncalipari]

isn't i7 too much?

 

[Nogram]

I think that I agree on the RAM, just with it being so cheap I figured might as well, but if it will never be used I will downgrade to 8GB and save $100.

Thanks,

Nogram

 

[Nogram]

isn't i7 too much?

I will be doing a lot of big excel and database modeling stuff...

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/...core-i7-2600k-i5-2500k-core-i3-2100-tested/19

I used this to decide that it was worth it.

Nogram

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

There is no way you'll game quietly and not ruin your components on air cooling.
Secondly, while you are not gaming you can change any video cards fan profile to damn near silent. I am a silence enthusiast too, fyi.

If you are going big with video cards and buying a PSU with that kind of money, why not expand your upgrade room with a larger PSU?

What was your second choice for a case?

 

[Nogram]

When gaming I am not too worried about quiet.

I want it to be very quiet when working, I will sometimes have music playing softly, but mostly I like it silent.

I am open to upgrading the PSU, just didn't think I needed more than 750. If I go bigger PSU will it be quieter? Or is it simply going to provide more overhead room for future upgrades?

Second choice for case was likely a P183 - but I do like the top mounted ports. I don't think I would ever touch the fan controller on the 600T, I like to set them on some sort of auto mode and never touch them again.

I thought about the Level 10 from Thermaltake for the case (the newer, cheaper one), but was not able to get much out of the reviews on sound, and the look was a bit over-the-top for me. I do like a modest looking case, or my wife will very very likely mock me.

Thanks,

Nogram

 

[Davidh373]

60% - MS Office / Web / E-Mail (across all monitors)
20% - Watching Videos (primarily on one monitor)
20% - Games - mostly non-graphic intensive, but I do plan to try out Diablo 3 and Guild Wars 2 when they come out. (Gaming only on one monitor but @ 2560 x 1600)

This does not require 2 560ti.. Since AMD has single card output to triple monitors I would go that route. Get yourself a 6950 2GB


The following (for your purposes) are a complete waste of money.

Processor - i7 2600K - $310

Get an i5 2500k (No HT, but otherwise the same processor with the same ability to overclock.)

(didn't see the above when posting)

Motherboard - P8P67 Deluxe - $240

Overpaying by about $100 for a 1155 motherboard. A simple $140 one will get you enough PCI-E slots.

Memory - Corsair - Vengence 4x4GB - $220

About triple the amount of RAM you need for your usage. I'd recommend getting 8GB of the GSkill 1333. They don't have those annoying heatspreaders that normally do nothing for performance, but do everything in their power to keep you from mounting a CPU cooler.

Hard Drive - OCZ Vertex 3 - 340 GB - $550

Do you have at least 200GB of apps? I'd actually go for a 120GB Intel if I had the money. OCZ has been having quality issues with their Flash.

2x Video Card - MSI N560GTX - Ti Twin Frozr II - $520

We've already been over this.

Power Supply - Corsair HX 750 - $240

As long as you're only using one card, you will only need a quality 500W-550W PSU.

 

[Nogram]

For Davidh373,

I don't think I would be happy with a single 6950 when gaming at 2560x1600, I looked at the 6950 crossfire, but the sound levels were very very high.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-6950-crossfirex-review/15

Also two of my monitors don't have a DP in port, only the third will (that I don't have yet, but will very likely get from Dell), so the adapters are about $100 each, adding to the cost of the single card solution. The advantage that Nvidia has is that most of their cards come with two Dual DVI outs.

I hear you on the i5, but when I am working with some of the data sets I have, any time savings I can get, I will take, if this was mostly for gaming I would make this change, but most of the time is going to be in Excel and Access working with massive data sets.

Motherboard - I agree, what I like about this one is that it allows the SLI (which may or may not be needed, depending on video card), and it provides a nice USB 3.0 insert for the front slots. I do like ASUS (going back 10+ years) so I may downgrade within their lineup.

Memory - I think that I will downgrade, and good comments on the heatsink, I didn't think of that....

Hard Drive, I just don't want to run out of space like I did on my 80GB intel SSD in my current box. I may down grade, but want to stay with one of the SATA 6 gen drives.

Thanks for the comments.

Nogram

 

[dma0991]

The test conducted using 2 HD6950 with reference coolers which will obviously be louder than an aftermarket cooler. Like I said earlier, you won't have much problems with noise as long as you have an aftermarket cooler like the Twin Frozr II on your GPU.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-6950-crossfirex-review/3

 

[Nogram]

The test conducted using 2 HD6950 with reference coolers which will obviously be louder than an aftermarket cooler. Like I said earlier, you won't have much problems with noise as long as you have an aftermarket cooler like the Twin Frozr II on your GPU.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-6950-crossfirex-review/3

I tend to always get my systems at the same place, they will build and install the OS for $70, so I normally do that. They, for whatever reason don't sell MSI ATI cards.

As a side note, how hard is it to build your own system? I never have, but may start with this system.

Nogram

 

[ncalipari]

massive excel datasets are bounded by memory not cpu.

Go for 2500 and intel SSD.

 

[Spikesoldier]

i would trade the GTX 560's for HD 6950's. the 1GB framebuffer on the GTX560 will likely be too little for 2560x1600. this will be even more pronounced if you really gamed on dual or tri 30" displays.

 

[dma0991]

I tend to always get my systems at the same place, they will build and install the OS for $70, so I normally do that. They, for whatever reason don't sell MSI ATI cards.

As a side note, how hard is it to build your own system? I never have, but may start with this system.

Nogram

Okay, under that circumstances you can get a GTX560 Ti SLi to run a multi display setup. ATI is now called AMD.

Building a rig is not that hard. Youtube has a lot of tutorial videos if you don't know how to start. gl :thumbsup:

 

[fffblackmage]

I would also recommend the 6950 2GB (one or two of them) for gaming at 2560x1600 or higher.

 

[weez82]

As a side note, how hard is it to build your own system? I never have, but may start with this system.

Nogram

For the most part it is as easy plugging stuff in. Lots of videos out there showing how to build. And doing it yourself you should be able to save loads of $ too

 

[Davidh373]

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/293

There are admittedly 3 games under 30fps, but the rest are far ABOVE 30fps. It's up to you.

Maybe consider the 6970?

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/293?vs=292

Also, you are talking about Diablo 3 and Guild Wars 2. Both of these games will likely have a large audience, and are also big budget titles. So, the graphics will likely be optimized to run on most anything modern. The rest of the games you play aren't graphically intense, so it's up to you, but I wouldn't want to spend that much on something that isn't going to be properly utilized.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

I am open to upgrading the PSU, just didn't think I needed more than 750. If I go bigger PSU will it be quieter?

I have never heard my Seasonic X 650w spin up its' fan. They have an Seasonic X 850w Gold model out as-well New Egg link

The XFX Black Edition PSU's are very good too.

If you can find a Kingwin Lazer Platinum high wattage model, I recommend that also. Here is the Jonnyguru review on the 550w Kingwin. Read this. AMAZING PSU! Single GPU recommended. New Egg link

Or is it simply going to provide more overhead room for future upgrades?

If you get the right PSU, it will do both. I also have 2 Enermax 950w Silver rated, Revolutions (one i was considering selling) that are barely audible.

Second choice for case was likely a P183 - but I do like the top mounted ports. I don't think I would ever touch the fan controller on the 600T, I like to set them on some sort of auto mode and never touch them again.

The Corsair 650D is a sweet case. Most enthusiast cases are coming with all the amenities that are on the 650D. IMO, Corsair took everything wrong with the 800D and 700D and refined it with the 650D model. There are some complaints about fan vibration but Corsair offers a free hardware updated from their sight. And they are usually really good with customer support. My front Hot-Swab bay broke off and I had a new one at my door step in 3 days, free of charge! :thumbsup:

Coolmaster makes a sweet, Haf X case. Very similar to the 650D

 

[mfenn]

OP, considering that your gaming is going to be mostly mass market games, I'd say that you'd be fine with one strong graphics card, even at 2560x1600. You're also overpaying for some of the other parts. Let's go down the list:
- Case: Pricy, but go for it if you really like it
- CPU: It really depends on your specific workload (even down to which Excel functions you call the most). The i7 2600K may or may not be worth it. You've got the budget, so I'd say go for it in this case
- Cooler: Fine
- Mobo: Waaay overkill. Check out the ASRock Extreme4 instead. It's $80 cheaper and has a USB 3.0 breakout box.
- RAM: Overpriced. Get two of these G.Skill DDR3 1333 8GB kits for $160 total
- SSD: Not a bad price, but it is still probably way more than you need. I'd grab a 120GB Intel 320 drive for $225 instead. As long as your a little judicious about where you put things, 120GB is plenty IMHO. Also, SATA 6Gb/s isn't going to matter unless you have multiple SSDs in the system or something like that because you won't have anything that can accept data that fast.
- HDD: Fine
- ODD: Fine
- GPU: Like I mentioned above, a strong single GPU is probably plenty. Check out the reference model 6950 2GB cards. They've got two DVI outputs as well as DisplayPort.
- PSU: With a single-GPU, the PSU you picked out become overkill. A Neo Eco 520C will be plenty for the above.

 

[Davidh373]

Also two of my monitors don't have a DP in port, only the third will (that I don't have yet, but will very likely get from Dell), so the adapters are about $100 each, adding to the cost of the single card solution. The advantage that Nvidia has is that most of their cards come with two Dual DVI outs.

I have never heard of an adapter being $100, and even if it was the adapters would be just as much on the dual cards.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...ayport&x=0&y=0

The highest prices I see here are around $25.

 

[mfenn]

I have never heard of an adapter being $100, and even if it was the adapters would be just as much on the dual cards.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...ayport&x=0&y=0

The highest prices I see here are around $25.

An active dual-link adapter is necessary for 2560x1600 and is indeed about $100. Though, as long as he gets a card with two DVI outputs plus some displayport, he shouldn't need the adapter.

 

[Davidh373]

Here's another thing you can do. You could get a cheaper video card (like a 5650 or whatever $60 card for the two non-gaming monitors, and a 6950 for the gaming. Then you won't need an active adapter and you still save some money, and still have power dedicated to the important monitor.

 

[betasub]

An active dual-link adapter is necessary for 2560x1600 and is indeed about $100. Though, as long as he gets a card with two DVI outputs plus some displayport, he shouldn't need the adapter.

The problem appears to be that the 69x0 2GB cards (recommended here for great bang for buck at 2560x and above) come with only one dual-link DVI (the second DVI is single link, shared with HDMI output), and two mini-DP. Hence OP looking for an active adaptor.

The outputs on 58x0 cards are better suited to OP's displays, but there may be significant mark-up in price to get the (recommended) 2GB version.