The One Rig To Rule Them All.....

[Cydia]

I have been weighing up the pros and cons of either going with the MSI GTX 660 Ti, or maybe the MSI HD 7870. From what I can tell they are near identical, apart from the GTX using 25 watts less power. Are there any real discernible differences between these cards in games.

[Cydia]

There are a few minor adjustments to the planned rig:

Asus Maximus V Gene Z77
I5-2500K
Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 8GB (2x4G
Corsair H100i with Corsair SP120 x 2
Corsair AX750W 80+ Gold
Fractal Design Arc Mini
Corsair AF120 x 2 (infront panel)
Corsair Force GS 180GB
Western Digital 500GB
XFX Double D Radeon HD7950 3GB

[Cydia]

Hello again, I know it has been a long time since I last did anything to this log, but as fate would have it to components list has changed some again. I also have a few options which I need help with.

Core components:

I5 2500K
PNY GTX570
8GB Mushkin Blackline @ 1333Mhz
Noctua NH-D14
Corsair Force 3 60GB (Boot drive)
Western Digital Green 1TB (storage)
Fractal Design Arc Midi
OCZ ZX 850W (will be switched out for a Corsair HX650W when possible)

I currently have 2 different motherboards that I can use. I have a Gigabyte Z68X-UD5 and a Maximus V Gene. Which would you lot use and why.

My rig gets used primarily for gaming. I know my case supports atx boards and the matx will look lost in it, but this is a case I got given so cant complain.

[Choklitmlk]

the asus mb is the newer one, so even though its mATX you should still get some better feature out of it. though your cpu is only sandy bridge anyway, so idk.

fyi, i love my maximus v gene, but im using a 3770k

[Cydia]

I guess the real question I should be asking is, is there any bonus going with a Z77 board considering all I will be doing with my computer is gaming and maybe some recording for some Lets Play videos.

I have tried researching for some Z68 vs Z77 comparisons and I cannot find a logical reason to go with Z77 over a Z68.

As I currently have the Z68 setup made and in use I'm just looking at selling the Z77 board and all my other spare components as they are not getting used.

[remember300]

i have the h100i and love it to bits, im only running pulling fans to cool the rad and with a 24% OC on my i7 3770k my temps even after 24 hours when on full load barely hit 58 degrees Celsius with a room temp of over 20 my delta temp is just over 35
you can also use corsair link to have the fans only whir up when you need the extra airflow

[Cydia]

Originally Posted by remember300

i have the h100i and love it to bits, im only running pulling fans to cool the rad and with a 24% OC on my i7 3770k my temps even after 24 hours when on full load barely hit 58 degrees Celsius with a room temp of over 20 my delta temp is just over 35
you can also use corsair link to have the fans only whir up when you need the extra airflow

That is actually really good. It is a shame that my circumstances limit what I can afford. I am going to stick with my NH-D14 as I am more comfortable with air cooling as I have seem closed loop liquid cooling fail and leak. Someone I know had this problem and I basically fried his gpu.

I am currently stuck as the whether to go with my Z68X-UD5 or Maximus V Gene in a mid tower Arc Midi. I know the Asus will look dwarfed, but which board would have better OC potential?

I am not planning on upgrading to Ivy Bridge as there is no game that limits my 2500K. Hell, I will even be skipping Haswell too.

[remember300]

personaly when it comes to the OC its more to do with cooling so up to you i spose with a smaller board your GPU would be closer to your CPU which coudl add more warmth to the air around it but thats all i can think of, i have an eatx and only one board so i dont worry about anything

[airdeano]

Originally Posted by Cydia

I am currently stuck as the whether to go with my Z68X-UD5 or Maximus V Gene in a mid tower Arc Midi. I know the Asus will look dwarfed, but which board would have better OC potential?

id love to give it to the GENE, but for a better value conscience effort, i'd
opt for the MSI Z77a-GD55/65/MPower before the giggy choice. value-wise
a better choice, has the strict options of whats needed and awesome power
management. difference between the GENE and GD65 is price. both
overclock well into the 5.0 region for SB. for 24/7 stability both did 4.8 OC
@ 1.375vcore with small offset and optimum LLC control. both had 72° operating
temps for 24hr @ 20° ambient on a corsair H100 push/pull SP120 PE
undervolted to 7volts.

waiting for my MPower monies to get right, because of the asthetics and same
power management as the GD65. plus a couple more SATA connections.

i vote for the MSI boards..easy on the eyes and the wallet, with great features.

[Cydia]

This has been a long time in the making, but does to certain problems and difficulties this has had to be pushed back.

Now financial situation has been sorted out, and I have been able to make adjustments to my spec list too.

Fractal Design Arc Midi/CM 690 II Advanced
I7 3820 (maybe 3930K as the price difference isn't much)
Asus P9X79 Pro
16GB Patriot Intel Extreme Masters 1866Mhz
Noctua NH-D14
Club3D 7870 Tahiti LE 2GB
Kingston 240GB SSD
WD Green 1TB

600-750W Modular PSU (any recommendations?)

Pics will be added when they arrive.