~ $2500 Rig, What are your thoughts?

[nyden]

Hey all.

My name is Felix.

I'd like to put a new pc together. Been browsing the web for some time, looking at reviews and things of that nature to catch up with things. About a month ago I stumbled upon this website, the videos and forums and have found them to be very helpful. I'm am quite the computer enthusiast, but I haven't had the chance to keep with any developments for a year or two up because of work.

I used to have an alienware a few years ago and then switched over to Mac (again because of work) to do video editing.

I finally have the money and time to put together a pc. I definitely don't wanna go the alienware rout again. Don't get me wrong, I was happy with it but the $$ : perfomance ratio wasn't exactly amazing.

The budget is about $2500. This would primarily be a gaming rig that should also be suitable to do video editing.

I should also mention that I'm not a pro over clocker. I know a little bit, but no crazy stuff.

Maybe you guys can tell me what you think.

Here are the parts I've been looking at:

Case:

Silverstone Raven RV03 http://www.silverstonetek.com/raven/products/index.php?model=RV03&area=usa

Corsair Obsidian 650d http://www.corsair.com/cases/obsidian-series/obsidian-series-650d.html

I was hoping I'd get away with a mid size tower, but this may come down to the motherboard.

Motherboard:

MSI Big Bang Marshal P67 http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cpu_mainboard/msi_big_bang_marshal_p67_review/9

ASUS Maximus IV Extreme B3 Revision http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cpu_mainboard/asus_maximus_iv_extreme_b3_revision_review/10

CPU:

Intel i7 2600k http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cpu_mainboard/i7_2600k_i5_2500k_2300_1155_sandy_bridge_review/1

Intel i7 970 http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cpu_mainboard/intel_core_i7_990x_hexcore_1366/1

I'd love to get a 990x, but that may be to expensive.

CPU Cooling:

Noctua NH-D14 http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cases_cooling/noctua_nh-d14_review/1

Corsair H70 http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cases_cooling/corsair_h70_review/4

RAM:

Mushkin Ridgeback http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/memory/kingston_hyper-x_2133mhz_dual_channel_review/6

Kingston Genesis http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/memory/kingston_genesis_4gb_ddr3_2133mhz_review/7

Kingston HyperX H2O http://www.kingston.com/hyperx/products/H2O.asp

Corsair Dominator GT http://www.corsair.com/memory/dominator.html

GPU:

MSI GTX580 Lightning http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/gpu_displays/msi_gtx580_lightning_review/2

Zotac Geforce GTX 580 AMP

GPU Cooling (if applicable):

Scythe MUSASHI Twin-Fan http://www.scythe-usa.com/product/vga/002/scvms1000_detail.html

Hard Drive:

Western Digital Caviar Black http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=100

Western Digital VelociRaptor http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=20

Western Digital SiliconEdge Blue http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=90

It would probably be a combination of raid 0 Caviar Black, raid 0 VelociRaptor and the SSD for the operating system and some other things. I'd love to know what you guys think about any combination with performance in mind.

Power Supply:

Corsair AX850 http://www.corsair.com/power-supplies/modular-psus/professional-series-gold-2/ax850.html

If this turns out to not be enough, it would have to be the 1200.

Sound Card:

Auzentech X-Fi Forte 7.1

Thank you for reading. Let me know what you think :]

 

[Stryker64]

Case: Silverstone Raven RV03 (Great Cooling)

Motherboard: MSI Big Bang Marshal (Pretty sure it will fit in the RV03)

CPU: i7 2600K

CPU Cooler: Noctua D14 (It's infinitely better than the H70 both in performance and noise.)

RAM: Mushkin Ridgebacks (Since you have a Noctua and they are fast)

GPU: MSI GTX580 Lightning (AND OVERCLOCK THE HELL OUT OF IT)

GPU Cooling: Don't bother the Twin Frozer 3 is more than enough.

Hard Drives: SSD (Boot Driver and your favourite game), 2 Velociraptors RAID 0 (GAMES), WD Green 2TB (Music and movies)

PSU: Corsair AX850 (Should be able to run GTX580 SLI, so you've got room to expand)

Soundcard: ASUS Xense Premium Gaming Audio Set (Assuming you don't have a good headset, if you do than the Auzentech X-Fi should work)

 

[Karlos_the_n00b]

Hi Felix,

Ok, if it was my money:

Case, I personally would go with a Silverstone fortress in all black http://www.silversto...ts.php?pno=FT02

However, if you like the Raven then I'm not going to persuade you otherwise and the gold and black will look great with the other parts I would have.

Motherboard: Gigabyte P67A-UD7, winner of the gold award and performance award http://www.overclock...a-ud7_review/10

CPU: 2500K. Apparently the difference between the 2500K and 2600K is minimal when it comes to gaming so all the extra money is getting you is bragging rights http://www.tomshardw...ew-32155-4.html

CPU Cooler: I'd go with the Titan Fenrir Evo as that cooler in the raven would look amazing, especially coupled to the P67A-UD7 http://www.hardwareh...stallation.html

If your not as vain as me though, go for the D-14

Memory: Black [font="Verdana, sans-serif, FreeSans"]Mushkin Ridgebacks would look great but if your considering the D-14 then you should probably also consider the Kingston Genesis as they run at 2133MHz and also took the gold [/font]http://www.overclock...133mhz_review/7



GPU: Again, if it was my money I'd go with the Gainwood GTX 570 Phantom http://www.overclock...gtx570_review/1 although this would be my vanity getting the better of me because it uses 2 1/2 slots and would therefore stop me from adding a second card later due to how most slots are positioned on mobo's including the P67A-UD7. Within your budget you could possibly get 2 MSI GTX 570 with the twin frozer 2 coolers which is a far better option. That said, if you want the best single card (with single GPU) it IS the MSI GTX 580 Lightning http://www.overclock...htning_review/9. You wont need to replace the cooler on any twin frozer card (as long as your case does has air flow ofc) and you really should overclock the hell out of it because thats what there made for. Getting one card now ofc means you could possibly add another later. Personaly, if there is a high chance of being able to add another card later go GTX 580, if its a low chance go GTX 570 SLI now.

HDD: With the money I'd save with going for the 2500K I'd push for the 120GB version of this http://www.hardwareh...conclusion.html

[font="Verdana, sans-serif, FreeSans"]Power Supply:[/font][font="Verdana, sans-serif, FreeSans"] [/font][font="Verdana, sans-serif, FreeSans"]Corsair FTW the bigger the better as all PSU's degrade over time but I would have thought the [/font][font="Verdana, sans-serif, FreeSans"]AX850 would serve you well to the day you die but I don't know what the power requirements for the GTX 580 lightning in SLI is.[/font]

[font="Verdana, sans-serif, FreeSans"] [/font]

[font="Verdana, sans-serif, FreeSans"]Hope this all helps and once you've built your rig PLEASE post it in the rig gallary

[/font]

 

[Stryker64]

Well first off, GTX 580 Lightnings because they use military class components they actually consume less power than reference cards, assuming they are both running at factory speeds. Also if you get GTX580 Lightnings 2way SLI and full overclocked and with a Sandy Bridge CPU (Also overclocked) I would expect your system power to peak at around 750w.

 

[FunkyMonkey90]

If it was me I would go for the X58 i7 970 for pure rendering performance if your doing some major video editing or 3D work.. but if you only dabble in 3d/video editing then the 2500k should do the trick I guess.

 

[Karlos_the_n00b]

Just as an after thought, the motherboards you mentioned and the one I did all support Tri-SLI at least so if that's a feature you think you might ever want to use then it may be going for one of the higher corsairs as the [font=Verdana, sans-serif, FreeSans][font=Verdana, sans-serif, FreeSans] [/font][font=Verdana, sans-serif, FreeSans]AX850 only has 4 PCI-E power sockets. No idea how SLI scales or if its ever worth doing or if its something you'd ever consider but thought it was worth mentioning all the same.[/font][/font]

 

[Aurus_OC]

Normal SLI (2way) scales pretty well and is alright. However 3-way SLI seems to be a real pain, because of drivers heat, it not scaling nearly as well as 2-way SLI. So honestly, I wouldn't recommend anything over 2-way SLI. I always would advice you to buy the single(!) most powerful card you can afford, because I don't think SLI is "worth" the hassle. You will probably be better off just buying a new graphics card and selling the old one by the time a GTX580 will be too slow.

 

[nyden]

FIrst of all: Thank you for the in depth replies. It's is very helpful :]

Zeals:

Would you say Mushkin because bigger sticks might not fit with the Noctua and/or because they are better than the others. Could you recommend a combination? Keep in mind I am doing quiet a bit of video editing.

Also, I do have a decent headset (Sennheiser PC350), but for movies and music I'd use my speakers. Would the Auzentech X-Fi Forte 7.1 still be a good choice?

Karlos_the_n00b:

I looked at the FT02 as well but my main concern with older cases is the lack of USB 3.0. Otherwise the FT02 is a fine case.

Your right the Titan Fenrir Evo would look pretty sweet. From what I've been reading the Noctua NH-D14 is pretty untouchable regarding performance and noise. I'll look into this.

Definitely gonna take your advice on the SSD :]

FunkyMonkey90:

I do quite a bit of HD video editing and rendering, which is leading me to choose the X58 i7 970.

GPU situation:

I think for my specific situation right now the best option would be the fastest and quietest one-chip single graphics card. There is a chance I'll upgrade to SLI later or just replace it completely in a year or two.

I would like to keep it as quiet as possible. That's something that really bothered me with my alienware (even though it was liquid cooled?!). You couldn't really enjoy or get into things unless your wearing a headset. Don't get me wrong looks are important to me. But I'd look into this once I kinda know what I'm dealing with. I guess performance is always first. For example with the Raven RV03: Even though the case isn't even out yet I'm pretty sure it'll perform well and keep the parts cool. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the gold stripes (then I again I haven't seen it live, I may chance my mind). If I were to get that case I'd probably make it look all black.

Here is what I'm thinking right now:

Case:

Silverstone Raven RV03

Motherboard:

Gigabyte P67A-UD7 or

MSI Big Bang Marshal P67, how would these compare, being that the Gigabyte has been out for awhile?

CPU:

i7 2600k (or i7 970)

CPU Cooler:

Noctua D14

RAM:

Mushkin Ridgeback

GPU:

MSI GTX580 Lightning

Hard Drives:

SSD: OCZ Vertex 3, 2x WD VelociRaptor RAID 0, WD Caviar Black

PSU:

Corsair AX850

What do you guys think? And again: Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts. This is really very helpful! :]

ps: Karlos, I'm definitely gonna put some picks up once the rig is all done :]

 

[Karlos_the_n00b]

eeeerrrrrrrrr dude, the moterboards you listed use the 1155 socket but the processor you listed uses the 1366 socket :$ Your going to have to choose between those motherboard and that cpu and get back to us

 

[nyden]

Good point ;]

It would be the 2600k then.

Unless you think I should go a different route.

 

[Aurus_OC]

The i7 970 is a great processor and will blow the 2600K out of the water easily. If you've got the money to spend and the use for a lot of processing power the 970 is going to give you better performance. But don't get me wrong the 2600K is a great chip aswell. Only thing is the 970 is X58 which will give you advantages like triple channel ram or more pcie lanes that SandyBridge doesn't have to offer. If you are doing a lot of rendering/video editing or the like you will probably benefit from the six cores and the triple channel memory. But, after all it's your decision...

 

[nyden]

I pretty sure I'd benefit from the additional processing power that the 970 offers. I guess the my only concern has been the future of the 1366 socket. I don't know if that's a valid concern. Like I've said, I've been catching up with all the developments and am not quite up to date with everything yet :/

Say I do go the route of the 970. Are there boards you can recommend for my purposes (gaming rig first but definitely an editing rig second)?

Also

 

[Karlos_the_n00b]

Ok, first off I want to quickly apologise. I completely blanked the fact you wanted to do video rendering and if I'd have taken note of that then I wouldn't have recommended the 2500K over the 2600K and would probably shut my face altogether as I no nothing about rendering or what you need for it

so yeah, sorry I didn't notice you where interested in rendering

I did have a quick look into this over dinner and while I'm not going to pretend for a second that 20 minutes with professor google makes me an expert I did still want to try and help.

Basically when it comes to video rendering it looks like the i7 970 wins (1366 socket) wins because its got more cores and more threads (wtf a thread? I don't know. going to find out the next time I stop to eat.) than the 2600K (1155 socket) even though its faster.

When it comes to gaming the the 2600K wins and I believe (so please correct me if I'm wrong) this is because its faster and when it comes to gaming cores don't mater as much (underlined to give me some wriggle room if someone comes in to shoot me down saying that they do maker or sumet

. What the performance difference is between the i7 2600K and i7 970 is I don't know but you could watch TTL's video on the 2600K and that might tell you. http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cpu_mainboard/i7_2600k_i5_2500k_2300_1155_sandy_bridge_review/8

What I would ask you is what's more important to you, gaming or rendering? If its rendering then you should go with the i7 970 (1366 socket) if its gaming then you might want to go for the i7 2600K (1155 socket).

As you can see I don't really know what I'm talking about but I hope that's been of some help

 

[Karlos_the_n00b]

I pretty sure I'd benefit from the additional processing power that the 970 offers. I guess the my only concern has been the future of the 1366 socket. I don't know if that's a valid concern. Like I've said, I've been catching up with all the developments and am not quite up to date with everything yet :/

Say I do go the route of the 970. Are there boards you can recommend for my purposes (gaming rig first but definitely an editing rig second)?

Not to sound mean but after watching TTL's video on the on the 990X, the 1366 has no future. The 990X was its grand finale and the 1366 socket gets replaced at the end of the year.

Saying that though, its still the best money can buy for video editing today unless I'm very much mistaken and still great for gaming.

I really am going to take a step back though when it comes to recommending a motherboard though as I don't know enough about that socket

Here's some TTL motherboard reviews for the X58 to get you started though:

http://www.overclock...rtooth_review/8

http://www.overclock...d3r_v2_review/8

And I also found this on the i7 970 itself:

http://www.overclock...i7_970_review/1

Hope it helps

Edit: One thing I do know though is you want to get a newish motherboard so you get a couple of sata 3 port so you can get the most out of an SSD drive.

 

[Aurus_OC]

In games there is no (noticable) difference between the 2600K and the 970.

The 2600K is not going to beat the 970 in any benchmark, because the 970 can be overclocked like a beast aswell.

 

[FunkyMonkey90]

If I was you I'd go i7 970 with possibly 1 of the new gigabyte G1-Killer Mobos. Even though the 1366 socket is soon to go it is still a great option for rendering/video editing, it also has many options for upgrades later on in life and will still last you a few years to come.

 

[nyden]

Again guys, thanks for all the replies :]

Like Karlos said the 990x is probably the grand finally for the 1366 socket. That's why I brought up the question about the future of the 1366.

I should say this is definitely a gaming rig first and and editing rig second. I would not be doing to much rendering; That I would either do at work or over night so the raw processing power is not as crucial, but - editing HD footage (some of it uncompressed) does take quite a bit of RAM, which is why I need to make sure I get lots of it and it's gotta be fast.

If the stretch between a gaming and editing rig (with the future of the parts involved) is to far I would settle for a pure gaming rig.

I'm not yet that familiar with the SandyBridge processors and the 1155 socket. What are my options RAM-wise? Aurus mentioned that there is no triple channel memory with SandyBridge processors. What will the future of the 1155 bring?

I'll also look into the Gigabyte G1-Killer motherboards. If anyone has any experience with these let me know :]

ps: Big thanks to Karlos for the in extensive replies! :]

 

[Karlos_the_n00b]

Your welcome mate. Happy to try and help.

The killer boards are suppose to be great but there 1366 socket boards so unless your going for the i7 970 or along those lines then there not an option.

Motherboards on the 1155 socket may differ between the lower to higher end boards but most the boards I've seen including the ones we talked about earlier all support a max of 32GB over 4 slots.

Unfortunately though, like I said before, I know nothing about video processing so how much ram you should get and what speed it should be to get the most out your system is something I don't have a clue on so one of the others are going to have to help you there

 

[Aurus_OC]

Sandy Bridge only supports dual channel memory. That's the way it is and it is more than likely not going to change anytime soon.

If you are looking at gaming and looking to save a few bucks, I would go for Sandy Bridge and get the 2600K with a decent to high end motherboard (something in the range between the ASUS P8P67 Pro and the Gigabyte P67 UD7 will work great). The 2600K is a great chip and will be pretty good at rendering. Then just slap a MSI Twin Frozr III GTX 580 on it and off you go. Memorywise I would look at getting 8GB (2x4GB) and see how that works out for you, if it's not enough you can still add another 8GB later on. For gaming really all you need is 4GB. Look at some Mushkin ram or the Kingston Genesis 2133Mhz kit, they are great.

 

[nyden]

yea .. really appreciate it :]

I'll see if someone at work can shed some light on RAM situation concerning video editing.

I guess for now lets pretend it's a straight up gaming rig. What would you think is the best solution for straight up performance for the 1366 and/or 1155?

I was looking at:

Mushkin Ridgeback http://www.mushkin.com/Technologies/Ridgeback.aspx

Kingston HyperX H2O http://www.kingston.com/hyperx/products/H2O.asp

and the Kingston HyperX T1 http://www.kingston.com/hyperx/products/t1_ddr3.asp

What do you think (for now disregarding that the sticks might not fit with the Noctua NH-D14)?