~2k £ build

[nex-s]

Hey guys!

I've been saving for some time now and am going for it either at the start of September or October, depending on my wage this month. I've basically decided on everything, but was just wondering on any advice or tips regarding the set up, whatever comes to mind. I also added the rough prices (+/- 10£) to make it a little easier. So here we go:

Case - Coolermaster Storm Trooper (110£)
PSU - Corsair AX850 (150£)
MB - Asus Maximus V Extreme (300£)
RAM - Corsair Vengeance 4x4Gb 1866Mhz (100£)
CPU - Intel i7 3770k (250£)
CPU Cooling - Corsair H100 (80£)
GPU - Asus GTX 670 DirectCU II Top (350£)
HDD - 2TB Western Digital Caviar BLack (140£)
SSD - Intel 520 180Gb (150£)
mSATA SSD - Mushkin Atlas 60Gb (60£)

=1690£

Screen: Asus 27" VE278Q (240£)

=1930£

WD My Passport Essential 500Gb (60£)
Asus RT-n56u Router (80£)

Which all ends up ~ 2070£


The rig will be used for photo/HD video editing, as that's my hobby, and for some gaming as well. The thing's I'm thinking about is whether to rather get 2x 120Gb SSD's and go RAID0 as TRIM might soon be possible. Whether to go 4x4Gb RAM or 2x8Gb RAM. Whether to choose the TOP gpu version paying extra 15£ or not, cause apparently some folks are having issues with it. Obviously the mSATA SSD will be used for SSD caching. Any advice/tips on that? And the router/external HDD combination is for downloads. I'm on DSL and my ISP (TalkTalk) is super slow + it throttles p2p downloads from 18:00 to 24:00 down to 0Kb/sec basically, and this router/e.-HDD will enable me to download stuff during the night while keeping my PC turned off and saving electricity rather than keeping my PC on while I'm sleeping or away... Also should I get a UPS or does the Corsair ax850 have enough to save my PC from burning in case of power surge?

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[seumasbeathan]

Could you expand more on what it will be used for?

 

[jamesriley94]

Drop to AX650, Drop to MSI Z77a-GD65, lose the msata drive = saving money for no drop in performance.

Not too sure why you wanted the msata ssd when you have an SSD already?

 

[nex-s]

Could you expand more on what it will be used for?

Hacking the Pentagon. I mean, editing/rendering 1080p DSRL video in Adobe software and some gaming can't really be expanded much more. I may do/study some 3D rendering if I have time, but not sure about that.

 

[nex-s]

Drop to AX650, Drop to MSI Z77a-GD65, lose the msata drive = saving money for no drop in performance.

Not too sure why you wanted the msata ssd when you have an SSD already?

Blue and red? I'm a bit of a perfectionist so don't want any mixes in colours. Black/red is what I'm going for + I really like Asus.

Is SSD caching of no benefit in this situation? I haven't read about that too much just now, was going to just before I get the stuff...

 

[006409]

i think it will look cool tbh, a shame that the case isnt inverted as the GPU would look awesome but hey

the thing with the m-sata drive is that while it will imporve performance is it worth the £60 for 60Gb?? imo its not but there u go. i personally wouldnt spend money for the sake of it as you could instead save towards a second GPU or keep it till the next gen card are out. you may have money now but will you need it for later?? just a way of looking at it.

apart from that the only thing i would do and this is personal opinion is swap the WD blacks for blue or greens cus there quieter, with everything in your rig so quite you might want to do that but nice build

 

[ruairi.C]

Also you'll probably want to get new fans for the h100. Corsair Air Series SP Quiet edition will do you wonders

 

[VengeanceUK]

Hacking the Pentagon. I mean, editing/rendering 1080p DSRL video in Adobe software and some gaming can't really be expanded much more. I may do/study some 3D rendering if I have time, but not sure about that.

if your doing this then surely a skt 2011 sb-e rig would probably suit your needs much better
but as above the m-ssd is not necessary if you have a ssd already (IMO) so i'd drop that and spend the money saved on RamDisk software

 

[PapaSmurf6768]

SSD caching is only helpful if you're running an HDD as your boot drive. Also, look into getting the Maximus V Formula if you want an ROG board, as the extreme might be a little overkill.

 

[nex-s]

Totally forgot to include the fans, but yes, I am replacing the H100 fans with Corsair quiet versions. I've dumped the idea of mSATA SSD now and will instead get an Asus DX or D2X sound card which I also forgot to include. Don't know which one to choose though. The D2X is 30 pounds more... Just bought Microlab Solo6C's, so that will be the main setup I'll use it for as well as headphones. Also what's the opinion on the rest of the questions? Go RAID0? Choose the TOP gpu?

I don't really want to go for the new Formula motherboard cause I just don't like the looks of it, smaller, those useless barbs for water cooling which I won't use etc. I was thinking a lot about going 2011 though with the Rampage, but then again I would only get a i7 3820 and wouldn't be able to afford the 3930K. As someone mentioned in another thread, you can render a 10-15min 1080p video in around an hour, that's totally acceptable for me. + the smaller power consumption is always a good thing.

Are the WD Blacks really that loud that I would hear them over the CPU and GPU fans?

P.S. Thanks for the replies guys

 

[WillSK]

Are the WD Blacks really that loud that I would hear them over the CPU and GPU fans?

I always think hard drive noise/click or whatever you wanna call it is a matter of opinion. i've never used green/slower power saving hard drives for storage purely because the noise doesn't bother me in the slightest and you benefit from the more standard 7200rpm speed (admittedly i have games installed on this as well so need it). That said if it really is purely for storage i.e music, photos etc and no programmes of any sort then the perfectionist in me would prob say go for the quieter drives and stay green(er)

 

[yassarikhan786]

I always think hard drive noise/click or whatever you wanna call it is a matter of opinion. i've never used green/slower power saving hard drives for storage purely because the noise doesn't bother me in the slightest and you benefit from the more standard 7200rpm speed (admittedly i have games installed on this as well so need it). That said if it really is purely for storage i.e music, photos etc and no programmes of any sort then the perfectionist in me would prob say go for the quieter drives and stay green(er)

This. I install many of my games on my WD Caviar Black as I find the speeds to be very reasonable. I don't find the drive loud at all

 

[nex-s]

Still no answer to my questions. Mmmkay. What about keyboards? I don't want the thick keys of mechanical keyboards + they're quite noisy. I love chiclet, however there aren't many in black and the few that are are cheap. Love backlit keys. How about Logitech Illuminated? Also Razer Lycosa Mirror? There is a discount on Logitech and I can get it for 40gbp. Razer on the other hand costs quite a bit more. Has anyone had experience with these?

 

[nex-s]

Case - Coolermaster Storm Trooper
PSU - Corsair AX850
MB - Asus Maximus V Extreme
RAM - Corsair Vengeance 2x8Gb 1600/1866Mhz
CPU - Intel i7 3770k
CPU Cooling - Corsair H100
GPU - Asus GTX 670 DirectCU II Top
HDD - 2TB Western Digital Caviar Green
SSD - Samsung 830 256Gb

Screen: Asus 27" PB278Q


Hi guys, just a last update and questions before I get all the parts, some of which have been ordered already. Obviously I've dumped the mSATA SSD, I ordered a Samsung 830 256Gb instead of the Intel cause it had a very good price + the 20 pound cashback from Samsung. Haven't decided on the PSU yet, but I'll probably stick with 850 just to be more future proof as the PSU's aren't changed all that often. I'll get 2x8Gb Corsair Vengeance sticks for now, 1600 or 1866Mhz depending on the price and what I find. And I'll get the WD Caviar Green 2TB as it's really cheap. Also I'm getting the new Asus rt-n65u. And most importantly the new Asus pb278q, which should be here any time now.

Two last questions:

The RAM prices vary between both the clock speeds and timings. If I have to choose, should I go for 1600Mhz with 9-9-9-27 or 1866Mhz with 10-10-10-29 or whatever? Or is it really not that important and doesn't make any difference? Basically - clock speed vs timings, which?

The second and more important question: How, in your opinion, will the Asus GTX 670 TOP run the 2560x1440 screen? Will it be sufficient enough? I cannot afford to go SLI. And if the frames drop in some particular games just a bit too low, I can always switch to 1080p, right? I mean, it's not THAT big of a deal. Or is it?

Oh, ONE LAST THING I TOTALLY FORGOT ABOUT and didn't get an answer for. Will the Corsair PSU and a surge protector be enough to protect the system from power drops and uneven electricity? Or should I get a UPS? In which case, would a UPS with say 400W power be able to run the system? Taking into account that I don't care about the run time I get if the power cuts? Or is that the MAX throughput the UPS can give even with the power on? Also I've heard some of them don't work well together with PSU's because of the PFC and what not. Basically, which one would you recommend with this system?

Thanks for all of your help guys.

 

[Josh Weston]

Z77 cares little about timings, and more about the MHz. That being said, it doesn't make much difference anyway. We tell people to get 1600MHz RAM because, in the past, there was a big price difference. That price difference is decreasing, so if you can get a faster memory kit for around the same price of the 1600MHz kit, I say go for it

The 670 should run your monitor just fine, especially if you overclock it a little

 

[nex-s]

Z77 cares little about timings, and more about the MHz. That being said, it doesn't make much difference anyway. We tell people to get 1600MHz RAM because, in the past, there was a big price difference. That price difference is decreasing, so if you can get a faster memory kit for around the same price of the 1600MHz kit, I say go for it

The 670 should run your monitor just fine, especially if you overclock it a little

Great, that's exactly what I wanted to hear!

Now all that remains is the last question which I'm a bit concerned about. Cause as soon as someone turns on the electric shower the lights dim for a split second. Don't want that to kill my system, if it can at all.

 

[PetrolHead247]

Do NOT get a DCU II TOP model, they have a bugged bios where the card can boost over it's specified boost clock causing instability. The standard Non-TOP model is an identical card apart from the bios and the clocks are different, but underneath the card itself is exactly the same so it'll OC just as well, just that the Non-TOP's are much more stable

 

[nex-s]

Do NOT get a DCU II TOP model, they have a bugged bios where the card can boost over it's specified boost clock causing instability. The standard Non-TOP model is an identical card apart from the bios and the clocks are different, but underneath the card itself is exactly the same so it'll OC just as well, just that the Non-TOP's are much more stable

Well, as far as I see it, not everyone has problems with it. Also, you can always send it back to Amazon for a refund if that happens. But they aren't the same though, at least if you can believe what Asus say that the best performing GPU's go into the TOP models...

 

[PetrolHead247]

Well, as far as I see it, not everyone has problems with it. Also, you can always send it back to Amazon for a refund if that happens. But they aren't the same though, at least if you can believe what Asus say that the best performing GPU's go into the TOP models...

No they are the same. People say the TOP models are cherry-picked 670's but they're not, underneath the heatsink they are identical. And why risk it for an OC which you could just put on the Non-TOP model? I know i wouldn't want to spend all that money and have to return it if it's faulty.

 

[nex-s]

No they are the same. People say the TOP models are cherry-picked 670's but they're not, underneath the heatsink they are identical. And why risk it for an OC which you could just put on the Non-TOP model? I know i wouldn't want to spend all that money and have to return it if it's faulty.

Well, Asus say they are cherry picked, not people. Obviously they are the same under the heatsink, visually... And because they're cherry picked, you can get higher clocks. Also, there's plenty of people having the same complaints about the non-top models... I may look into this just before I order everything else, which is in 5 days, but I can't see why Asus would just tell bald lies.