First build, would love some feedback!

E

Elixius

New member
Hi guys! After many many years of owning an Acer Aspire tower (Q6600 Quad Core edition), and a few minor upgrades, I've decided it was time to invest some of my hard earned money into a brand new gaming rig, AND a rig I could use for future work (I'm a student that studies GIS which uses a fairly heavy program called ArcGIS). over the past two months I've saved up and ordered parts here and there.

• Location? - Ontario, Canada
• Budget? - $2000 CAD
• Monitor, keyboard etc? - No
• Shall you be requiring an OS? - Yes (Windows 7 64bit most likely)
• What will you be using this rig for? - Gaming, work station, studying, everyday use.
• If gaming, what resolution will you be playing at? - 1920 * 1080
• Will you be overclocking? - Yes
• Do you need a full build or will you be reusing some old parts? - Completely new, might reuse some old hard drives and Optical Drive in current computer.

I've done an immense amount of research before making my purchases, every single component has been highly praised on numerous fronts, but I'd like to hear some personal experience regarding any of these items.

Intel i7 4770k CPU
MSI Z87-GD65 Motherboard Gaming Edition
Corsair Vengeance Reds 16GB RAM 2x8GB
MSI GeForce 760 GTX OC'd 2GB GDDR5 (eventually planning to buy a second one to SLI)
Samsung H40 Series 120GB SSD
Corsair H100i CPU Cooler
Corsair HX850w Modular Power Supply
CoolerMaster Storm Stryker
AirSeries SP120 Quite Edition

I still have my hard drive to purchase but that will be the final piece of the puzzle.

Note: I am planning to OC my machine as well!
any advice/recommendations would be GREATLY appreciated

Thanks!
 
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Does the software perfer low ram latency or higher ram speed? Does the software support OpenCL; if so then AMD destroys Nvidia in that catergory.

Go for a bigger size ssd if your software will have everything on one drive. Some programs are anal where things are located. Go for a 180gb+ IMO.

Drop the Psu to a 650watt for overclock headroom or a 550watt(high end psu) if doing little overclocks.

Drop the case to a mid tower as it's more compact and can fit in more places at Uni. Go for a Fractal Design case R4 for silence or the Arc Midi R2 for more performance. Depending on case fans may not be needed.

Did a little research on software performances for some cards. Here's the Link
 
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Go for a bigger size ssd if your software will have everything on one drive. Some programs are anal where things are located. Go for a 180gb+ IMO.
Click to expand...

I'm always in a position to buy extra SSD's if i'm in need of one. The 120GB one I have my hands on will serve for me to boot windows on, and maybe add a few programs on it if there is room.

Drop the Psu to a 650watt for overclock headroom or a 550watt(high end psu) if doing little overclocks.
Click to expand...

Any reason why I should drop down to less wattage? I'm planning to SLI the 760 pair in the future and overclocking is for sure in the plans.

Does the software perfer low ram latency or higher ram speed? Does the software support OpenCL; if so then AMD destroys Nvidia in that catergory. + Did a little research on software performances for some cards. Here's the Link
Click to expand...

The program works very similarly to AutoCad. It uses georeferenced digital images to process different results based on what the application is - for example I want to know the shortest distance between A and B when I enter specific parameters. Honestly I think its very CPU heavy rather than graphically heavy.

I also want to note that since this is my first build I'd like to spend the extra money for the full tower case and etc. I feel like it's a great future investment.
 
If 2 Titans pull less than 700watts then 2 760s would pull less than 600. You'll be fine on wattage and won't need to worry unless your aiming for world recod overclocks.

Here are benchmarks to help your choice on the gpu. Link Cad is the 2nd and 3rd page.

Get the best possible for your rig if you want it to last. Full tower will only be worth it for watercooling. Which from a quick glance i did not see you planning on doing.
 
A mid tower will do you fine in that case as the h100i is nonexpandable. A few other forum members have had issues with the H100i with the pump making noises. Just to keep into mind...

You can get the h100i at amazon for cheaper and free shipping. Check it out instead of tiger direct.
 
Awesome! Thanks for all the feedback and advice guys! I'll be returning the 850W unit for something smaller but higher end. The replacement SP120 fans I'm getting are going to be the quiet version - I've heard some negativity behind the noise of the H100i's as well.

It's not really a problem for me as I use headsets most of the time but I can see it being an annoyance in the future.

As for the case, I think I'm going to stick with the Stryker as I think it looks really nice, perhaps I can do some future modding to it as there is a lot of potential!

On a side not today, I received my MSI GTX 760 - Can't wait to have my computer built!
 
Sp120QE at 12v aren't exactly the quietest fans around(i own 2). Granite they aren't so loud, game volume or headset volume will drown out their noise. At 7v they are inaudible though which is reassuring. Since you have headphones then at 12v it will not be a problem.
 
So just a little update. I received my Cooler Master Stryker today and I must say I'm very disappointed in either UPS or TigerDirect.

The box came to me with an indent on the top which looked like it was taped up - ignored it and opened to box anyways.

All looked good until I pulled the case out and I noticed that the Logo/Name cover at the bottom which protects the little storage container was missing.
I searched up and down the house in any location which I thought I could have dropped it when I pulled it out - nothing.

I thought this was odd so I ignored for a time and began inspecting the rest of the case, as I sat the case on a smooth surface the entire case was unbalanced and rocked on one corner, I also noticed that the box in which the hard drive bays were in were in the wrong area as they should have been tied to top of the actual hard drive cages with a plastic tie wrap (I watched an unboxing video right before I opened it).

All in all I'm very disappointed in the service of either company so I'm going to call TigerDirect and request to exchange it or return it to their store and just go with another case. I mean a small imbalance (could be adjusted) and missing aesthetics (might be able to get a replacement from Cooler Master but unlikely) isn't very a big deal to some people but if the package came to me like that, It makes me wonder what else is wrong with it?

It's a shame because I really like the Stryker case, it looks absolutely beautiful, but this experience has really put me off.

EDIT: I have a theory that someone had dropped the box (the indent on the side of the cardboard and the retaping of it) and had opened it to see if there was any damage to any of the components inside and may have dropped the part I'm missing.
 
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My Trooper has the same problem mate with the base not being flat almost like you said unbalanced, it rocks from corner to corner on the diagonal. From another forum it is a known issue, once the parts are in with the added weight it does level off.
 
@NeverBackDown, I see alot of people on the forums support Fractal Design cases, can anyone explain to me the pros of these cases as apposed to the other highly known cases? They look very simple and seem nicely built, but specifics would be great!
 
Elixius said:
@NeverBackDown, I see alot of people on the forums support Fractal Design cases, can anyone explain to me the pros of these cases as apposed to the other highly known cases? They look very simple and seem nicely built, but specifics would be great!
Click to expand...

I am one of those people:)

I'm sitting 1ft away from one now actually lol, the Fractal Design Define R4(to be exact or R4 for short).

Fractal have 2 main non budget cases. The Define series and the Arc series. The Define series is for more silence than anything else. It has sound dampening foam on the front door,both side panels, and lastly in the roof where their foam is quite thick and have a plate that will stop any noise from getting out(and also to mount the foam). It can fit an h100i despite contrary belief(be very snug) and custom liquid cooling is possible but will NOT be for beginners unless you want a challenge. The Define XL R2 is the full tower version(no window:() and can be better suited for watercooling and can fit bigger motherboards. Other than that same features(same goes for the Define mini, just not released yet).

The current new Arc is the Arc Midi R2. It's more geared for performance and a sexier look while still staying understated and sleek. It has better support for watercooling while still maintaining almost the exact same internal design as the R4. No sound dampening foam is really the key difference. They are in the process of manufacturing a Arc XL(first arc to be Full Tower!!) and a newer Arc Mini.

Here is a quick look at the new unrelesed cases they are working on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw2f4_mP87o&feature=c4-overview-vl&list=PLUdHsjEI24JCFeamRISd-urAx2N9ms-w1

Edit: Forgot to mention a few things...

The build quality on all of their cases is very excellent. Most of their products are all steel so they are built to last. Their support team is better than most companies and not a pain to deal with and they will help you out to make sure you are satisfied(i've contacted support before). Overall for the money you pay you get an excellent product. Always my first brand to recommend:)
 
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+1 for fractal I was luckily enough to win one a couple of months back the R2 Xl, a great case. I've owned a few cases but the Fractal is far better than any other, the build quality is awesome, nice and simple and loads of room.
 
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