My first build

[ShadowNoon]

My first build, some feedback is much appreciated!

Hey guys, so i've put together a budget of £1,000 - £1,600 for all the hardware and i'll post up the specs below. The purpose of the rig is to primarily do 2D and 3D design, gaming and then working on a game engine (I'm a 2D UI Artist in a game dev project, so i also have to go into the game engine side and implement things). This build will run a dual-screen (21.5") setup.

Intel Core i7 Quad Core Processor i7-3770K (3.5GHz) 8MB Cache
Asus Sabertooth Z77 Intel Z77 Socket 1155
Corsair Vengeance 16GB 1600MHz DDR3 4x4GB Kit
MSI GeForce GTX 670 2GB Overclocked
Corsair Force Series GT 120GB SATA III 6Gb/s SSD
Seagate Barracuda 3.5 inch 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB 6GB/S Internal SATA
Corsair CMPSU-850TXV2UK Enthusiast Series TX850 V2 850 Watt
Corsair H80 Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler

Also i was wondering, how worthwhile are fan controllers? At first i just thought of having an internal bay all-in-one card reader but i'm not quite sure.

I also have no experience with watercooling which is why i went with the H80, i also found this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Arctic-Ac...ther_Computing_Networking&hash=item53edfc5044

Any comments on the GPU cooler? The reason is partly because i have a small room with an above average temp and i do plan on overclocking the 670 to get it more on par with the 680 if possible. I'm also planning to overclock the CPU (nothing too serious) since UDK (Unreal Dev Kit) heavily relies on it.

I would love it for anyone to really poke holes in the setup and any case suggestions would also be very much appreciated. I've also not thought too much about fans because of how unsure i am of the case decision at this point.

P.S. I've gotten to a total over around £1,500 including all the hardware listed, the GPU cooler, plus the 2 screens and some other minor pieces.

 

[seumasbeathan]

No need for the gpu cooler, do you need a 3770k and 16gb of ram? Drop down to a 65-w psu - Corsair AX65-. Get either the KFA2, Gigabyte Windforce or Asus DCUII 670. Stick to Western Digital and either Crucial or Samsung for the ssd

 

[ShadowNoon]

No need for the gpu cooler, do you need a 3770k and 16gb of ram? Drop down to a 65-w psu - Corsair AX65-. Get either the KFA2, Gigabyte Windforce or Asus DCUII 670. Stick to Western Digital and either Crucial or Samsung for the ssd

Like i mentioned, when you're working in UDK, you're working with an unoptimized game build so it's very CPU intensive.
As for the 16GB of Ram, it made sense to have 16GB of ram purely to be future-proof. Afterall, it's under £100 (atleast, that's what i've found). Do you come across issues by having 16GB of Ram or is it really just that unnecessary?

So the stock air cooling will be enough for the overclock to bring the 670 on par with stock 680?

 

[MadMarc]

Like i mentioned, when you're working in UDK, you're working with an unoptimized game build so it's very CPU intensive.
As for the 16GB of Ram, it made sense to have 16GB of ram purely to be future-proof. Afterall, it's under £100 (atleast, that's what i've found). Do you come across issues by having 16GB of Ram or is it really just that unnecessary?

So the stock air cooling will be enough for the overclock to bring the 670 on par with stock 680?

You won't have any issues with 16 gb of ram, it's just not necessary if you don't know for sure that you need it.

The videocard's cooler is good enough for overclocking as long as you get a non-referenc cooler as seumas said

 

[ruairi.C]

I'd recommend the MSI Z77 mPower ovver the Asus sabretooth because of how good the msi z77 boards have been. And that asus one is just a marketing gimic that will be loud etc. also the msi one is cheaper as well as better

 

[seumasbeathan]

Oh I forgot the motherboard, I would suggest either MSI Z77A G45 or GD55 or GD65

 

[Josh Weston]

I'd combine Ruairi and Seumas' posts and recommend all the board they stated, with an emphasis on the mPower, but that's a personal bias, because I think it's freakin' awesome.
I have the G65 myself and it's a great board - got my 3770k up to 5GHz a few times, and now it's chilling at 4.5GHz which is the norm for Ivy.

I think the only issue with the mPower is that i'd HAVE to buy a Lightning Edition card to go with it, but that's just me being shallow.
If you go with the other MSI boards the Twin Frozr IV cards from MSI fit in nicely with the colour schemes. My 7850 looks like an extension to the mobo :lol:

Oh, and if you're going to go with an enclosed watercooling loop, go for a H100. Any less than that and they perform worse than a top end air cooler such as the Noctua NH-D14.
Bear it in mind, however, that if you do go for the Corsair line, you'll be wanting replacement fans.

 

[ShadowNoon]

The videocard's cooler is good enough for overclocking as long as you get a non-referenc cooler as seumas said

Thanks for the info on the coolers. I'll follow the advice and go with the DCUII (i think), but i'll have to see if my above average room temp starts to make any impact (It really is a very small room).

I'd recommend the MSI Z77 mPower ovver the Asus sabretooth because of how good the msi z77 boards have been. And that asus one is just a marketing gimic that will be loud etc. also the msi one is cheaper as well as better

Yeah, i tend to see alot of controversy around the Sabretooth, so it's pretty confusing to say the least. Right now, i'm having issues actually finding a decent source for the mPower so the GD65 does seem like a good option, especially considering it's cheaper.

 

[ShadowNoon]

If you go with the other MSI boards the Twin Frozr IV cards from MSI fit in nicely with the colour schemes. My 7850 looks like an extension to the mobo :lol:

Oh, and if you're going to go with an enclosed watercooling loop, go for a H100. Any less than that and they perform worse than a top end air cooler such as the Noctua NH-D14.
Bear it in mind, however, that if you do go for the Corsair line, you'll be wanting replacement fans.

Colour schemes wasn't actually something i put any thought into, but i guess i might aswel, considering my loose budget.
The tip on the enclosed watercooling loop? Much appreciated! Also, i don't know anything about fan quality, could you suggest a replacement fan that could possibly follow the colours?

 

[Josh Weston]

Corsair SP120 QE

 

[yassarikhan786]

You can get BeQuiet silent wings for replacement fans. They are all black and perform very well given how quiet they are. I have 2 and I love them

EDIT: Or the above

 

[ShadowNoon]

Thanks alot for the help everyone! I've updated the specs on there, could anyone suggest a case? I don't think (judging by the hardware i want to put in there) that i would really have to think about needing alot of space inside the case, am i right to think that?

EDIT: Turns out, i can't edit my original post for some reason.

 

[MadMarc]

Thanks alot for the help everyone! I've updated the specs on there, could anyone suggest a case? I don't think (judging by the hardware i want to put in there) that i would really have to think about needing alot of space inside the case, am i right to think that?

EDIT: Turns out, i can't edit my original post for some reason.

The case is something we can't tell which one to choose as everyone preferes a different case style, get something form Bitfenix, Corsair, CoolerMaster or Fractal Design, they all make great cases for a reasonable price

 

[ShadowNoon]

The case is something we can't tell which one to choose as everyone preferes a different case style, get something form Bitfenix, Corsair, CoolerMaster or Fractal Design, they all make great cases for a reasonable price

Thanks, i think i've settled for a Corsair 500R, based on the components i have.