Ok - final decisions - really need some advice please

[jimbojames]

Hi All,

I am a new member here on this forum and over the last few days, I have been trying to decide what rig I want to go ahead with. There have been some really useful comments from people and there is obviously a new intel processor to throw in to the decision making process.

So - here are the fixed items I am going to get or already have:

• Asus GTX680 GPU (have 1 now on back order and want to get another in a few months).
  
• Corsair AX1200 PSU (have).
  
• Corsair H100 cooler (not yet got).
  
• Corsair Obsidian 650D case (not yet got).
  

But here are my variables that I cant decide on:

• CPU - thinking either an i7 3930k Intel SB, an i7 2700k SB or the i7 3770k Intel IB.
  
• Mobo - for the 3930k I was thinking the ASUS Rampage Extreme but for the 2700k or 3770k, I dont know/not sure what the alternatives are.
  
• RAM - I was originally thinking Corsair quad channel 1600 32GB (Dominator or Vengance) but, if I have understood correctly, then they would only work on the 3930k?
  

I am really in a pickle and any advice would be greatly received.

I'm not so worried about saving money but I also dont want to go over the top (hence why I'm not considering a 3960x). I would like to try and go for a system thats fairly future proof. I will be using it for day to day stuff, gaming (battlefield 3 style games and what ever the modern Command & Conquer equivilent is) and I am also a developer so running virtual machines and having grunt to compile is a bonus. I am interested in overclocking but squeezing every last ounce of power out the system and it falling over regular would be a pain in the back side. Finally, if I have understood this correctly then USB 3 and PCI-e3 isn't nativley supported by some older CPUs and I assume is off loaded to seperate chips on the mobo? - again, if this is a sign of an aging technology, I would like to keep as up to date as possible.

What does everyone think the Nvidia news will be? Is there a high chance of a 690GTX?

So people - whats your thoughts as I really just want to stop deciding and start ordering

Thanks in advance,

James

 

[thehidecheck]

690 is happening and its happening soon. So many sources pointing towards the announcement April 28, at Geforce lan in china. Makes practical sense too, they have to get this dual gpu out soon before their 685 or whatever they decide to call it comes out late this year(maybe next). While these two products wouldn't compete against each other, they would def compete for the same crowd.

Pretty much opinionless on the other stuff, 3930k is one hell of a deal though for what it can do.

 

[circit]

well your parts are fine, if you believe you are going the be doing some hard number crunching work then go for an X79 system with a 3930K. There are many overclocking guides, trust me you want to go with 4.5ghz being the highest with H100 ( just to stay safe) but just learn the fundamentals of it. Your ram as long as you stay with the "Top Dog?" brands it wont matter. It is dependent on which motherbaord you are using but quad channel will work,

Next i would like to say this will be a beast system, i would like to see this build in the rig gallery.

 

[jimbojames]

690 is happening and its happening soon. So many sources pointing towards the announcement April 28, at Geforce lan in china. Makes practical sense too, they have to get this dual gpu out soon before their 685 or whatever they decide to call it comes out late this year(maybe next). While these two products wouldn't compete against each other, they would def compete for the same crowd.

Pretty much opinionless on the other stuff, 3930k is one hell of a deal though for what it can do.

Do you know if the socket 2011 is being phased out or is it hanging around for future high end CPUs?

 

[jimbojames]

... trust me you want to go with 4.5ghz being the highest with H100 ( just to stay safe)

Is this because of a limitation of the H100 or just because a 3930k becomes unstable beyond this speed?

 

[circit]

Is this because of a limitation of the H100 or just because a 3930k becomes unstable beyond this speed?

No the chip is fine but im guessing its your first with overlocking, just baby steps

 

[thehidecheck]

Do you know if the socket 2011 is being phased out or is it hanging around for future high end CPUs?

Ya, its gonna be around a very long while by my estimates.

Using it in ivybridge-e so you got 2 years atleast before a new socket.

 

[jimbojames]

No the chip is fine but im guessing its your first with overlocking, just baby steps

Ha yes - new to overclocking. I've been in various IT roles for 10+ years but when it came to gaming, I always went down the console route but now I fancy some proper gaming

 

[jimbojames]

Ya, its gonna be around a very long while by my estimates.

Using it in ivybridge-e so you got 2 years atleast before a new socket.

Oh cool - thats worth knowing.

 

[simsimma4]

My opinion would be to go for the 2011 socket. Purely because of the work you gonna be doing on it and it'll be more future proof than 1155 socket.

 

[The Scientific Moustache]

I am in the same boat as you. I ended up going Corsair 650D H100 3930k Asus Rampage 4 extreme & a 680 (option for 2nd later). TBH a 1200w PSU is overkill. the AX850 is what i headed for, so could save you a few quid. my full build is here if you are interested. [linkie]

 

[Master&Puppet]

3930k for your work sounds right, regardless of futureproofing.

Not much point worrying about a second 680 unless you are triple screen gaming. And in that case you would really need 7950s or 7970s.

You will need quad channel ram but don't go out of the way to get super fast ram. The appreciabke difference is very small in the real world between 1600 and 2000+.

H100 is the best cooler unless you want to go custom watercooling.

USB 3 is managed by mobo controllers and you will be hard pressed to buy one without usb3.

Pcie3 is managed by the cpu. Sb-e and Ib have pcie3 controllers, sb has pcie2.

Hope that helps!

 

[jimbojames]

3930k for your work sounds right, regardless of futureproofing.

Not much point worrying about a second 680 unless you are triple screen gaming. And in that case you would really need 7950s or 7970s.

You will need quad channel ram but don't go out of the way to get super fast ram. The appreciabke difference is very small in the real world between 1600 and 2000+.

H100 is the best cooler unless you want to go custom watercooling.

USB 3 is managed by mobo controllers and you will be hard pressed to buy one without usb3.

Pcie3 is managed by the cpu. Sb-e and Ib have pcie3 controllers, sb has pcie2.

Hope that helps!

Bingo thank you! That was the type of info I was after. Just out of interest, what do you do for a living? I'm trying to work out how you know so much about all this.

 

[jimbojames]

I am in the same boat as you. I ended up going Corsair 650D H100 3930k Asus Rampage 4 extreme & a 680 (option for 2nd later). TBH a 1200w PSU is overkill. the AX850 is what i headed for, so could save you a few quid. my full build is here if you are interested. [linkie]

Ha yes very similar - do you game on it? If so - what type of games do you play?

 

[The Scientific Moustache]

I use alot of photoshop and 3dsmax, hence the hexcore. games wise, i will be playing starcraft 2, civ 5, simcity 4, the new simcity, maybe have a look at the mass effect trilogy. My old computer was not gaming orientated at all so i know little about the pc games market of today.

 

[Master&Puppet]

Bingo thank you! That was the type of info I was after. Just out of interest, what do you do for a living? I'm trying to work out how you know so much about all this.

No worries

My history in pcs is pretty scattered - my old man used to run a pc retailing company when I was a kid and I helped out there but more recently I've got my info from this forum and google. Hang around long enough and you'll know everything you need too! This is just an interest, my job has nothing to do with pcs.