Went A Little Overboard on New Build, Please Help Reduce Cost (Asus P9X79 Pro)

[Thaurlach]

So I have never had a computer that anyone would even remotely qualify as "decent" in the gaming world. I decided to put together my own build with some money I have saved up, but quite honestly I feel like I went ridiculously overboard. Let me start by saying that I CAN afford this build, but I would really appreciate people's opinions on whether the components I have chosen are actually necessary and a worthy investment, or if money can be saved without a substantial loss to performance, or if simply I will look like a prude for having such outrageously priced components. As I said, I have never had a nice computer and I am certainly hoping this new computer will last me at least 5-7 years, but can't know for certain. I will primarily use it for gaming and recording gaming videos.

I started with choosing my motherboard, the Asus P9X79 Pro. I am dead set on this board and it, along with my CPU, are the only two components that I have already ordered.

I decided to go with the Intel i7 3930k Sandy Bridge because of the excellent rating CPUBenchmark.net gave it.

The graphics cards I have chosen are one of two things that I am REALLY uncertain of. Currently I am looking at getting 2x EVGA GeForce GTX 670 Superclocked GPU's Because the regular EVGA GTX 670 was awarded Newegg's Monthly Customer Choice Award 4 times, and with a difference of only $40 between these two I figured I can run them with SLI and be set for at least the foreseeable future unless the GPU R&D takes a steep uphill turn and releases super outlandish technology. I was under the impression that two GTX 670s would outperform one GTX 690 with SLI, but is this not the case, and if so, do I have to invest in a higher resolution monitor to see any difference?

Currently I am looking at the 32GB Corsair Dominator GT DDR3 for two reasons. Firstly, I read on Newegg that a lot of people were having some problems with RAM on this particular motherboard and assumed that it was just operator error, so I looked at this motherboard's QVL and saw that it was one of the few 32GB kits that was recommended at all, let alone Corsair (who I really like). If I can help it I would like at least 32 gigs of memory, but if a 16 gig alternative is out there (or 2 of them) for considerably less, I could be swayed. Secondly, RAM is by far the component that I know the least about and on a lot of websites they tend to suggest that Dominator GT is better than Vengeance, which to me seems like the cheaper alternative. Is the difference really worth the cost?

I was told by a friend of mine who I trust quite a bit, that it is best to run two SSDs- one for just your OS, and one for all of the games I'd be running. So currently I am leaning toward 2x Crucial M4 128GB Sata 3 SSD for the OS and games, and then a Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black HDD to store all of my recorded videos and anything else that doesn't really need to be run through an SSD. I have also been told that running an OS and games from a single SSD shouldn't really mean a decrease in performance assuming the SSD has enough room, so is there water to my friend's argument, should I go with one smaller SSD for the OS and a larger one for games, or just a single larger SSD?

After inputting all of these components into a "Power Supply Calculator" I found on the internet, the calculator suggested that the minimum power supply I get should be 650W. I have heard that the GTX 670s are extremely efficient on power, so currently I am looking at the OCZ ZX Series 850W Fully Modular Power Supply. Should I go a little bit higher? And should I go with the Corsair alternative instead? And is this actually going to be enough?

As far as cooling goes, I was looking into the Corsair H100 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler as the only option for my rig because of how highly it is spoken of. I am also considering the Corsair CMXAF1 Memory Fans just for some added cooling. Necessary or superfluous?

My operating system is going to be unquestionably Windows 7. Whether it is Professional or Home Edition is another question. Home Edition I realize would be a way to cut out a little bit of cost, but currently I am considering Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-bit OEM Version anyway considering how Windows 8 doesn't really appeal to me.

My case though is hands-down the biggest waste of money in this entire setup I will freely admit right away. However, it is one of the few things I am pretty set on. The Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow Edition.

I am also considering a few peripherals just for convenience more than anything else. My current mouse is in pretty poor shape at the moment and I have heard some solid things about mechanical keyboards, so I am looking into both the Corsair Vengeance K90 Black Keyboard and the Logitech G600 MMO Gaming Mouse. I also have an outdated monitor that I am currently using, so I am looking into a Samsung B300 Series 23.6" Monitor to accompany the smaller 21" ViewSonic I also have. I will still potentially keep the old monitor I have incase I want to run a 3-monitor setup but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

All in, excluding peripherals and the monitor this system would run me $3300 before rebates, shipping, and tax. Have I gone way too overboard, and if so, how can I cut some cost?

Thank you in advance.

[wazza300]

looks ok to me,but the things id change would be the ram

get 16gb of this Samsung Green MV-3V4G3D/US,it will work fine on that mb,as for two ssd's?? better to buy one 256gb ssd? id look at the samsung 830 aswell as the crucial m4

psu id consider the xfx 850w or corsair units,if your only using one monitor with around 1920x1080 resolution a single gtx 670 will be more than enough for any game imo,plus you can always throw in another 670 at a later date if needed

memory fans are a waste imo,they simply dont get hot

[Thaurlach]

looks ok to me,but the things id change would be the ram

get 16gb of this Samsung Green MV-3V4G3D/US,it will work fine on that mb,as for two ssd's?? better to buy one 256gb ssd? id look at the samsung 830 aswell as the crucial m4

psu id consider the xfx 850w or corsair units,if your only using one monitor with around 1920x1080 resolution a single gtx 670 will be more than enough for any game imo,plus you can always throw in another 670 at a later date if needed

memory fans are a waste imo,they simply dont get hot

Thank you for your input. I am planning to run 2 monitors whether I have one video card or 2, and it would be kind of nice to have HDMI for both, but that is definitely a place I would agree could save me some money. If I were to only run a single video card, would you suggest maybe going with a GTX 680 instead, or is the 670 better bang for my buck?

I am also still unsure of the RAM I want but will now admit that $500 for a kit is less intelligent. I'm looking into the 16GB Corsair Dominator DDR3 1866. What would be the advantages of going with the Samsung Green over these?

[wazza300]

id still stick with one gtx 670,it will handle two monitors just fine,it might come with or you can buy a dvi to hdmi adaptor,works just the same only you dont get sound through dvid,the picture is exactly the same

for the ram id choose the samsung its only around $20 for 8gb,and it overclocks to 2133mhz with 1.55v dram voltage just look at my sig,im running a set,its also very low profile so if you decided to use a large heatsink you wont have clearance issues ect

[Thaurlach]

id still stick with one gtx 670,it will handle two monitors just fine,it might come with or you can buy a dvi to hdmi adaptor,works just the same only you dont get sound through dvid,the picture is exactly the same

for the ram id choose the samsung its only around $20 for 8gb,and it overclocks to 2133mhz with 1.55v dram voltage just look at my sig,im running a set,its also very low profile so if you decided to use a large heatsink you wont have clearance issues ect

I have decided against the H100 liquid cooler and am instead just going to go with an aftermarket fan. I have no immediate interest in overclocking my CPU, so if I were to overclock my RAM would I be okay with a fan+heatsink or would you suggest something more robust? Considering the Samsung RAM you've linked doesn't have a heatsink even though it's clearly very power efficient, would that also be something to consider? And do you know of an American website that has a set of that RAM for sale?

You've sold me on the one video card with 2 monitors. Strictly speaking in regards to performance, would you still suggest the GTX 670 over the 680?

And finally, after omitting the second video card would it be reasonable to downgrade to a 750W power supply? Had the Seasonic X750 Gold in mind.

[wazza300]

they should be on newegg,just copy/past the model number from my sig

they dont get hot or even warm,and overclocking the ram has no bearing on your cpu temps or overclock,all you would need to do is raise the dram voltage from the samsungs rated 1.35v to 1.55v and the speed from 1600mhz to 2133mhz and thats it,it matches the expensive kits performance wise for budget money

heres the ram on newegg,

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...MV-3V4G3D%2fUS

its $46 now for 8gb but it used to be $20 not long back,maybe you can find cheaper? MV-3V4G3D/US thats what to paste into the search engine or else it wont pop up

heatsink/fan would be fine,maybe one of the top air coolers like the phanteks,noctua d14 or thermalright silver arrow?

you can get that ram from microcentre aswell,and i think its cheaper

[Thaurlach]

they should be on newegg,just copy/past the model number from my sig

they dont get hot or even warm,and overclocking the ram has no bearing on your cpu temps or overclock,all you would need to do is raise the dram voltage from the samsungs rated 1.35v to 1.55v and the speed from 1600mhz to 2133mhz and thats it,it matches the expensive kits performance wise for budget money

heres the ram on newegg,

Newegg.com - SAMSUNG 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model MV-3V4G3D/US

its $46 now for 8gb but it used to be $20 not long back,maybe you can find cheaper? MV-3V4G3D/US thats what to paste into the search engine or else it wont pop up

heatsink/fan would be fine,maybe one of the top air coolers like the phanteks,noctua d14 or thermalright silver arrow?

you can get that ram from microcentre aswell,and i think its cheaper

I have read on multiple accounts people have been frying this particular CPU for running ram at higher than 1.5V... Or am I misunderstanding that?

[wazza300]

I have read on multiple accounts people have been frying this particular CPU for running ram at higher than 1.5V... Or am I misunderstanding that?

no thats not true,max safe dram voltage is 1.5750v,even the 2133mhz-2400mhz+ kits are rated at 1.65v,1.55v dram voltage is perfectly fine for sandybridge cpu's

if your not planning on overclocking the cpu,then the stock intel cooler/heatsink would be fine,that would save you some more money


so
16gb of samsung memory
one single gtx 670
stock intel heatsink
seasonic gold 750w psu

what you think? you can still add in a second gtx 670 later if you need to,and upgrade the psu to an 850w just to be sure

ohh have you decided on an ssd yet? the samsung 256gb is better than the crucial

[Thaurlach]

no thats not true,max safe dram voltage is 1.5750v,even the 2133mhz-2400mhz+ kits are rated at 1.65v,1.55v dram voltage is perfectly fine for sandybridge cpu's

if your not planning on overclocking the cpu,then the stock intel cooler/heatsink would be fine,that would save you some more money


so
16gb of samsung memory
one single gtx 670
stock intel heatsink
seasonic gold 750w psu

what you think? you can still add in a second gtx 670 later if you need to,and upgrade the psu to an 850w just to be sure

ohh have you decided on an ssd yet? the samsung 256gb is better than the crucial

I really appreciate your help, I agree with nearly everything you've said and I can feel relieved that I didn't pay out the wazzu unnecessarily. I am indeed going to go with the Samsung 256GB SSD because of its higher read speed.

The i7 processors apparently don't come with a stock CPU cooler but $20 bucks seems to get me a decent one that's made specifically for the 2011 i7s so I can't complain there.

And I did ditch that case for the Corsair 600T White Edition, but I will probably resent myself for quite a while because I really liked the look of the ThermalTake Level 10.

[wazza300]

its up to you really,if you want the level 10 case or not