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TOH's New Build [Update: All Parts Ordered!] - TOH - 08-10-2012

Figured I'd share the details of my new build. Some pieces are ordered, some I'm still figuring out. Everything's all ordered now. Hoping to get this up and running by the end of the month! No defined budget, I'm just aiming to make something with quality and power.

Ordered:
CPU: Intel Core i7-3770k - $50 cheaper from Micro Center than Newegg, I'll be picking this up tomorrow. I know people say the i5 is more suitable for gaming, but I can't count out the chance that I might want this kind of power at some point in the next 4-5 years. Since I'm not on a tight budget, figured I'd go for the top of the consumer line.
Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD5H - $50 off when combined with the CPU on Micro Center, also picking up tomorrow. Very nice on the features, maybe not some of the fancy extras that ASUS Z77 boards have, but I don't see myself using Bluetooth to justify the extra cost.
SSD: SAMSUNG 830 Series 128GB - It was $90 earlier in the week, I've heard great things about the stability of this. Sticking with 128GB for now, if I need to expand, I'll get another. Prices are dropping, so no rush on that.
RAM: 2x SAMSUNG 2x4GB DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) - $40 a pair with the promo code (still active until the 15th if anyone else wants to dive in). Rave reviews on this one and how overclockable it is. Incredible price-to-performance considering what this is capable of.
Heatsink: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus - $20 after instant savings and rebate. Pretty popular choice. Research showed the EVO really didn't have much to add, so this got the nod.
CD/DVD: ASUS 24X DVD Burner - The popular choice on Newegg, very trustworthy. Went down a dollar hours after I ordered it. :|
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 7200rpm - Love me some hard drive space. I'm mostly just holding out for another price drop before I have everything else ordered. If it doesn't happen, I'll probably just cave. [Edit: Changed link, found it $10 cheaper on Amazon compared to Newegg. That's probably the best I'll see, so went for it and moved this to the ordered section.]
Case: Corsair Carbide 500R - Awesome cooling options, flexibility for hard drives, cable management, some fan control...very impressive stuff. I think the white chassis looks pretty nice, too. Review said it's not a fingerprint magnet, so that leaves me little qualms about going this way.
Video Card: EVGA GTX 670 FTW Edition - Was between this and the 660Ti. I felt it was best to go with this one, it's a 680 in disguise, I've heard. I felt it was better to pony up some more since some of the specs on the 660Ti risk some bottlenecking (192 cores vs. 256 on the 670, for example)
PSU: Corsair TX750 v2 - Based on research, this should handle potential for SLI 670s, especially considering how power efficient they are. Not quite a Gold standard, but for a good deal ($20 rebate and $10 off code) for a Bronze standard from a company I've had great PSU luck with, I think it was the move to make in the end.

Thoughts? Suggestions? I'll likely take some pictures and all once it's building time and share those too.

Re: TOH's New Build - HeK - 08-10-2012

The Samsung 830 is an interesting drive. They have fairly asymmetrical read and write speeds. They are one of the fastest reading drives, especially for the price.
However, the slightly more expensive Vertex 4 reads about the same, but can write nearly twice as fast under most conditions.

For memory, instead of two DIMMS, max it out at four; it will perform better.

For the case, you can stand by Antec's quality. Side fans are overrated, unless they are shrouded to the PCI cards. I like the Performance One line as they are much quieter, cool very well and look professional.

Re: TOH's New Build - TOH - 08-10-2012

(08-10-2012, 09:39 AM)HeK link Wrote: The Samsung 830 is an interesting drive. They have fairly asymmetrical read and write speeds. They are one of the fastest reading drives, especially for the price.
However, the slightly more expensive Vertex 4 reads about the same, but can write nearly twice as fast under most conditions.

For memory, instead of two DIMMS, max it out at four; it will perform better.

For the case, you can stand by Antec's quality. Side fans are overrated, unless they are shrouded to the PCI cards. I like the Performance One line as they are much quieter, cool very well and look professional.

Interesting note on the Vertex, I'll keep it in mind. Always a possibility I could double up and turn that into the primary.

I did max out at four sticks, I meant that I got 2 pairs, so it'll be 4x4GB total.

I'll take a look at the case, thanks for the suggestion.

Re: TOH's New Build - Didzo - 08-10-2012

I'm not an expert here, but I think that doing a 1.5TB x 2 option would be more reliable. I have an HAF 932 case that I'm happy with (they are massive though), but Antec is another great brand.

Re: TOH's New Build - HeK - 08-10-2012

(08-10-2012, 12:53 PM)Didzo link Wrote: I'm not an expert here, but I think that doing a 1.5TB x 2 option would be more reliable.

Except you have just doubled your chance of hardware failure.

Personally I run a large network attached storage with RAID 6, and keep a 500gb highspeed hard drive for OS and programs with my SSD mounted as my steam folder.

Re: TOH's New Build - Mission Difficult - 08-10-2012

I just did a build. Ended up with the Antec P280 and a Seasonic x650. Both of them are super quiet and it's plenty of power. I'm also running a 3770k with a slight overclock and a GTX670 and maxed out I draw under 400 watts.

Re: TOH's New Build - StolenToast - 08-10-2012

I have the HAF-X, and it is a serious beast.  Its the largest case I have ever seen -being an ATX Extended case and then some- and also the loudest by far (11 fans in mine and still room for more), but runs supah-kool. I have never had heat problems.

--
PSU:  All I can suggest is my PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk II 950W.  It is 80 PLus Silver efficiency (I hear its just a point or two away from gold), has significantly more power than advertised (some report up to 1100W), comes with a 7 (seven!) year warranty, and most impressive of all it has a 5 egg rating on newegg, which is a serious accolade for PSUs.

It comes in a 600W version too, but I would definitely recommend the 950 if you are getting a GTX 600 series.

--
I think the reason some say i5s are better for gaming is because games don't take advantage of the power of the i7, so its sort of a waste of money if all you do is game.

--
I like your build, except for the seagate hard drive. 

Re: TOH's New Build - TOH - 08-10-2012

(08-10-2012, 02:36 PM)StolenToast link Wrote: I have the HAF-X, and it is a serious beast.  Its the largest case I have ever seen -being an ATX Extended case and then some- and also the loudest by far (11 fans in mine and still room for more), but runs supah-kool. I have never had heat problems.

--
PSU:  All I can suggest is my PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk II 950W.  It is 80 PLus Silver efficiency (I hear its just a point or two away from gold), has significantly more power than advertised (some report up to 1100W), comes with a 7 (seven!) year warranty, and most impressive of all it has a 5 egg rating on newegg, which is a serious accolade for PSUs.

It comes in a 600W version too, but I would definitely recommend the 950 if you are getting a GTX 600 series.

--
I think the reason some say i5s are better for gaming is because games don't take advantage of the power of the i7, so its sort of a waste of money if all you do is game.

--
I like your build, except for the seagate hard drive. 

Thanks for the PSU suggestion, I'll keep that one in mind.

I know of the i5/i7 reason, but I can see myself using it for other things that would take advantage of it. And you never know what can pop up in the next 4-5 years that could really benefit from the i7 instead of the i5, so it's a bit of futureproofing too.

Seagate, yeah, I know why you wouldn't like that. My first custom build had a Seagate, that wound up failing in about a year. But it seems that today's drives are pretty on par with one another as far as reliability goes, and this price really isn't even touched by another 3TB drive. Reviews are decent enough, so I'll take a dive.

Re: TOH's New Build - matter11 - 08-10-2012

don't wanna spring for a blu-ray writer instead?

Re: TOH's New Build - TOH - 08-11-2012

(08-10-2012, 07:05 PM)matter11 link Wrote: don't wanna spring for a blu-ray writer instead?

Meh, I haven't even touched Blu-Ray (nor HD-DVD when that was around). I honestly never see myself needed one, so I didn't bother. Besides, if I need it down the line, the drives should be even cheaper later. I don't stand to benefit from getting one now.

Re: TOH's New Build - TOH - 08-11-2012

Just ordered a case, OP updated. Picked up my CPU and Mobo from Micro Center earlier today, too. First time visiting the store, wish I had more time to look around, but lots of stuff there.

So that just leaves me with the GPU and PSU. Almost there!

Re: TOH's New Build - StolenToast - 08-11-2012

(08-11-2012, 06:30 PM)TOH link Wrote: Just ordered a case, OP updated. Picked up my CPU and Mobo from Micro Center earlier today, too. First time visiting the store, wish I had more time to look around, but lots of stuff there.

So that just leaves me with the GPU and PSU. Almost there!
Microcenter is the greatest store on earth.  I have been there many a time, even though its like 30 minutes from my house.

Re: TOH's New Build [Update: All Parts Ordered!] - TOH - 08-15-2012

OP updated again. All parts have now been ordered. Some have already shipped. But for now, it's waiting time.

Re: TOH's New Build [Update: All Parts Ordered!] - Didzo - 08-15-2012

You forgot the most important part of any build... LED lighting. Nothing has more of an effect on performance than case lights.

Re: TOH's New Build [Update: All Parts Ordered!] - TOH - 08-15-2012

My case fans have lights. Your concerns are already addressed.

Re: TOH's New Build [Update: All Parts Ordered!] - at0m - 08-18-2012

FYI:
128GB Vertex 4 SSD on NewEgg for $110 shipped
256GB Vertex 4 SSD on NewEgg for $189 shipped (make sure you apply the coupon code in the listing to get maximum discount)

Just bought a 256, I made a mistake when I bought my 128GB Vertex 2 a while back because I can't fit my STEAM stuff onto it.