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#3912808 - 02/16/14 08:32 PM New build questions  
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Tarnsman Offline
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I working out a new build and have some questions for the team.
I am porting over my old video card for now (EVGA GTX 460 1gb running a single 24" 1920x1200), so GPU is not part of the consideration now. But the system should be able to support a 770 or 780 series card in the near future and SLI beyond that.

The main thing is a solid base now and the ability to build it out to run 3 27" monitors in 3d in the future.

I am building within a budget of <$800,Im looking at:

Intel i5 4670k (I'd like to run it at about 4.0ghz)on air if possible.
Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD4H
Coolermaster 212 cooler
EVGA 600B PSU (more or less a place holder)
Win 7 64bit
WD 1tb black HD
Corsair 230T case (already have)

Id like to be able to add a SSD but I cant get that in usable size and have a decent HD for files etc. If I get a small SSD for my OS can I run games and programs off the conventional HDD or do programs and the OS have to be on the same drive?

Is Gigabyte a good board? I really dont know much about boards, I just need one one that is stable with a mild overclock, reliable and will run SLI and wont give me more grey hair than I already have.

What about the PSU? I have read some good reviews on the EVGA as a budget priced unit. But I was originally looking at Corsair, but they have so many different PSU lines I got tired of trying to differentiate them.

I can forgo PSU SLI capability at this stage if the PSU is cheap. But I do hate to buy things twice. Id like to get a SLI capable PSU that I dont have to trade in but it would need to be around 100 bucks and not of marginal quality. I doubt that is possible, thus the EVGA at $60.

Thanks for any and all suggestions.

Inline advert (2nd and 3rd post)

#3912918 - 02/17/14 12:21 AM Re: New build questions [Re: Tarnsman]  
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- Ice Offline
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I have an i5 750 running at stock 2.6GHz on a Gigabyte P55-US3L. With a Coolermaster Hyper 212 Evo, I could OC this to 4.1GHz on air cooling.... but have since gone back to stock clocks as I never really felt the need for more clock speed. I also have 2 SSDs, the first one I bought was a 256GB Crucial M4 and I put my OS (Win7 64bit) and some games. About a year later, I added another 250GB Samsung 840 SSD which I've committed to games. However, even with the first SSD, I put my Documents and other such folders on a HDD. Even on my current setup, I only put the games I play on SSD. Other games, such as ones I play only once in a while, or turn-based games that don't need much speed, stay on the HDD. I use a Steam tool to "transfer" games from the HDD to the SSD and vice-versa when needed. And remember, my board only supports up to 3GB/s transfer, newer boards should go up to 6GB/s and thus make better use of SSDs.

With regards to space on the SSDs for OS and programs, that really depends what programs you use and how big they are. I just use the bog-standard MS Office, Photoshop, blah blah blah and have 122GB still free on my OS drive.

Hope that gives you an idea!

With regards to your other items, I guess you'd only need to worry about a new PSU once you start getting your beefier cards. I have no idea about the GPU-power needs of a 3D monitor, but I am currently powering 4 monitors off a single HD 7970 3GB card and on a 850W Corsair PSU. DCS is running at 30+ fps with Aero turned on. I wouldn't skimp on the PSU selection though --- this baby powers everything on your system so it won't be a good idea to be cheap here. The good thing is that a quality PSU and quality case (I have a Corsair Carbide 500R which isn't top-of-the-line by a long shot!) should at least last the next 3-4 upgrades.

One thing though, you didn't specify what sort of RAM you were getting. If you would like to OC, make sure you get a quality brand with as tight a timing as possible, but there is no need to buy the exotic ones. You can identify these easily by the big jump in price compared to others of the same line. However, I would suggest going for a kit that is 1600MHz or better, that just gives you a bit more "overhead" to play with once you start OC-ing.

Hope that helps! Good luck with the build and post pics!


- Ice
#3912954 - 02/17/14 02:15 AM Re: New build questions [Re: Tarnsman]  
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Thanks Ice.

So all your games are not on the same SSD as your OS, correct?

I forgot to list the RAM, Im looking at 8gb Crucial Ballistics. I've had good luck with them in the past.

The PSU is really a concern for me. I've always used Dells in the past and found their PSUs to be very strong, so I am starting from scratch when it comes to selecting my own PSU. Reading reviews, I have not found a good picture of which brands and models to choose a reliable quiet PSU.

#3913058 - 02/17/14 12:20 PM Re: New build questions [Re: Tarnsman]  
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A reliable PSU would have a recognized brand name to start off. smile I never really read reviews for PSUs, but then again, I've only really had to buy two. I had one initially which blew a capacitor or something, so I bought a "spare one" as I sent the first for assessment and replacement. Now I use my 850W "spare" and gave the 700W one to my son when I built a PC for him. A quick research should give you all you need to know to make a proper PSU upgrade choice.

If I were to make a suggestion though, you might want to consider modular PSUs. I have all sorts of extra cables which were a pain to tidy up, so if I were to buy a PSU now, I'd look for a modular one.

My games and OS were on the same SSD initially, no problems with that. But it was pretty tight even on a 256GB SSD, so I got a second one. Current arrangement is OS on 1st SSD, games I am playing or those that need speed (DCS, BMS, CMBN [for faster loading times], a few Steam games) on 2nd SSD, documents/pics/movies/etc. on 1st HDD, the rest of Steam games and backups on 2nd HDD.


- Ice
#3913086 - 02/17/14 01:57 PM Re: New build questions [Re: Tarnsman]  
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It's not just the wattage, though. The important things are the amps provided on the various "rails" eg 12v and 5v.

In other words, the wattage has to be where it's needed. Generally speaking I worked backwards. I looked at the video cards I was interested in, read their specs as to what they needed, then I got a PSU that fulfilled those needs because things like the drives and mobo power are standard and not a real concern.




The Jedi Master


The anteater is wearing the bagel because he's a reindeer princess. -- my 4 yr old daughter
#3913179 - 02/17/14 04:48 PM Re: New build questions [Re: Tarnsman]  
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Hi, I would spend the money now and get the PSU that will do SLI and all.. Also get a decent name brand one not one of those knockoffs.. Antec are pretty decent..

Also if you want a SSD but don't like the Small sizes get a Hybrid drive like this:


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822178381&ignorebbr=1


Other then getting a beefier PSU and a Hybrid drive that system looks pretty solid.. Do you plan on playing XPlane??

I like Single Rail 12v and good Amps on the 12v rail for the video card.. since you might be driving a SLI Setup you are going to need some amps on that 12v line I would imagine.. Try and determine which cards you will be going with and find out the amps needed by both..

Wattage is important too.. I always like to use the Calculators and use 100% system load so when I stress test I have the required wattage in reserve.. This last system I bought a 1000w PSU..


Intel i7 10700K @ 4.8GHZ / ASRock Z590 Phantom Gaming 4AC Motherboard / Asus 1080GTX OC / SoundBlaster Z / Windows 10 64bit / Reverb G2 VR Gear. / Thrustmaster Cougar + MFD's / Buttkicker Simulation / Thrustmaster Cougar
#3913186 - 02/17/14 05:05 PM Re: New build questions [Re: Tarnsman]  
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Hybrid drives are gimicky,

Just get a 128GB Drive for O/S and a 1TB Drive for storage.

As for PSU's, A Quality name brand with at least 50 Amps will be fine for non-XFire setup,

70+ Amps on the 12v Rail for XFire (Top Tier GPUs) and so on.

Stay away from Split 12v Rails. it's way too easy to overload one and blow it out.


HAF922, Corsair RM850, ASRock Fata1ity 990FX Pro,
Modified Corsair H100, AMD FX8350 @ 5.31GHz, 16GB G.SKILL@DDR2133,
2x R7970 Lightnings, +1 HD7950 @ 1.1/6.0GHz, Creative XFi Fata1ity Platinum Champ.,
3x ASUS VS248HP + Hanns�G HZ201HPB + Acer AL2002 (5760x1080+1600x900+1680x1050), Oculus Rift CV
CH Fighterstick, Pro Throt., Pro Pedals, TM Warthog & MFDs, Fanatec CSR Wheel/Shifter, Elite Pedals
Intensity Pro 10-Bit, TrackIR 4 Pro, WD Black 1.5TB, WD Black 640GB, Samsung 850 500GB, My Book 4TB
#3941671 - 04/19/14 03:29 PM Re: New build questions [Re: Tarnsman]  
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Update--New Build is Done.


Based on your feedback I reconsidered the PSU and ultimately a few other things as well.

I decided to strengthen the bottom of the rig now and worry about the top end later. So I went for a 750 watt semi modular PSU and after breaking the budget on the PSU I went for broke and got the i7 4770k chip. I dropped the cooler and the SSD and got a mid level HD for now.

End result:
Intel i7 4770k w/ stock cooler
Corsair HX750 semi modular PSU
Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD4H board
GSkill 8GB DDR3 1600
WD Blue 1TB HDD
OEM DVD RW
Windows 7 Pro
Corsair 230T case
EVGA GTX460 (holdover)

So far its fantastic. runs quiet and unstressed at stock speeds. Its another world from my old Prescott based system. But I got to say the old 3.0ghz 640 P4 HT ran IL2 and rfactor like a champ for over 7 years. But all I could do in Rise of Flight was sightseeing.

Now I have Cliffs of Dover with Mods running great and I have never been more exited to fly in ages.
Thanks for the help!




Last edited by Tarnsman; 04/19/14 03:34 PM.
#3941805 - 04/19/14 10:04 PM Re: New build questions [Re: Tarnsman]  
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- Ice Offline
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Congrats on the new build!

The 4770K is a sweet CPU and the UD4H is capable from what I've read. However, the 4770K is a chip that you buy to overclock, otherwise it's like buying a Ferrari for your everyday commute! biggrin A lot of people use a good 3rd-party air cooler and push the 4770K to 4.4GHz or higher --- my plan is to go further and play with those AIO watercooler blocks since my case has a slot at the top specifically for this purpose. I've not upgraded yet as there seems to be a new mobo in the works so I'll see how that goes before deciding to pull the plug.

I did a quick search for your case and I'd just like you to be careful and make sure you have adequate air circulation. Download CPUID HWMonitor and turn it on and leave it on when you use your PC and play games. It'll note your min and max temps so that'll show you how hot your system runs --- no sense in burning a new chip!

Good luck!


- Ice
#3941808 - 04/19/14 10:15 PM Re: New build questions [Re: Tarnsman]  
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Tarnsman Offline
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Thanks,

The case looked better on the shelf than it did to actually work with. The 8-pin back plate cut slot is too small to actually use and the whole back panel area is pretty narrow for real world cable management. Thank goodness I have a modular PSU I hate to think what I would do for cable management otherwise.

I am going to add an additional case fan and a quality heat sink and fan a bit and overclock the chip to about 4ghz. I'm new to OCing so I'm taking it easy for now.

#3941917 - 04/20/14 04:57 AM Re: New build questions [Re: Tarnsman]  
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I've had a Lian Li case for the last 6 years. I love that thing. Beautiful engineering. Definitely get a case that you like. It's more important than you think.


loc: Northern California

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