Beto's 2013 new Performance PC build

[Beto Garcia]

Greetings folks,


I’ve been searching the hardware market for some time now for all the necessary Components & Accessories for my 2013 new Performance PC build. I have specific purposes and many ideas for this Performance PC. It’s been a long road, but finally here it is!

Of course, first the mandatory Q&A section:

1. What will YOUR PC be used for; meaning what types of tasks you'll be performing?
A: It would mainly perform 2 tasks:
· Workstation: Programming, Visual & Network design, Encoding, Video editing, File server, etc.;
· High end Gaming: FPS (BF3), RTS (SCII), Driving & Flight Simulators (NFS:MW / Lock On Platinum), RPG (Deus Ex: HR), etc.

Talking more in detail, High Quality & Performance and Compatibility without compromise is the name of the game here:
· Load times and Copy/write times must be kept to a minimum;
· Multitasking is a must, say 5 to 7 tasks: Compiling a program, Encoding a Video, Copying files, Gaming, Burning a DVD or Blu-Ray, etc.;
· Visually stunning.

2. How much is YOUR budget? A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread.
A: Total available budget:
· $3,800.00 (USD), Hardware;
· Up to $250.00 (USD), Shipping fees.

I’ve chosen a Standard warranty for all components.

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from?
A:I’ll be purchasing most components from:
· United States of America @ Amazon.com;
· Honduras: the UPS and the DVD+/-RW drive will be purchased @ a local PC Hardware store (ACOSA http://www.acosaonline.com/estore/default.wws?category=09[FONT=&quot]).

NOTE: Perhaps you may ask, Why only Amazon.com? Answer: No other hardware site would accept my Credit card, I’ve been purchasing there since Q1 2008 and I have free shipping with Amazon PRIME.

4. Do YOU have a brand preference?
A: Yes, I do favor some brands due to my experience using their products. To mention a few:
· Intel (CPUs & Motherboards);
· Corsair (DDR Memory);
· Zalman (CPU coolers);
· EVGA (GPU);
· Western Digital (HDD);
· Thermaltake (PSU);
· NZXT (PC Chassis);
· Cooler Master (Chassis Fans);
· Creative Labs (Headsets);
· Logitech (Mice).

Nevertheless, I’m willing to try new brands if a particular product proves its worth.

5. Do YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, which are those parts?
A: No. It’s a new build, so all parts will be brand new; except my Saitek keyboard and my copy of Win7 x64 Ultimate (system builder).

6. Do YOU have searched and/or read similar threads?
A: If by this you’re asking if I have taken my time to do my homework, then YES. I’ve researched every single component, starting with the CPU which determined the Motherboard and everything else, to finally the Logistics. I went through dozens of online Site reviews / Video reviews, hundreds of Customer reviews @ Newegg, TigerDirect & Amazon, and many Forum posts. I even called the manufacturers.

I mean it’s my hard earned money I’ll be spending. I must first know everything I can about a product: Performance, compatibility, quality & the People’s (customers) approval, and then compare it to similar products to make an informed decision. Purchasing a product without first doing a proper research would be like walking blindfold; I don’t recommend it (unless you’re Riddick or have a bottomless budget).

7. Do YOU plan on overclocking or runnning the system at default speeds?
A: The System will remain on Default speeds on the first 3 months for system monitoring purposes, and then I would gradually Overclock it up to the highest point where thermals, acoustics and general System stability are not compromised. According to my research, a 25% to 40% Overclock it’s within the possibilities.

My overclocking experience level it’s just theoretical from my research, since I’ve only slightly overclocked a GPU once many years ago. This new overclocking experience should prove very interesting and beneficial to my general PC Hardware knowledge.

8. WHEN do you plan to build it?
A:If all components are available for immediate purchase and Logistics are on time, I’ve scheduled for it to be assembled on Saturday, April the 27th or May the 4th, 2013. I’ve asked a friend for assistance.

I’ve already purchased some components like the GPU, PSU, Monitor & Wireless Router. The rest of the components could be bought next week (1st week of April) since it would take them approximately 3 weeks to arrive.

9. What resolution and settings do you use?
A: I’m used to play all games with all video settings @ max including AA.

10. Are there any specific technologies you want?
A: I’ll just mention a few:
· Hyper threading, RAM disk, SSD & Hybrid (SATA III), USB 3.0, PCIe 3.0, SLI, PhysX, 3D Vision, Dolby 7.1 Surround sound, WiFi, Hardware level monitoring & control, Silent Performance air cooling, etc.

I’m not really interested in:
· All-in-one memory Card readers, water cooling, eyfinity, audio card, etc.

Talking about other details:

I. Do you need to purchase any software to go with the system, such as Windows or Blu Ray playback software?
A: No.

II. What are YOUR priorities for your build?
A: In order:
a) Quality;
b) Compatibility;
c) High Performance;
d) Ease of Maintenance;
e) Upgradeability.

III. What’s your Noise & Power consumption expectancy?
A: It’s important for this PC to be as silent as possible and power consumption should be kept within reasonable parameters.

IV. Is this your 1st build ever?
A: No, this is my 2nd time researching the hardware market for a performance build; my 1st build was in Q1, 2008 (the PC I’m currently using).

Now on to the fun part, here’s the list of the Components I’ve researched and chosen for my 2013 new Performance PC build, with Part # & Price (@ Amazon.com, [/FONT]03/26/2013):

1. Intel® Core™ i7-3930K [BX80619I73930K] | $565.70;
2. ASUS Sabertooth X79 | $339.00;
3. G.SKILL Ripjaws Z Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) [F3-17000CL9Q-16GBZH] | $148.99;
4. Noctua NH-D14 [SE2011] | $79.24;
5. Intel® SSD 520 240GB [SSDSC2CW240A3K5] | $254.98;
6. Seagate Momentus XT 750GB Hybrid Drive [STBD750100] | $139.95;
7. EVGA GeForce GTX 670 FTW Edition [02G-P4-2678-KR] | $431.99;
8. CORSAIR Professional Series™ AX1200i 1200 Watt [CP-9020008-NA] | $279.99;
9. NZXT Phantom 820 Gunmetal [CA-PH820-G1] | $247.99;
10. Acer HN274Hbmiiid 27" 3D [HN274H BMIIID] | $444.99;
11. Headset:
· Logitech G930 Wireless 7.1 Surround [981-000257] | $99.99;
or
· Creative Sound Blaster Recon 3D and Omega Wireless (Bundle) [GH0200] | $219.02;
12. Logitech G700 Wireless Laser [910-001436] | $70.94;
13. APC SMC1500 Smart-UPS [SMC1500] | @ Local hardware store: $445.00 (free shipping);
14. ASUS RT-N66U Dark Knight Dual-Band Wireless-N900 [RT-N66U] | $169.99;
15. Linksys Dual-Band Wireless-N USB Adapter [AE3000] | $47.91;
16. Lite-On Super AllWrite 24X SATA DVD+/-RW Drive [IHAS124-04] | $17.99.

Accessories and misc hardware list:

a) Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound with ArctiClean [ARTICOMBO] | $12.89;
b) 12" SATA 6GBPS Extension Cable [GC12ARMF] | $5.10;
c) EVGA GTX 680 FTW Backplate [M021-00-00009] | $19.99;
d) NZXT Premium Cables Starter Kit [AC-CBSTR-O1] | $22.29;
e) ULTRA Silicone Anti-vibration PSU gasket [ULT40450] | $4.50;
f) Silverstone Tek Four-in-One SATA Power Connectors [CP06] (Cable management) | $10.99;
g) Noctua 140mm Premium Fan [NF-A14 FLX] (used as Pivot fan) | $19.99;
h) Cooler Master MegaFlow 200mm Fan [R4-MFJR-07FK-R1] (used as top Exhaust fan) | $18.35;
i) Velcro Reusable Self-Gripping Ties, 50 pack [90924] (Cable management) | $3.78;
j) C2G Releasable/Reusable Cable Ties [43221] (Cable management) | $5.99;
k) KingWin Anti-Static Wrist Strap [ATS-W24] | $4.76;
l) OP/TECH USA Large Work Mat [3611242] | $11.51;
m) Corsair Vengeance MM600 Dual-Sided Gaming Mouse Mat [CH-9000017-WW] | $39.99;
n) Sennheiser HH 10 Headphone Holder [510615] | $25.01;
o) Kingston Digital DataTraveler SE9 16GB USB 2.0 [DTSE9H/16GBZ] | $9.99;
p) Philips LCD, LED and Plasma Screen Cleaner [SVC1116F/27] | $8.99;
q) C2G Cat6 Patch Cable 2mt. [27152] | $4.55.
r) Antec USB-Powered Notebook Wireless Router Cooler | $29.99.

Your expert advice, suggestions and comments regarding my project will be appreciated. Thanks in advance.


Best regards,

 

[Sleepingforest]

Okay, you are spending an awful lot of money in the wrong places. You won't ever need a PSU that big unless you wanted to get 4 graphics cards; your programs probably don't scale well past 8 threads, so your CPU and motherboard are a big waste, the hybrid drive isn't fast enough for most cases of data to merit the smaller size and increased expense, the case cooling is already at an excellent point without needing extra fans (and if you wanted silence, you would get a Fractal R4 or Nanoxia Deep Silence 1, or at least the Phantom 630, which performed better in both cooling and noise level), your SSD is exceptionally expensive without offering any noticeable performance over a much less expensive one, your graphics card is exceptionally expensive for that variety, and your headphone choice/sound card choice isn't great either.

This build will absolutely be better in nearly every metric than your build while costing less:
CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor
Motherboard: Biostar TZ77XE3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card
Case: NZXT Phantom 630 (Matte Black) ATX Full Tower Case
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS72 DVD/CD Writer
Monitor: Dell U2713HM 60Hz 27.0" Monitor
Total: $2441.85

Add in $290 AKG Q701s for their excellent positioning in first person gaming and a $80 Fiio E10 USB DAC/amp combo to power it.

 

[Sheninat0r]

Add in $290 AKG Q701s for their excellent positioning in first person gaming and a $80 Fiio E10 USB DAC/amp combo to power it.

I would strongly recommend against the Q701. Their sound signature is very different than the headphones most people have used, and a lot of people don't like it at all. The bass is incredibly accurate but has zero presence or impact (aka no rumbling or impact AT ALL for explosions, gunshots, even drums), and the odd treble spikes can sound grating or fatiguing to listeners not accustomed to neutral sound. My advice is always to try before you buy, especially when you're spending nearly $300. Keep in mind as well that the Q701s are notoriously hard to drive well; the E10 isn't quite adequate.

My impressions above are all from my personal use. I have a pair of Q701s driven by a Schiit Bifrost and Valhalla, and my housemate has a FiiO E10 which I've used to listen with extensively. There's a noticeable difference between the two setups, for both gaming and music.

A much cheaper and more likely to satisfy alternative is the Audio Technica ATH-AD700 and the same FiiO amp/DAC. The AD700 has very good positioning as well, a generally more agreeable sound signature, and can be powered easily using the E10.

 

[Beto Garcia]

[FONT=&quot]Hello there! Regarding Audio, as you might have noticed from my 2 options, I’m looking for a Dolby 7.1 Surround sound Wireless headset. Yes, I said Wireless; I’m tired of tangled cables. I searched the market and there aren’t many options out there and no possibilities to try them out simply 'cause none of them are available locally.
[/FONT]

 

[Sleepingforest]

In that case, go with something like the Logitech UE6000/UE9000. 7.1 speakers isn't as good as simulated surround--why mimic the 7.1 speakers of a theater when you could mimic the audio output of reality?

 

[mfenn]

This build will absolutely be better in nearly every metric than your build while costing less:

I agree with you in spirit, but this is not technically true. The 3930K that the OP listed will be faster than the 3770K for video encoding. The Sabertooth motherboard he picked out is beyond ridiculous of course. An ASRock X79 Extreme6 will do what he needs for 2/3rds the price.

 

[Beto Garcia]

Interesting picks on Audio, Motherboard and Storage.

Yes, that little fella (6 physical / 12 thread) CPU should prove useful with video encoding and other tasks.

While researching for the Motherboard, the ASRock X79 Exreme6 was one of my options and its specs were OK, but sadly it wasn’t available for purchase @ Amazon at that time. So, it’s nice to see it’s available again. Thanks!

The Logitech UE 6000’s specs are OK and the price is within budget: http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-982-0.../dp/B0094S36RI

I like the Logitech UE 9000’s wireless range and its included rechargeable battery pack. However, I almost fell off my chair when I saw its price! http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-UE-90.../dp/B0094S37GS

Regarding Storage, my little brother’s Laptop is slow, so I want to help him with this SSD Hybrid upgrade, but while drafting this thread I forgot to list the disk for my PC:

• Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB [WD2002FAEX] | $163.17.

It should be fine for storage. Nevertheless, Sleepingforest’s suggestion:

Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
​

is better, both in price and storage capacity. Thanks! :thumbsup:

I didn’t have it under my radar and storage isn’t something people think about much, but I need to know about this Seagate’s drive performance and your thoughts.

 

[mfenn]

All 7200RPM 1TB-platter drives have similar sequential performance. They're limited by the laws of physics (i.e. how fast can the linear track pass under the head at a given density and angular velocity). The random I/O performance is similar as well between the WD and the Seagate, but that's less relevant since you should not be using the HDD for any random-access workloads.

As for the hybrid drive, I don't see any utility in having a middle tier of storage between the SSD and 7200RPM HDD in this machine. A hybrid drive does not have enough NAND cache to make it suitable for SSD workloads. Furthermore, anything sequential doesn't benefit from the cache much at all, so you might as well just put it on a 7200RPM drive. You'll get more performance/capacity/redundancy (pick 2) by just adding an additional 7200RPM drive.

 

[Sleepingforest]

mfenn: I hate to hijack a thread, but which types of RAID do what (in terms of performance/capacity/redundancy)?

 

[mfenn]

I don't think it's really a hijack, a video editing thread deserves a good discussion of RAID levels.

RAID0 - Data is striped equally across all drives. This doesn't satisfy the R in RAID (redundancy), but it does give you the full capacity of each drive (N) (assuming equally sized drives) and a linear performance boost.

RAID1 - Data is mirror across all drives. This gives you redundancy and a slight performance boost on reads, but you only get the capacity of a single drive in the array (1).

RAID5 - Data plus parity is striped equally across all drives. The parity information is distributed across all drives, but ends up taking one full drive's worth of capacity. So you get N-1 capacity but can lose any single drive. Improved read and write performance over a single drive, but not as good as RAID0.

RAID6 - Data plus double parity is striped equally across all drives. This is the same idea as RAID5, but with twice the parity information, so you get N-2 capacity. This is almost always slower than RAID5 because you have to calculate twice as much parity. It's still faster than a single drive though. Note that RAID6 is usually only available on higher-end hardware RAID controllers.

RAID10 - Data is striped over mirrors. This is a combination of RAID1 and RAID0. Given an even number of drives, divide them into mirrored pairs and stripe data across those mirrors. You get the performance of RAID0 and the redundancy of RAID1, but only get N/2 capacity.

There are other RAID levels, but these 5 are the most common.

 

[Beto Garcia]

Ok, since both HDDs have similar performance, I’ll purchase the Seagate Barracuda 3TB since it is better, both in price and storage capacity. I won’t be using it for anything fancy, just general storage. Thanks for the advice. :thumbsup:

It makes sense and I agree about not needing a Hybrid drive. Like I said, the SSD Hybrid is to help my little brother solve his slow laptop issue. As for my build, I’m staying with the SSD (OS) + HDD (General storage) combo.

RAID? That’s very interesting. I might do my research on that topic and try it down the road.

I was recapping and I haven’t done my homework regarding Keyboards. I know, another PC part people don’t think about much. I’m thinking about the Mechanical Keyboard flavor. Any thoughts?

 

[Sleepingforest]

Mechanical keyboards are something near and dear to my heart. In my opinion, they are 100% worth what you pay: I can absolutely wear down a conventional keyboard in a matter of months because I type a great deal, but my latest mechanical keyboard is still going strong, and shows no sign of the typical "stickiness" or "syrupiness" that a rubber dome would have at this point. I'll direct you to a general thread with a great deal of information on the subject over at Overclock.net. It is both a buyer's guide and a general information guide.

If you don't feel like reading 5000+ words on keyboards, I can give a quick summary, but I suspect you'll enjoy the read and learning more.

 

[Beto Garcia]

That sure is some very interesting information. The Logitech G seems a nice Mechanical keyboard. Which Mechanical keyboard would you recommend?

Time is running out and I need to order soon the PC Components and Parts in order to fulfill the planned schedule. Any other thoughts regarding my Performance PC build?

 

[Sleepingforest]

I'm personally a fan of the Corsair K90/K70, which offer backlightinf, macro keys, and mechanical gaming keys in an attractive, sleek package.

 

[mfenn]

That sure is some very interesting information. The Logitech G seems a nice Mechanical keyboard. Which Mechanical keyboard would you recommend?

I like the Das Keyboard Pro Model S (Cherry MX Brown), though it is kind of expensive. The Rosewill RK-9000BR is similar.

Time is running out and I need to order soon the PC Components and Parts in order to fulfill the planned schedule. Any other thoughts regarding my Performance PC build?

What is your current build plan? It is sometimes hard to tell which advice has beat taken to heart and which needs to be beaten in some more.

 

[Beto Garcia]

Both Keyboards have the characteristics I’m looking for: Mechanical with back-light and functional. But the K70 isn’t yet available @ Amazon.com; the K60 is available instead. I’ll continue my Mechanical keyboard research later but would probably choose the Corsair Vengeance K60, unless I find something really negative about it. Thank you for your recommendations. :thumbsup:

Anyway, regarding your question:

8. WHEN do you plan to build it?
A: If all components are available for immediate purchase and Logistics are on time, I’ve scheduled for it to be assembled on Saturday, April the 27th or May the 4th, 2013. I’ve asked a friend for assistance.

I’ve already purchased some components like the GPU, PSU, Monitor & Wireless Router. The rest of the components could be bought next week (1st week of April) since it would take them approximately 3 weeks to arrive.

[FONT=&quot]Your expert advices / suggestions regarding this or any other related matter are welcome.

[/FONT]

 

[Sleepingforest]

Beto: mfenn is referring to the actual parts you are planning on using. It's difficult to give you feedback without an updated parts status.

 

[mfenn]

Beto: mfenn is referring to the actual parts you are planning on using. It's difficult to give you feedback without an updated parts status.

Yep!

 

[Beto Garcia]

Sure! Here’s the updated list:

1. Intel® Core™ i7-3930K [BX80619I73930K];
2. ASUS Sabertooth X79 (I do live in a hot & moist place, so I think it’s worth it.);
3. G.SKILL Ripjaws Z Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) [F3-17000CL9Q-16GBZH] (16GB more later on);
4. Noctua NH-D14 [SE2011];
5. Intel® SSD 520 240GB [SSDSC2CW240A3K5];
6. Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive [ST3000DM001];
7. NZXT Phantom 820 Gunmetal [CA-PH820-G1];
8. Headset: I haven’t decided yet. I’ll probably decide and purchase it later on;
9. Logitech G700 Wireless Laser [910-001436] (I need those extra “G” keys and software.);
10. Corsair Vengeance K60 Keyboard [CH-9000004-NA] (Most probably.);
11. APC SMC1500 Smart-UPS [SMC1500];
12. Lite-On Super AllWrite 24X SATA DVD+/-RW Drive [IHAS124-04];

Accessories and misc hardware list:

a) Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound with ArctiClean [ARTICOMBO];
b) EVGA GTX 680 FTW Backplate [M021-00-00009];
c) ULTRA Silicone Anti-vibration PSU gasket [ULT40450];
d) Velcro Reusable Self-Gripping Ties, 50 pack [90924] (Cable management);
e) C2G Releasable/Reusable Cable Ties [43221] (Cable management);
f) KingWin Anti-Static Wrist Strap [ATS-W24];
g) OP/TECH USA Large Work Mat [3611242];
h) Corsair Vengeance MM600 Dual-Sided Gaming Mouse Mat [CH-9000017-WW];
i) Kingston Digital DataTraveler SE9 16GB USB 2.0 [DTSE9H/16GBZ];
j) Philips LCD, LED and Plasma Screen Cleaner [SVC1116F/27].

 

[mfenn]

Sure! Here’s the updated list:

Thanks, here's my comments.

1. Intel® Core™ i7-3930K [BX80619I73930K];

OK if you encode for a living, waste of money otherwise.

2. ASUS Sabertooth X79 (I do live in a hot & moist place, so I think it’s worth it.);

Waste of money and potentially troublesome. Trapping condensation under "thermal armor" does not sound like a good idea to me. For long-term reliability, check out the Intel BOXDX79TO.

3. G.SKILL Ripjaws Z Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) [F3-17000CL9Q-16GBZH] (16GB more later on);

Way too expensive. You can get 32GB for about $40 more.

4. Noctua NH-D14 [SE2011];

Good, if a bit big. Only really matters if you plan to heavily overclock.

5. Intel® SSD 520 240GB [SSDSC2CW240A3K5];

Too expensive for what it is (Sandforce drive). The Samsung 840 Pro 256GB is faster in real-world workloads and costs less.

6. Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive [ST3000DM001];

Good

7. NZXT Phantom 820 Gunmetal [CA-PH820-G1];

A decent case, but not really worth $250 in my opinion. Check out the Fractal Design Define XL.

8. Headset: I haven’t decided yet. I’ll probably decide and purchase it later on;
9. Logitech G700 Wireless Laser [910-001436] (I need those extra “G” keys and software.);
10. Corsair Vengeance K60 Keyboard [CH-9000004-NA] (Most probably.);
11. APC SMC1500 Smart-UPS [SMC1500];
12. Lite-On Super AllWrite 24X SATA DVD+/-RW Drive [IHAS124-04];

All fine.

a) Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound with ArctiClean [ARTICOMBO];

Unnecessary, the D14 comes with good paste.

b) EVGA GTX 680 FTW Backplate [M021-00-00009];

Not seeing a GTX 680 anywhere.

c) ULTRA Silicone Anti-vibration PSU gasket [ULT40450];

Unnecessary.

d) Velcro Reusable Self-Gripping Ties, 50 pack [90924] (Cable management);
e) C2G Releasable/Reusable Cable Ties [43221] (Cable management);
f) KingWin Anti-Static Wrist Strap [ATS-W24];
g) OP/TECH USA Large Work Mat [3611242];

Probably much less expensive to get an equivalent product locally.

h) Corsair Vengeance MM600 Dual-Sided Gaming Mouse Mat [CH-9000017-WW];
i) Kingston Digital DataTraveler SE9 16GB USB 2.0 [DTSE9H/16GBZ];

Both fine.

j) Philips LCD, LED and Plasma Screen Cleaner [SVC1116F/27].

Rather than shipping overprice solutions from the US, use a 50/50 solution of isopropyl alcohol and distilled water. That'll clean screens very well and should be very cheap.

 

[Sleepingforest]

The Sabertooth actually doesn't move air more effectively over the motherboard--the covering ironically blocks out the far more efficient source of air (ambient fan turbulence) and the temperatures suffer as a result. The cover also causes dust to build up underneath and further suffocate the board. I would recommend against the Sabertooth very strongly if airflow is the reason you are getting it.

I don't see an actual graphics card in your build. I strongly recommend that you get one with two fans rather than a blower-style cooler with one fan. I also recommend that you get a 7970 rather than a 670--at around $450, you should be able to get a Radeon 7970 GHz edition, which competes with and on average beats the GTX 680. Plus, it doesn't need a backplate, which is pretty much purely aesthetic.

 

[mfenn]

The Sabertooth actually doesn't move air more effectively over the motherboard--the covering ironically blocks out the far more efficient source of air (ambient fan turbulence) and the temperatures suffer as a result. The cover also causes dust to build up underneath and further suffocate the board. I would recommend against the Sabertooth very strongly if airflow is the reason you are getting it.

I don't see an actual graphics card in your build. I strongly recommend that you get one with two fans rather than a blower-style cooler with one fan. I also recommend that you get a 7970 rather than a 670--at around $450, you should be able to get a Radeon 7970 GHz edition, which competes with and on average beats the GTX 680. Plus, it doesn't need a backplate, which is pretty much purely aesthetic.

Excellent point on the missing GPU!

 

[Beto Garcia]

I must say that you guys are very knowledgeable. I really appreciate all of your valuable advices that have saved me a couple hundred dollars. Thank you!

I based my decision on the Online hardware sites I visited that explained about the ASUS Sabertooth X79’s better quality components, Capacitors, Chokes and MOSFETS, thermal monitoring solution, UEFI BIOS, power control for CPU & RAM and ease of overclockability. I’m very interested in some its features like the ESD Guards and the easy USB BIOS Flashback. I took into consideration dozens of Product customer reviews from TigerDirect, Newegg & Amazon tested and recommended this motherboard. This decision can’t be changed now because this motherboard has already been purchased, shipped and delivered. NOTE: I know I should have posted here before purchasing.

I don't see an actual graphics card in your build. I strongly recommend that you get one with two fans rather than a blower-style cooler with one fan.

Well, I did mention it before:

I’ve already purchased some components like the GPU, PSU, Monitor & Wireless Router.

The GPU is the 7. EVGA GeForce GTX 670 FTW Edition [02G-P4-2678-KR].Therefore, this is another decision that can’t be undone. Actually, I’m already using it and I really like it. I called EVGA support and did some research about The EVGA GTX 680 FTW Backplate; it is compatible with this GPU. Its intended purpose is to protect the GPU's PCB.

GPUs: Blower-style coolers vs. Open design fans:

IMHO, I read about it while researching GPUs and I liked the better cooling the twin open fans offered for the GPU but I didn’t liked the idea of hot air being spread to other near components. So, I really like the centrifugal fan (blower style) of the GTX 670 FTW that move ALL of the hot air out the back of the case.

As I've already mentioned, I'm really interested in SLI and 3-way SLI.

Thinking about a multi-GPU setup and that a full tower chassis has enough room for air flow, I think it would matter which GPU cooling solution to choose. It would be interesting to know about your experiences regarding this matter.

 

[Sleepingforest]

Blower is better for SLI, but I'm still confused as to why you think a backplate is necessary.
There's not too many PCB-destroying particles flying around in the case...

Similarly, ease of overclocking is just about the same on every motherboard. Go into the BIOS. Find the CPU multiplier. Bump it up. Save settings and restart. Also, pretty much every high end (read: all X79) motherboards have good MOSFETS and capacitors. You don't need to pay a huge premium for them.

It kind of looks like you ignored all the advice you didn't like, which is okay, but it does defeat the point of asking for input.

 

[mfenn]

Blower is better for SLI, but I'm still confused as to why you think a backplate is necessary.
There's not too many PCB-destroying particles flying around in the case...

Agree. Plus it can cause clearance issues because the backplate makes the card thicker than the PCIe spec.