Destroy my build - $3,000 gaming setup

[Automaticman]

Also, I love the Samsung 840 pro, I have one. However, with modern games getting bigger and bigger, 256GB isn't that much space. You do not want to keep your games on a seperate data drive (especially a mechanical drive even the raptor), they will load slower. The best performance comes from having them on your boot SSD or a high performance add in drive (I use a RevoX2 PCI card 256GB for games storage). Your machine sounds like it is designed to last a few years. 256GB boot drive seems a bit small.

I've personally found that using an SSD for games has a much less noticeable impact than it does when using them for the OS. I've compromised by using a Samsung 830 120GB for my OS and apps (minus games) and then a mechanical drive for games paired with a 60GB vertex 2 using Intel SRT caching. I already had the Vertex laying around and it's plenty big to cache whatever 1 or 2 games I might be playing at any given time.

 

[PCJake]

what switch?

And those aren't really high enough quality to really warrant a sound card, as in your probably wont notice any difference from the onboard motherboard sound card.

It's a Plantronics switch.

 

[Automaticman]

It's a Plantronics switch.

Hmm, I just used a y-splitter between the front speaker output on my sound card going to my headset and Onkyo receiver for the speakers. Been thinking about picking up one of the sound blaster Z cards for the dedicated (and amplified) headphone output.

 

[aigomorla]

can i destory your build by throwing some lc eq in it so you can keep your watercool your titan?



I can gaurentee you, that your load temps on a waterblock will be lower then idle temps on air.
Well net benifit is a reduction of 1/2 in load temps, and with mosfet / voltage regulator cooling on waterblock your overclocking becomes more sensitive in a good way.

I also hear these titans are loading up around 80C... that would probably mean a load temp of 40-50C on a waterblock if done correctly.

 

[mnewsham]

can i destory your build by throwing some lc eq in it so you can keep your watercool your titan?



I can gaurentee you, that your load temps on a waterblock will be lower then idle temps on air.
Well net benifit is a reduction of 1/2 in load temps, and with mosfet / voltage regulator cooling on waterblock your overclocking becomes more sensitive in a good way.

I also hear these titans are loading up around 80C... that would probably mean a load temp of 40-50C on a waterblock if done correctly.

That would add what, $600 or more?

 

[PCJake]

If the focus of your machine is gaming first and foremost, then you should get a monitor with 120hz or 144hz refresh rate. The monitors you are looking at have a 60hz refresh rate. You essentially need a 3D monitor, although true gamers don't play in 3D, they use those monitor because of the higher refresh rate.

Why use that titan video card that renders 140 frames per second if your monitor is only displaying 60? If you could see a monitor @60hz next to a monitor @ 144hz side by side playing battlefied3, you would be amazed. The fluidity of the higher refresh rate is absolutely amazing. If you are serious about gaming and have the financial means, you simply have to have a 120hz or 144hz monitor.

Well, the Titan wouldn't render at 140 fps if I was gaming at 2560x1440 or 2560x1600. More like 50-60 fps in graphically intensive games. But that's besides the point.

One of the biggest issues I have with 120hz and 144hz monitors is that they only seem to be available in 1080p. That would actually be a step down for me, not only in gaming but also for general usage, as my current monitor is 1920x1200. I've also read that people have trouble using them for everyday stuff. Remember, I do tons of internet browsing and I use Netflix and watch movies all the time on my PC.

Granted, I did say that gaming is my first priority, and that's true - but my setup has to be balanced for other usage scenarios as well.

 

[Automaticman]

One of the biggest issues I have with 120hz and 144hz monitors is that they only seem to be available in 1080p. That would actually be a step down for me, not only in gaming but also for general usage, as my current monitor is 1920x1200.

Those extra 120 pixels seem like such a small thing but make such a big difference. I'm not really looking forward to my next monitor upgrade now that 16x10 monitors are getting harder and harder to find.

 

[aigomorla]

That would add what, $600 or more?

probably around that.

DDC with drive bay res ~ 160 dollars
Titan GPU block ~ 140 dollars
Tubing + Fittings ~ 50 dollars
Radiator ~ 60 dollars for a 120x2
~ 90 dollars for a 120x3
Silver Coil ~ 9.00 dollars

He could include the cpu as well and have it in 1 loop for an additional 95 dollars. (however u'd need the 120x3 rad)

Then he could laugh on hot summer days gaming hardcore and not worry about his titan melting.

 

[PCJake]

Those extra 120 pixels seem like such a small thing but make such a big difference. I'm not really looking forward to my next monitor upgrade now that 16x10 monitors are getting harder and harder to find.

I hear you, that's why I've just been planning on going up to 2560x1440 or 2560x1600 for my next upgrade. I see the value of a 120hz monitor for gaming, but it just seems like they still need some improvement.

And technically, I suppose, it's not 120 pixels that your losing - it's 230,400 pixels (1920x120). Definitely a noticeable difference.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Are you going to wait and see what Haswell brings? And I think the GTX 780 is coming by next month.. from the brief bits and pieces of rumors I've been hearing.

 

[mnewsham]

I think the GTX 780 is coming by next month.. from the brief bits and pieces of rumors I've been hearing.

What's the expected performance relative to Titan?

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

What's the expected performance relative to Titan?

Performance wise i'm not sure of. I haven't seen any leaked benches but the rest of the internals are pretty darn close to a Titan. I'm not sure of the MSRP .. maybe 700 or 600$

 

[PCJake]

Are you going to wait and see what Haswell brings? And I think the GTX 780 is coming by next month.. from the brief bits and pieces of rumors I've been hearing.

Yes, I'm waiting for Haswell. I'm also looking forward to seeing how the GTX 780 performs.

 

[PCJake]

Also, I love the Samsung 840 pro, I have one. However, with modern games getting bigger and bigger, 256GB isn't that much space. You do not want to keep your games on a seperate data drive (especially a mechanical drive even the raptor), they will load slower. The best performance comes from having them on your boot SSD or a high performance add in drive (I use a RevoX2 PCI card 256GB for games storage). Your machine sounds like it is designed to last a few years. 256GB boot drive seems a bit small.

Yeah, it probably will be too small within a year or two - but by then I would imagine that 512GB won't be any more expensive than 256GB is today (right now the 512GB model is more than twice as expensive as the 256GB model). In that sense, it's better to wait and get the 512GB when I need it so that I can enjoy all the other SSD improvements that will take place in the next year or two.

To sum that up: I think getting a "future-proof" SSD would be particularly expensive and inefficient, even compared to most other types of hardware. You're right about games taking up more space now, though...just about pooped my pants when I saw that Rage took up 25GB. Took me a week to download on my 1.5Mb/s internet

 

[Essence_of_War]

A wise man once said that the only way to futureproof is to save money and spend it in the future

 

[PCJake]

A wise man once said that the only way to futureproof is to save money and spend it in the future

Or by investing the money at a rate equal to or greater than the rate of inflation

Oh wait, we build computers with our money. Never mind.

 

[mfenn]

Update: switched from Corsair Obsidian 800D to Corsair Obsidian 550D. Looks to be pretty suitable for my build.

I have one sitting right next to me, it is pretty nice.

 

[mfenn]

Some quick Googling:

http://www.brightsideofnews.com/new...ch-dense-ssds-480gb-msata-and-960gb-sata.aspx

Yeah, I was just trying to make the distinction between the fabrication of the DRAM and the assembly of the DIMMs. There are lots of DIMM assemblers but only a few DRAM fabbers. Chances are, your DRAM was fabbed overseas.

You are absolutely correct. And yet, if the logical answer were the only thing that mattered, we'd all still be stuffing our parts into the ugly beige boxes from the 80's.

I think that there is a world of difference between a part that has an aesthetic component (case) and one that does not (RAM). I'm totally for getting whatever case you like to look at. I don't see the point in spending more on RAM that is functionally identical.

 

[Automaticman]

Yeah, I was just trying to make the distinction between the fabrication of the DRAM and the assembly of the DIMMs. There are lots of DIMM assemblers but only a few DRAM fabbers. Chances are, your DRAM was fabbed overseas.

Oh, I was pointing out the part where they mentioned using Micron chips.

I think that there is a world of difference between a part that has an aesthetic component (case) and one that does not (RAM). I'm totally for getting whatever case you like to look at. I don't see the point in spending more on RAM that is functionally identical.

But I like to look in the window on my case...



ok, the super low profile corsairs someone posted earlier were pretty cool. I'd seen the low profile Samsung pieces, but the ones I'd seen before were always slower speed/timings.

 

[PCJake]

I think that there is a world of difference between a part that has an aesthetic component (case) and one that does not (RAM). I'm totally for getting whatever case you like to look at. I don't see the point in spending more on RAM that is functionally identical.

One reason to spend more is for better customer service. If two DIMMs are identical, then they both have a similar rate of failure - and when one does fail, it's handy to have bought them from a company that will replace them even if they're out of warranty, simply because they stand proudly behind their products.

I have one sitting right next to me, it is pretty nice.

Awesome! Everybody seems to have good things to say about it.

 

[PCJake]

What do you guys think of this PSU: Seasonic M12II 650W PSU

It's official Haswell-capable, for what that's worth. The eXtreme PSU calculator recommends that I have 475W (figured it with an overclocked 3770K, and a Haswell will use less power than that).

 

[Automaticman]

That looks like a solid PSU.

There's also this SeaSonic X Series X650 Gold that adds better efficiency, a nicer Sanyo Denki fan, and a hybrid cooling mode (selectable) when the fan turns off completely at lower temps. Pretty glowing review at hardwaresecrets.

 

[PCJake]

That looks like a solid PSU.

There's also this SeaSonic X Series X650 Gold that adds better efficiency, a nicer Sanyo Denki fan, and a hybrid cooling mode (selectable) when the fan turns off completely at lower temps. Pretty glowing review at hardwaresecrets.

Oh, nice, that one looks even better. I'll do my obligatory research on it first thing in the morning.

Edit: Couldn't sleep. Tried counting PSUs, still wide awake.

Did the research, that X650 PSU is awesome. Updated my build.

 

[mnewsham]

Oh, nice, that one looks even better. I'll do my obligatory research on it first thing in the morning.

Edit: Couldn't sleep. Tried counting PSUs, still wide awake.

Did the research, that X650 PSU is awesome. Updated my build.

You will be fine on a 550w PSU if you want to save some money, the only way you could use more than 550w would be if you added a 2nd titan.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817151119

 

[AdamK47]

I think the build is fine.

This is General Hardware, so you'll have a lot of cheapies trying to talk you down. I say go bigger.