New gaming/photoshop/video build less than $3000

[imported_browsing]

Going to be doing my first build since a C2D e6600 back in 2006. That's now doing duty as a media PC. I'd rather be a little generous in getting components than what I have to have for this thing to run because I don't do a ton of upgrading between builds. I need some particular advice around replacement fan selection for both the case and the H100 I've chosen. I'm also putting a little more beefy power supply than I probably need since I'll be doing two of these builds (one for me, one for fiancee) and the GPU may end up in SLI later, but I'm totally open to suggestions there with that in mind. I also need some help in looking toward what other accessories I may need for some really good cable management, something I've been lax about in the past, but with my mind toward a quieter system with some part liquid cooling (h100 to begin with, maybe custom water down the road) I'd prefer to not have it look like spider-man sneezed inside the case in the event something goes wrong with the cooling and I've got to replace parts. Thanks for the help reviewing in advance.
1. What YOUR PC will be used for. Gaming, Photoshop, Video Editing, Surfing
2. What YOUR budget is. Less than $3,000 US
3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from. US
4. IF YOU have a brand preference. Ivy bridge
5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts. Maybe a blu-ray burner I have in an external enclosure. Not sure.
7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds. Overclocking
8. What resolution will you be using? 24 inch 1080 but want room to either upgrade to multi-monitor setup in a year or so or keep this card for 3 years and still be happy playing new games.
9. WHEN do you plan to build it? Within the next month.
------
Component list v1:

• Corsair Obsidian Series 550D
• COUGAR CF-V12HP or Scythe Gentle Typhoons (to replace case fans and h100 -- pull config or push/pull if at all possible in this case)
• Intel Core i7 3770K 4.5GHz - 4.8GHz LGA 1155 Quad-Core Processor (8MB L3 Cache)
• EVGA GeForce GTX 670 4096MB Superclocked
• CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866
• Corsair H100
• CORSAIR Professional Series HX750 (CMPSU-750HX) 750W ATX12V Modular (really want a modular, need help w/ brand)
• GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD3H
• Crucial M4 CT256M4SSD2 2.5" 256GB SATA x2 Raid 0
• Seagate Momentus XT 750 GB 7200RPM
• LG Electronics WH12LS39K M-Disc 12X Internal SATA Blu-Ray Rewriter
• Windows 7 Family Pack (will be creating copy of this system soon)

 

[lehtv]

Case
Good but a bit pricey ($140). Compared to 400R, you're essentially paying $50 for noise dampening. If you decide to go with the 550D, you should make sure your internal components are designed to be quiet as well. Dual or triple fan graphics card, low RPM cpu cooler.

CPU Good, but really not noticeably faster than 3570K ($245) when you're coming from an E6600.

GPU Good.

RAM Expensive for what it is. 2x4GB 1600MHz for $45 will perform within 1%.

Cooler
You can get a 4.5GHz overclock with a $50 Scythe Mugen 3. The extra couple of hundred MHz you could get with H100 isn't worth another $60-70.

PSU For $120 AR AP that's pretty good for SLI+OC.

Mobo Good but Z77X-D3H would save you $15 without losing anything significant.

SSD Interesting, do you plan to store your video editing projects here? Honestly, SSD's are plenty fast without RAID, better to not risk data security. What I'd recommend: buy a 256GB system drive and a 64GB cache drive for your HDD, then store your video projects on the HDD.

HDD As far as I know, Momentus XT has a pretty high failure rate... not sure, but with an SSD as your main drive, just stick to regular storage. The Seagate 1TB single-platter drive ($100) is pretty fast for a HDD.

For a system of this caliber, I'd definitely recommend using a sound card, e.g. Xonar DGX. What sort of videos do you plan to edit? If it's gaming videos or anything recorded on the PC itself, you will conveniently get good quality sound at the source before it's recorded, also allowing you to edit bass and treble levels and use post processing effects like Dolby Headphone.

 

[Kristijonas]

Very good suggestions by lehtv, I believe. Although I'd like to comment some things from my perspective.
GPU I'd take one from ASUS, MSI or GIGABYTE, because I think their cooling is better. EVGA only has one cooler.

RAM Or 4x4gb 1600mhz. But 1866 is really not necessary and wouldn't add anything besides 1-3% performance increase and increased failure rate (just a wild assumption about the failure rate though!).

Cooler I'd probably take the best from Corsair or Noctua and run CPU at 4.5 (only if needed). I like keeping my hardware safe and cool, way below any limits.

PSU Corsair HX series is very good. I wouldn't want to run two GTX 670s on one 750W PSU though, but that's just me, I like having huge reserves and running PSU's at 25-75% of their capacity at all times.

SSD, HDD How about simply purchasing a 512gb fast SSD and 1-2Tb HDD? I would choose WD over Seagate though. As for SSDs, I don't really know what's best in the market at the moment. I've heard only good things about Intel's SSDs lately, though. They also have 5 years warranty.

I also agree with lehtv, that a good sound card would be an excellent addition to this PC. Not only will will it help with sound quality and features, but it will also add slightly more fps to games because your cpu won't have to process sound. I've read an article with benchmarks where they had an increase in fps even up to 15% in some games. It was about an ASUS sound card and the article was maybe 2-3 years old.

 

[Pia]

How about Silverstone FT02 for the case? It costs more, but not significantly, considering the budget for this build. Really solid, quiet, I think it has some of the best looks around (four options to choose from - silver/black and solid/windowed).

I'm considering a small case for my next build (SG08, FT03-mini, ...) but if I end up going with a larger case then FT02 may be it.

Need for sound card is really dependent on OP's specific needs and audio setup, and doesn't depend on the rest of the computer at all. Most people shouldn't get an internal card these days. Integrated sound handles basic tasks, or you can pick up an external soundcard/DAC/headphone amplifier, or take the sound to a HT amp, depending on your needs.

Kristijonas, sound cards no longer appreciably offload processor in gaming/entertainment use, that's in the past.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

If you can manage to fit this 140mm fan where you want it, it's a great silent fan. Oh, it does house 120mm hole mounts

I would go with the case you are wishing you had. You end up having to look at it and deal with it for a very long time. Same with a PSU. Some of the HX line are made by Channel Well, not Seasonic. I'm not sure at this point in time if Seasonic is doing an HX 750 but the TX 750 V2 is a Seasonic, fyi

 

[lehtv]

PSU Corsair HX series is very good. I wouldn't want to run two GTX 670s on one 750W PSU though, but that's just me, I like having huge reserves and running PSU's at 25-75% of their capacity at all times.

Guru3D 670 SLI review

"System Wattage with GPUs in FULL Stress = 433W" = 57% of 750W.

How about Silverstone FT02 for the case? It costs more, but not significantly, considering the budget for this build. Really solid, quiet, I think it has some of the best looks around (four options to choose from - silver/black and solid/windowed).

FT02 is a great case, but it lacks USB3.0 in the front panel which is unfortunate considering the price.

I might suggest Lian Li's cases, they have promos on newegg atm, e.g. PC-A70F full tower $128 AP or PC-Z60B $144 AP

 

[Kristijonas]

Guru3D 670 SLI review

"System Wattage with GPUs in FULL Stress = 433W" = 57% of 750W.

Thank you, then this PSU is perfect.
Also, HX series are also made by Seasonic and they are considered better than TX.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Also, HX series are also made by Seasonic and they are considered better than TX.

The entire Corsair HX line is made by Seasonic? I'm not arguing, but are you sure? link?

 

[Kristijonas]

I'm sorry for the lie. 750W HX is made by CWT:
http://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/psu_manufacturers

However, here it says it is better than HX 450-650W (they are made by Seasonic):
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/775/1

 

[lehtv]

Seasonic
HX450 80+ Bronze (discontinued)
HX520 80 Plus (discontinued)
HX620 80 Plus (discontinued)
HX650 80+ Bronze

CWT
HX750 80+ Gold (marketed 80+ Silver)
HX850 80+ Gold (marketed 80+ Silver)
HX1000 80 Plus (discontinued)
HX1050 80+ Silver

 

[mfenn]

Overall, I agree with lehtv's recommendations. I also just can't see paying $120 for a CWT when a Seasonic is $128.

 

[Ken g6]

Let's step back. I'm confused on a few things.

1. Is that $3000 budget for one PC or two? Does it include more monitors? Depending on these questions and how much video editing you do, there might be an argument to be made for a 3930k and LGA2011.
2. Does your fiancee do exactly the same things you do? If not, why are you getting her (I assume her) an identical PC? Maybe you should come back and ask us about it when you're ready to build for her.

 

[imported_browsing]

Thanks for all the opinions, everyone. I appreciate the thought that's already been put into looking over what I've got. My fiancee will mostly be doing gaming but she actually works from home so there will be some data crunching that balances out the need for video editing on my side. It's easier if we get the same thing. I'm not really worried about discussing the need to build two, the only real reason I put it in here is because I was mentioning that I was going to grab an Windows 7 upgrade family pack. So don't worry about calculating anything about a 2nd build into this. The $3000 is for a single computer and I already have the 24 inch monitor.

The 400R looks like it's a viable option. I was going for the 550D because it had USB 3, a very simple outer design, good cable management, CPU access without removing the mobo and the sound dampening. That being said, how much louder would the 400R actually be? It looks like a really good case beyond being a little flimsy in the sides. It has all the features of the 550D like you said. Anyone have any idea if the clearance for a radiator in the top is easier in either case?

I'd like to have the extra room the 3770k gives me, and I'm not worried about saving the $100 dollars on the cpu. Also, I've had a lot of bad luck with big heavy aftermarket air coolers and while this last build worked out okay in the long run I'd rather have the few hundred mhz and the relative simplicity of the H100. Plus the 5 year warranty makes me feel comfortable about going liquid cooling.

I also wanted to go fast on the RAM because I thought I'd read in two different reviews that the 1866 did actually make a difference. If the difference really is 1% then I think it's a good idea to drop it down to the 1600. Still go with the corsair vengeance or another brand? I've had bad experiences with G.Skill so I'd like to avoid them unless everyone just thinks they're this year's black sliced bread. Could someone point me to a ram comparison guide or recent RAM review? Don't usually see those promoted as much as hard drive reviews, etc, or I could be blind.

I'll have to look more at the other gigabyte board but like lehtv said, it looks pretty dang similar. Any devil advocate ideas on other brands? The gigabyte 77z boards seem to perform really well in the match ups I've seen but I haven't had my head in the game enough lately to be able to speak to them with real significance.

So there's been a lot of focus on the PSU, which is good because I usually go crazy overboard on it, even moreso than my other components. I know a good PSU is important but I put a 1k PSU in my last built that was a single GPU and 5 hard drives, so I'm very self aware about going overboard in this area. There have been a few comments supporting the corsair over the Seasonic. Is the seasonic love just based off extra positive reliability reviews or an actual negative mark for the corsair. Since I'm not the best at cable management intuitively, any help like keeping it modular will be important to me. Seems like either one is a good option but I trust you guys and gals about the PSUs more than myself.

I've never played with RAID before and I currently have a 128 Samsung 830. The difference from mechanical to SSD is amazing. I move all my video editing to a home server after I finish working on it, so I'm not worried about storage space on the main machine. Same thing with backup, it'll be backing it up to a network drive weekly. I just wanted the fastest performance and thought that if I could get a faster than one pair of SSDs and the capacity of the 512, it would be the most cost effective. The third non-SSD drive is an afterthought as a way to store completed projects prior to moving to the server or for some games, depending on the size SSD (or RAIDED SSDs) I get. The 128 I have now is not big enough for my games and programs.

I don't have any fancy speakers, it's all headphones, so I don't think I really need a sound card.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Here is a Seasonic X 650w Gold review Jonnyguru.com

 

[lehtv]

That being said, how much louder would the 400R actually be?

Based on some quick googling, 400R fans are 1200rpm, 550D 1000-1100RPM. Not a big difference, as 550D doesn't actually come with a fan controller to downvolt the fans. You'd need a third party fan controller or cable adapters to downvolt. 400R + fan control would be quieter than 550D without fan control.

I'd like to have the extra room the 3770k gives me, and I'm not worried about saving the $100 dollars on the cpu.

Well, it's your cash. The performance difference is akin to what you see here.

Also, I've had a lot of bad luck with big heavy aftermarket air coolers

What kind of bad luck?

If the difference really is 1% then I think it's a good idea to drop it down to the 1600.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/memory/2011/01/11/the-best-memory-for-sandy-bridge/1
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4503/sandy-bridge-memory-scaling-choosing-the-best-ddr3/1

Still go with the corsair vengeance or another brand? I've had bad experiences with G.Skill so I'd like to avoid them unless everyone just thinks they're this year's black sliced bread.

Honestly, you can have bad experiences with any brand. That's just how computer components are. A few bad experiences don't say anything about whether one brand is more reliable than another. While failure rates / DOA rates on some brands or items are higher than on others, I'd say RAM in general is very reliable. Even the cheapest RAM kit with the right specs and lifetime warranty will most likely work just as well as the next. It's another thing whether a particular model is a good overclocker, but that's a non-issue on SB/IB because CPU overclocking is independent of RAM and you just don't get a noticeable performance increase from overclocking RAM.

There have been a few comments supporting the corsair over the Seasonic. Is the seasonic love just based off extra positive reliability reviews or an actual negative mark for the corsair.

I would say Corsair HX is very good, no real reason to prefer a Seasonic-manufactured XFX over it, especially as you get 7 year warranty with HX. There's IMO a good reason recommend Seasonic's self-branded units though, it's simpler (though often more expensive) than buying a PSU manufactured by one and then branded by another.

I don't have any fancy speakers, it's all headphones, so I don't think I really need a sound card.

I find it quite the opposite. I don't have speakers at all, I use only headphones - and I definitely need a sound card. I probably wouldn't need it with speakers.

 

[Kristijonas]

I find it quite the opposite. I don't have speakers at all, I use only headphones - and I definitely need a sound card. I probably wouldn't need it with speakers.

Interesting, because I found it to be the opposite in my experience. But then, I hadn't really ever listened to very good headphones. A decent sound card would really make hours spend on the PC more enjoyable I think. It's worth it.

As for PSUs - Corsair HX and AX series and all good Seasonic PSUs will be perfect. Both choices are top.

 

[Pia]

Interesting, because I found it to be the opposite in my experience. But then, I hadn't really ever listened to very good headphones. A decent sound card would really make hours spend on the PC more enjoyable I think. It's worth it.

A sound card is mainly beneficial for listening if the integrated audio out gives you audible hum and noise. Assuming you hear no hum and noise, it's unlikely your headphones and especially speakers are good enough to notice a difference in detail of the sound itself. D/A conversion is largely a solved problem.

Headphones have a huge accuracy advantage at any "normal" price point. I wouldn't be surprised if it took $500 stereo speakers to hear detail you can hear with $100 headphones. So if there's a real sound quality difference at the source, you'll hear it with headphones much sooner than with speakers.

 

[imported_browsing]

So after doing some more research, with the possibility of custom water in the future, it looks like the Arc Midi may be the best case at a price comparable to the 400R. I'm wondering about the single usb 3.0 on the case though. If I get the gigabyte with no usb 2.0, will it be able to plug into the USB 3.0 on the mobo still and just have the system downclock it to be USB 2.0 speeds for the other case USB ports? Or is there another adaptor I would need to get? Just want to make sure I won't end up with two dead USB 2.0 ports on the front because the new mobo only has 3.0.

My issues with big air may be my own doing but every time I've had to move my case (changing apartments, moving into a house, etc) , I've had to reseat the large heatsinks and worry about them snapping off the mobo. Always have to play with the seating on them, which could be me just not being good at putting down thermal paste, but it seems like I have to redo them over and over to get the seating right and quasi-reasonable temps on my previous builds going back years & years.

 

[althaz]

FT02 is a great case, but it lacks USB3.0 in the front panel which is unfortunate considering the price.

This is actually incorrect: http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=242&area=en

Go down to specs and you'll see:

SST-FT02B (black), SST-FT02B-USB3.0 (black)
SST-FT02S (silver), SST-FT02S-USB3.0 (silver)
SST-FT02B-W (black + window), SST-FT02B-W-USB3.0 (black + window)
SST-FT02S-W (silver + window), SST-FT02S-W-USB3.0 (silver + window)

I would second and third the suggestions for this case. It's not for everybody, but IMO it looks fantastic and has excellent performance as well. I'm about to build a machine with this case in fact .

 

[lehtv]

This is actually incorrect: http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=242&area=en

No it's not incorrect. That page lists models with USB3 and models without it. I admit I didn't know there are USB3.0 models because newegg doesn't have them, and I can't find them on pcpartpicker.com either. I suppose they're not released yet.

 

[mfenn]

So after doing some more research, with the possibility of custom water in the future, it looks like the Arc Midi may be the best case at a price comparable to the 400R. I'm wondering about the single usb 3.0 on the case though. If I get the gigabyte with no usb 2.0, will it be able to plug into the USB 3.0 on the mobo still and just have the system downclock it to be USB 2.0 speeds for the other case USB ports? Or is there another adaptor I would need to get? Just want to make sure I won't end up with two dead USB 2.0 ports on the front because the new mobo only has 3.0.

The GA-Z77X-UD3H has USB 2.0 front panel headers (bottom edge of the board), so you will be fine.

 

[althaz]

No it's not incorrect. That page lists models with USB3 and models without it. I admit I didn't know there are USB3.0 models because newegg doesn't have them, and I can't find them on pcpartpicker.com either. I suppose they're not released yet.

They were released at least a year ago, IIRC. Saying they don't have front USB 3.0 when they do is, btw, the very definition of incorrect . Sure you can get them either way, but that doesn't make your statement any less wrong .

They have been readily available for a fair while where I am (Australia and we are usually behind the times a bit) and I know when they first came out they were available in North America as well - because a lot of people complained about the USB 3.0 ports so Silverstone sent out USB 2.0 panel replacements to folks.

Obviously you can still get the USB 2.0 versions, but as they aren't any cheaper, I'm surprised to find a big place like newegg still selling them.

I had a quick look and most places don't say one way or another which version they are selling, which would indicate to me that they are selling the normal version - which has USB 3.0.

 

[Pia]

Obviously you can still get the USB 2.0 versions, but as they aren't any cheaper, I'm surprised to find a big place like newegg still selling them.

Another theory: maybe Egg does sell the new USB 3.0 version, but has failed to update their page to reflect that.

 

[lehtv]

They were released at least a year ago, IIRC. Saying they don't have front USB 3.0 when they do is, btw, the very definition of incorrect .

Smugface. As I said, there are models with it and without it so no, it's not incorrect any more than it is correct.

Another theory: maybe Egg does sell the new USB 3.0 version, but has failed to update their page to reflect that.

That's certainly possible

 

[imported_browsing]

So now I'm concerned about the gigabyte board. I'd liked it because it had a good auto-overclock that kept the turbo enabled from what I've read but it seems like there are a lot of 2nd hand complaints about it. I've started getting parts (my 3770K just arrived today and I should be getting the H100 in Tuesday) so I'm getting a little ansy but I've lost confidence in my mobo pic. I can go up into 200+ for an ASUS board but I don't want to if I don't get much out of it -- and I don't need onboard wifi.