Opinion on new rig...

[xxthe_remedyxx]

Hi everyone -

I just built myself a small gaming PC and wanted to get everyone's opinion on the components. I have limited space so couldn't go full size. What do you think?

INTEL, Core i7-3820 Quad-Core, 3.6 - 3.8GHz TB, LGA2011, 10MB L3 Cache, HT EM64T EIST VT-x VT-d XD, 32nm, 130W, Retail

DYNATRON, R17 Socket 2011 Active 3U CPU Cooler, 2500 RPM, 2 Ball Bearing, 160W TDP, Aluminum/Copper

ASUS, Rampage IV Gene, LGA2011, Intel® X79, DDR3-2400 (O.C.) 32GB /4, PCIe x16 SLI CF /2+1*, SATA 6Gb/s /4, 3Gb/s /3, USB 3.0 /4, HDA, GbLAN, mATX, Retail

CORSAIR, 16GB (4 x 4GB) Vengeance™ LP PC3-12800 DDR3 1600MHz CL8 (8-8-8-24) 1.5V SDRAM DIMM, Non-ECC

EVGA, GeForce® GTX 670 FTW 1006MHz, 2GB GDDR5 6208MHz, PCIe x16 SLI, 2x DVI + HDMI + DP, Retail

INTEL, 120GB 520 Series SSD, MLC SandForce SF-2281, 550/500 MB/s, 2.5-Inch w/ 3.5-Inch Bracket, SATA 6 Gb/s, Retail

SONY, AD-7280S Black 24x DVD±R/RW Dual-Layer Burner, SATA, OEM

LIAN LI, PC-V355B Black Entertainment Cube, mATX, No PSU

CORSAIR, CMPSU-750HX HX Series Power Supply w/ Modular Cables, 750W, 80 PLUS®, 24-pin ATX12V EPS12V, 4x 8-pin PCIe

 

[lehtv]

NOTICE - PC builders, when asking for input on YOUR projects Please Tell us...

This applies to completed builds as well.

Not knowing whether you only use the PC for gaming, I'd still say it was a bad idea to go with LGA2011 and i7-3820. LGA1155 and i7-3770K offers more for less, and for gaming purposes the i5-3570K is good enough.

In any case, it doesn't really matter what we say since you've already built it. I don't want to sound like I'm judging but next time ask first, listen to advice and then build the PC.

 

[xxthe_remedyxx]

NOTICE - PC builders, when asking for input on YOUR projects Please Tell us...

This applies to completed builds as well.

Not knowing whether you only use the PC for gaming, I'd still say it was a bad idea to go with LGA2011 and i7-3820. LGA1155 and i7-3770K offers more for less, and for gaming purposes the i5-3570K is good enough.

In any case, it doesn't really matter what we say since you've already built it. I don't want to sound like I'm judging but next time ask first, listen to advice and then build the PC.

Thanks, I really appreciate the feedback.

 

[DSF]

It looks like you have a computer you'll be very pleased with for quite a while, but it was probably a poor value for gaming.

Did I miss something though? Is there really just one hard drive? It's nice that it's an SSD, but with the amount of money you clearly have you could've gone for an SSD four times that size and a 1TB+ conventional drive without sacrificing noticeable performance elsewhere. Just considering my own gaming use I can't see 120GB being enough for the next few years.

 

[mtnd3vil]

I like it a lot. I think all of your component selections are high quality and desirable. The Intel SSDs are high dollar for the performance and capacity they offer but they're all I'm going to buy for the foreseeable future.

Love the case.
That i7-3820 (not a K) should still be good for four bins worth of turbo multiplier. You can achieve 4.2 GHz with basically no voltage increase at all. you'll probably even need to use a negative offset voltage of -0.050 to -0.065 to keep things efficient and cool.Even though I have a K CPU, I still only run 4.2-4.3GHz for an every day OC and use those offsets.

I'm a sys admin and I find myself being extremely partial to the LGA2011 platform because it's doing amazing things at work. As for I7-3770(k) being the better gamer desktop, I do not care. I would want LGA2011 even if the budget only affords the i7-3820.

later

 

[mfenn]

NOTICE - PC builders, when asking for input on YOUR projects Please Tell us...

This applies to completed builds as well.

Not knowing whether you only use the PC for gaming, I'd still say it was a bad idea to go with LGA2011 and i7-3820. LGA1155 and i7-3770K offers more for less, and for gaming purposes the i5-3570K is good enough.

In any case, it doesn't really matter what we say since you've already built it. I don't want to sound like I'm judging but next time ask first, listen to advice and then build the PC.

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

OP, you've built a powerful system there for sure. However, you've got quite a few components (CPU, mobo, RAM, SSD, PSU) that are bad value for money. Overall, you could have gotten a more powerful system for the same total cost or gotten an equivalent system for less money.

 

[xxthe_remedyxx]

Thanks to everyone for the feedback.

 

[xxthe_remedyxx]

It looks like you have a computer you'll be very pleased with for quite a while, but it was probably a poor value for gaming.

Did I miss something though? Is there really just one hard drive? It's nice that it's an SSD, but with the amount of money you clearly have you could've gone for an SSD four times that size and a 1TB+ conventional drive without sacrificing noticeable performance elsewhere. Just considering my own gaming use I can't see 120GB being enough for the next few years.

Hey DSF - When you say "poor value for gaming", what exactly do you mean?

 

[lehtv]

Games don't need an eight-thread CPU, you would've been fine with the cheaper i5-3570K.

Games don't need 16GB of RAM, 8GB would've been more than enough.

LGA2011 motherboards are often twice as expensive as LGA1155 motherboards, and obviously that difference doesn't translate to a difference in framerate.

A $160 case doesn't get you any better framerates than a $50 case.

The 750W PSU is overkill, your system would be fine with a 500W unit unless you plan to SLI in which case 650W would've been enough. But SLI isn't a very good idea with a microATX board and case. Modularity and efficiency in a PSU have no effect on framerates.

 

[xxthe_remedyxx]

Games don't need an eight-thread CPU, you would be fine with the chepaer i5-3570K

Games don't need 16GB of RAM, 8GB would've been more than enough.

LGA2011 motherboards are often twice as expensive as LGA1155 motherboards, and obviously that difference doesn't translate to a difference in framerate.

All valid points, thank you. I didn't mind spending the extra $$$ as I have budgeted for it. I wanted to make it a bit "future proof" for a little while. We all know how PC components can get outdated pretty quickly. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[lehtv]

3770K would've been the better future proof choice, although largely because Z77 motherboards are cheaper than X79. Z77 is also more future proof as X79 because it's more feature rich. As for RAM, nothing forces you to buy 16GB right away, you can be future proof by having two memory slots open for future upgrades.

 

[xxthe_remedyxx]

It looks like you have a computer you'll be very pleased with for quite a while, but it was probably a poor value for gaming.

Did I miss something though? Is there really just one hard drive? It's nice that it's an SSD, but with the amount of money you clearly have you could've gone for an SSD four times that size and a 1TB+ conventional drive without sacrificing noticeable performance elsewhere. Just considering my own gaming use I can't see 120GB being enough for the next few years.

Sorry forgot to mention I have a 1TB WD hard drive for storage. I will be installing it when the machine arrives.

 

[xxthe_remedyxx]

3770K would've been the better future proof choice, although largely because Z77 motherboards are cheaper than X79. Z77 is also more future proof as X79 because it's more feature rich. As for RAM, nothing forces you to buy 16GB right away, you can be future proof by having two memory slots open for future upgrades.

I see your points. I guess I can always return the machine if I have second thoughts based on your opinion. Thanks again.

 

[mfenn]

All valid points, thank you. I didn't mind spending the extra $$$ as I have budgeted for it. I wanted to make it a bit "future proof" for a little while. We all know how PC components can get outdated pretty quickly. Thanks for the feedback.

The best way to future-proof is to save money and spend it on future products. (Ken g6)

What this quote means is that beyond a certain point, PC components components fall off the deep end of the performance/price curve, i.e. you spend a lot of extra money for not much incremental benefit. Obviously, the good ol' USD gets less valuable as time goes on as well, but it does so at a much lower rate than do computer components. An i7 3850 + mobo is not much faster than an i5 3750K (it's actually slower than an i7 3770K), but costs 2/3rds more.

 

[DSF]

Obviously, the good ol' USD gets less valuable as time goes on as well, but it does so at a much lower rate than do computer components.

Not to mention that you're probably not leaving those dollars in a shoebox under your bed. Even if you did, they're only losing 2-3% a year. More likely it's in some sort of interest-bearing account, which may not keep pace with inflation but does make the losses negligible when compared to computer parts.

I know you know all this already.

 

[supercheapit]

how much did it set you back just out of curiosity?

 

[xxthe_remedyxx]

how much did it set you back just out of curiosity?

Total for everything including shipping was $1700 plus change.

 

[lehtv]

You could realistically build a GTX 670 SLI rig for the same money

 

[ShintaiDK]

LGA2011 doesnt make any sense really, specially when using a quadcore. I would have gotten a 3570K instead and a Z77 board. And then a 256GB Crucial M4 SSD to store everything on cept movies etc.

 

[xxthe_remedyxx]

You could realistically build a GTX 670 SLI rig for the same money

Yep, totally expected. The trade off for me was having a third party (AVADirect) build and warranty the machine for 3 years. Also lifetime tech support (I wont need it but it's still nice to have).

 

[xxthe_remedyxx]

Not to mention that you're probably not leaving those dollars in a shoebox under your bed. Even if you did, they're only losing 2-3% a year. More likely it's in some sort of interest-bearing account, which may not keep pace with inflation but does make the losses negligible when compared to computer parts.

I know you know all this already.

LoL, all too well.