$1500 Development/Gaming Build

[Wildcat313]

I am a student at UK for Computer Engineering, and I'm building a new desktop that I will run a dual-boot Ubuntu/Windows 7 on. It will have some IDE's on it, virtual machines, Verilog, all kinds of development suites. I would also like to play the best of games.

I would like to have a good balance of future-proofing this build and finding the best bang for the buck. My current selection is around $1500 but I would love to pull that cost down if possible without losing too much performance. I will probably overclock the 2600k to around 4.2ghz on stock cooling and add water-cooling down the road to go higher. I also want to plan ahead to be able to drop a second gtx570 in for a SLI config later down the road too.

Would really appreciate thoughts and constructive criticism. Thanks a lot, Austin


Approximate Purchase Date: Within the Next Month


Budget Range: $1000-$1500


System Usage from Most to Least Important: Software Development, Hardware Design, Gaming, Multitasking


Parts Not Required: No peripherals required.


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg.com but open-minded (looking for the best deal)


Country of Origin: KY, USA


Parts Preferences: Intel, Nvidia (but once again, very open-minded)


Overclocking: Yes / Maybe


SLI or Crossfire: Yes in the future


Monitor Resolution: dual 1080p


Additional Comments: Future-proof / Best Bang for the Buck


Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz
i7-2600k

ASRock Z68 Extreme7 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
ASRock Z68 Extreme7 Gen3

CORSAIR XMS3 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 Desktop Memory Model CMX16GX3M4A1333C9
CORSAIR XMS3 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM

EVGA 025-P3-1579-AR GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) HD 2560MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 SLI Support Video Card
EVGA 025-P3-1579-AR GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) HD 2560MB

Corsair Force Series 3 CSSD-F90GB3-BK 2.5" 90GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
Corsair Force Series 3 Solid State Drive

PC Power and Cooling Silencer Mk II 950W High Performance 80PLUS Silver SLI CrossFire ready Power Supply
PC Power and Cooling Silencer Mk II 950W

NZXT Phantom PHAN-001BK Black Steel / Plastic Enthusiast ATX Full Tower Computer Case
NZXT Phantom PHAN-001BK

 

[peanut_316]

Great Build i'd say go for it.

 

[Wildcat313]

Thanks for the replies!

Will 750 Watts be enough once I drop a second card in to SLI and considering overclocking potential?

 

[IntelEnthusiast]

Looks good and everything is compatible. I would check with your software to make sure it can take advantage the extra threads that the Intel® Core™ i7-2600K has to over otherwise you might find that you get the almost the same performance out of the Intel Core i5-2500K.

Christian Wood
Intel Enthusiast Team

 

[IntelEnthusiast]

For the power supply take a look at this tool it will help you make sure you provide enough power for your needs http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp .

Christian Wood
Intel Enthusiast Team

 

[Wildcat313]

Alright I see the reason for the PSU switch, and taking that advice!

Next question:

What differences will I see between these boards as switching to the Gen3 is over $100 savings:

ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

ASRock Z68 Extreme7 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
ASRock Z68 Extreme7 Gen3

 

[phenom90]

extreme7 have more sata ports than exteme3... besides... extreme7 does have nf200 chip which gives you x16 lanes for second card to run sli/crossfire...

 

[Wildcat313]

how big a difference is there between a sli configuration running in 16x/16x vs 16x/8x

 

[phenom90]

first of all... extreme7 allows you to run sli/crossfire on dual x16 lanes... whereas extreme3 only allows sli/crossfire to run at dual x8 lanes... actually the difference is unnoticeable... i can say around 5% to 10% only... unless you want to go three cards and above... otherwise extreme3 is enough for dual card....

 

[k1114]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/p67-gaming-3-way-sli-three-card-crossfire,2910-4.html Pretty much no difference.

I would suggest going with a cpu cooler now, the stock hsf is pretty horrible and at 4.2ghz it'll be pretty hot and loud. Also water cooling is not necessary to go higher, a good air cooler will be plenty to hit your multiplier wall and will cost a lot less.

 

[phenom90]

let me see if you maxed out your budget can you get two gtx 570 right away...

cpu: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072
Intel Core i5-2500K - $215

mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 - $125

ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231461
G.SKILL Sniper Low Voltage Series 8GB Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBSR2 - $60

hsf: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181011
CORSAIR CAFA70 - $28 after MIR

odd: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136236
LG DVD Burner 24X Model GH24NS70 - $19

hdd: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB - $80

ssd: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820249009
Plextor PX-M2 Series PX-64M2S 2.5" 64GB SATA III - $140

psu: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817194093
LEPA B850-MA 850W - $80 after MIR

gpu: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814187130
2x SPARKLE SXX5701280D5NM GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB - $620

case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139010
Corsair Carbide Series 500R White - $130 after MIR


total: $1497 AFTER MIR excluding shipping

 

[Wildcat313]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/p67-gaming-3-way-sli-three-card-crossfire,2910-4.html Pretty much no difference.

I would suggest going with a cpu cooler now, the stock hsf is pretty horrible and at 4.2ghz it'll be pretty hot and loud. Also water cooling is not necessary to go higher, a good air cooler will be plenty to hit your multiplier wall and will cost a lot less.

Heard that, I just did a little research and you are absolutely right, air cooling is the way to go right now so I'll add that in.

Phenom: I like the idea of going with a single gtx 570 (with double the memory) at the moment and hopefully that will give
manufacturers time to work on the stuttering problem while I save for second card.

 

[Wildcat313]

Still having a tough time deciding between motherboards, the gen3 is so much cheaper. I guess the only difference besides lanes for PCIe is usb ports and sata ports, or am I overlooking something else important.

 

[k1114]

Nope that's pretty much it + 1 year more on the warranty.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231315 Same price for faster ram.

Do you know what cooler you're going to get?

You don't have to worry about micro stuttering on high end cards.

 

[Wildcat313]

Nope that's pretty much it + 1 year more on the warranty.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231315 Same price for faster ram.

Do you know what cooler you're going to get?

You don't have to worry about micro stuttering on high end cards.

The Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus looks pretty good for damn cheap also. Thoughts?

 

[phenom90]

it bundles only 1 fan for the cooler... whereas corsair bundles two for push/pull configuration... but overall hyper 212 plus is cheap and good as well...

 

[k1114]

The 212+ is good and cheap, if you wanted to get something better, the scythe mugen is $50 and the silver arrow is $80. You will need to take the side fan off to fit any decent heatsink in the phantom. Maybe change the case?

I'd usually suggest more parts and post a complete list, but my internet is being a bit wonky so excuse my short posts.