Building my first computer

[frzg]

With BF3 coming out, I finally decided to build my first computer. All the parts listed are supposed to be delivered on Monday, but I just wanted to get some general thoughts and if I needed to add anything to get here by Monday. The primary use will be for video games, BF3 in particular. I'm hoping to play the game on high settings with good FPS. Thoughts?


CASE:
Antec Nine Hundred Two V3 Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Gaming Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129097

PSU:
Thermaltake TPG-750M Toughpower Grand GOLD 750W ATX 12V V2.3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153132

MOBO:
GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3 AM3+ AMD 990FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128514

CPU:
AMD Phenom II X6 1100T Black Edition Thuban 3.3GHz, 3.7GHz Turbo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103913

MEMORY:
(2) G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB - 16GB total
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231445

HDD:
OCZ Vertex 3 VTX3-25SAT3-120G 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal SSD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227706

GPU SLI:
(2) EVGA SuperClocked GeForce GTX 560 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] P3-1461-KR

COOLING:
Antec KUHLER H2O 920 Liquid Cooling System
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835209054

OS:
Windows 7 64bit



Am I missing anything? Should this build be able to get high enough FPS with high settings? Thanks for any input!

 

[computernugget]

looks good but to save you some money i suggest getting the phenom ii x4 955 BE. its like 120 bucks. but other than looks really good

 

[008Rohit]

An Intel Quad Core will perform better in BF3 and other games beating the X6 by a big margin. But, as a processor, the X6 isn't bad. Maybe, BF3 will benefit from its 6 cores.

Secondly, You should get a single good card rather than two of those 460's in SLI. A 2GB 6950 or a 6970 would be good.

The PSU is a solid one. However, if you ever wanna run two powerful cards together like the HD 6970, you can run those on your PSU, but I'd recommend a 850W unit.

You're spending a lot on the CPU Cooler. It'd be better if you spend the money on a Intel Processor + Motherboard. Corsair H80 is a great liquid cooler. and for air cooling, CoolerMaster Hyper 212 Evo cools really well.

lastly, bulldozer is releasing next month, you better wait for that. AFAIK, it's 8 core FX8150 will cost around $260.

 

[frzg]

looks good but to save you some money i suggest getting the phenom ii x4 955 BE. its like 120 bucks. but other than looks really good

I was able to get the 1100T for $149 so I figured for $29 more it was worth it to upgrade. I didn't pay those prices listed on newegg, just used them as a reference.

 

[buzznut]

Hello,
It looks like a rather nice build. You'll be ready for bulldozer when it comes out, so that's good. You may wish to get DDR3 1866 memory and downclock it as BD is supposed to favor 1866 speed. I got 1600 speed for my UD5, now I wish I had known about that earlier.

The Antec 902 is an ok case, but for $120 it is lacking in cable management. Seems rather sparse in features, I've seen cases with much better cable management for $60. Yeah, its got good cooling and a USB 3.0 port but in other ways it is lacking some modern conveniences. I'm a big Antec fan, but I feel like this is an outdated case.

Other than that, this will make a good gaming system.

 

[frzg]

An Intel Quad Core will perform better in BF3 and other games beating the X6 by a big margin. But, as a processor, the X6 isn't bad. Maybe, BF3 will benefit from its 6 cores.

Secondly, You should get a single good card rather than two of those 460's in SLI. A 2GB 6950 or a 6970 would be good.

The PSU is a solid one. However, if you ever wanna run two powerful cards together like the HD 6970, you can run those on your PSU, but I'd recommend a 850W unit.

You're spending a lot on the CPU Cooler. It'd be better if you spend the money on a Intel Processor + Motherboard. Corsair H80 is a great liquid cooler. and for air cooling, CoolerMaster Hyper 212 Evo cools really well.

lastly, bulldozer is releasing next month, you better wait for that. AFAIK, it's 8 core FX8150 will cost around $260.

Yeah I was hesitant to build now with bulldozer releasing but impatience got the best of me!

I still have time to change out the video card as those are being delivered today (everything else is Monday). The 2 GTX 460's were only $300 total after discounts. Would a stronger video card that's more expensive actually be better than running the two SLI? The 6950 2 GB cards are selling for around $260ish. Would 1 of those 6950 actually be stronger than 2 GTX 460's?

Did I make a mistake on the GPU?

 

[008Rohit]

No, it won't be stronger. A GTX 570 ($320) will be stronger than those two in SLI.

 

[pacioli]

No, it won't be stronger. A GTX 570 ($320) will be stronger than those two in SLI.

SLIed 460s beat factory OCed 570s
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2011-gaming-graphics-charts/Gamer-Index,2673.html

But just by a hair... so it may be worth getting a 570 to save on heat and space in your system. this also gives you an upgrade path if you ever want to add a second 570

Also... the 1100T is a great multitasker and BF3 might be able to use those cores... If you are close to a Micro Center you can pick up an i5 2500K for the same price ($150) that will blow the 1100T out of the water on all tasks multied or not.

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0354589

 

[frzg]

SLIed 460s beat factory OCed 570s
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2011-gaming-graphics-charts/Gamer-Index,2673.html

But just by a hair... so it may be worth getting a 570 to save on heat and space in your system. this also gives you an upgrade path if you ever want to add a second 570

Also... the 1100T is a great multitasker and BF3 might be able to use those cores... If you are close to a Micro Center you can pick up an i5 2500K for the same price ($150) that will blow the 1100T out of the water on all tasks multied or not.

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0354589

It actually might be best to go SLI 560's. It's only about $20 more per than I paid for the 460's.

 

[frzg]

What about two of these

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130660&Tpk=01G-P3-1460-KR

$179.99 per which is only $30 total more than I paid for both 460's combined.

Seems like it would be a good idea to get these 2 for the price difference, but my only concern would be the PSU. Would the PSU I ordered still be able to handle two 560's?

 

[frzg]

OK, I think I solved it! I'm going to go with two of these,

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130661&Tpk=N82E16814130661

$10 more for the superclocked 560's.

 

[008Rohit]

SLI 560Ti's, beast!

 

[frzg]

SLI 560Ti's, beast!

That's what I went with! This is the build now, updated. Thanks for the help!


CASE:
Antec Nine Hundred Two V3 Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Gaming Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129097

PSU:
Thermaltake TPG-750M Toughpower Grand GOLD 750W ATX 12V V2.3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153132

MOBO:
GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3 AM3+ AMD 990FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128514

CPU:
AMD Phenom II X6 1100T Black Edition Thuban 3.3GHz, 3.7GHz Turbo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103913

MEMORY:
(2) G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB - 16GB total
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231445

HDD:
OCZ Vertex 3 VTX3-25SAT3-120G 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal SSD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227706

GPU SLI:
(2) EVGA SuperClocked GeForce GTX 560 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130661&Tpk=01G-P3-1461-KR

COOLING:
Antec KUHLER H2O 920 Liquid Cooling System
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835209054

OS:
Windows 7 64bit

 

[008Rohit]

Awesome build. I'd just switch that HSF for an air cooler. Water Cooling = Too much to worry.

 

[pacioli]

Actually you went with the 560s the 560 Ti is a different beast altogether.
That PSU should handle dual 560 Tis no problem.

 

[frzg]

Actually you went with the 560s the 560 Ti is a different beast altogether.
That PSU should handle dual 560 Tis no problem.

oh my mistake. Well hopefully the 560's will suffice, they're superclocked, but not the Ti.

 

[pacioli]

You should be ok . The 560s will give a microstutter free experience. Although you are on the edge of that being an issue.

 

[frzg]

Question - if I use 3 monitors, am I still able to utilize my SLI?

OK, I've never done SLI before and I'm a little concerned after googling it. This is my work computer as well as gaming so to maximize my efficiency I use 3 monitors. The left and right monitors are both standard 24" LCD's and don't have anything really intense on them ever, just EXCEL and our shipping program. The center monitor is where I game and it is a 23" LCD 120hz Viewsonic. I just assumed I could plug all 3 monitors into the 2 560's and I would be able to 'focus' the power on the center monitor, is that not correct? Do I need a 3rd GPU to just run the 3rd monitor, just a cheap little card or something? I want the full power on my center 120hz screen but still need my other 2 monitors to be able to run when I'm not playing games. Was I ignorant to assume I could use all 3 monitors on the 2 560's?

 

[frzg]

OK, I figured that out. I'll be adding in a 3rd GPU (a cheap little 8400) to power the 3rd monitor. My new question is should I have BOTH my left and right monitor in the 8400 so that I can focus both the 560's on the center monitor, or does it not make a difference if I have 2 monitors or 1 plugged in.

 

[computernugget]

i think with nvidia to have three monitors you have to have sli or at least two video cards. one card will power 2 monitors and the other will power the third. well at least thats what happens when you use nvidia 3d surround.

 

[pacioli]

Question - if I use 3 monitors, am I still able to utilize my SLI?

OK, I've never done SLI before and I'm a little concerned after googling it. This is my work computer as well as gaming so to maximize my efficiency I use 3 monitors. The left and right monitors are both standard 24" LCD's and don't have anything really intense on them ever, just EXCEL and our shipping program. The center monitor is where I game and it is a 23" LCD 120hz Viewsonic. I just assumed I could plug all 3 monitors into the 2 560's and I would be able to 'focus' the power on the center monitor, is that not correct? Do I need a 3rd GPU to just run the 3rd monitor, just a cheap little card or something? I want the full power on my center 120hz screen but still need my other 2 monitors to be able to run when I'm not playing games. Was I ignorant to assume I could use all 3 monitors on the 2 560's?

The 560s should have at least two DVI connections each. You are limited to 2 monitors on an Nvidia card even if each card has more than two connectors.

You need the second card in SLI for the third monitor. Having said that... Current generation AMD processors typically bottleneck multicard setups. Tom's did a system builder marathon several months back and the AMD six core proc they used could not handle the processing required to manage the dual GTX 480s they put in it.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/overclock-cpu-build-a-pc,2700.html

Honestly I don't know what bottlenecks you will come up against... The hardware config you have is slightly different from the system builder marathon. A slightly faster processor based on the same Thuban design.

As long as the extra monitors are not used for gaming you should be fine.

Also... don't put that third GPU in there. A single card runs at PCIe 2.0 x16. This is great! It means each slot is running at 16 times the speed of PCIe 2.0 1. Dual cards run at PCIe 2.0 X8/X8 Which is fine because the bandwidth is still not saturated. Adding a third card will make the PCIe bus run at PCIe 2.0 X4/X4/X4. At X4 the bandwidth will actually be saturated and the Bus will actually cause your cards to run slower.

This is one pet peave I have with AMD. They will certify boards for crossfireX even if the PCIe slots are running at a mere X4. Nvidia only allows SLI certification on boards that are at least PCIe X8. sorry for the side rant there...

 

[frzg]

Finishing the build today. If I were to use the CPU for a little bit and sell it to my brother and upgrade to bulldozer x8, would that be a significant significant upgrade? I'll be going to bulldozer eventually so I'm not too concerned at the 1100t as the mobo is ready for bulldozer and nothing should be bottlenecked by just upgrading the CPU.

 

[pacioli]

Yes that is good! If bulldozer lives up to the hype... We don't know if BD will be as good or better than the current gen AMD processors. Hopefully it will trade blows with the Intel Sandy Bridge chips.