Building super computer please help

[Guest]

Hey guys It's time for me to get a new computer and so ive been searching the web looking for a decent gaming computer that can withstand what i throw at it. I want to be sure to be able to play games such as Skyrim, Total War series, Battlefield 3 ect on the highest settings possible. I also mod most my games and run higher up textures and or create more than the origanal number of characters in a game. For example, in Skyrim i would love it if i could just spawn 100 people and it wouldnt lag at all, or doubling the standard amount of troops in TW (Total War) witch is an RTS game : http://www.thunderboltgames.com/re [...] or-pc.html anyways in most of those battles there is thousands of players. I just want a computer that can take the damage and have no lag at all. Also i mod very frequently and such and also need to be able to navigate through the hard drives and files fast. So i went and designed a computer on cyber power hoping that it can meet my needs tell me what you guys think :

Intel® Core™ i7-3930K Six-Core 3.20 GHz 12MB Intel Smart Cache LGA2011 (All Venom OC Certified

Motherboard: (4-Way SLI Support) ASUS Rampage IV Extreme Intel X79 Chipset Quad Channel DDR3 ATX w/ ROG Connect, UEFI BIOS, BT GO, OC Key, Subzero Sense & 7.1 HD Audio, Intel GbLAN, USB3.0, SATA-III RAID, 5 Gen3 PCIe X16 & 1 PCIe X1

Memory: 32GB (8GBx4) DDR3/1600MHz Quad Channel Memory [+368] Corsair Vengeance

Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 4GB 16X PCIe 3.0 Video Card [+421] (EVGA Powered by NVIDIA)

Video Card 2: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 4GB 16X PCIe 3.0 Video Card [+726] (EVGA Powered by NVIDIA)

1300 Watts - Cooler Master Silent Pro Hybrid 80 Plus Gold Power Supply (80+ Gold) [+257]

480 GB Intel 520 Series SATA-III 6.0Gb/s - 550 MB/s Read & 520 MB/s Write (Single Drive) [+484]

Data Hard Drive: 2TB (2TBx1) Western Digital Caivar Black SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 64MB Cache 7200RPM HDD (Single Drive)

Hard Drive Cooling Fan: Vigor iSURF II Hard Disk Drive Cooling System [+21] (2 x Systems

Keyboard: Razer Arctosa Black USB Gaming Keyboard

Mouse: Razer Naga Hex 11 Buttons 5600 DPI Laser Gaming Mouse

Operating System: Microsoft® Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit Edition)

Optical Drive: LG 12X Internal Blu-ray Drive & DVDRW, 3D Playback Combo Drive (BLACK COLOR)



What do i need to change or add to get the computer I'm looking for? Or is it all good? Thanks so much it means a lot to me

 

[proton007]

Are you looking at a budget? It would be nice to have one.

 

[Guest]

Trying to stay in the 5 k range

 

[proton007]

I don't know, maybe dual 690s ?
Or Quad 680s?

 

[fat-chunk]

Hey again Jakejtag1,

What monitor do you plan on using and at what resolution?
The amount of charcters on screen will probably be handled by your CPU and not your GPU, so with your powerful hexcore Sandy Bridge-E you shouldn't have to worry about that.

What the GPU will help with is if you plan on having several high resolution monitors or not. If you only plan on having one monitor, then just one gtx 680 2GB will be fine for any game even at 2560x1600 resolutions (including skyrim). If you plan on using three monitors in surround, then I would recommend two gtx 680s at 2GB each or even a gtx 690 (it's a dual-GPU card, basically two gtx 680s on a single card).

As I said before the Palit JetStream GTX 680 2GB is one of the best cards of that kind, and comes with a good factory overclock (which is 100% safe and is under warranty!) as well as a great and quiet cooler. Again, 4GB will not make any difference with games so far not using that amount of memory and the limitation on kepler's memory bus will prevent it from exploiting that kind of memory. 4GB cards tend to perform slightly slower as their boost doesnt reach clocks as high as the 2GB models.

As for the SSD, this depends on how much you will want to store on there. You'll want to install the Operating system, and I assume a few of your games but this won't improve performance in any way apart from slightly faster load times. Performance for SSDs caps at about 256GB so it's up to you to decide if you need 480GB or not, depending on whether you have many files that will need to be transferred quickly. Also I would still recommend OCZ Vertex 4 over Intel (they're overpriced and don't have any apparent performance improvement).

1000W should be fine for this build provided you get a good and efficient one (the new Nvidia cards use much less power) but 1300W will keep your options open for the future in case you feel you'll need to opt for 3 or 4 graphics cards (although I doubt you will).

 

[fat-chunk]

In addition to this I don't think you need the hard drive cooling as hard drives do not overheat ever (unless you have a terrible case, bad layout and bad airflow).

Make sure you get a good CPU cooler, to keep those temps down in those heavy applications (I can imagine 1000 rendered soldiers being pretty taxing) and (just in case you change your mind!) keep your overclocking options open.

I would recommend air coolers over water coolers having experienced both and all-in-one water coolers are very efficient at cooling but are loud and are prone to pump grinding problems (me being on the end of that twice). I imagine you probably won't want to go through the hassle of building your own custom water cooling setup with an external radiator and such so I would think that air cooling would be best. I personally own the phanteks ph-tc14pe and it is quiet whilst maintaining excellent temperatures.

However for these big air coolers you will need low profile ram, so make sure your RAM is corsair vengeance low profile as the tall heat spreaders will prevent you from using a decent cooler (also, these heat spreaders are pointless and just for marketing show as RAM does not overheat).

What case did you have in mind? Make sure get one with enough clearance for a big heat sink, but I guess any full tower case will do the trick (I would recommend Cooler Master HAF X)

 

[fat-chunk]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119225

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835709001&nm_mc=OTC-FroogleNEW&cm_mmc=OTC-FroogleNEW-_-CPU+Cooling-_-Phanteks+Company-_-35709001 (available in 5 different colours)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233328

Can't find the Palit Jetstream gtx 680 on any US online stores but this Gigabyte one has good reviews, a good overclock and very efficient aftermarket cooler also:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125422

 

[jakejtag2]

no

 

[jakejtag2]

lll

 

[fat-chunk]

No problem!

800D is a great case, plenty of space and great cable management, just make sure the power cables from your PSU are long enough to reach the top of your motherboard.

For storage: If you do a lot of file transfer and need it done fast, then go with the 480GB. Just note that SSD speed does not affect gameplay or program speed/performance, it just speeds up file transfers (includes loading times for games etc.) but seeing as you will probably be doing alot of this then go with 480GB.

For CPU cooler: I've been having a look around and one that seems to come up alot is the be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 2 cooler which apparently balances noise and temeratures really well. If you like to have a quiet system then this may be a good one to consider. My PSU is made by be quiet! and it is silent and has brilliant performance. Otherwise if noise doesnt bother you then the Phanteks is as good as yo can get in my opinion and is easier to track down.

For GPU and monitor: For your budget I would recommend a high resolution WQHD or 2560x1600 resolution monitor. Games will look super crisp and you will barely be able to make out the pixels. For this a simple GTX 680 2GB should largely suffice, but if you want to future proof, the GTX 690 is also a good idea (it has 4GB because it is basically two 680s on a single card). Again, even if games say they're compatible with 4GB cards, they will not use this amount of memory so I wouldn't go for a 4GB gtx 680 personally.

I am not too familiar with monitors in this range so I can't really help you out all that much but I heard that Dell and HP do good 2560x1600 ones. Look online for reviews and prices or ask in the forums as I'm not too sure.

Let me know what you decide to go with and if you need any more help!

 

[Guest]

No problem!

800D is a great case, plenty of space and great cable management, just make sure the power cables from your PSU are long enough to reach the top of your motherboard.

For storage: If you do a lot of file transfer and need it done fast, then go with the 480GB. Just note that SSD speed does not affect gameplay or program speed/performance, it just speeds up file transfers (includes loading times for games etc.) but seeing as you will probably be doing alot of this then go with 480GB.

For CPU cooler: I've been having a look around and one that seems to come up alot is the be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 2 cooler which apparently balances noise and temeratures really well. If you like to have a quiet system then this may be a good one to consider. My PSU is made by be quiet! and it is silent and has brilliant performance. Otherwise if noise doesnt bother you then the Phanteks is as good as yo can get in my opinion and is easier to track down.

For GPU and monitor: For your budget I would recommend a high resolution WQHD or 2560x1600 resolution monitor. Games will look super crisp and you will barely be able to make out the pixels. For this a simple GTX 680 2GB should largely suffice, but if you want to future proof, the GTX 690 is also a good idea (it has 4GB because it is basically two 680s on a single card). Again, even if games say they're compatible with 4GB cards, they will not use this amount of memory so I wouldn't go for a 4GB gtx 680 personally.

I am not too familiar with monitors in this range so I can't really help you out all that much but I heard that Dell and HP do good 2560x1600 ones. Look online for reviews and prices or ask in the forums as I'm not too sure.

Let me know what you decide to go with and if you need any more help!

Again thanks so much for all the comments, I appreciate it


Configuration
*BASE_PRICE: [+1185]
BLUETOOTH: None
CARE1: Ultra Enhanced Packaging Solution - Protect Your Dream System During Transit [+19]
CARE2: Cooler Master Thermal Fusion 400 Extreme Performance CPU - Thermal Compound Optimized for Thermal Dissipation [+10]
CARE3: Professional Wiring for All WIRING Inside The System Chassis - Minimize Cable Exposure, Maximize Airflow in Your System [+19]
CAS: Corsair Obsidian Series 800D Full Tower Gaming Case w/ 4x SATA Hot-Swap Drive Bays & Side-Panel Window [+217]
CASUPGRADE: Flexible LED Interior Light Strip [+19] (Blue Color [+0])
CD: LG 14X Internal Blu-ray Burner, BD-RE, DVD+RW, 3D Playback Combo Drive [+38] (Black Color)
CD2: None
COOLANT: Standard Coolant
CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-3930K Six-Core 3.20 GHz 12MB Intel Smart Cache LGA2011 (All Venom OC Certified) [+304]
CS_FAN: Maximum Enermax 120MM Case Cooling Fans for selected case (Maximum Silent Operation) [+29] (500-1,200 RPM T.B. Silence Black Color with Blue LED Twister Bearing 8-14 dBA [+0])
ENGRAVING: Skull Design [+19]
FA_HDD: None
FAN: Thermaltake Water 2.0 Pro Liquid Cooling System 120MM Radiator [+63] (Dual Enermax Enlobal Silent High Performance 120MM Fans (Push-Pull) [+29])
FLASHMEDIA: None
GLASSES: None
HDD: 480 GB Intel 520 Series SATA-III 6.0Gb/s - 550 MB/s Read & 520 MB/s Write [+462] (Single Drive)
HDD2: 2TB (2TBx1) Western Digital Caivar Black SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 64MB Cache 7200RPM HDD [+199] (Single Drive)
IEEE_CARD: None
IUSB: Internal USB 3.0 4-Port Hub [+29]
KEYBOARD: Razer Lycosa Black USB Gaming Keyboard [+66]
MEMORY: 32GB (8GBx4) DDR3/1600MHz Quad Channel Memory [+368] (Corsair Vengeance [+64])
MONITOR: None
MONITOR2: None
MONITOR3: None
MOPAD1: Razer Sphex Gaming Grade Desktop Skins Mouse Pad [+13]
MOTHERBOARD: (4-Way SLI Support) ASUS Rampage IV Extreme Intel X79 Chipset Quad Channel DDR3 ATX w/ ROG Connect, UEFI BIOS, BT GO, OC Key, Subzero Sense & 7.1 HD Audio, Intel GbLAN, USB3.0, SATA-III RAID, 5 Gen3 PCIe X16 & 1 PCIe X1 [+270]
MOUSE: Razer Naga Hex 11 Buttons 5600 DPI Laser Gaming Mouse [+66]
NETWORK: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
NOISEREDUCE1: Sound Absorbing Foam on Side, Top And Bottom panels [+29]
NOISEREDUCE2: Power Supply Gasket [+5]
NOISEREDUCE3: Anti-Vibration Fan Mounts [+9]
OS: Microsoft® Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit Edition)
OVERCLOCK: No Overclocking
POWERSUPPLY: * 1300 Watts - Cooler Master Silent Pro Hybrid 80 Plus Gold Power Supply (80+ Gold) [+257]
RUSH: NO; READY TO SHIP IN 5~10 BUSINESS DAYS
SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
SOUND: ASUS Xonar Essence ST 24-bit 192KHz PCI Sound Card [+199]
SPEAKERS: Creative Labs Gigaworks T20 Series II 2.0 EPS Speakers System [+122]
TEMP: None
TUNING: None
TVRC: None
USB: None
USBFLASH: None
USBHD: None
USBX: None
VIDEO: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 4GB 16X PCIe 3.0 Dual GPU Video Card [+748] (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA)
VIDEO2: None
VIDEO3: None
WNC: Linksys WMP600N Wireless-N Dual-Band Adapter [+66]
_PRICE: (+4923)
_view_: {1224CB3A-A5AC-48C6-85E3-2B475412051E}
_load_: 9/4/2012 3:00:01 PM

I may however swap out the Intel HD for the 480 GB Kingston HyperX 3K SATA-III 6.0Gb/s SSD - 540MB/s Read & 450MB/s Write, is there any true difference? And one last thing do I need a Data Hard Drive? I see it as only 2 hard drives but it may have more purpose thanks again for all the help

 

[fat-chunk]

According to Tom's, Samsung 830, Plextor M3 and OCZ Vertex series are the best SSDs, so if you can get them for cheaper than the Intel, I would go for them.

What do you mean by Data Hard Drive? For storing Data? If you will not be accessing it frequently and dont need it at super fast speeds then just dump it all on your HDD.

Just a few things to note:

-Coolant should come with every Aftermarket cooler so you dont need to get it.
-If you're getting such a nice sound card, wouldn't you want to make the most of it with a proper 5.1 or 7.1 surround setup?
- Those closed-loop water coolers are risky. Don't say I didn't warn you because they are very prone to pump issues that cause horrendous grinding noise and reduce performance after a while, I'm seriously not kidding. I would strongly recommend an air cooler.

Apart from that it all looks good

 

[Guest]

According to Tom's, Samsung 830, Plextor M3 and OCZ Vertex series are the best SSDs, so if you can get them for cheaper than the Intel, I would go for them.

What do you mean by Data Hard Drive? For storing Data? If you will not be accessing it frequently and dont need it at super fast speeds then just dump it all on your HDD.

Just a few things to note:

-Coolant should come with every Aftermarket cooler so you dont need to get it.
-If you're getting such a nice sound card, wouldn't you want to make the most of it with a proper 5.1 or 7.1 surround setup?
- Those closed-loop water coolers are risky. Don't say I didn't warn you because they are very prone to pump issues that cause horrendous grinding noise and reduce performance after a while, I'm seriously not kidding. I would strongly recommend an air cooler.

Apart from that it all looks good

Im sorry I meant to disclude the water cooler, as I will be going with the air cooler you provided earlier. And surround sound would be nice. Would you recommend I get the Corsair Gaming Audio Series SP2500 High-power 2.1 PC Speaker System?

And on cyberpower (where i constructed this computer) there is memory, hard drive, and data hard drive but i read somewhere it is not necessary. As an additional question, compared to Cyber Power building this rig for me, as to myself building it, what price difference would you say were looking at? I would like to cut off as much unneeded use of money as I can, Thanks again

 

[fat-chunk]

For the cyberpower question I really dont know, because I have never used them myself and I'm not familiar with US pricing (from the UK). However these companies do mark up a hefty amount when you go through them and many go as far as charging 15 to 20% more if they build it for you.

It's up to you: are you up for the challenge of building your own rig? Does it interest you? Everyone on this site would probably tell you to build it yourself, as it can be fun and interesting, you save a lot of money, and if you stumble into any problems you'll have tom's hardware forums to support you

In addition to this each part has a warranty, and you dont have to go through the hassle of chasing up the builder and sending your whole system back for them to fix it for you (you can just locate the faulty part if there is one and send it back). I hear sites like newegg have excellent customer service and pricing as do amazon so I would check them out first.

By surround sound I mean 5 or 7 speakers all around you when you game. A 2.1 system consists of just 2 speakers so it really wouldnt merit getting a soundcard (especially such a pricey one) as your motherboard will already have excellent on board sound. I have a very good but also affordable 5 speaker setup (the logitech X-530) but there are more premium high quality ones with additional speakers if you prefer. I dont know too much about these either so it might be worth asking around or doing some research.

Also, here is that Dell monitor I was talking about. From what I've read it has good reviews that praise its high resolution and excellent image quality:

http://www.amazon.com/Dell-UltraSharp-U3011-30-Monitor/dp/B004KKGF1O/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1346807352&sr=8-3&keywords=dell+ultrasharp

http://reviews.cnet.com/lcd-monitors/dell-ultrasharp-u3011/4505-3174_7-34182214.html

 

[Guest]

What about the Logitech Z-506 5.1 Surround Speakers + Subwoofer System
? And I'll have too look into that monitor it looks good. As for building it myself according to those numbers I'd be saving about 1k so I think ill try
Thanks