- May 26, 2014
- 3
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- 4,510
Hello there folks! Spent many hours lurking on this site and others like it, dreaming and drooling over a new rig. Years ago I got what seemed like a great deal on Cyberpower, a beast of a machine at the time - but because I didn't do proper research into compatibility between parts (EVGA NFORCE 780I 775 plus two SLIed EVGA GF8800 GTX 768 MB superclocked - beautiful graphics in between the hourly crashes, at least) I never was able to use it as the gaming rig it was build to be. The time has come at last for a complete overhaul, and I don't want to make the same mistakes all over again. I've been doing my research looking for the parts that suit my specific needs and as far as I've read everything 'seems' it should be compatible in both dimensions and functionality........but it would be nice to see a few nods of approval from the pros out there.
Here's what we're looking at:
Case: Cooler Master HAF X
**Been debating longer on this than anything. Has everything I need in terms of size and slots. My only problem is due to smoke and cat hair my computers get super filthy super quick. If someone knows an equivalent that is loaded with washable hepa metal filters (only seen em on one or two cases so not sure the right term for this?!) that would be fantastic!
Motherboard / CPU: ASUS P9X79 LGA 2011 Intel X79 with a Intel Core i7-3770 3.4 GHz
**my biggest compatibility fear...but reading should be fine with GPU and the sweet SSD I foolishly purchased for my current aging mobo. Know chip set isn't the fastest these days but major boost from my 2.4ghz quadcore, and I'm putting my money on overclocking, the insane 64gb max ram and triple or quad SLI way down the road to extend lifespan.
Graphics: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 OC 2GB
**just got one to use in old rig temporarily - so far super stable, cool, and great power. will get another one to SLI in the near future.
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (1x8GB) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800
**one or two as I can afford and room for lot of upgrade, finding no compatibility issues here.
Power supply: Rosewill RBR1000-M 1000-Watt Bronze Series 80 Plus
**I'll admit my research in this department has been minimal - good reviews and enough power for multi GPUs down the road. Overkill at this point but I'd rather not have to go higher later.
Liquid cooling: Corsair Hydro Series Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler H100i
**Specifically finding references to this working fine with the case. Read a few guides but never put one in, don't think there's anything else I need to worry about?
Data: Crucial M500 240GB SATA 2.5-Inch.
**I hear it crying from its box next to me every night, begging for a motherboard to insert its digital manhood into. Soon precious, soon! Of course have the standard 3.5 terabytes overflowing with garbage I'll swap from the old beast.
That should do it. The goal is 1) a powerful gaming rig under $1500 for everything, 2) lots of potential for upgrades, 3) cool enough not to melt under extended use, and 4) most important - stability between components.
Thanks to readers for any advice, and thanks Tom's Hardware team for all your hard work!
Long days and pleasant nights
Phil
Here's what we're looking at:
Case: Cooler Master HAF X
**Been debating longer on this than anything. Has everything I need in terms of size and slots. My only problem is due to smoke and cat hair my computers get super filthy super quick. If someone knows an equivalent that is loaded with washable hepa metal filters (only seen em on one or two cases so not sure the right term for this?!) that would be fantastic!
Motherboard / CPU: ASUS P9X79 LGA 2011 Intel X79 with a Intel Core i7-3770 3.4 GHz
**my biggest compatibility fear...but reading should be fine with GPU and the sweet SSD I foolishly purchased for my current aging mobo. Know chip set isn't the fastest these days but major boost from my 2.4ghz quadcore, and I'm putting my money on overclocking, the insane 64gb max ram and triple or quad SLI way down the road to extend lifespan.
Graphics: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 OC 2GB
**just got one to use in old rig temporarily - so far super stable, cool, and great power. will get another one to SLI in the near future.
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (1x8GB) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800
**one or two as I can afford and room for lot of upgrade, finding no compatibility issues here.
Power supply: Rosewill RBR1000-M 1000-Watt Bronze Series 80 Plus
**I'll admit my research in this department has been minimal - good reviews and enough power for multi GPUs down the road. Overkill at this point but I'd rather not have to go higher later.
Liquid cooling: Corsair Hydro Series Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler H100i
**Specifically finding references to this working fine with the case. Read a few guides but never put one in, don't think there's anything else I need to worry about?
Data: Crucial M500 240GB SATA 2.5-Inch.
**I hear it crying from its box next to me every night, begging for a motherboard to insert its digital manhood into. Soon precious, soon! Of course have the standard 3.5 terabytes overflowing with garbage I'll swap from the old beast.
That should do it. The goal is 1) a powerful gaming rig under $1500 for everything, 2) lots of potential for upgrades, 3) cool enough not to melt under extended use, and 4) most important - stability between components.
Thanks to readers for any advice, and thanks Tom's Hardware team for all your hard work!
Long days and pleasant nights
Phil
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