First gaming PC rig.

[Grevious]

Hi,

I have decided to build my own PC, problem is that it is my first time and I'm uncertain whether or not each of the parts I have selected will be 100% compatible with each other. I hope somebody would not mind giving the components a looking over and correcting any mishaps.

Components:
Case - CM Storm Scout
Case Fans - CM Excalibur Case Fans x2
Mobo - Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 Socket 1155
RAM - Corsair Vengeance 2x4 8GB @ 1600mhz
Video Card - GTX 560Ti
CPU - Intel Core i7 2600K
Cooler - Coolermaster V8
PSU - OCZ ZX Series 1000W Power supply
HDD - Seagate 2TB Barracuda XT Hard Drive - 3.5" SATA-III - 7200rpm 64MB Cache
SSD - OCZ 120GB Agility 3 SSD
Optical Drive - Sony AD-7280S 24x DVD±RW

I would like to keep the case as I already have it. So if anything may not fit (I'm fairly certain it should all fit fine) please correct me.

Also, would I need any extras like cables to go with this?
Could somebody link the "best" model of the GTX 560Ti?
Would it be possible to SLi in this case if I decided to get a second video card in the future?
Will I need thermal paste?

Thank you for your time.

 

[tomhrxbfg]

get arctic silver 5 for thermal paste, and 1000 W is a bit too much even for SLI... IMO it's better to get one powerful card instead of CF/SLI cause some programs have stuttering issues. Other stuff are looking good to me.

 

[Why_Me]

Hi,

I have decided to build my own PC, problem is that it is my first time and I'm uncertain whether or not each of the parts I have selected will be 100% compatible with each other. I hope somebody would not mind giving the components a looking over and correcting any mishaps.

Components:
Case - CM Storm Scout
Case Fans - CM Excalibur Case Fans x2
Mobo - Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 Socket 1155
RAM - Corsair Vengeance 2x4 8GB @ 1600mhz
Video Card - GTX 560Ti
CPU - Intel Core i7 2600K
Cooler - Coolermaster V8
PSU - OCZ ZX Series 1000W Power supply
HDD - Seagate 2TB Barracuda XT Hard Drive - 3.5" SATA-III - 7200rpm 64MB Cache
SSD - OCZ 120GB Agility 3 SSD
Optical Drive - Sony AD-7280S 24x DVD±RW

I would like to keep the case as I already have it. So if anything may not fit (I'm fairly certain it should all fit fine) please correct me.

Also, would I need any extras like cables to go with this?
Could somebody link the "best" model of the GTX 560Ti?
Would it be possible to SLi in this case if I decided to get a second video card in the future?
Will I need thermal paste?

Thank you for your time.

Everything works but I don't understand some of your choices.

1) Why the 1000w psu when a 750w psu easily pushes dual 560 ti's ?

2) Why the 2600K when other than FSX, no other game to my knowledge takes advantage of hyper threading?

3) That CM V8 cpu h/s was a over sized under achieving piece of crap when it first came out some years back and it hasn't improved any with time.

Check out these changes....

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Enthusiast-Certified-Performance-CP-9020003-NA/dp/B005E98FVS/ref=sr_1_16?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1329548373&sr=1-16 $114.49 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Corsair Enthusiast TX V2 Series 750-Watt 80 Plus Bronze Certified High Performance Modular Power Supply CP-9020003-NA

or....

http://www.amazon.com/XFX-Semi-Modular-Energy-Certified-P1750BNLG9/dp/B005IUVYA2/ref=sr_1_9?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1329693356&sr=1-9 $128.26 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
XFX PRO Series 750W XXX Edition Semi-Modular ATX Energy Star Certified Power Supply 80Plus Silver 750 Watt PSU P1750BNLG9

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157265 $149.99
ASRock P67 EXTREME4 GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

or....

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271 $121.99
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

or...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131792 $189.99 FREE SHIPPING
ASUS P8Z68-V/GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072 $229.99 FREE SHIPPING
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623I52500K

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099 $34.99
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R2 Continuous Direct Contact 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler Compatible with latest Intel 2011/1366/1155 and AMD FM1/AM3+

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127615 $294.99 - $264.99 after mail-in rebate card FREE SHIPPING
MSI N560GTX-Ti 448 Twin Frozr III PE/OC GeForce GTX 560 Ti - 448 Cores (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

http://www.asrock.com/microsite/PCIe3/ <------ Gen 3 board + Ivy Bridge + new generation vid cards = PCI-E 3.0

And some reviews on that MSI card down below.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/msi-geforce-gtx-560-ti-448-core-oc-power-review/23 <------ If only they did 1920x1080 on there. That's that MSI gtx 560 ti 448 core (over clocked) vs a gtx 580

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_560_Ti_448_Cores_Twin_Frozr_III/30.html <---- there's that MSI card again vs a gtx 580. There's a few more reviews on it also.

or a new generation PCI-E 3.0 card. 750w psu will easily push two of these cards...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102963 $479.99 FREE SHIPPING
SAPPHIRE 11196-02-40G Radeon HD 7950 3GB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card (OC Version)

 

[Grevious]

Thank you for the response and the feedback!

So, it would be a better idea to get the i5 instead of the i7?

Out of the changes that you've listed for me, I have chosen to go with the Corsair 750w PSU, the ASUS P8Z68-V mobo and I will definitely be getting that video card.

I'm assuming that the cooler you linked is better than my original choice?
Would the case allow enough room for SLi cards if I decided to purchase the 2nd card?

Thanks again for all of your help so far.

 

[Why_Me]

get arctic silver 5 for thermal paste, and 1000 W is a bit too much even for SLI... IMO it's better to get one powerful card instead of CF/SLI cause some programs have stuttering issues. Other stuff are looking good to me.

All Cooler Master cpu h/s come with a small tube of MX/TX-4 thermal compound which happens to be excellent thermal compound. Agreed though with your other suggestions.

 

[Grevious]

I'm also wondering. On a game like Battlefield 3. What would be the potential of this build in terms of performance? Will I be able to run it on max settings at 1920x1080? And what about if I also have FRAPS recording on top of that?

 

[striker410]

Maxing with FRAPS is going to require some SERIOUS graphical muscle, I'd expect nothing less than a pair of 6970's which are above and beyond your budget.

To play BF3 on max at 60FPS (with low AA, probably 4x or so) you'll need at least a 7950/GTX 580, or a pair of 6870's. You might be able to get away with FRAPS recording if you lock the framerate at 30FPS.

 

[Grevious]

Thanks. ^^
I was just wondering just to get a general idea of what capabilities the build would have. At the moment I can't even FRAPS CS:S maxed. Appalling laptop.

Thank you all again for all of your help!

 

[Why_Me]

Thank you for the response and the feedback!

So, it would be a better idea to get the i5 instead of the i7?

Out of the changes that you've listed for me, I have chosen to go with the Corsair 750w PSU, the ASUS P8Z68-V mobo and I will definitely be getting that video card.

I'm assuming that the cooler you linked is better than my original choice?
Would the case allow enough room for SLi cards if I decided to purchase the 2nd card?

Thanks again for all of your help so far.

That CM EVO is a good one, and you can always add another fan to it for a "push - pull" effect to bring temps down even more. Toms has a recent review on that cooler.

That Asus mobo has a front USB 3.0 header but your case lacks the front USB 3.0 ports. You can easily fix that with this down below...and yes that case of yours will do fine for two of those cards in SLI.

This snaps right onto the front of your case giving you two front 3.0 USB ports.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811996037 $11.99 FREE SHIPPING
Biostar CABLEUSB3.0 USB 3.0 Cable Bracket

 

[tomhrxbfg]

Check this video... Single Radeon 6850 with Fx4100 AMD BD run at 1600X900 max out bf3 with fraps on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW60eb7s3-4&feature=channel_video_title

I would say single 6950 should be enough

 

[striker410]

Thanks. ^^
I was just wondering just to get a general idea of what capabilities the build would have. At the moment I can't even FRAPS CS:S maxed. Appalling laptop.

Thank you all again for all of your help!

Ah, you will definitely be able to record CS:S gameplay, haha. If you turn the settings on BF3 down to high from ultra (using FXAA instead of MSAA) I see no reason why you couldn't record your gameplay. I don't have a high end system to compare with, but I assume you'd hit ~40FPS while recording. HDD space is going to be a bigger issue.

 

[striker410]

Check this video... Single Radeon 6850 with Fx4100 AMD BD run at 1600X900 max out bf3 with fraps on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW60eb7s3-4&feature=channel_video_title

I would say single 6950 should be enough

1600x900 has 633,600 fewer pixels than 1080p. Not really a fair comparison.

Try a benchy out for size http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/battlefield-3-graphics-performance,3063-8.html GTX 560 TI 448 should be between the 6950 and 6970.

 

[tomhrxbfg]

1600x900 has 633,600 fewer pixels than 1080p. Not really a fair comparison.

Eh, the above is just one example. There's plenty of vid showing 6850, 6870 maxing out bf3 while recording.

Here's just another eg:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YO2S4g7KHVM&feature=related

Edit: in 1080 HD

 

[Grevious]

That CM EVO is a good one, and you can always add another fan to it for a "push - pull" effect to bring temps down even more. Toms has a recent review on that cooler.

That Asus mobo has a front USB 3.0 header but your case lacks the front USB ports. You can easily fix that with this down below...and yes that case of yours will do fine for two of those cards in SLI.

This snaps right onto the front of your case giving you two front 3.0 USB ports.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811996037 $11.99 FREE SHIPPING
Biostar CABLEUSB3.0 USB 3.0 Cable Bracket

Excellent, thank you very much!
I shall also add that to my list.

Check this video... Single Radeon 6850 with Fx4100 AMD BD run at 1600X900 max out bf3 with fraps on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW60eb7s3-4&feature=channel_video_title

I would say single 6950 should be enough

Unfortunately, it's a much smaller resolution so the performance will be a lot different.

Ah, you will definitely be able to record CS:S gameplay, haha. If you turn the settings on BF3 down to high from ultra (using FXAA instead of MSAA) I see no reason why you couldn't record your gameplay. I don't have a high end system to compare with, but I assume you'd hit ~40FPS while recording. HDD space is going to be a bigger issue.

As long as I can record games that are running at Medium+ with a decent amount of fps I'm not too fussed.
I normally do a clearance of my hard drives each month to prevent any junk from building up, including old fraps files. So shouldn't be too much of a problem. I suppose I could always buy an external or two if I really needed to.