Help me out - Long time console gamer - first build - 3.5K Budget

[fishhead617]

Ok so I'm new to PC gaming but I've done a lot of research and a lot of saving I'm getting close to actually buying my first rig.

I Would really appreciate some feedback/suggestions. Here's what I got so far. I don't know enough to build my own so I'm thinking of getting through iBUYPOWER.

I am a big gamer and want my games to run at ultra knock your socks off performance. And also I work from home doing a lot of multimedia video editing and photoshopping. So those are my main needs.

Anyways here's my build.

Case: Corsair C70 - military green
Processor: Intel Core i7 3820
Advanced Noise Reduction
CPU Liquid Cooling w/ dual silent high performance fans
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16gb 4gbx4 DDR3 1600
Dual AMD 7970 CrossFire
Motherboard: Asus PX979
Power Supply: 1350 Watt Thermaltake Toughpower
Main Hard Drive: 1tb WD VelociRaptor HDD - 10000 RPM 6.0Gb/s
Data Hard Drive: 120Gb Intel 520 SDD- Read 550MB/s - Write 500MB/s
Optical Drive: 12x Pioneer Blu-Ray Re-Writer DVD-R/RW Combo Drive
Internal 12-in-1 flash media card reader/writer
Creative Labs Soundblaster X-fi Xtreme Audio

Thoughts? Suggestions? Anything at all would be appreciated. I've only owned Macs so far so this is all quite new and exciting.

 

[mocchan]

Great choice on your monitor! Those 30" Dells are very nice...I personally want one in the future.

Your choice of an i7 3770k is actually very nice and will allow you to invest more in your GPU if you wished. Perhaps you may want to consider a GTX670/680 SLI

Also about the Crucial M4, they are nice drives, but the Intel 520's will perform just as well. However, what other options do you have for SSD's? (models)

One last thing - your PSU is still a little overkill, you won't need more than around 850w!

 

[fishhead617]

Thanks man,
Yeah I've been in love with that monitor since I first saw it - it's beyond awesome!

Other SSD models are 120Gb AData s510 - 120Gb Corsair Force Series Gt - 120Gb Intel 520 - 120Gb Kingston V+200 - 120Gb OCZ Agility 3

Ok so about the PSU - the service I'm buying this through says I need at least 1000w to run my Video Cards in the crossfire setup and since I'm still undecided on whether I'll go with that or an NVIDIA GTX680 I haven't been able to tone it down but if I go with the GTX680 they'd let me get away with a 750w PSU

 

[mocchan]

Thanks man,
Yeah I've been in love with that monitor since I first saw it - it's beyond awesome!

Other SSD models are 120Gb AData s510 - 120Gb Corsair Force Series Gt - 120Gb Intel 520 - 120Gb Kingston V+200 - 120Gb OCZ Agility 3

Ok so about the PSU - the service I'm buying this through says I need at least 1000w to run my Video Cards in the crossfire setup and since I'm still undecided on whether I'll go with that or an NVIDIA GTX680 I haven't been able to tone it down but if I go with the GTX680 they'd let me get away with a 750w PSU

Ah, I see That's one of the downsides of those custom pre-built services, they don't let you get what you want in a sense. (Only need a 650w PSU to run a single 680...550w for a 670 :lol: )

However, that won't be too much of an issue I believe.

With those SSD options, I would stick with the Intel. It's a little pricier, but you get the reliability and name to back up your purchase/decision.

Anyways getting back to the main issue, Z77+3770k+670/680 vs X79+3820+CF7970's...

Crossfiring 7970's will get you some wicked performance, but there will always be the issue of power consumption (may be irrelevant to you) and price.

I would rather pick up a single GTX680 (still gives you some outstanding performance considering the MASSIVE resolution @2560x1600)

 

[fishhead617]

I think now I'm leaning towards the Z77 3770k with a single GTX 680 - that'll save me almost a grand and it'll still run great and look amazing - Thanks again mocchan you are a gentleman and a scholar!

The Build:

Case: Corsair C70 - military green
Processor: Intel Z77 3770 Core i7
Advanced Noise Reduction
CPU Liquid Cooling w/ dual silent high performance fans
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16gb 4gbx4 DDR3 1600
Video Card: NVIDIA 4Gb GTX 680
Motherboard: ASrock z77 Extreme4
Power Supply: 750 Watt Thermaltake Toughpower
Data Hard Drive: 1tb WD VelociRaptor HDD - 10000 RPM 6.0Gb/s
Main Hard Drive: 120Gb Intel 520 SDD- Read 550MB/s - Write 500MB/s
Optical Drive: 12x Pioneer Blu-Ray Re-Writer DVD-R/RW Combo Drive
Internal 12-in-1 flash media card reader/writer
Creative Labs Soundblaster X-fi Xtreme Audio

Peripherals to buy:
Dell 30 inch 2560x1600 monitor
Razer DeathAdder Mouse
Razer Black Widow Ultimate Gaming Keyboard

 

[boyabunda]

I'll eventually get a new keyboard and mouse as well b/c as I said I was previously a Mac user and I won't be using all my old mac peripherals.

For a mouse, go for Logitech, Steelseries, or Razer. I suggest the Logitech G9x.

Go for a mechanical keyboard. Watch this great Youtube video talking about different mechanical keyboards and different types of mechanical switches: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHnMcFGkGcA


Go for Corsair, Seasonic, or XFX PSUs.

 

[mocchan]

I think now I'm leaning towards the Z77 3770k with a single GTX 680 - that'll save me almost a grand and it'll still run great and look amazing - Thanks again mocchan you are a gentleman and a scholar!

The Build:

Case: Corsair C70 - military green
Processor: Intel Z77 3770 Core i7
Advanced Noise Reduction
CPU Liquid Cooling w/ dual silent high performance fans
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16gb 4gbx4 DDR3 1600
Video Card: NVIDIA 4Gb GTX 680
Motherboard: ASrock z77 Extreme4
Power Supply: 750 Watt Thermaltake Toughpower
Data Hard Drive: 1tb WD VelociRaptor HDD - 10000 RPM 6.0Gb/s
Main Hard Drive: 120Gb Intel 520 SDD- Read 550MB/s - Write 500MB/s
Optical Drive: 12x Pioneer Blu-Ray Re-Writer DVD-R/RW Combo Drive
Internal 12-in-1 flash media card reader/writer
Creative Labs Soundblaster X-fi Xtreme Audio

Peripherals to buy:
Dell 30 inch 2560x1600 monitor
Razer DeathAdder Mouse
Razer Black Widow Ultimate Gaming Keyboard

Yes that's definitely a very nice choice! A grand is HUGE...and you could invest that in the shiny Dell monitor we were talking about earlier :lol:

I wouldn't worry about your PSU, by the way. I understand Thermaltake can make some iffy quailty PSU's, but the Toughpower series are actually very reliable and high quality.

About mechanical keyboards, the one you listed is great (I use the same one) but if I say so myself, I would recommend something with a wrist wrest if you're an avid typist!

 

[fishhead617]

Yeah I hear you man I've got a gel wrist rest that I use all the time so I'll keep using that. The Razer Keyboard and Mouse combo to me is just irresistible - they look so nice with that blue glow! I'll bet that's the coolest at night. Oh man can't wait! I think it's close to finalized now. I'll just have to mull it over a bit an do my diligence before pulling the trigger.

 

[mocchan]

Oh yeah I totally understand what you mean about the looks, that's what attracted me to the Black Widow Ultimate to be honest. My picture with the frog has a Black Widow Ultimate in the background, by the way You can't see it very well but it gives you an idea of how it looks.

I wish you good luck in your decision making! I'm sure you'll have a blast when you decide to jump for it!

 

[spaceace1014]

Yeah I hear you man I've got a gel wrist rest that I use all the time so I'll keep using that. The Razer Keyboard and Mouse combo to me is just irresistible - they look so nice with that blue glow! I'll bet that's the coolest at night. Oh man can't wait! I think it's close to finalized now. I'll just have to mull it over a bit an do my diligence before pulling the trigger.

Mechanical keyboards like the Black Widow are a cut above everything else just because of their mechanical switches. If you haven't felt one you'll know what I mean when you do. Razer is in the process of updating their Black Widow line right now. Supposedly they've fixed some issues with the keyboard like the key combo zxc not registering all at once also their backlight is going to be green. You may want to consider a Deck Legend or a Ducky Shine they are both supposedly better built which I can't tell you for a fact because I haven't owned either one though I can tell you for a fact that the Filco Majestouch II, Rosewill RK-9000, and the Topre Realforce are... sadly they don't fit the bill because they lack backlighting.

You should consider the kind of mechanical switches that you are going to want.
1.)Blue - Tactile bump with click noise it's somewhat loud especially if you type hard. It is very much a typists switch. this is the black widow's switch.
2.)Brown - Tactile Bump only. I like these alot. They are much quieter and they require less force. These are a cross between a gamers switch and a typists switch. The black widow silent uses these.
3.)Black - No click, no bump, extra force required (to avoid accidental keypresses.) Steel series uses these in their 6G v2 and their 7G.
4.)Red - No click, no bump, Very little force required(so you can move as fast as possible) Corsair uses these in their K90 and K60 Boards.

You can get any of these switches in a Filco, Leopold, WASD, Ducky and I believe Deck though Deck may have a more limited selection.

The Topre Realforce that I mentioned is a completely different beast Its the best built keyboard that I've ever had and this includes the Filco Majestouch II but Its also the least impressive at first use. It's growing on me though.

one more important thing. I have two of the Dell 30's they have a long warm up time before their colors settle when you turn them on in the morning and when they do settle I've found that they have a distinctly green cast(most monitors are too blue). You must get a color calibration device like a Spyder if you're doing any visual content creation.