Need Advice on Motherboard and psu please !

senseij07

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Sep 21, 2011
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18,510
Hello all,

Approximate Purchase Date: Before the end of the year.
Budget Range: $2,000

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, video,music,photo editing Anvil Autocad

Parts Not Required: Mouse, speakers,keyboard, monitor

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com

Country of Origin: US of A

Parts Preferences: Intel CPU

Overclocking: Most likely

SLI or Crossfire: SLI

Monitor Resolution: 24" monitor, so I assume 1920x1080?

Additional Comments:

Im building a new rig for the first time, but still have questions on what kind of motherboard would suit my needs and which direction to go in terms of power supplies. The purpose of of this system is gaming, video/music/photo editing, and auto cad and Anvil.

Here is what I have so far:

Case:
Level 10 GT Snow Edition
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133192&Tpk=level%20gt%20snow

CPU:
Intel Core i7 960 Bloomfield 3.2 ghz lga 1366 130w
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115224

HDD:
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

Memory:
Mushkin Enhanced Radioactive 12GB (3 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226220

Optical Drive:
SAMSUNG Black 12X BD-ROM 16X DVD-/+R 48X CD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray Combo Model SH-B123L/RSBP
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151232

Graphics Card:
ZOTAC AMP! ZT-50702-10M GeForce GTX 560 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500210

 

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i7-990x-extreme-edition-gulftown,2874.html <----- $1,000 Intel Core i7-990X Extreme vs $330 Intel Core i7 2600K Sandy Bridge

*Sandy Bridge reviews down below

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/sandy-bridge-core-i7-2600k-core-i5-2500k,2833.html

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/the-sandy-bridge-review-intel-core-i5-2600k-i5-2500k-and-core-i3-2100-tested

http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1501/1/

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=622&Itemid=63

http://www.guru3d.com/article/core-i5-2500k-and-core-i7-2600k-review/
 

I wouldn't recommend this cpu to anyone simply because it's based on a dead end technology. The technology of choice for new systems, especially if you're learning about overclocking, is a socket 1155 based cpu (unlocked cpu) on a Z68 chipset. That's the platform which is current, and for which there will be upgrades available in the future (should you ever choose to upgrade your cpu)

For the cpu, I would get this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.722021

for the MB, I would get this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128512
 
If you want a PSU that can support SLI then IMO 650/750 is the sweetspot for two GTX 560s.

Some options:
Corsair TX750V2 80Plus Bronze $105 ($10 rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139021

Corsair HX650 80Plus Bronze/Silver Modular $120 ($20 rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139012

XFX Pro 750W XXX Edition 80Plus Silver Modular $130 ($30 rebate, $6 shipping)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207016

Antec HCP-750 80Plus Gold Modular $140 ($25 rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371052

NZXT Hale90 750W 80Plus Gold Modular $140 ($6 shipping)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817116011

Seasonic X-650 80Plus Gold Modular $140 ($6 shipping)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151088
 

Nobody has pointed it out so far so I will. You have $602 in just the case and cpu up there, and only a gtx560 (it's not even a gtx 560ti) to show for it. That's what's called a horribly unbalanced build on here....especially when you list the first priority of this build as gaming. I wouldn't take any advice from your friend or your going to get totally hosed.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261222-31-build-advice <---- please copy and paste this on here.
 

senseij07

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Sep 21, 2011
5
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18,510
Thanks for the replies. I actually saw the 560ti and already decided to switch it out same thing for my cpu. As for the case, Not willing to compromise there haha. Looks like im switching out my cpu and gpu based on your rec. but how about psu ? Do you think 750w would suffice ? Or should I play it safe and go a bit higher ?
 

senseij07

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Sep 21, 2011
5
0
18,510


Thank you for the info. I have gone ahead and switched to the gtx 560 ti after reading a little more about it and seeing some benchmarks. As for the case being a factor in making it an unbalanced build, I appreciate the opinion but will stick to my decision. And yea no longer asking said friend for advice after coming here and after he said i should get a HDD instead of a SSD for higher speeds :eek: