New to Building Gaming Systems

[evilgoader]

Hello all!

I recently decided to try my hand at building a gaming computer and I need advice on whether the hardware I am looking at will be compatible with each other. I'll be mostly using it for Starcraft 2, Civ 5 and maybe a reactivated EVE account. I will also be running Ubuntu for the OS as I have heard good things about it from friends and coworkers and would like to try it out.

Here is what I am thinking of buying from Newegg:

Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb
Memory: (2) CORSAIR CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B (2 x 4GB)
GPU: (2) EVGA 01G-P3-1561-AR GeForce GTX 560 Ti FPB (Fermi)
SSD: Crucial M4 CT512M4SSD2 2.5" 512GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
Psu: Rosewill LIGHTNING-1300 1300W
Blu-ray/DVD/CD player: SAMSUNG SH-B123L/RSBP
Sound Card: ASUS Xonar DS 7.1 PCI Interface Audio Card
Case: Rosewill THOR V2

Thanks!

 

[AbdullahG]

Whats your entire budget? It looks like you have quite a lot of money to spend and there are a few things I would change.

 

[Proximon]

Whats your entire budget? It looks like you have quite a lot of money to spend and there are a few things I would change.

Yes, please see this:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261222-31-build-advice

 

[evilgoader]

Yes, please see this:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261222-31-build-advice

Ok, didn't see that template when i first posted.



Approximate Purchase Date: within 3 weeks


Budget Range: 1500-2500 Before Rebates.


System Usage from Most to Least Important: gaming, surfing the internet, watching movies


Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg


Country of Origin: USA


Parts Preferences: AMD


Overclocking: Maybe


SLI or Crossfire: Yes


Monitor Resolution: 1920x1200



Here's a list of the parts with url's:

Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128514

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727

GPU: (2) EVGA Geforce GTX 560 Ti FPB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130604

SSD: Crucial M4 512 GB SATA III
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148444

Sound Card: ASUS Xonar DS 7.1 PCI Interface Audio Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132013

Memory: Corsair Vengence 8GB (2 x 4GB)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145345

Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Player: SAMSUNG 12x BD-ROM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151232

PSu: Rosewill LIGHTNING-1300 1300W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182063

Case: Rosewill THOR V2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147053&Tpk=Rosewill%20THOR%20V2

 

[Outlander_04]

The rosewill thor looks like a decent case , but you wont find many people here who think their power supplies are quality unitss

You also dont need 1300 watts [even if it can provide that much current ]
A good quality 650 watt unit will power that effortlessly .

Even with a second 560 ti added a 750 watt psu will be plenty

ENERMAX MODU87+ EMG700AWT 700W ATX12V
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817194058
for $120 should cover even SLI
and its an extremely high quality psu

Most builders use a smaller SSD of say 120 gig as a boot drive for windows and programs , and then install a mechanical hard drive [ or two ] for data storage .


The motherboard has sound built in that will be more than enough for anyone but an extreme audiophile . You just dont need the sound card for the uses you list

 

[AbdullahG]

I honestly would go with Intel is you have that kind of money. AMD is really a better choice if you have a budget below $1000. Since you want AMD, I guess I will go with that. I'll need a few minutes to make a build for you.

 

[evilgoader]

The rosewill thor looks like a decent case , but you wont find many people here who think their power supplies are quality unitss

You also dont need 1300 watts [even if it can provide that much current ]
A good quality 650 watt unit will power that effortlessly .

Even with a second 560 ti added a 750 watt psu will be plenty

ENERMAX MODU87+ EMG700AWT 700W ATX12V
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817194058
for $120 should cover even SLI
and its an extremely high quality psu

Most builders use a smaller SSD of say 120 gig as a boot drive for windows and programs , and then install a mechanical hard drive [ or two ] for data storage .


The motherboard has sound built in that will be more than enough for anyone but an extreme audiophile . You just dont need the sound card for the uses you list

Ya I was kind of wondering about that. I orioginally was going with a 128GB ssd and 1.5TB hdd but i wasnt sure if i should just go straight ssd for the OS and programs or not.

Thanks!

 

[Proximon]

I'll toss my thoughts your way also.

The 512GB SSD is a bit much. The 256GB versions are fairly acceptable for a gaming build. I have 7 large games and many other things on my 160GB, and while it's about full now it's really about right.

There is no substitute for a high end PSU, but high-end does not mean large. Ideally you want to operate during gaming at 50 or 60% of capacity. with 560ti SLI, you are not going to pull more than 500W during gaming and usually less. That makes a 750W about ideal, or the 700W Outlander linked.

I would get fully modular, and at least 80Plus gold. The Enermax and NZXT units are very nice but not fully modular. Full modularity means that if the 24-pin connector wears out you do not have to replace the whole PSU, and wait for the RMA.

Corsair AX750
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139016

Seasonic X750
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151087
(they are pretty much the same PSU, made by Seasonic)

A Blu-ray drive is great if you are going to watch movies, but be aware that you will need to spend $80-100 on software to do so.

Finally, you are taking a chance and hoping that Bulldozer is worthwhile I think. But there are many things to like about the AMD 990FX that do help make up for the lack in the processor dept.

You had better overclock that Phenom II a good bit though, and you will want a good cooler for that reason.

 

[Outlander_04]

Proximon is right about the cpu cooler .I meant to mention it too .
[ his choices of PSU are also very good units , that I would normally have linked except the price on the Enermax ]

You have a huge case so

Scythe YASYA SCYS-1000 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185143

Great cooler with a an adjustable fan speed controller to balance noise and cooling

 

[evilgoader]

Proximon is right about the cpu cooler .I meant to mention it too .
[ his choices of PSU are also very good units , that I would normally have linked except the price on the Enermax ]

You have a huge case so

Scythe YASYA SCYS-1000 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185143

Great cooler with a an adjustable fan speed controller to balance noise and cooling

Ok so here are the parts suggested above along with a 120 ssd and hdd:

SSD: OCZ Vertex 3 120 GB SATA III SSD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227706

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB HDD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533

PSU: SeaSonic X750 Gold 750W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151087

CPU Cooler: Scythe YASYA SCYS-1000 120mm
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185143

I am a bit new to overclocking so about how much would y'all recommend raising the FSB and voltage by?

 

[Outlander_04]

Thats a good set of changes .

With AMD black edition processors like the 965 you dont have to change the fsb .
In BIOS just change the [ unlocked] multiplier which makes no changes to the other hardware on the motherboard .

For starters you can simply use the Gigabyte OCing utility called Overdrive , and make speed changes in software . I would think you will get 4Ghz or more , but go up in small steps and see if it remains stable

 

[evilgoader]

Cool, I'll make a note to remember that.

Also, will the second GeForce GTX 560 Ti card take less power than the first one? The reason I originally went with the 1300W PSU was that the GPU specs said it takes a minimum of 500W. If that is the case than won't two cards take 1000W+?

Thank you everyone for your responses. They have been very helpful!

 

[Outlander_04]

Cool, I'll make a note to remember that.

Also, will the second GeForce GTX 560 Ti card take less power than the first one? The reason I originally went with the 1300W PSU was that the GPU specs said it takes a minimum of 500W. If that is the case than won't two cards take 1000W+?

Thank you everyone for your responses. They have been very helpful!

The 500 watts MINIMUM is to run the entire system , and to make sure the psu is only loaded 50 -60 %
Imagine your psu was your car . How long would it last if you ran it at full throttle all the time ?

With a single gfx card and a 750 watt psu the power supply will be cruising .

The draw from adding a second 560 ti is around 170- 175 watts , and you will still be running at a very comfortable current draw

 

[evilgoader]

The 500 watts MINIMUM is to run the entire system , and to make sure the psu is only loaded 50 -60 %
Imagine your psu was your car . How long would it last if you ran it at full throttle all the time ?

With a single gfx card and a 750 watt psu the power supply will be cruising .

The draw from adding a second 560 ti is around 170- 175 watts , and you will still be running at a very comfortable current draw

Ok, but the specs on the Phenom II processor says it has a Thermal Design Power of 125W, so adding in the two GPUs and the CPU would give around 800W. So should I go with a 900W PSU for a little give or is that Thermal Design Power specification not relevant to the overall power draw?

 

[evilgoader]

The 500 watts MINIMUM is to run the entire system , and to make sure the psu is only loaded 50 -60 %
Imagine your psu was your car . How long would it last if you ran it at full throttle all the time ?

With a single gfx card and a 750 watt psu the power supply will be cruising .

The draw from adding a second 560 ti is around 170- 175 watts , and you will still be running at a very comfortable current draw

Oh wait i think i misunderstood, you are saying that the 500W requirement includes that 50-60% buffer so even with the second GPU and the CPU's power draw would only go up to about 550?

 

[Proximon]

That's absolutely right. Here are some figures:

http://forums.atomicmpc.com.au/index.php?showtopic=264
Scroll down halfway for Nvidia GPUs

Overclocked 560ti SLI has a MAX draw of under 400W. Add another 200W for the rest of the system, which is actually generous.

In truth you will have a very hard time I think, breaking 550W. Prime95 to max out the CPU and Furmark to max out the GPU, simultaneously, would not hit 550W from the wall, willing to bet.