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New Gaming Build [open to advice]
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New Gaming Build [open to advice]Posted:

nexsin
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This is my first gaming build, i got all the parts for christmas and built it myself with some help from my dad


SPECS:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme6 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($159.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Intel 330 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($279.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 932 Advanced ATX Full Tower Case ($146.76 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Rosewill Capstone 750W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($104.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($24.98 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VH242H 23.6" Monitor ($163.37 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 Professional Full (64-bit) ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Razer Blackwidow Ultimate 2013 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($99.99 @ NCIX US)
Mouse: Razer DeathAdder Wired Laser Mouse ($46.00 @ B&H)
Total: $1651.00
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-25 13:00 EST-0500)

That includes everything i could on that site

Other items:
Webcam: [ Register or Signin to view external links. ]
Speaker System: [ Register or Signin to view external links. ]
Added Fans: [ Register or Signin to view external links. ]
MW3 Turtle Beaches


What else is going to happen you ask?
-Second 7950 for crossfire Aquired 1/4/2013
-Another 16GB ram for 32GB ram total
-Water cooling (air cooling for now due to cost)
-Second monitor/Nicer Desk
-i7 3770k processor (cost wise couldn't happen right off the bat)
-Second SSD and HDD Aquired Samsung 840 Pro 256GB 1/4/2013


More pictures
[ Register or Signin to view external links. ] 18.59.08.jpg
[ Register or Signin to view external links. ] 18.59.14.jpg
[ Register or Signin to view external links. ] 18.59.27.jpg
[ Register or Signin to view external links. ] 18.59.36.jpg

Things i am aware of:
-Cable management: Its not a modular PSU so im doing my best, right now the bulk of the mess is at the bottom. When i can take some time to straighten things up i will, mainly just need to get the 20-4 pin connector routed behind so i can clean things up a lot. Airflow is still fine as well as the temps, my crossfired GPU's don't go over 60-70C even while playing BF3 with everything maxed out.

-More than usual ram (16GB) my reason for this is i like to dabble in android development, which benefits a lot from having more ram. So that's why ive got 16GB and want to get 32GB.

-Fan on the bottom: my case sits on my desk so its not sucking up tons of the dust from the carpet, and i wanted to have a fan intaking air and blowing it at the GPU's.

-Razer keyboard: i got it brand new for free, which is why i have it and it works well so far.

-You should get a nicer desk and clean up the cables on the outside: Desk is on my list, and i already dealt with cables on the outside.

-Why do you have two 7950's instead of one 7970?: Well i got the second 7950 almost a month later, unexpectedly for an excellent price. At the time i did not have the money for a single 7970 which is why i got the 7950.

I think that's about it. I'm really looking for helpful advice, i got this build for christmas and built it myself. Some of the things with it i got recently and added in. So feel free to critique me and give advice. All i ask if you are going to say "Such and such sucks" tell me why it sucks and what i should have gotten instead or could've done better.
#2. Posted:
mkdir
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You need a better psu to handle 2 7950s
probably around 850 to 950 maybe over 1K on full load.
#3. Posted:
Generation
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mkdir wrote You need a better psu to handle 2 7950s
probably around 850 to 950 maybe over 1K on full load.


I think you're mistaking 7950's for GTX 480's. 7950's are very power efficient and don't need anything more than a quality 700w unit and that's including over-clocking.

There is no way this build will ever in a million years ever reach 1000 watts even if you're running Prime 95 and Furmark forever.
#4. Posted:
r00t
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mkdir wrote You need a better psu to handle 2 7950s
probably around 850 to 950 maybe over 1K on full load.

Not true at all. Many quality 650w units have four PCI power connectors and more than enough power available to handle a dual-GPU setup. Even two 480s in a realistic (non-Furmark or Folding) heavy-usage scenario would be fine on an appropriate 650w unit. Not that I wouldn't go with a 750w unit personally, I'm just saying it's possible according to Geeks3D's testing.

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#5. Posted:
nexsin
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Thanks for the input My PSU runs them fine right now, even got my CPU overclocked to 4.0 and i haven't noticed any issues even while running prime tests
#6. Posted:
r00t
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nexsin wrote Thanks for the input My PSU runs them fine right now, even got my CPU overclocked to 4.0 and i haven't noticed any issues even while running prime tests

Yep, you also have a lot of overclocking headroom on the cards as well. Don't be afraid to push them! You'll also need a different program to see your true max power usage as Prime95 does not put any load on the graphics card(s). For that, you'll want something like Furmark or MSI Kombustor. For stress-testing graphics cards, I recommend you use the most demanding game available to you as opposed to a synthetic tool because the load synthetics exert is simply unrealistic. The same could be said for Prime95 and IntelBurnTest, but that's completely different.
#7. Posted:
nexsin
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r00t wrote
nexsin wrote Thanks for the input My PSU runs them fine right now, even got my CPU overclocked to 4.0 and i haven't noticed any issues even while running prime tests

Yep, you also have a lot of overclocking headroom on the cards as well. Don't be afraid to push them! You'll also need a different program to see your true max power usage as Prime95 does not put any load on the graphics card(s). For that, you'll want something like Furmark or MSI Kombustor. For stress-testing graphics cards, I recommend you use the most demanding game available to you as opposed to a synthetic tool because the load synthetics exert is simply unrealistic. The same could be said for Prime95 and IntelBurnTest, but that's completely different.


Thanks once again i think games wise Battlefield 3 completely maxed out is what i could really use to push the system. I've been debating overclocking the cards, but haven't found a reason to yet since they destroy everything i throw at them.
#8. Posted:
r00t
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nexsin wrote
r00t wrote
nexsin wrote Thanks for the input My PSU runs them fine right now, even got my CPU overclocked to 4.0 and i haven't noticed any issues even while running prime tests

Yep, you also have a lot of overclocking headroom on the cards as well. Don't be afraid to push them! You'll also need a different program to see your true max power usage as Prime95 does not put any load on the graphics card(s). For that, you'll want something like Furmark or MSI Kombustor. For stress-testing graphics cards, I recommend you use the most demanding game available to you as opposed to a synthetic tool because the load synthetics exert is simply unrealistic. The same could be said for Prime95 and IntelBurnTest, but that's completely different.

Thanks once again i think games wise Battlefield 3 completely maxed out is what i could really use to push the system. I've been debating overclocking the cards, but haven't found a reason to yet since they destroy everything i throw at them.

At 1080p, you'd be fine with one of the cards. For your next upgrade, you should look at either two more identical monitors or an Achieva Shimian. Your setup can handle just about any game maxed at twice the pixel count of 1080p! If you're interested here's a video:

#9. Posted:
nexsin
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r00t wrote
nexsin wrote
r00t wrote
nexsin wrote Thanks for the input My PSU runs them fine right now, even got my CPU overclocked to 4.0 and i haven't noticed any issues even while running prime tests

Yep, you also have a lot of overclocking headroom on the cards as well. Don't be afraid to push them! You'll also need a different program to see your true max power usage as Prime95 does not put any load on the graphics card(s). For that, you'll want something like Furmark or MSI Kombustor. For stress-testing graphics cards, I recommend you use the most demanding game available to you as opposed to a synthetic tool because the load synthetics exert is simply unrealistic. The same could be said for Prime95 and IntelBurnTest, but that's completely different.

Thanks once again i think games wise Battlefield 3 completely maxed out is what i could really use to push the system. I've been debating overclocking the cards, but haven't found a reason to yet since they destroy everything i throw at them.

At 1080p, you'd be fine with one of the cards. For your next upgrade, you should look at either two more identical monitors or an Achieva Shimian. Your setup can handle just about any game maxed at twice the pixel count of 1080p! If you're interested here's a video:



Thanks once again I have been looking at monitors, and i'm thinking for my next one i want one with a 120Hz refresh rate that's either the same size as my current one (23.6) or a little bigger, since i want it to flow well and not have one huge monitor next to a small one. But that one looks really nice, also seems like its hard to find.
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