My First Build

[HeathCliff]

Hi everyone!

 

Please note that this build will be started after my exams have been completed, so please do not get your hopes up until then. 

 

This will be my first ever build for school and gaming purposes. My current PC is a hp pavilion with a centurion processor, 1gb of ram and ...250gb of storage? So knowing this, you can tell how hyped up I am. I am currently working part time and hopefully, in the near future, I will be able to do a water cooled build log of this PC.

 

Now back to business. The spec on this computer will be as followed:

 

Case: Corsair 350D (pre-ordered)

PSU: Corsair AX760i

Mobo: Asus Maximus V Gene

CPU: Intel i5-3570k (more info below)

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8gb (4gb x 2)

GPU: 2x EVGA GTX 650 ti Boost 2gb 

Cooler: Corsair H100i

SSD: Kingston 60gb

HDD: WD 1tb Black 7200rpm

 

Monitor: Benq XL2420T

Keyboard: Microsoft Sidewinder X4

Mouse: Cyborg R.A.T 9

Headset: Tritton 720+ 7.1

 

Now for the important part. This question is directed at some of the more advanced members. Would it be worth the trouble in waiting for haswell as well as buying an Z87 mobo as opposed to a 3570k and a gene. Personally, i do not like to gamble on motherboards. The Gene is probably the best micro-atx mobo and i'd doubt there will be any up coming ones that will be able to match it. 

 

I am choosing Intel for the specific reason that I am living in a dorm in the UK and energy efficiency does play it's part.

 

So..., I am all ears for any opinions as well as any improvements.

 

:D

[XiaoPigs]

Ooo so you're going for 2 650ti boost cards eh. Here's a vid by Kyle of Newegg on it's performance 

 

 

Wouldn't change much actually except for maybe uping that 60gb ssd to a 120gb one?

Oh as for Haswell, ASUS will definitely come out with a M-ATX board similar to the Maximus V gene as the always do with each new CPU released.

Haswell will also be more power efficient so keep that in mind :)

 

 

 

Looking forward to the build sir and good luck with your exams  :D

[Thibaudv]

I would suggest you get one 670 instead of 2 650ti's, you will have much less issues with drivers AND power consumption will be a lot lower (since that is an important factor in your case).

That also gives you the opportunity to upgrade to a second 670 in the future.

 

About the processor; It's quite simple. As Linus said: if you need the performance right now, go for it. If you can wait a while; wait, because haswell will most likely be an improvement of about 15% in performance/Watt at the same price tag.

 

Also, you might want to get a bigger SSD if you're not planning on using it as cache only.

 

Good luck with this build! 

[alpenwasser]

Looks pretty sweet. Rumors are that Haswell will be 10% to 15% faster than Ivy, but

even if that's true, as you say the platform is certainly not very mature yet. 1155

has had time to have the bugs and kinks worked out.

Whether or not this is worth the risk is up to you. I would say it also depends on when

exactly you will be able to start this build in earnest. If you have to wait until Haswell

is here anyway (or almost here), you might as well read some reviews then and get an

impression of Haswell that's based on facts instead of rumors, and then you will be able to

actually make an informed decision that's not just based on conjecture about Haswell. ;)

[ARod]

Agree with Thib up above.  Especially on a 1920x1080 single monitor, single GTX 670 or R7970 will do you fine. 

 

Edit:  Also, beef up the RAM.  Throw 32GB on there and use 24 of it for RAM Cache.  Makes way more sense than using an SSD for Cache and it's much faster.

[jaypro]

I'd say go for it.

 

New stuff is always coming out.  You can play the waiting game as long as you want, it will never end.

[HeathCliff]

Thank you everyone for your feed back. I am grateful for all your responses and well as the improvements.

 

@XiaoPigs, As the test shows, the boosts have the advantage. But as an in-progress overclocker, which do you reckon will be better in performance, efficiency and aesthetics? Keep in mind that I will be water-cooling it in the near future which should be taken into consideration.

 

@ThiBaudV, Thanks for your feedback. I will be patient and wait for the upcoming goodies. Also, any rough estimated on the average overclock capable on the cpu's? 

 

@XiaoPigs, I will consider changing my boot drive from a 60gb, to a 128gb (If i can fit it in my budget)

 

@ARod, I am still not fully computer literate, but I must disagree with the 32gb of ram. At the most, I will only need 16gb, which I may upgrade to in the future. But as of now, I will be good with 8gb. (also I will have to look up 'Ram Cache') 

[Thibaudv]

With Haswell (correct me if I'm wrong), the VRM controller will be integrated in the processor, which means that the motherboard will have much less of an effect on your overclocking capabilities.

About the overclock itself, I guess (unless you're really unlucky) you should be able to hit 4,5Ghz-4,8Ghz and if you're really lucky 5+Ghz.

 

This is of course not yet officially confirmed, but I made these conclusions based on rumors and what we have seen in the past.

[HeathCliff]

Latest Update according to your requests. May take a while to get the rest of the money.

[HeathCliff]

So... this is the new Maximus VI Gene Z. Reckon I'll be able to get this and haswell for £370?