New PC Build: FORTIS

[Tjomme]

To make things clear: Fortis means strong, it's latin.

Oke, so I'm building a 4k gaming machine and I'm starting with 1 titan X and the idea is that the case, psu etc. Are ready for 3 titan Xs. This is the plan:

1 July, getting all the components (listed below) with 1 Titan x

November 9 2015, getting the second titan X.

November 9 2016, getting the third Titan X, maybe earlier.

Here are all the components:

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/7YhpnQ

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/7YhpnQ/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor ($299.99 @ Micro Center)

CPU Cooler: Corsair H110i GT 113.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($119.99 @ NCIX US)

Motherboard: MSI X99S SLI Plus ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($159.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($149.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($203.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($91.95 @ OutletPC)

Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX Titan X 12GB Video Card (3-Way SLI) ($999.99 @ NCIX US)

Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX Titan X 12GB Video Card (3-Way SLI) ($999.99 @ NCIX US)

Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX Titan X 12GB Video Card (3-Way SLI) ($999.99 @ NCIX US)

Case: NZXT H440 Designed by Razer™ ATX Mid Tower Case ($137.99 @ NCIX US)

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 1300 G2 1300W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($169.99 @ NCIX US)

Total: $4333.85

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-15 19:03 EDT-0400

Please say if I need to change anything!

[Tedster]

Eeeh...I'd go with the 5930k just so I could have x16 on each card.

[Tjomme]

Eeeh...I'd go with the 5930k just so I could have x16 on each card.

I'm not really an expert, what does that mean?

[TheAmazingCookieFromSquare]

#1.Get a 5930K

#2.RM power supply have bad capacitors so get the Corsair AX1200i/EVGA 1200W P2

#2.You should get a better motherboard because you know 3 Titan X's that are worth $3000 is strange to run on a $160 board. 

[Tedster]

I'm not really an expert, what does that mean?

First off, I was slightly incorrect. More on this further down.

 

I was talking about PCIE lanes (which are, most simply put, I/O lanes that go from the CPU, through the motherboard then to the expansion cards in the PCIE slots).

All new graphics cards these days (supposedly) will run on PCIE Gen 3.0 (the latest generation) and will accept an up to x16 connection. This means that it will have the most bandwidth possible if both of these things are fulfilled. However, cards can't share lanes or anything like that.

 

With consumer-grade platforms (Z97 for example), you only get 16 PCIE lanes. This means that if your motherboard supported CrossFire/SLI, you'd be able to have up to 2 cards in SLI (because it requires at least 8 lanes per card) and CrossFire with up to four cards (they require only four lanes per card).

 

Now X99 supports up to 40 PCIE lanes, but the 5820k only does 28 lanes of those 40. This means that you'll only be able to run up to 3 cards in x8 (as required by SLI), so you'd be limited if you wanted more bandwidth for another card. However, with the 5930k or 5960x, they have 40 lanes, so you'll be able to run 4 cards in x8 (4*8=32) plus you'll have up to eight lanes spare.

I was wrong because you'd need 40 lanes to get x16 for each card in a 3-way config.

[WereCat]

Corsair RM series is not very good. Get EVGA G2 or anything from Seasonic or Super Flower.

[Tjomme]

First off, I was slightly incorrect. More on this further down.

I was talking about PCIE lanes (which are, most simply put, I/O lanes that go from the CPU, through the motherboard then to the expansion cards in the PCIE slots).

All new graphics cards these days (supposedly) will run on PCIE Gen 3.0 (the latest generation) and will accept an up to x16 connection. This means that it will have the most bandwidth possible if both of these things are fulfilled. However, cards can't share lanes or anything like that.

With consumer-grade platforms (Z97 for example), you only get 16 PCIE lanes. This means that if your motherboard supported CrossFire/SLI, you'd be able to have up to 2 cards in SLI (because it requires at least 8 lanes per card) and CrossFire with up to four cards (they require only four lanes per card).

Now X99 supports up to 40 PCIE lanes, but the 5820k only does 28 lanes of those 40. This means that you'll only be able to run up to 3 cards in x8 (as required by SLI), so you'd be limited if you wanted more bandwidth for another card. However, with the 5930k or 5960x, they have 40 lanes, so you'll be able to run 4 cards in x8 (4*8=32) plus you'll have up to eight lanes spare.

I was wrong because you'd need 40 lanes to get x16 for each card in a 3-way config.

But my maximum is 3x cards, more don't fit in the case, so with the 3 cards I could still get x8

[Tjomme]

Corsair RM series is not very good. Get EVGA G2 or anything from Seasonic or Super Flower.

Changed it

[Tedster]

But my maximum is 3x cards, more don't fit in the case, so with the 3 cards I could still get x8

Yup. However, if you want further expansion that isn't graphics cards, you may want to have more lanes spare.

[Tjomme]

Yup. However, if you want further expansion that isn't graphics cards, you may want to have more lanes spare.

Like what? And when I'm gaming, Will I notice the difference between x8 and x16

[Tedster]

Like what? And when I'm gaming, Will I notice the difference between x8 and x16

You probably shouldn't have any reason to worry.

If you upgrade to PCIE-based storage later down the road or something like that, that's when more lanes will come in handy.

 

This may help:

[Tjomme]

You probably shouldn't have any reason to worry.

If you upgrade to PCIE-based storage later down the road or something like that, that's when more lanes will come in handy.

This may help:

Thanks so much, watched the video and changed it so if I have 40 lanes, it'll be running at 16/16/8 right?

[Norman_the_Owl]

Eh, the H440 might be a bit stifling for three way SLI.

 

I'd recommend something like a Define S.

[Tjomme]

Eh, the H440 might be a bit stifling for three way SLI.

I'd recommend something like a Define S.

[stconquest]

Dropping to two cards will still give you what you need at 4K resolution, while saving some money. 

[Norman_the_Owl]

Screenshot_2015-05-16-01-26-28.png

I'm not saying it won't fit, i'm saying the airflow is going to suck.

The H440 is already a little bit choked with one GPU, and two drives up tempts quite a bit. 

The third GPU will be right up against the PSU shroud, it's not optimal at all.