First PC Build

[MikeD]

Hello everyone.

So, last time I used a desktop PC it was about 6 years ago and since then I've been using only my laptop (currently on my 2nd). However I'm starting to have some difficulties running games and working with certain tools (like android emulators) so I convinced my parents (after many months of continuous nagging!) to buy me a decent computer! I'll try to follow the recommendations for posting in this sub-forum.

Budget & Location

There's not really a budget. It's supposed to be a good value and as future proof as one can make it (and this includes eventual upgrades). I'm from Portugal so I'll be posting prices in Euro (just for some reference).

Aim

It'll be a gaming/work PC. I plan on running Crysis 3 (already got it but my laptop's graphics card is DX 10.1) and some other games but, as a Computer Science hopefully-soon-to-be-MSc, I also work with multithreading, virtual machines and coding in general.

Build

Case: CORSAIR VENGEANCE C70 MILITARY GREEN (115.90 €)

Motherboard: ASUS SABERTOOTH X79 SOCKET 2011 (303.90 €)

CPU: INTEL I7 3820 3.6GHZ 10MB SOCKET 2011 (279.90 €)

Cooler: CORSAIR HYDRO SERIES H100i (103.90 €)

RAM: 16GB GSKILL RIPJAW Z DDR3 1866MHZ (9-10-9-28) (4x4GB) (103.90 €)

PSU: CORSAIR AX860i MODULAR 80 PLUS PLATINUM (219.90 €)

GPU: Asus GTX660 Ti 2GB DirectCU II OC (2x)(299.90 €) in SLI

HDD: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 64MB SATAIII (6GB/s) 7200 RPM ( 86.90 €)

SSD: Samsung 840 PRO SSD 2.5 SATA III 128GB (134.90 €)

Fans: NOCTUA NF-F12 PWM 120MM (2x)( 19.90 €) to replace the ones that come with the h100i and use those somewhere else on the case

Monitors

I'm planning on buying a single Asus PB238Q monitor (245.90 €). Don't have the space for more or really care much about surround.

Peripherals

I don't need a copy of Windows since my school "offers" licences to students and I will dual-boot with Ubuntu. I will, however, buy a mechanical keyboard and a mouse. I had these in mind:

Steelseries 6G V2 Gaming Keyboard US (74.90 €)

Roccat Savu Hybrid Gaming Mouse (58.90 €)

So, what do you think?! With a couple of other things it's about 2.400 € (3.136 USD). It is already quite expensive so I would like to keep it at or below this threshold.

I have been upgrading this list for quite a while now (started with an LGA 1155 build) but I still have some questions:

1) Will LGA 2011 "survive" for a reasonable amount of time?

2) GTX 660 Ti SLI vs GTX 680?! Right now 660 Ti SLI seems pretty good, but maybe if I got a 680 I could add another one later on? Or would I be better off upgrading to "the next level" when time came?

3) How reliable is an SSD? I mean, can I trust an Operating System to it (re-installing it along with all the apps in case of failure would be a headache) or is it better off serving as a cache for the HDD?

4) Since I'll be writing a lot of code and reports but also gaming (not as much as coding though) what kind of key switch would be more appropriate? I know it boils down to user preference but it would be better if I didn't have go to the store and ask to try all the keyboards! Also, what about the mouse?

Thanks in advance for your help (and sorry for being too long)!

[Guest]

The argument that the 1155 chips will be outdated quicker than the 2011 counterparts is only somewhat true. Yes, the chip will be replaced by newer models but it isn't as if one day you're going to wake up to find your PC unable to work if it's using an 1155 chip.

SSD reliability? I have never had an SSD die on me yet. They're rated for either X operating type or X write cycles - can't remember quite which. The major players in the SSD market (OCZ, Samsung, Kingston ect) all make very good products and SSD failures are rare in comparison with HDD's which partly because they're mechanical, experience more failures.

With regards to the GPU question, I'm personally split. 2 660 Ti's will outperform the 680 however as you said with a 680 you can upgrade later. Though the problem then is that when you go to upgrade, will they be available? I'm leaning toward the 680.

I don't use mech keyboards much, especially at the moment however my preference are for MX blues. See what others say.

As for the build itself, I'd look more at a 3570K or 3770K or even an AMD 8350. They're all really really good chips and I personally don't see the need for an X79 build.

• CPU: 3570K/3770K/8350
  
• Cooler: 212 Evo's are good for low overclocking otherwise the D14 if you want to go for air cooling with near identical performance to a H80. Then there's the 240 and 280 AIO's such as the H100i, X60 ect.
  
• Board: My preference are for the P8Z77-V boards from Asus. The -M Pro is good if you want a cheaper board that is still of high quality. Other options though would be the ASRock Extreme series and then the MSI MPower.
  
• GPU: As I've mentioned I'd probably go a 680 over 660TI's SLI'd and then upgrade later. Another consideration would be a 670 too - much cheaper and you may even be able to SLI straight off the bat with the money saved with Z77 vs X79.
  
• RAM: 8 GB of 1600 C9 will be fine for 90% of tasks though if you want, you could go to 16 for the fun of it.
  
• PSU: Single GPU: 600w SLI'd and I'd look at 700w ish. Seasonic and Silverstone are my favourites. Just letting you know that Corsair get the bulk of their PSU's from Seasonic.
  
• HDD: Seagate Barracudas. Personally I don't believe after looking at more detailed benchmarks last week, that WD Blacks are worth their extra price.
  
• SSD: The Samsung 840 Pro as you mentioned is a top performer. Other options would be the OCZ Vector and the Kingston Hyper K.
  
• Case: C70's will take dual 140 rads which is something to think about (X60)
  

With your fan choice, I very much doubt you'll notice much of a performance difference between the Noctua's and the SP's that come with it. Volume on the other hand...

[Glenwing]

For some heavy VMs 16GB of RAM might be a good idea. For video card personally I just get a single card if possible, and when it comes time to upgrade, sell it and buy the newest top card, it'd probably be about the same as an SLI setup with old cards, without having to deal with SLI drivers and profiles and whatnot.

The current generation of SSDs has pretty much overcome the reliability problems of earlier drives.

Unless you want to replace your CPU in like 2 years or less I wouldn't worry about the life of the socket, as the life during which the CPU is useful usually spans longer than the life of the socket. I've never seen someone saying you know what, my computer is old and outdated, I'll upgrade the processor and hey, we're still on the same socket, awesome!

[Whaler_99]

As Wind mentioned, unless doing hard core rendering, the 2011 socket and X79 is a waste. Even doing something like Hyper-V or VMware, you be limited as I assume you will be running Windows 8? 1155 would save you some cash. Myself, I am partial to the MSI overclocking boards like the Z77A-GD65 or the MPower. But comes done to personal choice...

As also mentioned - I have being SSD drives for over four years now, had various sizes and flavors and never had one fail.

[MikeD]

Thank you for your feedback!

I guess I'll be going with the LGA 1155 setup for the moment then with an i7-3770K. I was trying to minimize the changes in an eventual upgrade (change the processor only when they became cheaper) but it's never easy to predict the future! However I think the next time I make an upgrade it'll be with my own hard earned money so I was trying to get the most right now!

I was also trying to get a somewhat military look to the overall build (not very important) so I was thinking about getting the Sabertooth Z77, and since a 4 channel memory kit wouldn't quite fit (as I understand it, it would work but not optimally) I would get 2 Corsair Vengeance DDR3-1600MHz 2x4GB kits (16GB total, I sometimes have 3 virtual machines running at the same time to test some network applications (and yes, I'll do that on both Windows 8 and Ubuntu)). How is the Sabertooth's ability to overclock compared to a P8-Z77 or MSI MPower and the kind?

As to the graphics card I'll go with a single Asus GTX680 2GB DirectCU II TOP and see what happens afterwards. I would keep everything else as is (namely the PSU and Cooler) to have room to upgrade later (and also for Corsair Link). And I'll go with the SSD for the boot drive then.

[Willson94]

Thank you for your feedback!

I guess I'll be going with the LGA 1155 setup for the moment then with an i7-3770K. I was trying to minimize the changes in an eventual upgrade (change the processor only when they became cheaper) but it's never easy to predict the future! However I think the next time I make an upgrade it'll be with my own hard earned money so I was trying to get the most right now!

I was also trying to get a somewhat military look to the overall build (not very important) so I was thinking about getting the Sabertooth Z77, and since a 4 channel memory kit wouldn't quite fit (as I understand it, it would work but not optimally) I would get 2 Corsair Vengeance DDR3-1600MHz 2x4GB kits (16GB total, I sometimes have 3 virtual machines running at the same time to test some network applications (and yes, I'll do that on both Windows 8 and Ubuntu)). How is the Sabertooth's ability to overclock compared to a P8-Z77 or MSI MPower and the kind?

As to the graphics card I'll go with a single Asus GTX680 2GB DirectCU II TOP and see what happens afterwards. I would keep everything else as is (namely the PSU and Cooler) to have room to upgrade later (and also for Corsair Link). And I'll go with the SSD for the boot drive then.

M-Power I believe to be a better overclocker only need to look at there I guess binning process where they OC a 3770k/2600k I believe and run prime on it with every single board the sabertooth is more of a look at how pretty I am board