First Build(still searching for right parts)

[XxKRazykidxX]

Alright, so you guys probably seen my post before. Please ignore it. I've got a better form of contact with my friend, and I think we are close to being done. He did warn me to get second opinions, because not everyone thinks the same, and I might like what someone else recommends better then what he's recommending. I'll also post his recommendations in general. This computer is going to be mainly used for GAMING! Inless I hook a djing controller, and piano(MIDI - USB) to the E machine "**** machine" I currently have, It will also be used for music production and djing. Of course it will be used for web surfing too. Most likely I'll use it for djing/production, because I hate the e machine. That being said, this is what I have so far.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131702
Newegg.com - Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I72600K
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820233132
Newegg.com - SONY Black 18X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model DDU1681S-0B - CD / DVD Drives


Motherboard: ASUS SABERTOOTH P67
CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge
Ram: CORSAIR XMS 4GB 240-Pin DDR3
Graphics Card:
Optical Drive: SONY Black SATA DVD-ROM Drive

And these are parts I got on my wishlist on Newegg so far. Used wishlist so I'd remember what parts I was looking at.

Friend's recommendations:
For cases I prefer the Powersupply in the bottom only.
Cooler Master,
Antec Landboy
Nzxt Phantom.

Before you pick your case, read the reviews on airflow, heating, cable managment, video card size etc etc.
Also, look for unboxing videos from newegg and other reviewers for any product you choose. It will give you an indepth personal look to your choice and make you think twice.

For hard drives.
Western Digital black caviar 1TB Sata III 7200rpm is the best choice

Cpu:
Depends on your price.
Currently id say go with the intel LGA 1155 socket
either the i5 or the i7 k series.

Motherboard:
Msi p67 gd65 is the one I am currently using. It has a power , reset, one touch overclock.

secondary choices if you ahve the money is the Asus p67 pro motherboard.

third choice for a much easier on the pockets than msi, is asrrock
Look at the length of warranty and benchmark reviews for the motherboards.

Power Supply:
I use to like OCZ modular PSU, however the Cooler Master Silent Pro is a wonderful modular power supply virtually quiet, comes in 600w and 700w.
Modular means, you only can use the cards you need to use.

for ram:
G.Skill, Ocz, Kingston, Corsair and quite abit of others are good. The last pair i got is the G.skill sniper ddr3 1333mhz 2x4Gb ...they look nice and work nice. Patriot also nice as well.

for optical drives:
I recently got the Asus eco, on my brothers i got the sony optiarc I LOVE both drives. both are nice.

For video cards
EVGA 01G-P3-1366-TR GeForce GTX 460 SE (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit
or you can go with
AMD 5000 series,

and for the cpu cooler
I went with the CORSAIR Hydro H70 CWCH70 120mm

[farmkid5]

Hi im not a pro at this so you might want to see what some others have to say but i recommend Asus motherboards i have not had any problems with them yet.

Are you going to be overclocking? if not you prolly dont need the k series of the i5 or i7.

PSU(power supply) i would say corsair, antec or seasonic.

from what i have heard i wouldn't use gskill. adata kingston or corsair are better picks

If someone with a bit more experience could check my recommendations thatd be great.

[XxKRazykidxX]

I'd like to stick with MSI Mobo. Had one in my mom's custom a few years back, and it did wonders for 3 yrs. No, I will not be Overclocking at first. Once I do learn, I might try. With the Ram. I pointed out that the one he was pointing out was all 1600 instead of 1333. PSU, he did say was not a good point for him. I did plan to check the PSU thread for that part.

[David M]

How much does your friend want to spend?

Why doesn't your friend get an account and speak for himself? We promise we won't bite or call him a noob. We might tease him a little if he is Canadian though...eh?

[XxKRazykidxX]

No! I'm building the computer for myself. He's just helping me along the way, and told me to come here to help me learn more about building computers, and to get second opinions on what I've chosen. Like, the Graphics card I picked out. He was like, check benchmarks, and showed me the one I decided on. Lol. But yeah, I'm building the computer, he's just someone I've became friends with on another site who is helping me pick out parts, since I know nothing, and he's getting a degree in this type of thing.

[XxKRazykidxX]

And, I'm not on a tight budget, but I'd like to try and keep the Build under $2,000.

[David M]

Well...we can build a hell of a gamer for that price.

So your not Canadian?...darn.

What size monitor or monitors do you have or plan on getting? This could make a difference with which card you buy. $2000 puts you in a place where you could afford a 6990....barely.

Change to an Asus board. This is why...
Motherboard Brand Rating

Change to a different brand of RAM. This is why...
RAM, Memory brand rating Khalil is a professorial computer builder whose business has built thousands of computers. You just have to trust him on his ratings.

Get a 2600K CPU.

For your PSU if you want a top end card then get a Corsair 750 watt otherwise a 650 watt will work.

[XxKRazykidxX]

3 24inch monitors. I like to have plenty of work space. Especially when messing with 2 or 3 production programs. I mean, some say it's a little overboard. But I'd of course use middle screen for gaming, and one side for djing and production, and the other side for web surfing. No, I'm not dumb enough to try and have all 3 going on at once. And most likely, If, I'm just surfing the web, and doing production' I'll use 1 screen for web and spread out 2 screens for production. Does this info help a bit?

[XxKRazykidxX]

Oh, and as said in that other thread, I'm going to give in, and see what ASUS(es) your recommend me. Oh, also, when I said $2,000 is as high as I wanna go. Well, I mean just the tower. Cause I realize how I do wanna go a little overboard and have a nice set-up. Including a nice tower. There's no way I can get the whole setup for $2,000. But yeah, for Tower price limit I'm sticking to is $2,000.

[David M]

No problemo.

With three monitors you want the 6990 then. Trust me on this especially if you want to have any chance at playing Crysis 2 on three screens.

Go ahead and revamp your parts list.

[XxKRazykidxX]

Alright, umm any personal suggestions on Mobo's to look at? Same with ram?

[XxKRazykidxX]

Newegg.com - ASUS P8P67 LE (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Newegg.com - ASUS P8P67 DELUXE (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Either of these 2 good choices?

I'm thinking Deluxe. Has better reviews.

[David M]

Originally Posted by XxKRazykidxX Alright, umm any personal suggestions on Mobo's to look at? Same with ram?

The Snaggletooth is sold out so you may want to wait. It has a very unique cooling system for the board. That's my first choice.
Newegg.com - ASUS SABERTOOTH P67 (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Cool looking... Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, LED LCD TV, Digital Cameras and more!

There is the Maximus 4 Extreme with all kinds of overclocking and other goodies. You just have to decide if all this stuff is what you want and you want to pay the $365 price for it.

Newegg.com - ASUS MAXIMUS IV EXTREME (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Extended ATX Intel Motherboard

Then there is this board which has a few more things than the Sabertooth like BlueTooth.
Newegg.com - ASUS P8P67 DELUXE (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

They are all sold out at Newegg but there are other sources like Amazon.

For RAM I would purchase two 4 gig sticks of Corsair 1.5 volt 1333 or if you want to get a little fancier try some 1600 1.5 volt or 1.65 volt.

[XxKRazykidxX]

The sabertooth! I liked it, but because of the design, I was like... What the? The design threw me off, and made me think it was a decently older board. But Sabertooth is definitely my first choice. Next we got ram. Give me like... 2mins to update my first post, and I'll ask you about what I'm looking at.

[XxKRazykidxX]

G Skill:
Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-8GBRH
Newegg.com - G.SKILL Sniper Low Voltage Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBSR2
Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL

CORSAIR:
Newegg.com - CORSAIR XMS 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMP8GX3M2A1600C8
Newegg.com - CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9

Opinions? I don't know what to look for, except 240 pin DDR3, Speed 1600, and that I want 8gb ram.

[David M]

I like Corsair...I just trust the brand. This may help you decide...
RAM, Memory brand rating

GSkill seems to be having problems as of late so I would shy away from it.

For your build I would get two sticks of this....
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-132-_-Product

It's nice looking RAM but more importantly its stable. You will find that overclocked RAM makes very little difference in the overall speed. RAM with the big heat sinks will not necessarily clear a large aftermarket CPU heatsink if you ever want to overclock your CPU, and with a 2600K, you probably want to eventually do that.

[XxKRazykidxX]

Alright, I was looking at that. I'm going to take your advice over my experience, I don't have. lol
Cas Latency: 9
Timing: 9-9-9-24
These two things. I'm assuming are important. So, how do I tell what is good, and what is bad?

Also, what's next, graphics cards? Oh, and we got a problem. The motherboard is 2.0 x 16 The 6990's are all 2.1 x 16

[David M]

Those timings are plenty loose. The higher the numbers the looser the timings which means you have more leeway for increasing the RAM frequency if you ever want to experiment around with that. For a beginner you want looser timings, lower frequencies and RAM rated at lower voltages. You do not want to be messing with this stuff just to get your computer to work or to make it stable. It will only make you frustrated when all you want is for your computer to work.

Don't worry, PCIe slots are backwards compatible. BTW, the 6990 is an enormous card at 13.5 inches long. Make sure that whichever case you choose, it has the room.

[XxKRazykidxX]

Alright, well also. Video card need a 2.0 x 16. Problem is the 6990 is not available in 2.0 x 16.
Newegg.com - Computer Hardware,Video Cards & Video Devices,Desktop Graphics / Video Cards,PCI Express 2.0 x16,Radeon HD 6000 series
Those are what I can find putting the 2.0 x 16 in. And the 6000 series filter in.

Also, would it help to do two graphics cards? And yea, with gaming, I'd only have it on 1 24inch screen. Not spread across all three. Plus, I don't think I'd play crisis 2.
I'm into:
Counter-strike
Team Fortress
Sims 3
Half Life 2
Postal(cant remember which number it was)
Boarderlands
DIABLO 3
Stuff like that.

Oh, wait what? PCIe? You lost me there. Might have the explain this backwards thing better.

[David M]

I thought you wanted three screens? This is why I suggested a 6990. The 6990 is a $700+ card. Although I just bought two, try one first. I know I sound hypocritical as hell, but I want to be able to see Crysis 2 in all its glory on three screens at maximum game settings. Crysis 1 is still my favorite game ever. I started playing Crysis 2 with my current 5970 and it completely bogged down my card on three monitors.

For now, boards will only get you 8 graphics lanes per slot for two slots or 16 lanes for one slot. Unless its a 1336 and we don't want to go there because of its instability.

[XxKRazykidxX]

Dude, that would be pretty awesome having 3 screen spread on a game. And no, I meant like 2 lower cards. Not 2 6990's. O.O I've seen the prices and god. 2 would be a majority of the computer price limit.

PCI Express 2.0 x16
2 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (single at x16 or dual at x8/x8 mode)

That's what I mean. and the 6990 are PCI Express 2.1 x 16

Well, what bout this^ problem? It says i need a PCI Express slot that's 2.1 x16 That's why I said this motherboard is a 2.0 x16. So how is this gonna work? Or do I have to pick a different card then the 6990s?

[David M]

Go for one card at twice the price rather than two cards at half the price. The sum of the increase in processing power for two cards is less than the processing power of a single card at twice the price.

I am unclear now...how many monitors do you want? Were you thinking you can game on only one monitor?

Check this out...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IBQNWXA2m0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04dMyeMKHp4

The first guy does not have his bezel adjustment correct...straight lines between monitors should not be offset with each other.

[XxKRazykidxX]

But what about the 2.1, 2.0 difference? I mean, will the PCIe 2.1 x16 fit in a PCIe 2.0 x 16. Oh, and I though crysis was a different game. O.O MY GOD MAN! That one 3 screens would be... GODLY! Even though if I do 3 screens It'd be a 3min run. 1 time thing. Lol. I'd be a little scared to push my computer that hard with max settings. Plus 3 24 inch screens might make it a little hard with the game. -.- Not good at focusing on 2 screens at once, let alone 3. Lol, but going from one to another without minizing stuff is nice.

That's how my friend does it. With 2 screens. He has one for surfing the web, and for his main screen he plays wow, or boarderlands. At most, I'd go 2 screens when gaming and keep one screen on surfing the web. These videos are making me change my mind, and making me want to have all 3 of my screens like these guys are doing. But, will a 6990 fit on that motherboard though? I mean $700 is a lot, and as said above. It says the PCIe is 2.0 x16 slot. and the card is a 2.1 x16. So, doesn't that mean it won't fit? If not, I guess we need to find another motherboard, because now you got me badly wanting this graphics card, but... I don't wanna buy it, and find out because of the card's PCIe piece won't fit in my PCIe slot... I have to buy a new motherboard that it will fit.

[David M]

Don't worry, you wont break anything....LOL

I think you are misunderstanding a couple terms. A PCIe 2 slot will physically fit any PCIe 2 card. 2.0 and 2.1 is the version of the software. Newer and older cards are capable of producing an image with either version.

The 16 or 8 designation is the number of graphics lanes available in a PCIe slot.

[XxKRazykidxX]

So, it will work? As I've said, the most before, was replace ram on basic computers, put in new(used) harddrives, and test them to see if they work. If they did, I sent them off to be fixed up, and be ripped...off. -.- So, that difference where the board says 2.0 and where the card says 2.1 doesn't mean the board is not capable? Alright them.

[David M]

Did you see those YouTube videos? If not scroll back.

Wait...don't rush off to Newegg just yet.

In your next post, list all your parts with links to Newegg and give others a chance to scrutinize your list for a few days. Your choice of boards are out of stock anyway.

[XxKRazykidxX]

scrutinize?
This is what I got so far, that I'm looking at.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131702
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115070
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820233132
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827118031

Well, I do plan to see things change a lot, lol. I mean. Even if the board was in, I got a bit of time before I'm going to buy it. Because I got to come up with the money for everything. And got something else that's not cheap to get out of the way first. And I was warned that new stuff is always coming out, so in less I buy right away, to keep an eye out for new things, till, I'm ready to put this build to action.

[David M]

Good CPU

Good optical drive

Let glc scrutinize the RAM. I don't see the RAM kit that I like as being available.

[Deathdiesel]

Just thought id input a bit about the 6990, it is a bit faster than the 590X, however, insanely loud. Theres an article on tomshardware that puts the 590 vs the 6990 in a bunch of different things just so you can consider your options.
Heres a 590 review
Nvidia GeForce GTX 590 3 GB Review: Firing Back With 1024 CUDA Cores : GeForce GTX 590: Bringing The Heat

[David M]

That's pretty interesting. I was hoping Nvidia would eventually do a dual Fermi card. Nvidia does not have Eyefinity, which is far superior to what Nvidia has.