Building new ~$2000 machine

[Neurotoxin]

Hey folks,

I'd like to get your input on this machine, plus any recommendations for a good case that keeps cool and handles well (sound insulation is less important).

Mobo: Gigabyte GA-X79-UD3 (and I know I would need to update the firmware ASAP if BIOS is F7 or below)

PSU: Seasonic SS-660XP2

CPU: Intel i7 3820

CPU Heatsink: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO (it fits the tight architecture of this board while leaving ample room for memory)

RAM: G.SKILL Sniper 32GB (4 x 8GB) Quad Channel

GPU: Nvidia GTX 670 (model not yet selected, probably EVGA though)

SSD: Corsair Neutron Series GTX 2.5" 120GB (tools / games / OS)

HDD: WD Caviar Black 1TB (for storage and back-up, might get a bigger one)

Media: LG Black 12X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA Internal 12X Blu-ray Combo Drive Model UH12NS29

Thanks!

[Rbstr]

I just wouldn't go with Sandy Bridge-e unless you do something non-gaming which might benefit...because games don't really care about the extra cores. Same with 32gb of memory. More than 8gb is superfluous for current games.
The money is better spent on a 680 instead of a 670...which is something I rarely say.

There's also something to be said for waiting right now for some new parts in the pipeline. Haswell chips (and Ivy-e, if you're still set on spending too much, you'd get 1866 memory then atleast) come out in june.
nVidia is launching new cards next month as well, which will apparently bump all the current chips down a price category (eg. the 770 is basically a 680, the 780 is based on a cut-down Titan chip)

I've got that Seasonic PSU, it's fantastic.
For a hard drive...might just want to get the cheaper Seagate drive, with the SSD.

Handles well? Like you're going to be moving it around?
I would go with a Lian-Li aluminum case then.
Otherwise, the Fractal Design Define R4. It's super quiet, two 140mm fans is more than enough for any stock setup, but you can add an extra fan in front plus open up a dual 140mm on the top (which I use for a 280mm radiator) and a single 140mm on the side panel. Only drawback is weight.

[Neurotoxin]

http://www.extremetech.com/computing/154192-haswell-cpu-pricing-leaks-suggests-intel-is-shifting-focus-to-low-and-mid-range

Considering that the Haswells don't appear to really outperform the 3770k, I think I can buy now and not feel bad about it. They are priced comparably, and the only thing Haswells have over 3770k is the Intel HD Graphics 4600 instead of 4000, which only matters if I don't get a graphics card.

I'm just gonna rock with my old 8800 GTS until the new nvidia cards come through and reduce the prices on the 600 series. Allegedly that will be very soon, within weeks.

Handles well, like limited delay between actions and results. Case weight is no problem, so I might go with the Define 4 that you mentioned.

WD Black for the hard drive because it has a 5 year warranty, where seagate only has 2. I know a warranty doesn't get my data back, but anything essential would be backed up via dropbox anyway.

[Goku]

Do you want help building something around a IB build? If so answer the questions I have stickied in this forum. I saw a couple of nice deals for a 3570K on Newegg today. See the thread at slickdeals (http://slickdeals.net/f/5986986-Intel-i5-3570K-GIGABYTE-GA-Z77X-UD4H-Intel-Motherboard-320-Newegg-another-combo-with-ASUS-mobo-285-AR-see-thread). Unless you need HT for something there is no needed gaming performance 95% of the time.

Also I'm hearing the 700 series will be released this May. Though its mostly rebrands, but it will add value to the line up. Say the 670 is going for $400 right now, you can get the 760 Ti that will have the same performance if not a tad better for $300ish (hopefully). That 8800s really were crazy strong cards. I had one years ago and loved it.

[Rbstr]

Considering that the Haswells don't appear to really outperform the 3770k, I think I can buy now and not feel bad about it. They are priced comparably, and the only thing Haswells have over 3770k is the Intel HD Graphics 4600 instead of 4000, which only matters if I don't get a graphics card.

That link doesn't really say anything except they're changing the numbering scheme a bit.
The 4670 is going to cost what a 3570 does and have the same clock speed.
Clock for clock the Haswell is better than IB. That's that, regardless of graphics.

If you'd rather not wait, that's fine. Just making sure you know the options.
And speaking of...You're sticking with SB-E or are you going to regular quad-core IB chips?If you are...get the i5, not the i7. Again, unless you've got something specific you need, the i7's hyperthreading brings nothing to the table for gaming.

[Neurotoxin]

Yeah I am going to be doing 3D modeling and rendering, developing in Unity, working with Photoshop and After Effects, probably more. I'll also be recording and / or live streaming. I'll definitely need the 4 cores. I'm probably getting 32gb of Mushkin Enhanced Redline for the nice 8-8-8-24 latency.

[Goku]

Yeah I don't see any reason to go X79/3820 after seeing this comparison (http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/551?vs=523) vs the 3770K. Going with Z77 with a 3770K seems like the best choice for me. Honestly the 3820 was kinda a niche CPU in the first place even before ivy came out. Only real reason to get one is if you need like 64GB of ram I guess, makes most sens to get a 3930K six core with X79 IMO.

[Neurotoxin]

Here's what I'm looking to get now. This is based on suggestions and recommendations across many sites.

I am going to use an old 8800GTS until the new 700-series Nvidia cards are out next month.

Since I'm not overclocking, I'm not sure if I even need an after-market cooler.

I still need a case, one that handles temperature well and is good at mitigating dust would be preferred. Any recommendations are welcome! (I'm kinda leaning towards a Define 4 mid-size tower right now.)



PCPartPicker part list (http://pcpartpicker.com/p/T3Im) / Price breakdown by merchant (http://pcpartpicker.com/p/T3Im/by_merchant/) / Benchmarks (http://pcpartpicker.com/p/T3Im/benchmarks/)

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80637i73770k) ($229.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-cpu-cooler-rrb10212pg1) ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-gaz77xud3h) ($129.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Redline 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (http://pcpartpicker.com/part/mushkin-memory-994102) ($259.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Corsair Neutron Series GTX 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-internal-hard-drive-cssdn240gbgtxbbk) ($187.00 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (http://pcpartpicker.com/part/western-digital-internal-hard-drive-wdbaaz0020hncnrsn) ($177.85 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 660W 80 PLUS Platinum Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seasonic-power-supply-ss660xp2) ($127.55 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG UH12NS29 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer (http://pcpartpicker.com/part/lg-optical-drive-uh12ns29) ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1172.34
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-25 20:42 EDT-0400)

[Rbstr]

If you're not overclocking you simply don't need to worry about temperature beyond having a reasonable two-fan case.

With the Define R4, you'll find that even the Intel stock cooler is just shy of inaudible

[Neurotoxin]

This is the final build. I'll likely purchase it today.


PCPartPicker part list (http://pcpartpicker.com/p/TaYz) / Price breakdown by merchant (http://pcpartpicker.com/p/TaYz/by_merchant/) / Benchmarks (http://pcpartpicker.com/p/TaYz/benchmarks/)

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80637i73770k) ($229.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-gaz77xud3h) ($129.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Redline 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (http://pcpartpicker.com/part/mushkin-memory-994102) ($259.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Corsair Neutron Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-internal-hard-drive-cssdn256gb3bk) ($170.00 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (http://pcpartpicker.com/part/western-digital-internal-hard-drive-wdbaaz0020hncnrsn) ($159.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case (http://pcpartpicker.com/part/fractal-design-case-fdcadefr4bl) ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 650W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seasonic-power-supply-ss650km) ($138.54 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG UH12NS29 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer (http://pcpartpicker.com/part/lg-optical-drive-uh12ns29) ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Other: EVGA 8800GTS (Already owned)
Other: Windows 7 Ultimate (Already owned)
Total: $1208.47
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-26 12:33 EDT-0400)

[Goku]

Everything looks good. If you wanted to save some money you can drop the wattage on that PSU and get something like this 550W Seasonic (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151119). Unless you want the added flexibility of having more wattage I guess you can keep that one you have or even go for this Corsair 750W AX series PSU (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003PJ6QWE/ref=s9_simh_gw_p147_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0NDWC2GTNWYGC9Z6CWPE&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1389517282&pf_rd_i=507846) for $125. Thats a very good unit.

[Neurotoxin]

Ordered, it'll be here next week!