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Merry Christmas to ME!

post #1 of 89
12/11/11 at 9:49pm
Thread Starter 
I just finished ordering the parts for a new Gaming/HTPC I am building for myself to play on my Samsung LN55C630. I will update this thread as the machine gets built. I have been itching to build my "Dream Machine" for a few years. Here is the parts list:

Intel i7-2700k
Asus P8Z68 Deluxe Motherboard
Sapphire Radeon HD 6950
Corsair H100 Liquid Cooler
gSkill Sniper 16gb (4x4gb) DDR3 1866 CL9
OCZ Vertex 3 60gb Sata III SSD
Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200 rpm HDD
Asus Sata Blu Ray Burner
OCZ ZT Series 650W Modular PSU
Corsair Obsidian 650d Case
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post #2 of 89
12/12/11 at 1:58am
Nice! Sounds like a good build since you will only be pushing 1080p resolutions on that Samsung. Just crank up the AA and you are golden. I love PC gaming on my 60" LG plasma.
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post #3 of 89
12/12/11 at 6:26am
i7 cpu's r so nice. Hope you have money left for the upcoming Steam Christmas Sale
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post #4 of 89
12/12/11 at 6:35am
This looks very nice. But from what I've read, you should get a larger ssd. People who have them feel that 60gb is just too cramped, even for just the os.
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post #5 of 89
12/12/11 at 6:35am
The only thing I would recommend is going with at least a 120gb ssd. I've got a 120 and I've got nothing but the OS and a couple of games on it. It's nice to have a little room for games like Skyrim to sit on the SSD because I see 1/2 second loading screens.
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post #6 of 89
12/12/11 at 6:51am
Very nice system.

I agree with others that a larger SSD would have been optimal, as some games are much nicer to play on them over even the fastest regular hard drives. If funds were the issue behind it, then cutting the CPU down to a 2500K (HyperThreading provides a very minimal benefit for games) would have covered the extra cost.
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post #7 of 89
12/12/11 at 7:56am
Quote:
Originally Posted by MSmith83 View Post

Very nice system.

I agree with others that a larger SSD would have been optimal, as some games are much nicer to play on them over even the fastest regular hard drives. If funds were the issue behind it, then cutting the CPU down to a 2500K (HyperThreading provides a very minimal benefit for games) would have covered the extra cost.

That's exactly what I did. Went with the I5 2500k and got the 120gb ssd. I have to say, love me some ssd. I can cold boot my desktop pc quicker than I my laptop can wake up from sleep state. I used to come in, power up my pc, go take a leak and get something to drink, come back and wait for windows to finish loading. Not anymore.
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post #8 of 89
12/12/11 at 9:51am
Definitely a bigger SSD (and a bigger TV or a projector ).
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post #9 of 89
12/12/11 at 10:52am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for all the advice. I know 120gb+ would be ideal but I already have the 60gb SSD. It bought an extra one when a good deal came up (bought it for $90 around black friday). I plan to use it, see how it goes, and upgrade it if things get tight drive space wise.
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post #10 of 89
12/12/11 at 11:08am
Quote:
Originally Posted by TahoeDust View Post

Thanks for all the advice. I know 120gb+ would be ideal but I already have the 60gb SSD. It bought an extra one when a good deal came up (bought it for $90 around black friday). I plan to use it, see how it goes, and upgrade it if things get tight drive space wise.

Sounds good.

Prices on SSDs should be much better next year. One promising aspect in this area is that Intel and Micron are currently mass producing 8GB 20nm NANDs.
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post #11 of 89
12/12/11 at 3:58pm
nice choice on SSD, rather than scratch it and go for the 120gb, i'd just get another 60 in raid 0
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post #12 of 89
12/12/11 at 6:48pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by formulanerd View Post

nice choice on SSD, rather than scratch it and go for the 120gb, i'd just get another 60 in raid 0

My thoughts exactly. Should be over 1000 MB/s in raid. That is scorched earth fast!
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post #13 of 89
12/15/11 at 3:59pm
Thread Starter 


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post #14 of 89
12/17/11 at 6:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by TahoeDust View Post

My thoughts exactly. Should be over 1000 MB/s in raid. That is scorched earth fast!

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post #15 of 89
12/18/11 at 8:20am
Nice system! Should provide plenty of entertainment. I agree about SSDs. They're the single biggest upgrade I've made to my systems in the past few years. Amazing. I just wish the prices were lower right now. I want a 256 yet I'm not going to pay anywhere near what they want for them atm. I definitely agree about the more space thing. My 80GB Intel boot drive is getting cramped.
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post #16 of 89
12/18/11 at 8:53am
Quote:
Originally Posted by TahoeDust View Post

Thanks for all the advice. I know 120gb+ would be ideal but I already have the 60gb SSD. It bought an extra one when a good deal came up (bought it for $90 around black friday). I plan to use it, see how it goes, and upgrade it if things get tight drive space wise.


SSD Caching. That is all....
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post #17 of 89
12/27/11 at 11:41pm
Thread Starter 
She is up and running. Coming from a AMD Phenom II, the i7 is a monster, Honestly, crazy fast. I am currently sitting at a fully stress tested and stable 4.9GHz @ 1.43v.

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post #18 of 89
1/21/12 at 9:22pm
Thread Starter 
You guys were completely right about the SSD being too small. I added another one just like it and went Raid 0.

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post #19 of 89
1/23/12 at 12:56am
You may want to consider sending that graphics card back...

I went with the same one and it ended up not being enough so I had to get another one and it's still not really enough.

I get crazy drops in frame rates in BF3 even with Crossfire & MSAA & Motionblur turned off. Also I have to use Vertical Sync which locks (or tries to) at 60fps or else I get really bad stuttering.

The two cards cost me about $530 and I kind of wished I would of went with something else.

Something to think about at least.
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post #20 of 89
1/26/12 at 7:14am
Quote:
Originally Posted by TahoeDust View Post

You guys were completely right about the SSD being too small. I added another one just like it and went Raid 0.

Awesome man. I own an OCZ Vertex 3, but it's in my Macbook. Instead of pulling that I bought another OCZ Agility 3 and put that in my newly built desktop. No Raid, but I was so close to buying an expesnive 480gb for the heck of it.

I built a 2500k on a Gene-Z mobo inside of a Thermaltake Lanbox Lite case. I just wanted a nice, fast, small, energy efficient, low-heat producing box. I might post a thread about it. Do you have anymore pictures? I have the same Ram as you, but in 1600mhz.
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post #21 of 89
1/26/12 at 7:54pm
Keep and eye on the H100. We've had 3 come back with leaking rads in the last 2 weeks. What was your reason to go with the H100 over a good air cooler?
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post #22 of 89
1/27/12 at 11:42am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by OmfgItzThaMack View Post

You may want to consider sending that graphics card back...

I went with the same one and it ended up not being enough so I had to get another one and it's still not really enough.

I get crazy drops in frame rates in BF3 even with Crossfire & MSAA & Motionblur turned off. Also I have to use Vertical Sync which locks (or tries to) at 60fps or else I get really bad stuttering.

The two cards cost me about $530 and I kind of wished I would of went with something else.

Something to think about at least.

Funny you mention that. I really thought the 6950 would be enough, it isn't . Two 6970s just arrived today

Quote:
Originally Posted by N8DOGG View Post

Keep and eye on the H100. We've had 3 come back with leaking rads in the last 2 weeks. What was your reason to go with the H100 over a good air cooler?

Interesting. I had not heard of anyone having issues with H100 leaking. I wonder what would cause them to suddenly leak, it would seam that outside of physically damging it, if it is sealed, its sealed. Who do you work for if you don't mind me asking? I went with the H100 because I really like the clean installation and how nicely it fit in my 650d case. I am not a big fan of the gigantic air coolers I would have to run to get into the performance realm of the H100.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ambush083 View Post

Awesome man. I own an OCZ Vertex 3, but it's in my Macbook. Instead of pulling that I bought another OCZ Agility 3 and put that in my newly built desktop. No Raid, but I was so close to buying an expesnive 480gb for the heck of it.

I built a 2500k on a Gene-Z mobo inside of a Thermaltake Lanbox Lite case. I just wanted a nice, fast, small, energy efficient, low-heat producing box. I might post a thread about it. Do you have anymore pictures? I have the same Ram as you, but in 1600mhz.

I will post some more pictures once I get the new cards installed tonight.
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post #23 of 89
1/27/12 at 2:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by TahoeDust View Post

Interesting. I had not heard of anyone having issues with H100 leaking. I wonder what would cause them to suddenly leak, it would seam that outside of physically damging it, if it is sealed, its sealed. Who do you work for if you don't mind me asking? I went with the H100 because I really like the clean installation and how nicely it fit in my 650d case. I am not a big fan of the gigantic air coolers I would have to run to get into the performance realm of the H100.

I technically have my own business "Rigs by N8" but I get a lot of parts from ME, nicx/internet and my friends shop. It's based on need, It's not my full time job, just my hobby and a bit of extra cash. My full time job is an autobody painter at a GM dealership. I'm lucky though, my wife's in medicine, so all the money I make, I get to spend on anything I want
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post #24 of 89
1/28/12 at 12:40am
Thread Starter 
Just a couple crappy cell phone pics...but you get the idea.



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post #25 of 89
1/28/12 at 9:13am
Very nice setup! I'm jealous! Congrats
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post #26 of 89
1/28/12 at 10:40am
yup nice build!
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post #27 of 89
1/28/12 at 11:25am
Thread Starter 
Thanks guys. These two cards really beast out. I finally can max out BF3 and stay above 60fps and the setup scored P10729 in 3Dmark11. I am really happy with the setup so far.
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post #28 of 89
1/28/12 at 12:31pm
I´m a noob about this, but jus when I saw the 750W label I just jaw dropped

You almost need your own nuclear generator.
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post #29 of 89
1/28/12 at 2:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tlalotoani View Post

I´m a noob about this, but jus when I saw the 750W label I just jaw dropped

You almost need your own nuclear generator.

Many of us are running 1Kw plus PSUs. I use 950w, 1000w , 1200w and 1250w PSUs with my gaming systems
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post #30 of 89
1/28/12 at 2:37pm
Damn dude...the wiring in there is looking really good! Great job! Here's one of mine, also a crappy camera pic. Question - where did you get your wrapping for your wires. It looks really nice and I want to do that as well. Also, we pretty much have the same cards right? The AMD 6950 series? Did you have to turn on V-Sync & Triple Buffering to get BF3 running smoothly?

Edit...just read a few posts up...Ok you have the 6970's now...interested to see how they work out for you. Let me know...

Also, if you're playing BF3 we should link up. I play with N8 sometimes but he's not nearly on as much as he should be (hint, hint, N8!). I have my oen Vent server that you guys are free to use (there's another thread about it) but in case you didn't see it it's MacksVentServer and the password is password. I set it up for fellow AVS'ers and myself of course!
LL
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