First DIY build for a powerful machine - need urgent feedback

mateuszd

mateuszd

mateuszd

Associate
Joined
17 Sep 2012
Posts
152
Location
London
First DIY build for a powerful machine - need advice

Hi guys.
I am building my first custom-built PC and require some advice about some components and compatibility. The aim of this machine is to handle general computing, gaming and high performance stuff (such as multiple VMs in VMware or Hyper-V). I have built some specs and ordered some components however I got stock with the motherboard (Gigabyte X79-UD5 Intel X79) because of very negative reviews of it on newegg :( (there was only 1 review on Overclockers). I have picked an alternative Asus board hoping it’s gonna be better. I am still unsure about the fan (whether it fits or not). The overall cost of components is nearly £2000 so it’s important for me to at least attempt to buy hardware which has got a good reputation and is compatible.

Here are the specs:
ASUS Rampage IV Extreme X79 – new mobo instead of Gigabyte X79-UD5 Intel X79
GeIL EVO Veloce Frost White 32GB (no reviews… are these good?)
Intel Core i7-3930K – already ordered
Corsair Professional Series HX+ 850W
KFA2 GeForce GTX 670 EX OC 4GB – already ordered
SanDisk Extreme SSD 240GB – already ordered
NZXT Phantom Enthusiast USB3.0 Full Tower Case – already ordered
Akasa AK-CC4008HP01 Heatsink or maybe some water cooled one

Could you advise me on the following (plus any comments you have):
- Is this a compatible set? Well, should be, I spent hours choosing components
- Can the GPU cope with games @ 1440p?
- Would you buy this mobo or the Gigabyte one (or a different one)? All mobos have mixed reviews in various places
- Will the heatsink fit near RAM modules or do I need a watercooled set for size/performance matters? (this 1 is worrying me the most) :confused:
- Enough watts for PSU?
- Any other comments?

I have been researching a lot and tried to answer my own questions but I’d rather have someone confirm just to make sure. I hope this build can last me at least 2-3 years… what do you think?
Thanks a lot for any help ;)
Matt
 
Last edited:
welcome,

1) yes it is compatible. :)
2) The GPU will smash games at that res.
3) The rampage are one of the most consisantly good incarnations of motheroard, cannot go wrong with them.
4) The RAM looks tall but not too sure whether they'll clash or not. You'll have to find some reviews, or just risk it.
5)more than enough power. even for SLI.
6) Disk drive?

I would get a different cooler, if air coolers fit above the ram, i'd go for something like this: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-002-PT&groupid=701&catid=2330&subcat=2348

If not a h100 is a good idea. :)
 
Thanks for your feedback.

At the moment I'm not getting a HDD nor an optical drive because I store all my data on my home server which has plenty of space and I never used the DVD drive in my old PC anyway. I have plans to purchase a BD recorder for backuping purposes sometime soon.

The GPU will smash games at that res.
Click to expand...
Really? :) I was actually worried I would need to SLI them to do that? Yes, my knowledge of hardware (expecially estimating GPUs) is poor.

So what about the Gigabyte motherboard? Is it bad? It's much cheaper though :/

I will look into the heatsink/fan since I'd prefer to keep water away from the hardware :) I'm so worried it won't fit. But I will probably risk it.

Would be the recommented PSU wattage for this set?

I would like as much feed back as possible so everyone please keep posting...
 
i think smash at 1440p is vague for sure
id look at some benchmarks on that, i wouldnt say the pc i game on with a 690 in it smashes that res^^

also that ram looks nice but mabe you wouldnt notice any difference with cheaper stuff
 
I too would say you'll be fine with the 670 as it has 4Gb of memory.The psu is also ok - plenty of power for proposed setup,and enough to Sli two cards further down the line should you so wish.

The Asus board is excellent though - dont think you will go wrong with it. Just leaves the cooling to decide on really> I personally would probably go water for quiet and efficient cooling.As for air cooling not sure on that as I am a bit out of the loop on those.

Hope this helps

Mark
 
Yeah I think the RAM is an overkill, actually I feel the whole specs are too powerful for what I want it to use it for but I'd rather invest into a box once and get good stuff to try avoid upgrading anything soon.
Actually, the motherboard does 1866 MHz on RAM without OC (2400 with OC) so I assume the 2400 RAM is going to get wasted unless I overclock it?
I might as well buy cheaper ram (1866 mhz), is the difference going to feel noticable?

What about: GeIL EVO Veloce Hot-Rod Red 32GB (4x8GB) DDR3 PC3 It works on max non OC ram speed of the motherboard and is £100 cheaper which I could invest into the H100.

The only question with water cooling (H100) is whether the big cooling panel would fit anywhere in the case. I worry there might not be enough space for it or that it would leak or the pump breaks.
 
Last edited:
the money you save you could spend on a 2nd ssd. that might help more when running wmware
Click to expand...
At the moment, I'm still trying to get over the fact this PC is over £1500 nearly £2000, the initial budget was just around £1000. ;)

I think custom water cooling will be too expensive, I'd rather stick to air cooling or the H100...

Ok, so I read on another forum that my 3930k cpu is not gonna be able to handle 2400 MHz ram even if I set the motherboard to run it at 2400 with the 2400 RAM modules? Thats a damn good reason to drop to 1866 MHz ram straight away and save £100. :)
Can anyone confirm this is true?
Oh I feel as such a noob when it comes to hardware :(
 
Last edited:
should have just bought an i7 sandy 3770k or something. would be fine for what you need it to do and to be honest, i doubt you will notice much difference between this pc and an ivy bridge with less ram. apart from the money of course.

also the psu is slight overkill. could easily go with a 750.
 
yes, get an ivy bridge 3770k build and save loads of money :P
Click to expand...
too late 3930k already ordered, I think I'm gonna leave the specs as they are.
The 8 slot motherboard might be an overkill for now but sometime in the future I might delegate it to my home server and get a 4 slot one...
Now it's just the fan choice, I think im gonna go for the H100 or the Intel Watercooling one as they both around the same price...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom