Upgrading my gaming rig...

[Raptor1989]

Hey guys, I'm looking forward to upgrading my pc again. I'm from Kolkata. I went through a few reviews and price listings and have opted for the below:

Intel Core i7-960
GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD5
Corsair Dominator® GT 12GB (3x4GB) DDR3
Nvidia Geforce GTX 580 [suggest manufacturer]
Corsair 1000W SMPS

Can you guys please suggest the cooling system; water cooled, individual CPU, GPU and RAM cooling. I've already got a Cooler Master CM690 cabinet. I really know very little about cooling.

Someone suggested a i7-2600k and p67 combo and said this is better. Please elaborate on this.

Also, if there's a better config at the same or maybe a little higher price, do suggest it. But I'd rather prefer the same companies as listed above, personal choice . Also, please check for compatibility problems. And frankly, I'm creating a gaming pc, so do account for that.

Waiting eagerly for your reply. Do try to mention approximate price and vendor. Thanks guys.

 

[nginx]

If you really wanna upgrade your PC, its best to go for the new Sandy Bridge processor i7 2600k instead of the older i7 960. If you decide to get the 2600k, you will need the P67 mobo for overclocking and SLI.

The 2600k will cost you around 16.5k and the P67 Pro mobo from Asus will cost you 11.5k.

For GTX 580, I would suggest MSI Twin Frozr II because they really know how to keep the cards cool.

As for cooling system, stock cooling will be fine as long you don't overclock anything. Or else you could go for the Hyper-212 from Coolermaster or H70 Water Cooling System from Corsair.

 

[Cilus]

What you have decided is a completely wrong configuration. Core i7 960 is based on Nehalem Micro-architecture which is facing End of Life time now. The new generation processors are called Sandy Bridge processor which offer far better performance in same or lower price, compared to the old Nehalem processors.

Here is the changed config:

Core i7 2600K @ 16.5K
Asus P8P67 PRO Socket 1155 @ 11.5K
Corsair Vengeance 2 X 4 1600 MHz GB DDR3 @ 5.4K
Zotac Geforce GTX580 1536MB Graphics Card @ 26.9K

 

[Gaurav Bhattacharjee]

There's a 3GB variant of GTX 580 out as well @28k I think. Its definitely worth getting seeing that it costs about 1k more than 1.5GB one.

It would be of great use in multi-monitor setups (and Metro 2033 on a single 30" screen ).

 

[nginx]

Seeing as how the 2GB variants offer very little difference in FPS over the 1GB variants, I think it would be a massive waste of money to go for the 3GB card.

Btw, a little word of advice. If you plan to get the Hyper 212+, don't get the Vengeance RAM. You will have difficulty fitting them both in. Go for the G-Skill Ripjaws instead.

 

[Cilus]

As for cooling system, stock cooling will be fine as long you don't overclock anything. Or else you could go for the Hyper-212 from Coolermaster or H70 Water Cooling System from Corsair.

That's completely wrong buddy, due to its 32 nm fabrication process, Sandy Bridge Processors consumes less power and run far cooler than any of the other processors. In all the reviews, you can check that even with the Stock cooler, processors were overclocked beyond 4 GHz.

 

[coolgame]

yes but temps can be really high.@op,please fill the template

 

[nginx]

That's completely wrong buddy, due to its 32 nm fabrication process, Sandy Bridge Processors consumes less power and run far cooler than any of the other processors. In all the reviews, you can check that even with the Stock cooler, processors were overclocked beyond 4 GHz.

Yes but you must take those reviews with a grain of salt. Most of these reviews/tests were conducted in countries where ambient temps are around 20C or there and there about.

What may be a safe overclocking limit in USA, may not be the same in India because ambient temps are much higher in this part of the world. In kolkata, the ambient temps are over 35C now. If you overclock to 4.5 Ghz using stock cooling under these kinds of temps, your CPU will surely go kaput within a few months

 

[Skud]

^^ I think nginx got a point there. Also nobody tests long-term effect of OCing. Whether a OCed CPU has the same life as a normal clocked we never know. In any case, when the manufacture has released a CPU at a certain speed there must be some solid reason behind it.

 

[Cilus]

Buddy, I'm in the overclocking business for a long time. Also Topgear is I guess one of the best overclocker here. In BBSR, temperature is 4-5 degree higher than Kolkata (Kolkata is my home town) and I normally overclock my not so cool Phenom II 1090T to 3.6 to 3.8 GHz while playing games without any hassle and I used to it with my previous Phenom II 955 And I don't have an A.C. in my room. Topgear has Oced his Athlon II X4 to 3.5 GGz in kolkata in Stock cooler

In Sandy Bridge processors 4.5 GHz is reachable without any aftermarket cooler and it is a proven fact. So don't just jump to buy a cooler without checking whether it is really required.
Let the OP buy the system, overclock it and check the temp. Then if necessary, he can add a after market cooler.

 

[Raptor1989]

Sorry guys, couldn't reply as I was busy with final year project work. Thanks for replying so fast. So reading all you guys posts, I've decided to go for i7-2600k. A few questions...

1. Is the Gigabyte P67A-UD3R board a good choice among other P67 boards?
2. MSI Twin Frozr II or Zotac 1.5GB(or 2 or 3 GB)?
3. Corsair Dominator or Corsair Vengance or G-Skill Ripjaws?
4. 8GB or 12GB (obviously DDR3 RAM)?
5. I am gonna overclock, like hell, but not the instant I'm buying this rig. Maybe a few months later, when this config is gonna look old-school. Will the system be cool enough with just a few cabinet fans? I've got a CM 690 cabby. Do I need to install those fancy RAM coolers and GPU coolers and thermal paste. I'm a real newbie in cooling a system. Please do explain the whole shindig.
6. Corsair 1000W PSU. Is it enough if i install after market coolers and SLI my GPUs? Should I be safe and buy a PSU of a higher wattage? Is the 12V rail current sufficient?
7. What's the deal with Solid State Drives (SSD)?

Lots of questions, might be a little annoying to answer all of these. But I could really use the advice. Thank guys.

 

[Cilus]

1. The Gigabyte one good but the ASUS P8P67 PRO suggested in my suggestion is a better option due to its upgradability features. It offers you 2 PCI Express X16 slot for Multi GPU setup @ X8-X8 mode and another X16 slot @ X4 mode for adding a 3rd GPU, say for PhysX card.
Check the details here.

2. Get the 1.5 GB, more than enough for 1080P resolution. But if you are open to CrossfireX setup then you can go for two Sapphire HD 6950 2 GB in Crossfire around 30K. Offers reasonable performance upgrade.

3. Get the Corsair Vengeance or Gskill Ripjaw. I think G-Skill 1600Mhz 8GB Ram Kit ( Model F3-12800CL8D-8GBXM Cl8 ) @ 5.8k (in lynx-india) is a very attractive deal. Corsair Vengeance 4 GB stick is available @ 2.7K in primeabgb.

4. Obviously 8 GB in 2X4 GB configuration. Sandybridge processors have dual channel memory controller, not triple channel. So putting 3 sticks will not give you any advantage apart from higher size of memory.

5. Ya, all the Sandy bridge processors are far cooler than their predecessors. So for now, you just don't need to buy everything. You can add some good fan from CM inside the cabinet for better airflow.

6. Corsair 1000W is actually a overkill if you are not going for multi GPU setup with some high end cards. I use a TX 850 which is actually more than enough for my system.

 

[coolgame]

u cannot live with a 6950 CFX setup as they make a lot of noise(more than 580 3-way sli) and heat up like a pan on flame
Radeon HD 6950 CrossfireX review
Radeon HD 6950 CrossfireX review

 

[Cilus]

Noisy...it is average 44 DBA. I can guaranty you most of our PC actually almost same level of noisy. It is pretty acceptable.

And 89 degree at full load is also acceptable. Ask anyone apart from me who is using a multi-gpu system.

But ya, it is noisier and hotter than other cards. But if you get the custom cooler versions from Sapphire or MSI or Asus then the noise and temp will be little lower.

 

[coolgame]

but dude,it is hotter than a 580 3-way sli.doesent that plainly mean that the 6950 has a bad cooler?yes the custom cooled ones are much better but they come at a price

 

[topgear]

^^ that's why it's better to get custom cooled HD6950 - A stock HD6950 2GB load temp is around ~77C and CF temp ~89C.

MSI Twin Frozr II HD6950 has load temp of 60C - so Cf temp will be around ~72C - which is ὑπέρ cool for a dual gpu setup IMO

Now coming to the config Discussion :

Cilus has answered to almost everything on post no. 13.

Now my personal preference is going with a HD6950 CF setup other than any gpu config.

My suggestion is also not to get a Cpu cooler right now as OP will OC later anyway and core i7 2600k has enough power even at stock speed.

If Op can afford then he should get that 1000W behemoth PSU as more power is always better but even a corasir HX 750W will handle all these components easily - I like modular PSUs.

Now coming to the OC part - referring to the post No. 10 by cilus

I've Oced my Athlon II X4 630 to 3.7 Ghz ( 1.5V vcore ) with CM Hyper 212 - never used the stock cooler

Now SB ocing :

I don't think it's a very good idea to OC SB cpus more with stock cooler as temps will rise dramatically as most of us live in such place where ambient temp is higher - take a look at this thread and you will know why I'm saying this :

*www.thinkdigit.com/forum/pc-components-configurations/138678-intel-i7-2600k-temperatures.html

though personally I'm surprised to see such high temps with a after market cooler and there may be some cooler installation issue but it's not recommend to OC SB cpus with stock coolers ( though some guys have managed to do so ) where ambient temp is around 30C or higher.

With Good air cooler SB cpus can reach 4.5-4.9 Ghz with acceptable temps read under 70C but after seeing some corsair water coolers I think that's much better for SB cpus

 

[Cilus]

Hey, sorry for the misleading information posted regarding Topgear's OCeability. Topgear has used Hyper 212. But still I think OP can at least check the yemp of 2600K while overclocking before getting a CPU cooler.

 

[nginx]

Sorry guys, couldn't reply as I was busy with final year project work. Thanks for replying so fast. So reading all you guys posts, I've decided to go for i7-2600k. A few questions...

1. Is the Gigabyte P67A-UD3R board a good choice among other P67 boards?
2. MSI Twin Frozr II or Zotac 1.5GB(or 2 or 3 GB)?
3. Corsair Dominator or Corsair Vengance or G-Skill Ripjaws?
4. 8GB or 12GB (obviously DDR3 RAM)?
5. I am gonna overclock, like hell, but not the instant I'm buying this rig. Maybe a few months later, when this config is gonna look old-school. Will the system be cool enough with just a few cabinet fans? I've got a CM 690 cabby. Do I need to install those fancy RAM coolers and GPU coolers and thermal paste. I'm a real newbie in cooling a system. Please do explain the whole shindig.
6. Corsair 1000W PSU. Is it enough if i install after market coolers and SLI my GPUs? Should I be safe and buy a PSU of a higher wattage? Is the 12V rail current sufficient?
7. What's the deal with Solid State Drives (SSD)?

Lots of questions, might be a little annoying to answer all of these. But I could really use the advice. Thank guys.

1. The Gigabyte P67A-UD3R is equivalent to the Asus p8p67 board. Both of these only have one PCI-e slot with x16 lanes and another PCI-e slot with only x4 lanes. Both of these boards allow overclocking of the processor but due to the lack of pins on the second PCI-e slot, these boards are not suitable for SLI/Crossfire.

If you wanna SLI/Crossfire, these are your choices:
Gigabyte P67A-UD4
Asus P8p67 Pro
Asus P8p67 Deluxe

2. Zotac is loud and noisy and also the cooler isnt that effective as MSI's Twin Frozr II model which also happens to run a lot more silently.

3. G-Skill Ripjaws in my opinion are your best bang for buck. Dominators are overpriced for no real benefit. Vengeance RAM will severely limit your options to install an aftermarket cooler.

4. 8GB is over-kill as it is. Forget 12GB. Even 4gb is enough unless you use professional grade apps which requires a lot of RAM.

5. If you plan to do any overclocking, do yourself a favor and get yourself an aftermarket cooler like Hyper 212+ by spending 1500 bucks. It wont break the bank and your system will run a lot cooler for lot longer.

6. 1000W is more enough to even SLI GTX 590 cards.

7. The deal is your system will boot up faster and games & apps will load faster. That's about it.