Hi, I'm looking to buy a new system within the next 2-4 weeks and could use some input. I have done some research already, but still have some questions (see below).
TL;DR: Need overclocked but still quiet setup for gaming and Ram-intensive work for 1500€ max!
First the standard form:
What is your budget?
1500 Euros max, but hopefully not needed entirely
What is your resolution?
1920x1080 (will use 2 monitors, but only 1 for gaming)
What are you using it for?
Gaming (SC2, Diablo3, Bioware/Bethesda games, Civilization, possibly some shooters too), programming (VS 2010 mostly), running 2-3 VirtualMachines with 3-4gb RAM at once. Probably have to zip/unzip 30-50gb files twice a week. MSSQL and MySQL Servers.
What is your upgrade cycle?
At least 2, probably 3+ years. Possibly upgrading Graphics sooner if 3+
When do you plan on building it?
2-4 Weeks
Do you plan on overclocking?
CPU: yes (see question below)
Graphics: possibly
Do you need an Operating System?
No
Do you plan to add a second GPU for SLI or Crossfire?
No
Where are you buying your parts from?
probably
www.mindfactory.de (got my last 3 PCs there, low prices, fast delivery, good service)
Extra infos:
- USB 3.0 is a must-have.
- PC will be hooked up to TV
- probably don't need Bluray on PC, got a PS3 for that
What I picked out so far, prices as of right now:
CPU: i7 2600k or Ivybridge variant (see below)
Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 (€ 64)
Mainboard: ASRock Z77 Pro4 (€ 100)
RAM: 16GB Corsair Vengeance LowProfile 4x 4GB DDR3-1600 (€ 90)
PSU: 620W Seasonic M12II-620 80+ Bronze (€ 85)
Graphics: Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 2GB (€ 290)
Case: Antec P280 (€ 118)
SSD: 128GB Crucial m4 (€ 120)
HDD: 2TB Seagate Barracuda 7200 (€ 100)
DVD: some 20 € thingy
Total about 1260 €, so quite a bit below my max budget
Questions / Thoughts:CPU / Overclocking / Temperature / Noise: I was planning to do slight - medium OC on the cpu, like 4.5Ghz on a 2600k at most. I figured I would get an Ivy-CPU since I was waiting for money anyway, but according to some reviews (which I found in various threads in this forum), the Ivy doesn't oc quite as well as the Sandybridge CPUs. Now with a good heatsink, 4.5 would probably still be achievable, but I am also looking to keep the noise level down as much as possible (especially idle, don't care that much about noise under load), which might become a problem in a "silent" case with Ivy's higher temperatures.
Specifically I was looking at the Antec P280 case with Noctua NH-D14 cooler here.
So my question: Should I play it safe and go with the 2600k, or will the Ivybridge variant be able to handle this while staying relatively quiet without overheating? Or should I even max out my budget and go with a socket2011 CPU etc?
Or is it just too early to tell?
Graphics Card: Pretty much the same as above, noise/temperature levels while still offering high performance. I figured performance-wise a HD7870 (maybe trying to oc to the same specs as the sold oc-version) should be good enough for the next few years at 1080p, or should I go higher and get myself the (apparently very good and even quieter and cooler) 7950? Also, which brand should fit my needs best? I figured Sapphire was a safe bet, but obviously I'm wide open for any input on this matter.
Also: My 2 screens both only have VGA/DVI ports. This will probably be a problem since 7xxx generation generally only offers one DVI port. I'm guessing I can't hook up one screen on the card and one to the cpu-gpu? Any suggestions here, or should I get myself a new screen?
PSU: Maybe overkill, even with OC? 520W version would be 10€ less.
Mainboard: No idea honestly, especially with the Z7x stuff. Just picked one that seemed to fit my needs.
RAM: I think I should be fine with 16gb, 8 will definitely fall short with more than one VM (using 3-4gb each) running. 32 should be overkill, but I'm still considering it with the current prices (should be about 200€ for 4x8gb). Speed no idea, I know 1600 isn't worth it for gaming, but with my needs it might be more noticeable?
HDD: Since VMs will be on there, HDD needs to be a 7200 i think?
SSD: Crucial seems to be very reliable and also quite cheap, but performance-wise offers lower numbers than others. Is this noticeable enough to warrent a not-that-reliable-and-more-expensive drive?
I guess thats it, thanks in advance guys!