Warmachine 3.0 (i5 2500K build)

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Skippman
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Warmachine 3.0 (i5 2500K build)

Post by Skippman »

As everyone knows by now Battlefield 3 is on it's way. There's been lots of talk about what it's going to take to play the game and it's certain that no matter what, it's going to take one hell of a system to do it. I'm having flashbacks to Crysis. I really wonder what the hell these guys test their games on. That being said, I vowed when I built my E6600 based rig that I wouldn't rebuild this thing until DICE made BF3. Well, I guess it's time to man up and eat those words. Having played the Beta it's CRUSHING my machine. I've never seen EVERYTHING on a computer max out before short of benchmarks!

That being said I've been asking for advice and I think I've got a rough plan for my new rig but I really need advice from people who've actually played with any of this gear or have build a machine in the last year. Here's what I'm thinking off.

Warmachine 3.0
Case - Corsair Obsidian CC800DW
PSU - Corsair HX620 Modular PSU
Radiator - Swiftech MCR320-QP
CPU Waterblock - Swiftech Apogee GTZ w/ 1155 adaptor plate
Pump - Swiftech MCP-655
Fan Controller - NZXT Sentry LX
Case Fans - Yate Loon 120mm High Speed Blue w/ LED x 5
CPU - Intel i5 2500K Sandy Bridge
Motheboard - ASUS Sabertooth P67
RAM - Corsair Vengance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1866
Hard Drives - Western Digital WD6401AALS x 2
Optical - LiteOn LH-20A1L05 SATA DVR-R/W


Now, I already have the case, PSU, radiator, water block, pump, fan controller, hard drives, fans, and optical drive so those are being recycled into this rig. The mobo, RAM, proc, and GPU's will be all new. I have NO IDEA which GPU to use. Bills review of the EVGA GeForce GTX 570 HD Classified sounds like a hell of a card. I don't know if I'd prefer nVidia or ATI. I've only run ATI for the last 6 years, maybe it's time to switch teams.

Thoughts? I really do need help here guys.
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Re: Warmachine 3.0 (i5 2500K build)

Post by vbironchef »

The EVGA GeForce GTX 570 HD Classified is a great. Have you thought about two Evga stock gtx 570's. Would need a larger power supply though. If I were you I would buy the intel i7 2600k cpu and I would add a intel SSD.
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Re: Warmachine 3.0 (i5 2500K build)

Post by Skippman »

My ORIGINAL budget was $400. I've since doubled that to $800 to account for a better motherboard and a new GPU to replace my aging 4870's.

I only save $10 by not buying the Classified version. Running two of them would set me back $700 for the GPU's alone, plus another $100 for a bigger PSU. I could pick a slower GPU and run them in Crossfire/SLI. Say a pair of eVGA GTX 460's or AMD 6850's. Both of those would work just fine with my current PSU and still come in around $300-$350. I was leaning towards the single GPU so I could add a second card later if I chose, reducing my upgrade cost in the future.

As for the i7 2600K vs the i5 2500K I was under the impression the i5 was the better of the two in overclocking. I won't be doing any encoding on this machine so I don't know that I'd gain anything by having hyperthreading.
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Re: Warmachine 3.0 (i5 2500K build)

Post by Major_A »

You know that the Sandy Bridge E is showing up soon? Like Intel always does they are changing the CPU socket to a different pinout (LGA 2011). Granted it is supposed to be the replacement for the LGA 1366 series. But as they always do there will be a limited line at first then I'm sure they'll branch out from there to fill out different price points.
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Re: Warmachine 3.0 (i5 2500K build)

Post by Skippman »

What are the advantages of the new Sandy Bridge? Honestly, the current Sandy Bridge, other than being an OC'ing monster does nothing for me. Onboard graphics are something I have no use for. The only thing that even remotely interested me was the Z69's SRT technology which, as discussed, seems outright pointless.
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Re: Warmachine 3.0 (i5 2500K build)

Post by Major_A »

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Re: Warmachine 3.0 (i5 2500K build)

Post by DaddyRabbit »

For just gaming I probably would stick with the 2500k. Not sure about the overclockability differences but not having HT might help there. Took me about 1.5 minutes to get to a Prime95 stable 24/7 4.6GHZ on my 2600k.

If I were building though I probably would go with a GEN3 Z68 board for a couple of reasons:

1) Many of them state that they will support Ivy Bridge with a BIOS update.
2) While I CURRENTLY have little use for the onboard GMA3000, it is a media demon and if I upgrade later it would make a great HTPC or general use PC. Additionally Lucid Virtu will almost certainly be improved further in the future allowing no hit on the discrete GPU for games but reserving encoding/transcoding funtions to the GMA. I could see transcoding a DVD for my DroidX running in the background while playing BF3 with almost nothing as a performance hit being useful.
3) Intel SRT - While there are many differing opinions on this I haven't seen much info regarding long term use (it has to take some time to optimize 20,30,40GB of cache after all). While it will never be overall as fast as a dedicated SSD if I used a few select apps or games I think I could see a marked improvement in load times while not having to struggle with managing the disk space on my expensive SSD (it can be a pain!). I have to admit that adding an SSD for OS/Games/Applications has been THE SINGLE upgrade I have done that has gained me a significant performance increase in a few years.

The 570 looks like a good bet, I am an ATI type but am really brand agnostic, I go with what is faster at the time. Some of the forum posts I have seen on the Classified though seem to point to needing to up the voltage to get it stable out of the box. If you want to SLI later you will need to upgrade the PSU as well I think.

Whichever way you go it will be a definite improvement over the E6600!
Asrock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3
Core i7 2600k
Corsair H100 Liquid Cooler
8gig (2x4) G.Skill Ripjaws DDR3-1600
Powercolor HD5870 PCS+
OCZ Agility 2 240G SSD (boot, programs, games)
WD Caviar Black 1TB (Data)
CM UCP RS700-AAAAA3 700W 80+ Silver PSU
CM Storm Sniper
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Re: Warmachine 3.0 (i5 2500K build)

Post by Skippman »

Yeah, my little Core2Duo has been used and abused. I'm honestly surprised I've had it OC'd so high with zero issues for so long! My max temps never get above 50C. I attribute that to the massively overkill water-cooling setup I have. A triple radiator for just the proc?

I've honestly never upgraded a CPU without swapping the board so being able to run the next gen proc isn't really n issue for me. The SRT thing I'm still on the fence over.
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Re: Warmachine 3.0 (i5 2500K build)

Post by Skippman »

Well, I've been doing more and more research on this thing and I think I've about got it dialed down gents. I also just blew up my Creative Labs Inspire 5300 speaker system. I think I've got a line on both a set of Creative Labs GigaWorks ProGamer G500's and a set of Logitech X-530's. Not sure which way I'll go but the Logitechs are much smaller.

As for the computer, I've had to rethink a couple things, here's my build list thus far.

WARMACHINE 3.0


What I Already Own
Case - Corsair Obsidian CC800DW
PSU - Corsair HX620 Modular PSU
Radiator - Swiftech MCR320-QP
CPU Waterblock - Swiftech Apogee GTZ w/ 1155 adaptor plate
Pump - Swiftech MCP-655
Fan Controller - NZXT Sentry LX
Case Fans - Yate Loon 120mm High Speed Blue w/ LED x 5
Hard Drives - Western Digital WD6401AALS x 2
Optical - LiteOn LH-20A1L05 SATA DVR-R/W



What I'm Buying
CPU - Intel i5 2500K Sandy Bridge ($209.99USD)
RAM - 16GB G.Skill Sniper 1.35V DDR3 1600 9-9-9-24 ($109.99USD)
GPU - eVGA GTX 570 Classified ($359.99USD)
Motheboard - eVGA Z68 FTW w/o bay adapter ($269.99USD)

Total: $949.96USD


Reason for my choices:

Processor:
This should be pretty self evident. The i5 Sandy Bridge is the spiritual successor to my E6600 Core2Duo. It's overclocking potential is staggering! I have no need of hyper threading as I don't encode anything with this machine so the i7 is totally unnecessary.

RAM:
G.Skill is one of the top RAM makers period. Their products have always been super reliable. As these benchmarks show we're talking a 2-5% increase in performance between DDR3 1600 and DDR 1866. That doesn't justify the price hike between the two. I can get 16GB of DDR3 1600 for $110 where 16GB of 1866 jumps to $160. Nice low voltage at 1.35V should help keep things frosty cool.

GPU:
It's eVGA. That should be enough for most diehard enthusiast. The GTX 570 Classified is apparently based on the 580's PCB making it tremendously stable. It gets excellent reviews for it's price point.

Motherboard:
Again, it's eVGA. Supports 5 PCI-E lanes at 8X thanks to the NF200. Excellent overclocking potential. Massive heat syncs on all surfaces. Excellent board layout.




Thoughts? Idea's?
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pwcmed
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Re: Warmachine 3.0 (i5 2500K build)

Post by pwcmed »

You can get the 2500k at micro center for 179.99,

I would add an SSD, anything but an OCZ.

I have read some good reviews about ASRocks Z68 board.
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Re: Warmachine 3.0 (i5 2500K build)

Post by TraceHagan »

Why 16GB RAM? Are you really going to use ALL of that?
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Re: Warmachine 3.0 (i5 2500K build)

Post by pwcmed »

Why not 16GB, ram is so cheap right now.
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Re: Warmachine 3.0 (i5 2500K build)

Post by Skippman »

pwcmed wrote:Why not 16GB, ram is so cheap right now.

Exactly. BF3 ATE all 8GB that's in my machine now! I've never heard anyone complain about to much RAM before.
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Re: Warmachine 3.0 (i5 2500K build)

Post by TraceHagan »

If you're going to be overclocking, it's easier to stabilize with one stick per channel. That's all. Otherwise, go for it man!
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Re: Warmachine 3.0 (i5 2500K build)

Post by Skippman »

Final build list, pending info on sleeve bearing vs ball bearing fans. Unfortunately the Classified GTX 570 is no longer in production so I've had to change my GPU.

  • Case Corsair Obsidian CC800DW
    PSU Corsair HX620 Modular PSU
    Radiator Swiftech MCR320-QP
    CPU Waterblock Swiftech Apogee GTZ
    Pump Swiftech MCP-655
    Fan Controller NZXT Sentry LX
    Hard Drive Western Digital WD6401AALS x 2
    Optical LiteOn LH-20A1L05 SATA DVR-R/W
    CPU Intel i5 2500K Sandy Bridge $196.19
    Motheboard eVGA eVGA Z68 FTW $269.99
    RAM G.Skill Ripjaws X 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 $89.99
    GPU eVGA EVGA SuperClocked (Fermi) GTX 570 $359.99
    Water Tubing PrimoFlex Pro LRT UV Red Tubing -1/2in. ID X 3/4in $22.50
    Hose Clamps Danger Den UV Red Delrin 1/2" (3/4" OD) Tubing Clamps $9.95
    Case Fans Yate Loon Red CLEAR 120mm High Speed Silent Case Fan $27.80
Total Cost: $976.41 (Plus shipping)



Thoughts?
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Re: Warmachine 3.0 (i5 2500K build)

Post by vbironchef »

Is there a SSD in the future?
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Re: Warmachine 3.0 (i5 2500K build)

Post by Skippman »

You know, I've been on the fence about those. For the price I'd pay for the SSD I could jump up to a GTX 580 and that seems like a better improvement in performance. I've considered adding a SSD and using SRT. Other than booting Windows if I install all my games on my HDD's will I really see a performance gain?
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Re: Warmachine 3.0 (i5 2500K build)

Post by Major_A »

Go to a store where they have computers on display. Play with one that has a SSD in it. You'll be more surprised than you'd think.
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Re: Warmachine 3.0 (i5 2500K build)

Post by Skippman »

Major_A wrote:Go to a store where they have computers on display. Play with one that has a SSD in it. You'll be more surprised than you'd think.
I'll try and swing by MicroCenter this weekend. Do you think going full SSD for my boot drive is the best choice opposed to getting a cheaper, smaller SSD for SRT?
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Re: Warmachine 3.0 (i5 2500K build)

Post by Major_A »

I don't know. I have two 30GB Corsair SSDs in RAID 0 as my primary boot drive. I try to install all of my apps on my D drive (2x1TB RAID 0) but there's still a ton of application data that ends up on C. That being said I'm running out of room fast on the little drives. The worry there is the less space the slower the drives get since I can't run TRIM in RAID. If you've never ran an SSD than ignorance might be bliss here. If you go with a small SSD and SRT then you'd be amazed by how fast it is. If you were going from a fast SSD to the SRT then you might be disappointed.
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