High End Gaming PC only Build, $4000 Budget

[1badk10]

Hey guys, I'm new to the forums, and have used ASUS products for a few years now and like their products and Customer Support. New to ROG products tho. But had a few questions on my current build and would like your advice. The Current Build is going to be a Gaming Only PC. I am going for top of the line for the Ultimate gaming experience. I have purchased a few things so far and have $3000 left over. Most of the items I will be buying locally because I can get better deals than NewEgg and Amazon. I would prefer to stay with Corsair/ASUS/Intel products which i've used in the past without any problems. I am no expert byall means, but have a great understanding on this and have done some previous builds.

I plan on Overclocking between 4.0-4.6GHz Max, Nothing extreme

Intel i7-3820
Intel 520 120GB (OS), 240GB (Games)
ASUS PB278Q Resolution 2560 x 1440 5ms Monitors x3
ASUS Rampage V Formula x79
ASUS GTX 680 4GB X2
Corsair Black Vengeance C70 Case
Corsair AX860i PSU
Corsair H100i CPU Cooler
Corsair Vengeance 8GB (4x2GB) 1.5V DDR3 1600 Cas 9 Ram #CMZ8GX3M4X1600C9
Western Digital Black Caviar 1TB 7200 RPM HDD



Remember I want to get the Best out of the brands i have selected for Gaming

But my questions are:
1. Few questions on an SSD, I would prefer to use either the Intel 520 or a Corsair Brand, What would be the best Corsair brand SSD? Out of Intel 520 or the best Corsair Brand SSD would you guys recommend?
2. Size of SSD? I plan on using only for Boot/OS/Games. A few people told me to use only a 480GB+ SSD and some said i only need a 120GB SSD
3. Should I use a HDD also, Was planning on getting a Western Digital VelociRaptor 1TB, 10,000 RPM HDD, Some say use only a SSD.
4. Sound/Audio Card. I cant Decide Between the Essence STX or the Phoebus( If Not Discontinued ). What are your recommendations. For me there within $5 of eachother
5. Last Question, I want to use a ASUS Blu-ray Burner Combo Drive. I have checked out a few and notice ASUS has 2 different models, the BW-12B1ST which every says is a great Drive, and the BW-14D1XT, which i heard is the newer model, correct? I can get them both for the same price. Which one would be a better one.

If for some reason you think i can get something better for gaming with the brands i have selected and already purchased, I can always return and get the better item.

I would appreciate everyones replies to help me finish this build.

[1badk10]

Forgot to mention that I already have Windows 7 64Bit Full Edition Boot Disk

[Alude904]

First off. You just crapped on my day by saying your $4k+ rig wasnt anything crazy, not including your monitors. Second. Id go with intel 520 512gb ssd. Corsair is reliable but it sounds like you want to go high end and intel is a little nicer. Thats all i can help with. Good luck

[Xaanix]

Curious:

Whats wrong with the maximus V formula's sound? Supreme FX IV is a big reason to own that board (especially in your case since you're not using fusion thermo).

Phoebus is pretty expensive, imho thats 200$ you could put elsewhere (others might not agree).

I'm also concerned about the 690's and 3570k. That system would be worlds better on x79.. Rampage IV formula + 4 way GTX 680 4GB. (which will cost roughly the same as your 690s). You will need the extra ram those 4GB cards give you for triple monitor gaming on those screens.

[Krindor]

With the mobo go for 3x 680 4gb instead of 690s. The 690 have the same performance as 2 670s. 2 680s with 4gb ram would be a better choice. As MVF have 3 lanes 3 680 4gb would be the best choice.

For OS a 120 gb ssd and for games 480gb ssd. For storage WD 4tb would be better as you won't really need the extra speed of the velo for storage.

If you have a 2.1 headset the STX is a better choice. For 5.1 or higher optical headset phoebus would be a better choice.

But as 3x sli requires 3 lanes I'm not sure if a sound card will fit. Also the MVF onboard is good so why the need of a sc?

[kkn]

the MVF only suports 3 way SLI, not quad like the 690's are ( 1 690 is SLI on it self )
and choose 4gig video cards not 2 gig for the surround setup.
and do remember, tripple slot cards runs hotter then dual slot cards, becouse they are bigger ( less space between the cards ) and cant cool that mutch ( so to say ).
BD drive, get newest model.

[Bushwacker]

I recommend water cooling the vid cards on their own loop rather you get 2 or 3 4GB 680's .

Side note: One GTX 690 by itself is a freaking beast and has no match at least not by any one card.

The only reason I went with 2 680's is because how cool it looks in my rig, the performance value of them is just icing on the cake. I could of just as easily went with the 690. With the monitor setup your going with at those resolutions the 680's are the way to go. Bump the proc up to i7 3770K.

Take head to what KKn said about the heat.

[Xaanix]

Acutally MVF does not support 3 way SLI.

This was confirmed by an asus rep earlier on these forums (around the time i was shopping for a board i started asking these types of questions)

For SLI to function it requires at least an 8x lane, Ivy bridge supplies only x16 lanes, which support SLI in x8 x8 only.

3 cards on an MVF require a x8 x4 x4 config which does not work with SLI (even with pcie3.0). Crossfire does run on an x4 lane so he could run radeons, but certainly he cannot do 3 680s on that platform. His only option if he wishes to keep his cpu and stay on z77 is to get a maximus V Extreme (which lacks audio and isnt well suited to gamers generally), or go to some other non-rog board (such as the sniper).

This i typically where i chime and and remind people that building a 4000$ computer on a 'mainstream' platform (z77) is a mistake. You are severely limiting the potential of the system. 690's in SLI almost never makes sense, because for 3 screens you'll need 4GB which it doesnt provide, and for a single screen, 690s in SLI is tremendous overkill.

X79 supports 40 lanes directly from the chip which means x16 x8 x8 x8 is possible without a PLX chip -- this is the reason why the rampage IV formula is such a great choice... it allows for 3 way or 4 way SLI, and no worries about needing to fit an audio board in since supremeFX III is quite nice for audio.

I recommend you return the chip and board, get an i7 3820 and a RIVF, then get your 4 4GB gtx 680s. It will cost nearly the same and you will love the platform.. Or if you are not in a hurry, wait until summer and get an IB-E chip to go with this system. I doubt haswell is an option for this build for the same reason that regular IB falls short -- lack fo pcie lanes.


My current build is a RIVF + 3820. Hands down the best computer i have EVER owned.

[1badk10]

Thank you for all the reply's guys

Xannix: After doing more research I think your right about the Supreme FX seems to be great. I could save my money on a Sound card to spend somewhere else. What do you think of the Thunder FX, Is it worth it to get the board with that or no. I guess the sound is something I can upgrade later if needed. And I was told by many people that its not worth it to go to a X79 Board and a LGA2011 i7 CPU, because Hyperthreading is not need for gaming at this time.

Krindor: I am currently up in the air with what GPU(s) to get. I may only get one. I can get the GTX690 for $749 from a local place here in town.

kkn: Thank you for your reply, like I said with krindor i may only go with a single 690 if i can run all 3 monitors, also i was told that the BD combo doesnt burn Blu-ray which i would like to have?

Bushwacker: So you would recommend an i7-3770k, your opinion on using that over the i5-3570k for gaming?

Xaanix: Thank you for your reply again, I may end up going with a single GTX690 or 2 680's, the GPU will be the last thing I buy so I have a chance to do more research on what would be the best setup, A friend om mine is using the same 3 monitor setup I am using and only using a single 690

I am still getting mixed reviews on the SSD and SSD/HDD on which to use, so far everyone is telling me Intel for its known reliability, not saying Corsair is not reliable but it's still a new design from what I was told, so I am going to end up getting an Intel SSD but don't know if i should go all SSD's or SSD/HDD combo, or what size SSD.

[1badk10]

Alude904: Thank you for your reply, haha sorry, and your reply on Intel has made up my mind to go with Intel. Everyone is telling me Intel over Corsair for SSD