©ASUSTEK COMPUTER INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Nickelsig229 · ‎10-15-2012

Hi people,

I am in the early stage of specing out my next gaming build. Last one I put together was for AOC back in 07 and it's still a trooper, but I'm wanting to upgrade for some new releases coming this winter. I have only used Asus boards for my personal builds since 92, but I never knew of ROG or this site until viewing some video's over on newegg recently. I also intent to do some light OC'ing for the first time.

Anyway, I need some info from people who know more then I do. All your help is appreciated and I'm very thankful for it. Please feel free to advise me on solutions to what components might be better or what works well with some of the stuff I've already decided on.

Case -
I don't want to deal with pass through for USB3
I also have a strong desire for removable dust filters
Side view panel is desired
Large fans (spoiled by my antec 900 fans for the past 6 years)
This all seems to be pretty standard stuff now.

What I've liked so far - Thermaltake chaser mk-1
Thermaltake Armor Revo

Mobo-
Z77 chipset
Audio (save money on a discrete audio card)
I want to have easy "light" OC'ing
lifespan is most important. It will need to be in service for approx 6 years
Preference to an ROG board

I've chosen the Max V extreme, but it is probably overkill for me. I didn't want the formula because the heat sink seemed to be geared towards water cooling and I have no interest in that. My assumption is that heat sink for the max v extreme is better suited for air cooling. This is a great place for me to save some money so anyone with more extensive knowledge of the ROG z77 boards please help me find the one right for me. The all seem to have the same basic stuff. I almost sort of wish the formula with upgraded audio didn't have the water cooler heat sink.

CPU-
I don't do any heavy video processing. I do intend to use the pc as a blue ray player on my TV from time to time but not sure that warrants hyper threading. I may in the future also want to connect the pc to my cable as a dvr system. Again, I'm not sure if that requires HT processor either.

i5 3570k

CPU Fan-
High quality
Fit's without modification to Memory

Please show me the light on this, I'm afraid to commit to any because I have no idea which will fit and also work well for years.

Ram-
This would depend mostly on the board and processor.
I think the corsair dominator platinum might be to expensive at 32gb I am leaning in this direction for 16 gb but am definitely open to memory that would match up well with mobo/proc and keeping with the high quality/performance aspect of it.

Drives-
Pretty standard stuff here
Samsung SSD
WD Black 1tb storage
Oem dvd burner
Future expansion for blue ray player

PSU-
I want a modular psu

Thermaltake TPG-650M Toughpower Grand GOLD 650W

Down to the video

I have always gone with Nvidea, I have never gone SLI

I want to use two monitors on this build, so that I can surf/have desktop space while I'm playing games. I'm not certain what single video card can do this, or if It requires 2 video cards.

I am leaning towards one GTX 670 2gb 256bit

Monitor-
any suggestions for a good gaming monitor. Can I save some money and buy one gaming, one lower performance just for surfing/desktop

Anyway, I really would appreciate some other ideas then what I've come up with. Builds come by so infrequently that I just want to put together another gaming pc to last another 5+ years.

Thanks for looking.

xeromist · ‎10-15-2012

a note on board trim levels: max is the more affordable version and formula is the gamer version. Extreme is more for overclockers. Don't worry about nipples on the Formula as those are extra for people that want them. Works fine on air.

Not really sure on CPU HSF because I water cool, sorry.

I'd go 16GB if I were you. My gaming rig has 8 and it's plenty for games. So unless you're going to be doing some more workstation oriented stuff you aren't going to need 32. Also Windows home premium only supports up to 16 so keep that in mind if you go for a larger amount.

All current Nvidia cards will support 2 monitors. You can even have 3 monitors for widescreen gaming on a 670 (I do) so you're good there. I have the DCII 670 and I like the cooling that ASUS implemented.

Monitor will depend on several things including whether you want 3D and whether speed or image quality is more important. IPS/MVA monitors have a better image quality but they usually cost a bit more and are slightly slower than TN panel LCDs. 3D would pretty much mean a 120Hz monitor which cost more but there are some 24" ones that might work depending on your budget.

The rest of your notions I agree with so I don't have much to say beyond that.

A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where a train stops. On my desk, I have a work station…

Xaanix · ‎10-15-2012

before you pick a board, figure out how many graphics cards you want. If 1 or 2, then you dont need a Maximus V extreme, all you need is a formula (which as the onboard sound you wanted) or any other z77 SLI based board (non ROG). Asrock is a good bargain brand which can get you 2-way SLI on z77 for like 130$ (asrock extreme 4). Dont worry about the fusion thermo waterblock on the m5F btw, it works just fine on air as well as water. Don't feel obligated to use water cooling with it.

If you want to run 3 or 4 cards, then you could consider an M5E, or almost any x79 board.

your check list should be like this:
1. what resolution do i want to run?
2. what graphics configuration (what type and how many cards) do i need to drive that resolution in the games i tend to play?
3. what motherboard/cpu do i need to ensure those graphics are not bottlenecked by my system?

for me the answers were:
1. 5140x1050
2. 2 EVGA GTX 680's in SLI
3. Rampage IV Formula running i7 3820 @ 4.3 ghz

Motherboard Asus ROG Rampage IV Formula x79
CPU Intel i7 4820k Ivy Bridge-E @ 4.6ghz
GPU(s) 3 WAY SLI -- EVGA GTX 680 SC Signature (2GB)
Displays 5140x1050 @ 120hz using 3 x Samsung 2233RZ
RAM 16 GB 2133mhz G.Skill RipJaws Z
PSU LEPA G Series G1600-MA
Case Cooler Master Cosmos II Ultra
Storage Vertex 3 256 (Games), Intel 320 Series 128 (OS), + 4TB HDD

Nickelsig229 · ‎10-15-2012

Very helpful responses, thanks guys.

I will definitely give the Formula another in depth look. It really is everything I want but that combo sink still scares me off some. If the general consensus from people who use it as an air cooled system have no issue with it then that would put me at ease. Please speak up if you have something to add on this.

I will also re-evaluate my build starting from graphics and working out from there, rather then from processor.

In that light, what would be the "standard" resolution for gamers now? I'm running 1920x1080 and I think it's fine, however I have never seen anything over that in person so I may be wrong. Would two monitors with higher native resolution be to much strain on a high end video card?

I'm still also concerned with a Heat sink fan that will have clearance for tall memory.

Thanks again guys, gonna go do more reading up.

Nackers · ‎10-15-2012

Hi mate, I would look at a larger PSU, 850w+ if you're going to run a SLI/Crossfire and for more stable overclocking and system .. Yes, you will have trouble with some/most Air Cooled heatsinks that are worth having fitting over tall ram,,,

Food for thought,, the sealed closed loop water coolers like the Corsair H100's, their very easy to fit, work great, No trouble with Ram and they don't put much/any pressure on the MoBo like large heavy Air coolers

Chino · ‎10-15-2012

What is your budget for this build? And where are you shopping for the parts?

Nickelsig229 · ‎10-15-2012

I have a hard time getting over the idea of having water in a box worth over 15oo dollars worth of electric circuits. I also have no experience with it. I don't know if its better or not, I do know that installing a heat sink fan is about as easy as it gets.

As for cost, I don't really scrimp and cut corners as much as I used to. I typically get a new build every 5+ years, so I'm not such a tight wad anymore.

However, I'm not blindly spending my hard earned money. I'f I can keep it somewhere between 12-16 I' could live with that. I had really good experiences with Newegg for my personal stuff, I've also had alot of experience with tigerdirect, although that was purchasing for my job, building pc's for voice mail servers.

ganji · ‎10-15-2012

id also suggest taking a look at some of the sealed kits like the corsair H100/H80 as they dont take over your whole case like some maHOOsive air coolers can 😛 the dont need any maintenance apart from being kept clean and dust free.

Nickelsig229 · ‎10-15-2012

I just looked at the water cooler you guys suggested, h100.

So now I have more questions. How does water compare to air? Is it just a different type of cooler or is it generally better/not as good as a massive heat sink?

I did not see on the H100 where there were and additional hoses to plug into the Formula's heat sink. Is there a kit for that in addition or do I need to buy connectors and tubing then splice into the h100's tubes?

Will the h100 be enough to cool the cpu, on board sink, and video cards?

Are there specific video cards set up to handle water cooling or would I have to disassemble them the gpu fans to get at the chip?

How much extra cost is involved in that on average, just a ball park figure?

Nackers · ‎10-15-2012

No Mate their just for the Cpu and they outperform Air heatsinks by Heaps,, To keep things in budget the H80 is one great cooler and $50 cheaper,, I have a feeling you are going to go over the 1600 dollar mark by $300+ by the time you get a monitor, keyboard, speakers, and if you start watercooling everything else you can add $350+ to that.

New to site and looking for advice