# gaming-pc advice needed



## legendzlive (Dec 24, 2012)

Hi guys

I'm new here and my name is Jimmy.
But first of all, happy holidays to everyone! 

So the thing is, I'm finally getting my own gaming computer. I have a €1600 budget.
I'm currently studying IT and am 20 years old. 
I know, or at least knew, very little about hardware until recently. 

The games I intend to play are;
crysis 2, skyrim , battlefield 3, guild wars 2, gta4, black ops II ...

And I'd really like your opinion on this gaming computer;

*Case*: CM 690 II Advanced (USB 3.0 version)
*PSU*: Cooler Master*GX Lite 700

*Motherboard*: Asus P8H77-V LE or Asus P8Z77-V
*CPU*: Intel Core i5-3570k 3.40Ghz
*CPU cooler*: Standard

*GPU*: EVGA*GeForce GTX 680
*Memory*: Corsair 16 GB DDR3-1600 Quad-Kit

*Hard drive 1*: 128GB Crucial m4 mSATA 6Gb/s SSD
*Hard drive 2*: Western Digital Black WD2002FAEX, 2TB

*Wireless*:TP-LINK*TL-WDN4800

This gaming pc will mainly be used for gaming. On the sideline I will be using it for programming and a little bit of video-editing ( nothing big )

Personal Remarks;
- I have no clue whether a decent motherboard is required for better gaming performance.(more fps)
- I have no clue if 700W psu is overkill for this set-up or not. ( I do intend to upgrade in the future )
- I know 16gb of ram will pretty much be useless for gaming because there is no game on earth that requires it, but I want it because it looks cool. ( period )
- I was thinking about getting a lower gpu such as amd hd7950, and getting the i7-3770k instead, but I personally don't think it'll be worth the investment, because I will primarily use the pc for gaming and I've read i7 doesn't contribute to that, only useful because of the hyper threading.
- Do I need extra cooling on my cpu because I will be using the pc for gaming or does standard cooling suffice. ( I originally wanted the "Hydro Series™ H80i High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler", but i've been told that only usefull if I plan to overclock
- furthermore I know the 'k' version of the cpu is only usefull if you plan to overclock but the Ghz is higher then the version without the K so I decided to go with K. I might overclock it in the future.
- Any advice is welcome.

PS.: For those of you interested in seeing what became of my original build idea -> check my current System Specs


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## lyndonguitar (Dec 24, 2012)

That's a pretty solid build. you should go with it. although I might recommend a non-stock CPU cooler. air or liquid, any will suffice. 

- I have no clue whether a decent motherboard is required for better gaming performance.(more fps)
*It does not affect it directly, but some motherboards are better overclockers than others, so it can indirectly affect performance. and Some motherboards support multiple GPUs and some do not. If you plan on going multiple GPUs, even in the future, then get one that supports it *

- I have no clue if 700W psu is overkill for this set-up or not. ( I do intend to upgrade in the future ) 
*That's more than enough but you should't settle for any less. 700W is just right. with future upgrades in mind*

- I know 16gb of ram will pretty much be useless for gaming because there is no game on earth that requires it, but I want it because it looks cool. ( period )
*That's fine, RAM is cheap nowadays and you could mess up with the extra ram and use it as ramdisk *

- I was thinking about getting a lower gpu such as amd hd7950, and getting the i7-3770k instead, but I personally don't think it'll be worth the investment, because I will primarily use the pc for gaming and I've read i7 doesn't contribute to that, only useful because of the hyper threading.
*DO NOT, i5s and i7s are very similar in games performance but GPUs, every single bit matters. GPU is the priority when it comes to gaming.

imo It's better to have an i3 with a HD 7970 than to have an i7 extreme with HD 6570*

- Do I need extra cooling on my cpu because I will be using the pc for gaming or does standard cooling suffice. ( I originally wanted the "Hydro Series™ H80i High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler", but i've been told that only usefull if I plan to overclock

*Yes you only need it if you plan to overclock(by a lot) or if its very hot in your location*

- furthermore I know the 'k' version of the cpu is only usefull if you plan to overclock but the Ghz is higher then the version without the K so I decided to go with K. I might overclock it in the future.

*yes the K means it is "unlocked", it has unlocked multipliers, it means you can achieve very high clocks, and those non-K versions cannot be overclocked and thus are "locked"*


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## Crap Daddy (Dec 24, 2012)

PSU is overkill if you plan to use only one card and not enough if you want to be safe with 2.
I'd suggest a Corsair TX650 for one card, better than what you picked.
GTX680 is overpriced for what it offers. You can get a factory overclocked GTX 670 for less and it will give you the same performance at 1080p. Or a HD7970 GHz edition. 
Get the Z77 Asus, more  options there and the ability to overclock your CPU if you want to down the road. For cooling at stock the Intel HSF is enough but since I see you have some budget you can get the Corsair H80


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## legendzlive (Dec 24, 2012)

Thank you both for your fast replies and information!
I really appreciate it. Now I'm finally able to choose for this setup with confidence.

I'll be taking the Corsair TX650 as my psu,
the Asus P8Z77-V as my motherboard, along with the corsair water-cooling.

And if my budget gets exceeded by more than 50 euros I'll get a gtx670 which i'll oc.

Thanks again and merry christmas!


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## Pehla (Dec 24, 2012)

im sry but where do u live??what country?? if u search components on amazon.de u will se that u can go huge build for that budget!!u can go hd7970ghz u can have msi mpower z77 motherboard,with is waaay beter then that from asus u choose and for same price!!
http://www.amazon.de/MSI-MPower-Mai...ROK0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356385254&sr=8-1
well its 15 euro diference but the board is kiler!!
and if u plan to stick with one gpu corsair tx650 is great and if u plan upgrade the go for tx750w
if u search on amazon.de u can get great build for that budget!!i belive they have shiping to whole europe!! cheers


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## legendzlive (Dec 24, 2012)

Pehla said:


> im sry but where do u live??what country?? if u search components on amazon.de u will se that u can go huge build for that budget!!u can go hd7970ghz u can have msi mpower z77 motherboard,with is waaay beter then that from asus u choose and for same price!!
> http://www.amazon.de/MSI-MPower-Mai...ROK0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356385254&sr=8-1
> well its 15 euro diference but the board is kiler!!
> and if u plan to stick with one gpu corsair tx650 is great and if u plan upgrade the go for tx750w
> if u search on amazon.de u can get great build for that budget!!i belive they have shiping to whole europe!! cheers



I know  But as I said, I'm a newbie when it comes to hardware. 
I can't put the parts together.. 

And when I have to order all the parts it's also my responsibility to make sure the parts are all working and not broken. While if I let a professional person order/assemble it he has to worry about ordering the parts and making sure they are working.

And I live in Belgium  right next to germany that is


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## Pehla (Dec 24, 2012)

cool!! i should come in antwerpen to work in few months!! so i will make my self build for 1500€
i was researching on amazon for quite some time now and for budget of 1500€ will get me 27" 3d monitor!!!corsair h100 ,i5 3570k, hd 7970.. 
well if u must have someone else build it for u that will cost u maybe 100-200€...
i was looking for out of the box gaming rig...,and the pc that cost 1500€ u can have for 1300€
so if im giving that 200€ it sohuld be on components not some guy taking all the fun!! )


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## Crap Daddy (Dec 24, 2012)

You can put it together yourself. Trust me. Most of the parts work mostly all the time so don't worry. Why don't you pick the parts at best prices around where you live and let's see how much it will cost you. For €1600 you can do much better.


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## legendzlive (Dec 24, 2012)

Case:	CM 690 II Advanced	 € 87,32 
PSU:	Corsair Enthusiast TX650 V2	 € 85,48 
Motherboard:	MSI Z77 Mpower	 € 173,99 
CPU:	Intel Core i7-3770k	 € 299,95 
CPU cooler:	Corsair Hydro H100	 € 88,23 
GPU:	EVGA GeForce GTX 670	 € 375,94 
Memory:	Corsair 16 GB DDR3-1600 Quad-Kit (IEIF57J4)	 € 75,09 
Hard drive 1:	Crucial*CT128M4SSD3	 € 144,78 
Hard drive 2:	Western Digital*WD2002FAEX*	 € 146,50 
Wireless:	TP-LINK TL-WDN4800	 € 32,90 
total:		 € 1.510,18 

You were right of course 
I can get i7-3770k + the MSI Z77 Mpower and everything for just 1510.18 ..
If only I could build this thing myself :l


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## Crap Daddy (Dec 24, 2012)

You can. Check for a 7970 GHz edition see how much is that.


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## Pehla (Dec 24, 2012)

http://www.amazon.de/OCZ-VTX4-2SAT3...13?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1356389338&sr=1-13
.............................................................................................
http://www.amazon.de/XFX-Radeon-Gra...1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1356389411&sr=1-1
.................................................................................................
u can even get beter then that!! 
................................................................
http://www.amazon.de/Vulcan-Gaming-...1_2?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1356389516&sr=1-2


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## legendzlive (Dec 24, 2012)

sapphire edition 423,32
and the gigabyte edition 406,80

thanks for the help. I might try to build it myself after all. guess I have to buy some anti static wrist gloves too then?


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## Crap Daddy (Dec 24, 2012)

that's the last thing that should be on your mind. I personally don't know anybody who had such a problem. But you might not want to make your build on your carpet.


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## legendzlive (Dec 24, 2012)

Case:	CM 690 II Advanced	 € 87,32 	klik
PSU:	Corsair Enthusiast TX650 V2	 € 85,48 	klik
Motherboard:	MSI Z77 Mpower	 € 173,99 	klik
CPU:	Intel Core i7-3770k	 € 299,95 	klik
CPU cooler:	Corsair Hydro H100	 € 88,23 	klik
GPU:	XFX Black Dual Fan Radeon HD 7970*	 € 353,37 	klik
Memory:	Corsair 16 GB DDR3-1600 Quad-Kit (IEIF57J4)	 € 75,09 	klik
Hard drive 1:	OCZ VTX4-2SAT3-128G Vertex4 128GB interne SSD	 € 109,24 	klik
Hard drive 2:	Western Digital*WD2002FAEX*	 € 146,50 	klik
Wireless:	TP-LINK TL-WDN4800	 € 32,90 	klik
total:		 € 1.452,07

any more suggestions?


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## xxdozer322 (Dec 25, 2012)

^looks more than solid. youll tear though games with ease


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## Pehla (Dec 25, 2012)

u dont need that wireles card..,u have one on that motherboard!! lots of cenectivity on that board!!
that is why i recomend it!! 
so i nother 35€ spare!!


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## Dunkhunt (Dec 25, 2012)

*great build.*

I think the 7970 is a newer design then the gtx 680, Go for an overclocked version.

Check the reviews. I think it uses less power. Though the only danger in building it yourself is the cpu. Becareful not to touch the inside the LGA 2011 socket. Its very delicate. Don't put too much thermal paste. Just enough. Search it.

To be safe, stick with a gtx 680. Always check the prices. They change all the time.


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## acerace (Dec 25, 2012)

Want an advice on building your own PC? Check this video from Logan at TS. http://youtu.be/W4Js2A1qdB8

Edit: p/s Logan is awesome.


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## Hayder_Master (Dec 25, 2012)

agree with guys here, forget stock cooler with ivy bridge, take something good and cheep like cooler master hyper 212+.


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## LiveOrDie (Dec 25, 2012)

I would stick with the GTX 680 its a better card I've owned both cards and the 680 just had better driver support also better FPS in games or like Crap Pops said get a OCed 670 will offer just as good performance , Pehla is a AMD fanboy so no shock he would tell you to get a AMD card and not give any reason, Also your better off getting a H100i if you can find one.


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## drdeathx (Dec 25, 2012)

Hayder_Master said:


> agree with guys here, forget stock cooler with ivy bridge, take something good and cheep like cooler master hyper 212+.



212 will not get him far on a 3770K.


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## Jack1n (Dec 25, 2012)

Live OR Die said:


> I would stick with the GTX 680 its a better card I've owned both cards and the 680 just had better driver support also better FPS in games or like Crap Pops said get a OCed 670 will offer just as good performance , Pehla is a AMD fanboy so no shock he would tell you to get a AMD card and not give any reason, Also your better off getting a H100i if you can find one.



http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/HIS/HD_7970_X_Turbo/28.html

reff design 7970 GHZ is 4% faster at 1200p than a reff 680 while being 80$ cheaper.


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## legendzlive (Dec 25, 2012)

I'll tell you guys what I bought;

Case:	Cooler Master CM 690 II Advanced	 € 78,89 
PSU:	Corsair TXM Serie PC-Netzteil 650 Watt ATX	 € 94,49 
Motherboard:	ASRock Z77 Extreme4	 € 120,89 
CPU:	Intel Core i7-3770k	 € 315,00 
CPU cooler:	be quiet! Shadow Rock PRO SR1 Premium CPU Cooler	 € 47,61 
GPU:	EVGA 02G-P4-2685-KR NVIDIA GTX 680	 € 505,17 
Memory:	Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 16GB (4X 4GB)	 € 80,80 
SSD:	OCZ Tech Vertex 3 Max IOPs Series SSD 240GB interne Fesplatte	 € 198,43 
HDD:	Seagate ST2000DM001 interne Festplatte 2TB (8,9 cm (3,5 Zoll), 7200rpm, 64MB Cache, SATA III)	 € 88,85 
Thermal Paste	Arctic Silver 5	 € 7,90 
Totaal		 € 1.538,03


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## Jack1n (Dec 25, 2012)

legendzlive said:


> I'll tell you guys what I bought;
> 
> Case:	Cooler Master CM 690 II Advanced	 € 78,89
> PSU:	Corsair TXM Serie PC-Netzteil 650 Watt ATX	 € 94,49
> ...


You already bought it? you can probably get a better SSD for that price and also that thermal paste isent that good any more.


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## legendzlive (Dec 25, 2012)

As for the h100i cooler, I didn't go with that because of some bad reviews.
People reported it leaking, and I don't want to risk ruining my entire system.
Since I won't be overclocking like a lunatic I'm sure the air-cooler will suffice.

Furthermore I think this setup should be able to handle any game at 1920x1080 maxed settings without an overclock. Now in a week or so it'll be assembly time. Let's hope that goes well.
Will be my 1st computer ever that I put together myself..

and yes I already ordered my parts. 
I was told this ssd would be sufficient to last 4 years minimum and is that thermal paste not good enough or what do you mean?
I don't intend to do crazy overclocking or anything.
I'm guessing if it runs on a stockcooler than a custom cooler + thermal paste should be able to keep it at least as cool if not cooler.


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## Jack1n (Dec 25, 2012)

legendzlive said:


> As for the h100i cooler, I didn't go with that because of some bad reviews.
> People reported it leaking, and I don't want to risk ruining my entire system.
> Since I won't be overclocking like a lunatic I'm sure the air-cooler will suffice.
> 
> ...



It will keep your cpu cool,no doubt there but for the same price you could have gotten a better one,also AC5 tends to dry up after a while.


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## Crap Daddy (Dec 25, 2012)

legendzlive said:


> As for the h100i cooler, I didn't go with that because of some bad reviews.
> People reported it leaking, and I don't want to risk ruining my entire system.
> Since I won't be overclocking like a lunatic I'm sure the air-cooler will suffice.
> 
> ...



Good choice for the parts. Let us know when you build.


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## lyndonguitar (Dec 25, 2012)

Crap Daddy said:


> Good choice for the parts. Let us know when you build.



and... PICS!


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## Vlada011 (Dec 25, 2012)

Good choice with GTX680. Always worth pay little more for strongest single card if you use only one. 
For H100i maybe you read many complains, but CORSAIR sell that coolers in thousands models every week and you can't find now 100 complain over net.
I think that is best option for 3770k because push air out of case and give space to clean dust and remove cables inside. You can change paste on ten H100 coolers faster than of one tower cooler and look very good. That look give whole view inside of case and that is very nice.


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## legendzlive (Dec 25, 2012)

Crap Daddy said:


> Good choice for the parts. Let us know when you build.





lyndonguitar said:


> and... PICS!



Will do guys ^^
I just hope all my parts arrive in one piece and without factory defects.
I'm not really fond of buying stuff over the internet.


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## legendzlive (Dec 25, 2012)

Jack1n said:


> It will keep your cpu cool,no doubt there but for the same price you could have gotten a better one,also AC5 tends to dry up after a while.



Do you know how often I should put new thermal paste on my cpu?


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## Jack1n (Dec 25, 2012)

legendzlive said:


> Do you know how often I should put new thermal paste on my cpu?



Well it depends,just do it when you see your temps are too high for no reason.


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## jboydgolfer (Dec 25, 2012)

legendzlive said:


> Do you know how often I should put new thermal paste on my cpu?



That AS5 is Fine for your purposes, I applied it to My 2500k almost a year ago and My temps are NEVER higher than 45C or so under load. @ Idle they're in the 22-25C range. You'll be fine.Not to mention that I've been running @ 4.0Ghz for the last few months.


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## Pehla (Dec 25, 2012)

Live OR Die said:


> Pehla is a AMD fanboy


ROFL!!!gtx 680 is overpriced!! and for the price of gtx 670  he can get hd7970 witch is beter in several scenarios!
and for the driver issue that is old news...,do u read rewiews lately??
why am i amd fanboy if i recomend him intel cpu and intel based mainboard??
dude u make me laugh!!! and its prety late now so thank u for leting me sleep with smile..


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## LiveOrDie (Dec 26, 2012)

Jack1n said:


> http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/HIS/HD_7970_X_Turbo/28.html
> 
> reff design 7970 GHZ is 4% faster at 1200p than a reff 680 while being 80$ cheaper.



Take it from some one that has been round a lot longer than you reviews can never give you the right performance for card VS card reason being they never update the drivers, Each card would be tested with what ever drivers were available at the original date of that cards test no the date of the card being reviewed, So those 680 scores are old and wouldst show today's performance and also the GTX 680 in the test is only a stock card.



legendzlive said:


> As for the h100i cooler, I didn't go with that because of some bad reviews.
> People reported it leaking, and I don't want to risk ruining my entire system.
> Since I won't be overclocking like a lunatic I'm sure the air-cooler will suffice.
> 
> ...



There's always going to be those few units that leak but when i say a few that's like 1% of the amount sold that goes for any closed loop the H100 also leaked.


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## acerace (Dec 26, 2012)

Pehla said:


> ROFL!!!gtx 680 is overpriced!! and for the price of gtx 670  he can get hd7970 witch is beter in several scenarios!
> and for the driver issue that is old news...,do u read rewiews lately??
> why am i amd fanboy if i recomend him intel cpu and intel based mainboard??
> dude u make me laugh!!! and its prety late now so thank u for leting me sleep with smile..



Well, you don't have to say anything. Your avatar did it for you.


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## Hayder_Master (Dec 26, 2012)

drdeathx said:


> 212 will not get him far on a 3770K.




so if he think about do some overclocking, he should go with water or good air cooling like noctua d14 or silver arrow


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## Pehla (Dec 26, 2012)

acerace said:


> Well, you don't have to say anything. Your avatar did it for you.


...mwahahaha...u wouldnt belive how that get there!! but i see ur point 
i gues il have to change that...


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## Jack1n (Dec 26, 2012)

Live OR Die said:


> Take it from some one that has been round a lot longer than you reviews can never give you the right performance for card VS card reason being they never update the drivers, Each card would be tested with what ever drivers were available at the original date of that cards test no the date of the card being reviewed, So those 680 scores are old and wouldst show today's performance and also the GTX 680 in the test is only a stock card.
> 
> 
> 
> There's always going to be those few units that leak but when i say a few that's like 1% of the amount sold that goes for any closed loop the H100 also leaked.



I compared stock 680 to a stock 7970GHZ edition,also drivers are up to date in that review and are mature on both sides.


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## Crap Daddy (Dec 26, 2012)

Jack1n said:


> I compared stock 680 to a stock 7970GHZ edition,also drivers are up to date in that review and are mature on both sides.



Not quite. NV cards were tested with 306.23 WHQL. The latest 310.70 WHQL brings 4.5% increase in gaming for the GTX680 as seen here:

http://www.ocaholic.ch/xoops/html/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=929&page=10


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## Jack1n (Dec 26, 2012)

Crap Daddy said:


> Not quite. NV cards were tested with 306.23 WHQL. The latest 310.70 WHQL brings 4.5% increase in gaming for the GTX680 as seen here:
> 
> http://www.ocaholic.ch/xoops/html/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=929&page=10



Even considering the new drivers the 680 is still 80$ more expensive while trading blows with the 7970,dont get me wrong the 680 is a great card but its priced way too high.


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## Crap Daddy (Dec 26, 2012)

Jack1n said:


> Even considering the new drivers the 680 is still 80$ more expensive while trading blows with the 7970,dont get me wrong the 680 is a great card but its priced way too high.



I agree.


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## acerace (Dec 26, 2012)

Pehla said:


> ...mwahahaha...u wouldnt belive how that get there!! but i see ur point
> i gues il have to change that...



Well, one picture can mean thousands of words.


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## GamerGuy (Dec 27, 2012)

I did note that OP's system spec lacked an ODD, he does not need one? As for vid card, if OP's willing and able to pony up the extra deniros for the GTX680, well, that's his prerogative. I have a TriFire HD7970 setup (Cat12.11 B11 + 12.11 CAP2) and dual GTX670 SLi setup (310.70), and both are just fine. Sure, I do encounter driver issue/hiccups occassionally from both makers, neither is perfect.....though I do think that the Cat driver has come a long way since I started trying out CF system with 2x HD2900XT's. Back then, the Cat driver were bad. heck, I recall a few times the driver refused to stick after reboot. Since then, I've gone 2x HD3870 X2 to 2x HD5870 to my present TriFire system. BTW, I also have a HD6990 in my 3rd rig, and thus far, I have had no major issue with it. Games run buttery smooth, using the same driver and CAP as my main rig.

As for the OP's spec, other than the lack of an ODD, everything seems solid.....good build actually.


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## LiveOrDie (Dec 27, 2012)

Jack1n said:


> Even considering the new drivers the 680 is still 80$ more expensive while trading blows with the 7970,dont get me wrong the 680 is a great card but its priced way too high.



Like many have said the 670 would of done fine but at the end of the day its only $80 that i would rather spend on a solid card that has more support, Just like i rather spend more money on expensive toilet paper instead of crap that cuts your ass


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## Jack1n (Dec 27, 2012)

Live OR Die said:


> Like many have said the 670 would of done fine but at the end of the day its only $80 that i would rather spend on a solid card that has more support, Just like i rather spend more money on expensive toilet paper instead of crap that cuts your ass



More support?


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## LiveOrDie (Dec 27, 2012)

Jack1n said:


> More support?



Driver support AMD drivers suck


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## Jack1n (Dec 27, 2012)

Live OR Die said:


> Driver support AMD drivers suck



I have a friend with a 560ti and anuther with a 570 and theire drivers crash in bf3 from time to time(not too often),what im saying is that while AMDs drivers are not perfect(i personally had no issues with them)nvidia's drivers arent perfect neither and i still see no reason to pay that 80$ price premium,that said you will be happy with both a 680 and a 7970.


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## LiveOrDie (Dec 27, 2012)

Jack1n said:


> I have a friend with a 560ti and anuther with a 570 and theire drivers crash in bf3 from time to time(not too often),what im saying is that while AMDs drivers are not perfect(i personally had no issues with them)nvidia's drivers arent perfect neither and i still see no reason to pay that 80$ price premium,that said you will be happy with both a 680 and a 7970.



Both cards have there driver problems i will agree there but there's less problems on nvidia card because of nvidia driver support they release a new driver each month which AMD doesn't, And for BF3 crashing it probably not just a video driver issue as the games unstable when using certain drivers mainly sound drivers , Any how when the 7970 come out it got released with beta drivers the card didn't see any WHQL drivers for months.


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## Jack1n (Dec 27, 2012)

Well at the moment the drivers are mature and any one getting a 7970 at the moment will most likely face no issues.


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## Crap Daddy (Dec 27, 2012)

OP has already ordered the parts so there's no point in arguing.


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## Hellfire (Dec 27, 2012)

Crap Daddy said:


> OP has already ordered the parts so there's no point in arguing.



I agree, whether you're a ATI/Nvidia fan that type of discussion isn't required here, they are both at the highest end of GPU's available and dominate all games. it's just down to preferences.

He's made his order and whether he went for ATI/Nvidia he got a fantastic gaming rig and hasn't really gone wrong.


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## Pehla (Dec 27, 2012)

Hellfire said:


> and whether he went for ATI/Nvidia he got a fantastic gaming rig and hasn't really gone wrong.


well said!!he will for sure enjoy in all games released and for many of those that will be released!!! im just glad he decided to take parts and build it by his self!!
i just ask if he could put some pictures when he do actual build!!


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## Hellfire (Dec 27, 2012)

Pehla said:


> well said!!he will for sure enjoy in all games released and for many of those that will be released!!! im just glad he decided to take parts and build it by his self!!
> i just ask if he could put some pictures when he do actual build!!



Yes, photos, and also remember legend, if you need help with the actual build itself, feel free to pop back on here to get advice, this place is teaming with people who will help put a rig together on here,

I myself once helped someone build a rig via webcam just to help out


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## LiveOrDie (Dec 27, 2012)

Crap Daddy said:


> OP has already ordered the parts so there's no point in arguing.



Its not a argument its a discussion.


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## GamerGuy (Dec 27, 2012)

Pehla said:


> i just ask if he could put some pictures when he do actual build!!


Yeah, that is a must do, some hot pics of that secksay build would be nice, just let me know in advance so that I can have a box of Kleenex ready.


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## legendzlive (Dec 27, 2012)

GamerGuy said:


> Yeah, that is a must do, some hot pics of that secksay build would be nice, just let me know in advance so that I can have a box of Kleenex ready.



Don't worry, I'll give you guys some nice pictures in return for all the help I got here^^


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## legendzlive (Dec 31, 2012)

All parts are in the house! I might start building today. Depends if I have the time for it! #02/01/2013


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## Crap Daddy (Dec 31, 2012)

Nice! So you won't be able to start building on New Year's Eve?


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## legendzlive (Dec 31, 2012)

Crap Daddy said:


> Nice! So you won't be able to start building on New Year's Eve?



I don't think so :l It's past 14:00 and bpost doesn't do any deliveries after that time so I have little hope I'll still get my cpu and ram today.


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## lyndonguitar (Dec 31, 2012)

Nice Pics, I hope you will have no problems building it!


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## legendzlive (Dec 31, 2012)

lyndonguitar said:


> Nice Pics, I hope you will have no problems building it!



So do I .. There's so many cables !
It looks overwhelming for a first time but we'll see 

Just a quick question though,
am I supposed to attach the cpu cooler after or before I put the motherboard in my case?


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## Crap Daddy (Dec 31, 2012)

legendzlive said:


> So do I .. There's so many cables !
> It looks overwhelming for a first time but we'll see
> 
> Just a quick question though,
> am I supposed to attach the cpu cooler after or before I put the motherboard in my case?



In your case before. CM 690 II Advanced has a weird cut-out for back of the CPU area on the mobo so you will not have access.


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## legendzlive (Jan 3, 2013)

My build is completed up to the part where I need to connect all the cables. 
I did this build together with my dad, who has no knowledge about building pc's either,
but I think we did quite alright. The cpu-cooler was a real bitch to get in place..
Also, I left the psu out because I am using it to ground myself before handling the parts.

ps. I have my uncle coming over today to help me wire this rig up.
Here are some pictures from yesterday;


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## Hellfire (Jan 3, 2013)

Just double check which socket your Graphics card is in, I know with some boards they have to be in the correct socket or will only run at x8 speed,

I don't know that board myself but double check it's the primary PCIE 3.0 socket


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## legendzlive (Jan 3, 2013)

Hellfire said:


> Just double check which socket your Graphics card is in, I know with some boards they have to be in the correct socket or will only run at x8 speed,
> 
> I don't know that board myself but double check it's the primary PCIE 3.0 socket



It's in the right socket ^^ thank god for manuals ;D
I'll be adding the pictures soon  
It's up and running or should I say kicking ass!! ;D


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## Hellfire (Jan 3, 2013)

Cool, sometimes its the slot closest to the mobo, sometimes not


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## legendzlive (Jan 3, 2013)

First off;
I'd like to thank everyone who helped me and adviced me to build this beast myself ! 

The building process went really smooth  
Attaching the cpu cooler was the hardest part imo.
Also, the cabling process was really complicated for me, being a first timer, 
but luckily my uncle ( expert ) explained everything to me and helped me wire it up 

The pc is AMAZING and I'm loving it 
PS.: the screen on the picture isn't my real screen. That screen is yet to be delivered 

Here are the final result pictures:


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## Crap Daddy (Jan 3, 2013)

Good work. It's a fantastic feeling when you finish you first build and everything works.
Enjoy!


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## ...PACMAN... (Jan 3, 2013)

Great job and I really hope you enjoy, you do however have a great case there for a lot better cable management. Take the time one weekend or whatever to get it sorted, that hardware deserves it!! Have fun mate


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## Pehla (Jan 4, 2013)

now what u can do is a litle bit of house cleaning(cable managment)
i see there is plenty of room behind motherboard to hide cables...
if u are scared to mess with cables do it one by one!!
anyway glad u do it and hope it serve you for long time!!


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## newbsandwich (Jan 4, 2013)

Yeah great job on first build! Like already mentioned, do some cable clean up when you can (get that mass cables away from your video card, give it room to breathe).  I have the same case, and you can stuff almost all that extra cable behind the MB tray. Also, you could route the 8pin power cord from the top left hole if you have enough length.  And you can also remove the bottom hard drive cage too, this help free up some room and promote easier air flow from front fan.

Do you mind if i ask what the total bill was for your build?


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## legendzlive (Jan 4, 2013)

newbsandwich said:


> Yeah great job on first build! Like already mentioned, do some cable clean up when you can (get that mass cables away from your video card, give it room to breathe).  I have the same case, and you can stuff almost all that extra cable behind the MB tray. Also, you could route the 8pin power cord from the top left hole if you have enough length.  And you can also remove the bottom hard drive cage too, this help free up some room and promote easier air flow from front fan.
> 
> Do you mind if i ask what the total bill was for your build?



Total bill was € 1600,65

Case:	Cooler Master CM 690 II Advanced	 € 78,89 
PSU:	Corsair TXM Serie PC-Netzteil 650 Watt ATX	 € 94,49 
Motherboard:	ASRock Z77 Extreme4	 € 120,89 
CPU:	Intel Core i7-3770k	 € 315,00 
CPU cooler:	be quiet! Shadow Rock PRO SR1 Premium CPU Cooler	 € 47,61 
GPU:	EVGA 02G-P4-2685-KR NVIDIA GTX 680	 € 505,17 
Memory:	Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 16GB (4X 4GB)	 € 80,80 
SSD:	OCZ Tech Vertex 3 Max IOPs Series SSD 240GB interne Fesplatte	 € 198,43 
HDD:	Seagate ST2000DM001 interne Festplatte 2TB (7200rpm, 64MB Cache, SATA III)	 € 88,85 
Thermal Paste	Arctic Silver 5	 € 7,90 
Wifi	TP-Link TL-WDN4800 Wireless N Dual Band PCI Express Adapter (450Mbps)	 € 32,90 
Dvd reader/writer	Asus DRW-24B5ST Silent dvd writer/reader	 € 29,72


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## newbsandwich (Jan 8, 2013)

Congrats again on your first build, you did good job picking out parts and putting it all together.  Thanks for the pricing info.

Did you ever get chance to clean some of the wiring up?


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## legendzlive (Jan 8, 2013)

> Congrats again on your first build, you did good job picking out parts and putting it all together. Thanks for the pricing info.
> 
> Did you ever get chance to clean some of the wiring up?



You're welcome  And no not really :l I did open my case up again after all the comments and took a good look at the wiring beneath the GPU, but I couldn't find a way to make it better.. 

It's actually pretty 'clean' imo. I didn't use any cables that weren't neccesary and I tried to keep them away from the mobo ( in which I succeeded ). Perhaps one day I'll have to balls to detach all my cables again and make it neater.

But the thing is, I don't want to fuck anything up you know.. it's running now and working perfectly. The GPU temperature is really good. Same for my CPU cores, so I don't see the need to fix those cables right away..


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## buck_e (Mar 13, 2013)

*PCIE 3.0 x16 slot*

Nice looking build.

I used to have an Asrock extreme4 mobo, and I 100% certain that the pcie 3.0 x16 slot is the top one, you've got yours plugged into the x8 slot, would optimize your system if you plugged the gpu into the top slot. I almost did the same thing myself, I remember thinking it was kind of annoying to have to cover up the nice asrock chipset heatsink, but I got over it.


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## legendzlive (Mar 13, 2013)

lol! You're right.. I just checked gpu-z and it's at the x8 slot :r. I'll be switching the gpu tomorrow, thanks for the heads up  does this mean even higher FPS ?

edit: changed it to the top slot and it's running x16 3.0 now  thank you very much for pointing that out ^^


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## buck_e (Mar 13, 2013)

*Re:*

no worries bud, it will gain you a few fps more


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