Gaming Build help?

[pgimps]

Hey thanks to everyone who is reading this for helping me.

I need to know if there are any issues with my build, better deals, etc.

All parts, but the pump, reservoir, and tubing are from newegg, those three are from microcenter.

Case: SILVERSTONE Temjin Series TJ07-BW
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811163067
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD3P-B3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813128493
CPU:i5 - 2500K
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813128493
PSU: CORSAIR Professional Series HX650 (CMPSU-650HX)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817139012
SSD: Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2 2.5" 64GB SATA III
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820148441
HDD:Seagate Barracuda ST3500413AS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16822148701
VGA: SAPPHIRE 100314-2SR Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 (in Eyefinity with an active adapter, and watercooling later)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814102913
RAM: G.SKILL Trident 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820231259
Keyboard: Rosewill RK-800G
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16823201038
Mouse: RAZER DeathAdder
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16826153055
Monitors: Three Hanns·G HZ201DPB Black 20" 5ms WideScreen LCD Monitor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16824254055
Wireless: ASUS PCE-N13 IEEE 802.11b/g/n PCI Express Wireless Adapter
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16833320048
Surround Sound: Cyber Acoustics CA-5402
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16836150091

Now for the harder part.

CPU Block: Swiftech APOGEE-XT Extreme Performance CPU Waterblock
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16835108113

Radiator: 1 Quad Rad down below, and 1 Dual Rad on the back with a 92mm to 120mm fan adapter
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16835108086
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16835108117
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_...duct_id=0300701
Fans: on the Quad I am using 4 SILVERSTONE AP121 120mm Case Fan
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16835220038
On the Dual I am using GELID Solutions FN-FW12-15-B on one side
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16835426018
and GELID Solutions FN-FW09-20-B on the backside
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16835426008

Pump: Thermaltake P500 Water Pump (one possibly two?)
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_...duct_id=0266737

Reservoir: Swiftech MCRes-Micro R2 SSF Hi-Flow Acrylic Reservoir (Two maybe Three?)
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_...duct_id=0301998

Tubing: Primochill PrimoFlex Pro LRT UV Blue 7/16"x5/8" Tubing 10-Foot (Compatibility issue?)
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_...duct_id=0300701

If I need anything else, please let me know and thanks so much for helping me

 

[Originality]

I won't comment on the water cooling since I've no experience.

I will comment on the choice of HDD. The Crucial M4 SSD is pretty good (although the OCZ Vertex 3 is significantly better, but they're a little hard to get hold of at the moment because the performance of the SandForce 2000 controller was just that good), but I strongly advise against the Seagate SATA III 500GB HDD. Firstly, HDDs don't really saturate SATA II yet, so switching to SATA III won't yield much of a performance gain (and I've read some reviews that even SATA III HDDs don't go above 3Gbs yet, let alone come close to 5Gbs on most systems and 6Gbs on Sandy Bridge systems). Secondly, Seagate are (from my own experience and observations) unreliable. They die too often. Thirdly, since you're going to put the OS on the SSD, you don't even need a HDD with SATA III since you won't notice the difference in performance anyway since all the hard work will be done on the SSD.

You're better off getting a WD or a Samsung drive, and you'd probably appreciate having more than 500GB in the long run (I personally tend to put a pair of 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F3 drives in any system I design). Of course, the size and number of HDDs you get depends on your budget, but if you want performance then get a WD Caviar Blue or Black or a Samsung F3... and if you want power saving (and sometimes being cheaper) then get a WD Caviar Green (usually with the IntelliPower lavel) or a Samsung F2 or F4 (usually with the EcoGreen label on it). Just don't get a Seagate drive.

 

[pgimps]

Alright, changed the HDD to a samsung 1TB HDD SATA II. As
of the water-cooling that's fine that you don't know.

 

[marcus134]

[...] and 1 Dual Rad on the back with a 92mm to 120mm fan adapter

If the adapter you had in mind was something like this, it won't work because the two 92mm are too close.
I don't think you can buy an adapter that will allow you to do that, you will have to build it yourself.

Reservoirs hurt the flow rate, the real purpose of using one is the ease of installing the system, you don't need more than one.
Some LCoers actually recommend to not use any, however, it's harder to remove all the bubble.

In terms of cooling capacity, it's a bit overkill for a cpu+1 gpu unless you're aiming for some serious overclock.
Also, if you intend to plug your gpu in the loop, you should do it on day 1 cause it's annoying to purge the system and refill it.

I'm a bit curious about the purpose of the build, if it's for an extreme overclock, this is not really the best forum to support you in your attempt.

 

[Deleted User]

Unless you plan on using dual GPU's I honestly don't see a need for watercooling on a sandy bridge build, the cpu's run super cool on air, and overclock well with even stock fans.

Ie., you can get away with stock cooling on a 2500k and overclock to 4.4 ghz and will never see a gaming load hit above 60 deg c.

Lastly, with the money you saved on watercooling I would get a 6950/70 or 580

Also, I've had bad experiences with CE speakers, why not just get a good solid stereo gaming headset instead?

Also, I recommend getting at least a 700W+ PSU, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817139006 or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817139009

Last but not least, you should find a better monitor for that price range, newegg is having a sale on monitors, I found a 24 inch LED 1080p monitor for 140, today only.

 

[Originality]

Getting a 750 or 850W PSU would be wasted on a single-GPU system, especially with a mid-ranged graphics card like the HD6870. A 650W PSU would be plenty for any single-GPU setup (I.e. Excluding the HD6990 or the GTX590).

 

[Deleted User]

Getting a 750 or 850W PSU would be wasted on a single-GPU system, especially with a mid-ranged graphics card like the HD6870. A 650W PSU would be plenty for any single-GPU setup (I.e. Excluding the HD6990 or the GTX590).

There's never a waste when getting more power on a PSU, it could be to future proof any system, you also get more leeway to overlock.

 

[pgimps]

[...] and 1 Dual Rad on the back with a 92mm to 120mm fan adapter

If the adapter you had in mind was something like this, it won't work because the two 92mm are too close.
I don't think you can buy an adapter that will allow you to do that, you will have to build it yourself.

Reservoirs hurt the flow rate, the real purpose of using one is the ease of installing the system, you don't need more than one.
Some LCoers actually recommend to not use any, however, it's harder to remove all the bubble.

In terms of cooling capacity, it's a bit overkill for a cpu+1 gpu unless you're aiming for some serious overclock.
Also, if you intend to plug your gpu in the loop, you should do it on day 1 cause it's annoying to purge the system and refill it.

I'm a bit curious about the purpose of the build, if it's for an extreme overclock, this is not really the best forum to support you in your attempt.

The main reason for this build is for extreme overclocking, silence, and gaming. But for the overclock, I want to get 5-7 ghz.

 

[Originality]

7Ghz... good luck with that - Sandy Bridge maximum multiplier is x57, and any more than a 5Mhz increase in the base clock causes it to become unstable. Based on bit-tech (CustomPC magazine) reviews, 5.1Ghz is the highest stable OC seen with a Core i5-2500K (on an Asus P8P67-M Pro) and 5.3Ghz is the highest stable OC seen with a Core i7-2600K (on an Asus Maximus IV Extreme). In other words, don't expect to get more than 5.7Ghz at best.

 

[Scorpei]

Then I suggest you go and get a Xeon which has unlocked multiplier. Btw, why is base clock OC so crappy on sandy, my i7 870 has no problems with base OC....

 

[Deleted User]

You will not get above 6.0GHZ stable on sandy bridge without liquid nitrogen, its not a stable clock, Avg stable extreme is about 4.7-8, Avg Overclock is 4.5 ghz.

 

[Originality]

Then I suggest you go and get a Xeon which has unlocked multiplier. Btw, why is base clock OC so crappy on sandy, my i7 870 has no problems with base OC....

It might have something to do with the rumours (prior to its release) that Sandy Bridge was never designed for overclocking. Well, at least relying on the multiplier simplifies the entire overclocking process. Sandy Bridge E (LGA 2011) is supposed to be different (being the high end, I'm not surprised), although since they've placed the RAM slots on either side of the CPU, it's limited the space for the VRMs which could affect how well they overclock. The motherboards have already been showcased, so all that's left is for Intel to release it.

@brandon, you're exaggerating with the liquid nitrogen. All the figures I've mentioned in my prior posts were all confirmed stable, without needing anything more than standard water cooling gear.

 

[Deleted User]

Then I suggest you go and get a Xeon which has unlocked multiplier. Btw, why is base clock OC so crappy on sandy, my i7 870 has no problems with base OC....

It might have something to do with the rumours (prior to its release) that Sandy Bridge was never designed for overclocking. Well, at least relying on the multiplier simplifies the entire overclocking process. Sandy Bridge E (LGA 2011) is supposed to be different (being the high end, I'm not surprised), although since they've placed the RAM slots on either side of the CPU, it's limited the space for the VRMs which could affect how well they overclock. The motherboards have already been showcased, so all that's left is for Intel to release it.

@brandon, you're exaggerating with the liquid nitrogen. All the figures I've mentioned in my prior posts were all confirmed stable, without needing anything more than standard water cooling gear.

Sorry, I meant to say 6.0 with LN, but my point is, you don't need to go above 5.0 for gaming, its purely a waste, it would be better to invest money is a stronger gpu for gaming then spend all that money on water cooling.

 

[Originality]

105Mhz x57 is 5985Mhz. That's the theoretical maximum Sandy Bridge can ever attain. 5.3Ghz is the highest attained so far on water cooling. It stands to reason that 5.0Ghz is the most he'll probably attain with his current build, although there's something more about this that should be pointed out.

To get such a high OC, you need to overvolt by a fair amount. Overvolting, understandably, shortens the lifespan of the components. If his aim is to get as high a clock speed as possible with his own abilities, then it makes sense that he'd be willing to spend the money and take the risk of damaging the parts. It's not wasteful, it's an achievement. However, if his aim is just to play games at high settings... well that's an entire different mindset that requires an entire different build. You only need a half decent CPU (e.g. a 2100 instead of a 2500K) and mid-ranged graphics (e.g. GTX 560) to play any game on high. Even if you did decide to go for power settings to push framerates higher, you wouldn't push it beyong 4.5Ghz so that you could minimise the extra wear on the components (after all, you want to game forever, not until the parts break and you need new ones).

Now, maybe I'm assuming too much... but I would think that he's sensible enough to know what "extreme overclocking" means. He may not have been aware of the limits on Sandy Bridge, but he should at least know that if you try to make a computer go faster, it will run hotter and burn out quicker. Since that's his intention, telling him he's being wasteful... well, I'll just stop there.

 

[pgimps]

Alright guys thanks for the heads up, looks like a 1ghz overclock will be all that I get, but the main question is will all my watercooling parts work, and can I use one 92 mm fan adapter to hold my second rad? Finally for my setup can I go resv -pump- rad - cpu - rad -vga - pump - resv?

 

[marcus134]

Alright guys thanks for the heads up, looks like a 1ghz overclock will be all that I get, but the main question is will all my watercooling parts work, and can I use one 92 mm fan adapter to hold my second rad? Finally for my setup can I go resv -pump- rad - cpu - rad -vga - pump - resv?

Like I said for the fan adapter, you'll have to build one yourself, your waterblock and and rad are all brass so it's ok, make sure your gpu waterblock is also brass.

the tubing is 7/16" however, the pump and the rad takes either 1/4" or 3/8"
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_...duct_id=0288867
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_...duct_id=0300705

The Temjin is a nice case and it allow you to house the 4*120mm rad, but it's 350$. I f you don't mind having your rad hanging outside of your case, you could get yourself a cheaper case and use the money to buy a 6950 or something else.

Another cheaper solution if you wish that everything holds in one piece, Antec DF-85 with a dual 120mm + a dual 140mm. (at least one will be mounted outside)