Hardware Part compatibility/picking help (plus a question)

[Thanatos Telos]

To add on, MSI mobos don't have the best VRMs. I've seen multiple people on Tomshardware complaining of them popping. (Yes, popping)

 

[Originality]

For long term reliability, either Gigabyte or MSI. Gigabyte pack in more functions, whilst the military grade caps MSI use means they run cooler (even when overclocking). Asus have much more style and for their premium you get extras, but the more extras they pack in, the hotter the motherboard tends to run.

I personally avoid Asrock after too many bad experiences and Biostar I rate alongside Foxconn. Cheap stuff that lasts a year at best.

For music at night, I either plug in my iPod or my smartphone into my speakers second line in port.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

That all looks fine to me, but the PSU is a waste of money. You need one pretty hefty beast of a system to need a PSU that powerful, I'm talking triple (or quad) GTX Titans in SLI and a heavily overclocked CPU with watercooling, that kind of system.

The graphics card depends heavily on your budget as it can be the most expensive part. AMD is perfectly fine when it comes to GPUs and you get a bit more bang for your buck. Maybe a HD7970 if it suits your budget. I'm not sure what the best choice on the Nvidia side of things is right now as the 7xx series is quite recent but the GTX 770 seems on a similar price level and I've read they perform similarly, but the HD7970 overclocks much better if you are considering ever overclocking in the future.
If you want a cheaper/more expensive card then look at the GTX 760/780 and the HD 7950. AMD don't really have any more expensive cards unless you go up in price a lot and get the HD 7990 or ASUS Rog ARES II which are beasts (even more powerful than the GTX Titan). AMD's new 8xxx series have yet to come out.

A SLI/CrossFire option will be cheaper and faster than the GTX Titan or HD7990/ROG Ares II using dual GTX680/HD7970s respectively. Out of these the HD7970 is the fastest option and if you have the money and you really want to sink it into a system that powerful it's your best option right now. I wouldn't go for any of these options myself, as they are all very expensive and a single HD7970/GTX770/GTX780 will do a good job on its own.

 

[RiderLeangle]

Maybe I was kinda vague, I meant between the UD3H and D3HP which would be the better long term pick
As for the power supply issue I forgot to reply to before, well how much is more than needed and not such "overkill", something that's over all the maximums of what I'm going to have and more so I don't have to buy a new one to expand later on. Also the power supply I'm not going to cheap out, just want the best quality from the best brand

As for graphics cards I had asked on the last page if this one was good for high needs and reliability, I'm liking the price being lower but honestly I don't know how to pick graphics cards

 

[trumpet-205]

Maybe I was kinda vague, I meant between the UD3H and D3HP which would be the better long term pick
As for the power supply issue I forgot to reply to before, well how much is more than needed and not such "overkill", something that's over all the maximums of what I'm going to have and more so I don't have to buy a new one to expand later on. Also the power supply I'm not going to cheap out, just want the best quality from the best brand

As for graphics cards I had asked on the last page if this one was good for high needs and reliability, I'm liking the price being lower but honestly I don't know how to pick graphics cards

I'm sorry i worded it wrong about long term reliability.

Both D3HP and UD3H are part of Ultra Durable 5 lineup, which means they both are built with the same quality. If I really want to be specific U naming in UD3H indicates that UD3H uses 2 oz copper instead of standard 1 oz, slightly better signal stability.

Basically, D3HP is cheaper, has less features. UD3H packs with more features, but more expensive. They both are quality motherboards that'll last a long time.

 

[Originality]

For PSU, you will not need more than 600W. Chances are you won't even need 500W, although I prefer to have more power than needed mostly for efficiency and also in case you add a lot more parts later on.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

For PSU, you will not need more than 600W. Chances are you won't even need 500W, although I prefer to have more power than needed mostly for efficiency and also in case you add a lot more parts later on.

This might be true but I would rather leave a lot of room for upgrades like multi GPU setups as GPUs drain a lot of power, never know what you might want in the future, and if you have a few top-end GPUs they draw 100s of watts easily.
A 750W PSU doesn't cost that much more and then he'll never need to worry about upgrades.

Maybe I was kinda vague, I meant between the UD3H and D3HP which would be the better long term pick
As for the power supply issue I forgot to reply to before, well how much is more than needed and not such "overkill", something that's over all the maximums of what I'm going to have and more so I don't have to buy a new one to expand later on. Also the power supply I'm not going to cheap out, just want the best quality from the best brand

As for graphics cards I had asked on the last page if this one was good for high needs and reliability, I'm liking the price being lower but honestly I don't know how to pick graphics cards

Read what I (and Originality) said above, and also, for brand I would personally recommend Corsair, they come with a good warranty, and they're widely known as a high quality manufacturer. There are others with high quality PSUs too, but I can't speak for them as I haven't had much experience with them, and I don't know which ones to go for. You definitely can't go wrong with Corsair though.
My Corsair PSU also came with a nice, shiny high quality metal sticker that looks pretty on my tower

 

[trumpet-205]

Read what I (and Originality) said above, and also, for brand I would personally recommend Corsair, they come with a good warranty, and they're widely known as a high quality manufacturer. There are others with high quality PSUs too, but I can't speak for them as I haven't had much experience with them, and I don't know which ones to go for. You definitely can't go wrong with Corsair though.
My Corsair PSU also came with a nice, shiny high quality metal sticker that looks pretty on my tower

Corsair is not a manufacturer on PSU. Most of Corsair PSUs come from Seasonic.

There is no whitelist when it comes to PSU brand, there is however, blacklist for PSU brands.

Like I said, 3770K + HD7850 + 3 HDDs + Monitor only draws less than 250 W at stress (measured at UPS). You don't need more than 550 W for 2 x GPUs. Anything over is overkill and wasteful spending.

Quality PSU has a life expectancy of 7 to 10 years, due to capacitor aging. So don't think extra wattage capacity is future proof. Plus technology is moving towards energy efficiency.

 

[Thanatos Telos]

Corsair is not a manufacturer on PSU. Most of Corsair PSUs come from Seasonic.

There is no whitelist when it comes to PSU brand, there is however, blacklist for PSU brands.

http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/323050.aspx

 

[The Real Jdbye]

Corsair is not a manufacturer on PSU. Most of Corsair PSUs come from Seasonic.

There is no whitelist when it comes to PSU brand, there is however, blacklist for PSU brands.

Like I said, 3770K + HD7850 + 3 HDDs + Monitor only draws less than 250 W at stress (measured at UPS). You don't need more than 550 W for 2 x GPUs. Anything over is overkill and wasteful spending.

Quality PSU has a life expectancy of 7 to 10 years, due to capacitor aging. So don't think extra wattage capacity is future proof. Plus technology is moving towards energy efficiency.

But then again a HD7850 is not a top-tier GPU. A single GTX 780 consumes 200-250W on its own during gaming. The GTX Titan and HD 7970 Ghz Edition consume slightly more. This is according to tomshardware tests. So it's a good idea to be future proof when it comes to upgrades, even overly expensive ones such as that. You never know.

But yeah, you're right when it comes to corsair not being a PSU manufacturer. However, I meant the PSUs they sell are high quality. They wouldn't destroy their reputation by selling subpar hardware.
In fact a lot of manufacturers that sell PSUs are just rebranding other branded hardware. It's hard to keep track of them all.

http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/323050.aspx

That looks like a good list. Since I have a Corsair HX750W that makes mine a tier 2 PSU.

 

[Originality]

Jdbye, the problem with your logic is that you're assuming the OP (or anybody else) is going to get a GTX Titan/780/HD7970/etc or two at some point in the future. He's after 1080p gaming, not 5760x1200 (triple-monitor resolution). A GTX 660 or 760 is plenty for single monitor gaming on any game. A GTX 770 is overkill for everything except the latest FPS titles (Battlefield 4, Crysis 3). For reference, a GTX 770 uses up to 230W (the 670 used 170W). More importantly, most gamers will only end up using one graphics card (since multi-GPU issues only get evened out with 3 or more GPUs, which is beyond most budgets) so there isn't much point in getting a power supply that can feed 3 graphics card (750-850W).

OP: For reference, kilowatt power supplies are designed for feeding 4+ GPUs and/or a large array of drives (each drive is approx 10W). Also, CPU + motherboard tends to use between 60W and 220W (only overclockers take more). And if you enjoy maths, each fan in a system takes about 1-5W.
...and since I'm bored, I randomly plugged in your specs (guessing a couple parts) and an online calculator told me you'd use around 466W. So get a 550W PSU or 600W.

 

[trumpet-205]

But then again a HD7850 is not a top-tier GPU. A single GTX 780 consumes 200-250W on its own during gaming. The GTX Titan and HD 7970 Ghz Edition consume slightly more. This is according to tomshardware tests. So it's a good idea to be future proof when it comes to upgrades, even overly expensive ones such as that. You never know.

Running overkill PSU when you don't need it is actually running them in inefficient manner. PSU makers optimize their PSU at 3 load points (20, 50, 100%) in order to pass 80 Plus test. They are not going to optimize efficiency across all load because that would cost a lot of money. This means overkill PSU will often being less efficient (more percentage of heat output) than lower rated PSU at comparable low power consumption.

Plus, we have already established that 1920 x 1080 is OP's gaming resolution. There is obviously no need for 2 x GTX Titan. Within 550 W margin, you can run either 2 mainstream GPUs (etc 2 x GTX 760), or one high end GPU (1 x GTX Titan).

 

[The Real Jdbye]

Running overkill PSU when you don't need it is actually running them in inefficient manner. PSU makers optimize their PSU at 3 load points (20, 50, 100%) in order to pass 80 Plus test. They are not going to optimize efficiency across all load because that would cost a lot of money. This means overkill PSU will often being less efficient (more percentage of heat output) than lower rated PSU at comparable low power consumption.

Plus, we have already established that 1920 x 1080 is OP's gaming resolution. There is obviously no need for 2 x GTX Titan. Within 550 W margin, you can run either 2 mainstream GPUs (etc 2 x GTX 760), or one high end GPU (1 x GTX Titan).

Who says it will stay at 1080p? Who says he won't add more monitors?
It's best if he decides for himself if he wants a overkill PSU or not, since he knows best what he may do in the future.

 

[trumpet-205]

Who says it will stay at 1080p? Who says he won't add more monitors?
It's best if he decides for himself if he wants a overkill PSU or not, since he knows best what he may do in the future.

There is this thing called deprecation. Things you buy will have its value decreased over the time.

Take HD7950 for example, when it first launched it had a price tag of $450. Now it depreciated into ~$300 for brand new, ~$250 for used. If OP were to buy a high end GPU/PSU but not taking advantage of it, by the time OP does take advantage of it OP will already lose some money (money spent on something OP never used in the first place).

 

[RiderLeangle]

Well I still want more power than I need for future upgrades, not quite to the level victini avatar (sorry for not remembering names, I'm on Wii U here lol ) was talking about though.
How's this though?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

Also I think I will go with the UD3H, like I said, I'd rather pay a bit more for something that'd be better overall

And on the subject of RAM, Maybe it's because I've never picked RAM before but what's the difference between this one and this one anyways? (besides price)

 

[trumpet-205]

TX650 is built by Channel Well instead of Seasonic. Still a good PSU, though at $90 before rebate I'd go for something better. Keep in mind that TX is non-modular, meaning cables are not detachable. Makes it more challenging in cable management.

As for RAM kit, Dominator tends to overclock well (no guarantee). But at DDR3-2400 w/ 1.65 V already, you really can't push it a lot further anyway.

 

[RiderLeangle]

So I'm guessing the Vengeance should be fine? (especially considering I'm probably going to go up to 32 but just going for 16 now because money).
How do I know which corsair ones are made by who? Like what's the best quality overall PSU in the 600w-700w range? since I guess I don't know those either (I feel like such a derp doing this for the first time)

 

[Thanatos Telos]

So I'm guessing the Vengeance should be fine? (especially considering I'm probably going to go up to 32 but just going for 16 now because money).
How do I know which corsair ones are made by who? Like what's the best quality overall PSU in the 600w-700w range? since I guess I don't know those either (I feel like such a derp doing this for the first time)

Again:
http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/323050.aspx

Most reliable link on the web. Get something from tier 1 or 2.

 

[RiderLeangle]

Ok so lets see how it looks now (and thanks for all the help so far)

CPU:
Intel Core i7-4770 Haswell 3.4GHz LGA 1150 84W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80646I74770

Motherboard:
GIGABYTE GA-Z87X-UD3H LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

RAM
CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2400 Desktop Memory Model CMZ16GX3M2A2400C10
(eventually times 2)

Solid State Drive:
SAMSUNG 840 Pro Series MZ-7PD256BW 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Hard Drives:
Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

Existing WD Caviar Green 1TB

Disk drive:
DVD drive salvaged from eMachines ET1161-01
(plus eventually possibly blu-ray drive but not now)

Power Supply:
SeaSonic X Series X650 Gold ((SS-650KM Active PFC F3)) 650W ATX12V V2.3/EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply New 4th Gen CPU Certified Haswell Ready

Case:
COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 Black SECC/ ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
(Didn't see too much of a reason to go for a more expensive case)

Front ports thingy:
USB 3.0 Hub 3.5" Front Panel 4 Ports & 6 Slot TF CF SD MS M2 XD Card Reader Port Perfect for PC Floppy Disk Position



Look good or am I still a derp at this? lol

 

[Originality]

The only thing missing is an after market cooler.