gaetan

Hey, I'm planning on building my own computer and wanted an advice from more experienced person than I

So here is the setup I was planning:
Case: Thermaltake Level 10GT Full Tower
Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-990X Extreme Edition
Liquid Cooling: Corsair H100 Liquid Cooling
Motherboard: GigaByte G1.Guerrilla Intel X58 Chipset
RAM: 12GB (4GBx3) DDR3/1600MHz
Graphic: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 Dual GPU SLI 3GB
Power Supply: Thermaltake ToughPower Grand 850W
HDD1: OCZ Vertex 3 Max IOPS 240GB SSD
Optical Drive: LG BH10LS30 Super Multi Blu
Fan Control: Aerocool V12XT Dual Bay Touch Screen Fan Control
Monitor: Alienware Optx AW2310

I've taken out the mouse, keyboard etc, I'm more interested in the setup.

So would this work out?

Thanks,
Gaetan

OldBuzzard

The long radiator of the Corsair H100 may not fit in that case.

The Thermaltake PSU "seems" to be OK, but personally, I'd use a Corsair AX850 instead.

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temeteus82

I agree with OB about the radiator.
But as for PSU I would say Cooler Master Silent Pro M 600W would do just fine. It's modular design is ideal for you if you are looking nice and tidy cable management.

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gaetan

For the radiator I thought it would fit in the the x2 120mm fans on top.

I tried this configuration on CyberPowerPC and that's what gave me most of the ideas, they have a nice configurator and one of the liquid cooling that was x2 120mm fans worked, now i don't know if it's legit.

On the power supply I don't know much in that section, I accept any advice and look all of them through so in the end I know what I need to take

Thanks a lot guys

EDIT: I live in Italy, so everything may not be easy for me to get, but I'll still look into them

kris23

i definitely would not recommend an LGA 1366 machine at this time...

especially since LGA 2011 is coming by in 2-3 months... should be a pretty huge increase in capabilities over the 1366 and 1155 systems...

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gaetan

Okay, just one question:
What's the difference? lol excuse my ignorance in this matter but I really don't see what it is.

gaetan

Never mind my previous question (Thanks Wikipedia).

Personaly, although I don't know much, I think I'll still take the LGA 1366, apart from that fact that I don't want to wait (sorry ), but I read a lot of reviews and even before looking for my own PC, I learned that when something comes out, it's never really ready, somethings will have to follow, and I can't be garanteed to have really what I want.

Although I'll look into it, as I said every option is welcome, it's just that I'm afraid that for it to be completly ready, 2-3 months might become 5-6 or more.

And to be honest, if you look at my specs, anything is welcome at this point lol

Thanks for the heads up

synthesis204

LGA1366 was the top of the line socket for Intel in the last generation. It is about to be replaced by the 2011 socket, and (for the record) an i7-2600K (highest end cpu for the 1155 socket) can overclock higher than a 990X (I own a 980X and hate this fact) and beat a 990X/980X in many tasks (except ones which are core intensive). If you KNOW the software you're using will take advantage of 12 cores (with hyperthreading) versus 8, get the 990X, otherwise go for the 2600K (I've seen a 99)X get to around 4.9ghz before, the max record for a 2600K was 5.8ghz). It makes MUCH better sense to buy a i7-2600K now or wait for the new high end stuff to come out in 6-12 months with the 2011 socket.

The Level10 case is overrated. If you really really want it, go ahead, but you can get amazing cases for half the price. The Corsair 800D, NZXT Phantom, Silverstone Raven, Coolermaster Cosmos and Coolermaster Haf X are all cases that come to mind with amazing quality.

I don't trust Thermaltake (had a bad experience with them), would strongly recommend any Corsair (I think the Corsair AX850 or Antec Quattro 1000W would work very well for you) PSU over it.

Other than that, can't really see much to change (: perhaps an audio card?

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blibbax

Just to check, I presume that you intend one GTX590 rather than two?

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gaetan

Well, I forgot to mention I am not an overclocker, I intend on keeping everything as it is, I plan on doing a little of everything, so I thought the 990x was best for what i was planning to do.

About the case, I am looking for personality I guess, before choosing to go computers, I was interested a lot into architecture, from which my taste of design sometimes unique (not reffering to the case, just experience) so.

Thanks for the advice on the PSU, and the audio is included in the motherboard, and even if it is overated, I am not planning on a big sound system, 2.1 max, shame, unfortunatly I don't have the space.

For the graphics card, yes only starting small, then when learning more about everything I might overclock, start SLI, you know, get to know more about my computer by experiencing for myself, that's how I got to know the computer in the first place.

Thanks guys

blibbax

The main advantage of the 990X is its unlocked multiplier. If you don't want this, it's a colossal waste of money vs. the 970, which is very nearly as fast at stock speeds.

However, as others have mentioned, they're both a colossal waste of money unless you are one of the tiny number of people who actually need 12 cores. For 99% of users, the 2600k is a faster CPU than anything available for Socket 1366.

Furthermore, if you do ever end up changing your mind and trying out overclocking, the 2600k and its little brother the 2500k (which, incidentally, is cheaper and exactly as fast in games and general non-epic desktop usage) will overclock far better.

If there's a high chance of you going for two GTX590s down the road, I think you might want more than an 850W PSU. A good 1000W would probably suffice if you have no intention of overclocking, a 1200W if you do.

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gaetan

Well, I don't know everything about processors, although I learn easily, I heard more about the 980x and the one that came after the 990x, and I heard rather late about the 2600k, although I deducted from reviews I read that the 990x is better, so I'm not really sure which is best, on this I rest on your experiences and/or advice, so speak up sir, I have my ears wide open

I suppose I mentioned earlier that not only do I like to play, I do a little bit of everything, so I am not sure which processor fits best.
(by a little bit of everything I mean editing videos, photos, watching movies, listening to music, you know, a bit of everything)

For the PSU yes only 850W, of course if I plan on buying a second GTX 590, another PSU will have to be calculated in the cost.

Thanks

blibbax

AnandTech - Bench - CPU (2600k vs. 980x)

You're welcome to look through that list and see which results are most applicable to your usage.

The 2600k and the 980x (which is a tiny, tiny bit slower than the 990x) trade blows. The 2600k wins in gaming, and the 980x wins in movie encoding (mostly), but neither victory is huge. What makes it a win for the 2600k overall is that it is far, far cheaper and that it uses less power (and as such runs cooler) in the process. Also, your list of intended uses doesn't really look to me as if it's going to involve much time waiting for the tasks that the 980x is faster in.

If you really do think that the 12 core's advantages as a workstation CPU and encoding movies are worth the extra cost, then consider this:

AnandTech - Bench - CPU (970 vs. 980x)

Compared to the 980 and 990, the 970 is substantially cheaper and never more than a few % behind in performance. What you pay for with the 980 and 990 is an unlocked multiplier and bragging rights. I would argue that for 95% of users neither of these are especially important (unless you are using a base clock locked platform, which LGA1366 isn't).

Talking of which, if you're not into overclocking, the i5 2500 and i7 2600 provide identical stock performance to the i5 2500k and i7 2600k respectively for about £5 less.

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gaetan

Huge price difference indeed for little difference on benchmarks, but I like to have "both sides of the story".

Could some one please explain in simple words (or forward me to a page, don't really matter) what the difference means between the 2600K and 990x pretty please

Compare Intel® Products

Just explain to me what's the Cache, Bus/core ratio etc., just where they are different.

Hope I'm not asking to much

To be honest the 2600k looks appealing for the price and might reduce the bill by a singnificant amount

gaetan

(BTW while looking for the Corsair Liquid Cooling in Italy I read on a website that the kit (from the shop) comprised the Corsair Link, do I need this with the fan control? I mean doesn't the Aerocool Fan control already have the sensors etc.? Or do I have to buy them seperatly?)


EDIT: Never mind, they come with it, now here is the thing If i counted right my setup will comprise a total of 5 fans, but the fan controller I listed has only 4 entries for fans, could it be possible to use the 2 on top which would be working together and put them in one? Or do I heav to go with a fan controller for 5 fans?

synthesis204

The main difference between the 990X and the 2600K is the architecture. The 2600K was made using the same nm process (32nm) but is far cooler/stabler if you ever decide to OC. I have a 980X (which is essentially a 990X) and it's very...gentle about what you can do to it. It also runs very hot -- you cannot OC it past 5ghz, while a 2600K can OC much much higher. The 2600K basically will run faster than a 980/990X, but since it has less cores, applications that use a LOT of cores will not run as quickly on it. If it had 6 cores (12 threaded) it would knock out the 990X.

I also had never heard of the H100 o.O is it out yet?

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kris23

the H100 is not out in retail but its on the Corsair site... very nice looking cooler...

speaking of hardware, now that i have my workhorse of a system back up and running, i should get to work on my computer systems example thread.

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gaetan

I see. How could I check if my applications use lot of cores or not?

But in the end I suppose that if I run multiple programs at the same time the 990x would be better? Although for running only a couple of programs the 2600k would be better? Did I get it right?

Anyway I'm off to Wikipedia to learn a bit more about processors (I love that site )

Thanks again

gaetan

So I've looked into Wikipedia, read more about processors, and I have concluded that the 2600k has a better performance/price ratio (yea...dumb conclusion...already stated ).

One of the thing I read was the Cache, but the 2600k has the "Intel Fast Memory Access" which, since I don't know much about processing, could "hide" the low cache.

Anyway, from what I see and hear, the 2600k is more stable and has more or less the same performance as the 990x but for a lower price.

One thing I didn't quite understand, the Intel site says it supports LGA1155, while 990x is FCLGA1366.
I understand the LGA difference but is there any probem if I use the 2600k on the Gigabyte motherboard?

Thanks a lot guys, if I hadn't subsrcibed, I don't know what I would have done

Takaharu

The 2600k is a socket 1155 and as such must be used on a socket 1155 motherboard. They main difference is that the 1155 motherboards have dual-channel memory and only one PCI-Express slot can run at x16.

Personally, I'd make do with the system you've got until the 2011 socket gets released, due to the amount that you're looking to spend. You won't want to spend a shedload of money on a high-end system for it to be superseded in the same year.
Socket 2011 is, supposedly, going to include PCI-Express 3 and quad-channel memory. The general rule of thumb is to release a high-end processor first so you're money will undoubtedly go to good use. HH will have a comparison to an equivalent processor of today's standards regardless.

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gaetan

Should have guessed that...
Well, I'll keep looking into it.

What about the fans I was talking about, anybody knows?

"If I counted right my setup will comprise a total of 5 fans, but the fan controller I listed has only 4 entries for fans, could it be possible to use the 2 on top which would be working together and put them in one? Or do I have to go with a fan controller for 5 fans?"

Thanks

blibbax

This is all good stuff, but it's worth mentioning that you can buy 1155 motherboards with N200 chips for extra PCI-E lanes, and that number of memory channels has a negligible impact on performance for most users atm - the benchmarks that I linked earlier were all based on triple channel for the 980X and dual channel for the 2600K.

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synthesis204

You could use a splitter to have two fans routed into one entry for the fan controller, or you can just hook one up to the PSU normally and have it run normally (full speed) or hook it up to your motherboard (it will respond to the temps reported by the mobo for speed).

Personally, unless the fans are REALLY loud, I tend to just hook them up to my PSU. I prefer cool expensive components over quiet hot ones

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gaetan

I see, so are those splitters common part or would I have to really look for them?

Now I would prefer cooled all the time, but I mean to have more control, like if I want to keep the computer on stand-by, I wouldn't want to have all 5 fans running on max, you know what I mean?

Anyway there is another fan controller from Aerocool, the design is a bit different, the + is that it has 2 USB ports, which would make 6 front (the max the motherboard has) but there would be 1 audio and 1 mic out, which I would find a little bit useless and I don't "like" useless buttons

Anyway thanks a bunch, I think I'm more or less clear, I'll sum everything and look at it.

I can't thank you enough guys, I'll still hang around though, it's a great forum/review site

synthesis204

I don't know if they would stock splitters at big box stores, but they sell them on Amazon, TigerDirect, and NewEgg (not sure what EU sites would have them, I'm hoping a European member of HH could answer that).

And good luck (: make sure to take pics when it's assembled/what you choose to do.

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Takaharu

In regards to the extra fan, why not just connect it to one of the fan headers on the motherboard?

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gaetan

Well I was actually wanting to connect all fans to the controller, to have more control (lol).

So since the 2 on top would have been working together, I though it would be better to have them as a single control, know what I mean.

When I assemble I'll try to take pictures, but if not I'm sure the final product would do fine, I mean how many assembling PCs have you seen, right?

Thanks again

gaetan

Just quick questions about some of the specs and building material:

- I wondered if the fans were worth changing? they go between 600 rpm and 1000 rpm depending on the ones they are.
I don't really care about the color I just want them to be efficient.

- I forgot to search about the thermalpaste, which one is the best in your opinion?

Thanks and sorry for the aditional questions

OldBuzzard

Nothing wrong with additional questions. We all have them

One of the reviews I read while researching the H series coolers mentioned that they use a good, high quality thermal paste.

I recently built a new system using the Corsair H60 to cool my PH II X6 1090T. I just used the H60 "as is" with the pre-applied thermal paste, figuring I could always just redo it if necessary, since the H60 is so easy to mount on the AMD processors.

I have it OCed to 3.84, and it's been staying nice and cool, so it seems that the pre-applied thermal paste is doing a fine job.

Attached Thumbnails

 

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gaetan

I see, thanks for the head's up, I don't remeber seeing if there is pre-applied thermalpaste, but it seems that is standard.

About the fans though, any idea whether to replace them or not?