Drowningshrimp

I need to help deciding on what I need for a X79 build. I would like a GTX 580 or better because I plan on doing some heavy gaming.

My budget is about 2,300 but anything less is even better.

Fire away-

Takaharu

I'm assuming $2,300 USD...

I looked around quite a lot when looking for a motherboard that I fancied. The ASRock Extreme9 was my favoured but it's still not out.
For me, the motherboard had to have a minimum of two PCI-E x16 slots that were spaced apart. I find that having the slots two slots apart restricts too much airflow between graphics cards. Additionally, there needed to be another PCI-Express slot for my soundcard that, preferably, wasn't wedged in between the graphics cards. I also had to have a reasonable amount of SATA-3 and USB3 ports otherwise I'd just feel gutted. Finally, the motherboard couldn't be MSI and I wanted 8 RAM slots. I've had nothing but bad experience with MSI and I didn't want to down-grade from 24GB to 16GB. The RAM may be a moot point for you, however, considering that you want to use the PC for gaming.
Assuming that you do not require 8 RAM slots I'd recommend the ASRock X79 Extreme4.

The processor's a no-brainer at the mo for X79: 3930K.

Unless you're partial to Nvidia I'd probably have to suggest the new 7970 from AMD. For an extra £50-ish here it leaves the GTX 580 struggling for price vs performance.

RAM I'd say find yourself the cheapest quad-channel, well-branded RAM of 1600MHz. Presently, it's the Crucial Ballistix Sport here but when I bought mine it was G-Skill RipjawsX.

Other than that, aim for:

• A SATA-3 mechanical drive. The higher capacity the better.
• A SSD drive of 64GB or more if the budget allows (ignore it entirely if it doesn't)
• An 850W PSU from (as it's preferred here) Corsair.
• Corsair Carbide 400R. Can't fault that case, personally.
• Corsair H-series cooler. For X79 it's a decent price.
• Generic DVD-RW drive. Take your pick.

I think that's everything...

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Drowningshrimp

I have been looking on newegg and I see that the 9 is actually available. I see that the Gigabyte assassin 2 is nice but rather expensive, along with the rampage extreme.

I believe that 3rd party cards will be available in the next week or so.

Gskill came out with another series of RAM called Ripjaws-Z, but I really don't know what the difference is.

I know that an 850W PSU is pleanty for a single GTX 580 or a 7970, but perhaps another one for a upgrade later. Would future proofing with a 1050W be enough?

Graphic card wise, what is the difference between Nvidia and AMD? Is one more reliable than the other? I knew until the 7970 that the 580 rained supreme in the single GPU category, but AMD has a edge because the 7970 is running on PCI-E 3.0. I can wait a month or so until Nvidia releases their next set of cards, but I don't know when that will be

blibbax

Can I ask what draws you to X79 over P67?

Also, the 3820 will appear soon and be a very viable option.

I should also mention that brands other than Corsair to occasionally produce worthwhile goods :P

On graphics cards, the 7970s edge isn't really because of PCI-E 3. It doesn't need the extra bandwidth unless you plan on running it in x8 mode. Also, 850W is enough for two 7970s and a CPU until you plan on overclocking - do you plan on overclocking?

Neither AMD nor Nvidia are substantially more reliable. They have different feature sets - Physx, eyefinity, etc. Some games perform better on one brand or another.

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Veridian3

Corsair, Seasonic, Cooler Master, Enermax, XFX, OCZ... just a few that you cant go wrong with PSU wise.

blibbax

You can go wrong with XFX, Cooler Master and OCZ PSUs. All of those brands have had some substandard units in their time, as well as some extraordinarily good ones.

You can't go wrong with Corsair, Seasonic, Silverstone, Enermax or PC Power & Cooling, afaik.

There are a few other brands with some very good units too (Thermaltake, Antec).

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Drowningshrimp

Processors-socket LGA 2011

Either if it's the AX1200 or the HX1050, I'm sticking with corsair for a PSU.

Now I'm wonder if the 3930K really suits my needs.
I plan on running games and Skype at the same time along with browsers such as Google Chrome, and recording programs such as Fraps. Maybe I should go with the 2600k and spend more money on the graphic cards. The GTX590 are getting really hard to find these days?

Unless I feel that the computer is slowing down or I just want to squeeze some more power out of it, then I don't plan on overclocking.

Veridian3

Buying the 6990/GTX590 is not good value at the moment (if a card that expensive is ever "good" value). Get the 7970 or wait on the 600 series (no eta).

Drowningshrimp

Trusting your professional opinion, which would you choose? Or is it too early to tell?

blibbax

If I were you (not that you asked) I'd go 2600k+7970 right now. You're not going to find anything much better by spending a lot more, and you won't have to piss about with CF/SLI/micro-stuttering/drivers. Spend the rest on a nice case, PSU, SSD, meal.

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Veridian3

There is always something faster just around the corner so if you wait for something then you could get into a constant loop of it. Best to buy whats available when you have the money and not worry about what might come next.

Takaharu

Sod the meal, we're nerds. Buy crisps and energy drinks.

So, the Extrme9 is out in America. Damn you.
I recommended a Corsair PSU as it's usually the main brand that's recommended and I thought I'd get in there before the others. As V said, there's plenty more that will do you justice.
The 7970 seems a solid bang-for-your-buck GPU. Nvidia will come out with another GPU series, they'll likely rival the 7000 series but it will be more expensive.

I'd agree with the option of buying 1155, except for one thing - last-ability. The 1155 will do you justice, no doubt, but DDR4 is supposedly due out soon, PCI-E 3 is already out and the 1155 is likely to be left behind like 1156 was; 1156 is out of date but it still had DDR3, USB 3 and SATA-3.

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Drowningshrimp

I'm guessing that because LGA 2011 is high end, that they will release DDR4 on that socket?

For 2 7970's, how many watts would safely power my system?

Judas

the LGA 2011 socket was designed with DDR4 in mind.. unfortunately no board is available with DDR4 support just yet..

I have heard though that LGA 1155 is supposed to work with DDR4 standards.... so no change "should" be required to make it work.

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Drowningshrimp

Eventually it will be left behind, but Intel is still making processors for 1155; Ivy Bridge.

What motherboard would you reccomend for 1155?

Judas

Personally i'm a fan of the Asus P8H67-M Evo for a good place to start for anyone..

BUT

Looking at the wide range, anything with 2 PCI-ex x16 slots and realtek onboard audio.. preferably with DTS-Connect or Dolby Digital LIVE! is something i tend to look for.

it's up to you really..... a good quality board is always a wise idea. I try to avoid the super highend boards as I've seen more of those just seem to push their own limits to far.

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Drowningshrimp

What do you thing about the ASUS Maximus IV Extreme-Z?

blibbax

I don't think you'll need DDR4 when it comes out. Certainly it won't be worth upgrading a motherboard for. Performance gains will be miniscule in 99% of situations. Same with PCI-E 3.

At the moment both 1155 and 2011 are tipped to be IB compatible, and that's the only upcoming development worth worrying about imo.

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Drowningshrimp

It's hard to find a motherboard that no one complains about. The z68 chipset seems to have slightly more features that p67. But does anyone know if the Asus Maximus is reliable? There are constant reviews saying that they got dead boards. I guess it's the color scheme that draw me closer to it.
I like the Gigabyte G1 Sniper 2 but it seems that it has almost disappeared off websites?

OldBuzzard

From what I've read, the 7970 doesn't use a lot of power. One site claims that a good 750W PSU would suffice.

If I were building a system for Crossfired 7970s, I'd go with a Corsair AX850 minimum, just for a little 'cushion'.

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When looking for a reason as to why things go wrong, never rule out sheer STUPIDITY

Drowningshrimp

AMD aside; is the Nvidia GTX 600 series just a notebook series and the 700 series are the desktop versions? The Asus G55 is slated for a April release and it will feature Ivy Bridge and a GTX 660m. So according to that, the 600 series will be released during April or possible sooner?