Maximum PC

I started with MaxPC's performance build and tweaked it a little. I am moments away from ordering this bad boy and just want some last minute tips or advice.

http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums/q772/Murp0sFL/new_comp_zpsa4d56c04.jpg



Hope you can read it...
Lax

Forgot to mention there is a 10% off promo code for the motherboard and $35 in mail in rebates. Shipping is $20. Whole thing comes to $1853 with shipping and I'll get $35 back in 8 weeks or so, lol

I'm gonna go with MaxPC on this one. I basically copied their "Performance" build, just swapping out the NZXT case and cooler. That "lackluster" ssd is one of the fastest non-pro drives available. I fail to see how the 3820 is gimped... it is unlocked so I OC it to 4.5 easy and has hyperthreading for 8 total cores. What do you mean by "bloated" motherboard? It is one of the highest rated x79 motherboards available. I will never use an ATI GPU, ever. I live in a very dry state, it is winter so the humidity is even lower and my whole house sans kitchen and bathrooms is carpeted. I'm paying $5 for piece of mind. 8 gigs of RAM may be fine today but I'm thinking long term here.

My current rig is 5 and a half years old and had served me well the whole time. I'm looking to get the same longevity out of this build, too.

As for the "overkill" psu, when I'm ready to drop a second GPU and another 16GB of ram and one more 3TB HDD, I'll enjoy the headroom the 750 provides. I'm not looking to build on the cheap. I'd rather spend a little more today and have upgrade paths available to me tomorrow then cheap out now and have to spend the rest later when I your completely underpowered rig needs a total overhaul.
Lax

It's a decent build IMO, but could stand some improvements... x79 is for Content Creation, and high end video editing / Blu-Ray encoding... it also makes for a pretty good Folding @ Home rig (provided you're using a 6 or 8 core CPU...) all others can go with Z77 & i5 or i7. If you're looking at the 3820, you might as well step down to the z77 & 3770K, in every single test / benchmark / power consumption, the 3820 does worse than the 3770K. Power consumption alone is 8 Watts higher at Idle & 30 Watts higher under load Vs the 3770K. Even though the 3770K costs more, it's a better value because of the increased performance, lower temperature, & lower power consumption, plus it's one generation ahead of the 3820.

I used Asus almost exclusively for years, then switched to Gigabyte & now ASRock. With Asus, you're buying a name, With Gigabyte & ASRock, you're getting more & better options for less $$$, plus same warranty coverage (usually... Sabretooth has an extra 2 years on it). If sticking with X79, the ASRock Extreme6 is a much better value, or spend about the same cash & make a serious upgrade to the ASRock Extreme9. The ASRock boards also give you the option of using an 8-core Xeon processor, ASUS doesn't give you that option.

Also, Samsung memory is a MUCH BETTER choice http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820147096 don't let the spec's fool ya, it's insane how much better this ram is than what the spec's would lead you to believe.

If your video card is only for gaming, a 7950 / 7970 would be a better option. However, if Folding @ Home is involved, then stick with the 670, folding on Radeon's still sucks ass.

I went with the Extreme9, 3930K, & a just added GTX-660-Ti. I didn't go with the Samsung because I was skeptical at the time & because I got a great deal on the Patriot RAM. I now use the Samsung exclusively unless 8GB DIMM's are needed.

I do plan on doing even more video editing and encoding now that it won't take a whole day to finish a project. I read many good things about the 3820 being the "sweet spot" MaxPC loved to talk about! I really wanted to stick with X79 and socket 2011. I'm not that impressed by Ivy Bridge really. I'm not too concerned with power usage as my rent covers the first $150/month for electricity, anything over $150 I pay the difference. Pretty sweet deal so I run the A/C at 72F and do 2 loads of laundry a day (ok, I'm exaggerating a bit but I have some headroom for my power bill).

I have used a lot of ASUS products in the past and have always had a good experience with them and I tend to be brand loyal until they do something to lose my loyalty. I actually looked at the ASRock boards but I have never used any of their products and in the end I was just a little scared to take the plunge with a new brand in my "dream build". I LOVE the 5 year warranty ASUS gives with Sabertooth, I loved the color scheme, and I got an extra 10% off with a promo code on the Egg.

That Samsung ram does sound freaking awesome! I'm not too concerned with the look of my ram, my new case has no side window so I don't really care the Samsung has no bliingy heat spreaders. Had I known about that ram before I ordered I most def would have done with 2 of those 8GB kits and save $10. That is a good find man!

I really, really hate AMD GPUs. I don't really know why though lol! Like I said I am very brand loyal as long as the brand does me right and I have never had an issue with any of the many NVidia cards I've used through out the years. Many great reviews of the MSI 670, it comes damn close to a 680 in a bunch of benchmarks with MSI's factory OC and cooling setup.

I'm sure you noticed my F@H badge and while I've been out of the game for a few years I plan to make a triumphant return to the Folding team with this new rig. I'm going get my old system running some kind of Linux and get it folding full time. Its a Q6600 quad core and a GTS450 GPU so I think I should be able to turn in some decent PPD with it. The new rig I expect to pump out some SERIOUS PPD and considering I was getting about 2000 PPD out of the last system I Folded on, I expect to have my mind blown!

Thanks for your input and I will keep that Samsung ram in mind for anyone else building a new system or looking for a great upgrade!!

Lax

I have a quick question about audio. I have always gone with discrete sound cards in all my previous systems. This is the first time I'm thought of using the on-board audio of the mobo. I do love to listen to music and I use my computer as my stereo system. I have a set of Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 speakers that I absolutely LOVE! I'm not interested in 5.1 or 7.1 speaker setups and plan on using the ProMedia's until the kick the bucket.

Will I be happy with the on-board audio in modern motherboards or is a discrete sound card worth it?

If a discrete card is the way to go... I have an older Creative Sound Blaster Audigy SE that still works great and it is just sitting in a box in my closet. It is a PCI card but the Sabertooth has one PCI slot so I [i]could[/i] use it in the this new build. I just don't know if modern on-board motherboard audio had gotten better then what this old PCI entry level sound card can do. I don't know if there are even drivers available for this card and Windows 7...


TL;DR - Should I stick with on-board audio or use my old PCI Sound Blaster Audigy SE in my new system?

Thanks again guys,
Lax

Thanks. I wasn't sure if any improvements had been made to on board in the past few years making it a good sub for a discrete card.

Really? Wow...
Nice tin ears.
Running an Asus Xonar Essence and Polk bookshelf speakers and a subwoofer off a Denon amp, but naivete and inexperience must be slightly entertaining. Promedias are barely considered mid-fi.

You did say "No other 2.1 or 5.1 system sounds better". Backpeddle much?
This is my office system, BTW.
We can just pull 'em out and measure 'em.

Whatever you say, Mr. Kettle.