# New build, GPU question



## Vudew (Jan 2, 2008)

So, I think I've nailed down the build I want.. thus far I have the following setup planned. Intel Core i7-4770K, Corsair 500R Black - System Build - PCPartPicker Now I am not sure what video card to go with, I was wondering if there is any difference between 
Newegg.com - EVGA GeForce GTX 770 DUAL SuperClocked 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 SLI Support w/ EVGA ACX Cooler Video Card 02G-P4-2776-KR 
or
Newegg.com - EVGA SuperClocked 02G-P4-2771-KR GeForce GTX 770 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 SLI Support Video Card

And if the first would be worth getting the 4GB version for ~$40 more? This build is already pushing past my ~$1500 budget it seems so not sure. Any suggestions?


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Do you have a need for 16GB of RAM? 2x4GB is more than enough for normal use.
You could consider a lower cost case to save some money. There are a lot of good Mid-Towers for less.
The SSD could also be removed and added later to save money. SSD's offer faster boot/access times but little else.
Newegg is giving me an error and won't load your GPU links.


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## Vudew (Jan 2, 2008)

The two GPUs are 
EVGA GTX770 02G-P4-2776-KR
and
EVGA GTX770 02G-P4-2771-KR

I need this build to last at least 4 years, and run most games that come out in that time frame at higher settings. I like the aesthetics and features of that case, is the reason I went with it. I rarely shut my computer down so boot time isn't really that major, what else does SSD help with?


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

16GB is fine but change the speed to 1600MHz. You don't want 1866MHz.

Go with the 4GB model. If its only a difference of $40 its well worth it.


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## Vudew (Jan 2, 2008)

What is the difference between the two? the 1866 was actually a bit cheaper, is it that much worse?


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

Anything over 1600MHz runs of the motherboard chipset and puts a load on the motherboard rather than the CPU.

Intel CPUs work with 1600MHz the best.

If its cheaper then might as well stick with the 1866MHz. You can either have the BIOS run the 1866MHz at maximum speeds or have it cap out at 1600MHz.

Either way the default is 1600MHz or 1333MHz depending on the BIOS.


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## Vudew (Jan 2, 2008)

Okay, thanks. These may change as I have about 25 days till I get the funds to purchase (Taxes).. but just want it all together and ready for when the time comes.


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

Post it over one last time so I can take a look.


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## Vudew (Jan 2, 2008)

I went ahead and took off the SSD. brought it to $1499.82 lol. 
Intel Core i7-4770K, EVGA GeForce GTX 770, Corsair 500R Black - 20142 - lordvoo's Saved Part List - PCPartPicker


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

Lets see if we can trip down on your costs here.

With a GTX 770 and a 4770K you could use a 650W PSU instead of your 760W. That would save money quite well.

Do note that Windows 7 does not like to be installed on hard drives that are 2TB and up. Saying that do you really need 2TB? Most people can't fill a 500GB drive.

If your not going to overclock your PC then you could drop down to a i7-4770. Which will be the same performance for cheaper.


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## Vudew (Jan 2, 2008)

I currently have a 1TB drive, with about 200g free, a 2TB external with about 1TB free, and two 1TB portables with about 500G free.. So I could probably get away with just a 1TB and better manage my files.. but the difference between the 1TB and the 2TB was only about $20. But if Windows is going to throw a fit, may go with the 1TB. The price difference between the i7 4770 and the 4770k is ~$40.. The difference between the 760 and 660 PSU is about $20.. Will the 660 be sufficient with multiple peripherals and externals plugged in?


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

Yes you should be fine for a 660W but you have found such great deals its hard to tell you not go get the unit you have for $20 more. :grin:. So stick with the unit you have.

I would however change the CPU and HDD. That would be a $80 which will pay for things like shipping or maybe even a new mouse/keyboard.


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## Vudew (Jan 2, 2008)

So, been perusing the interwebs.. and god some of the builds out there are pretty.. few questions: Would an ASUS MB be good as well and how difficult is it to implement watercooling?


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Asus Mobo's are top quality. The most important decision for a Mobo is finding one that has the features you need.
Liquid cooling offers no benefits over air for normal use and there is always a concern with leakage/damage,
The Intel OEM heatsink/fan is fine for normal use.


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## Vudew (Jan 2, 2008)

What is considered beyond normal use? I was considering it more for aesthetics than anything.


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## ebackhus (Apr 21, 2005)

Beyond normal usually falls in to the realm of overclocking or running the PC in an area with a high ambient temperature. My wife's tower has liquid cooling, never once leaked. Installed just because I wanted to flex my tech muscle.


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## Vudew (Jan 2, 2008)

Well my house can get hot, living in AZ in the summer is nuts.


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

You don't need a liquid cooled system. If anything buy a 3rd party CPU cooler.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

As above, if your ambient temps are causing a heat issue, go with an aftermarket air unit.


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## Vudew (Jan 2, 2008)

So my main issue with going with an aftermarket air unit is they are so huge and ugly compared to things such as the Corsair H100i .. What is the downside to the h100i? Is the possibility of leaks really that high?


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

Why for one pay such a high price for a water cooled unit that makes more noise and has water near your PC? 

Besides air cooling is the same as water with the risks.

They make smaller CPU coolers.


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## gcavan (Aug 13, 2009)

Leakage: I suppose there is always a chance, though I've yet to see one leak or fail. There is also a chance the weight of a large air cooler will cause the motherboard to warp out of shape and fail or the cooler become detached from the socket and drop onto the video card. I have seen the results of the latter.

An average liquid cooler is going to beat even the best air cooler and usually be quieter doing so. The only disadvantage of the h100i would be that it is not expandable like the Swiftech H220/H320


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

> An average liquid cooler is going to beat even the best air cooler and usually be quieter doing so. The only disadvantage of the h100i would be that it is not expandable like the Swiftech H220/H320


 Hard to be quite when you have a pump + a fan for the radiator going compared to one single CPU cooler fan.

I guess you could run a H100i without the fan on the radiator but then you could most likely get similar temps to a CPU air cooler.


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## gcavan (Aug 13, 2009)

Pump - I 've yet to find one I can hear operating over the ringing in my ears.
Radiator fan(s) - More to do with the quality of the fan(s) themselves but those in a liquid set will generally need to spin slower (ie quieter) for the same cooling effect


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

The H100i has a 60dBa pump plus a fan dBa rating of 38.

Whereas lets say a Noctua CPU cooler with two fans only reaches a sound level of 40dBa.


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## Vudew (Jan 2, 2008)

So what 3rd party CPU air cooler would you suggest? I really want to like the nocturna, but god are they ugly, and if I go with a nocturna wouldn't I need to make sure that I am using low profile RAM? Also what is your take on MSI MBs / GPUs?


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

Any of these will do:

ZALMAN CNPS9900ALED 120mm 2 Ball Low-noise Blue LED CPU Cooler - Newegg.com

Noctua NH-D14 CPU Cooler - Newegg.com

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R2 Continuous Direct Contact 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler Compatible with latest Intel 2011/1366/1155 and AMD FM1/FM2/AM3+ - Newegg.com


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## Vudew (Jan 2, 2008)

hrm, I dont know, I like the look of the Zalman but that fan looks quite wimpy...


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## Vudew (Jan 2, 2008)

Hrm, I think I have everything figured out.. tell me what you think... I went with the i5 over the i7 because I game more than I do any real photo editing or rendering, and this allowed me to go with a GTX780 and a SSD. Obviously there may be some adjustments when it comes time to actually purchase the items as price may fluctuate. 

PCPartPicker part list: Intel Core i5-4670K, MSI GeForce GTX 780, Corsair 500R White - System Build - PCPartPicker
Price breakdown by merchant: Intel Core i5-4670K, MSI GeForce GTX 780, Corsair 500R White - System Build - Price Breakdown By Merchant - PCPartPicker
Benchmarks: Intel Core i5-4670K, MSI GeForce GTX 780, Corsair 500R White - System Build - Benchmarks - PCPartPicker

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.97 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($34.98 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: MSI Z87-GD65 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($167.77 @ NCIX US) 
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Gaming Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($144.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($121.99 @ B&H) 
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card ($499.99 @ NCIX US) 
Case: Corsair 500R White ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ NCIX US) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic 660W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($133.32 @ NCIX US) 
Total: $1525.97
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-01 02:01 EST-0500)


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

If you want to save some money, use the OEM heatsink/fan. The OEM Intel will be fine for normal use, including serious gaming.
I would suggest using a Asus or Gigabyte Mobo and EVGA or Asus GPU.


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## Vudew (Jan 2, 2008)

Hrm, I usually like ASUS myself as well but have been reading some not so stellar reviews on them lately. Will do some more digging.


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## Vudew (Jan 2, 2008)

What motherboard would you suggest between the price range of $150 - $200? Also which GTX780?


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

Change it to this:

Newegg.com - EVGA SuperClocked w/ ACX Cooling 02G-P4-2774-KR GeForce GTX 770 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 SLI Support Video Card

Newegg.com - GIGABYTE G1.Sniper Z87 LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard


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## Vudew (Jan 2, 2008)

That is a 770, why a 770 rather than a 780?


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

There are several EVGA & Asus on that page. GTX 780: Newegg.com - Computer Hardware, Video Cards & Video Devices, Desktop Graphics Cards, GeForce GTX 780


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## Vudew (Jan 2, 2008)

Ok, Thoughts?

PCPartPicker part list: Intel Core i5-4670K, EVGA GeForce GTX 780, Corsair 500R White - System Build - PCPartPicker
Price breakdown by merchant: Intel Core i5-4670K, EVGA GeForce GTX 780, Corsair 500R White - System Build - Price Breakdown By Merchant - PCPartPicker
Benchmarks: Intel Core i5-4670K, EVGA GeForce GTX 780, Corsair 500R White - System Build - Benchmarks - PCPartPicker

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.97 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($34.98 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte G1.Sniper Z87 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($174.98 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Gaming Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($144.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($121.99 @ B&H) 
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.99 @ Newegg) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card ($495.91 @ Newegg) 
Case: Corsair 500R White ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ NCIX US) 
Case Fan: Corsair Air Series AF120 Quiet Edition (2-Pack) 39.9 CFM 120mm Fans ($27.33 @ Mwave) 
Case Fan: Corsair Air Series SP120 High Performance Edition (2-Pack) 62.7 CFM 120mm Fans ($27.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic 660W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($146.97 @ OutletPC) 
Total: $1526.10
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-01 15:43 EST-0500)


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Looks like a keeper to me.


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