Keeper's Rig - Help me Build the Ultimate PC

K

Keeper

Honorary Master
Joined
Mar 29, 2008
Messages
23,628
Reaction score
52
Right now I have:

Chassis: Coolermaster HAF-X
PSU: Corsair HX1000 Watt
GFX: ATi Sapphire 4870x2
KB: Gigabyte Aivia K8100
Mouse: Gigabyte Ghost M8000X
Drives: 3 x 1TB, 1 x 2TB
Screen: 2 x 21" LCD's
Tablet: Wacom Intuos 4

And in around 2 weeks im getting:

CPU: Intel Core i7 2600k Processor - 3.40GHz, Socket 1155, 8MB L3, 2.0Gb/s DMI Interface @ R2,609.00
Cooling: Corsair H70 Hydro Series @ R1,072.00
Mobo: ASUS Maximus iV Extreme (Rev B3) - Republic of Gamers @ R3,811.00
OS Drive: 60GB OCZ Vertex 2 2.5" SSD @ R1,300.00
Memory: 16GB DDR3-1333 Desktop Memory (Kingston) @ R397.00 each.


Mostly used for 3D Stuffs, Adobe, Corel, and occasional Gaming.


1) Will all this...err...fit together? anything I need to be concerned about?

2) Can you suggest improvements on the Build?

3) Do the Prices look good? I'm ordering the Cooler, SSD & Mobo Online, CPU & RAM I can get at PcInt
 
Last edited:
Take a look at the Vertex 3. Uses the new SF2000 based controller which will run at full speed in your SATA 6Gb/s mobo.
 
Looks good.

1) Everything should "fit together" just fine.

2) I'd personally add larger monitors than your current 21" set, especially since you'll be working on 3D and Adobe-based software (to make your life a little easier), but that's just me ;)

Performance-wise you should be set. I hope you plan on overclocking that 2600K, seeing as you're planning on using the Maximus and the (more expensive) K version of the Sandy Bridge CPU :)

3) Prices seem fine.
 
/off topic

If you don't mind me asking, what is your occupation?
 
21" is very small, 2x 24" 1920x1200 dell would be great.

GFX is obviously next on the list right?
 
Go for the 120GB OCZ Vertex 3 SSD.

I really don't know why you'd want to pay such an absurd amount for the motherboard. That motherboard is intended for serious overclocking and multiple graphics card setups.
IMO, you can just get like an Asus P8P67 Pro for ~R2k that would do the job just as well and it would give you 8x + 8x SLI/CrossFireX support.

Seeing that the Sandy Bridge doesn't dissipate as much heat as the previous generation CPU's, I would've thought that the H50 would suffice for a 4.6GHz OC.

Using larger than 21" screens in landscape mode can be a bit annoyingly wide. My preference would be 2x Dell 24" IPS panels with 1920x1200 resolution in portrait mode - thus ending up with 2x 1200x1920 resolution.
IPS panels are an absolute must if your job requires colour accuracy, and/or if you're tilting your screen to portrait mode. You'll still have to adjust/tune the colour profile of the screen though.
 
Last edited:
↑ +1

Put cash into IPS LCDs - either the new LG cheapies, 23" 1920x1080 for ±R2,000; or the HP ZR24 24" 1920x1080 for ±R4,000...
 
Hey guys!

So the only issues are:
- Screens too small
- SSD too small
- Mobo Overkill ?

The thing is I don't want to blow a lot just to get my screens from 21" to 24" or whatnot, these are okay for now...
Same with GFX - to upgrade that, it's gonna take me like R3000 just to match my current Card, and then some more just to "Upgrade" it

Didn't the the Vertex 3 just come out? I mean, How expensive is it?
Bigger and Faster is always better, but I mean, at R1400 its not bad...its still Vertex 2, and 60GB will be okay for me
(Currently my C: is sitting at 47GB and this is by no means a Fresh Install)

If you had around R8000 - R11,000 to upgrade my current Rig, what parts would you choose?
 
2 bigger screens - R4500
CPU (R2600) + mobo (R1500) + RAM (R1600) - R5700
Replace H70 with Cogage True spirit - R300. H70 is worse than the H50 iirc, so if you really want psuedo water cooled go for the H50
SSD with the change

edit: OR
1 bigger screen flanked by your two smaller screens. Would require a new AMD GPU like a HD6870
 
Last edited:
Im really okay with my screens guys, this is a performance upgrade

Basically just Mobo, CPU, Ram, SSD, CPU Cooler
 
Then keep the CPU, drop the mobo down to ±R1500, drop the H70 in favour of True Spirit or H50, take R2000 savings from mobo and up your SSD to 120GB. Oh, and keep the RAM as well of course
 
Archer said:
Then keep the CPU, drop the mobo down to ±R1500, drop the H70 in favour of True Spirit or H50, take R2000 savings from mobo and up your SSD to 120GB. Oh, and keep the RAM as well of course
Click to expand...

+1, reason the read/write on the 60GB is something like 275/75 where the 128 would be 275/250, but if the 60GB is purely a boot drive and you are saving your files to the other drives, then leave the specs as per your OP.
 
Cool SharkBait, I agree with that...I'll rather have that Mobo than a cheaper one with a better SSD


Now I'm just confused about which CPU cooler is better, the H50, H70, and now, the new H60?
 
Keeper said:
Cool SharkBait, I agree with that...I'll rather have that Mobo than a cheaper one with a better SSD

Now I'm just confused about which CPU cooler is better, the H50, H70, and now, the new H60?
Click to expand...

Man you're confusing! :p You wont use half the features of the mobo half the time, while the SSD could give you lots of joy more of the time. Anyway, we want what we want (I wouldnt mind getting a top end mobo just because either :p)...

I'm fairly certain I remember the H70 cooling only a tiny bit better, but being much more noisy. The noise is what puts me off, but I do need to double check if its really the case.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X