Thoughts on this gaming desktop build?

Question

With this gaming desktop I want to be able to play the best games on high graphic settings smoothly, whilst recording with something like fraps, and maybe multitasking occasionally at the same time.

Motherboard: ASUS P8P67 Pro
CPU: Intel i5 2500k
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 2x4GB DDR3 1600MHz
Graphics Card: GeForce GTX 560 Ti FPB (Fermi) 1GB
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200RPM 6.0GB/s
Case: Cooler Master HAF 922
PSU: Not sure - will 750W be suitable?
Cooling: I don't want the computer to overheat and crash. Should I go with liquid cooling? Or would something like a Cooler Master V8 be ok?

I also want to be able to overclock, will that be possible with this build + 750W power supply? Thanks!

Answer 1

NICE build. I have



Operating System

MS Windows XP Media Center Edition Professional 32-bit SP3 Win 7 Pro 64bit is in the mail

CPU

Intel Core i5 2500K @ 3.30GHz 28 °C

Sandy Bridge 32nm Technology

RAM

8.00 GB DDR3 @ 665MHz (9-9-9-25)

Motherboard

MSI P67A-G43 (MS-7673) (SOCKET 0) 34 °C

Graphics

COMPAQ FS7600 (1024x768@60Hz)

512MB ATI Radeon HD 3800 Series (Diamond) 44 °C Upgrading to the GTX 570 superclocked.

Hard Drives

156GB Seagate ST3160812AS (SATA) 36 °C

977GB Seagate ST31000528AS (SATA) 32 °C

Optical Drives

ASUS DRW-22B2S b

Audio

Realtek High Definition Audio



IMHO the 750W will be a bit of a waste. Your motherboard supports SLI http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131771 .If you go SLI with the 560ti then the 750W wouldn't be enough. The way your build is now then 550W would be plenty. Thermaltake Calc returns with 526W with the CPU overclocked to 4.2GHz & all your hardware including the 2 x 200mm fans. I also added in 30% capacitior aging which simulated a couple years of use. Without the CAPACITOR AGING it only suggests 416W. With all that taken into account I would choose a 550W PSU IF I HAD A SINGLE GPU BOARD. You however look as though you will EVENTUALLY go SLI. If I take that into account then it bumps up the voltage to 684W. So actually the 750W would be enough. I included capacitor aging as well as the overclocking with a slight voltage increase as well. It even has a 60W safety net. Another DVD drive brings it to 719. BUT you need to buy this 750W from a REPUTABLE company. You do not want a crap 750watt psu with low amp ratings and junk capacitors as well as 4 rails that will implode if you sneeze too hard. I suggest http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139022 . This has a single rail design rated at 70AMPS. It's made by a reputable and award winning company and it will support all your hardware, including 2 x 560ti, with plenty of breathing room. It is NOT modular but the cords are LONG and with you only having a MID-tower case design the cords should easily slip behind your motherboard so they don't impede the air-flow. I am not gonna pay $50 more just so i can take of a few cords. As long as I am not lazy I can easily run those wires beind my MSI P67A-G43 board. I have the Azza 2000R FULL tower case and since I have been looking at that PSU for a while I know that the biggest "complaint" is that the cords are TOO LONG. A few zip ties and that "complaint" is a moot point.





As far as cooling is concerned I have the V8 from Cooler master. The TDP for that CPU is 95W and the effective cooling of the V8 is at 180W so you have PLENTY of cooling. You are welcome to use this cooler http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835106178 that "Supports All CPUs up to 240W TDP". Overkill? With oveclocking I don't think so. Can't ever have too much cooling. But with this V8 installed I have NEVER seen my CPU over 58°c. It was regularly at 55 and as low as 51. This is with Prime 95 on blend, playing Bioshock 2, streaming a movie on mute from a POPULAR online site, and I jumped out of the game occasionally ( ctrl+alt+delete) letting the game run while I checked temps and even stopped off here to answer a question about temps. After 3 1/2 hours I terminated the test because my build isn't complete. I still need my first 570 and I need Win 7 64 bit installed. In other words the V8 is ENOUGH unless you plan on going 4.9GHz or above.





FYI. You will notice temperature variences between the cores and this is completely normal since they are pretty much always working at different speeds/loads. My core temps supplied by Speccy http://download.cnet.com/Speccy/3000-2094_4-75181811.html



Core 0

Core Speed 1596.5 MHz

Multiplier x 16.0

Bus Speed 99.8 MHz

Temperature 25 °C

Thread 1

APIC ID 0

Core 1

Core Speed 1596.5 MHz

Multiplier x 36.0

Bus Speed 99.8 MHz

Temperature 30 °C

Thread 1

APIC ID 2

Core 2

Core Speed 1596.5 MHz

Multiplier x 37.0

Bus Speed 99.8 MHz

Temperature 34 °C

Thread 1

APIC ID 4

Core 3

Core Speed 3492.3 MHz

Multiplier x 16.0

Bus Speed 99.8 MHz

Temperature 26 °C

Thread 1

APIC ID 6

Answer 2

That's a solid build. You'd get slightly better value from a Radeon HD 6950 for about the same price as the GTX 560Ti but they're pretty close and Nvidia's drivers have the edge over AMD.



http://www.techspot.com/review/359-nvidia-geforce-gtx-560ti/page9.html



If you're planning to overclock substantially, the liquid cooling option would be better. But for stock speeds or even a mild overclock, the Cooler Master V8 would be fine.



750W is plenty... At stock speeds this build wouldn't need more than 600W, so you're covered for overclocking.

Answer 3

That is a decent build.

The Mobo and CPU are are very good.

8GB of RAM should be more than suffice unless you plan on running your own gaming server.

750w SHOULD be enough (there are various free online wattage calculators you can use).

Either fans or liquid cooling will be enough - I personally like liquid cooling.



The only issue there is your Graphics Card - it's good but it's not very future-proof. A single GTX 580 or Two GTX 480s in SLI would be a better option IMO (but will be more expensive of course). Work with your budget but so far it's looking good ;)