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Razorbak86
Level 7

‎10-07-2012 04:01 PM

I completely understand about the case. That component is often chosen largely based upon personal preferences.

This is Win7 64-bit OEM: www.amazon.com/Windows-Premium-64bit-System-Builder/dp/B004Q0PT3I

According to Microsoft: "Use of this OEM System Builder Channel software is subject to the terms of the Microsoft OEM System Builder License. This software is intended for pre-installation on a new personal computer for resale. This OEM System Builder Channel software requires the assembler to provide end user support for the Windows software and cannot be transferred to another computer once it is installed. To acquire Windows software with support provided by Microsoft please see our full package "Retail" product offerings."

Basically, the OEM version is for system builders (like you) who don't need (or want to pay for) retail technical support from Microsoft. If you are building a system, either for yourself or someone else, you can save money by buying and installing the OEM version instead of the retail version. The only advantages to having the retail version are: (1) you can call Microsoft's Windows customer support line for help, and (2) you can use the retail version on future motherboards. (The OEM version is effectively locked to the motherboard used for the initial installation.)

I noticed that you did not change your HDD or your RAM. Any particular reason for that, or did you simply not see my previous comments (i.e., stay away from 1-yr warranty HDDs, and get at least DDR3 1600 RAM)?

Regarding SSDs, there are several good models on the marketplace. Tom's Hardware has a Hierarchy Table listing a lot of drives from top to bottom on the market, and they typically update that list every couple of months. Below are a couple of recent articles. Look towards the end of the article for the Hierarchy ranking.

August 2012: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ssd-recommendation-benchmark,3269.html
July 2012: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/buy-ssd-recommendation,3255.html

I would recommend that you get a 240K or 256K drive. That can either be in the 2.5" laptop drive form factor or the mSATA form factor. The latter will actually fit in the Formula's mPCIe combo card.

For example, the following drives are basically the same (i.e., Crucial M4), but one is a 2.5" laptop drive, and the other is an mSATA drive:

http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-2-5-Inch-Solid-State-CT256M4SSD2/dp/B004W2JL2A
http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-256GB-mSATA-Solid-CT256M4SSD3/dp/B0085J17UA

Samsung 830, Plextor M3 Pro, and OCZ Vertex 4 are currently top of the line. Plextor M3 (non-pro) and Crucial M4 are good, reliable choices. OCZ makes some very fast cards, but they have a spotty reputation for reliability because of recent problems. (Many OCZ owners swear that those problems are now in the past, and the current crop of OCZ drives are very reliable.) Intel SSDs are typically slower than others, but highly reliable.

Bottom line: Just about any SSD you get today will run circles around every HDD that you've ever owned. Once you use an SSD, you will never go back.

AnandTech has some very detailed SSD reviews. TheSSDReview is another good source for detailed reviews.

http://www.anandtech.com/tag/storage
http://thessdreview.com/

Hope this helps.
ASUS ROG Maximus V Formula Motherboard / Intel Core i7-3770K CPU De-lid @ 4.8GHz Offset / 2 x ASUS ROG DirectCU II GeForce GTX 670 4GB GPUs in SLi / 32GB G.SKILL Trident X DDR3-2400 RAM / ASUS BW-12B1ST Blu-Ray Burner / Samsung 830 256GB SSD / WD Black 4TB HDD / Seasonic Platinum-1000 PSU / Win7 Pro 64-bit OS / Corsair Obsidian 650D Case / Custom Watercooling with Dual Radiators / ASUS PB278Q 27" WQHD Monitor / Max Nighthawk X8 Keyboard / Razer DeathAddder Mouse / ASUS ROG Vulcan ANC Headset
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rndmlyasmdud
Level 7
In response to Razorbak86

‎10-07-2012 04:47 PM

Oops, I must have forgot that, well thats what the history in browsers are for 🙂 The OEM version of win. 7 will be helpful so thank you. SSDs I havnt really seen much of so I havent known what to do about them so thanks on that. I still need to look at different RAM. Thank you for all your help so far 🙂
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Razorbak86
Level 7
In response to rndmlyasmdud

‎10-07-2012 06:26 PM

rndmlyasmdud wrote:
I decided to go with Win. 7 Professional because my house has a network storage drive, and I don't need that thing's custom software on here.


Good choice on the OS, especially with a home NAS. Win7 Pro will also allow you to use the full 32GB of RAM allowed on a Z77 mobo, if you ever decide to upgrade in the future.

Just a few more comments that I'd like to add.

First, that Corsair Vengeance RAM is considered "High Profile" (i.e., tall), which could interfere with the Cooler Master Hyper 212+ EVO, and it will most likely interfere with any larger coolers that you might decide to upgrade to, once you get more serious about overclocking (e.g., the grand-daddy of all air coolers, the Noctua NH-D14). I would recommend that you stick with "Low Profile" RAM to avoid any interference, either initially or down the road. Corsair carries a "Vengeance LP" series (low profile) which should work fine with the EVO and most larger coolers. The Ripjaws X series that you chose initially will also fit underneath most large coolers (e.g., Noctua NH-D14 and NH-C14), and you can easily find DDR3 1600 low-latency modules that are compatible with the Formula mobo.

Second, regarding the graphics card, that DirectCU II 7970 is a nice card, with 3GB of VRAM (useful for ultra-high-resolutions like 2560 x 1440, or multi-monitor configurations), but if you're going to be using a single monitor with resolution of 1920 x 1080 or lower, the additional VRAM is overkill. 2GB of VRAM should be plenty. Moreover, the triple-slot width may present problems if you ever decide to run another card next to it in CrossfireX, because of the limited space available between the cards for proper airflow.

Photo: http://www.pcgameware.co.uk/images/Triple-slot-SLI-2.jpg
Source: http://www.pcgameware.co.uk/blogs/sli-triple-slot-cards-good-idea/

If you aren't going for an ultra-high-resolution / multi-monitor setup, you should consider getting a comparable card that is only two slots wide versus three. Even if you ARE going for an ultra-high-resolution / multi-monitor configuration, Asus makes another DirectCU II graphics card with 4GB of VRAM that is only two slots wide: the Asus GTX670-DC2-4GD5. You may not have seen it before, but it is close to the same price as your target 7970 3GB.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121659

I'm sure you have read "670 vs. 7970" comparisons before, so I won't belabor the point, but will simply note that the 670 is generally considered to be fairly comparable to the 7970 in terms of gaming performance.

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/05/14/geforce_680_670_vs_radeon_7970_7950_gaming_perf

Unless you have a strong preference for "Red" (AMD) over "Green" (NVIDIA), you should consider the narrower width for greater airflow / cooling in SLI, plus the larger VRAM for ultra-high-rez / multi-monitor support down the road.

Finally, just a minor point, but wanted to mention that there is an extra 'h' at the beginning of your PSU link which is breaking the hyperlink. If you edit that, it won't carry forward the next time you update in a new post.

Overall, your build is looking great. It should be a very nice system when it's done!
ASUS ROG Maximus V Formula Motherboard / Intel Core i7-3770K CPU De-lid @ 4.8GHz Offset / 2 x ASUS ROG DirectCU II GeForce GTX 670 4GB GPUs in SLi / 32GB G.SKILL Trident X DDR3-2400 RAM / ASUS BW-12B1ST Blu-Ray Burner / Samsung 830 256GB SSD / WD Black 4TB HDD / Seasonic Platinum-1000 PSU / Win7 Pro 64-bit OS / Corsair Obsidian 650D Case / Custom Watercooling with Dual Radiators / ASUS PB278Q 27" WQHD Monitor / Max Nighthawk X8 Keyboard / Razer DeathAddder Mouse / ASUS ROG Vulcan ANC Headset
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rndmlyasmdud
Level 7
In response to Razorbak86

‎10-08-2012 04:14 PM

Alright I'll look into all of that. But today I'm not feeling well so it'll have to wait a bit. At least I have until Christmas 🙂
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Arne_Saknussemm
Level 40

‎10-11-2012 04:28 AM

That looks great to me....great choice on power supply.....gonna be a fine PC!!:D
ARNE’S GUIDE TO PC BUILDING HAPPINESS

ARNE'S GUIDE TO OVERCLOCKING HAPPINESS
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