Looking for advice on my build...

[Sevon]

Hey all...its been a really long time coming, but my old RoG computer just isn't cutting it anymore...oh Striker Extreme how I shall miss you as my primary rig, but you aren't as good as you once were...

In any event, since i just said Striker Extreme, that might give you an idea of how long its been since i've built a system....I have a setup in mind and I'm just looking for any advice, the idea is to be a primary gaming computer and next to nothing else...I'll be switching to liquid cooling soon as I'm brave enough (I.E. soon as I have enough money saved up to replace things i screw up) with a custom loop, i intend on using two loops, one for the graphics cards and memory and one for the processor and the bridge. I also plan on going to 3 graphics cards and a PCI-e SSD should the new broadwells give me that option..but for now, here is my build along with what i've already ordered and any advice would be welcomed...

btw....the games the PC is being designed to play are Elder Scrolls Online, Battlefield 3/4 and Sim City 5

My build thus far
--------------------------------------
Case: Cooler Master HAF X Full ATX (ordered)
MB: Maximus VI Formula (ordered)
CPU: Intel Core i7 4770k (ordering friday night)
Hetsink: Need advice on a cheap but good air cooled one until i start liquid cooling, then itll be an EK Supremacy
RAM: 32GB G.SKILL Trident X Series DDR3 2400 (PC3 19200) (ordered)
GPUs: 2x Asus GTX 770 graphics cards
SSD: 2x Samsung 840 Pro 256gb SSD run in RAID 0
PSU: Corsair AX1200i 1200w power supply
OS: Windows 8.1
Optical: Something? Havent gotten to the cheap stuff yet...
Monitor: ASUS VG248QE Black 24" 144Hz 1ms

[Nate152]

Hello Sevon, Welcome to the ROG forum. If you want to go with 3 gpu's and a pcie ssd you should have gone with the maximus vi extreme. With the maximus vi formula you won't even be able to run 2 Nvidia gpu's and a pcie ssd. If you are just gaming 16 GB of ram is more than enough. If you go water cooling soon you could just use the intel stock cooler until you get your liquid cooling set up, it would save you some cash. Everything else looks good.

[Sevon]

I was debating on the Rampage IV extreme black edition and the maximus vi formula. After doing the all the research I could stand I went with the formula, because im banking on the broadwell-d replacing the haswell in the same socket and figuring the 2011 is nearing the end of its life...i typically build computers to last and perform for 5+ years, so i was mainly looking at future upgrades being possible. And I was under the impression that the PCI-e restriction was due to the PCI-e lanes availability of the haswell CPUs only being 16 instead of 40 on the Sandy Bridges? I don't really know, its been over hald a decade since I've build a computer but thats kinda how i figured it in my head...lol I'm was kinda banking on the fact that the broadwells come on the 1150 socket and that they open up lanes for better support. Hence, the reason im using the 2 840 pros instead of a card based ssd for the initial build...

Ill probably start learning overclocking on air cooling until i get the hang of it then set up something for watercooling as i learn more and more

[Nate152]

If broadwell is socket 1150 it is unlikely you will be able to use your maximus vi formula with it. There is going to be compatibility changes with broadwell. The maximus vi extreme has a plx chip which kicks in when you use 3-4 gpu's. For 2 gpu's and your sata ssd's the formula vi will work fine, but you can't add a third Nvidia gpu. The maximus vi formula supports sli, x-fire and 3 way x-fire. It does not support 3 way sli.

[Sevon]

ahh..ok..well I guess I can always use the formula for a while and learn overclocking and watercooling on and then trade up...if nothing else i bought the board for its looks, it looks damn good to me and it seemed like a board i could learn the basics of watercooling on..

i guess my 5+ year went up in smoke 5+ years ago...then again, I actually have a job now and can afford fun new toys on more than just an occasion 😄

[Nate152]

You could go with the cooler master seidon 120, it's an all in one liquid cpu cooler and only costs 50 bux at newegg or amazon. That's cheaper than a good air cooler.

[Zeruel]

Why SLI 770? Gamers are starting to break the 2gb. A 780 or 780Ti might be a better choice for now. Also 880 series is coming soon, so why not get a 780 or 780Ti now and buy one that costs less when the 880 series comes out? A G-sync monitor wouldnt be bad also 😉


Just laying out some choices for you to get the best gaming performance 🙂

[Sevon]

for the graphics cards I kinda balanced out my budget and the benchmarks on passmark. I would love to get a set of 780ti's but im also trying to keep the build down to around 2k, give or take....my budget will open up in the future though and ill probably upgrade again next year, but at the moment I'm trying to beat the release date of ESO and have the computer assembled and going by the 31st

and what is g-sync? ive never heard of it before >.<

[Sevon]

Looks pretty good to me, I'll probably get one of them friday when i pick a few more of the expensive parts off the list

[Nate152]

G-sync is a monitor feature that allows you to get frames per second above your monitors refresh rate without screen tear. Some newer monitors have it already. You can buy the G-sync module and install it yourself if you are tech savy.