My First Full Build and your thoughts...

[Fidelis]

Hi Guys & Gals,

So I am about to start building my first PC, and I have spent a bit of time thinking about it. I am the kind of guy that prefers to measure 3 times and cut once, and as this is my first ever build, (I have done minor repairs and swaps of parts, but never a full build) I just want to know I have thought of everything.

I think I have got everything right, but would love for you guys to have a look over my proposed build, and hopefully pick up on anything I have missed.
The one thing I am concerned about is the RAM, so if anyone has had experience with RIVE and Corsair Dominator Platinum RAM, I would love to hear your thoughts.
Well enough is enough, here is what I am thinking.
Motherboard: Rampage IV Black Edition
Case: NZXT Phantom 820 Black
CPU: Intel Core i7 4930K
GPU: 2x EVGA Hydro-Copper (water Cooled) Titans in SLi
PSU: Antec 1300W (80 Plus Platinum)
RAM: Corsair Dominator Platinum 32GB (1 pack of 4x8GB) 1866MHz
SSD: 1x 256GB Samsung 840 EVO Series partioned for dual boot and will contain OS and Programs
3x 256 GB Samsung 840 EVO Series Set up in RAID 0 purely for Steam and games
Optical: Pioneer Blu-Ray Writer
OS: Windows 7 Pro on one Partion, Gonna Give the new SteamOS a go on the other.
Radiator: Black Ice GTX Xtreme 360
CPU Waterblock: EK Supremacy Uninversal Waterblock
WC Pump: Swiftech MCP35X2 Dual motor Pump

I won’t be including a Motherboard Water Block just yet, maybe later, once a couple of RIVBE Waterblocks are on the market.
Oh and yes I will be Over-Clocking this build. Once the build begins I will keep you all updated with lots of pretty pictures and the like.
Bye for now, and if you have any questions or want any other info let me know I will respond ASAP.
Thanks Guys & Gals

[Chino]

Welcome to the ROG forums, Fidelis.

I see no faults in your build. I do have a few personal recommendations if you'd like to hear it. LOL

If you're getting the Dominator Platinums for their looks, then I understand. 😛 But on a price/performance level, G.Skill is hard to beat especially their Ripjaws Z Series. You can get the same performance, if not better, for $30-$50 bucks less.

No idea if Seasonic still makes some of the Antec PSUs out there. In my books, Seasonic is the guy to go to when you're looking for a PSU to power your high end rig. True, sometimes a Seasonic unit costs a little bit more than a competitor's unit, but you're not just paying for a rebranded unit. You're paying for the real deal. 😉

I don't think you'd need RAID 0 for a solely gaming machine. Instead of RAIDing 3 256GB Samsung EVOs, I'd just get the 1TB variant. Besides, having a RAID array adds a few seconds to your boot time. Something I don't like personally.

[Fidelis]

Hey Chino, thanks for the warm welcome. 😄

I admit i was going with the Dominator Platinums for thier looks, as i am trying for an all black themed ( or as close as i can get) build, i suppose i could get the rip jaws and rip those blue labels off them, i'll have a think about that.... I was planning on ripping the top silver bars of the dominator platinums and spray them black.

I should have said the Rig isn't just for gaming, i also do a bit of Photo Editing, and Video editing. Not that that makes a whole hell of a lot of difference, but yeah the reason i was going with RAID 0, is for the increased speed during gaming (which i am not sure how much that is given i am building a rig with 32GB of RAM, plus 12GB of VRAM on the GPU's)

Cheers for the advice but, i'll keep it in mind.

[kkn]

you need more rad space on that loop of yours.
for each OC'd component you need 2x 120 fan space.
you can drop the bottom HDD tray and put in a 240 rad there.
buy the watercooling after you have gotten the pc parts ( i know its gona be a waiting period but saves you ending up buying wrong parts ) to be 100% shure that you have space for that monster rad your thinking of.
or you would end up cutting the case to peaces to fit it in there.
meshure from roof of case and down to first obsticle on the mobo ( even cables ) and thats how mutch rad thicknes you can have ( and fans on the outside of the case ( under the shroud ) ).

[Fidelis]

Hey kkn,

Thanks for that advice, i will keep that in mind, looks like i'll need to add another rad at the bottom of the case.
I was already planning on buying the watercooling parts seperatly, cause my normal supplier doesn't stock what i need, i was going to order everything at once, but i may as well go ahead and order eveything from my normal supplier, and get my watercooling stuff later.

One question for you, your Dominator Platinums in your build, are they the 2666 versions that are on the QVL?

Cheers,

[Zka17]

kkn is right... a single 360mm radiator won't be enough for that CPU and 2x Titans... specially if you plan to OC them...

Also, for heavy OC'ing you may consider an even bigger PSU too...

[Fidelis]

I am probably what you would consider a beginner OCer so i don't think i will be "Heavy OC'ing, at least not at this stage.

Well looks like my build is going to have to change from 1x360 AND 1x240 Radiator does everyone think that will be enough?

[Zka17]

Bigger the radiator surface, lower the temps will be (this has a limit, of course) - to small surface, the heat will accumulate in the loop...

And the OC limit will be defined by the temps...

[kkn]

have a look at this tread and you can get an idea how it can look like ( rad setup )
its a 810 switch case.
http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?23795-overkill

and i have the 1866mhs dominators.

[Fidelis]

Zka17, thanks for the advice, i think i will invest in the second (240) radiator for the bottom of the Chassis.

kkn, thanks for the link through to your build log, i have only had a quick look at it, but i think it's going to be really helpfully, i will do thorough read through of the thread on the weekend.

Now that the Manual (and the Memory QVL) has been released for the RIVBE, i am not so concerened about the Dominators for the memory as they seem to make quite an extensive appearance in the Mem QVL.

Though it has raised another question that i didn't anticipate. Originally i had a grand idea of have my OS's and Programs (win7/SteamOS) on a single dual boot SSD. and my Games on three SSD's set up in RAID 0 (stripped), but i have found out, that the board has 2xSATA6G ports and 2xSATA3G running from the intel chipset, and 4xSATA6G running through ASMedia, now my problem is that the ASMedia which is what i was going to hook my Gaming Drive upto doesn't support RAID... my question is this, can i still hook them up through the ASMedia Ports and just set up a software raid?

Or should i look at setting it up some other way or maybe a different combo of disks? What would your advice be for my SSD set up.

Ultimatly i would like to have one drive for OS & Programs and another drive for Games, i am not set (and haven't bought) on drives at the moment, so am happy to look at changing.