Profeus ROG Gaming Rig - Please help new to WC/OC

[Profeus]

FOLLOW/SUBSCRIBE TO MY NEW ROG 900D BUILD LOG HERE

Hi guys,

I have been building computers for a few years now but have never delved into the world of high end performance computers or over clocking. I am now building a new gaming system to play BF3 etc on for myself and have decided that I want to learn about overclocking for this build as it is something I have always wanted to know but never really knew how to go about it. Since hearing about how the new boards now are becoming increasingly easier to OC on I really want to give it a go.

I am not sure about which power supply, motherboard, cpu, memory or graphics card to use for it, I have researched a bit and have some ideas but after reading through many forums here I am unsure of my choices and the right ones to make. I have only ever used gigabyte/asus/nvidia/intel/corsair gear (personal preference), but I am open to suggestions. Until now have never been able to afford ROG gear but am really excited about utilizing one of the Rampage IV boards for this build.

So far what I have for the build:

- Corsair 600T White Ed. case
- Corsair H100 CPU Cooler
- 4 x Corsair SP120 fans to replace the ones that come with the H100 for a push/pull setup
- OCZ Vertex 4 256GB SSD
- 3 x 2TB WB Caviar Black in RAID 0
- 3 x 24" Asus LED monitors (5760x1080 res)

What I was thinking for the remaining (more important) parts:

- ROG Rampage IV Formula Motherboard
- i7 3930K Processor
- 2x EVGA GTX 680 4GB FTW+ Graphics Cards
- Corsair AX850 Gold Power Supply

- Corsair Dominator Platinum CMD32GX3M4A1600C9 32GB (4x8GB) DDR3 RAM
OR
- Corsair Vengeance CMZ32GX3M4X1866C10 32GB (4x8GB) DDR3 RAM
OR any better suggestions anyone can give me here to use instead?


I chose the motherboard because from what I have read it is aimed at high end gamers with its high end sound card.

The 3930K seemed to get better overall results compared to my first choice the i7 3820.

With the graphics card, I have always used asus/gigabyte graphics cards but I'm told EVGA cards are pretty good and figured since it has double the RAM of any other GTX 680 it would help with running the 3 monitors with decent FPS.

I figured the power supply would be enough being that I was only looking at using 1 graphics card not SLI? or i could step it up to a Corsair HX-1050 V2 PSU? (100% Modular for that nice clean inside case)

Honestly with the RAM I'm not sure if I should go with higher frequency or better clock rate being that I am going to OC it anyways. I've read that the 1600 MHz RAM is better suited with the RIVF boards?

I read in a few forums that the X79 boards PCIE 3.0 arent being supported by Nvidia anymore on their 600 series cards? Does this mean that I should not buy the graphics card I was looking at and go for an ATi card instead? Or do you guys think that Nvidia is still a good option to use? What does the reduction to PCIE 2.0 on X79 boards mean if I was to use this card on this setup?

Now the serious questions that I really need help on... how should I actually go about overclocking it?
- I read that for the processor it is better to increase the multiplier instead of the base clock to stop it from increasing unwanted frequencies etc of other things and from what I found across a few threads is that 4.4 to 4.5 GHz is a safe level using my processor choice/cooler setup but what voltage should I be using for that frequency level?
- How much should I increase the RAM? What is a safe frequency/voltage for this?
- What programs should I use to do stability testing on the machine? Was looking to do about 2-3 hours of testing, is this enough?

What settings do you think I would be able to run BF3 on with this system? Just High or could I push Ultra? :cool:

Any help would be much appreciated, thank you guys.

Regards,

Mike AKA Profeus. 🙂



Final Build components: (Updated)
Corsair Graphite 600T White Edition case
Repulic of Gamers Rampage IV Formula motherboard
3rd gen i7 3930K - Overclocked at 4.7GHz stable @ 1.385v
16GB Corsair Dominator GT RAM - CL 9,11,10,27,T2 at 2133MHz @ 1.510v
Dual Republic of Gamers Matrix 7970 Platinum graphics cards in Crossfire configuration - Core GPU clock 1130MHz @ 1237v - Memory clock 6600MHz @ 1605v running 13.1 drivers
Dual OCZ 256GB Vertex 4 SSD hard drives - Configured in RAID 1 array
Dual 2TB WD Caviar Black hard drives - Configured in RAID 0 array
Corsair AX1200i Digital ATX Modular Power Supply
Corsair Link Commander including cooling and lighting nodes (System Monitoring)
4x 120mm Bitfenix Spectre Pro Red LED fans
2x 200mm Bitfenix Spectre Pro Red LED fans
XSPC D5 Vario adjustable water pump
XSPC EX360 Radiator (top mounted)
Phobya Xtreme 200mm radiator (front mounted)
XSPC RayStorm CPU Waterblock for Intel
EK-FC7970 Matrix X2 Full Cover Waterblocks for GPU's
EK-MOSFET ASUS RF4 CSQ Waterblock for MOSFET
EK-RAM Dominator X2 Waterblocks for Corsair Dominator GT Memory
EK-PSC 45° Adapters G1/4
EK-PSC 90° Adapters G1/4
XSPC G1/4 1/2" Compression Fittings
Bitfenix Water Tank Z-Multi 150 ICE Red Reservoir
All Bitfenix Alchemy Red sleeved extension cables
Bitspower Temperature Sensors
Bitspower Flow Sensor
ASUS BW-12B1ST High Speed Bluray Burner
Windows 8 Professional 64-bit
3x 24" ASUS VE248H 2ms at 6036x1080 resolution
PrimoChill PromoFlex Pro LRT Tubing UV Red 1/2" Inner Diameter + 3/4" Outer Diameter
BitFenix Alchemy Connect 60cm Red LED Strip (mounted in front grill of case)
Bitspower Dual 30cm Cold Cathode Kit - UV
Bitspower Dual 30cm Cold Cathode Kit - Red
Asus Republic of Gamers metal logo (9cm x 7.5cm CNC plotter cut ultra-thin metal using 3M 467 adhesive tape)

[Profeus]

kkn wrote:
i THINK it will work, only way to see is to try it out.
heres a ultra bright UV cathode -http://www.frozencpu.com/products/2992/lit-23/12_Cold_Cathode_Kit_Dual_Ready_-_Ultra_Bright_UV.html?tl=g6
theres others too , just did a quick search on there.

Thanks man, I will look into that...

I am having trouble deciding on fans to use on the new rads, the choice is between these 2... CoolerMaster SickleFlow X 120mm Red LED Fan and the ones I have in my current build BitFenix Spectre Pro 120mm Black Tinted Red LED Fan... Which do you guys think? Or is there others I should look at instead...?

[chrisnyc75]

Profeus wrote:
Thanks man, I will look into that...

I am having trouble deciding on fans to use on the new rads, the choice is between these 2... CoolerMaster SickleFlow X 120mm Red LED Fan and the ones I have in my current build BitFenix Spectre Pro 120mm Black Tinted Red LED Fan... Which do you guys think? Or is there others I should look at instead...?

Just fyi, from my research I've read that those Sickleflows DON'T hold up to their rated stats in real world testing at all. I cant remember where I saw the tests, the Sickleflow fans actually came in dead last - louder than their rating and nowhere near the airflow/SP. I only know because I was looking at those, too, their specs are really enticing.

For performance, it really comes down to Corsair SP120, Phobya/Noiseblocker, or Scythe. I've gone 'round and 'round in my planning trying to figure out a way to balance high static pressure with low noise, but at the end of the day I keep coming back to those 3 choices. FYI, Scythe Gentle Typhoons always take top honors in tests, but don't support PWM, which the Corsair & Phobya/Noisblocker do. At the end of the day, I think I've decided to go with all Corsair SP120. The Scythes don't support PWM, which I may want in the future, and the Noiseblockers are just more expensive than I'm willing to spend on fans.

http://martinsliquidlab.org/2013/05/07/fan-testing-round-12/

[kkn]

collermaster's ( my choise ) but there can be others too.
dont know how they will work on those huge rads tho.
heres the ones i use -> http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=9_510&products_id=23079
i can controll speed whit power given to the fans from 3.4v to 12v

[Profeus]

What do you guys think about this fan Noiseblocker NB-eLoop B12-P 120mm

Also what is a good fan controller/loop temperature device I can use on my case?

[Profeus]

Profeus wrote:
What do you guys think about this fan Noiseblocker NB-eLoop B12-P 120mm

Also what is a good fan controller/loop temperature device I can use on my case?

Hey guys what are your thoughts on this? I am putting in the order for the new case components early next week so I need to have the order finalised by then... I am thinking the Noiseblocker NB-eLoop B12-P 120mm fans should work well with my rads in confined spaces however I would like your advise on anyone with experience with these fans before I make the decision to purchase them...

[kkn]

thats PWM fan, and from what i can see on the pccasegear i can NOT find a fan controller that does PWM fans, only oines i can find is the ones that can controll the power ( voltage )
phobya fan/pump controller -> http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=9_511&products_id=23540
aerocool -> http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=9_511&products_id=21551
bitfenix -> http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=9_511&products_id=21764
lamptron -> http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=9_511&products_id=17213
all the controllers -> http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=9_511

[Profeus]

I currently use this Corsair Link Cooling and Lighting Kit (CL-9011106)... Would this work for me? It is software based however not really sure how many fans I could string onto it or how good it would be compared to a manual controller...

[kkn]

i have no clue, even the pdf's on this page dont give an ansver what they can put out.
http://www.corsair.com/us/corsair-link/corsair-link-kits/corsair-link-cooling-and-lighting-kit.html

[kkn]

the fan's wind its like a tunnel, its not trown out wide like whit normal fans, its more controlled so to say.
if you know what i mean?
the ones i have is silent and i dont regret getting them even they cost a few.

[chende]

Asus K550D, maintained at 20-30 frames play LOL This card too, right .. anybody know how to get it, bought it yesterday.