Hey guys I must say this forum is great! Been on here around 2 weeks and learned so much to help tweak my new build. Can you please offer any help/ tips in regard to whether this set is good for a top end gaming PC? Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V DELUXE CPU: Intel Core i7 3770K,1155, Ivy Bridge Cooler: Be Quiet! Dark Rock PRO BK016 Case: Silverstone Raven R03 GPU: 2 x POV Geforce GTX 680 (SLI) RAM: 8GB G-Skill Ripjaws 1600mhz Soundcard: Asus Xonar DG 5.1 PCI Speakers: Corsair Gaming Audio Series SP2500 High-power 2.1 Monitor: 30" Dell Ultrasharp U3011 SSD: 256GB Samsung 830 Series SSD HDD: 2TB Seagate ST2000DM001 Barracuda 7200 Power: 850W PSU, Antec HCP 850-GB, Modular Knocking in at just over £3,000 on Scan but with VAT claimed back around £2,500 Score! I will probably do minor overclocking if the system struggles to run games in full spec at 1600p but other than that doubt I will overclock massively so heat should be ok with the be-quiet? Any thoughts or adjustments you guys would make? Would this system realsitically be able to run most games at full spec at the moment or in the next year? Many thanks for you time and help! Mark
would run anygame at the min at full spec what the future holds nobody can answer your spending £2500 add to 16gb of ram for the sake of the pennies it costs id also look at a h100 cooler if your gonna heavily overclock on ivy bridge
Thanks for the tips. You are most likely right I will just get 16g G Skill 1600mhz RAM and be done with it. Had a look at the h100 it doesn't offer that much over some of the top end air coolers. I have also read a lot of instances of this cooler leaking and destroying the components. Having a brief look ....the Phanteks PH-TC14PE seems awsome so might consider a switch to that. Does anyone have one that could comment. Wouldn't want it to block the RAM sockets.
As long as you get low profile RAM (even if you don't you can just take the heatspreaders off) it will fit fine, and yes, that cooler is a great choice
My rig is obviously set up to play 1600p at full spec. if games got a bit more advanced (which it is highly likely they will) If I dropped the resolution to 1080p to get full spec would this effect the look of the games. In other words if I get the 30" screen am I stuck playing at 1600p?
I can only see one problem with it assuming the motherboard you're getting is this one. The motherboard doesn't have PCI slots and the ASUS Xonar DG is a PCI card. However, as of mid April (I believe) you are in luck! Because there is now a PCI-E version. HERE Known as the Xonar DGX. I've not seen reviews of it, so I don't know if it is any different to the DG. But the DG is brilliant (I have one) for the price.
It'll look less than brilliant if you stretch to the 30", but I like playing it windowed so I can see other things too
Another thing, I don't know if the Dell U3011 would be overkill if all you are doing is gaming. However, it is an amazing monitor. I would probably go for the U2711 if I had to have a large screen, just to save a little bit of money. Maybe put it towards a higher wattage PSU, RAM, or even soundcard as the DGX, while good, is still lower end?
If the Raven R03 is the same as the RV02 in terms of cooling then fixed loop systems doesn't play nicely in them. The 3 AP fans are great at the bottom but you only get one exhaust fan. If I was you I'd either go with Air cooling or change case if you definitely want a H100.
Great advice! My knowledge is outdated by about 5 years now and trying to catch up..thats why i wanted the advice from this forum! Thanks I do seem to find that the majority of the soundcards have older type connectors. i want a decent one but don't feel i need full 7.1 support and the most expensive one. ANy thoughts? Just noticed now that you have brought my attention to it that the Asus deluxe only has 3 PCI slots (albeit having blutooth and wi-fi built in) The 'Pro', version seems to have more expansion space : http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asus...a)-displayport-dvi-i-hdmi-atx#ProductFeatures What do you think? Yeah been toying between the 27 and 30" dells still slightly on the fence. just think a 30" would be awsome and its something I would love to have!
Dell 30" Displays are awesome, Playing any number of games on them is incredible, All the native games with 2560*1600 look fantastic, but even those that don't go that far look brilliant too. Also, i see this too often, but don't settle yourself on Asus as the only Mobo manufacture, Gigabyte, MSI, EVGA all make good boards, and definitely don't buy the most expensive. I was looking for a M-ATX board this morning, but wanted 4 SATA 3 ports, only 2 in the list had this, £140 Asus Rog and a £90 MSI, so it pays to look around. Sam
The Deluxe hasn't got 3 PCI slots. It has 7 PCI-E slots. 2 of them are 3.0 PCI, one is 2.0 PCI-E (the 3 longer ones) which can run x16. The other 4 small slots are PCI-E also, which run at x4 (or is it x1?, fine for more PCI-E based cards except GPU I believe) The "PRO" has LESS PCI-E slots, but includes 2 PCI slots. I don't know if SLI'd cards in either run at full x16 or if it halves. Someone else would have to answer that. I'm not sure if there is much impact on performance either. But as Sam said, look around at mobos, get one that has features you need. Sound wise - if all you need is that card then the DGX would be fine if you get a mobo with no PCI slots.
I think the U3011 does 1 to 1 pixel mapping so you can run games at lower res without stretching. Go DX for the soundcard. Sent from Bittech Android app
Thanks again for the replies guys! I hear you about there being other motherboard manufacturers but I love Asus and they have never let me down. The P8Z77 has almost everything I would want: Enough expansion ports Room for good SLI heat dissipation Dual band Wi-fi which is essential for me. The bluetooth is a great addition as well Was going to go for the Asus IV Gene-Z initially but it the micro ATX do not seem to have enough slots for SLI, Wifi and a sound card!
