Build Advice Last few parts, need some advice, please!

Ok so as Ive already posted on here im building a new PC, thought I had it all worked out and then AMD threw a spanner in the works with the release of a new GPU series, therefore its all up in the air again. Before we start, I am ordering all of the parts on Monday, so I dont want to wait for the NEXT generation of gpu's regardless of how good they are, as Ive waited already...


What I have:

MONITORS

2x 24" LG 1920x1200 (also use with full HD tv for games)​

CASE

Corsair Obsidian 800D​

MOBO

* Asus Rampage II Extreme Motherboard X58​

PSU

* Enermax Revolution 1000w​

CPU

* Intel i7 920 D0 (got it cheap!)​

RAM

* 6GB Mushkin 1600Mhz RAM​

HDD

* 2 x F3's @ 1 TB each​

SSD

* 120GB Corsair SSD 2.5" Force Series​

DRIVES

*LG BD Rom and Samsung DVD Drive​

Question 1

My Quandry though is which of these to do:

AMD 6870 CF

or

Nvidia 460GTX Sli

Im not a fanboy, so its really just down to how well they perform, and specs, im leaning towards the AMD setup as it supports HDMI 1.4 and will connect to my AV amp with no extras etc, also its newer.

Question 2

I will be watercooling the whole lot, but im not sure about the setup of the loop, can I just use one loop and run the following layout, as Ive not watercooled an entire PC before your advice would be appreciated. Or do I just aircool the GPU's as AMD's run cooler and watercool the CPU??

Planned Loop

RES - PUMP - CPU - MOBO - 240mm RAD - GPU's - 360mm RAD - RES

Parts:
Laing D5 Pump
Drive bay res
Heatkiller CPU block
both rads will have to be purchased, not sure which EK, Phobya, or XSPC RX series??
EK GPU blocks

Question 3

Would another 6GB of RAM be overkill?

I use the PC for games, video editing, rendering and all in between so want the best of all worlds in terms of performance.


Any advice would be most welcome, thanks for taking the time to help on yet another build thread! Watch out in the project logs from next week for the progress...Im hacking the 800D

 

PSU is overkill for either of those graphics setups.

 

you're already doing CF on the new gpu xD nice. Anyway, I have no idea what kind of performance you get when you SLI/CF those cards together so I can't help you there . I've also got only rudimentary knowledge about water cooling so I'd rather not comment on that.

For memory though, 6GB is way enough. Some people even argue that 4GB is enough for everything, but since you're on LGA1366 it's better that you get triple channel. Don't bother with an extra 6GB .

 

I know, I already have all of those components though, I got it cheap from a friend, and its lovely and will last for years n years to come!!

 

My assumption is that you're much better off crossfiring the 6870's than the 460's as the 6870 is the superior card. By far.

 

I'm very happy with my 6870, and ATi improved their Crossfire scaling a lot, so if you get double the numbers I'm getting, theres nothing that won't cope with.

 

Ph4zed is right, it'll be about double the performance of one 6870. Here's a benchmark:



It's better than a GTX 470 for £24 more than a GTX 460. The only thing that worries me is the low minimum framerates with all Crossfired GPU's, but that could be an optimization issue with this game, or some sort of driver issue.

 

Thanks for all your help with the GPU's my minds now made up with the 6870 in CF, but can anyone help with the loop as I want to oredr the final parts asap?

Thanks

 

For the Loop single 360mm is fine.
Normally you want the coolest water going to the CPU.
So should go pump, rad, cpu, gpu, reservoir, then back to pump.
These new cards don't make as much heat, you would only relay need the dual loop for 5970 or GTX295 etc..

 

Ok so I ordered two zotac 470 gtx's, they arrive tomorrow with a pair of ek nickel acetal blocks and some other goodies, i cant wait!! Reason was the minimum frame rate looked higher and they like AA which I like too! Starting build thread soon!!