Want an opinion on my order, while I can still amend

[Cade]

I am aware of that, I have a copy of Windows 7 Ultimate ready to go - You have a valid point though, I'll play with the order and see what kind of savings I can make.

[Corfate]

I'm only using the wireless card until September when I get back to Uni, then I'm wired at 350Mb/s - Thank God for Uni connections, right?

Could you offer any sources that explain hyperthreading and why games dont benefit from it?

Also, I know 32GB is overkill, but... Why not? - Hehe

Games are only just starting to use all 4 cores in a CPU, nevermind 8 (hyperthreading creates another virtual core for every core it has, so i7 had 4 real cores, 4 virtual) I believe anyway

Just as Rakk said, for gaming it's pointless. I have 8GB installed, i only use about a max of 3-4gb when gaming

[Cade]

Yeah the 4 core thing was made aware to me a few days ago, up to then I was going with the 3930k, which is, of course, a 6 core CPU, saved me some money with that neat bit of info.

So i suppose my next question would be, what kind of potential would it have doing other things? Video recording (fraps etc) and editing, as well as anything else it could do which I may have overlooked :P

Also Corfate, I love your display picture <3

[baron75mk2]

Hi there , drop the i7 for the i5 , the reason for this is for gaming , the virtual cores of an i7 cant be accessed by 95% of games ( most games dont even use all 4 regular cores on a quad core) & in fact the virtual cores can cause you issues with certain games that would not be present with a standard quad core , so for games the i7 is true overkill , even BF3 that is one of the very few games that does use hyperthreading does not need it , it will run great on an i5 , i get solid 60fps maxed out at all times ( although my gpu setup is different than yours , i have 2X GTX580 SLI , unfortunately 1 X GTX680 wont do it at rock sold 60fps at all times , no single card will)

As for the ram , the most demanding game will only want 4 gigs , so get 8 gigs to future proof yourself ( with an X64 os as well ) , you will never need any more ram than this for games as 90% of games are console ports anyway & even the new consoles wont be all that more powerfull than what they are now ( in real world gaming terms, forget what they are on paper) - trust me on this.

So drop the i7 for the i5 , drop the ram to 8gigs & spend the cash on the coolermaster HALF X case & get PCS to install an extra 200mm exaust fan in the top for extra airflow for when you do the Uber - SLI setup in the future as i have done.

As for the PSU i dont think its abnormally high , i think its very well thought out as you are gong to be doing an SLI setup in the future ,

If you want true PSU overkill , go for the corsair 1,200w 80+ gold modular - it will give 100 amps on 1 12 volt rail , its ridiculous !! , i got one fitted , its silent & you will never have to worry about power requirements for a very long time to come.

As for the fan controller , this is all personal taste , i personally would drop it & just let all 3 200mm & the front 230mm fans ( if you get the extra one fitted that is) go flat out ( only if you do chose the HALF X case that is) , they are very quiet even with them all going flat out. & airflow is great , i hear more fan noise from the GPUs than the case fans & turning any of them down is only going to impede airflow & i wouldnt reccomend this in an SLI setup , as true the GTX680s are a little cooler than the GTX580s were but not by a huge margin & when you max them both out things will heat up considerably & you want all that heat to be thrown out of the case as fast as possible to avoid it hanging around in the case & heating things like the processor cooler up etc.

& as CADE has mentioned , hyperthreading shines in , video recording , editing , compressing & any kind of compression / decompression apps - but for games it will hinder you more than help & its just extra heat as well

[Cade]

Your expertise has been greatly helpful in this matter. The changes I have decided to make are:

I have decided to drop down the 16GB of RAM, I know you may think this overkill, however I would rather have it and not need it, and call me silly but it does offer me further futureproofing.
I have also dropped the Fan Controller. Frankly I thought it just looked cool and after considering it the money fairs me better going into something else.
I have taken your advice and gone for the HAF-X case, as well as the 1200W Gold Modular PSU.
I have, however, chosen not to change down to an i5. This computer will set me up with the potential to go into video recording etc and it is something I would be interested to do in my spare time. I have attempted in the past and got roadblocked by my current hardware.
Thankfully your advice has cost me no more than £7 to alter thanks to what I have taken off and changed, I will post the amended spec after this message

~Cade

[Cade]

Case COOLERMASTER HAF-X FULL TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-3820 (3.6GHz) 10MB Cache
Motherboard ASUS® RAMPAGE IV EXTREME: INTEL X79, SOCKET 2011, R.O.G
Memory (RAM) 16GB KINGSTON HYPERX GENESIS QUAD-DDR3 1600MHz X.M.P(4 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card 2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 680 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
2nd Graphics Card NONE
3rd Graphics Card NONE
Memory - 1st Hard Disk 120GB KINGSTON HYPERX 3K SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 555MB/sR | 510MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk 750GB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD7502AAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
RAID NONE
SSD CACHE DRIVE NONE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 12x BLU-RAY ROM DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW (£46)
2nd DVD/BLU-RAY Drive NONE
Memory Card Reader NONE
Power Supply CORSAIR 1200W PRO SERIES™ GOLD AX1200-80 PLUS® GOLD MODULAR(£209)
Processor Cooling TITAN FENRIR EVO EXTREME HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (£39)
Fan Controller NONE
Sound Card ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps PCI-E CARD (£16)
USB Options 2 PORT USB 3.0 INTERNAL PCI EXPRESS CARD

[baron75mk2]

Case COOLERMASTER HAF-X FULL TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-3820 (3.6GHz) 10MB Cache
Motherboard ASUS® RAMPAGE IV EXTREME: INTEL X79, SOCKET 2011, R.O.G
Memory (RAM) 16GB KINGSTON HYPERX GENESIS QUAD-DDR3 1600MHz X.M.P(4 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card 2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 680 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
2nd Graphics Card NONE
3rd Graphics Card NONE
Memory - 1st Hard Disk 120GB KINGSTON HYPERX 3K SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 555MB/sR | 510MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk 750GB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD7502AAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
RAID NONE
SSD CACHE DRIVE NONE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 12x BLU-RAY ROM DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW (£46)
2nd DVD/BLU-RAY Drive NONE
Memory Card Reader NONE
Power Supply CORSAIR 1200W PRO SERIES™ GOLD AX1200-80 PLUS® GOLD MODULAR(£209)
Processor Cooling TITAN FENRIR EVO EXTREME HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (£39)
Fan Controller NONE
Sound Card ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps PCI-E CARD (£16)
USB Options 2 PORT USB 3.0 INTERNAL PCI EXPRESS CARD

Yes this is nice & being that your doing video editing as well then keeping the i7 & the 16gigs of ram is a good choice overall for everything.
( your going to love that PSU & case when you get it up & running)

you also have the option if you want a cooler look to purchase 3x 200mm coolermaster megaflow led fans (same fans that are in the case but with the choice of leds) it only cost me £50 for all of them plus a next day delivery - possibly PCs can source them up for you & fit them as well - but if not PM me & i will give you the link of the site i got mine from ( not sure if im allowed to post it here you see ) - easy to fit , although top front 200mm is a little harder due to the front panel wires in the way a bit but its only a matter of gently moving them out of the way of the fan chassis to one side , nothing to taxing at all & it does light up the inside (& outside for that matter) quite nicely without cathode lights & having to worry about inverters getting hot.

& the titan is a great cpu cooler as well , im pleased with it to the max , cool & very quiet.

Think how much fun its going to be when you do the Uber - SLI setup ?? & that PSU will do it without breaking a sweat - overkill yes but overkill on the PSU is great if you can run to it

I was going to say Hope you love you new rig - but seriously how could any one not love it ?

Apart from the i7 & the rampage it is more or less the same setup as mine ( GPU aside , i have a different HDD situation but that`s nither here nor there really depending on an individual`s needs & requirements ) & i have been very plased with it

Just wondering , does the rampage not do usb 3 then ? - just wondered if it does then why the pci express USB 3 card ?

[Narcotics]

Please take some pictures when you get that beast

[Cade]

I'm unsure about the 3.0's on the Rampage IV - Does anyone have any info on this?

Also, sure - You'll get pictures

[Wolvo7]

I'm unsure about the 3.0's on the Rampage IV - Does anyone have any info on this?

Also, sure - You'll get pictures

The Rampage's got 8 USB 3.0 ports, 4 @ backpanel and 4@midboard so you won't run out =) You can click on the question mark next to the motherboard selection to see all the specs of each mobo