New System Build

[KOOL]

I decided to order two WD10EZEX drives instead: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0088PUEPK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Less money, better drive.  Again, I'm only using these drives for storing family photos and videos on my non-gaming rig.  I'll run them in RAID 1 and then back them with an external drive.

[KOOL]

I see some prices on vc's starting to inch down which is good.  I also will be digging a little deeper into my pockets and will bump up my shopping choice for vc's from 760's cards to 770's.  (The new target cost will be only 10% more than the original plan)

So far here's the current build list:
CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor 
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler   
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory 
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (Not yet purchased)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 2GB WINDFORCE Video Card  (Not yet purchased)
Case: Corsair C70 Military Green (Green) ATX Mid Tower Case 
Power Supply: Corsair 760W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply

Most items are already ordered however the vc is not yet ordered.  Currently I have my eye on the Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 2GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125463&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

One question is will the Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 be pushing the limits on a 760 watt psu?

[Bizman]

One question is will the Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 be pushing the limits on a 760 watt psu?

Based on http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp, no.

[morfiend]

I see some prices on vc's starting to inch down which is good.  I also will be digging a little deeper into my pockets and will bump up my shopping choice for vc's from 760's cards to 770's.  (The new target cost will be only 10% more than the original plan)

So far here's the current build list:
CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor 
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler   
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory 
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (Not yet purchased)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 2GB WINDFORCE Video Card  (Not yet purchased)
Case: Corsair C70 Military Green (Green) ATX Mid Tower Case 
Power Supply: Corsair 760W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply

Most items are already ordered however the vc is not yet ordered.  Currently I have my eye on the Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 2GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125463&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

One question is will the Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 be pushing the limits on a 760 watt psu?

  Kool,check the warranty on the cards before you buy 1!   Some have lifetime with upgrade options,some have 3 years and most have 1 year.  I think EVGA and XFX both carry lifetime warranties,however besure to check as it may not be available on every card.

   I bought an XFX AMD card a couple years ago,it came with a lifetime transferable warranty!  Only catch was you had to register your card to get this.


   

[Gman]

Kool, what is the price of that 770?  FYI the new 970 are out today and some of them are as inexpensive as 330$, even less if you look around, I've heard of one of the eVGA models going for 329$.  This may be less than the 770 you've picked, I'm almost sure of it, and will be more powerful to boot, I'd look into it in your shoes.

See!  Like I said in the first post I made here, if you waited just a couple weeks, as you did, you not only have saved $, but will gain a HUGE performance leap to boot, as I just checked that Windforce 770 and the best price on NewEgg was still 349$, and there are many 970 cards including eVGA (my personal favorite) for less than that.  Save 20$, get much faster card.  Well worth the wait IMO, good on you.

Also, regarding your PSU question and concern, the new 970 cards are even more power efficient than earlier cards, you'll be fine with that PSU you've selected, no problem.  

IMO your system now, especially with a 970 GTX card, will last you a long, long time, in terms of keeping up with current and upcoming games.  Overclock that CPU to even it's mid level and very safe potential, and same with the 970, and it'll put up some pretty impressive numbers considering the cost of what, 1100$ ish?  Very cool IMO.  Plus it'll look cool with one of the better cases (I have 2 myself), and be easy to move around with the big springloaded rubber handles on top.  

[KOOL]

Thanks Gman.  Looks like the low end 970's are $30 more than the 770 I was considering.  That's close enough to call it a done deal.  There's no promos or rebates yet, not sure if they would offer any on a new release, so I may wait another few more days and see what happens.  Thanks again for the heads up Gman.   

[KOOL]

So all of the parts I ordered are in except for the GTX 970 video card which is still out of stock.  Anyway I'm starting to build and will install the VC when it gets here.  At the moment one concern I have is about the number of case fans I'll be using.  I plan to use a total of six fans however there are only three fan headers on the MB.  Before assuming it's ok to use a Y-splitter and doubling up the fans on each fan header I decided to play it safe and ask Gigabyte for their designed fan header amp ratings.  They're telling me their MB fan headers are rated at 0.5 amps and as it turns out any two fans that I will use will exceed that so it looks like adding a fan controller is needed.  I don't really want to connect them directly to the PS running at constant full speed all the time.  Does anyone know of a good fan controller out there to use?  I saw this one http://www.corsair.com/en-us/corsair-commander-mini but I'm not sure if it's worth the added cost.Although it does look small enough to fit between the rear cover and MB back plate, and it seems to have some nice features for monitoring temps and controlling the fans. Thoughts?

[Bizman]

I'd rather install a 5.25" controller in the front. This one is much cheaper and doesn't rely on any software to tell you the temperatures: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811992005. More important it's powered directly by the PSU instead of using any motherboard connector. If you only need a gadget to increase for efficiency or decrease for silence, something like this would do the trick for a reasonably low cost: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811991006. And if you really want to take a look at a bigger variety, here's a good sortiment: http://www.xoxide.com/5fanco1.html

[KOOL]

The GTX 970 card arrived today so I'll be building complete tonight.   

Thanks for the links Bizman, I'll check them out.

[katanaso]

Another controller would be http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811999171

I used it on an OC'd E8400 system that I had a couple of ATI cards running in Crossfire.  It worked very well for controlling all of the fans.

[Gman]

Congrats Kool, I'm happy it all worked out so well for you regarding your system buy.  Now the build, it's a lot of fun, if you need help at any point, there are piles of guys here and vids on youtube.

Maybe tomorrow once you're finished and have run some games, report back with your opinion of it and how things are working.  I'll bet it's going to blow you away compared to your last system.

[noman]

Kool if I can ask where did you get your GTX-970 from? I am looking but Amazon, Newegg, and Tiger direct are out.

[Gman]

They're going to be hit or miss stock wise for a while I think.  The three big resellers here in Canada are getting 50 or so various cards every 2 to 3 days, and selling them out in a day, then out of stock for the next 3 again.  This has been the cycle since they came out.  It's worse in the USA.

Memory Express in Canada has some left as of this morning, but they'll likely all be gone again by lunch time. 

You'll just have to watch those US sites like a hawk for when they update with new stock if you want one, OR just pay for it and wait in line on backorder.  That's how I got mine.

[noman]

That's what I figured I would have to do is wait and have patience. Which I have very little of. I am ready for the technolgy that will teleport things I buy off the internet staright to my house.   

[Bizman]

Ahh! Teleporting things! You know, you can only teleport dead things like video cards. Teleporting a living thing would kill it, at least momentarily. Would the teleported one only be an image of the original? Remember, even if the teleportation was done at light speed, there'd still be moments of non-existence even in distances on Earth...