Looking for a general overview

Ho RoarZ   Welcome to the forums.    This a tough one, mainly because I not sure how much rendering you do, even though you said light and I don't know folding, others might be better to help with that.

The psu should be 1050HX, this config builder has been messing up lately.

I stuck with the Z68 platform, assuming you don't need the x79, quad channel ram and 6 core cpu available for rendering, etc..

 

I went with the cf, 2x 7970, equivalant to a tri-sli 570 1.2GB cards,  which are expensive but the alternative for your gaming is a tri-sli 570's and a move to x79 to handle 3 gpu.  More $$$$

 

I don't believe sli 570's could handle that monitor, which in 3D is like running a 2560x 1440 or so monitor. 

 

The gpu's are assuming you want to max out games on ultra like BF3, etc. 

 

The Hailstorm is a water cooling case, but I went to air cooled cpu, the D14.  That is all most need unless your needs are higher oc'ing and running the rig 24/7 for folding.  Then a change is needed, back to what you have.

 

 A great alternative for your budget is the ODE level4, if you need X79 platform, assuming you don't need stage 4 cooling on cpu.  You would  have to add your audio, BluRay and larger SSD.

 

The HafX case doesn't need chassis fan upgrade, the Killer 2100 I have heard is useless. 

 

See what you think.  Lots of variables in this one.  Good Luck, something to build on.

Edited by bprat22 - 10 Mar 2012 at 6:22am

My pleasure      Liquid cooling still uses fans to cool the radiator.   The D14 and Phantek are very quiet.   Hope this helps.       Just to add, a gaming rig in a case like the HafX withquiet case fans, most of the noise is from the gpu's built in fans.

Edited by bprat22 - 11 Mar 2012 at 4:05pm

The LCS will give you typically lower temperatures, but the thing is, the 2600K doesn't exactly turn into an oven, so you don't need quite so powerful cooling involved. If you go with 2x 7970s, those also run rather cool, so the LC is kinda extravagant for it. The HAF X 942 has phenominal cooling, as bpratt says, and the big fans move lots of air while staying whisper-quiet.

The Noctua NH-D14 is really one of the best air coolers you can get these days. If you're dead-set on liquid, the Corsair H100 is the same price, roughly same performance, and roughly the same amount of noise. If you didn't like the HAF X case, then I'd recommend it over the D14, but again, the HAF X runs nice and cool.

Another problem I can see possibly cropping up is the USB3 PCI-E card and the sound card you wish to install. Even though each is only an x1 slot, they're still using PCI-E lanes, which would bump one of the two video cards down to an x4, which is unacceptable for most.

Given that you're doing image editing, video rendering, and some SETI stuff, you might consider the X79 platform as well. This will give you a few advantages that may be enough to offset the cost.


Give this a look:

Saved Ticket Number: 664440
Price: $3898.00

Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Cooler Master 942 HAF X
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 3820 3.6GHz (Turbo Mode up to 3.8GHz) (Quad Core)
Motherboard: ASUS Sabertooth X79 (Intel X79 Chipset) (Features USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s)
System Memory: 16GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 800W Corsair GS (Dual SLI Compatible)
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 2x (120GB Solid State (By: Intel) (Model: 520 Series)
Set 1 Raid Options: Configure HDD Set 1 to a Raid 0 Config - Stripe Performance (Requires Two HDDs)
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: Blu-Ray & DVD Writer/Reader (Burn + Play Blu-Ray & DVDs) (12x BD-R) (Lite-On iHBS112)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 2x CrossFire Dual (ATI Radeon HD 7970 3GB)
Add-on Card: USB 3.0 4-Port PCI Express Card
Sound Card: Auzen X-Fi Hometheater HD 7.1 (Model: AZTHTHD02817) (PCI-Express Slot Based)
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 2: Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 Extreme Performance
H20 Tube Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected
Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: Internal Chassis Lighting System (Red)
Enhancements: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
LaserMark: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: Stage 2: Overclock CPU 4.5GHz to 4.8GHz (Requires Pro or Deluxe Series Motherboard)
Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory
Boost OS: FREE: Yes, Disable and tweak all of the non-crucial services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition)
Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows 7 CD)
Virus Protection: - No Thanks
Office: - No Thanks
Game: - No Thanks
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Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: Razer Lycosa Mirror Special Edition (Gaming Keyboard)
Mouse: - No Thanks
External Storage: - No Thanks
Exclusive T-Shirt: FREE: Digital Storm T-Shirt - Black (Extra Large)
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 5-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty


Another $300 puts you at a 6C/12T beast with the 3930K, but that may be unnecessary.

This configuration will do a few things for you:
You'll have 40 PCI-E 3.0 lanes of traffic. Dual cards with 40 lanes of traffic means both operate at maximum speed both to the CPU and between each other. Even with a third card, since PCI-E 3.0 is 2x as fast as PCI-E 2.0, the cards will max themselves out before maxing out the data channels they're on.
Your two addon cards will have single PCI-E lanes to themselves without causing the video cards to drop to lower bandwidth speeds as well.

The downside is your power bill will go up, since Sandy Bridge has a TDP of 95W and the Sandy Bridge-E chips sit at about 130W.

Hi RoarZ      Good catch by kenage on the 16 vs 40 lanes.    The 1050HX is all you need for that setup.  The 1200W would be a consideration if you ever thought you'd do 3 gpu setup.   

Edited by bprat22 - 12 Mar 2012 at 6:45am

There have been plenty of tests that show the Noctua air solution as equivocal to the H100 in terms of cooling performance at stock settings on the Sandy Bridge-E, but the H100 ought to out-perform with OCing.

For PSUs, the 1050W is more than enough to cover two 7970s. Bumping to three of them, the 1050 could be maxed out under full load situations.
The TDP of the 7970 under load is about that of the 570, at ~254W.
250x3 = 750, which gives you ~300W for the rest of the system, and under stress conditions the 3960X can pull ~311W with a 4.6GHz OC. The 3930K should perform very similarly. This scenario is worst case, with 100% utilization of three cards + cpu, but you still want a PSU capable of handling it, which means a 1200W.