Building a gaming PC... Please advise!

[cliaru]

Hello!

I'm new to the forum, as well as PC-building. However, I am an avid gamer and I have very much been enjoying the recent releases of fantastic games such as Batman AC, Uncharted 3, and Battlefield 3. I am extremely excited for ES Skyrim!

However, I saw that my PC was struggling to run Battlefield 3, so I decided to build a new gaming PC. I have looked over some of the other people's builds and stole some ideas for a potential build.

Before I start, I already have a Corsair 850W PSU and a EVGA Geforece GTX 570 GPU, and I would like to buy another GTX 570 and SLi them. So here's the build!

Case: ????
OS: Windows 7 Professional
Processor: Intel Core i7-2700K Sandy Bridge 3.5GHz
Motherboard: Asus P8Z68 Deluxe - LGA 1155 Intel Z68
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB (Possibly two of them)
GPU: EVGA GeForece GTX 570 Superclocked 1280 MB (Additional one for SLI)
RAM: Corsair Vengeance Blue 16 GB DDR3 240 pin SDRAM Dual Channel
Sound: PCI Express Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Champion Series
BD Drive: LG Black 12X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray Drive

Here are some issues...

First of all, I do not know what case I should get. My only concern is that it has to be big enough to fit two GTX 570s, but I do not want to get an unnecessarily large case. However, if there are advantages to getting a full tower, I will get one. I am looking for a case around $150.

Second, I absolutely need a wireless connection on my PC and I do not know what card I need to make this work.

Third, I have never over clocked a system before, and I do not intend to unless it is necessary. Should this affect my PC build?

Fourth, will any cooling system be necessary? If so, I hope it would be simple to manage...

This is my potential build. Sorry for the long long post, but I would like to get this done as soon as possible so I can play Skyrim! Thank you very much for your help in advance.

[RickyTick]

That's a terrific build. This system will be blistering fast, I can't imagine a need to overclock. Maybe 2-3 years in the future, but not now.

Look at the High End Build in my signature below. I recently upgraded it, and added a list of my favorite cases. That should give you some ideas, and a great place to start.

If you want to add some cooling, I really like the closed liquid cooling kits for cpu's. The Corsair H60 and H80 are really nice.

Be careful with hard drives. The prices have skyrocketed, and they're not expected to drop for 6 months. You may want to just get one now, and add the second one down the road when prices are more reasonable.

[cliaru]

Thank you for your input! I've decided to go with CM Storm Trooper case and H80 cooling system. I'm so excited to get this build going!

[ARchamps]

Nice system! Seeing as you are going all out, instead of buying a high storage drive at these crazy prices get an SSD! The Crucial M4 128GB is a popular choice and it's very reliable. I'm looking to getting one around christmas time.

Adding to what RickyTick said about the cooling -- since you don't plan to overclock anytime soon (you don't need to with that beast!) you can stick to air cooling for now. Monitor your temps and then assess whether you want watercooling.

Best of luck! (Add me on BF3 :P - same name in forum)

[cliaru]

Thanks for the info. I will get the SSD, but it might be a bit small for my needs... Also, if I do not need water cooling, does that mean I do not have to purchase any additional cooling system? And how would I monitor the PC temperature?

I was looking around my favorite retailers (Amazon and Newegg), and it seems that they are out of EVGA Geforce GTX 570 Superclocked. I'll have to look around more...

Thanks for all the help. I will add you on Battlefield as soon as I can play it on my new PC!

[ARchamps]

I think it is a good idea to get an after market cooler, especially if you plan to OC later on. You can check out the one RickyTick suggested. Other good air options that I have seen is the Cooler Master Hyper 212+ or the Corsair A50. I have the Cooler Master and its great, but a bit tricky to install. The A50 was a breeze when I helped my friend.

There are many software applications you can use to Monitor temps. The ASUS AI Suite, Core Temp (for CPU temps - also comes with a desktop widget), CPUID HWMonitor (all temps), and EVGA Precision/MSI Afterburner (only use 1!) for GPU temps/tuning. My favorite is HWmonitor since you have all temps in one window! With Afterburner, you can install an overlay so when you are playing games you can track the FPS, GPU load, and GPU temps.

PS --> You might run into trouble running AI Suite, as there is some sort of bug with the installer where nothing happens when you try to execute the installer. There is a patch that you can run which will allow you to install it. I will find it when I get home and post the link.

[cliaru]

Thank you so much for your help! I've just ordered the GTX 570 so I should be all set for my components. Just have to wait for them now... Just a couple of questions.

How do I go about SLi'ing? I have not used this set up before. Also, should the Corsair TX850 PSU be enough power for the system?

Thanks again for all you guys' help. I will keep you posted on the process!

[ARchamps]

For the PSU, you should be fine. Check this thread out. http://www.evga.com/forums/tm.aspx?m=1083195

I have no experience with SLI yet, so I cant really help you there but from the looks it shouldn't be too difficult. There should be a 'bridge' that allows them to run together. Check the EVGA forum for similar topics as their support is awesome.

Let us know how it goes!

[cliaru]

I've finally built my PC! Everything is all working and I am so happy.

There was one minor issue, however. The CM Storm Trooper case allows you to re-orient the fans on the HDD cages. I tried to do this but there was one thumb screw that did not want to come out. I actually stripped it a bit so I had to use a different tool to actually grip the screw and turn it. It did start turning, but the screw did not come out and was stuck half way. It was stlil not loose and just kept turning at that point. If you have any suggestions as how to solve thist it would be great.

Other than that thank you all so much for your help!

[RickyTick]

Aw man, that's too bad about that screw. I'm sure you could send the case back under warranty, but it's really not worth it, is it?

Anyway, great job on the build.

[cliaru]

Ahh so some more problems arose, inevitably.

First, I turned on the CPU temp monitor and it was at 124 C (255 F)!!! I got scared and turned off the computer ASAP. At that point the computer had been running for a couple hours while I installed some software and transferred some files from my old computer. All my fans were running and I have the Corsair H80 installed. I'm waiting for it to cool down so I can crack it open. What could be the problem?

Also, I've noticed that when I boot up the computer the initial boot screen does not come on. The screen is blank (monitor doesn't even turn on) until the windows log in screen appears. This wasn't the case when I was first installing the OS and other drivers. The only thing that has changed since then is the monitor itself (went from a single monitor to a dual monitor set-up) and my mouse and keyboard. I tried to get into BIOS by spamming delete when the computer booted up, but nothing came on the monitor (not even the windows log in screen).

If anyone can help it would be much appreciated. Thank you in advance!

[ARchamps]

122 degrees! Yikes. Usually the computer would shut itself down at that point. What software are you using to monitor temps? Try Core Temp or HWMonitor (from CPUID) and see if that changes anything.

As for the boot up screen, go back to 1 monitor and see if it goes back to normal. What output are you using from the video card?

[RickyTick]

yeah, that temp can't be right. It would shut down before getting that high.

[cliaru]

Sorry for posting too much, but I freaked out a bit when I saw that temp. It turns out I was looking at CPUTIN temperature, and others on the web seems to have similar issues and they ignore it. My actual CPU temp is around 30~40 C, which I'm hoping is normal.

[RickyTick]

Sorry for posting too much, but I freaked out a bit when I saw that temp. It turns out I was looking at CPUTIN temperature, and others on the web seems to have similar issues and they ignore it. My actual CPU temp is around 30~40 C, which I'm hoping is normal.

Whew!! :)

Yep, that temp is normal.

[cliaru]

All in all, the system is done... However!

The computer freezes up now and then. So far, from what I can tell, this only happened when I was watching Hulu videos, for about 30 seconds to a minute. After that the computer unfroze.

Computer also froze when I tried to play Skyrim (on Ultra settings, the only game I tried out so far), everytime about 5 seconds into the game. I think the power supply may be too weak. Is this possible? If I have to switch out the PSU, would it change any configurations on my computer?

[RickyTick]

Not likely to be the psu.

Sounds more like driver issues. Uninstall the video driver and then download and re-install the latest driver from www.nvidia.com. SLI can be problematic.

Monitor the temps of the cpu and gpu just to make sure there's not a problem there.

[ARchamps]

Does that only happen during those 2 tasks? Try taking one of your 570s out and see if it still freezes. That would help to narrrow the problem. Update your driver, like RickyTick said. The newest driver had some updates specifically for Skyrim. See this thread (http://www.evga.com/forums/tm.aspx?m=1174372)for how to clean uninstall/install NVIDIA drivers to avoid problems.

I doubt it is the PSU. 850W should be more than adequate. Last thing I can think of is SSD.. although I doubt it. Make sure the firmware is up to date.

[cliaru]

Thanks for the suggestion guys. I'll check it out as soon as I'm not to busy!

[cliaru]

Well, I haven't reinstalled the drivers or anything but the freezing occurs much less frequently now. Temperature is not the problem; when I was playing graphic heavy games the cpu temp was around mid 50's and the gpu's were at mid 70's to low 80's. I was able to play Skyrim for about couple hours without any problems. When I was doing simple tasks (surfing the web, etc.) the issue came up every now and then. I don't know what triggers these things, but one time the screen turned off briefly and when it came back a message said that there was something wrong with the display and it recovered so it seems like it's a graphics driver issue.

Anyways, thank you all so much. I couldn't have done it without you guys!

[ARchamps]

Glad it worked out!