I never called my threads 'Q&A with my new PC' , and dont see a reason to change now. 
The previous threads:
http://forums.massassi.net/vb3/showthread.php?59773-Shameless-Bragging-about-my-New-PC-(2)
http://forums.massassi.net/vb3/showthread.php?56016-Shameless-Bragging-about-my-New-PC
CPU: i7 5960X ($959)
MOBO: AsRock X99 Extreme3 ($210)
RAM: Crucial 16gb DDR4 2133 CL15 ($200)
PSU: Refurbished Corsair TX750 ($50)
GPU:Used 2x 7950 Sapphire Flex OC 3gb ($219)
2x Zotac GTX970 4gb $660
CPU COOLING: Refurbished H110 ($68)
STORAGE PLAN:
CASE: Modded Antec 300 ($55)
OS: Win 8.1 x64 ($85)
TOTAL COST:$2362
$2803
[/B][/B][/B][/B][/B][/B][/B]Part of the motivation for this build, is soon I will be moving in with my girlfriend and will probably have to justify large purchases in our shared budget. So I really needed to go overkill here and make since this will probably need to last me another 3+ years.
So now to explain some of my choices.
The processor is obviously about bragging rights. Would an i7-5820K have been a much smart choice? Absolutely.
The 1tb SSD for Steam is pretty wasteful as well, and it's even more amusing that it performs faster than the SSD that I chose for Windows 8.1.
The AsRock board was literally the cheapest x99 board available at launch. I may have hurt myself here in that I didnt realize this board only has 6 power phases and not 12 like most of the others. It may be responsible for limited my overclock a little but I'm not positive that's the case either. In retrospect, I should have spent another $20 on the motherboard. My thinking was that Intel has always massively over engineered their chipset specifications, so that even low end motherboards prove quite capable, and to it's credit the AsRock x99 Exteme3 has still allowed me to achieve +1.2 ghz over the processors stock speed. I'm currently running @ 4.2ghz, I was hoping for 4.4/4.5ghz and I still havent given up but this is pretty decent for now.
Also the ram and psu were literally the cheapest acceptable components I can find, although I'm quite happy with the performance of both.
The videocards- that probably has some people puzzled. I got them off ebay, they are merely place holders until Nvidia GTX980's become available. (Update- I went with SLI GTX970's) I didnt want to push building the whole PC until then. I think late Oct/Nov is the ETA. To their credit- the 7950's are performing great. I havent seen any Crossfire Issues, Performance is good, and surprisingly they arent that loud. Much improved since the last time I did crossfire with 5870's. I even tried Mantle on Thief, and it was something like a 30% improvement at the highest settings. I'm currently still gaming @ 1080p, but hopefully this build will take me into 4K shortly.
I'm adapting to Windows 8.1 as a 24/7 user ok, although I cheated and bought Start8.
Oh and the Antec 300, it looks like I'm stuck in a rut. Same case for the last 3 builds. I should probably find something that at least has USB3 front ports for my next build. Also because the H110 is a 280mm rad instead of a 240mm it wasnt a perfect fit anymore, I had to cut some of the lowest drive cage away and build a little cage to hold it.
Some Pictures:
The previous threads:
http://forums.massassi.net/vb3/showthread.php?59773-Shameless-Bragging-about-my-New-PC-(2)
http://forums.massassi.net/vb3/showthread.php?56016-Shameless-Bragging-about-my-New-PC
CPU: i7 5960X ($959)
MOBO: AsRock X99 Extreme3 ($210)
RAM: Crucial 16gb DDR4 2133 CL15 ($200)
PSU: Refurbished Corsair TX750 ($50)
GPU:
CPU COOLING: Refurbished H110 ($68)
STORAGE PLAN:
- C: 256gb Adata SP600 SSD for Windows 8.1 ($98)
- D: Samsung 840 EVO 1tb for STEAM ($390)
- E: 2TB Seagate Hybrid Drive for MISC ($99)
- F: Liteon 24x DVD/RW+ ($14)
CASE: Modded Antec 300 ($55)
OS: Win 8.1 x64 ($85)
TOTAL COST:
[/B][/B][/B][/B][/B][/B][/B]Part of the motivation for this build, is soon I will be moving in with my girlfriend and will probably have to justify large purchases in our shared budget. So I really needed to go overkill here and make since this will probably need to last me another 3+ years.
So now to explain some of my choices.
The processor is obviously about bragging rights. Would an i7-5820K have been a much smart choice? Absolutely.
The 1tb SSD for Steam is pretty wasteful as well, and it's even more amusing that it performs faster than the SSD that I chose for Windows 8.1.
The AsRock board was literally the cheapest x99 board available at launch. I may have hurt myself here in that I didnt realize this board only has 6 power phases and not 12 like most of the others. It may be responsible for limited my overclock a little but I'm not positive that's the case either. In retrospect, I should have spent another $20 on the motherboard. My thinking was that Intel has always massively over engineered their chipset specifications, so that even low end motherboards prove quite capable, and to it's credit the AsRock x99 Exteme3 has still allowed me to achieve +1.2 ghz over the processors stock speed. I'm currently running @ 4.2ghz, I was hoping for 4.4/4.5ghz and I still havent given up but this is pretty decent for now.
Also the ram and psu were literally the cheapest acceptable components I can find, although I'm quite happy with the performance of both.
The videocards- that probably has some people puzzled. I got them off ebay, they are merely place holders until Nvidia GTX980's become available. (Update- I went with SLI GTX970's) I didnt want to push building the whole PC until then. I think late Oct/Nov is the ETA. To their credit- the 7950's are performing great. I havent seen any Crossfire Issues, Performance is good, and surprisingly they arent that loud. Much improved since the last time I did crossfire with 5870's. I even tried Mantle on Thief, and it was something like a 30% improvement at the highest settings. I'm currently still gaming @ 1080p, but hopefully this build will take me into 4K shortly.
I'm adapting to Windows 8.1 as a 24/7 user ok, although I cheated and bought Start8.
Oh and the Antec 300, it looks like I'm stuck in a rut. Same case for the last 3 builds. I should probably find something that at least has USB3 front ports for my next build. Also because the H110 is a 280mm rad instead of a 240mm it wasnt a perfect fit anymore, I had to cut some of the lowest drive cage away and build a little cage to hold it.
Some Pictures:
