The XMEN Clan Forums

opinions?

note* The cooler is supposed to be freaking massive. I just want to play with it, but I'm not married to it at all. The wife IS married to a Thermaltake Level 10 GT Battle Edition case though, so there should be room for it.
Note2* There will be a total of 16GB of RAM. One of the other parts has a RAM deal on it. The current RAM selected matches the free ram that comes as part of that deal.

Qty. Image Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price
1
ASRock 990FX Extreme3 AM3+ AMD 990FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
Model #:990FX Extreme3
Item #:N82E16813157281
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock
$119.99 -$15.00 Instant $104.99
2
SAPPHIRE 100311-3L Radeon HD 6970 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 CrossFireX Support Video Card
Model #:100311-3L
Item #:N82E16814202035
Return Policy:VGA Standard Return Policy
In Stock
$229.99 -$70.00 Instant $319.98
1
Thermaltake SP-1200M 1200W ATX 12V 2.3 & EPS 12V 2.92 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Full Modular Active ...
Model #:SP-1200M
Item #:N82E16817153162
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock
$229.99 -$10.00 Instant $219.99
1
AMD FX-8350 Vishera 4.0GHz (4.2GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 125W Eight-Core Desktop Processor FD8350FRHKBOX
Model #:FD8350FRHKBOX
Item #:N82E16819113284
Return Policy:CPU Replacement Only Return Policy
In Stock
$199.99 $199.99
1
Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Profile Desktop Memory Model BLS2K4G3D1609ES2LX0
Model #:BLS2K4G3D1609ES2LX0
Item #:N82E16820148662
Return Policy:Memory Standard Return Policy
In Stock
$76.99 $76.99
2
Asus VH238H Black 23" Full HD HDMI LED Backlight LCD Monitor w/Speakers
Model #:VH238H
Item #:N82E16824236117
Return Policy:Monitor Standard Return Policy
In Stock
$199.99 -$40.00 Instant $319.98
1
ARCTIC Freezer A30 Extreme CPU Cooler - AMD, 320W Ultimate Cooling Power, Direct-Touch
Model #:ACFZA30
Item #:N82E16835186059
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock
$49.99 -$10.00 Instant $39.99
Subtotal: $1,281.91

Well, I've not researched all your options, but seems like the PSU is _way_ more than sufficient.

Oh, wait - you're using two GPUs. So not as bad as I thought but still looks like maybe more than you need; may want to double-check that.

XMEN Gambit wrote:Well, I've not researched all your options, but seems like the PSU is _way_ more than sufficient.

Oh, wait - you're using two GPUs. So not as bad as I thought but still looks like maybe more than you need; may want to double-check that.

I was under the impression that the the PSU would only pull the wattage that it needs to power components, and not pull the full 1.2KW 100% of the time. Because that is a lot of juice.

Use the powersupply calculator!

http://support.asus.com/powersupply.aspx

It says ~950 watts. I'm not too far off from what I picked up on intuition. Overshot by about 30%. Now to see if I can get a 1KW for cheaper!

You are correct, it does not pull that much all the time. That is the rated value of the PSU; what actually goes on is a lot more complicated and Asha is way more qualified to explain than me. But it boils down to getting the size that you need, and if you get more you're overpaying a little. Some cushion is good, and a PSU is definitely something you don't want acting flaky so quality is important too.

Question... does the wifey really NEED a crossfire solution? A 23" monitor probably isn't going to get the super high res etc that those cards are capable of even standalone.

XMEN Gambit wrote:You are correct, it does not pull that much all the time. That is the rated value of the PSU; what actually goes on is a lot more complicated and Asha is way more qualified to explain than me. But it boils down to getting the size that you need, and if you get more you're overpaying a little. Some cushion is good, and a PSU is definitely something you don't want acting flaky so quality is important too.

Question... does the wifey really NEED a crossfire solution? A 23" monitor probably isn't going to get the super high res etc that those cards are capable of even standalone.

Not necessarily on the crossfire thing. She wants a game machine but I dont think she runs anythign beefier than RIFT or Diablo 3. 1 High-end card could save me a boatload of cheese.

Qty. Image Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price
1 Thermaltake Level 10 GT (VN10001W2N) Black SECC / Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case with Four Fans-1x 200mm Colorshift side fan, 1x 200mm top fan, 1x 200mm front fan and 1x 140mm rear fan
Thermaltake Level 10 GT (VN10001W2N) Black SECC / Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case with Four Fans-1x 200mm Colorshift ...
Model #:VN10001W2N
Item #:N82E16811133188
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock
$269.99 -$20.00 Instant $249.99
2 ASUS VS Series VS238H-P Black 23" 2ms HDMI LED Backlight Widescreen LCD Monitor
ASUS VS Series VS238H-P Black 23" 2ms HDMI LED Backlight Widescreen LCD Monitor
Model #:VS238H-P
Item #:N82E16824236175
Return Policy:Monitor Standard Return Policy
In Stock
$199.99 -$50.00 Instant $299.98
1 ASRock 990FX Extreme3 AM3+ AMD 990FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
ASRock 990FX Extreme3 AM3+ AMD 990FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
Model #:990FX Extreme3
Item #:N82E16813157281
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock
$119.99 -$15.00 Instant $104.99
1 XFX ProSeries P1-1050-BEFX 1050W ATX12V 2.2 / ESP12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply
XFX ProSeries P1-1050-BEFX 1050W ATX12V 2.2 / ESP12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular Active ...
Model #:P1-1050-BEFX
Item #:N82E16817207021
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock
$219.99 -$30.00 Instant $189.99
1 Kingston HyperX 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model KHX1600C9D3K4/16GX
Kingston HyperX 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model KHX1600C9D3K4/16GX
Model #:KHX1600C9D3K4/16GX
Item #:N82E16820104169
Return Policy:Memory Standard Return Policy
In Stock
$159.99 $159.99
1 AMD FX-8350 Vishera 4.0GHz (4.2GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 125W Eight-Core Desktop Processor FD8350FRHKBOX
AMD FX-8350 Vishera 4.0GHz (4.2GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 125W Eight-Core Desktop Processor FD8350FRHKBOX
Model #:FD8350FRHKBOX
Item #:N82E16819113284
Return Policy:CPU Replacement Only Return Policy
In Stock
$199.99 $199.99
1 ARCTIC Freezer A30 Extreme CPU Cooler - AMD, 320W Ultimate Cooling Power, Direct-Touch
ARCTIC Freezer A30 Extreme CPU Cooler - AMD, 320W Ultimate Cooling Power, Direct-Touch
Model #:ACFZA30
Item #:N82E16835186059
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock
$49.99 -$10.00 Instant $39.99
1 PowerColor AX7970 3GBD5-2DHV3 Radeon HD 7970 3GB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
PowerColor AX7970 3GBD5-2DHV3 Radeon HD 7970 3GB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
Model #:AX7970 3GBD5-2DHV3
Item #:N82E16814131468
Return Policy:VGA Standard Return Policy
In Stock
$379.99 $379.99
Subtotal: $1,624.91

If I was paying for it, I'd like the first build better (though you could still sub the PSU) as this one costs more. You could argue this one is more future proof but you'd have to add PSU to add another card for crossfire.

Boils down to what you like and are willing to pay for but I don't see any glaring problems really with either of them. Was just being nitpicky.

I appreciate the nitpickyness. It is precisely what I asked for.