KarachiDevil's Core-i7 Gaming Build

Hi folks!

Today I will be posting a build I have helped a friend make. He had a healthy budget for this one so I decided to suggest him the best parts his hard earned money can buy. Also on a side note I have decided on splitting my builds in to two distinct categories : The Kiyoshi Builds and the KarachiDevil builds. The Kiyoshi Builds will be more budget friendly, lower on power and meant more for varied tasks whereas the KarachiDevil builds will be the gaming builds. This way it will be easier to go directly to the build you have in mind. With that I will be renaming the Audiophile build as the Kiyoshi Audiophile build and the first Kiyoshi build as a KarachiDevil build.

In case you were wondering what KarachiDevil stands for, it is my gaming id on almost all the games I play. Okay, on wards with the build.

CASE:


CORSAIR Graphite Series 600T (http://www.corsair.com)

Supported Motherboards : Micro ATX / ATX
5.25" Drive Bays : 4
3.5" Drive Bays : 6 (built-in compatibility for SSDs)
Expansion Slots : 8
Dimensions : 23.30in x 10.40in x 20.00in
Price : US$ 159.99

The mesh side panel can accommodate up to four 120mm fans. It also has a USB 3.0 connector on the front panel ad a four-channel fan controller. Plus it look absolutely gorgeous. Also comes in white (which is my favorite.)









CPU:


Intel Core i7-3770K (http://www.intel.com)

Core Clock : 3.5GHz
Max Turbo : 3.9GHz
4-Core, 8-Threads
L3 Cache : 8MB
L2 Cache : 4 x 256KB
Price : US$ 349.99

The Third Generation Core Series draws less power than its predecessor but on the downside it may run hotter than before. Nothing a good cooler can't fix though.




MOTHERBOARD:


ASRock Z77 Extreme4 (http://www.asrock.com/)

Memory Supported :Max 32GB
PCI E 3.0 x16 : 2 ,PCI E x1 : 2 ,PCI : 2
SATA Connectors : 4xSATA 3Gb/s, 4xSATA 6Gb/s
Dimensions : 12in x 8.6in
Price : US$ 134.99

The smaller brother of the Extreme6 featured before. Good, solid option to go for.




VIDEO CARD:


EVGA GeForce GTX 670 FTW (http://www.evga.com)

Interface : PCI E 3.0 x16
Core Clock : 1006 MHz
Boost Clock : 1084 MHz
CUDA Cores : 1344
Memory : 2GB 256-bit GDDR5
Ports : 1 HDMI, 1 DisplayPort, 2 DVI
Power Connectors : 2 x 6 Pin
Dimensions : 10in x 4.38in
Price : US$ 419.99

A solid choice for the NVIDIA enthusiast (which he is.)







SOUND CARD:


CREATIVE Sound Blaster Recon3D (http://www.creative.com)

Channels : 5.1
Sample Rate : 96KHz
SNR : 102dB
Interface : PCI Express x1
Price : US$ 99.99

I had to convince him to include the card, but once he heard the sound, all is good. Get a sound card if you can. You just will not believe the difference it makes over on-board audio.









RAM:


CORSAIR Dominator Platinum (http://www.corsair.com)

Capacity : 2 x 4GB
Speed : 1866
Voltage : 1.5V
Timing : 9-10-9-27
CAS Latency: 9
Price : US$ 84.99

With improved cooling and slick design, we were sold on this as soon as the picture was seen. Comes with an integrated light bar which can be swapped for different colors which are due to come out soon.





POWER SUPPLY:


CORSAIR Professional Series Gold AX750 (http://www.corsair.com)

Max Power : 750W
Active PFC
PCI - E Connectors : 4 x 6+2-Pin
SATA Connectors : 12
Fully Modular
80+ Gold Certified
Price : US$ 169.99

I was for the TX750 that I bought but he wanted 80+ Gold so this is the one we chose. Super quite, super efficient and fully modular for a clutter free case.




LIQUID COOLING:


CORSAIR H80 Liquid CPU Cooler (http://www.corsair.com)

Radiator Dimensions : 120 x 152 x 38 mm
Fan Dimensions : 120 x 120 x 25 mm x2 fans
RPMs : 1300 (LN), 2000 (Balanced), 2500 (HP)
Air Flow : 46-92 CFM
Fan Noise : 22-39 dB
Price : US$ 104.99

Didn't have room in the budget for a custom liquid cooling option so we went for this and fans on the mesh to cool the video card. You can replace the fans with some other ones if the sound is too loud for you.




HARD DRIVES:


CORSAIR Force Series GT SSD (http://www.corsair.com)

Capactiy : 120GB
Interface : SATA III
Max. Seq. Read : Up to 555MB/s
Max. Seq. Write : Up to 515MB/s
Price : US$ 129.99

A great SSD for gaming with good reliability and awesome speeds. Install your OS on this and watch it fly! Install it for quick boots and quick loads of your favorite applications/games.






Based up on my recommendation, he had previously bought a WD Caviar Black 1TB Drive so we did not buy a storage drive. but if you want here are a few good ones you can consider.
Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 7200 RPM 64 MB Cache US$ 119.99 (Great for games & fast access.)
HGST Deskstar 7K3000 2TB 7200RPM 64 MB Cache US$ 134.99
Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200RPM 32MB Cache US$ 99.99 (All three are SATA III)

TOTAL:


US$ 1654.91

The total may seem a bit excessive to some but what you could do is swap out some of the parts. For example you could get a cheaper case, go for air cooling, get a bronze or silver rated power supply and got a smaller SSD or skip it all together. This kind of build will ensure great performance, future proofing as the case can hold more things and with some good cooling, very low operating temperatures.

Well that is it for this post. Be on the lookout for the competition which will start soon.

Till then,
Kiyoshi Out!
Psst... Hey... Spread the word! +1, Subscribe,Tweet ^_^ Thank you for reading. 

KarachiDevil's Core-i5 Build

Hi Folks!

So today was my day off and after I slept for the majority of the morning, I am now awake and refreshed and wanted to post a build that I thought would be good for any games that are out right now and you should be able to play them at max settings. I will also list the prices for everything and the totals. I will be posting more builds in the near future as well as some other exciting posts that you should stay tuned for!

Today's build will be a Intel-Nvidia build. This should ensure some serious performance and room for a lot of overclocking.

CASE:


NZXT Phantom 410

The Mid-Tower brother of the Phantom, it has an adjustable interior pivot fan slot for directional air flow.

Dimensions : 20.94in x 8.46in x 20.31in.
Price : US$ 99.99










CPU:


Intel Core i5-3570K

The replacement for the phenomenal i5-2500K, it draws less power than it's predecessor and has a little bit more headroom for performance.

Stock Clock : 3.4 Ghz
Price : US$ 239.99











MOTHERBOARD:


ASRock Z77 Extreme6

Features 2 PCI-E 3.0 x16 slots and 4 SATA III Connectors, the Extreme 6 is a very good Z77 board.

Dimensions : 12.0in x 9.6in
Price : US$ 174.99









VIDEO CARD:


EVGA GeForce GTX 560-Ti 448 Ultra Classified

The 448 Cores version of a very good card, EVGAs version is going be a very good and a very stable card to buy.

Dimensions : 10.5in x 4.68in
Core Clock : 810Mhz
Memory : 320-bit 1280MB GDDR5
3-Way SLI Capable
Price : US$ 299.99










SOUND CARD:


CREATIVE Sound Blaster Recon3D

One of my favorite gaming centered sound card, the Recon 3D has a Quad-Core Audio Processor for gaming audio and crystal-clear voice communications. It is engineered for low-power consumption.

Connector: PCI-E x1 Slot
Price : US$ 99.99















RAM:


G.SKILL Sniper Series

One of my favorite RAM. It is Intel XMP Ready.

Speed : DDR3 1866
Capacity 8GB (2 x 4GB)
Timing : 9-10-9-28
Voltage : 1.5V
Price : US$ 59.99






POWER SUPPLY:


CORSAIR TX750M

The Modular Version of my PSU, It is a great Power Supply with very quiet operation and long life. Modular helps keeps air flow open and uninterrupted.

PCI-E Connector : 4 x 6+2-Pin
SATA Connector : 8
Dimensions : 5.9in x 3.4in x 6.3in
Price : US$ 119.99








CPU COOLER:


AIR COOLING:


COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO

The next iteration of the incredibly popular and efficient Hyper 212, The EVO has four direct contact heat pipes.

Dimensions : 120mm fan, Heatsink 120mm x 80mm x 159mm
Price : $33.99









LIQUID COOLING:


CORSAIR H80 Liquid CPU Cooler

The newer i5 gives an incredible amount of heat and as such, a liquid cooler might be better for your build if you want do extreme overclocking or want your cpu to operate at very low temperatures. It includes a double-thick radiator and two 120mm fans.

Radiator Dimensions : 230mm x 152mm x 38mm
Price : US$ 104.99








HARD DRIVE:


Western Digital 1TB

THE WDC Black Edition is designed for high performance and such would be a perfect fit for your gaming computer.

Speed :  7200RPM
Interface : SATA III (6.0Gb/s)
Cache : 64MB
Price: US$ 119.99
















MONITOR:


ACER G235H Abd

A Great monitor to go with your build, it is a perfect fit with your 560Ti 448.

Max Resolution : 1920 x 1080
Response Time : 5ms
Features VESA Wall Mounting : 100mm x 100mm
Price : US$ 139.99









TOTALS:


Total with Air Cooling : US$ 1148.92 (No Monitor)
Total with Liquid Cooling : US$ 1219.92 (No Monitor)

That is one of the builds in my mind that would give you stellar performance all across the board. Of course when making your build, you can substitute parts as you desire, however this will give you a good reference to base your build upon.

That is all for now folks, as always please +1, subscribe, spread the word if you like what you read and any comments are always welcome.

Kiyoshi out.

Intel CPUs - Ivy Bridge

Hi folks,

Today is my day off so I wanted to use this opportunity to talk about Intel's latest offering in the CPU world, namely, the Intel Ivy Bridge Processors. It represents the "tick" in Intel's tick-tock model. If you are new to the computer components world, you might be wondering what it means. Fear not! for I shall help explain this model to you to the best of my abilities and understanding.

Intel uses the Tick-Tock model to release CPUs consistently without a break. A "tick" represents a refinement of the current micro-architecture by reducing the size and increasing transistor density which may enable new capabilities, higher performance levels and greater energy efficiency. A "tock" is a whole new architecture Intel will build based on the manufacturing technology used in the previous "tick" cycle.

The current Ivy Bridge is therefore the "tick" based on the Sandy Bridge line from Intel. Whereas the Sandy Bridge was based on a 32nm Fabrication Process, the Ivy Bridge is based on the 22nm Fabrication Process.

Intel Core i5-3570K

Set by Intel as the replacement to the ever favorite i5-2500K, the 3570K is a worthy successor to the 2500K. Same as the 2500k it does not feature Hyper-Threading but as before, in most cases you will not feel that the 3570K is under powered in any way. The 3570K is faster across the board than the 2500K with a difference of up to 10% in most benchmarks. It does however feature lower power consumption and combined with the Z77 motherboard, will provide a host of new features. However, it unfortunately also has a higher operation temperature.
So should you get it? That is an interesting question as the 3570K is clearly better but the margin is such that an argument could be made against updating your hardware. My thoughts are as follows. People will 2500K already in there system can safely stay with it unless they are the kind of people who want the newest hardware as soon as it comes out. If however you are building a new system, you might as well get the newer CPU as it is overall better than the 2500K, even if the margin is slim. Selling for $239.99.

Intel Core i7-3770K

The story for the 3770K is pretty similar to the story of the 3570K. Difference between the 3770K and 2700K is marginal at best. The biggest difference is that the video solution provided by the on-chip video is much better. That is a nice feature to think about if you are going for entry level builds and for providing simpler solutions for everyday computer work and, at best entry level gaming. Anything more and you are going to be looking at a dedicated video card anyways. As before if you are a new computer builder or a die-hard enthusiast, go for it but for most of everybody else, you can wait for the "tock". Selling for $349.99.

Intel Motherboard 2

Hi everyone!

I will now briefly return to the world of Intel Motherboards as I had left the post incomplete last time. Today we will be talking about the LGA2011 socket and the LGA1155 (which contains both the Ivy Bridge and the Sandy Bridge.)

LGA2011


The LGA2011 is Intel's Enthusiast Extreme line of CPUs which represent what the Intel platform is truly capable of. The 2011 is also quad channel ram compatible and also supports PCI-E 3.0.

ASRock X79 Extreme6

One of ASRock's best selling 2011 motherboards, the Extreme6 comes with a host of good options and a very nifty color scheme. Supporting a maximum of 64GB Ram in a Quad Channel Setup, The Extreme6 also has 3 PCI-E 3.0 x16 slots. 5 Sata III connectors and 4 USB 3.0 connectors. Selling for $249.99.









Other Good ASRock Motherboards are :
Fatal1ty X79 Champion
X79 Extreme9



Gigabyte G1.Assassin2



The G1 series is Gigabyte's gaming motherboard series and as such is good at overclocking and also features a Creative CA20K2 chip which provides support for X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity and EAX Advanced HD 5.0 Supports a maximum of 32GB Ram with 3 PCI-E 3.0 x16 connectors, 4 Sata III and 2 USB3.0 connectors. Selling for $349.99.







ASUS Rampage IV Extreme

Another great motherboard from ASUS. Supports 64GB of Ram and 5 PCI-E 3.0 x 16 slots, 4 SATA III connectors and 4 USB3.0 connectors. You can never go wrong with ASUS! Selling for $429.99.













LGA1155


For a while now, one of the main complaints against Intel was that they would change their cpu socket with every new release which in turn prompted people to buy new motherboards thereby increasing their expenditure. Intel listened this and when it introduced the 3rd Generation of Intel CPUs, it kept them on the same socket type (LGA1155.)

ASRock Fatal1ty Z77 Professional

The Fatal1ty Professional is a rock solid motherboard which supports 32GB of Ram in Dual Channel mode, 2 PCI-E 3.0 x16 slots, 1 PCI-E 2.0 x16 slot, 6 SataIII connectors and 6 USB3.0 connectors. Retailing for $229.99.











Other good boards from ASRock are
Z77 Extreme9
Z77 Pro4-M (A Micro-ATX Board)



Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H

A good budget option from Gigabyte it supports 32GB of Ram, 1 PCI-E 3.0 x16 slot, 1 PCI-E 2.0 x16 slot, 2 Sata III Connectors and 4 USB3.0 connectors. Retailing for $119.99










Other good boards from Gigabyte are
G1.Sniper 3
GA-Z77X-UD5H-WB WiFi


ASUS Maximus V Gene

An amazing Micro ATX gaming board offering from ASUS. Supports 32GB Ram, 2 PCI-E 2.0 x16 slots , 4 SATA III connectors and 4 USB3.0 connectors. It also boasts a SupremeFX III audio chipset. Retailing for $209.99










Other good boards from ASUS are
P8Z77 WS
P8Z77-V LE
Sabertooth Z77

And there you have it folks! The latest, and in my view great motherboards for Intel. Next post I will talk about the 3rd Generation Intel Processors but until then,

Kiyoshi Out! ^_^

Intel Motherboards

Wow! I finally get time to sit down and continue writing. Can not wait for the holidays to get over! This is one of the few Saturday's I've had to work and I did not like it one bit. Anyways let's attempt to put the work week behind us shall we? This post I will be talking about the world of Intel motherboards. In line with powerful Intel CPUs, Intel based motherboards also have some really powerful options. As usual I will be mentioning boards that have caught my eye and I feel are good buys. We will start of with LGA1366 then move to LGA1155 finally ending with Intel's newest, LGA2011.

LGA1366


The motherboard, next to the cpu is the most important component of the build as it will determine which and how many video cards will you be putting in your system, how much ram will you be able to install, how many usb ports will you have, how many hard drives/optical drives can you have in your system. Get a good motherboard and it will reward you with stable performance and more enjoyment out of your build. Some good companies to note are Asus, msi, Gigabyte, ASRock and EVGA.

ASRock X58 Extreme 3

The multiple award winning Extreme 3 is a very solid choice for people who want a very good motherboard within a reasonable budget. Currently selling for $169.99, this board supports ATI CrossFireX, 3-Way CrossFireX, Quad CrossFireX, NVIDIA SLI and Quad SLI. You can install a maximum of 24GB Ram in Triple Channel. It has 2 PCI-E 2.0 x16 slots, 1 PCI-E x16 slot, 1 PCI-E x1 and two PCI slots. For storage devices it still has a PATA connector which lets you connect 2 IDE devices. On the Sata side it has 6 SATA 3Gb/s connectors which support Raid 0, Raid 1, Raid 10, Raid 5 and Intel Matrix Storage and 2 SATA 6Gb/s connectors which support Raid 0 & 1. It has support for both USB 3.0 and USB 2.0. Head on over to either the ASRock website link I have proivded or the NewEgg one for complete specifications. If you have any other questions about any Computer products, I will always be glad to help with more detail. One thing I will mention is the size. This is a ATX form factor board with Dimensions of 12.0" x 9.6" inches (304.8mm x 243.84mm.) Knowing the size of the motherboard is very important to ensure that it will fit inside your case.

ASUS Rampage III Formula

ASUS is a company you will become well acquainted with as you dwelve deeper into the world of PC Building. They are a very big player in motherboards and video cards and you cannot go wrong with nearly any ASUS product. The Rampage III is a overclockers dream come true. It is from their ROG (Republic of Gamers) line which uses creates ASUS idea of the best possible products. It also has a SoundBlaster SupremeFX X-Fi 2 built into the motherboard to provide you with amazing sound. Features 3 PCI-E 2.0 x16 slots,  24GB Triple Channel RAM (which can be overclocked to DDR3 2200!), 6 SATA 3Gb/s and 2 SATA 6GB/s. 2 Rear Panel USB 3.0 and 7 USB 2.0/1.1 slots with an additional 2 USB connectors to give you 4 more USB 2.0 ports. One of the best boards you can buy which will let you overclock with ease. Selling for $275.99, it is a ATX form factor with Dimensions of 12.0"x 9.6" inches (304.8mm x 243.84mm.) Asus also has a microATX Rampage III Gene and a Rampage III Black Edition which is an Extended ATX Form Factor (E-ATX.)

Another good option from ASUS is the Sabertooth X58 which has cermaic coating for better cooling and system stability. Selling for $194.99.

Other interesting boards are the Gigabyte G1.Assassin  which is a very good gaming board selling for $379.99, EVGA 141-GT-E770-A1 which is an E-ATX offering from EVGA and also the EVGA X58 FTW3. The 141 GT is selling for $329.99 while the FTW3 comes for $249.99.

For my money I would go with the Rampage III. Asus has the reputation for making some of the best motherboards and they always love to push the envelope with their ROG series. Price wise it falls somewhere in the middle which also a very good thing.




But hey tell me something..... do you have money to burn? I mean lots of money? Then try this motherboard, the EVGA Classified SR-2. Has slots for two (YES TWO!!) Intel Xeon CPUs along with 7 (SEVEN Dude SEVEN!) PCI-E 2.0 x16 slots and up to 48GB of RAM. Selling for $579.99.




I would go on with LGA 1155 and LGA 2011 motherboard but I am very tired from today. I will make sure to complete this post tomorrow at the earliest.

Till then Good Night everybody. (YAWN!.....zzzzz)
Sleepy Kiyoshi signs out.....