My 2011 build/parts acquired so far...

[JohnSpartan]

Well my 2011 gaming machine build has begun. Here are the parts I have so far:

Mainboard
ASUS P8Z68-V-PRO
http://www.guru3d.com/article/asus-p8z68-v-pro-review

Processor
Intel Core i7 2600K

Graphics Cards
ZOTAC GeForce GTX 580
http://www.zotacusa.com/zotac-amp2-gefo ... 3-10p.html

Memory
Corsair Vengeance Heatspreader 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600MHz
http://www.corsair.com/vengeance-8gb-du ... 600c8.html

What do you think of this so far? Any suggestions for Power Supplies, cases, etc.?

[Mad-Mike]

Well my 2011 gaming machine build has begun. Here are the parts I have so far:

Mainboard
ASUS P8Z68-V-PRO
ASUS P8Z68 V PRO Intel Z68 review

Processor
Intel Core i7 2600K

Graphics Cards
ZOTAC GeForce GTX 580
ZOTAC GeForce GTX 580 3GB 384-bit GDDR5 (772 MHz/4008 MHz) Graphics Card [ZT-50103-10P]

Memory
Corsair Vengeance Heatspreader 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600MHz
Vengeance? ? 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 Memory Kit (CMZ8GX3M2A1600C

What do you think of this so far? Any suggestions for Power Supplies, cases, etc.?

Nice choice of everything so far, personaly would of gone for better RAM.
What else are you planning to get in the future?

[JohnSpartan]

A 750w PSU, which I'm hoping is enough, and maybe this case - Thermaltakeusa?Chassis?Mid Tower?Armor Series?Armor A90 : Armor A90 VL90001W2Z

Should I go for a full tower case instead?

[SlLeNceR]

how much is all this costing you so far?

[JohnSpartan]

About $1,071.70 USD so far.

[Mad-Mike]

A 750w PSU, which I'm hoping is enough, and maybe this case - Thermaltakeusa?Chassis?Mid Tower?Armor Series?Armor A90 : Armor A90 VL90001W2Z

Should I go for a full tower case instead?

Not sure on PSU myself, I was getting a 750w psu at first. But I had a lot of people telling me 750w would be scraping it and telling me to get 800-1000 psu to be on the safe side.
Anyway I got the 1000psu for future wise.

The case is very style-ish, I like it. But you might need to go bigger....

**
CPU cooler height limitation: 180mm
**
Graphic card length limitation: 260mm

That quote is from your case specs, so make sure you dont go bigger than that on the CPU cooler and your graphics card is to big for that recommended size^

Edit: saying that though I have a Midi case and a 580 and mine fits ok :/

[JohnSpartan]

I am definately going to be measuring every thing I have so far just to be sure. Also, a friend of mine has the same case with somewhat similar hardware as me. I can always look at his machine to get an idea of the space i'll be working on.

Now I have been looking at some high end bare bones kit as well to get an idea of the hardware I'll need. So far I seem to be saving more than if I were to have started with a barebones kit. It also seems that a lot of these kits that come with overclocked i7 CPUs and 8GB RAM come with 750watt PSU. So I'm thinking I might be safe at 750w with only my RAM kit requiring overclock.

[JohnSpartan]

I think I've decided on a PSU - GX 750W - Cooler Master

It's supposed to have it's own built-in power protection of some sort, so would I still need a UPS Backup?

[Pedz]

I think I've decided on a PSU - GX 750W - Cooler Master

It's supposed to have it's own built-in power protection of some sort, so would I still need a UPS Backup?

Even if the PSU doesn't have built in power protection, you can get a surge protection extension/ multi connection plug adapter for about ?5. So I am not sure if that's necessary? But the PSU seems good yes

[JohnSpartan]

Quick question, after building my machine and installing the OS (windows 7), do I need to install everything from the DVD that came with the motherboard? Or only what I need like the Intel Chipset driver, Audio Driver, etc.? Or will Win 7 install the correct drivers for these itself?

Also, there is something called A.I. Suite II included in my MOBO package. Does anyone recommend installing this?

[Mad-Mike]

I would personally install everything that comes with the motherboard driver to get the best performance.
I know when I didnt some ports was not working correctly, eg. like the enthernet port.

[JohnSpartan]

I would personally install everything that comes with the motherboard driver to get the best performance.
I know when I didnt some ports was not working correctly, eg. like the enthernet port.

So I guess even if Win7 installs some things for the MOBO, these are merely Generic drivers?

[Mad-Mike]

I guess so ye, not 100% sure though. I have always installed them anyway just to be safe because sometimes I aint got a clue what win7 has installed and what it hasnt. It may of missed somthing important aswell.

Best just to install any drivers that comes with all your hardware then have a look on the official site to see if there is updates.

[Pedz]

Some things the programs that you install from the Motherboard CD do is overclocking and monitoring and that kind of thing. Although some of them are useless, or can make things work( THX audio for the MSI motherboards makes the audio sound awful). Just pick and choose what you want, you can always install it all, find out whats rubbish, and go through the "add or remove a program" system to remove the ones you don't want.

[JohnSpartan]

Does anyone know why there is two drivers in the MOBO DVD for my motherboard LAN? One is from INTEL, the other is from REALTEK.

[Pedz]

Does anyone know why there is two drivers in the MOBO DVD for my motherboard LAN? One is from INTEL, the other is from REALTEK.

Are there two ports on the back of the MOBO?

If so, one is controlled by the Intel CPU/chipset.
While the other is controlled by an additional REALTEK controller.

Use the Intel ethernet port if you have the choice.

[JohnSpartan]

Are there two ports on the back of the MOBO?

If so, one is controlled by the Intel CPU/chipset.
While the other is controlled by an additional REALTEK controller.

Use the Intel ethernet port if you have the choice.

I only have one ethernet port and on the manual it's labeled as an "Intel" port.

[JohnSpartan]

Stuff acquired this past week -

GX 750W - Cooler Master PSU

1TB SATA 6.0GB/s SEAGATE HDD

LG BluRay Drive

[JohnSpartan]

Can anyone suggest a good flash media drive? Should I get an external or an internal drive?

[Pedz]

Can anyone suggest a good flash media drive? Should I get an external or an internal drive?

Read through this post,
https://www.realitymod.com/forum/f329-h ... grade.html

Rhino's been looking for a good SSD (I assume thats what you mean by flash media drive?).

Also the preference of internal or external is up to you. Bare in mind that if you get an external, make sure it is e-sata. Then make sure you have an estata port on your motherboard hooked upto a sata connection (or just hooked up to the back anyway). e-sata is pretty much the same as a normal sata(internal) connection, so nothing lost, you may need to have a power brick, depends if you have a power-e-sata port .