Virgil's new work mule

[Grauniad]

Evil...

[Blaze]

But... I enjoy the sound of a ticking clock....

[Grauniad]

OK, I don't think that the Newwgg RMA process (with the free return shipping  of Shoprunner) is so onerous and it only costs 15% of the purchase price. SO if there is a reasonable chance that you will be OK with the cheaper Seasonic, then I think you should consider evaluating the noise issue in person. Otherwise we should shop around a little more.

I'm going to look around.  In a previous post I linked to Techpowerup roundup of PSUs. That may be a starting point.

[Grauniad]

For your consideration I present this power supply:

XFX P1-850B-BEFX 850W: Price $130 before the #30 rebate, OEM is the Seasonic X-series and similar to the highly-rated Corsair AX-series.

Hardwaresecrets reviewed it and you should be able to find a few more reviews if you search...

[knucracker]

Very nice... and much more affordable.  It's even short enough to not cover the bottom case fan slot it would seem.  Looks like a winner.

That (with rebates, and ignoring shipping) brings me down under $2100 (not including the nvidia shield toy).  I can live with that...
So maybe I will pull the trigger on this stuff in another day or so.

[knucracker]

Take a look at this:
http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/X79%20Extreme6/?cat=Memory

I actually don't see the memory I have currently selected in the wish list in this chart.  If I go here http://www.gskill.com/en/product/f3-1866c10q-32gab then click on the QVL/AsRock tab, I see the extreme6 listed, but it says 'x8 DIMM'.

So, does this mean that 4 of these 8G sticks actually don't (or might not) work with this motherboard?  It's a shame if not.  Newegg has added a 10% off on that memory for the next few days.

--edit--
Found this in one of the motherboard reviews:
--
Other Thoughts: I can't count RAM issues I have had as a Con, because I knew going in that the G.Skill Z Series 1866 8x4GB kit I bought for this was not on the official support list.

The RAM is slightly unstable at it's rated speed of 1866, but operates beautifully at 1600.

I could probably push the voltage on the memory controller and get it to operate at the higher speed, but honestly, I am very happy with my 3930k @ 4.6 Ghz just the way it is.

The RAMDisk software is a nice freebee. I don't think the FastLAN does much to speed my connection, but it does a nice job of monitoring traffic in an easy to read, real time format.

System main components for those interested in compatibility:

* Intel Core i7-3930K Sandy Bridge-E 3.2GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 2011 130W Six-Core Desktop Processor BX80619i73930K

* G.SKILL Ripjaws Z Series 32GB (8 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) Desktop Memory Model F3-14900CL9Q2-32GBZL

* XFX Double D FX-795A-TDFC Radeon HD 7950 3GB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
--

[Grauniad]

...

[knucracker]

The post marked "best solution" here is interesting.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/313647-30-32gb-asrock-extreme6

It basically says that higher voltages are required for >1600 memory... and that higher voltage can be a bad thing.
This is the mem he recommends:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226317&nm_mc=OTC-pr1c3grabb3r&cm_mmc=OTC-pr1c3grabb3r-_-Memory+(Desktop+Memory)-_-Mushkin+Enhanced-_-20226317

[knucracker]

Alright... I think that wish list may be in it's final form.  I'm going to take a mandatory 1+ hour wait then pull the trigger on it.

I've updated the memory to lower priced but better timing memory that should in theory work on that ASRock motherboard.
I went with the XFX power supply.
I've taken the keyboard out of the wishlist.
I have left the 500GB 840 evo.  The plan is put the 500GB evo, my existing 256GB 840 pro, and a 1TB drive in the new system.  I'll use the 500GB evo for the system drive and not be terrible stingy about what I have installed (like I am now).  The 256GB 840 pro will be for my dev tree.  The 1tb will be for bulk storage.
I removed the blueray drive and replaced with a commodity dvd writer from LG.  I already have a blueray drive in my current system I will relocate to the new system (where it can sit unused).

Once promo codes are applied and rebates received, the price for everything will be under $2k (not including the nvidia Shield toy).

[Grauniad]

Awesome... can we come and play on it? :P

Here's how I think it works out if you buy everything from Newegg (minus the Shield Bundle, which adds the Nvidia Shield and $200 to the price).

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU:  Intel Core i7-4820K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($304.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard:  ASRock X79 Extreme6 ATX LGA2011 Motherboard  ($226.13 @ Newegg)
Memory:  Crucial Ballistix Tactical 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($55.25 @ Newegg)
Memory:  Crucial Ballistix Tactical 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($55.25 @ Newegg)
Memory:  Crucial Ballistix Tactical 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($55.25 @ Newegg)
Memory:  Crucial Ballistix Tactical 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($55.25 @ Newegg)
Storage:  Samsung 840 EVO 500GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  ($339.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card:  MSI GeForce GTX 770 4GB Video Card  ($390.91 @ Newegg)
Case:  Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($113.58 @ Newegg)
Power Supply:  XFX ProSeries 850W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply  ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive:  Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer  ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System:  Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro - OEM (64-bit)  ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Other: Intel BXTS13X Liquid Cooling Thermal Solution for Socket LGA1150/ LGA2011 / LGA1366 / LGA1156 / LGA1155 ($81.99)
Total: $1933.56
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-07 17:46 EST-0500)

I'm looking at it and thinking "This is a high-end system, that simply blows my awesome build right out of the water, yet you're building it to last a year so you can get in sync with the Intel product cycle."  :)

I hope it works well and you get to turn out at least one awesome game on it!

[knucracker]

Welp, the deed is done.  I could only get 2 of the 3 promo codes to work.  They absolutely refused to let me add the promo code for the CPU when I also had the promo code on the memory.  They would take it in the cart, but on the checkout page it refused.  I tried it about 5 times (one way then the other).  I finally just gritted my teeth and moved past it since I was getting tired of entering all of the checkout information each time.  With rebates, though, it still came in below $2k (without shield).  With shield I'm about $150 over budget, but I can live with that.

[Grauniad]

Now we need before and after benchmarks...:-)

[knucracker]

What's the best total benchmark tool to run for easy comparison?

[Grauniad]

I think it's easiest to use the 30-day trail of Passmark Performance Test. That way you can contribute to the very tables and scores we used to evaluate options.

Download it once on your current PC and then again on the new PC.

3DMark Basic is available on Steam, or you can pay $25 for the Advanced version. The differences are described at the link.