New Build - Please Review

[Kryx]

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming, Browsing, HTPC, rare photoshop, Web development. I currently play Tera, but enjoy other big games like Assassin's Creed.
I'm looking for a solid build that will last me many years (besides upgrading the graphics card in a few years).

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$800-1200. Yes include tax&ship. I'm willing to adjust.

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
San Francisco, California USA

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, Case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
Case, PSU, Motherboard, CPU, RAM, CPU Heatsink

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Crucial M4 256GB
Caviar Black 750GB
XFX Radeon HD 6850 1GB (P450-6850)

6) Will you be overclocking?
CPU yes, GPU yes.

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
I have a U3011 - so 2560x1600
I also have an old 20", but I will probably replace that sometime soon.

I know a better graphics card would be better for U3011. I'll probably do it in a year or two.

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Before August. I will be out of the country then so maybe the sooner the better in case parts die. Though I'll wait if there is something amazing coming in a few weeks.

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
USB 3.0, SATA 6Gb/s, onboard sound, onboard NIC.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Keeping Hard Drives, so yes.
Win 7 64bit Ultimate.

I shop via Amazon Prime.

Here are the items I'm looking at currently:
Case: Corsair 500R
PSU: Corsair 650W Modular
Motherboard: ASUS Sabertooth Z77
Ram: G.Skill RipjawsX PC3-14900 16GB
CPU: i5-3570k
CPU Heatsink: Corsair 100H

Current total is $1,070.91. Any suggestions?
I know I could do microcenter and save about $30 on the CPU, but that involves a lot of driving and gas so it most likely evens out and is not worth the effort.

Thanks!

 

[Sn0_Man]

I will say that you really don't need i7 for your uses. If you: Run virtual machines, do a LOT of video editing, or a lot of Computer Assisted Design, then you could justify the extra cost, but you didn't list any of that. So I'd recommend an i5-3570K which should be exactly the same speed for everything that you do, and $110 cheaper. That is most likely the easiest way to save on this build (at absolutely no loss to performance).

Next up, the RAM. Current Intel processors have been proven not to benefit from anything over DDR3 1600. Really, there is essentially no benefit over DDR3 1333 but most people opt for 1600 since it costs about the same. Additionally, it is impossible to use over 8GB of RAM currently without doing (as above) a lot of VM's, video editing or Computer Assisted Design. Since you didn't list any of those, 8GB is actually solid future-proofing. I get the impression you like your components to look impressive so something like this should work for you. Don't forget that this leaves you with expandability if this ever becomes an issue (it won't).

I really can't comment on case/PSU cuz I don't know much about either.

 

[Kryx]

I will say that you really don't need i7 for your uses.

Ya, I was just reviewing that decision as you posted and I will go with the i5. Thanks!

Next up, the RAM. Current Intel processors have been proven not to benefit from anything over DDR3 1600.

Do you have benchmarks that show this? http://benchmark reviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=773&Itemid=67&limit=1&limitstart=4 shows otherwise. (site will not let me link it so copy+paste and remove the space)

Also I know there isn't a huge advantage of 16GB over 8GB, but I figure why not for $50. I could always make a Ram disk.

 

[Sn0_Man]

I'm too lazy to go dig out benchmarks. Here is what I'll say: noticeable differences only occur in synthetic benchmarks, and/or programs that we recently established you won't be running. However, RAM really just isn't that expensive so if you feel the need, by all means blow the cash.

Do note that Intel processors contain onboard memory controllers rated at 1600MHz tops...

 

[Dangman]

Motherboard: ASUS Sabertooth Z77

Good motherboard but a tad overpriced for what it offers. I recommend this MSI instead:
http://www.amazon.com/MSI-Z77A-GD65...=UTF8&qid=1340746745&sr=1-1&keywords=MSI+GD65

Ram: G.Skill RipjawsX PC3-14900 16GB

As Sn0_Man noted, you don't need RAM that fast

Do you have benchmarks that show this? http://benchmark reviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=773&Itemid=67&limit=1&limitstart=4 shows otherwise. (site will not let me link it so copy+paste and remove the space)

I do:
http://techreport.com/articles.x/20377
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4503/sandy-bridge-memory-scaling-choosing-the-best-ddr3
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/memory/2011/01/11/the-best-memory-for-sandy-bridge/1

Basically, the performance is very miniscule and really only noticeable with synthetic benchmarks or crazy people.

 

[plagas]

I personally would get the h80 instead. The h100 is basically no difference.

 

[Kryx]

I personally would get the h80 instead. The h100 is basically no difference.

http://images.anandtech.com/graphs/graph5054/42196.png
http://images.anandtech.com/graphs/graph5054/42197.png

Different enough for me.

 

[Kryx]

Ordered yesterday. Thanks guys!