New Build Assistance

[bulldog08]

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc

Gaming, some video encoding/editing, web browsing, medical related stuff (X-ray, CT Scan and MRI via remote desktop.)

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?

~3,000 including monitor... a little wiggle room is ok here.

3) Where do you live?

Kansas City, MO

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.

RAM, MOBO, hard drives 1 ssd, graphic cards, HSF, blue ray burner/player, windows 7

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.

-SILVERSTONE TJ10-BW Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case
-Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Pro 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card (bought in 2007, still ok to use?)
-SILVERSTONE ST1000 1000W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Active PFC Power Supply (bought in 2007, still ok to use?)
-Logitech G15 2-Tone USB Wired Standard Keyboard
-Logitech G9 Black 9 Buttons Tilt Wheel USB Wired Laser Gaming Mouse

6) Will you be overclocking?

Yes, first time doing so.

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?

Dell UltraSharp U3011

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?

Now-February would like to build in Feb.

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? etc.

I would like crossfire, not sure about the rest, I like the feature on the MSI P67A-GD65 LGA1155 that allows for easy overclocking.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?

No, planning on getting windows 7, not sure about oem vs retail. Thinking professional is what I want.



What I am thinking:

Mobo- MSI P67A-GD65 180.00 (I like the noob overclock feature on this, and the Hard review)

cpu- 2600k Have

RAM- No idea here I would like 16 gb

HSF- not sure

gpu- 2x 6950 or 6970. I hear you can flash the 6950 to work like its a 6970. My question is what do you do on future driver updates? Simply update like its a 6970? I don't want a hassle every time I update. Is it once in its lifetime type thing or will I have to flash it everytime I update drivers?

psu- 1 x SILVERSTONE ST1000 1000W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Active PFC Power Supply, (Bought in 2007, should I reuse or buy a new one? What kind of life do they have? )

HD1- Would like a ssd, 128gb seems like what I want. Not sure on best brand, Crucial RealSSD C300 CTFDDAC128MAG-1G1CCA 2.5 seems like a good one, but are there better? Will it work with my mobo i selected?

HD2- Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive 89.00 Good one? better ones?

Case- 1 x SILVERSTONE TJ10-BW Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case Reusing

DVD- LG Black 10X Blu-ray Burner - Bulk SATA WH10LS30 LightScribe Support - OEM $80.00 Not sure if there are better, but its a nice price.

Soundcard: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Pro 7.1 Channels PCI Interface (is it ok to reuse this? originally bought in 2007)

Operating system: Windows 7 pro is what I am leaning towards, is oem ok? Can i do reinstalls with it on the same computer ok?

Keyboard reuse
Mouse reuse
Monitor: Dell u3011 ~$1100

Any help you guys can give me on filling in the blanks would be highly appreciated! You helped me build a very nice one last time. Thanks!!

 

[Dangman]

Now-February would like to build in Feb.

For the best deals and such, please bump up this thread when you're about a week away from buying to make sure that the build we recommend is still a good one.

No, planning on getting windows 7, not sure about oem vs retail. Thinking professional is what I want.
.....
Operating system: Windows 7 pro is what I am leaning towards, is oem ok? Can i do reinstalls with it on the same computer ok?

Why Windows 7 Pro? What features does it have that you'll actually use? Oh and OEM is fine. You can do reinstalls with it on the same PC just fine.

RAM- No idea here I would like 16 gb

Buy this RAM today:
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1576343

HSF- not sure

This:
$30 - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus HSF for LGA 1366 and LGA 1156

gpu- 2x 6950 or 6970. I hear you can flash the 6950 to work like its a 6970. My question is what do you do on future driver updates? Simply update like its a 6970? I don't want a hassle every time I update. Is it once in its lifetime type thing or will I have to flash it everytime I update drivers?

Not sure.

HD1- Would like a ssd, 128gb seems like what I want. Not sure on best brand, Crucial RealSSD C300 CTFDDAC128MAG-1G1CCA 2.5 seems like a good one, but are there better? Will it work with my mobo i selected?

The Crucial SSD is a good choice. But I would wait another month or so for Crucial to release their new C400 SSDs and Intel to release their G3 SSDs.

HD2- Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive 89.00 Good one? better ones?

It's a fast hard drive but you can get equally fast drive for $20 less:
$70 - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

 

[bulldog08]

Thanks for the quick responses Danny. For the RAM will the 1333 vs 1600 be noticeable in everyday use? That was what was confusing me a bit.

 

[Dangman]

Thanks for the quick responses Danny. For the RAM will the 1333 vs 1600 be noticeable in everyday use? That was what was confusing me a bit.

Not really.

 

[bulldog08]

What about the old psu? Still serviceable? will be able to handle 2 69xx in crossfire ok?