New Build Opinions Please!

[VRMan]

Thinking about building a micro atx size desktop. I have been using gaming laptops for the last 5+ years. This will be used mainly for gaming, but also video/photo (ripping dvds & photoshop) and music. I really like being able to "multi-task" on the computer. Trying to future proof a little too so I won't have to do upgrades for quite a few years. I used to overclock back in the day, but now that I've gotten old, I'm not so concerned about squeezing every extra ounce of performance out of it. Just want it to work reliably.

I have a couple 500GB drives I can use in it for the games and stuff. Figured I'd use the SSD for just running the O/S. I will be using Windows 7 64bit Professional.

I know the GTX 690 is extreme, especially the price. But I threw it in because if I'm going to spend $2800 for a gaming laptop that only has a GTX680m that is gimped and runs like a GTX670, then I may as well throw the top end desktop card in the mix and see what it costs.
Final cost on this rig is around $2000

What do you guys think?


IN WIN Dragon Slayer Black 0.6mm SECC MicroATX Mini Tower Computer Case

EVGA 04G-P4-2690-KR GeForce GTX 690 4GB 512-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Thermaltake SMART M Series SP-750M 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) Desktop Memory Model F3-1866C10Q-32GXL

MSI Z77MA-G45 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

Intel Core i7-3770K Ivy Bridge 3.5GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I73770K

Thermaltake Frio Overclocking-Ready Intel Core i7 (six-core ready) & i5 Compatible Five 8mm Heatpipes Dual 120mm Fans Intel & AMD Universal CPU Cooler CLP0564 - Retail

Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

 

[Darq]

putting a 690 in a micro ATX sounds like a tight fit and a thermal nightmare waiting to happen...especially with an aftermarket heatpipe/dual 120mm heatsink.

Also, I'd put the games on the SSD, personally....128GB should fit the OS plus several games, and drastically cut load times for you.

I'm also not sure 32GB is really....necessary if you're just doing video ripping versus video editing [unless you have exceptionally large photoshop files, i guess], and you could maybe go with 16GB and spend the extra money on a bigger/extra SSD.

 

[Nexillus]

Looking at the specs of the case, I have a GTX 690 and I will be very surprised if it will even fit in that case, when I was building it I had another computer with a GTX 670 in a MID case and I plopped the 690 in there for fun and it fit by a few cenimeters, let alone a mATX case!

 

[VRMan]

Wow, ok, well that's good to know!
I thought those matx cases would fit full size cards. I'll have to do some digging then and find out what will fit. I didn't really want a full size case.

 

[Dangman]

Please answer the stickied "ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS FIRST!" so that we can help you better.

Though off the bat, doesn't seem like that good of a build.

 

[VRMan]

Here you go:

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming mostly, some photoshop, dvd ripping/conversion, video editing, music
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
<$2500, yes
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
US, Illinois
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 - preferably as small as possible, Cpu, Vid card, Ram, MB, PS, Memory, SSD
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
500GB WD Hard Drive, monitor, keyboard, mouse, joystick, speakers
6) Will you be overclocking?
No
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
1920x1080, 26"
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Next 3 months
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.
Usb3, Sata 6gb/s, hdmi, Micro ATX size
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Yes, Win7 64bit

Lay it on me! I would like to see what you guys consider a great build!

Thanks!

 

[Dangman]

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Next 3 months

Can you narrow down that time frame any further? If you can't narrow down that time fram within this month, then I recommend just coming back when you're 2-3 weeks away from buying since you'll get more up-to-date build advice that way. Our hardware recommendations tends to change monthly and sometimes even weekly so us giving you a build now to buy three months from isn't a good idea.

 

[VRMan]

Ok, next week.

 

[bigted]

Looking at the specs of the case, I have a GTX 690 and I will be very surprised if it will even fit in that case, when I was building it I had another computer with a GTX 670 in a MID case and I plopped the 690 in there for fun and it fit by a few cenimeters, let alone a mATX case!

if you look at the pictures of it, the hard drive cage doesn't go high up at all, it just might fit

 

[Dangman]

Ok, next week.

Seriously next week? You're not saying that just to get a build from us only for you to wait three months to buy what might be an outdated build list?

 

[VRMan]

Wow really? I thought I was "following the rules", I did what you asked, and still, you are haranguing me about the form rather than helping me with my list. I posted what I thought would be a good setup. I wasn't asking anyone to build it for me. If it is this much trouble to get some opinions of people who have been building their own rigs lately, then I give up!
I'll roll the dice and see what happens. Man, this place used to be all about helping each other out. Things sure have changed.

Thanks to those that gave me some input already. I'll do some more research about the case and video card issue you brought up.