New comp for surround setup

[Symon14]

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
I will be using this to play RIFT, TOR, and some of the hotter games coming out this year. I'm not huge into FPS games but I love MMOs (sadly) and I will be playing a few others like Duke Nukem Forever and Skyrim.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
I would love it if I could do this for $1000 or less, but I can go as high as $1200, not including tax and shipping.

3) Where do you live?
North Texas, DFW area.

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.
CPU, RAM, GPU(s), PSU, HDD, maybe an SSD (low budget for this), motherboard.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
I have a BFG 550W power supply, its a couple of years old and I may as well get a new one especially if I end up with SLI or CrossFire. Also, I currently am using an EVGA 460GTX 1GB, so maybe an option to grab a second for SLI?

6) Will you be overclocking?
Probably not, though I would like the option to do so later on (thinking maybe an i5 2500k?)

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
5760x1200, 3 x 24" Dells.

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Everything this week, except motherboard for Sandy Bridge.

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? etc.
CrossFire and SLI support is all I need I think. Anything else I should be looking at? I don't do any media work. I use USB sometimes, thats about it.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
I have a Win 7 Home 3pk I'm going to use. 64-bit.


Here are the components I was looking at:

Motherboard: ~$150? Unknown Intel LGA 1155 mobo
Processor: $230 Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz
RAM: $50 G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
GPU: Reusing my 460GTX until I get my third monitor a month from now. Then??
Hard Drive: $65 SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 1TB
Case: $154 Antec P183 V3 (already bought)
Power Supply: I have no clue.

 

[Dangman]

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
I have a BFG 550W power supply, its a couple of years old and I may as well get a new one especially if I end up with SLI or CrossFire.

Which BFG 550W PSU do you have now? Depending on which one you have, you may need to replace it even if you only have a single GPU.

Motherboard: ~$150? Unknown Intel LGA 1155 mobo

Umm, the updated Sandy Bridge mobos aren't even out yet and it's rather hard to find Sandy Bridge mobos. It's gonna be a few more weeks, maybe even another month and a half before the updated Sandy Bridge mobos comes out.

GPU: Reusing my 460GTX until I get my third monitor a month from now. Then??

Can't make any recommendations since prices and availability for video cards are so volatile. As such a specific card may be a good deal one week but a shitty deal the next. So you want up to date advice, ask for GPU advice when you actually get that 3rd monitor.

RAM: $50 G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600

You do not need DDR3 1600 RAM at all with the Sandy Bridge CPUs, even if you're overclocking. You'll be fine with any cheap DDR3 1333 RAM set.

Power Supply: I have no clue.

Depends on your answer to the earlier PSU question

 

[Symon14]

Thanks for the quick reply! I am aware of the state of the Sandy Bridge motherboards unfortunately, but in the meanwhile I'm going to buy all the components minus that. Your advice on the graphics card is much appreciated, and you're absolutely right. I'll just stick with the 460GTX until I get that third monitor. For the rest of the components, I'm content knowing that while I wait for the SB mobos there may be better deals and components come along.

I opened up my case and actually found that I have a BFG GS-650 PSU in it! Details here.

So my altered plan now is:

-Keep 460GTX for now and not even think about GPU situation until I have the monitor setup complete.
-Buy CPU, RAM, storage, PSU if needed (probably).
-Choose SB mobo when they're available, overnight it and build my new system.

e: forgot to mention, thanks for catching that RAM mistake. I actually intended to put 1333 in my cart. Not sure how I made that error!

 

[Dangman]

I opened up my case and actually found that I have a BFG GS-650 PSU in it! Details here.

Yeah You're looking at a new PSU.

So my altered plan now is:

-Keep 460GTX for now and not even think about GPU situation until I have the monitor setup complete.
-Buy CPU, RAM, storage, PSU if needed (probably).
-Choose SB mobo when they're available, overnight it and build my new system.

Hmm, still not that sound of a plan: Why buy a CPU and RAM so early? Especially since you won't be able test them for DOA status for another month or two till the mobos come out. In addition, if you're buying from Newegg, Newegg will more than likely have a SB CPU + mobo of your choice combo that further shaves off cash. So why pay more for parts that you can't test or use for another month when you can save money and buy and test it later?

The only real part you can buy before the motherboard is the PSU. I recommend this:
$100 - Antec Truepower New TP-750 750W PSU

 

[Symon14]

I hadn't even considered the parts arriving DOA. This is why I came to [H], because I knew I was going to make a hasty decision and do something wrong!

Thanks a ton for the PSU recommendation, I'll take a look at it and probably end up adding it to my cart. I guess having this new empty case here next to my desk has just been tempting me too much. I swear it tells me to go ahead and start buying components.

 

[Dangman]

I hadn't even considered the parts arriving DOA. This is why I came to [H], because I knew I was going to make a hasty decision and do something wrong!

Yeah you already made a hasty decision and did something wrong IMO: That case. There are better quality and just as quiet cases for not that much more. At $154 shipped, the P183 V3 is not worth it. Especially when the slightly quieter, roomier, and better cooling Silverstone RV02 cases don't cost that much more. And when the cheaper, equally quiet, and slightly better cooling Fractal Design R3 cases are due in a few weeks from now on Newegg.

So yeah IMO, the P183 V3 is not worth $154. Maybe $120.