New Gaming Build

[Radio_Silence]

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Primarily building for gaming but will serve as my all purpose home PC - web surfing, iTunes etc.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Around $3,000 - $3,500 including shipping. This is for everything including case, mouse, keyboard etc. Only exception is monitor and speakers. Monitor I haven't decided on (either multi-display or u3011) and speakers I would like to reuse (Klipsch ProMedia 5.1).

3) Where do you live?
Kansas City

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.
Here's the list I've developed so far:

• Case: Corsair 650D (already purchased)
• PSU: Corsair AX850 - I'm going with an 850 in case I decide to SLI depending on future display choice
• Mobo: ASUS P8Z68-V Pro
• CPU: 2600K
• CPU Cooler: Hyper 212 Plus
• RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B - Will this RAM provide enough clearance for the Hyper 212?
• SSD: ??? Looking for a SATA 3/6Gb/s drive (120 to 240g) but am concerned about all the problems I've read about with the latest SF controller. Really need suggestions here on something that will work with this mobo as I'm not the most tech savvy guy when addressing problems. I really need help here as I'm not sure which way to go - Vertex 3, Force GT, M4. I have no clue.
• Other HD's: (3) WD Caviar Black 2TBs
• Video Card: MSI Lightning GeForce GTX 580
• Sound Card: OMEGA CLARO Plus+ 7.1 - Will this work with Klipsch 5.1 ProMedia speakers that I already own?
• BluRay Burner: LITE-ON iHBS212-08
• Keyboard: Das Keyboard Model S Professional
• Mouse: Mad Catz Cyborg R.A.T. 7

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Speakers: Klipsch ProMedia 5.1's that I've had since 2002. Still going strong.

6) Will you be overclocking?
Yes, but I'm not shooting for benchmarks. Just moderate performance increases. Since the 2600K seems to do so well in this area it would be a sin to not bump it up a little.

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
Monitor: Dell 27" will be used for the first couple of months. Plan to upgrade to a u3011 or multiple display setup. My logic for the one MSI Lightening is that it will cover the u3011 and I can add another for SLI if I go muti-panel.

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Would like to order parts either tomorrow or Tuesday at the latetst - build for next weekend.

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

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
No - but will purchase Win7 Ultimate 64bit OEM.

This will be my first build in 6 years - currently typing on a box running an old Athlon 4000 which is why I'm not reusing any components and replacing everything from the case on up - with the exception (hopefully) of speakers.

Anyways, thanks for your time and input. This is a very helpful forum with very knowledgeable people.

 

[Dangman]

For GTX 580 SLI, I'd actually recommend getting at least a 1000W PSU. Something like this:
$240 - Corsair 1000HX Modular PSU

As for that Z68 mobo, will you actually be using these Z68 features?:
- Onboard video
- Intel Quick Sync Video
- LucidLogix Virtu GPU
- Intel’s Smart Response Technology

If not, you'll be fine with this CPU + mobo combo.
$460 - Intel Core i7 2600K CPU + MSI Z68-G65 Intel Z68 ATX Motherboard Combo

RAM wise, you will run into some clearance issues with the fan of that Coolermaster Hyper 212+ HSF and that Corsair RAM. I recommend this RAM instead:
$55 - G.Skill Ripjaws F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL 2 x 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM

And before you ask, there's little to no real world performance difference between DDR3 1333 and DDR3 1600 RAM. So you're not losing any performance at all by going with the above RAM.

SSD wise, I'd look at Crucial's M4 series or Intel's 510 series SSDs.

Other HDDs wise, are you planning on using all those 2TB drives for program installations? or just data and stuff?

OS wise, are there features in Windows 7 Ultimate that justifies the increased cost of Windows 7 Home Premium for you? What are those features?

 

[Radio_Silence]

Thanks Danny. I really appreciate the quick reply.

My logic for the Z68 was that I was under the impression that this would allow me to drop in an Ivy Bridge CPU when they are available if I choose to down the road. I was trying to build with flexibility in mind.

As for Asus, it's not so much the features of this particular board as the fact that I've always used them in the past and never had a problem. Don't have a lot of experience or knowledge about MSI mobo's - are they solid? Is the BIOS / overclocking easy to work with for non-tech guys like me?

Will look into the ripjaws - thanks for the suggestion. I had considered them, and they seem to have very positive reviews on NewEgg, but like the mobo situation I have always used Corsair in the past and never had a problem. Coming at this from a different angle, if I decide to stay with the Corsair RAM and Asus mobo, is there an aftermarket cooler that would fit and still give decent cooling performance?

As for the SSD's, is there any outstanding issues with the M4 or 510? Have there been any problems with these drives and Z68 boards?

The 2TB drives are just for backup and storage of data - 1 for everyday use (files that I don't want to clog up my C drive with), 1 for work related files and data, and 1 for personal files and data. I'm a data pack rat and generally just switch out drives and copy over files every time I build or upgrade. The 2TB drives seemed like a good value given the price / storage ratio and should get me through a few years before needing to be replaced.

No real need for Premium over Home. This is a good suggestion that will knock off a hundred from the total bill.

Lastly, and idea on the sound card? I really want to keep using the Klipsch speakers.

Thanks again for your help - greatly appreciated.

 

[tiraides]

Regarding hardware brands, MSI and G.Skill are just as reliable as Asus and Corsair. Danny and I have been recommending MSI a lot as several of Asus' P67 boards (particularly the P8P67 Pro model) have a higher-than-desired number of returns and issues.

If you're insistent on the Corsair RAM, try to find the low-profile Vengeance or XMS3 models. But again, you don't need to worry about the RAM as long as you grab a well-known name brand.

I've heard of no significant issues with the Crucial C300/m4 or Intel 320/510 SSDs. Though OCZ Vertex 3 SSDs are reportedly faster, there has also been some issues with those SSDs (and with OCZ historically). Z68 boards have SSD caching which, among other things, allows users to use SSDs of up to 64GB as swap disks for their programs. I personally see little benefit for SSD caching as many people have SSDs larger than 64GB and SSDs (IMO) generally perform better as primary OS drives than swap disks.

You can connect your speakers using the onboard sound. Unless you have super-sensitive ears and can pick up every sound imaginable, you don't really need a standalone sound card.

 

[Dangman]

My logic for the Z68 was that I was under the impression that this would allow me to drop in an Ivy Bridge CPU when they are available if I choose to down the road. I was trying to build with flexibility in mind.

It appears that Ivy Bridge may be compatible with the P67 chipset as well. But I recommended the Z68 so moot point anyway.

Will look into the ripjaws - thanks for the suggestion. I had considered them, and they seem to have very positive reviews on NewEgg, but like the mobo situation I have always used Corsair in the past and never had a problem. Coming at this from a different angle, if I decide to stay with the Corsair RAM and Asus mobo, is there an aftermarket cooler that would fit and still give decent cooling performance?

In addition to what tiraides said, make sure that Corsair RAM is rated at 1.5V.

The 2TB drives are just for backup and storage of data - 1 for everyday use (files that I don't want to clog up my C drive with), 1 for work related files and data, and 1 for personal files and data. I'm a data pack rat and generally just switch out drives and copy over files every time I build or upgrade. The 2TB drives seemed like a good value given the price / storage ratio and should get me through a few years before needing to be replaced.

Well even with the $20 off promo code that expires on the 27th, the 2TB Black drives are bit too much to pay more for basically simple storage use. You can save $150 to $210 by just going with three of these drives:
$80 - Samsung Spinpoint F4 HD204UI 2TB 5400 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

For storage and backup purposes, the above Samsung is fast enough.

Lastly, and idea on the sound card? I really want to keep using the Klipsch speakers.

Thanks again for your help - greatly appreciated.

I actually would recommend this sound card:
$30 - Asus Xonar DG 5.1 Channels PCI Sound Card

 

[Radio_Silence]

Danny / tiraides,

Thanks for the input. I crunched the numbers and this will knock quite a bit off my total cost without really sacrificing any noticeable performance.

This will make it easier to go ahead and upgrade my display. Now if I could just decide between one 30" or a 3 monitor setup!