New Intel Build

[1-anh]

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Mainly gaming, web browsing, watching movies, and school work.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
My budget is 2300 and tax and shipping are included as most of the parts I will be purchasing can be had locally with the occasional item or two only available on newegg.ca
3) Where do you live?
Vancouver, B.C. Canada
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, Fans, CPU, CPU Heatsink, Ram, Mobo, Video Card, PSU, HDD, SSD, DVD Drive
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
None, this will be a completely new build.
6) Will you be overclocking?
Yes
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
Planning on purchasing a Dell U2711, possibly 2 of them or 3 Dell U2412M.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
August 26th-27th.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? etc.
Crossfire/SLI support, USB 3.0, Sata 6GB/s
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Yes, Windows 7 64bit from university


This is what I currently have chosen,

CPU Intel i7-2600k
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=12200BD9917&vpn=BX80623I72600K&manufacture=INTEL
Ram G. Skill Ripjaws X DDR3-1600
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=15380BD5211&vpn=F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL&manufacture=G.SKILL
Case Corsair Graphite 600T White
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11180AC3372&vpn=CC600TWM-WHT&manufacture=CORSAIR
Motherboard Asrock P67 Extreme 4 Gen 3
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157265
Fan Enermax 120mm Red LED Fan x 4
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11510AC2052&vpn=UCTB12N-BL&manufacture=ENERMAX
Video Card MSI HD 6950 2GB Twin Frozr III
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127575&cm_re=6950-_-14-127-575-_-Product
CPU Heatsink Thermalright Silver Arrow
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=14650AC9691&vpn=Silver Arrow&manufacture=THERMALRIGHT
Thermal Paste Arctic Silver 5
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=10460AC8077&vpn=AS5-3.5&manufacture=ARCTIC SILVER
DVD Drive Asus DRW-24B1ST
http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/225965/ASUS/DRW_24B1ST_Bulk/
SSD Crucial M4 128GB
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11230DR7592&vpn=CT128M4SSD2&manufacture=CRUCIAL TECHNOLOGY
HDD Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=25350DR0783&vpn=WD1002FAEX&manufacture=Western Digital WD
HDD Western Digital Caviar Green 2TB x 3
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=25350DR6101&vpn=WD20EARS&manufacture=Western Digital WD
PSU Corsair AX850
http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=11180AC4374&vpn=CMPSU-850AX A&manufacture=CORSAIR

A few of the items I am unsure about,

1) CPU: i7-2600k vs i5-2500k. I don't think I will need the extra threads the 2600k provides with hyperthreading, however if the extra threads help while multitasking then i don't mind paying the price premium.
2) Case: I am unsure which case to go with between the Corsair 600T white, Corsair 650D, and Fractal Design Define XL. I like all 3 cases and I am looking for the easiest to build in with decent air cooling.
3) Mobo: Asrock P67 Extreme 4 Gen 3 or Asus P8P67 EVO.
4) HDD: would it be better to just get 4 2TB drives and not get the 1TB black at all, since my OS will be installed on the SSD? Also considering the Hitachi 5K3000 2TB drives in place of the WD 2TB green drives if people have an opinion against the WD drives.
5) PSU: is 850W too much for this setup? Should I go with a 750W? Also AX vs HX, I prefer the AX series since the fan is off until it reaches up to a certain load.

Let me know what you guys think, money isn't a huge issue since i have saved up a fair amount of money working coop jobs and feel like I should reward myself but if I can save money in key spots then I'm all for it.

 

[Dangman]

1) It helps a little. If you have the extra cash, just go ahead and get it.
2) All three are excellent cases. WIth that said, the Corsair 650D would be my recommendation
3) Neither: AsRock only has a one year warranty on their motherboards and Asus' P67 motherboards have a slightly higher than average failure rate. I'd recommend taking a look at the MSI P67A-GD65 motherboard
4) The setup you have planned now is a good plan.
5) You'll be fine with a 750W PSU for a single GPU config. But if you're planning on actually using the Crossfire feature, then stick with the 850W PSU for extra headroom. Sitck with the AX if you can afford it

 

[1-anh]

1) It helps a little. If you have the extra cash, just go ahead and get it.
2) All three are excellent cases. WIth that said, the Corsair 650D would be my recommendation
3) Neither: AsRock only has a one year warranty on their motherboards and Asus' P67 motherboards have a slightly higher than average failure rate. I'd recommend taking a look at the MSI P67A-GD65 motherboard
4) The setup you have planned now is a good plan.
5) You'll be fine with a 750W PSU for a single GPU config. But if you're planning on actually using the Crossfire feature, then stick with the 850W PSU for extra headroom. Sitck with the AX if you can afford it

I will consider the MSI, however I still like the looks and feature set of the asrock mobo. Is a one year warranty something to be wary of?

I do plan on crossfiring, possibly immediately or when prices go down for 6950 TFIII.

 

[Dangman]

I will consider the MSI, however I still like the looks and feature set of the asrock mobo. Is a one year warranty something to be wary of?

Yes. If the motherboard fails after one year, you have to buy another motherboard. The MSI I recommended has a 3 year warranty. So you're good to go for three years ago.