New System

[dblinkhorn]

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming and all the other everyday computer tasks.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
I'd like to stay under $1500 if possible, but anywhere in that general area is okay.

3) Where do you live?
California, USA

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
CPU, RAM, SSD, MOBO, PSU, GPU, case, heatsink+fan

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Monitor, peripherals, 1TB WD HDD, LG BD-ROM

6) Will you be overclocking?
Probably some minor over-clocking, I've heard the 2700s can get up to 4Ghz pretty easily on air.

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
23" Samsung LCD 16:9, 2048x1152 native

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Within the next couple of weeks if everything arrives by then.

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
A single GPU is fine for my needs so not bothering about SLI or Crossfire as a must-have. I won't need raid because I only plan on having an SSD for my OS/apps drive and a large-capacity HDD for file storage. Most of the other features I prefer seems to be practically universal now (lots of USB ports, USB 3.0, firewire, HDMI, optical, etc.)

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
Windows 7 64-bit Ultimate


Now that the questions are answered, here's what I have so far. I would really appreciate any advice on adjustments/changes to any of the items as this is all very preliminary. Also, if there are any potential compatibility issues it would be nice to know

CPU: Intel Core i7-2700K Sandy Bridge 3.5GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623i72700K

GPU: EVGA 015-P3-1580-AR GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) 1536MB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) Desktop Memory Model F3-14900CL9D-8GBXL

MOBO: ASUS P8Z77-V LX LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Intel
(want to be ready for Ivy Bridge)

PSU: SeaSonic X750 Gold 750W ATX12V V2.3/EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular Active PFC

SSD: Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC

COOLING: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1

CASE: Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower



EDIT: Actually, considering the IB release is so close I'll probably wait on the CPU, but how does everything else look?

 

[Dangman]

Considering that you live in California, try to buy as much of your parts as possible from Amazon.com as they do not charge CA residents tax whereas Newegg does.

Anyway, wait for the IB release. In fact, hold off on the RAM as well. More than likely IB won't require such high speed RAM but you never know. Do note that current SB CPUs do not benefit from higher RAM speeds. As such, you would not notice a difference between DDR3 1333 and DDR3 1866 RAM speeds in real world apps and games.

The GTX 580 isn't the best of choices since the faster HD 7950 costs around that price. Not to mention there's an upcoming price drop (if it hasn't already happend already) for the HD 7950. Considering your high resolution, I'd recommend getting 2GB of VRAM at a minimum.

The PSU, SSD, and HSF are ok choices. Can't say anything about that mobo since there aren't many reviews of it out yet.

The case isn't that good of a choice as it's cramped and has little to no cable management features. I recommend these cases instead:
$50 - NZXT Source 210 Elite Black ATX Case
$50 - NZXT Source 210 Elite White with Black Front Trim ATX Case
$70 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K58 ATX Case
$88 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K58W ATX Case
$90 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K7B ATX Case
$85 - Corsair Carbide Series 300R ATX Case
$100 - Corsair Carbide Series 400R ATX Case
$100 - Lian Li PC-7B Plus II ATX Case
$118 - Corsair Carbide Series 500R ATX Case
$120 - Fractal Design Define R3 Arctic White ATX Case
$120 - Fractal Design Define R3 Silver Arrow ATX Case
$125 - Fractal Design Define R3 Black Pearl ATX Case
$120 - Lian Li PC-9F ATX Case
$120 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White Full Tower ATX Case
$130 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001BK Black Full Tower ATX Case
$130 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-002OR Black Finish w/Orange Trim Full Tower ATX Case

 

[dblinkhorn]

Thanks for the reply. I'll be sticking with nVidia, as I've had too many bad experiences with AMD and their slow response time in fixing major driver problems. I will be taking your advice on the case and probably go with one of the LianLi cases. Also, what can I expect as far as performance from the Ivy Bridge price-equivalent of the SB 2700K? Will I essentially be going down a model or two if I want to stay at the same ~$330 price-point?

Also, thanks for the tip on Amazon and no CA tax.

EDIT: Hmm, the PCI-E 3.0 on the 7000 series is mighty tempting, I may just go with a 7970 and take the risk with the driver issues. And what can we expect the price of the 7000 series to do when the GTX 680 hits?

 

[Dangman]

Thanks for the reply. I'll be sticking with nVidia, as I've had too many bad experiences with AMD and their slow response time in fixing major driver problems.

Then spend the extra cash for the GTX 680. Like I said: You're gonna want as much VRAM as possible due to your high resolution.

Also, what can I expect as far as performance from the Ivy Bridge price-equivalent of the SB 2700K? Will I essentially be going down a model or two if I want to stay at the same ~$330 price-point?

Early reports are saying anywhere from 5% to 15% performance increase clock for clock with the IB CPUs. We really won't know for sure until the CPUs hit. The IB price equivalent to the 2700K is the Core i7 3770K at $313 supposedly.

With that said, for just a gaming setup, you did not need a 2700K or 3770K: You would have been just fine with the 2500K as most games don't take advantage of the extra threads provided by the HT of those two i7 CPUs. It's only when you're doing a ton of video, audio, or 3D editing/rendering that the i7s become a worthy purchase So for a gaming system, you would be fine with the 2500K or the IB Core i5 3570K.

 

[dblinkhorn]

That's interesting. Why is it that so many gamers are insistent upon the i7 for the best gaming performance? Is it mainly just bragging rights and wanting to have the top shelf equipment? And can I expect the price of the 7970 to drop once the 680 hits?

 

[Deleted member 88227]

That's interesting. Why is it that so many gamers are insistent upon the i7 for the best gaming performance? Is it mainly just bragging rights and wanting to have the top shelf equipment? And can I expect the price of the 7970 to drop once the 680 hits?

We don't know either when it's been proven that a 2500k is usually faster than a 2600k, clock for clock with games. Even during times the 2600k was faster, it was only 1 - 2 FPS at most.

 

[dblinkhorn]

I'll keep this in mind for the IB purchase, leaning toward i5 3570K now. Also, the more I'm reading about the 7970 vs 7950 it seems like a hands-down 7950 choice. Many reviews are saying you can easily overclock the 7950 to the 7970 speeds and get within 5% of its performance while saving about $70. I'll have to see what the gtx680 can do, though. I'm willing to spend the price premium if the performance warrants it.