Yet Another SB Build (2600k Based)

[VenomousDesigns]

Hi all,

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
The following will be used from my current everyday system (Core Duo 2, ATI 4890 etc); used for Gaming (WoW, Rift, L4D2, TF2 etc), Web surfing and the odd Video editing.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Between AUD $1000-$2000 - tax/shipping included.
3) Where do you live?
Australia.
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, MB, GFX Card, RAM, PSU and CPU Cooler.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Case only.
6) Will you be overclocking?
I will intend to OC yes.
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
2xSamsung 24"
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Immediately.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? etc.
I would like the opportunity to be able to Crossfire in feature, and potential run RAID-0 SSDs - I have a Fileserver for Storage so space in this PC is not an issue.
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 Ultimate 64bit.


The below is what I have priced, and have in mind:

CPU: Intel Core i7 2600K
MB: ASUS P8P67 PRO Motherboard
GFX: Sapphire Radeon HD6950 2GB (Will flash BIOS)
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws XL F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL (2x4GB) DDR3
PSU: Corsair AX850 Gold Power Supply
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12P SE2
Case: Corsair HAF-932 (Reusing from current build)

Questions:

1. I'm hoping the above RAM will fit nicely under the Noctua (can anyone comment on this?).
2. I'm currently tossing up if I should buy a SSD now (OCZ Vertez II E/Intel X-25M) or wait to the new SandForce/Intel G3s are released – in the interim I would only be using a Samsung 1TB F3 Spinpoint.
3. As a slight follow-on from the above, if I was to use the 2xSATA III ports, it would take performance away from the PCI-E Lanes correct? If I am just using 1 of the 3xPCI-E Lanes could I run a Crucial RealSSD 6GBps without a performance hit?
4. Will I have any issues OC'in with the above RAM, I believe it isn't like the old days – and RAM/CPU is independent – but wanted to double check.

Any pointers/tips/suggestions are most welcome.

Cheers,
VD

 

[Dangman]

1) Not sure
2) Wait
3) Not really
4) Nope. The RAM is basically independent from the CPU with the current Sandy Bridge CPUs. In fact, you could grab the cheapest DDR3 1333 RAM with high timings ever out there and still have pretty much the same real world performance as that DDR3 1600 RAM.

 

[VenomousDesigns]

Thanks for the reply Danny Bui,

In regards to Q3 - there will be a decrease in performance though? And if I decide to go Crossfire it would be unusable?

 

[limitedaccess]

1. I'm hoping the above RAM will fit nicely under the Noctua (can anyone comment on this?).

I was also slightly interested in this issue, this was as much as I could find out for certain during my research.

The heatsink itself is not raised enough to clear the ram, or any ram greater than normal height (40mm clearance). So if the actual heatsink were over the closest dimm, you could not put any ram under.

The fan (if mounted horizontally) will be over the dimms for sure, but you can mount the fan higher up to clear the raised ram. Not sure how much of an impact this has on cooling though.

 

[tiraides]

How often are you going to edit video? If you're gaming more than 60% of the time, you could get by with the Core i5 2500k instead of the i7-2600k.

 

[Dangman]

In regards to Q3 - there will be a decrease in performance though? And if I decide to go Crossfire it would be unusable?

Little to no hit in performance. In addition, if you go Crossfire, it would not be unusable. I forgot the terminology/tech, but Asus and MSI uses a different methodology to hook up the SATA 6.0Gb/s without touching the PCI-E lanes much. Your concerns would have been valid if you were using a Gigabyte mobo however as the socket LGA 1156 Gigabyte mobos had the SATA 6.0Gb/s directly connected to the PCI-E lanes which did have the issues/concerns you're thinking of.