Building a Gaming platform. $2000 Budget.

OK, here's the why's

The Case / PSU combo comes with a $20 combo discount and $10 MIR. case is extremely well reviewed w/ room for 10 fans for great and quiet cooling. PSu is 10/0 jonnyguru performance rated for extreme overclocking potential.

The MoBo is THE best MoBo in the $200 price category and the $28 combo discount makes it an even better buy.


http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/msi_z87_gd65_gaming/12.htm

MSI has been using components that meet or exceed MIL-STD-810G for some time as part of its Military Class build philosophy. Parts such as Super Ferrite Chokes that run at up to 35 degree Celsius lower temperatures, have a 30% higher current handling capacity, and a 20% improvement in power efficiency; Tantalum filled Hi-C Caps that are are up to 93% efficient; and "Dark Capacitors" that feature Lower ESR and a ten-year lifespan all tied into a PCB with improved temperature and humidity protections as part of the "Military Essentials" package......In the end MSI's Z87-GD65 is a board that comes with an expansive feature set that includes all your basics and the extras that set them apart such as the V-Check points, upper end audio, Dual BIOS ROMs, KIller Network package, Military Class IV package, and a three-year warranty. Couple that with good looks that carry the dragon theme through the board, and you have a winning combination at $189.

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http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cpu_mainboard/msi_z87_gd65_gaming_review/15

Now and again a motherboard appears that is so obviously brilliant, and so affordable, that we wonder if anything will be able to top it. For a while that crown was held by the ASUS Sabertooth, both in X58 and then P67 variants. Then MSI stole the crown with the Z77 MPower. Looking at the Z87 GD65 Gaming we think it's going to take something extraordinary to top it, such is the perfect storm of price, performance, features and looks.

The switch to Military Class 4 has given us an extremely ready overclocker too. You're always thermally limited when overclocking and the i7-4770K is one of the most demanding around. Considering the amount of cooling we're using we think that although the GD65 is capable of bringing 5GHz from our i7-4770K you'd need a proper water loop to make the most of it.

Performance is outstanding. The stock results were a particular highlight. We know a lot of people still just like to put their CPU in and go, without overclocking it first. Despite how easy it is these days we know that the fear factor still exists. So you'll be glad to know that the MSI Z87 GD65 Gaming really rocks hard even at stock settings. Naturally the overclocking is blistering too, with some OC3D records broken.

MSI have laid the gauntlet down to all the other manufacturers. Gorgeous to look at, blistering performance and all at a very affordable price, the MSI Z87 GD65 Gaming is not only the new benchmark for Z87 motherboards, but probably for all motherboards.

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The CPU is the best bang for the buck for gaming.

RAM - More RAM, faster RAM, Lower CAS RAM is always better. It's not a question of whether there is an improvement (there always is), it's whether you think the increase performance in things you do is worth the extra cost. Is a 5% increase in performance worth say $60 ($140 versus $80) .... immediate answer might be no but remember your whole system goes faster..... so is 5% increase in performance worth the 3% increase in system cost ?.... I'd say yes. But this outta make it obvious.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6372/memory-performance-16gb-ddr31333-to-ddr32400-on-ivy-bridge-igp-with-gskill/14

In addition to a great cooler, and unlike the EVGA SC series cards, MSI factory overclocked boards (as well as Asus and Gigabyte) also use upgraded PCBs and VRMs which aid in overclocking. And with the MSI MoBo, you alsi have a consistent color scheme and if ya have to call tech support, they can't pull the blame the other guy's hardware schtick

SSD / HD - It's one of the best, no argument there. The WD Black isn't as fast as say the Seagate 7200.14 but with the end of production run for the Seagate Barracuda XT, it's now the fastest HD with a 5 year warranty.

DVD Writer - why not include Blue Ray reading capability for an extra $30.

Cooler / TIM - The best and the best ..... well in truth Corsair's H100 beats it out by 1/2 degree C, the H series is just too darn noisy to be bearable.... swap out the fans and it loses its thermal advantage. Even the h100i suffers this delima as the many videos on youtube will attest.

http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/corsair_h100_hydro_series_extreme_performance_liquid_cpu_cooler,14.html
H100 - 50.2
Phanteks - 51.0

http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/corsair_h100_hydro_series_extreme_performance_liquid_cpu_cooler,16.html

At 2600RPM, the H100 isn’t a quiet unit at all and similarly at 2000RPM, it can still be quite intrusive. In terms of performance per noise, high end air coolers from Phanteks, Noctua and Thermalright still reign supreme, contrary to Corsair’s own marketing. Like other ALC units, the H100 relies too much on high RPM fans for its performance when the goal of water cooling is generally for extreme performance at low noise levels.

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