Best Hardware that $2000 can buy? (new build)

[TheUnthinkingMajority]

Hi I have a relatively speaking old and failing computer which im hoping to retire from its glory days.

I am looking at a build around $2000 as soon as possible for Im afraid the end to my poor old friend is near.

I have put a list together and I was wondering if anyone has any suggestion for any additions or changes to it.

CPU :
http://www.newegg.com/Product/NewProduct.aspx?Item=N82E16819115225
Motherboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/NewProduct.aspx?Item=N82E16813131614
Memory:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/NewProduct.aspx?Item=N82E16820231247 X2
Graphic Card: Not certain
http://www.newegg.com/Product/NewProduct.aspx?Item=N82E16814150460
Case:was looking for the Limited Military Edition but its only availabe in europe and asia so far, very intresting case although.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/NewProduct.aspx?Item=N82E16811108230
PSU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139009
HDD: any 1TB 7200rpm with a cheap price will do

My main concerns about this built are
are these the best hardware for the price that you could get or is there room for improvment. Is the 5970 really worth it, and is it a good idea to use a ATI as the primary GPU and let a lower end Nvidia like a GTX 260 run PhysX in windows 7 with the ATI phsX driver patch hackhttp://www.gamephys.com/2009/12/06/how-to-run-physx-in-windows-7-with-ati-cards/ any suggestion or tips will be greatly appriciated. This might also sound very stupid but i couldnt realy find any answer to it by seraching google, is it possible to run 2 banks of triple channel memory? basicly having 12gigs of ram in pairs of 3 insted of 4 banks of 2.

 

[TheUnthinkingMajority]

I do not know how i failed at making the links but I sir am the suck!

 

[TomTomz]

Intel Core i7-960 Bloomfield 3.2GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80601960 -$570
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115224&cm_re=i7_960-_-19-115-224-_-Product

ASUS P6X58D Premium LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard- $285
http://www.newegg.com/Product/NewProduct.aspx?Item=N82E16813131614

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (4 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL8Q-8GBRM- $230
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231327&cm_re=8_GB_RAM-_-20-231-327-_-Product

IN WIN Ironclad Black SECC Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case-$120
http://www.newegg.com/Product/NewProduct.aspx?Item=N82E16811108230

CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply-$130
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139009

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Driv- $75
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185&cm_re=samsung_1tb_hard_drive-_-22-152-185-_-Product

COOLER MASTER Intel Core i7 compatible Hyper N 520 RR-920-N520-GP 92mm Sleeve CPU Cooler -$40
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103057&Tpk=Coolermaster%20N520

SAPPHIRE 100280SR Radeon HD 5970 (Hemlock) 2GB 512 (256 x 2)-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card-$680
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102887&cm_re=5970-_-14-102-887-_-Product

GRAND TOTAL= $2130

I don't think you should get the PhysX card since it doesn't make a difference in most games. The only game I know it makes a big differnce with is Batman: AA. The 5970 is already a beast of a card anyway. No, at least I've never seen a Mobo with 6 memory slots instead just gets 8GB RAM.

 

[TheUnthinkingMajority]

I was thinking for the Heatsink, I wanted to go with a Noctua NH-D14 but what im woried about is the pure weight of the thing its 1240grams which is 2.6lbs roughly. Would that cause a curve on the motherboard in the long run?

http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=2525

 

[Somebody_007]

Nice try tom tomz but you made some mistakes.

First of all. All x58 motherboards use tripple channel meaning they have 6 slots which you said they don't. And you must have 3,6,12 or 24gb of ram for optimum performance.

Secondly a 960 is quite a waste. It's binned higher than a 930 but that doesn't warrent the price difference.

The case isn't vcery known I'd opt for an antec 902, 1200 ora haf 922,932

The 5970 is very bad bang for buck. 5850 crossfire is faster, cheaper and cooler. 470 sli is much faster, similarly priced but not as effiecient. And if it's an upgrade path you're looking for a 480 is the way to go.

I have a noctua d14 and my mobo looks fine.

And unless you're planning heavy OCs a premium isn't neccesary. An -e or ud3r will do fine. And even if you want a better board I reccomend the ga-x58a-ud5 over the premium.

 

[fharper]

If I were spending in that budget range this is about what I would get.

CPU/Mobo: i7 930/ASUS P6X58D-E

Case: Antec 902

PSU: Corsair 850HX

RAM: 2X G.SKILL 6GB Kits DDR3 Triple Channel 1600

GPU: 2X EVGA GTX 470

HDD: Spinpoint F3 1TB

SSD for OS/Apps: G.SKILL Phoenix Series 60GB SSD

Optical: Sony Optiarc

CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14

Total is ~$2100. SLI'd 470 goodness, good case for good airflow, awesome CPU cooler, 12GB's of RAM(2 sets in triple channel mode), SSD and 1TB HDD, and would OC like a monster(if you ever needed to)

 

[TheUnthinkingMajority]

Thank you all for your insights and help I will be taking them under great consideration.