[SOLVED] $3,000 Gaming Rig Intel i7 base

[cyros2]

Let me start by saying thanks for all those who share their time and experience.

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: this week or next

BUDGET RANGE: ~3000 Above or below a little is no problem.

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, work

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA

PARTS PREFERENCES: Intel

OVERCLOCKING: Probably

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 2x 27" Asus - 1920x1080

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I want a hassle free system as much as possible, so stability is more important than anything else. Don't get me wrong, this is a gaming rig, but I often work from home and don't want a 2nd PC for working.

Also, I don't care about the look of the system. Not that I want it ugly of course! But it is ok to be without lights or windows. If it is open, I like red and black.


I haven't built a PC in years (had the last two custom built by a local company), and I want a machine with good enough performance that I will be able to run new games well 3-4 years down the road.
I have been doing a lot of research, but want to make sure I'm on the right track and there aren't any compatiblity issues. Who knows, maybe I could go a much better route!

Here is what I have been considering, but am open to anything: Please don't feel boxed in by this.

POWER SUPPLY:
ABS SL series SL1050 1050W Continuous @50°C ,80 PLUS SILVER Certified,Modular Cable Design,"Compatible with Core i7, i5"
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817814010

CASE:
Antec Twelve Hundred Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129043

MOTHERBOARD:
ASUS Rampage III Extreme LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131642

VIDEO CARD:
Radeon 5970 (Maybe 2) could use one for now and drop another in later for a real quick power upgrade. Should I be looking at nvidia instead?

CPU:
Intel Core i7-930 Bloomfield 2.8GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80601930
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115225

RAM:
Should I be buying kits, or can I by individual sticks? Need to install in sets of 3? How important is the CAS? Was looking at 9, but could go 6 or 7 and buy a little less ram total. ?
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9S-4GBRL
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231313

HD(s):
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533
ALREADY OWNED: 2TB storage drive for backups. WD Green, don't remember exact model.
I have found I have to uninstall games on my current 250gb drive to install new games and still keep enough free space, so I was leaning away from an SSD, but would love to hear thoughts.

OPTICAL DRIVE:
PLEXTOR Black BD Combo SATA Model PX-B320SA LightScribe Support - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827249055

OS:
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM (need Pro or Ultimate for a work application)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116758

 

[obsidian86]

Looks good to go

 

[cyros2]

Should I do anything extra for cooling? If I was going to do a little OC work on it... Anything else to add that I didn't spec?

 

[obsidian86]

For a mild clock the sunbeam ccf 120 and scythe mugen will be fine -but if you want better look along the lines of the thermalright venomous x.noctua ud 14. prolimatech megahalem or all in one liquid cooling like corsair h70

 

[xaero1ne]

I would recommend you stick with just the one 5970 for now,
that card is major OP, there's nothing that it cant play right now maxed out.
just last night i was playing Just Cause 2 with fraps running the the BG, my fps was always between 90-150, that card is epic.

 

[xiangjiao]

Yes, ram should be in sets of 3. I would get lower cas ram rather than get more ram total. 3x4gb ram should be more than enough for anything you do; money could be better spent on faster or higher quality ram.

 

[Agges]

It is looking good, case-wise is mostly a personal choice..

I would go for a different set of RAM as your budget is up there, this is a good one for low CAS (Mushkin Enhanced Redline 6GB (3 x 2GB)). It is $55 more expensive than the 4 GB of Ripjaws.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226121

 

[Rogue77777]

For a few bucks more ($15), I would go with this processor.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115211

I would also go with the 6gigs of Tri-Channel ram over the 4gigs of dual channel.

 

[cyros2]

For a mild clock the sunbeam ccf 120 and scythe mugen will be fine -but if you want better look along the lines of the thermalright venomous x.noctua ud 14. prolimatech megahalem or all in one liquid cooling like corsair h70

Sooo... When you say they will be fine, are you recommending I buy them, or are those items coming with other items I'm already buying?

 

[cyros2]

Updated as follows:

RAM: (Will this hex-channel work or should I get 2 triple channel sets?)
G.SKILL PI+ Turbulence 12GB (6 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL6T2-12GBPIS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231354

HD: QTY 2 for RAID 0 performance (looks like I can run these types of drives in RAID 0 with sata III)
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
(same as listed above, but 2 for raid)

VIDEO:
Single 5970. Any specific one I should be looking at? Is the PowerColor AX5970 2GBD5-MD Radeon HD 5970 (Hemlock) 2GB 512 (256 x 2)-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX ... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131324 a good brand to go with?

CPU:
Intel Core i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor BX80601950
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115211

 

[raif89]

For a mild clock the sunbeam ccf 120 and scythe mugen will be fine -but if you want better look along the lines of the thermalright venomous x.noctua ud 14. prolimatech megahalem or all in one liquid cooling like corsair h70

not true, the scythe mugen II will work perfectly even on an extreme overclock,

check it out

 

[Mr Pizza]

Wow, this is sad PSU is terrible, i can't believe no one brought it up.. :/ get the PSU from a GOOD brand

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139014&Tpk=ax1200

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817116013&cm_re=1000w_gold-_-17-116-013-_-Product

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171056&cm_re=1000w_gold-_-17-171-056-_-Product

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139007&Tpk=hx1000

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256057&cm_re=1000w-_-17-256-057-_-Product

 

[obsidian86]

Wow, this is sad PSU is terrible, i can't believe no one brought it up.. :/ get the PSU from a GOOD brand

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139014&Tpk=ax1200

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817116013&cm_re=1000w_gold-_-17-116-013-_-Product

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171056&cm_re=1000w_gold-_-17-171-056-_-Product

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139007&Tpk=hx1000

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256057&cm_re=1000w-_-17-256-057-_-Product

why would we?

that specific ABS is almost as good as the corsair ax 1200 its better then all the others you listed in fact it hink that ABS is the best 1kw you can currently buy till the seasonic X-1000 comes out

lets play a game of who is that OEM
what other psu brand who is their own OEM have a silver rated 1050 watt psu on the market?
they have reputation of high quality psu's that range up untill 1250?
they are widely accepted as being overpriced?

no ideas ok ok

i'll let you in This does in fact equal This with an $86 discount

 

[sp12]

IMO it's crazy you're buying bad price/performance enthusiast/halo parts but using those terrible monitors.

 

[Mr Pizza]

why would we?

that specific ABS is almost as good as the corsair ax 1200 its better then all the others you listed in fact it hink that ABS is the best 1kw you can currently buy till the seasonic X-1000 comes out

lets play a game of who is that OEM
what other psu brand who is their own OEM have a silver rated 1050 watt psu on the market?
they have reputation of high quality psu's that range up untill 1250?
they are widely accepted as being overpriced?

no ideas ok ok

i'll let you in This does in fact equal This with an $86 discount

You are buying 2 years extra warranty and good customer support if something goes wrong. that's what you are buying.

 

[cyros2]

IMO it's crazy you're buying bad price/performance enthusiast/halo parts but using those terrible monitors.

Ok, I really hate to ask this and expose yet further ignorance, but why are these monitor's terrible? I wanted this specific resolution (due to my work app).