Any ideas on how to help My Current build

[thenewnoob]

Hello, I have I5 2000k and asus p8p67 pro. And a 850 watt PSU. Hard drive and Disk Drive
I have these in my cart at newegg
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231311
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103055

Can't figure out what GPU to buy. Gtx 560ti or 6950. i hear that the gtx runs cooler and can overclock easier. i plan on overclocking what ever i get. Or should i sli like a 460. i also need a monitor thinking this one

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236117

Also don't know if i should water cool. Never done it before but i thinking since i wana overclock this computer to the hilt i should use the most effective way to cool.

 

[MadAdmiral]

I'd swap the HSF for a Scythe Mugen 2 Rev. B. It's cheaper, and offers just as much cooling.

Since you're overclocking, I'd step up to these G.Skill Sniper 2x4 GB 1600 mhz CL 9 sticks for $15 more. There's also the Ripjaws and Ripjaws X at the same price. The 1600 mhz will help with overclocking.

As for the GPU, it kind of depends on what you're doing. If you're doing any rendering or such, the GTX 560 is the best choice. If you're just gaming, I'd probably go with the HD 6950 (2 GB model). I wouldn't agree that the GTX 560 is better at overclocking simply because the 6950 2 GB can be turned into a 6970 by changing the BIOS. That means you get $330 worth of GPU power for only $260ish, making it an amazing deal.

I don't like using SLI right away. It locks you out of an upgrade path and generally forces you to pay multiple premiums for a newer card. Just buy a single large GPU and plan to SLI later when you need to.

Water cooling is pretty much worthless. You end up paying a good $500+ to set it up right. You can get cheap water cooling, but that is never advised. For that $500+, you get the pleasure of having to maintain the system (cleaning, refilling, etc.), you bear extra risk (if the system breaks, it's more likely to ruin the rest of the machine), and you really don't get a much higher overclock. If you get a high end air cooler (like the Scythe unit I linked or the Notcua NH-D14), you can overclock to roughly the same levels, but you don't have the expense, the hassle or the risks of water cooling.

 

[ScrewySqrl]

note: If you plan to use a system as purchased for 2-3 years, you can probably go ahead and do an SLi/Crossfire... By the time you need to upgrade a crossfire of a 6870+, the whole PC will want replacement anyway.

 

[thenewnoob]

I only play games really and the reason i was wondering on what gpu to get is cause my friend told me that i can't turn the 6950 into the 6970 with the new bios. The bios that can do that are from January and not the current ones. I have had problems with my 5870 drivers in my current computer. Don't really wana deal with that again that why i was leaning more to the GTX 560 Ti

 

[MadAdmiral]

It's got nothing to do with the BIOS that comes with the 6950. The way you make it into the 6970 is that you actually change the BIOS. The only thing that could be changed to get rid of this "feature" is if they got rid of the ability of the 6950 to store two BIOS at once. Of course, that wouldn't really take away the ability to turn it into a 6970, it would just give it some risk. I should also point out that the soft mod only works with the 6950 2 GB version.

Also, drivers and the BIOS are completely different. The drivers are what are stored within the OS, while the BIOS is stored on the actual card itself. Bad drivers can usually be fixed by either updating the drivers to the newest available or rolling them back to an older, more stable version.

 

[thenewnoob]

Ok then ill go for the 6950 2 gb. Thanks

Any particular one that you would recommend cause i would get
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102914

for the rebate