Head spinning, advice please

[nightmareUZ]

Really just a gamer and know little about set-ups, would really appreciate some opinions from the community.

Main concerns:
Case, CPU fan, MB, and if I should get better memory (I would lose the free ssd)


CAS:* Raidmax Aeolus Gaming Mid-Tower Case w/ Side-Panel Window [-47]

CASUPGRADE:None

CD:Sony 24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive [+3] (BLACK COLOR)

CPU:Intel® Core™ i7-960 3.20 GHz 8M Intel Smart Cache LGA1366

CS_FAN:Maximum 120MM Case Cooling Fans for your selected case [+9]

FA_HDD:None

FAN:Thermaltake SpinQ Gaming CPU Cooling Fan (CLP0466) [+19]

FLASHMEDIA:None

FREEBIE_RM:30 GB Kingston 2.5 inch SATA Gaming MLC Solid State Disk

HDD:500GB SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD [-60] (Single Hard Drive)

IEEE_CARD:None

KEYBOARD:Xtreme Gear (Black Color) Multimedia/Internet USB Keyboard

MB_ADDON:None

MEMORY:6GB (2GBx3) DDR3/1600MHz Triple Channel Memory Module (Kingston HyperX [+58])

MOTHERBOARD3-Way SLI Support) MSI X58A-GD45 Intel X58 Chipset SLI/CrossFireX Triple-Channel DDR3 ATX Mainboard w/ 7.1 Audio, eSATA, GbLAN, USB3.0, SATA-III, RAID, IEEE1394a, 3 Gen2 PCIe, 3 PCIe X1 & 1 PCI (All Venom OC Certified) [-20]

MOUSE:Razer Naga MMOG 5600 DPI Gaming Mouse [+64]

MULTIVIEW:Non-SLI/Non-CrossFireX Mode Supports Multiple Monitors

NETWORK:Onboard Gigabit LAN Network

OS:None - FORMAT HARD DRIVE ONLY [-83]

OVERCLOCK:No Overclocking

POWERSUPPLY:* 850 Watts - Raidmax RX-850AE 80 Plus Gold Power Supply [+59]

SOUND:HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO

USB:Built-in USB 2.0 Ports

VC_PHYSX:None

VIDEO:NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 1.2GB 16X PCIe Video Card [+190] (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA)

WNC:None

_PRICE+1357)

 

[bdbeall]

see private message

 

[galeener]

Im not sure i would go with that power supply. Best to go with corsair, seasonic, coolermaster or thermaltake. Maybe get a 500g drive with 32meg cache or 64. You won't really see the difference with a mechanical drive between sata II and sata III.
Also anything branded xtreme gear is not worth any amount of money.
Over all for the money you may want to configure a Sandybridge based system over the I7 (1366) based system. The 1366 is pretty much at the end of its life cycle but the sandybridge Intel has stated will be compatable with the IvyBridge processors so you would have a good upgrade path.

 

[Proximon]

As galeener says.

Here is the way I would personally do it if I had to use Cyberpower The SSD can be removed if the price is too high.

*BASE_PRICE: [+715]
BLUETOOTH: None
CAS: CoolerMaster HAF 912 Mid-Tower Gaming Case w/ Adjustable HDD Cage [-52] (Black Color)
CASUPGRADE: None
CD: 24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive (BLACK COLOR)
CD2: None
CPU: Intel® Core™ i5-2500K 3.30 GHz 6M Intel Smart Cache LGA1155 (All Venom OC Certified)
CS_FAN: Default case fans
FA_HDD: None
FAN: CoolerMaster V8 Gaming CPU Cooling Fan (Extreme Silent Operation at only 22dBA + Overclock Proof) [+22]
FLASHMEDIA: None
FREEBIE_RM: None
GLASSES: None
HDD: 120GB Corsair Force 120 Gaming MLC Solid State Disk [+205] (Single Hard Drive)
HDD2: 1TB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD [+60] (Single Hard Drive)
IEEE_CARD: None
KEYBOARD: Xtreme Gear (Black Color) Multimedia/Internet USB Keyboard
MB_ADDON: None
MEMORY: 8GB (2GBx4) DDR3/1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Module (Corsair or Major Brand)
MONITOR: None
MONITOR2: None
MONITOR3: None
MOTHERBOARD: [CrossFireX/SLI] Asus P8P67 Pro Intel P67 Chipset DDR3 ATX Mainboard w/ UEFI, DIGI+VRM, 7.1 HD Audio, BT GO!, GbLAN, USB 3.0, 2x SATA-III RAID, 3 Gen2 PCIe, 2 PCIe X1 & 2 PCI [B3 Stepping] [+75]
MOUSE: XtremeGear Optical USB 3 Buttons Gaming Mouse
MULTIVIEW: Non-SLI/Non-CrossFireX Mode Supports Multiple Monitors
NCSW: None
NETWORK: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
OS: Microsoft® Windows® 7 Home Premium [+104] (64-bit Edition)
OVERCLOCK: Pro OC (Performance Overclock 10% or more) [+19]
POWERSUPPLY: 750 Watts - Corsair Professional Series CMPSU-AX750 Gold 80 Plus Power Supply [+143]
RUSH: NO; READY TO SHIP IN 5~10 BUSINESS DAYS
SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
SPEAKERS: None
TEMP: None
TVRC: None
USB: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
USBFLASH: None
USBHD: None
USBX: None
VC_PHYSX: None
VIDEO: AMD Radeon HD 6950 2GB GDDR5 16X PCIe Video Card [+260] (Major Brand Powered by AMD)
VIDEO2: None
VIDEO3: None
WNC: None
_PRICE: (+1551)

 

[galeener]

With the 30gig ssd you had I was thinking it was free if you ordered the kingston ram. It would only be about big enough for an OS drive and a few programs.
You would be at the same budget with the above build if you dropped the 120g corsair drive.

 

[nightmareUZ]

and would we consider Proximon's build to be as good or even better? I would drop the ssd to save money but want to know if I got SATA-III 6.0gb/s would that be an upgrade as my only HDD for this system?

 

[Proximon]

Not really. Most or all of the SATA III drives are no better than the SATA II ones.

There is a very nice motherboard there with the ability to add a second video card later should you get the need. The processor is stronger, and the overclock will make it even more so. You get 8GB instead of 6GB RAM, a small upgrade.

The board also has built-in Bluetooth.

The PSU is much higher quality and will cover a second 6950 should you get the urge.

 

[nightmareUZ]

Thanks a ton for helping me with this!


Asking about the SATA III only because it's just $14 more, and you believe that it'll be ok to go with the i5-2500k rather than the i7-960? Basically my plan is to play rift until Star wars:ToR comes out and would love to play with max graphics.

 

[Proximon]

The 2500K is better in most all benchmarks. The only CPUs that beat it are the i7 2600K and a couple VERY expensive CPUs, the 980X and 990X.

You should have no issues playing those games maxxed out on a 1920x1080 monitor. Future games may need the second 6950.

 

[nightmareUZ]

any tweaks you would do if it was through newegg rather than cyberpower, building the computer isn't much of an issue thanks to some comp savy friends. I'm actually looking to go with the build you posted minus the ssd

questions I have so far (editing as needed)

this the MB you recommended?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131705

also is there a reason for 4x2GB for the memory sticks rather than 2x4GB?

 

[Proximon]

No, I recommended the P8P67 Pro, but those are in short supply. I bought one of the last available 3 weeks ago. It's not the P8P67-M Pro either. That is a mATX board with some missing key features.

Closest Newegg has is the Sabertooth
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131702
About the same thing but with "armor"

The reason for the 2GBx4 was either the beer or the dyslexia I looked at it three times to make sure you were getting 4GBx2, I really did.

 

[nightmareUZ]

Best answer selected by nightmareUZ.