Assembling first gaming pc,picked out most parts,any input appreciated

[Dan0003]

, I've been planning on making a gaming rig for a while now. This is the first time im building my own computer from scratch. My primary, but not limited, usage for this will be for a lot of gaming. I'm not exactly on a tight budget but dont want to spend more than i have to or 1000-1600$ initially and dont want to go overboard.Anyway i picked out all the parts to my first build, more or less,so here it goes:

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K

MoBo: still speculating on what i should get, right now ive got the sabertooth p67 and ASUS P8P67 DELUXE in mind. Although i noticed that when i crossfire id only get 8x/8x, i mean is it worth spending 300$+ mainly for 16x/16x compatibility? And which would be the best board/price here, i dont want to be spending an extra 50$ on something when the less expensive motherboard is just as good. Im not familiar with overclocking...(yet) but would like to have that option open if i decide to oc it down the road.

GPU: HIS Radeon HD 6950 2GB 256-bit GDDR5. I'm planning to OC and crossfire in a few months.

RAM: not too sure on this one but this one but wanted 2x4gb.

PSU: Initially planned on getting CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W but im concerned it would be enough especially when i crossfire my gpu and if i oc everything. maybe get the 850W version?

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" (already got this one elsewhere for 70$)

SSD: Will get one down the road.


Case: RAIDMAX SMILODON Extreme Black

Fan/cooler: is this completely necessary for the time being? as i wont be overclocking anything straight away.

Beside the few missing or components, what do guys think of this set up? And thank you in advance.

 

[ukee1593]

Pretty nice GPU in my opinion, should be great in crossfire.

You may wish to get the aftermarket CPU cooler now as depending on your case the cooler can be quite an overhaul in order to install, having to take out he motherboard and components in order to screw the backplate thingy underneath the CPU. I'd recommend the CoolerMaster Hyper 212+ as they come very highly recommended by the folks here. Either that or a Corsair radiator budget allowing.

RAM - I'm personally going with a GSkill Ripjaws X series 8GB for my next build, but I cannot give first had advice with this one though.

GPU - Providing that overclocking is still supported, you may wish to loop at a 6950 with an aftermarket cooler in order to keep temperatures down under overclocking and noise to a minimum. The ASUS DirectCUs are supposed to be very cool and quiet, either that or a MSI twin Frozor. Also ensure that there is room for both of these.

I'm pretty sure that the benchmarks show that putting cards in 8x 8x crossfire only results in a 2% performance loss over 16x 16x. So the cheaper mobo should be cool and allow you to spend some extra cash elsewhere.


Cheers,

Luke

 

[buzznut]

The PSU should be good.
I hear good things about the ripjaws. I like the Corsair Vengeance kits, nice price and got very good reviews. Also Mushkin I recommend as an American company based here in Colorado. The blackline series are very good.
Nice choice on the Graphics card.
I agree with the aftermarket cooler, if nothing else it will be quieter. But most folks won't want to mess with tearing the computer apart again to install later. Plus it will look better through your window.