$1100-$1200 MAX intel 2500k cool gaming build critique and advice.

[willi924]

Hi Tomshardware community,

I think I've gotten together a decent set of components for my a new build for myself. Last year, the TomshHardware forum community help me build a new AMD 955 build for the family. They LOVED the build and I using it right now. Thanks for any help, advice and suggestions.
Critique any part and I will take any help to improve system build.


Approx. Purchase Date: ASAP, likely by the end of next week if possible.

Budget Range: Max, about $1100 after rebates, but there's a little wiggle room.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Mainly gaming, movie watching, mp3 encoding.

Parts Not Required:


Gpu card purchased for $150.00:IS HD 5870 iCooler V Turbo 1GB (256bit) GDDR5 PCIe (DirectX 11/ Eyefinity) (Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 2 Game Coupon Inside)

http://www.hisdigital.com/un/product2-523.shtml

8GB DDR3 RAM $110.00: 2x OCZ Technology 4GB DDR3-1600 (PC-12800) Gold Low Voltage CL8 Dual Channel Desktop Memory Kit (Two 2GB Memory Modules)
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0317775


sound card $22 after $10MIR:ASUS Xonar DG 5.1 PCI Sound Card
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0355812

cpu heatsink $32 after $25giftcard: Thermaltake Frio Overclocking-Ready Intel Core i7 (six-core ready) & i5 Compatible Five 8mm Heatpipes Dual 120mm Fans Intel & AMD Universal CPU Cooler CLP0564
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835106150

OS $99.89 windows 7 OEM: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit OEM
http://www.nanosys1.com/sw-ms-win7-hp-64.html


Speakers, keyboard, mouse, HDTV 1080p



Preferred Website(s) for Parts: None, but I've mostly been using Microcenter (there's one very nearby to me) and Newegg.

Country of Origin: USA

Parts Preferences: Intel Sandybridge CPU

Overclocking: Yes. I want to overclock to 4.4 or 4.5.

SLI or Crossfire: Yes but down the road though.

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Commets: of course Black OPs, WOW, Dragon AgeII, APA, Libreoffice


Parts so far:

mobo and processor combo $320 ASUS P8P67 Pro-R3 LGA 1155 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0358064

Core i5 2500K LGA 1155 Boxed Processor part of combo above.
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0354589

OS HDD $99.99 : Micro Center 64GB SATA II 3.0Gb/s 2.5" G2 Series Solid State Drive (SSD) With SandForce 1222 Controller
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0351760

Game HDD $59.99 :Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7,200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0340562


Blu-Ray burner $99.99: LG 10x Internal Blu-ray Disc Rewriter- OEM
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0331378


PSU $129.99 after instant rebate from Newegg/SeaSonic X750 Gold 750W ATX12V V2.3/EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151087

or
PSU $95.00 from Newegg/CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V v2.2 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006
or
PSU $119.99 XFX Core Edition PRO850W (P1-850S-NLB9) 850W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207011



Case $160.00: Corsair Graphite Series 600T Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139003

or


Case $189.99: COOLER MASTER HAF X RC-942-KKN1 Black Steel/ Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119225

or Case $149.99: Fractal Design Define XL Titanium Grey ATX Full Tower Silent PC Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352006

or
Case $139.99: NZXT Phantom PHAN-001RD Red Steel / Plastic Enthusiast ATX Full Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146066




I looking to spend $1100.00 for the rest of the build,




So, as for my remaining questions:

I got a deal on the Frio but I am at a lost as to which case will hold the Thermaltake Frio and allow me to crossfire the 5870 down.
Which case will give me room for crossfire the 5870, hold the Thermaltake Frio heatsink and keep the temps low??
Will the Frio heatsink fit inside the Corsair 600T case?

Is it worth it to buy another 5870 and crossfire them?
Or should I just bite the bullet know and try to sell the 5870 and upgrade my graphics card??

With solid state drive. I only added because everyone says this will improve boot drive times and improve application load times. But it so small. Wouldn't it be better just to add another Samsung F3 or Western Digital !TB black drive and use
1 drive for operating system, steam, games and applications.
1 drive for movies and data backup??


I will definitely take all advice in this area.
Solid state drives still seem in their infancy and with exception of expensively PCI-E solid state drives are overpriced and do not have a bang for buck value to them. Is there a good guide that will show me how to overclock the 2500k using bclck?
I am a dinosaur so I have not familar with Intel Bclck overclocking.

I want to purchase the Seasonic but a few negative feedback reviews have me a little nervous.
I never had a modular power supply but a few reviews I have read about
Seasonic power supply reviews and there were some issues with cable stiffness and connecters possibly failling.
Anyone have any experience with the Seasonic X750w psu??

Well I hope the BBCode worked in my post. First time I have ever tried before. Now I want to learn C+. LOL

Again, I appreciate all your time and effort from this great community.

William

 

[striker410]

Definitely keep the 5870. That's an amazing deal. Not sure which cases the frio will fit in, but it should fit in the haf X as it's a HUGE case. As for the SSD, If load times bother you, get it. If not, don't sweat it. And for your PSU, 750 watt should definitely be the minimum.

 

[Silvune]

Get the Seasonic X-750 now if you can get it for only $130. It is extremely good, has long cables, high efficiency, it's even semi-fanless (fan only spins after a certain point) it really is an amazing power supply and almost nothing would put me off. Ignore the negative feedback if they are from newegg reviews.

Overclocking on Sandy Bridge is multiplier based, I don't know why you would want to alter BCLK or whatever.

Any of those cases will be able to take the Thermaltake Frio. The Frio is 162mm tall. The NZXT Phantom can take them up to 183mm, the Fractal R3 can take them up to 165mm, and the HAF X can take them up to 190mm, Corsair Graphite 600T can take them up to 200mm apparently. These figures are assuming that there aren't any side fans on the cases' side panels.
The R3 is probably the most unsuitable for a multi GPU build, unless of course you fill up all the fan bays, but that will negate the main benefit of that case; the low noise and it will add cost.

 

[willi924]

Get the Seasonic X-750 now if you can get it for only $130. It is extremely good, has long cables, high efficiency, it's even semi-fanless (fan only spins after a certain point) it really is an amazing power supply and almost nothing would put me off. Ignore the negative feedback if they are from newegg reviews.

Overclocking on Sandy Bridge is multiplier based, I don't know why you would want to alter BCLK or whatever.

Any of those cases will be able to take the Thermaltake Frio. The Frio is 162mm tall. The NZXT Phantom can take them up to 183mm, the Fractal R3 can take them up to 165mm, and the HAF X can take them up to 190mm, Corsair Graphite 600T can take them up to 200mm apparently. These figures are assuming that there aren't any side fans on the cases' side panels.
The R3 is probably the most unsuitable for a multi GPU build, unless of course you fill up all the fan bays, but that will negate the main benefit of that case; the low noise and it will add cost.

Thanks ordered Seasonic last night from Newegg. Thanks for helping me with the overclock of the Sandybridge. I was incorrect need to stop doing research on only 2hours of sleep. lol

Do you have any experience with Microcenter solid state drives or solid state drives in general. I have never use raid before.
Anyone have any experience with RAID 10

 

[willi924]

Best answer selected by willi924.