New Build Comment Period (June Purchase)

Gaming won't require that 2600K. I'd take the Xigmatek Aegir for cheaper too. That sound card is pretty expensive too, nothing wrong with it though I suppose. Looks very nice overall!

I absolutely despise my X-Fi Titanimum Pro, I wish I never got it and only use it out of obligation. You may not even need a sound card. If you do think you need one I reccomend from personal experience a different card.

I would get the 2500K becuase when it comes to gaming you wont notice a difference between it and the 2600K.

Also for a CPU cooler, the NH-D14 is amazing, but you can get a Thermaltake Frio which is in its performance range for much cheaper.

http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/thermalright_archo...

Only a few degrees difference, and its much smaller.

With the money you save maybe you can get a larger and better SSD, like this.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Thanks for the input... that's what I'm looking for, ways to shave cost w/o losing noticeable performance. So if I can get away with the i5 and different cooler to save something, but keep relative performance in both areas I'll give it a look.

The sound card is really indefensible so if you have a cheaper solution that gets the job done let me know. Not really an audiophile so I doubt I would notice a difference.

Thanks

why dont you take taxes out of it and buy mostly form amazon usually you dont have to pay shipping either. the asrock mobo is now at amazon. +1 on the 2500k. here is a better psu for less (w/ newegg taxes)- http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Professional-Performance-...
cooler master v6 gt- http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-V6GT-220-Watt-RR-V6...
same ssd intel- http://www.amazon.com/Intel-SATA-2-5-Inch-Solid-State-D...
spinpoint f3 1tb hdd- http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Spinpoint-3-5-Inch-Intern...
ram- http://www.amazon.com/G-SKILL-Ripjaws-1600MHz-PC3-12800...
case- http://www.amazon.com/Antec-Gaming-Twelve-Hundred-V3/dp...
gtx 570- http://www.amazon.com/MSI-N570GTX-Twin-Frozr-Power/dp/B...

since you live in california you are probably within range of a microcenter. You can get the 2500k for $179 if you pick it up at the store.
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml...

I agree with the sound card... the motherboard's built in audio will barely be noticeably different from a soundcard unless you have an audiophile-grade speaker setup.

lower-priced heatsinks: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

EDIT: mjmjpfaff seasonic quality is the same as corsair, if not better

OS: Win 7

EDIT 1: ( I took some of your suggestions and here is the update)


Mobo: ASRock P67 EXTREME4 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813157229 $159.00


CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115072 $225.00 (Instead of i5-2600K saving $90.00) $/performance optimal


PSU: 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/Prod [...] 6817151087 $159.00


Mem: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... (Changed to 1333MHz as I don't think $/performance supports it) $85.00 (Savings $65.00)


Vid: MSI N570GTX Twin Frozr II OC GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814127564 (Just one for now) $355.00


Storage 1: Crucial RealSSD C300 CTFDDAC064MAG-1G1 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820148357 (Primarily for OS) $100.00


Storage 2: Western Digital Caviar Black WD7501AALS 750GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive -Bare Drive


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136283 (No land speed records required) $70.00


Cooling: Noctua NH-D14 120mm & 140mm SSO CPU Cooler


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835608018 $90.00


Case: Antec Twelve Hundred V3 Black Steel ATX Full Tower Unbeatable Gaming Case


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129100 $160.00 (Always liked this case, but if a better cooling option available, will concede)


Sound: Nixing the Creative Fatality Xi as I really do not believe I'll appreciate quality sound like others with crazy audio set-ups (Savings 150)


So, changing the CPU and Sound Card Options, but everything else will be the same. I don't see the value to performance pushing me to have a larger SSD instead of keeping my OS and productivity files on the SSD and using a HDD for everything else. If someone can change my mind on this, please let me hear it.


EDIT 2:


At this point, please let me here your tech/compatibility/performance critiques, I'll worry about the cheapest outlets later...


@mjmjpfaff although thanks for the Amazon.com suggestion to circumvent taxes (as long as I use Amazon.com as the seller)...


@attackllama Also, there is a Microcenter near me and it's insanely cheap for the CPU... so cheap it makes me think there's something wrong with it, but they're probably selling it at a loss hoping I'll buy a bunch of crap I don't need since it's in store pickup only hehe Thanks for this info, I'll look into it more to vet the retailer unless you have some experience with them...

Looks like the final layout is above... if you can think of any other tweaks let me know... I've dropped the price down to $1405.00 I just need to ad the cost of Win7 Home and the cost of a reliable CD/DVD Rom drive and burner... That should wrap this puppy up nicely.

Have you looked at the Raven rv02-e case?

http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cases_cooling/silver...

thats a review of the white version, which costs a few bucks extra.. but the performance will be the same if you get the black version too  

also.. consider the 560ti gpu

http://www.amazon.com/MSI-PCI-Express-N560GTX-TWIN-FROZ...

249.99 w/ free shipping and a $20 rebate!

I'm an Nvidia fanboy, but for this budget, I'd recommend going the other way from the GTX 570; Crossfire 6950s (unlocked?!!?) are the best value for performance gaming anywhere right now, and for $1800 dollars you can easily fit them in. Nvidia messed up on this last generation with framebuffers way too small compared to AMD's.

You can get the EVGA 570 from microcenter for 299.99 with a 10/yr extended warranty thrown in

I'd suggest getting an h70/80/100 instead of a NH-D14, the h70 seems to run cooler and the other two are coming out shortly I believe

NH-D14 is > the h70, can't comment on the 80 or 100 yet tho ;o

^+1 also get the samsung spintpoint f3 1tb hdd cheaper faster and bigger.

If computer noise is an issue I would recommend that you stay with the NH-D14 as it is about 17 DB quieter than the Frio with the highest fan setting on both of them.

From the reviews that I have read the H70 doesn't cool much if any better than the D14 and it is noisy with high fans. But not all reviews agree.

For your case I would recommend the Cooler Master 912 (cheapest), or the full tower HAF X 942. My favorite case right now is the Corsair 650D which is on sale at Amazon for $180 after rebates. It is simply an amazing case. The Silverstone Fortress FT02 cools better but it is more expensive and does not have USB 3.0. A lot of people like Lian Li but they can be expensive.

I'd go with the Raven RV02-e over the FT02.. its the same internals as the FT02 but its cheaper.