Approximate Purchase Date: Within the next two months
Budget Range: $2000-$2500(closer to the lower end)
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming/CAD/Video Editing
Parts Not Required: N/A
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: TigerDirect for the most part(no tax) newegg/amazon.
Country of Origin: United States
Parts Preferences: Asus/nVidia
Overclocking: Yes
SLI or Crossfire: Yes
Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080
Additional Comments: I *had* a PC planned out, but decided I wanted to go another route. Want to keep all components black and red.
What I have so far is...
Case
Choice between two:
Azza CSAZ-1000R Solano 1000R Full Tower Gaming Case
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=41024&sku=A702-0008
Antec DF-85 Black ATX Full Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129087
-The Azza case appears to fit all my needs, and I love the red interior. Does the Antec case provide anything extra to warrant me paying more for it?
Motherboard
Choice between two:
ASUS Rampage III Formula Motherboard - Intel X58, LGA 1366, ATX, Audio, PCI Express 2.0, CrossFire Ready, SLI Ready, Gigabit LAN, S/PDIF, Firewire, USB 3.0, SATA 6BG/s, RAID
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6666334&sku=A455-2997
ASRock Fatal1ty P67 PROFESSIONAL (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157240
-Is the ASRock board any good? I've read a few reviews, but can't seem to determine whether it's worthy or not. Also would have to change my memory choice, but that's not a big deal(and would save me money ).
CPU
Intel Core i7-2600K BX80623I72600K Unlocked Processor - Quad Core, 8MB L3 Cache, 3.40 GHz, Socket H2 (LGA1155), Retail
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7073159&sku=I69-2600K
GPU
Choice between two:
ASUS ENGTX560 Ti DCII TOP/2DI/1GD5 GeForce GTX 560 Ti DirectCU II TOP Video Card - 1GB, GDDR5, Overclocked, PCI-Express 2.0 (x16), Dual DVI, Mini-HDMI, DirectX 11, SLI Ready
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=86841&sku=A455-0562
ASUS ENGTX570DCII/2DIS/12 GeForce GTX 570 DirectCU II Video Card - 1280 MB, GDDR5, PCI-Express 2.0 (x16), Dual DVI-I, HDMI, Display Port, DirectX 11, Triple-Slot, SLI Ready, Overclocked
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7280370&CatId=3669
-Plan is to SLI in the near future. Couple questions though.
1.Is a single 560 TI enough to play current/new games at max settings on a 1080p screen?
2.Is there a considerable difference between sli 560 ti and 570 cards?
Memory
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 12GB (3 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9T-12GBRL
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231358
Monitor
Asus ML238H 23" Widescreen LED Monitor - 1080p, 1920x1080, 16:9, 10000000:1 Dynamic, 2ms, VGA, DVI, HDMI
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6666488&sku=A466-2318
PSU
Corsair CMPSU-850TXV2 Enthusiast Series TX850 V2 Power Supply
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7195039&sku=C13-2804
-Is 850W too much for my set up? I would like to be on the safe side, so any advice is welcome.
CPU Cooler
Sunbeam Twister 120 CW-TWI-120-SV 120mm x 2 MFDB CPU Cooler with Rheosmart PCI fan controller, free TX-4 Thermal Paste Included Inside
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835207009
-Chosen for the looks mainly. Any other good coolers out there with red fans/leds? Or ones that I could just change the fan on.
Optical Drive
LG Black 12X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DVD+R 12X DVD-RAM 10X BD-ROM 4MB Cache SATA Super Multi WH12LS30 LightScribe Support - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136226
Several questions:
1. Trying to figure out a ssd/hdd set up. What exactly is ssd caching? How is it beneficial to everyday computer use? What would be a sufficient amount of space on a SSD? Also, how is RAID beneficial? I plan on using 2-3 1 tb drives, which raid setup would be the best?
2. Cable Management: I've seen a couple custom computers that use tubing to hide their wires. Anyone know of any tubing that would be good for this?
I've still got quite a bit of leeway moneywise, so any advice on parts is welcome.
Budget Range: $2000-$2500(closer to the lower end)
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming/CAD/Video Editing
Parts Not Required: N/A
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: TigerDirect for the most part(no tax) newegg/amazon.
Country of Origin: United States
Parts Preferences: Asus/nVidia
Overclocking: Yes
SLI or Crossfire: Yes
Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080
Additional Comments: I *had* a PC planned out, but decided I wanted to go another route. Want to keep all components black and red.
What I have so far is...
Case
Choice between two:
Azza CSAZ-1000R Solano 1000R Full Tower Gaming Case
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=41024&sku=A702-0008
Antec DF-85 Black ATX Full Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129087
-The Azza case appears to fit all my needs, and I love the red interior. Does the Antec case provide anything extra to warrant me paying more for it?
Motherboard
Choice between two:
ASUS Rampage III Formula Motherboard - Intel X58, LGA 1366, ATX, Audio, PCI Express 2.0, CrossFire Ready, SLI Ready, Gigabit LAN, S/PDIF, Firewire, USB 3.0, SATA 6BG/s, RAID
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6666334&sku=A455-2997
ASRock Fatal1ty P67 PROFESSIONAL (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157240
-Is the ASRock board any good? I've read a few reviews, but can't seem to determine whether it's worthy or not. Also would have to change my memory choice, but that's not a big deal(and would save me money ).
CPU
Intel Core i7-2600K BX80623I72600K Unlocked Processor - Quad Core, 8MB L3 Cache, 3.40 GHz, Socket H2 (LGA1155), Retail
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7073159&sku=I69-2600K
GPU
Choice between two:
ASUS ENGTX560 Ti DCII TOP/2DI/1GD5 GeForce GTX 560 Ti DirectCU II TOP Video Card - 1GB, GDDR5, Overclocked, PCI-Express 2.0 (x16), Dual DVI, Mini-HDMI, DirectX 11, SLI Ready
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=86841&sku=A455-0562
ASUS ENGTX570DCII/2DIS/12 GeForce GTX 570 DirectCU II Video Card - 1280 MB, GDDR5, PCI-Express 2.0 (x16), Dual DVI-I, HDMI, Display Port, DirectX 11, Triple-Slot, SLI Ready, Overclocked
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7280370&CatId=3669
-Plan is to SLI in the near future. Couple questions though.
1.Is a single 560 TI enough to play current/new games at max settings on a 1080p screen?
2.Is there a considerable difference between sli 560 ti and 570 cards?
Memory
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 12GB (3 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9T-12GBRL
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231358
Monitor
Asus ML238H 23" Widescreen LED Monitor - 1080p, 1920x1080, 16:9, 10000000:1 Dynamic, 2ms, VGA, DVI, HDMI
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6666488&sku=A466-2318
PSU
Corsair CMPSU-850TXV2 Enthusiast Series TX850 V2 Power Supply
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7195039&sku=C13-2804
-Is 850W too much for my set up? I would like to be on the safe side, so any advice is welcome.
CPU Cooler
Sunbeam Twister 120 CW-TWI-120-SV 120mm x 2 MFDB CPU Cooler with Rheosmart PCI fan controller, free TX-4 Thermal Paste Included Inside
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835207009
-Chosen for the looks mainly. Any other good coolers out there with red fans/leds? Or ones that I could just change the fan on.
Optical Drive
LG Black 12X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DVD+R 12X DVD-RAM 10X BD-ROM 4MB Cache SATA Super Multi WH12LS30 LightScribe Support - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136226
Several questions:
1. Trying to figure out a ssd/hdd set up. What exactly is ssd caching? How is it beneficial to everyday computer use? What would be a sufficient amount of space on a SSD? Also, how is RAID beneficial? I plan on using 2-3 1 tb drives, which raid setup would be the best?
2. Cable Management: I've seen a couple custom computers that use tubing to hide their wires. Anyone know of any tubing that would be good for this?
I've still got quite a bit of leeway moneywise, so any advice on parts is welcome.