Looking to drop $4k on a gaming rig...go for it now or wait for LGA2011?

this would be a good time to do it

i would jump on the gtx 590 before it get sold out

Save like a thousand dollars and just go 1155 for now. Then use that thousand dollar you saved and buy a new mobo/cpu in fall. Then you can reconnect the 590s,gtx, etc.

I feel like you'd be wasting a lot of money unless you're trying to play at 2560 x 1600.

Just for gaming and watching movies 2500k and P67/Z68 is more then enough.
If you can get use of 8 threads for what ever reason (rendering, photoshop,CAD/CAM) get 2600K.

Only reason for waiting on LGA2011 would be to get more PCI-e llanes to use more x8/16 addin cards.

LGA2011 would be really expensive for both CPU and MB and given that SB on LGA1155 overclocked will be close to its performance at much lower price.

Thanks guys, great responses! For the record, I'll be working on a 24" to start, but leaning toward upgrading to 30" sometime this year - so 2560x1600 looks likely. Looks like I'll be taking the plunge...

$4K for a GAMING rig??

LOL

What is so lol, mine cost 8k if you count WC, audio and 30" monitor. And that was with huge discount already.
10k if you count in UPS and software.

Don't listen to the haters! Sandy bridge is pretty sick - I'd go for it right away. You'll have a nice amount of your budget left to really get everything that you'd like as well... whether that is watercooling, a fancy case, or whatever. You could always start with a 580 and add a second when you get a different screen as well if you'd like. I'd also personally suggest trying to go for 120hz screens... although your options are fairly limited for now.

It's also worth mentioning that a pair of GTX 570s in SLI or similar ATI cards in crossfire are an excellent deal.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-graphics-card-...

Alright, what I'm looking at so far:

LIAN LI PC-X500FX Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Model #: PC-X500FX
Item #:N82E16811112317

ASUS MAXIMUS IV EXTREME (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Extended ATX Intel Motherboard
Model #:MAXIMUS IV EXTREMEV3
Item #:N82E16813131700

ASUS ENGTX590/3DIS/3GD5 GeForce GTX 590 (Fermi) 3072MB 768-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
Model #:ENGTX590/3DIS/3GD5
Item #:N82E16814121436

Thermaltake Toughpower W0133RU 1200W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power
Model #:W0133RU
Item #:N82E16817153054

Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I72600K
Model #:BX80623I72600K
Item #:N82E16819115070

OCZ Vertex 3 VTX3-25SAT3-240G 2.5" 240GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
Model #:VTX3-25SAT3-240G
Item #:N82E16820227707


G.SKILL Ripjaws X + Turbulence II Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2133 (PC3 17000) Desktop Memory Model F3-17000CL9Q-16GBXLD
Model #:F3-17000CL9Q-16GBXLD
Item #:N82E16820231452

Western Digital RE3 WD1002FBYS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Model #:WD1002FBYS
Item #:N82E16822136313

HP BD Combo SATA Model BD240I-h01 LightScribe Support
Model #:BD240I-h01
Item #:N82E16827140046

ZALMAN CNPS9900MAX-B 135mm Long life bearing CPU Cooler Blue LED
Model #:CNPS9900MAX-B
Item #:N82E16835118074

...and thinking about a sound card, probably:

Creative PCI Express Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Champion Series Sound Card
Model #:70SB088600007
Item #:N82E16829102021

Not sure yet if the card is worth it, but listening to music (with the eventual possibility of recording) is a close 2nd after gaming. Front access is also a nice bonus.

Does anything blatantly stand out as wasteful/replaceable? As an asidem I'm not against RAID, but the combo I selected seems to fit the bill too.

That case is really expensive. I'm assuming you've looked at the Cooler Master Haf X? It's a pretty popular choice right now.

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

If you're going all out like that, I'd suggest going with two of the new GTX 580 3GB versions in SLI. They will have higher clock speeds and (of course) more RAM. 1.5GB per GPU limits the GTX 590 cards.

You should also check out the reviews of the OCZ Agility 3 SSD. It out-performs the Vertex 3 in a lot of situations despite being the "lesser" brother.

And a quad-core 2500K will be more than enough for gaming for a few years. Hyper-Threading won't do you any good. If you really want more than four cores, you'll have to wait for the six-core Sandy Bridge E and the X79 chipset.

Edit: Your budget makes me green with envy. I sure wish I had kind of money to blow on a system!

Your components look pretty solid. Historically the best time to buy computer components is between Q1 and Q2 just because of the marketing forces and cyclical nature of the business. Products are typically released just before the holidays and right at the beginning of the year and it takes a few months to flush out the first rush of low supply and high demand. Buying in the fall typically gives you the least bang for the buck. I would recommend buying now unless you want to wait for next spring.

I'd avoid a GTX 590, especially if you're going to overclock. 2 HD 6950s in Crossfire would be great @ 2560x1600. No need waiting for LGA 2011, as the only CPU within reach for that socket will not be fully unlocked.

If you really want to wait, then do so for Ivy Bridge.

Thanks a lot everyone, really good tips...

@Taylor422 I might just go for the Haf X, taking a second look at it. I had a Lian Li in the past and really liked it (aside from the screw holes stripping slightly), but they are WAY overpriced.

@Leaps-from-Shadows I had looked at the Agility 3 also, really similar, but I had no idea it beat out the Vertex 3... I'll have to read a couple more reviews.

@jasonw223 Nice PSU! I'll definitely go with the newer Zalman then, too. Water cooling was tempting, but it's just so much hassle down the road. For the performance air offers, it just isn't worth the trouble IMO  

@Tamz_msc I went AMD (ATI) last time and was a little bit disappointed by drivers/stability. I wished I had gone nVidia...now's my chance, haha.

Best answer selected by thisfffire.

Agility ssd will use more then one brand for components and depending on it it will have different speed.
You can end up as fast as Vertex, but also considerable slower.

The 590 and 6990 are dogs, comparable performance from twin 560's / 6950's at just over half the price. Adding a 2nd 590 / 6990 gives just 12-20%

Guru3D uses the following games in their test suite, COD-MW, Bad Company 2, Dirt 2, Far Cry 2, Metro 2033, Dawn of Discovery, Crysis Warhead. Total fps (summing fps in each game @ 1920 x 1200) for the various options in parenthesis (single card / SL or CF) are tabulated below along with their cost in dollars per frame single card - CF or SLI:


$254.00 6950 (479/751) $0.53 - $0.68
$285.00 6950 Frozr OC (484/759) $0.59 - $0.75
$210.00 560 Ti (455/792) $0.46 - $0.53
$355.00 6970 (526/825) $0.67 - $0.86
$220.00 560 Ti - 900 Mhz (495/862) $0.44 - $0.51
$335.00 570 (524/873) $0.64 - $0.77
$500.00 580 (616/953) $0.81 - $1.05
$725.00 6990 (762/903) $0.95 - $1.61
$700.00 590 (881/982) $0.79 - $1.43

Consider the WS Revolution as an alternative to the Maximus....I don't see how the Mximus offers anything extra given the rest of the system. Compare it with the Gigabyte UD76 here

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/3795/asus_p8p67_ws_rev...

If ya go with the twin 560's, a 750 watter is good 850 PSU is recommended. Antec SG or CP series, Corsair AX / HS series, Seasonic X Series and XFX Black Edition are all 1st tier PSU's w/ 10.0 performance ratings from jonnyguru.

I'd take the Asus or Plextor BR Combo drives over the HP

I'd use the onboard sound and only upgrade if ya find it lacking.

Be aware of cooler fit issues with Maximus or even WS Revolution. Many coolers will hit the GFX card in the top slot. Even the small self contained water coolers like the Antec Kuhler and Corsair H series won't fit. I was able to fit the Silver Arrow in w/ that MoBo only by rotating it 90 degrees and having it blow up instead of to the rear.

Case wise, the two cases that I most often wind up building with are the DF-85 and HAF-X. Both have front USB 3 ports which many cases today still do not have. Both have inlet air filters which are much improved on the DF-85 over its 1200 predecessor with regard ti tome to take out and clean. I love the hot swap 2.5" drive on the DF tho the security bar on the 5.25" bay is annoying on build day when I'm swapping 20 CD's in and out. With the HAF, I just am not comfy with the tool less features which I find flimsy and often find hard to align. My fav thing about the DF tho is it's ability to take CPX form factor PSU's which jonnyguru writes:

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=...



More on how the case and PSU work together here:

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article971-page7.html