New System Build - What do you think?

[BE4TNUT]

So here is my situation. Last time I built a gaming system it was about 6 years ago and turned out great. Now since then I haven't had much time to stay up with the technology but have been doing a lot of reading the last week or so. I have been going through Newegg and put everything into my cart and came out around 2k which was what I was looking to stay around. Below is the specs of the build. I am looking for feedback and suggestions.

I would like to buy within the next couple weeks.

This will mainly be used for gaming although I may use it to run as my HTPC also and retire my Revo that currently acting as it. I would ultimately like to also get a second SSD and install Apple OSX to it, or have it run through a Virtual Machine maybe (better HTPC software). If it makes a viable HTPC when I am not gaming on it I would also like to explore the ability to have it act as a DVR for me if I add more storage drives for it. Lastly, I would also like to use it for Folding@Home.

[strike]Case: Corsair Obsidian Series 800D CC800DW Black Aluminum / Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case $270
Storage Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $90
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-8GBXH $130
MoBo: ASRock Z68 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard $190
CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I72600K $315
CPU Cooler: XIGMATEK Gaia SD1283 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler bracket included I7 i5 775 1155 AMD and dual fan push pull compatible $30
OS Drive: ADATA S599 AS599S-64GM-C 2.5" 64GB SATA II Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) $120

Now for Graphics Card(s)...

2 x MSI R6970-2PM2D2GD5 Radeon HD 6970 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity $680

or

1 x Galaxy 58NLH5HS3PXZ GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) 1536MB 384-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card $460[/strike]

Revised build list below!

And for the power supply I am looking for suggestions... Right now I am going to be running air cooling but I would also like to try my hand at water cooling once I have a little more money down the line (Hence the case selection).

The main game I will be playing that is graphics intensive is BF3 most likely for now. I will be running two monitors at 1650x1080 resolution also most likely. Also my OS will be Win 7 professional.

This build before rebates is showing at around $1600 - $1825 (depending on graphics card choices and still needing a power supply).

What do you think?

 

[Silvune]

For a build with two 6970s a good 750W is plenty, for a build with two GTX 580s (if you want that option) then 850W is minimum.

Some of my suggestions:
Lepa G700-MA 700W 80Plus Gold Modular $100 ($6 shipping)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817194084

Corsair 750TXV2 $110 ($15 rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139021

Lepa G900-MA 900W 80Plus Gold Modular $130 ($6 shipping)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817194083

Corsair 850TXV2 $135 ($10 rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139022

$130 strikes me as being a bit much for 8GB of RAM, but then I checked newegg and it's one of the cheapest 1600MHz CAS7 1.6V 8GB sets. However personally I would get this
G.Skill Eco 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL8D-8GBECO $110
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231404
It would be pretty easy to get this to run at CAS7 and it comes without superfluous tall heatspreaders.

Cheaper, faster, quieter, cooler HDD:
Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB $65
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
This drive might not be significantly better in any single one of those criteria (except price), but it definitely leads the 1TB FAEX in all of them.

 

[BE4TNUT]

For a build with two 6970s a good 750W is plenty, for a build with two GTX 580s (if you want that option) then 850W is minimum.

Some of my suggestions:
Lepa G700-MA 700W 80Plus Gold Modular $100 ($6 shipping)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817194084

Corsair 750TXV2 $110 ($15 rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139021

Lepa G900-MA 900W 80Plus Gold Modular $130 ($6 shipping)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817194083

Corsair 850TXV2 $135 ($10 rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139022

$130 strikes me as being a bit much for 8GB of RAM, but then I checked newegg and it's one of the cheapest 1600MHz CAS7 1.6V 8GB sets. However personally I would get this
G.Skill Eco 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL8D-8GBECO $110
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231404
It would be pretty easy to get this to run at CAS7 and it comes without superfluous tall heatspreaders.

Cheaper, faster, quieter, cooler HDD:
Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB $65
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
This drive might not be significantly better in any single one of those criteria (except price), but it definitely leads the 1TB FAEX in all of them.

Thanks for the information, I will take a look into these suggestions.

The reason I went with ther HD that I did was that it has the 6gb/s speed and the mobo that I selected has two ports for 6gb/s SATA. Would I see a performance boost using a 6bg/s SATA drive vs a 3gb/s SATA drive?

 

[Silvune]

No, interface speed only matters with current gen SSDs. Current harddrives are not even fast enough to fully use SATA 3GBps.

 

[BE4TNUT]

No, interface speed only matters with current gen SSDs. Current harddrives are not even fast enough to fully use SATA 3GBps.

Oh ok that makes sense. I will reserve the 6gb/s ports for the SSD's, don't know why I didn't think of this it does seem like common sense haha.

 

[kajabla]

Get a 2500K. It performs just about the same as the 2600K in gaming, and the extra hundred would basically be wasted.

 

[rvilkman]

If you intend to go with water cooling, you probably should get a beefier PSU than the 750W as you have to run the water cooling pump(s) and stuff off of the PSU as well.
So you should probably stick with 850W minimum for OC'd CPU and 2x6970 + water cooling gear.

 

[BE4TNUT]

If you intend to go with water cooling, you probably should get a beefier PSU than the 750W as you have to run the water cooling pump(s) and stuff off of the PSU as well.
So you should probably stick with 850W minimum for OC'd CPU and 2x6970 + water cooling gear.

How much does water cooling help or is it more of a "wow factor" now a days? I know a while ago it halped a lot in high end gaming rigs, but I am sure they have figured out how to make the cards and systems run cooler now. I basically want to do it just because I never have, it will be a down the line sort of thing though.

 

[irsoccer05]

With sandy bridge water cooling isn't really required to get a goo overclock out of the processor. Also, I believe you'll get better performance with two 6970's over 1 gtx 580.

 

[sceen311]

As for your SSD, new egg has the below listed at $114.99 with free shipping. It's SataIII and has better user reviews then the adata.

Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148441&nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL062411&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL062411-_-EMC-062411-Latest-_-SSD-_-20148441-L0B

 

[BE4TNUT]

Ok I went and took everyone's advice to heart here and I made some changes. I was able to reduce the price in some spots and then bump up some other hardware elsewhere. So right now my build is looking to be the following...

Case: Corsair Obsidian Series 800D CC800DW Black Aluminum / Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case $270
Storage Drive: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $65
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-8GBXH $130
MoBo: ASRock Z68 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard $190
CPU: Intel Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K $220
CPU Cooler: XIGMATEK Gaia SD1283 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler bracket included I7 i5 775 1155 AMD and dual fan push pull compatible $30
OS Drive: Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) $230
Graphics Cards: 2 x MSI R6970-2PM2D2GD5 Radeon HD 6970 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity $680
Power Supply: CORSAIR Professional Series HX850 (CMPSU-850HX) 850W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

What do you think on this for parts? This build comes out to $1998 shipped to me.

My question with one of my changes is that I went from a SSD size of 64GB to 128 GB. The reason that I did this is so that I had some more wiggle room on what is on the SSD drive. I was thinking that the games that I will be playing more often (Such as WoW and BF3)(Yes WoW, don't judge me lol) can be installed on the SSD which I am thinking will improve load times and speed that the game responds and performs at. If this is not the case let me know. Also are there any problems or anything that doing something like this would complicate?

Thanks.

 

[irsoccer05]

Getting a larger SSD when you have the money for it is generally a good idea. Especially if you want those faster load times on games. It looks like you did pretty well here.