Looking for some feedback on a planned new build.

[Teshi]

So I have a new build planned and so far this is what I'm planning on putting together. It's a Gaming aimed setup. Any criticism, help or ideas on alternate parts would be much appreciated. I'm trying top stay at a 1600 - 1700 dollar price range. I won't be purchasing until september maybe october so I'm watching for lower prices and potential upgrades.

case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146067

HD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

monitor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236051

Gfx card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127575

sound card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132010

PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817194093

Ram
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231315

mobo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131701

CPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

Heatsink
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835106150

I also have some new headphones and a couple extra fans which total to around another $75.

The current build is $1,616.84 but like i said the prices may drop slightly by Sept/Oct

I appreciate your time and feedback.

 

[Proximon]

You just don't need that much sound card for $60 headphones. The people who really need that kind of card also have headphones that make use of the higher impedance.
These are one example:
http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-PC-350-Collapsible-Microphone/dp/B0012XFDWO/ref=sr_1_8?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1312701067&sr=1-8

I would rather see you spend some of the money you spent on the sound card elsewhere. Maybe a nice SSD?

16GB is not needed for gaming, and will not be needed for several years yet. 8GB will cover you for the foreseeable future, as games are only barely breaking the 4GB mark.

I don't think the Lepa Bronze is a good choice. As I recall it did not review well.

This XFX would be acceptable
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207011

But if you want at least hybrid modularity you'll have to pay a bit more
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139029

 

[Teshi]

I was a bit unsure about the sound card myself but the Headset (fatal1ty) were suggested by a few different people. Also most of the cheaper sound cards have horrible feedback.

When it comes to the SSD I'm unsure. I've always ran just a single HD.

The PSU seemed a decent deal. I'll take a look at others.

 

[geekapproved]

That seems to be a nice power supply for $50. Up to 88% efficiency. Made by Enermax.

However, it only has a 1yr warranty, which is horrible, and a deal breaker for me.

 

[Teshi]

Yeah. It's all such a pain building a new rig. Especially since the last one I built was 5 or 6 years ago. Just like everyone else out there you want the best bang for your buck and products that will last a while. I hate having to buy new upgrades. It's like owning a Lemon car haha.

 

[firexxattxx]

You should wait for a review for that PSU. Its a great deal and all that, but the warranty is only 1 year and no review. You should be able to add another 10 bucks for a 2 year warranty? Or just get another PSU.

 

[Proximon]

I knew I had seen it:

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2011/06/20/lepa_b_series_850w_power_supply_review/

It's actually a pass though:
"The real issue that can’t be skipped is that while the LEPA B850 performs decently for ~$110, there are better products from Corsair (TX850 V2) and XFX (Core Edition 850W) currently on the market so just doing decently doesn’t win a lot of awards or mind share."

So really it's OK and all but you can do better.

 

[Teshi]

I dropped the sound card and lepa and went for a COOLER MASTER Silent Pro Gold Series 1000w. I figure I'll end up with SLI eventually so having a nice powerfull modular PSU would come in handy down the road. I also grabbed a heatsink for the CPU as I heard the 2500k overclocks well.

 

[Proximon]

You can run a pair of overclocked 6950s with a 750W easily. Using a 1KW unit will mean that you are operating below it's optimal efficiency range and so wasting a bit of power.

6950 CF will use no more than 350W... less while gaming. We'll say 400W if the cards are overclocked.

The rest of the system will never draw 200W.

For comparison, my overclocked 2600K and 5870, water-cooled, draw about 250W from the wall average running intense games. If I load up with Prime95 and Futuremark simultaneously I can get to almost 400W at the wall. Since my PSU is gold rated that's about 360W the computer is actually pulling from the PSU (the other 40W is lost to heat and whatever).

Your gaming wattage draw will probably be around 400W total in crossfire while gaming.... that means more than about an 800W PSU would be a waste.

A nice Seasonic X750 would do just great.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151087

Or a Corsair AX750
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139016
Pretty much the same thing but with a 7 year warranty instead of 5.