Advice and recommendations

[qemist]

Hi everyone I've been researching for awhile now and have found the forums here to be most helpful. I have had no rush to build a new rig (even though its well over due) but with the sudden death of my current pc I'm forced to act now. This will be my first build so any help and advice will be greatly appreciated!

Approximate purchase date: ASAP
Budget range: $2000-2500 NZD
System usage: Gaming , making/mixing music , video/photo editing , multitasking , movies , internet
Parts not required: keyboard/mouse , speakers , monitor
Preferred website: anything in New Zealand
Country: New Zealand
Parts preference: None
Overclocking: Yes
SLI or CF: Yes if not now definitely in the future
Monitor resolution: Main monitor 1980 x 1080p 47" LED 3D tv , second monitor 1280x1024

Here's what I've come up with:

http://pricespy.co.nz/product_list.php?do=lista&k=40347

CPU: Intel Core i7 2600K 3.4GHz Socket 1155
CPU COOLER: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus OR
Prolimatech Megahalems Rev. B
MOBO: Asus P8P67 Pro B3
RAM: G.Skill Sniper DDR3 PC12800/1600MHz CL7 2x4GB
SSD: OCZ Agility 3 Series SATA III 2.5" SSD 60GB
HDD: Samsung SpinPoint F3 HD103SJ 32MB 1TB
GPU: MSI GeForce N560GTX-Ti Twin Frozr II/OC 1GB
DVD: Lite-On iHAS324
PSU: Seasonic X-850 850W Gold
CASE: Cooler Master HAF X (Black/Transparent)
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Eng (64-bit OEM)
EXTRA FANS: Cooler Master SickleFlow 120mm x2 or 3 depending on cpu cooler
Cooler Master MegaFlow 200 LED

I've been having trouble deciding on a gpu i do plan on cf/sli in the future but am trying to keep costs down for now. Also the having second thoughts about the case (something with similar features and dust filters) and the ssd perhaps 120GB or add another in the future.

 

[Outlander_04]

Scythe Mugen ll is very well priced in NZ at the moment . Its easily enough for the fastest OC on a 2600k

I would use a larger SSD . Probably an OCZ Vertex 3 series

The HAF has enough air flow , without adding extra fans

I'd probably use a 6950 rather than the 560 Ti . One will give a great gaming experience at 1080p

Do you really need the 2600k? Clock for clock it runs about 3% faster than a 2500k? Unless you are using applications you know can multithread then its not worth the extra money . Definitely not worth the money for gaming

 

[qemist]

Was looking at the MSI Radeon R6950 Twin Frozr III PE/OC 2GB for $100 more . I thought I might as well go the 2600k for making/mixing music (large library) , video/photo editing and multitasking. As for the fans I hope to do a large overclock was going to put 2 on the hyper 212 + in push /pull ( this seems to be out of stock) and 1 in the gpu vent

 

[boiler1990]

TBH if the 560Ti is that much cheaper than the 6950 then stick with the 560Ti. You'll get similar performance with it @ 1920x1080, and for much less.

You'll need to set up your cooling effectively because the Frozr GPUs will dump heat into the case. Also, I've heard that many Frozr GPUs really heat up in SLI/CF because of the cooler. I personally stick with reference design coolers because they exhaust heat out of the expansion port rather than into the case.

The 2600K should help with the music and video/photo stuff. Multitasking processes almost doesn't really count as a usage because CPUs today can handle more than one task fairly easily

Get a Z68 motherboard if its cost effective. It can help with any video transcoding you might end up doing, and Z68 boards are about the same price as P67 boards.
Asus' boards are generally expensive compared to other brands for what you get. Take a look at Gigabyte's offerings as well, because they have some solid boards too.

I agree on a bigger SSD, if you can afford it or rework the budget. The 120GB Intel 320 is a very good choice.

The HAF X case is a great case. Another good case is the NZXT Phantom.

 

[aznshinobi]

^+1

Get this MB to save some money.
http://pricespy.co.nz/product.php?p=878013
This PSU to save some cash
http://pricespy.co.nz/product.php?p=718922
If you want modular
http://pricespy.co.nz/product.php?p=490788
Those will save some PSU money.

Graphically, I think that you should use the 6950 2GB since the 2GB of VRAM would help in Hi-Def gaming, usually it doesn't really matter, but the larger amount of VRAM actually helps a bit with HD. As for which one, I suggest this model.
http://pricespy.co.nz/product.php?p=825954
Another saving money card.

 

[Outlander_04]

Here's a 2 gig 6950 for less than $40 more .
The fan shroud on the HIS is a little flimsy but unless you intend to spend a lot of time poking it with your finger it works well and does direct some of the air out of the case

With the radeon you can trim the power supply to 750 watt [even if you crossfire later ] , and that saving can offset the price of the graphics card

There's a recommendation to get a Z68 mb above based on the Z68 supporting an intel technology called Quick sync . If the programs you use support this technology it is worthwhile .
A small caveat though is that I havent been able to find out if quick sync is disabled when you fit an aftermarket graphics card .

I still wouldnt pay the extra $100 + for a 2600K over a 2500K . The performance difference is just too small to justify the expense

 

[qemist]

Ok so here is what i went for:

Intel Core i7 2600K Sandy Bridge 3.40GHz 8MB 95W LGA1155
ASUS P8Z68-V Pro
Corsair CMZ8GX3M2A1600C8 Vengeance 2x4GB DDR3-1600
Corsair Hydro Series H80 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler
Corsair Force Series 3 60GB SATA3 6GB/s SSD
Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200.12 32MB SATA3
ASUS ATI Radeon HD6950 Direct CU II 1GB GDDR5 PCI-E
ASUS DRW-24B3LT 24X DVD Writer LightScribe SATA
Seasonic X-Series 850W PSU 80PLUS Gold
NZXT Phantom Enthusiast Full Tower Case Black
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64Bit OEM
2x NZXT FS-200RB High Performance 200mm Blue LED
CoolerMaster SickleFlow 120mm Blue

$2540.00 NZD

http://pricespy.co.nz/product_list.php?do=lista&k=40347

 

[qemist]

Best answer selected by qemist.