I5/570 Gaming+Digital Arts Rig

Greetings! I built my first ground-up PC just over two years ago, and have since become fascinated with the DIY computer hobby and have turned it into a side-job to fund my other hobbies and academics. I've upgraded by rig throughout the past couple years, but feel that it's time to do another ground-up for myself. I figure I could resell off what I have now for $7-800, which leaves me with $500 or so out of pocket to do some crazy overall upgrades. Anywho, here's what I have thus far:

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Approximate Purchase Date: Within the next week, preferably.


Budget Range: $1350, After instant/MI rebates, etc.


System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, digital painting via CS5 Design Suite, 3d modeling via MYA/3DSMAX, basic web browsing and media.

Parts Not Required, as I already have them: BD Drive, Monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers, headset, hdd.


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg, or Amazon if for some reason there's a crazy cheap piece available there that can be shipped via Prime.


Country of Origin: Michigan, United States


Parts Preferences: I'm currently typing from a 955BE/GTX275 build comprised of primarily ASUS and Cooler Master Parts. I'm very fond of these two companies, and would prefer to stick to their parts throughout this build. Obviously, I'm leaning towards Intel, which is quite different in that I've always built AMD systems in the past. Definitely a learning experience. NVIDIA card is a must.


Overclocking: Nothing too extreme (read: air only), but yes.


SLI or Crossfire: Slight possibility of 2x SLI in the future, but not very probable unless I severely need a performance increase.


Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080, single monitor setup.


Additional Comments: All in all, I'm well-researched, and believe I've thought of most issues to keep this build as affordable and future-friendly as possible. I'm posting because I'm open to suggestions, so suggest away!

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I have two builds here. One is the creation of a lust for Intel's z68 and the SRT it offers, and another is, I believe, a more reasonable approach to faster all-around speed by using a larger SSD and a slower spinner for data storage. The only parts that differ between the two builds is the mobo/ssd used.

Motherboard:

ASUS P8Z68-V PRO LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131730

or

ASUS MAXIMUS IV EXTREME (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Extended ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131700

As noted above, my mobo preference is between the extreme p67 and pro z68. I messed with options and different bundle configs, and ended up with only a $20 increase in price by switching to the p67. I lose SRT capability, and a quick-sync function that I can't see as being too imperative, and gain a plethora of other goodies, including overall better OCing/performance capabilities.

Processor:

Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115072

Self-explanatory. Even as a game design student, I can't forsee me fully utilizing the HT or extra cache the 2600k has to offer.

Cooler:

Haven't decided on this one, yet. I'm currently using a 212+ in push/pull config on my 955BE, with great results. I don't intend to OC the 2500k beyond 4.5, because at that point the additional power isn't worth the power draw and risks involved (for what I intend to do with the CPU). These speeds are easily achieved with the same setup I have now, but I think I'd like to try something different. Mugen 3/V6 GT/Hyper 612 are all options, and then some.

GPU:

ASUS ENGTX570 DCII/2DIS/1280MD5 GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814121432

Giant, sexy beast. The enormous size doesn't matter, because I'll have room to SLI in the unlikely event I choose to do so. Excellent cooler/oc capabilities. As much as I love EVGA's customer service, and the reviews of MSI's TFIII, I'm leaning towards ASUS on this one. Suggest away if I'm horribly misguided.

Memory:

G.SKILL Sniper Low Voltage Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBSR2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231461

or

CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820233144

Leaning towards the G.SKILL for the sake of customer loyalty, but this corsair set seems great for the pricerange. I had been looking at an 8gb 2133 G.SKILL Ripjaw X series set, but decided against it because I can't see myself fully utilizing 8gb of the Sniper set as-is.

SSD:

Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820148441

Self explanatory boot/apps drive. It just sold out due to a shell-shocker, but I can't foresee it being gone for long. Is 64gigs enough to work with on the P67, instead of using it as a cache drive for SRT on the z68? I can see it comfortably fitting Win7 and just about all of my key apps with plenty of space to spare. Lastly, I've looked into OCZ/Samsung/Kingston, but always find myself leaning towards the M4 due to it's enthusiastic fanbase.

PSU:

COOLER MASTER Silent Pro Gold Series RS800-80GAD3-US 800W ATX 12V v2.3 / EPS 12V v2.92 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817171057

Modular, bundles with case for $25 discount, $20 MIR, gold series. Did I mention modular? It's a big plus for me, as I like tidiness. 800w Is overkill for a single 570, but I've always been lead to believe that it's better to have a huge ceiling when it comes to overclocking setups like this.

Case:

COOLER MASTER HAF X RC-942-KKN1 Black Steel/ Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119225

I love the 932 I've lived around throughout the years. The X seems to be an improvement all-around, and I prefer the aesthetic over the 932 advanced. Cooler master fanboi, reporting in. Open to suggestions as always, but I'm pretty firm here.

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Let me know your thoughts, and if there's anything I've overlooked! I'd like to think I've read every article and discussion about every piece of equipment I've linked here, but that's never the case when it comes to technology.

Thanks in advance,

Chris

For the video editing get Tom's pick Gigabyte’s Z68XP-UD3($150) and an i7-2600k CPU cost is offset slightly by the mobo cost.
-Bruce

I was hesitant to look into the ASRock gen3 series because I'm unfamiliar with the brand, but after looking into the links you provided, and an hour's worth of forum searching, it's pretty hard to beat. I can't see myself using anything more than what's provided in the EXTREME4, and I'll save another $100 if I go with it. I'm $200 below budget until the SSD becomes available again, any recommendations on what to do with it?

Still quite set on the 2500k, almost looking into getting a GTX580 or SLI 560's instead of the 570, although the 570 can be OCed to near 580 levels as is.