PC Build, Please!

[triplerainbow]

Approximate Purchase Date:November to December (Most likely late Nov, to the beginnings of Dec)

Budget Range:$2000-$2500

System Usage from Most to Least Important:Gaming, Surfin' the Web, Video Recording/Rendering/Editing, Schoolwork, & Small Movie Watching

Parts Not Required:Keyboard, Mouse, & Headset

Preferred Website(s) for Parts:Any trusted site with reasonable prices

Country of Origin:United States of America

Parts Preferences:A 24" monitor. Also, Windows 7 Home Premium OS (OEM is fine).

Overclocking:Yes

SLI or Crossfire:Yes

Monitor Resolution:1920x1200 (If that can't be fit in the budget, then 1920x1080 is fine).

Additional Comments:A quiet PC, but if it's a little loud that's fine (I'm on a laptop with a crazy loud fan right now!).

Thanks for any builds!

Side Note:I do have one case in mind, the NZXT Phantom Black ATX Full Tower Computer Case, and I will install blue LED's in the case, so include that in the budget .

 

[striker410]

Hey rainbow, welcome to the forums.
Ahh, excellent! We can do this.
I'm not gonna make a full build for you, but I can surely give you some tips.
-The i7-2600k is the place to start. It's the best processor out there right now!
-An ASRock Gen3 board is a good mobo. Check em out, and decide which one you like.
-Either 2 6970's or 2 GTX 580's would be the ideal combo. This is a large amount of GPU power, and may be overkill for your res.
-Check out cases! Find one you like.
-8GB of CL8 ram is a good place to start.
Http://www.newegg.com/ is without a doubt the place to shop. Excellent products, excellent prices.
Hopefully that'll get you going

 

[triplerainbow]

Hey rainbow, welcome to the forums.
Ahh, excellent! We can do this.
I'm not gonna make a full build for you, but I can surely give you some tips.
-The i7-2600k is the place to start. It's the best processor out there right now!
-An ASRock Gen3 board is a good mobo. Check em out, and decide which one you like.
-Either 2 6970's or 2 GTX 580's would be the ideal combo. This is a large amount of GPU power, and may be overkill for your res.
-Check out cases! Find one you like.
-8GB of CL8 ram is a good place to start.
Http://www.newegg.com/ is without a doubt the place to shop. Excellent products, excellent prices.
Hopefully that'll get you going

Thanks for the welcome and extra information!

I did find one case I would like: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146068

 

[striker410]

The Phantom eh? great case. Doesn't have a window on the side though.

What kind of games do you play? It will help determine what GPU's you need. Also, do some research into SSD's and decide if it's something you'd like to play with. What kind of video editing and rendering do you do and what apps do you use?

 

[triplerainbow]

The Phantom eh? great case. Doesn't have a window on the side though.

What kind of games do you play? It will help determine what GPU's you need. Also, do some research into SSD's and decide if it's something you'd like to play with. What kind of video editing and rendering do you do and what apps do you use?

I play pretty much all kinds of games, but I would like to play the more recent ones (such as the upcoming Skyrim, and Rage). I don't plan on playing BF3 (getting that for console), but I would want a strong GPU anyways in-case I change my mind. Video editing/rendering is really something I'm definetely going to to get into when I build my PC, so I'm not really sure what kinds of editing/rendering. For an editing app, I'm going to get Sony Vegas 10, as well as Photoshop for pictures. I might get a small-size SSD for my OS to boot faster, and store extra files I won't really mess around with. (e.g. family photos, small videos, etc.)

EDIT: Also, on the Phantom, there may not be a side window, but through the mesh on the fan I can still see the inside of the case

 

[striker410]

WOAH! Stop right there. "I don't plan on playing BF3 (getting that for console)" Let me stop you right there. PC gets: 64 players, bigger maps, better graphics, more support, bigger playerbase, and just generally more kickassedness. But hey, your call

Alright, I think a single GTX 580 is a good bet right now. And by small, you mean 120GB right? Otherwise you won't be storing any video's haha.

So, let's try this!
CPU: 2600k $315 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070
Mobo: ASRock Extreme3 Gen3 $125: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271
SSD: Patriot Pyro 120GB $205 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220603
HDD: Spinpoint F4 2TB $80 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152245
GPU: GTX 580 $500 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130590 (for warranty)
Case: NZXT Phantom $125
PSU: Lepa 850w modular $120 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817194093&Tpk=lepa%20850w
Monitor: Asus 23" 1080p monitor $170: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236079
RAM: G.Skill 8GB DDR3 1600MHz $40 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428&cm_sp=Cat_Memory-_-Daily_Deal-_-20-231-428 (BUY RIGHT NOW!)
OS: Windows 7 OEM $99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

Total? $1,939.88 Pretty good, all things considered.

 

[triplerainbow]

WOAH! Stop right there. "I don't plan on playing BF3 (getting that for console)" Let me stop you right there. PC gets: 64 players, bigger maps, better graphics, more support, bigger playerbase, and just generally more kickassedness. But hey, your call

Alright, I think a single GTX 580 is a good bet right now. And by small, you mean 120GB right? Otherwise you won't be storing any video's haha.

So, let's try this!
CPU: 2600k $315 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070
Mobo: ASRock Extreme3 Gen3 $125: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271
SSD: Patriot Pyro 120GB $205 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220603
HDD: Spinpoint F4 2TB $80 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152245
GPU: GTX 580 $500 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130590 (for warranty)
Case: NZXT Phantom $125
PSU: Lepa 850w modular $120 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817194093&Tpk=lepa%20850w
Monitor: Asus 23" 1080p monitor $170: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236079
RAM: G.Skill 8GB DDR3 1600MHz $40 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428&cm_sp=Cat_Memory-_-Daily_Deal-_-20-231-428 (BUY RIGHT NOW!)
OS: Windows 7 OEM $99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

Total? $1,939.88 Pretty good, all things considered.

Seems pretty good by my standards. [strike]I'm thinking a 1000W PSU for when I get a 2nd 580 in the future.[/strike] [strike]Also I'll look around for a 24" monitor[/strike]. Thanks for the build .

EDIT: Monitor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236049

PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256057

 

[triplerainbow]

Best answer selected by TripleRainbow.

 

[striker410]

http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-580-sli-review/14 2 GTX 580's in SLI only get to about 700w. I think 850w is pretty damn safe, but your call. Also, I don't think an inch matters but hey, your rig! Have fun

 

[triplerainbow]

http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-580-sli-review/14 2 GTX 580's in SLI only get to about 700w. I think 850w is pretty damn safe, but your call. Also, I don't think an inch matters but hey, your rig! Have fun

One last question though: Can you recommend a good CPU cooler? Liquid or air is fine. I want to OC the i7 to a solid 4.5GHz

 

[striker410]

The Hyper 212 evo is a good choice. It's a refinement of the VENERABLE 212+, which has over 2,000 reviews on newegg, and is a 5 star product. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099 At $35, it's going to do an excellent job and get you to that 4.5GHz pretty easily. If you wanna save 10 bucks, the Hyper212+ is still a good option.

 

[triplerainbow]

The Hyper 212 evo is a good choice. It's a refinement of the VENERABLE 212+, which has over 2,000 reviews on newegg, and is a 5 star product. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099 At $35, it's going to do an excellent job and get you to that 4.5GHz pretty easily. If you wanna save 10 bucks, the Hyper212+ is still a good option.

Ok, well, thanks again!