$3000 High end gaming + multipurpose pc build

[m1kE_77]

Hi Guys,

First time posting here and hoping for some insight in the build i've been looking into.
First off, my last pc build was 5 years ago when the e6600 duo's first came out, been a while and didn't need anything high end so its made due. But very outdated now. In saying that i've been out of the scene for a while and researching this build im still getting up to scratch, so please excuse any mistakes and point them out where possible.

So goal for new build is a high end gaming pc, video conversion and will also be used as a workstation, heavy multi tasking. Possible benchmarking and video editting. Oh should also mention i do plan on slightly overclocking but nothing crazy that it will impact it long term or will need water cooling, although if that much of an advantage with little effect to damaging the longevity of the components that may still consider. For now going for a good air cooling though with slight overclock. Oh and lastly going a single 23" 1080p monitor for now but will be definately considering a dual monitor setup sometime in the near future and would like to keep my options open for possible 3d vision kit.

Anyway moving along, so far this is what i've been considering:

CPU: i7-2600k
CPU cooler: Coolermaster Hyper 212 evo
MOBO: Asus P67 deluxe v3
RAM: G.Skill RipJawsX 8gb (2x4gb kit) 1600mhz ddr3 (GS-F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL) timings: 9-9-9-24-2N (1.5v, apparently the sweet spot for sandy bridge?)
GFX: EVGA GTX 570 [1280mb] x 2 in SLI
(unsure whether to go the normal evga, superclocked or classified, is it worth the extra $$?
SSD: Corsair 120gb Force Series 3 GT
HDD: Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black
CASE: Coolermaster HAF X (have considered corsair/lian li options, although the air flow reviews and cable management of the haf x makes me lead towards it more and the sli GPU support for the case)
PSU: Corsair AX-850 or Corsair 850w Modular TX Series
(now i did do a quick calculation on how much wattage i would be looking at and i was in the 720-780 range, so figured 850 would be the way to go, or should i get the headroom of a 1000/1050?) Also not sure on whether these corsair psu's are overkill, but would prefer not to skimp if it will affect performance or the rest of the build)


As for gaming accessories, really personal preference there:
But will throw it in anyway looking at:
Mouse: New replacement Microsoft intellimouse explorer 3.0
Keyboard: razer black widow ultimate (stealth) or steelseries 7g
mouse pad: QcK heavy

But something i could also get feed back on is a new gaming monitor:

So far leading towards:
23" Samsung S23A750 (1080p 2ms 120hz)

and was considering:
23.6" BenQ - XL2410T (1080p 120hz) although some reviews not that great, slightly more expensive so buying another one in future will prove more costly for something that may not be at all that much better. Apparently out of the box settings are terrible and need to be tweaked. And picture quality directly compared to the samsung have put samsung infront. And tbch i do like the design/look of the samsung better. (Probably already bias on this decision )

Sorry if the post was a bit long.
Anyway guys let me know what you think, any insight would be great.
Much appreciated.

-Mike.

 

[Emelth]

go for the i5 2500k if its just for gaming its on par with the i7, unless your doing video/photo editting.

Change MoBo to a Z68 much better imo than a P67

SSD I would go with M4 Crucial its the most favored around here

PSU is good, but since your only monitor is a 1080p I would only get 1 gpu and it will still be able to play all new games at max

 

[sosofm]

for heavy duty i7 2600k is much better.one 580gtx will be enough.

 

[m1kE_77]

Thanks for the feedback emelth.

The only reason i went for i7 is a little more future proofing and a bit more room i thought for over clocking, not to mention future use of video editting. But otherwise completly agree on the savings there.

I heard the z68 is nothing special over the p67 for a fair amount of extra $$? Could you elaborate as to why to go the z68 over the p67 for my use?

SSD will look into the m4 crucial, never actually heard of it

As for the GPU definately plan on going dual monitors, just not straight up. So figured the sli dual 570s out performs the single 580 and will definately benefit me when i get the 2nd monitor in?

 

[m1kE_77]

@sosofm

single 580 would be enough...but when running dual 1080p 23" monitors wouldnt dual 570s be the better option over dual 580s? For the perfomance to cost difference?

 

[Emelth]

Z68 for have the intel smart response ability which allows SSDs to hook up with them easier I heard from a couple people who used the P67 they had to do some manual configuration of the drive before they could use it. Thats pretty much all I know about it

 

[m1kE_77]

isnt that only for people with a standard sata hdd that want to utilise a similar type of speed of ssd.

If i have a dedicated ssd drive, wouldn't that be useless? And if thats the only feature is it really worth the extra odd $100+?

EDIT: i may be completly wrong here, don't know much on it.

 

[Shape]

Dual GTX 570 is better than one GTX 580.
http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-570-sli-review/6

Also go for normal GTX 570, you're going for SLI anyway.

 

[Emelth]

Well link me your motherboard that you choosed and I'll try to find something for around the same price

 

[m1kE_77]

@ Shape
Thanks for the feedback. That clears my head on the gfx front.

@Emelth
http://www.auspcmarket.com.au/info/AL-P8P67-DELUXE-V3/

EDIT: sorry that doesn't include a price in that link. My apologies.

I'm from Australia and local shop where planning to buy most of my parts from is selling it at $277 (AUD).

UK forum? so that's 178.90 pounds

 

[Emelth]

for some reason I can get to it to see the details, hopefully someone else will jump in here and be able to answer this for you. I'm gonna try and find it somewhere else

 

[m1kE_77]

sorry here is a more recognised link from newegg for these forums?

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

My apologies again.

 

[Emelth]

Is this one the same as the one you were looking at?

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

 

[m1kE_77]

haha yeah thats the same link i just re posted above for newegg.

But yes that's the one.

 

[Emelth]

I found a Z68 for the same price

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131730

Below is a link to the compairson of the two, for this since I dont know much about it I would say go with the one you like most or feel you should get since I dont know the full story behind the SSD and what not

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007627&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&ActiveSearchResult=True&CompareItemList=280%7C13-131-730%5E13-131-730-TS%2C13-131-701%5E13-131-701-TS

 

[Emelth]

searched this on google another forum person asked the same question

http://www.overclock.net/t/1119615/difference-between-p67-and-z68-and-best-intel-motherboard

 

[m1kE_77]

Thanks emelth. Much appreciated! Will definately read that up now.

Keep the good feedback coming guys! Could use any help on every aspect of the build where possible before i drop the $$

 

[Emelth]

Also your paying 3k for a build ever thought of water cooling? Or even a better cpu cooler?

 

[m1kE_77]

As mentioned in the original post, not gonna go crazy overclocking so good air flow from a good case and a cpu cooler i thought would be sufficient. Although i've never dived into water cooling and depending on cost to benefit wise whether i'd bother tbh. Still open to it

From a quick look its easily achieved to get the 2600k (3.4ghz up by +1ghz.) So safe to say 4.3ghz there abouts?
Figured with a cpu cooler (coolermaster hyper 212 evo) and a good case with good airflow would manage this fine?

 

[Emelth]

Yep okay your good then, I dont see anywhere to improve unless you want to lower the price