~$2000 Gaming/Photoshop PC (Newb)

[ploothable]

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Approximate Purchase Date: This week. (the closer the better)

Budget Range: Around the 15000 SEK mark (€1500, $2000) After Rebates

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Heavy duty Photoshop, Gaming, Surfing the internet.

Parts Not Required: Keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers etc.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Any American site(s) like Newegg will do, it's mostly just a reference for the part/version.
(FYI: Prisjakt.nu is a good Swe site)

Country: Sweden

Parts Preferences: 16 GB RAM and an i7 Intel Hyperthreading CPU for Photoshop (Yes, they are really needed)

Overclocking: Yes / No / Maybe, ... idk :S

SLI or Crossfire: If it pays off; I have no problem with it.

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional Comments: It's my first time building a PC, please have mercy! I'm aiming at running BF3 in ultra at 60fps, but I'm not even sure that my suggested build will even start...

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Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3P (rev. 1.0) ATX - LGA1155 Socket - Z68
http://www.misco.se/Product/Product.aspx?P_ItemId=3321986&hbx_CMP=AFC-05&cm_mmc_o=4blgBCjCVybgw2BF5zyblBECjCzkkCjC5yblXzLf

OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium EN 64
http://www.komplett.se/k/ki.aspx?sku=631913

Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 Plus Midi Tower [strike](OR Cooler Master HAF 922 Midi Tower Black?)[/strike]
http://www.komplett.se/k/ki.aspx?sku=604766

PSU: (Corsair TX V2 750W PSU) [strike]<-- Upgrade might be needed with GTX 570 SLI[/strike]
http://www.komplett.se/k/ki.aspx?sku=623449

CPU: Intel® Core i7-2600 Processor
http://www.komplett.se/k/ki.aspx?sku=619273

RAM: Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600MHz 16GB CL9
http://www.komplett.se/k/ki.aspx?sku=641128

Cooler: COOLER MASTER HYPER 212 PLUS [strike](OR CORSAIR A70 CPU COOLER?) [/strike]
http://www.komplett.se/k/ki.aspx?sku=494649

Optical: Lite-On DVD±RW Writer IHAS124-19
http://www.komplett.se/k/ki.aspx?sku=494479

HDD: SATA-600 1.0TB 7200.12 32MB Seagate Barracuda
http://www.net2world.se/sata-600-1.0tb-7200.12-32mb-seagate-barracuda/35/247208206

SSD: Crucial M4 2.5" (6.3cm) 64GB Retail
http://www.net2world.se/ssd-crucial-m4-2.5-(6.3cm)--64gb-retail/35/262407237



All that now remains is the GPU...
I'm thinking something along the lines of

1x EVGA GeForce GTX 570, which I'll double with SLI when needed.

[strike]or...

2x EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti SLI[/strike]

[strike]So I guess what I'm asking is if it's possible to trim out some fat, make it more price-efficient and help me choose a GPU...
(Also, double-checking compatibility would be nice)[/strike]

I've basically decided to go with the GTX 570 in order to upgrade to SLI later. Thanks for the help, everyone!

 

[g-unit1111]

That's a pretty solid build actually.

A couple of recommendations I'd make would be to drop the CPU to an i5-2500K (only need the 2600K for heavy video editing, 3-D rendering, and things of that nature). Spend the difference on upping the case to a full tower - especially if you're going to be using a liquid cooler, and definitely try to go for the GTX 580.

For Photoshop, you'll definitely want a nice monitor with an excellent set of color calibration features. Try Asus, Samsung or NEC if they're available. The NEC monitors are a bit steeper in price than most but their color calibration setups aren't found in any other monitors.

 

[spentshells]

I agree that is a great build, maybe look into a different cooler.

 

[vx53c]

Great build. Also consider gtx 570 or hd6970 that you will sli or crossfire later on. The 750watt psu will do for that but i propose to go to 850.

 

[Emelth]

Yep very solid build and I agree with what vx53c states as well

 

[ploothable]

A couple of recommendations I'd make would be to drop the CPU to an i5-2500K (only need the 2600K for heavy video editing, 3-D rendering, and things of that nature). Spend the difference on upping the case to a full tower - especially if you're going to be using a liquid cooler, and definitely try to go for the GTX 580.

I think I'm going to keep the core, since I'm going to do canvases up to 10000 pixels wide, which calls for hyperthreading and CPU effect.

I'l look into a new cooler, case and the 570s when I have more time. I am kind of leaning towards SLI'ing a pair of 560 Ti's because they appear to be much cheaper than the rest and have better performance in proportion to the cost (though prices might drop later, I'd rather have a good PC now).

Thanks everyone for commenting!!

 

[Emelth]

How about just grab one 570 or even a 580 and then add another when you start need the extra performance boost, by the time that happens the price would be even cheaper.

 

[ploothable]

How about just grab one 570 or even a 580 and then add another when you start need the extra performance boost, by the time that happens the price would be even cheaper.

Thanks for the advice, I just looked up 570 single and SLI performance, turns out the price efficiency is great. It will run BF3 at high enough fps, and the price will probably drop enough to make a doubling of power a very realistic option in the future. I've basically crossed the 580 off my list since it's not good enough in comparison. Seems like the 2x 560Ti or 1x 570 are my two primary options. In the meantime, I'll have to look up power consumption on 570 SLI so that I know what PSU to buy. Any info about that (and a diff cooling sys) would be greatly appreciated.

I'll probably do more in-depth research later when I get home. Thanks for leaving comments, greatly appreciated.

 

[vx53c]

I'd go with a 850watt psu

 

[g-unit1111]

I'l look into a new cooler, case and the 570s when I have more time. I am kind of leaning towards SLI'ing a pair of 560 Ti's because they appear to be much cheaper than the rest and have better performance in proportion to the cost (though prices might drop later, I'd rather have a good PC now).

Go with the single 570 instead of dual 560s, and get at least an 850 watt PSU.