First PC Build Project

Thinking of changing to a Raidmax Hydrid 2 (630W) power supply.
Also, will I need a processor fan/cooler of any sort?

The Antec 550W is a better PSU.


Other than that, it looks good. I won't debate P67 vs Z68 MB's with you. the MSI MB you selected is one of their better products.

the on-board sound should be fine for gaming, unless you just have to have the X-Fi I would save myself the $. I have 4 gaming systems in my home and one has an X-Fi card in it and I don't notice the difference. Even with my various surround sound headsets, I don't notice the difference. on-board sound has come a long ways in the last few years.

Without knowing your budget it's hard to make a other recommendations. I have been building Gaming computers with SSD's in them lately as HDD prices are through the roof. the person I am building for usually has a HDD from there old system to use a secondary storage area. Just a thought...

for SSD's I would recommend a either a Samsung 830 or Crucial M4 as a general rule. but there are there quite a few good deals right now on other solid SSD's (these aren't the fastest ones going, but they are solid and way faster than a HDD).

these are some of them from Mushkin:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E1682...
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E1682...
windows 7 will take about ~30GB on a standard install.

Note: you don't need a anti static mat. a wrist strap is fine

Antec Truepower New TPN-550W 80Plus Bronze Modular $70 ($13 shipping)
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E1681...
Seems a bit strange that this is cheaper before the shipping charge and the same price after as the BP550 Plus when it is by far the better product.

You could also get this:
XFX Pro 650W Core Edition 80Plus Bronze $80 ($20 rebate)
http://www.ncix.ca/products/?sku=59616&vpn=P1650SNLB9&m...
If you want something which can support GTX 560 Ti SLI, without spending more.

You should save the money by getting an i5-2500K as it performs the same as the i7 in gaming.

It is possible to overclock on the stock cooler, however it is not really designed to support overclocking. And if you want to keep noise/temps down or just reach a large OC then it is recommended to buy a CPU cooler.

Thanks for the reply and advice!
So, what your saying is that I should buy an SSD for the Windows install and other system installs?

Thanks for the suggestions and info!
I will be considering the XFX PSU, but would the Antec 550 support the GTX 560 Ti SLI?
What are the advantages of purchasing the i7 versus the i5?
What CPU cooler would you recommend?

The BP550 Plus certainly will not be able to support GTX 560 Ti. The TPN-550 is probably high quality enough that it would be able to support it, but it wasn't designed to support two cards of the level of GTX 560Tis and I wouldn't recommend it as you would be pushing it quite hard. Also it doesn't have enough PCIe connectors for the job. The +12V rail layout is also likely to be a limiting factor; IMO you wouldn't be able to use molex to PCIe adapters, you would have to use PCIe splitter cables.

If you were going to be doing video editing or other CPU intensive tasks then the i7 would be worthwhile otherwise the i5 is the better choice. The only feature that i7 has over the i5 is hyperthreading, which means that it has 8 threads vs 4 threads on the i5. Games are starting to use all four cores on CPUs, but not more than that. It will be a good few years yet before games start to effectively use more than 4 cores.

The most popular budget choice around is the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus/Evo. The Evo is an updated Plus with a few improvements so it performs a bit better.
I don't like it because the maximum fan speed is 2000RPM, which will be noisy and I dislike noisy computer components.

If you would prefer a cooler which is less likely to be noisy then I would suggest either of these:
Logisys Computer MC4002IW 120mm Hydro Bearing Ice Wind CPU Cooler $36 ($10 shipping)
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E1683...
Which is a rebranded Deep Cool Ice Wind, if you want to check for reviews.

Or the Zalman CNPS10X Performa for $43
http://www.ncix.ca/products/?sku=51106&vpn=CNPS10X%20Pe...
It also has a maximum fan speed of 2000RPM, but comes with a low noise 7V adapter which reduces this to 1300RPM.

So would http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139020 work or should I go with the XFX you recommended earlier? What do I need exactly?

You need a PSU with four PCIe connectors. If it is a multi-rail unit in particular then it needs to be designed to support two graphics cards of that class.

The Corsair TX650 V2 only has two PCIe connectors, so you would have to use molex to PCIe adapters. Internally it is the same as the XFX so it would have to be cheaper to be worthwhile.

I echo what the others have said and would just like to add that if you put an aftermarket CPU cooler like the Hyper 212 (only necessary if you OC) then you will not be able to add a side fan to that case without a dremel tool. Believe me, I just installed one  .

+1 on the i5 2500k.

I'm running the MSI Twin Frozr 560Ti overclocked, 5 fans, OC my CPU to 4.5, 2HDD, 1 SSD, on a Corsair 650 with no issues. If you plan to run dual video cards, go to the corsair site, they have a utility that you plug in all your components and it will tell you which PSU you need. http://www.corsair.com/learn_n_explore/?psu=yes

I may be interpreting this wrong, but the only video card I am planing on purchasing is the GTX 560 Ti, not two.

I was working on the assumption that you wanted the option to install another one at some point in the future. If you don't want to install another one then stick with a ~550W unit.

I doubt i'll ever install a second card, thanks for the idea though!

If it will be used for mainly gaming then i5 2500K is the best choice. Take a look a this link: http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml...