Under 2k gaming build

[Gymna]

I've been doing a lot of research and here's my situation + planned build.

Budget: Under $2000 USD

Time Frame: Hopefully by May

Intended use: Gaming. BF3, Diablo 3, Tera, GW2, Dota2, and any other game that catches my eye in the next few years.

Setup: I use a 2 monitor setup. One Acer x223W which is a 22" widescreen monitor that runs in 1680x1050. My second monitor is a 19" LCD that runs in 1024x768. I game on the larger monitor and usually have ventrilo, internet explorer, or some other small app running while I game.

Expectations: I want to get Ivy Bridge along with a new motherboard, and something along the lines of a gtx 660 or 670 when they release. I am partial to nvidia simply because I've liked their driver support better than AMD as well as their card size and volume. I do not plan to SLI my cards.

Parts:

Case: Antec P280 Black ATX Mid Tower Computer Case I'm pretty sure on this case. It's silent, well built, has great cable management, and will not have me staring at bright blue lights like my current Apevia case has.

Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V PRO I'm open to other suggestions. I have heard a lot of good things about Asus and this particular model seems to meet the needs of the equipment below.

CPU: i7 3770k. I currently have an i7 920 and the 3770k seems to be reasonably priced if it follows the ~$330 price range advertised so far.

Video Card: I'd like to get a 660, 660ti, 670, or 670ti depending on benchmarks, power consumption, price, and reviews. I was looking at spending under $300 on the video card if possible and almost grabbed a 560ti 448 until I saw that keplar was being released. With the new architecture I'd rather go with keplar so that I'm not behind (like my gtx 260 is). I understand I might pay a little over $300 for the new card, and that won't break the bank.

Power Supply: CORSAIR Professional Series Gold AX750 (CMPSU-750AX) 750W ATX12V v2.31 / EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply I'm not sure if this is too much power. I know I won't need an 850 with this setup but I wasn't sure a 650 would be enough. Again I'm open to other ideas on power supplies. I just saw good reviews and the 80 plus gold certainly didn't hurt as well.

Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-1600C9D-16GXM I'm not sure on memory. Especially with new boards. I currently have 6 gigs of ram which seems like plenty but I want to future proof as much as possible.

CPU cooler: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R2 Continuous Direct Contact 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler Compatible with latest Intel 2011/1366/1155 and AMD FM1/AM3+ I've seen this recommended a lot. I like that I can rotate it on installation to aim the fan up and out the top exhaust fan in my case.

SSD: Mushkin Enhanced Chronos Deluxe MKNSSDCR240GB-DX 2.5" 240GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) I've already ordered this drive. I was sold on it from all the reviews and positive stuff I read about it. It came down to this one or the m4 and I went with the mushkin. This wil handle my OS and main programs. I have a 500gig data harddrive as well that I will be transfering from my old computer.

Does all of this look good and does anyone have any recommendations?
Thanks!

 

[Gymna]

Edited based on a bit more knowledge found on these forums. Still wanted to check if these parts all look good or any glaring problem exists.

 

[mjmjpfaff]

Looks good but if you wanted to save a little money you could get a Rosewill Capstone 750w psu for 110$. It is also gold rated but not modular, but in the p280 it won't matter too much.

Also if you are just gaming 8gb's of ram is fine. If you are looking to overclock your ram you should grab the lowest latency 1600mhz kit you can get for a resonable price. If not 8gb's of 1600mhz cl9 ram is fine.- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231546

 

[Gymna]

Thanks mj for the input.

I went with the modular power supply because I love the one in my current system. Switching to modular was one of the best things I did in my last build since cable management is so much easier. Yes the case allows for it, but I don't want to stick a giant wad of cables through the hole to just sit in the back of my case. It's just asking to collect dust.

I do agree on the ram you suggested though. I'm looking at the 4x4 kit instead of the 2x4 you recommended though. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231547 I definitely learned my lesson years ago when I had too little ram on my old core 2 duo. I figured $45 isn't much of a price difference to pay to give me that extra security towards future proofing.

Newegg's $2600 build used the case I have and I learned I need to get 2 intake fans and a longer cable from their review. So I have this for the fans http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835200068 and this for the wire http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812123297 basically copying what newegg did.

I'm still waiting on the next wave of keplar to come out. I'm hoping the 670 will be around $400 and not fall too far behind the 680. That single card should hold me over at my 1680x1050 for quite some time. It also gives me the option to upgrade to a larger monitor for higher resolution gaming should I so choose.

 

[mjmjpfaff]

If you are worried about ram I would get windows 7 pro. Home Premium has a ram max of 16gb's pro is 154gb I think. It's in the hundreds I know that much. Anyways... the 4x4gb kit you listed is good.

Modular PSU's are nice and yes dust is a big issue to me also. I feel your pain . Here is another quality psu fully modular gold rated for 10$ less- http://www.amazon.com/Silverstone-750Watts-Magnetized-ST75F-G-Evolution/dp/B006MBP7DG/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1333344233&sr=8-10
review- http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=275
review of ax750- http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story6&reid=236
you can't go wrong with either one

yes you will need those connectors for the fans.

good choice on waiting for the 670 and lower nvidia cards. It will be worth it is the gtx 680 is any indication of future cards

 

[Gymna]

Those 2 reviews pretty much solidify either power supply being a good choice. When the rest of the components are released I think it will come down to which one is cheaper at that time, or if one of those 2 components comes up as a deal on amazon or newegg between now and then. I wish I'd grabbed the corsair during the 15% off promo they had when I first saw it.

Again thanks for the info, that's at least 1 more thing I can check off the list of being confident about.

Now if only they'd release more information on the rest of the gtx 6xx lineup so I can make a more informed decision.

 

[Gymna]

Best answer selected by Gymna.