Thoughts on i7-2700k system (GBP 1300+tax)

[Philthepower]

Hey all. Seeking views/thoughts on the following setup for an overclocked system. Mainly going to be for photo editing; but will likely be some games from time to time on it. Am planning to dual screen it with my 24" samsung that i use for games right now (1920*1080) and add a Dell Ultrasharp U2711 running at 2560*1440.

NB I haven't shopped around fully so there are some savings I know. Buying in the UK.

Main queries:
1. At this price (~£1300 before VAT and monitor), step up to 3930k (~£200+MoBo)? Or wait for Ivy Bridge? Or step other components down?
2. Is the PSU sufficient?
3. Graphics - is this card ok and is it a good idea to crossfire or is it overkill? Better with a single (better) card?

but open to thoughts on case, storage (SSD too big?) and memory. The Ivy Bridge question is an interesting one - i'm not in a huge rush but I despite researching, I can't work out if it's going to be at a premium to the setup below.

Key things to me are speed for photoshop and boot up AND i'd like quiet as it sits in a small room. I plan to overclock this system but I think the cooling is up to it (again, open to views).

And please be gentle with me - this is my first build in over 10 years.

CPU:
Intel Core i7 2700K 3.50GHz Socket 1155 8MB L3 Cache Retail Boxed Processor £224.69
http://www.ebuyer.com/289930-intel-core-i7-2700k-3-50ghz-socket-1155-8mb-l3-cache-retail-boxed-bx80623i72700k

Cooler:
Noctua NH-D14 Dual Radiator and Fan Socket LGA1366, LGA1156, LGA775, AM3, AM2+, AM2 CPU Cooler £48.66
http://www.ebuyer.com/195165-noctua-nh-d14-dual-radiator-and-fan-socket-lga1366-lga1156-lga775-am3-am2-nh-d14

MoBo:
Asus P8Z68 Deluxe/GEN3 Socket 1155 8 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard £160.1
http://www.ebuyer.com/291653-asus-p8z68-deluxe-gen3-intel-lga1155-pcie-3-0-ready-atx-90-mibge5-g0eay00z-p8z68-deluxe-gen3

Memory:
Kingston 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3 1866MHz HyperX XMP Memory Kit CL9 £83.33
http://www.ebuyer.com/319617-kingston-16gb-4x4gb-ddr3-1866mhz-hyperx-xmp-memory-kit-cl9-khx1866c9d3k4-16gx

Boot drive:
SAMSUNG 256GB 830 Series SSD – 2.5" SATA-III - PC UPGRADE KIT £254.14
http://www.ebuyer.com/318422-samsung-256gb-sata-6gb-s-desktop-pc-upgrade-kit-internal-ssd-mz-7pc256d-eu

Main storage:
Seagate 3TB Barracuda Hard Drive – 3.5" SATA-III - 7200RPM 64MB Cache £108.32
http://www.ebuyer.com/319640-barracuda-3tb-sata-3-5in-7200rpm-64mb-6gb-s-in-st3000dm001

PSU:
CoolerMaster 600W Silent Pro Modular PSU £57.60
http://www.ebuyer.com/160256-coolermaster-600w-silent-pro-modular-psu-50a-single-rail-9x-sata-rs-600-amba-d3

Chassis:
Silverstone Raven RV03 Case £93.50
http://www.ebuyer.com/351309-silverstone-sst-rv03b-w-usb-3-0-raven-mid-tower-case-sst-rv03b-w-usb-3-0

GPU:
2x ASUS HD 6850 Direct CU 1GB GDDR5 Dual DVI HDMI Display Port Out Graphics Card £164.98
http://www.ebuyer.com/244442-asus-hd-6850-direct-cu-1gb-gddr5-dual-dvi-hdmi-display-port-eah6850-dc-2dis-1gd5-v2

Optical drive:
Sony AD-7280S 24x DVD±RW with DL & RAM SATA Optical Drive - OEM Black £11.65
http://www.ebuyer.com/273174-dvd-r-rw-dl-ad-7280s-0b-sata-24x8x12x-24x6x12x-bulk-black-ad-7280s-0b

O/S:
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional w/SP1 - Licence and media - 1 PC - OEM - DVD - 64-bit £84.32
http://www.ebuyer.com/259867-microsoft-windows-7-professional-w-sp1-licence-and-media-1-pc-fqc-04649

 

[Raiddinn]

Most of the choices are just that, choices, and I can't fault you for wanting to spend more money on thing X than thing Y. If you, for example, think you will use 3GBs then it makes sense to get that instead of spending the money elsewhere.

Some things, though, do warrant discussion.

The Cooler Master PSU should be avoided. It has built up a really bad brand name in PSUs and because it deserves it.

I would suggest getting the XFX 650w instead. If you feel you absolutely must go cheaper than that, the Corsair TX 650w is another reasonable option.

Case - The HAF 912 is a very popular case because it provides extremely good value for the money. If you don't use it you should have a really good reason not to, like you can't stand the look of it or something like that. If you can't explain why you need some other case instead of this, you should probably get this one.

Video cards... 1x of a better card has so many advantages over 2x cards it is hard to justify 2x cards, in my opinion (and that of many others around here).

I would be looking at 1x a GTX 570 or 1x a HD 7850 instead if I were you.

CD Drive - The Asus 24x DRW-24B1ST is the quality leader in CD drives. If you don't absolutely need to save the difference in price between this and that, I would get this instead.

OS - Just so you are aware, this OS isn't legal for computers you build and intend to use yourself according to the license agreement.

There are other options that are equally cheap or even cheaper and result in you having a legal OS with much less restrictive licensing.

Are you a student or do you know anyone with access to a student email address?

Do you have an older computer with XP or Vista on it that you are going to quit using when you upgrade to this?

If either of those is true, you can get a much more legal OS for equal or less money.

 

[obsama1]

The OS IS legal.

To OP: The 2700K is overpriced. Get the i7 2600K. Same thing, but less MHz, which can be remedied with a simple OC. The GPUs seem to be efficient.

Also, hold off, IB is coming and you'll be able to get that build at a cheap price.

 

[Raiddinn]

The OS IS legal..

According to someone that doesn't know what they are talking about?

Or is it according to Microsoft? Because I know what Microsoft said and it isn't what you said.

Not unless they changed the policy they have been using for the last few years in the last few days, or unless you all of a sudden get to write the OEM license agreements on behalf of Microsoft now.

- Edit - Add white space for readability.

 

[adgjlsfhk]

You could save a ton of money if you get 8 gigs of ram there is not a noticeable difference.

 

[Raiddinn]

Normally when someone says they want to do audio/visual stuff we don't try to dissuade them from getting 16 if they want to.

 

[Philthepower]

The OS price isn't a major issue for me - I will check the terms first and stay legal. I have to pay for it, and it's not worth the hassle. I do have an old XP version on the Pc to be retired so will consider that too.

Will consider all the other thoughts too.

The 3tb was just because the price step 1->3 wasnt big enough to worry about. Same with the 2700 vs 2600. But putting all the reductions together, it becomes significant.

 

[Raiddinn]

If you are retiring an XP PC, there is no good reason not to get a Windows 7 Professional x64 Upgrade CD, then. All the benefits and none of the drawbacks.

I got mine from a website called Blue Mountain I think.

I do agree with the above posters, though, in that if you are willing to go to the effort of OCing, then there is no good reason to pay more for a higher clocked version of the exact same part when you can just OC it to the same level yourself.