Compatibility of Parts

[Cherokee Jack]

Hello, I am trying to build my own computer and this is my first time so I need some help. I want it to be a gaming computer that can also do media editing/viewing well. My budget is around $800 for the parts but I am pretty flexible. This is what I have come up with so far:

Processor: Core i5 2500K LGA 1155 Boxed Processor

Graphics Card: GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1024MB GDDR5 PCIe 2.0 x16 Video Card

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200RPM 64MB

Motherboard: P8Z68-V LX LGA 1155 Z68 ATX Intel

Power Supply: OCZ 600W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply

Case: Not sure yet, something between $50-100 with sufficient cooling and sufficient number of drives, ATX, not ridiculous looking. Possibly: AZZA Toledo 301 (CSAZ-301) Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Memory: 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3-1600 (PC3-12800) CL9 U-DIMM Desktop Memory Kit

Optical Drive: LG 22X Super-Multi DVD Burner 22X Black SATA Model GH22NS90B

First of all I want to make sure that all of the parts are compatible with each other. I am also planning on dual booting windows and linux so I want to know if all the parts are compatible with that.

Second, I want to know if there is anything I can change that might make it better by spending a little bit more or make it cheaper while not making it much worse.

I am not sure if there is enough ports on the motherboard but I want it to be SLI compatible and have slots for what I have above, and a network card, and maybe better/more memory cards for the future.

Also, I am torn between the i5 2500K and the i5 2500. The over-clocking on the 2500K sounds nice but on Intel's website it says that the 2500 is better for dual-booting. Can the 2500K dual boot at all and if so is it as good as the 2500? And how important is over-clocking given my specs. I would like to do it but I am not sure how it will affect the power watts needed or the amount of cooling needed.

The last thing concerns cooling. I am clueless about how much cooling I will need. A few places say that I need an additional CPU cooler. Is that true and if so what other cooling do I need besides that and the one on the case?

I also have a microcenter near me that's why some of the links above are from microcenter.

Thanks so much, sorry that I am new to this.

 

[Outlander_04]

Yes your parts are compatible .

The Antec 300 is a nice case

and if you want front USB 3 ports the Antec 300 two is even nicer .
You'd also have to change mb to get internal USB 3 headers

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

The P8Z68-V LX mobo isn't great for OCing because there's no heatsinks on the MOSFET's and you can't set manual Vcore in BIOS, only offsets (I have a P8Z68-V LE (with a 2500K), which is 1 step above with (small) heatsinks on the MOSFET's, but still with the same Vcore limitation making it a slight pain to OC with), so if you do get the 2500K, I would suggest a better mobo.

As for whether you can dual boot the same on a 2500K as you can on a 2500, I don't really see why that would be an issue. The only difference is the unlocked multi, and that shouldn't dictate the ability (or inability) to dual boot. I don't have a dual boot config personally though, so I can't tell you that with 100% certainty.

For cooling, if you're not gonna OC, then the stock cooler is fine, but if you do plan on it, the definitely get something like the CM Hyper-212 Evo. It's relatively cheap, and can't be beaten at its price. There are better, but they also cost much more.

 

[Cherokee Jack]

Ya, I didn't think there would be a difference in dual booting either so I was just confused how it says on Intel Website that the 2500 has "Intel® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d)" that "enables a PC to run multiple operating systems and applications through independent partitions."

And if I do decide to get the CPU cooler than that would that be enough cooling for my system?

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

The virtualization technology doesn't apply to dual boot, as far as I know. It should only apply to running a virtual OS inside a VM (which the 2500K can do with VT-x, it just doesn't have the direct hardware access in VM's that VT-d provides). That's just a strange quirk about the K series processors though. Why Intel decided not to implement VT-d on the K series processors, I will never know.

And yes, the Hyper-212 Evo should be plenty, unless you want to go crazy with overclocking (over 4.8 Ghz or so).

 

[Cherokee Jack]

Ok, that helps. Thanks

 

[Cherokee Jack]

Best answer selected by Cherokee Jack.