Highest-Performance Build for $2k?

[charliechip95]

Hi there!
I've been researching the past couple of weeks to find the best computer (peformance-wise) that I can get for a budget of around $2000. I've never built a computer but I've had a lot of experience with computers in general, mostly in software but a little in hardware as well. I spend a lot of time gaming, and in the future I hope to be recording with Fraps and rendering the videos with Sony Vegas, which means fast hardware would be a huge help to the rendering process. I'm going to college soon and I may need the computer for other more taxing things in the future. I don't plan on doing any overclocking. Here's what I came up with so far:

SSD: Intel 520 Series Cherryville SSDSC2CW120A3K5 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167093

Case: COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Advanced Blue Edition RC-932-KKN3-GP ATX Full Tower Computer Case with USB 3.0, Black Interior and ...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119213

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD5H LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128545

Graphics Card: GIGABYTE GV-R797D5-3GD-B Radeon HD 7970 3GB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125408

PSU: CORSAIR Professional Series HX750 (CMPSU-750HX) 750W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified ...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139010

CPU: Intel Core i7-2700K Sandy Bridge 3.5GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623i72700K
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115095

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9Q-16GBXL
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231429

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533

OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

Newegg Wishlist Link: https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.aspx?ID=14312749
Grand Total: $1,833.37

Originally, I was hoping to get the i7-3930k processor and a LGA2011 motherboard to match. But I've been told that LGA2011 is still fairly new and is not as reliable, so it would be better for me (as a first time builder) to go for a LGA1155 build instead. Hopefully this change won't make a big toll on performance.

One thought I had about the SSD: Would it be better to get one 120gb drive or two 60gb drives? If I use the 120gb drive, I will be recording Fraps on the same drive that Windows 7 is installed on. Whereas if I get two 60gb drives, I could install Windows on one and record on the other. What's the best way to set that up for good FPS?

As a newbie, I couldn't really tell you for certain if these are the best parts possible for a high-end ~2000k gaming/editing computer, so I'm open to any ideas. If you feel a certain part/parts would be better be sure to let me know. And of course, I need to be sure everything is compatible too! That's very important.

 

[Nim Chimpsky]

The CPU will be plenty fast, and it would be better to get a single 120GB SSD.