First time build (~2000$)

[SargeK155]

Finally im ready to buy and build my very own system. Im so excited, but it has already given me several headaches while trying to sort out the parts. Im almost sure but i would really like advice on the general build and some few specific questions. (Im a dane and will buy my system in Denmark so prices form Newegg wont help however you are still welcome to suggest items with links to newegg, as its easier, like i myself did)

Case: Cooler Master Haf X, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119225

CPU: Intel I5-3570K, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504

Motherboard: ASUS Sabertooth z77, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131821

or: ASRock z77 Professional Fatal1ty, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157299

Ram: No idea

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master V6GT, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103089

GPU: ASUS GTX680 DirectCU II TOP, http://www.asus.com/Graphics_Cards/NVIDIA_Series/GTX680DC2T2GD5/

PSU: Corsair TX850M, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139029

SSD: Crucial M4 128gb, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148442

I have HDD and optical drives from my current system.

I will use it primarily for gaming. Aesthetics and color is important for me and i will pay a little more for the right color and look.

Questions:
1. Which motherboard should i choose from the 2 listed, or are there others which are better?

2. What RAM speed should i get? Im really confused about the Ram speeds and which is better and what influence OC ram has on the system?

3. Are there other non-reference, custom pcb GTX 680's that are better than the ASUS one?

4. Is it generally a good build for the money or should i change something?

I would greatly appreciate any suggestions, ideas and answers from you guys, as i dont want to just rush into it blindly.

Oh and if you were wondering about the price of this build in denmark, it will be roughly 2500$, which is stupidly expensive.

 

[eddieroolz]

1. I went with a Sabertooth. It seems to be a bit more expensive than necessary, but a lot of higher-end builds chose this as well. I for one was dead set on that board to begin with.

2. IVB will support up to 1600MHz native, so any dual-channel DDR3 RAM will suffice. A good one is Corsair Vengeance (8 or 16GB flavors).

3. This one, I actually don't quite know. Will have to wait for someone else.

4. Your build looks more or less same as mine, minus the case and cooler. I went with an Antec P280 and Corsair H80 for those. Also, I bought 2x HDDs which add up to $250.

So the price *could* be cheaper, but considering you're in Europe things are probably more expensive there.

 

[SargeK155]

2. IVB will support up to 1600MHz native, so any dual-channel DDR3 RAM will suffice. A good one is Corsair Vengeance (8 or 16GB flavors).

Is there a reason to buy overclocked ram? Like a significant performance increase? And Vengeance wont do it for me as the heatsink is too tall, i have been looking at G.Skill sniper and ripjaw x's.

 

[eddieroolz]

That isn't specifically an overclocked RAM, but anyhow there are benefits to buying faster (i.e. 1600MHz/1833MHz vs. 1333MHz/1066MHz) RAM, as it helps with CPU bandwidth up to a certain point.

If I recall correctly a 1600MHz module is the sweet spot of cost/performance. Any higher and gains taper off, and any lower and you're giving up quite a lot of bandwidth. I remember there was an article on this but I cannot seem to find it.

 

[boulbox]

sniper and ripjaws are great go for a 1600 speed and they will do the job for you i much rather go with sniper as it will fit in the color scheme with your mobo (red and gray look bleh)
if gaming only 8GB of ram will do the job. if you are planning of doing something like video rendering 16GB can be done as well.
NOTE: in some cases 8GB will run faster than 16GB for gaming

 

[SargeK155]

sniper and ripjaws are great go for a 1600 speed and they will do the job for you i much rather go with sniper as it will fit in the color scheme with your mobo (red and gray look bleh)
if gaming only 8GB of ram will do the job. if you are planning of doing something like video rendering 16GB can be done as well.
NOTE: in some cases 8GB will run faster than 16GB for gaming

Well 1600 it will be then. I will get a 2x4gb 1600mhz g.skill red ripjaws or sniper to start with, then there is always space for 8gb more, as im not doing any video rendering right now.

 

[eddieroolz]

Well 1600 it will be then. I will get a 2x4gb 1600mhz g.skill red ripjaws or sniper to start with, then there is always space for 8gb more, as im not doing any video rendering right now.

Good choice. 8GB should be plenty enough and having only DIMMs should help with the overclock/timing adjustments.