Gaming and home studio PC

[nosedevil]

Hi.
I'm a noob here and just wanted to ask for some advice on a first build idea.

Basic components are the following:

GPU - SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7870 GHz
CPU - Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz
MoBo - ASRock Z68 Extreme7 Gen3
Memory - G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900)
Cooling - CORSAIR H100 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler
SSD - SAMSUNG 830 Series MZ-7PC256D/AM 2.5" 256GB
Drive - LITE-ON Blu-ray Burner iHBS212-08
PSU - CORSAIR Professional Series Gold AX1200
Case - COOLER MASTER COSMOS II


Approximate Purchase Date: (A month)

Budget Range: ($1600 - 2000) Before / After Rebates

System Usage from Most to Least Important: (Gaming, home studio, surfing the internet, watching movies)

Parts Not Required: (keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS)

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: (newegg.com)

Country: (Puerto Rico)

Parts Preferences: by brand or type (Intel CPU, AMD GPU)

Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire: Yes, later

Monitor Resolution: (1920x1080, 1920x1200)

Additional Comments: (I would like a quiet PC, cool performance, Skyrim gameplay, planning on getting a GPU for crossfire in the future and a 1TB Hard Drive)


Hope you can tell me if this system can be assembled properly and if it will handle the gaming and home recording. Thank you.

 

[azeem40]

IMO, and of many people on Anandtech, the 7870 is not a good value. The 7850 OCed is better value, and so is the GTX 670 for $30 more than the 7870. Do you really need Extreme7 and the H100? Drop both down to Extreme3 and Hyper 212 EVO, respectively. The H100 is not worth it compared to real WC kits. The PSU is WAY overkill for even CF/SLI. Get the XFX Pro750W.

 

[nosedevil]

Thank you very much azeem40.

Between the 7850 OCed and the GTX 670 OCed, which one performs best?

 

[nosedevil]

Another thing I was looking for in the Extreme7 was the firewire compatibility and the amount of SATA ports. Anything in between?

 

[nosedevil]

4500mhz OC at 61c max load! Prime95 2 hours.

Impressive. So the H100 is responsible for the cooling, or is it the fan array?

 

[nosedevil]

The Cosmos 2 case is way to expensive shipped to Puerto Rico.

Can you recommend me a case for watercooling and expandability?

 

[azeem40]

I get 4.5 GHz with a Hyper 212 EVO with temps at 65C.

 

[nosedevil]

Best answer selected by Nosedevil.