Is it good where it is?

[Fragbashers]

Hi, recently I have been picking out parts to make a new computer, come this Christmas I will be ordering these parts. This is my current pick coming to a price of $1850. I expect pricing to go down during the holidays so I estimate the end cost to be around more of $1750-1800 depending on what gets price cuts (Mainly CPU and GPU).

Mostly for gaming and video editing.

Project Belatu-Cadros (Celtic word/name pertaining to the military) to replace Big Blu (Blue Antec Lanboy Air)

Case: Corsair Vengeance Series C70 Steel ATX Mid Tower - Military Green
PSU: [strike]Corsair HX series HX1050 Semi-Modular[/strike] [strike]COOLMAX ZU Series 800w Semi-Modular[/strike] UNKNOWN AT THIS TIME
Motherboard: Asus Sabertooth Z77 LGA 1155
CPU: Intel Core [strike]i7-2600k Sandy Bridge[/strike] i7-3770k Ivy Bridge (if combo lasts)(To be OC'd to 4.0GHz)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H80 Closed Loop Liquid Cooler
RAM: Corsair Dominator Platinum 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3 1866
GPU: [strike]EVGA SuperClocked GTX 660ti 2GB[/strike] EVGA GTX 670 FTW Edition
Sound: [strike]Creative Sound Blaster Recon3D Fatal1ty with 5.25" bay header[/strike] Asus Xonar Phoebus PCI-E with desktop input
Boot Drive: Samsung 830 Series 128GB SSD
Storage: Western Digital WD Black 1TB drive as well as my old WD Caviar Black 1TB drive to get old files from.
Extra cooling: Corsair Air Series AF120 Quiet edition x2

Thanks for any feedback and advice!

Sincerely,
FraggyB

EDIT: Forgot to mention I plan on running games like Planetside 2, Battlefield 3, Guild Wars 2, Borderlands 2, Arma 2 , Tera Online, etc.

EDIT2: PSU swapped for a COOLMAX 800w Semi-Modular PSU, GPU swapped for an EVGA GTX 670 FTW, and the CPU was swapped for a 3770k, as long as the combo deal with the Asus Sabertooth Z77 lasts till X-Mas, otherwise it's back to the 2600k. I also dropped the slightly more expensive Creative card for a slightly cheaper Xonar Phoebus sound card.

 

[o1die]

Everything should work well together, but I can't advise on your video card. I'm not a gamer, and they may be able to give you better advise, especially on bang for the buck performance. Personally, I would never spend more than $200 for any video card. I only spent $125 on a used asus board with 2120 i3 cpu yesterday, and it's a great value.

 

[mubin]

Get the Evga gtx670 as you want to play BF3. It will be a great price/performance card for $400.

 

[Fragbashers]

Get the Evga gtx670 as you want to play BF3. It will be a great price/performance card for $400.

I really want to get the 670, but my pricing so far nearly exceeds my current budget. This and I have been told that the 660 TI factory overclocked is nearly as powerful as a standard 670, and with a $100 price difference, that was a very attractive trade off. Come holiday time I may trade up, depending on how much my rig manages to shave off.

 

[manofchalk]

You'v sunk your money into the wrong places, you can get better for your cash.

PSU can be reduced to 650W, or 750W if Crossfire/SLI is an option later. No need for 1050W.
Corsair HX650, 80+ Gold Semi-modular. $120 ($20 rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139012

There is no real performance difference between 1866Mhz and 1600Mhz RAM, save yourself some cash.
No reason for the way overpriced Corsair Platinum RAM, RAM doesn't get hot unless you overclock it fairly hard, which is near pointless nowadays. You can get a much cheaper kit at no loss to performance.
G.Skill Ares 16GB (4x4GB) 1600Mhz CL9 1.5v. $80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231545

Do you really need a sound card? Its not needed unless you have a large and expensive surround system. Onboard audio is more than sufficient.

Could even drop the H80 without issue. Higher end air-cooling will get your better performance for less. Water-cooling isn't worth it until you get into custom loops.

Get a standard clocked graphics card. Why pay $20 for an overclocked card when you can do it yourself? Factory OC's are pretty conservative as well, can often push it much further. And not from EVGA, reference design cooling runs louder and hotter.

With the cash saved, get a 3770k and a GTX670.
Intel i7-3770k. $330
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116501

Gigabyte GTX670. $400
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125423

 

[mubin]

Well get it. Its good. But with less price, AMD HD7870 is equal to gtx 660ti.

Its $260 where gtx660ti will cost $290.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102996

 

[Fragbashers]

You've sunk your money into the wrong places, you can get better for your cash.

PSU can be reduced to 650W, or 750W if Crossfire/SLI is an option later. No need for 1050W.
Corsair HX650, 80+ Silver Semi-modular. $120 ($20 rebate)
-snip-
There is no real performance difference between 1866Mhz and 1600Mhz RAM, save yourself some cash.
No reason for the way overpriced Corsair Platinum RAM, RAM doesn't get hot unless you overclock it fairly hard, which is near pointless nowadays. You can get a much cheaper kit at no loss to performance.
-snip-
Do you really need a sound card? Its not needed unless you have a large and expensive surround system. Onboard audio is more than sufficient.
-snip-
With the cash saved, get a 3770k and a GTX670.
-snip-

I want the PSU to be a little bit overkill, If it doesn't die out during this build, which I would hope to get a second GPU to SLI instead of upgrade a lot of things, I would like to make it last as long as possible build count wise.

Im going for the expensive RAM because it fits the feel of my build, with the window in my case I want to get my components looking spiffy and not out of place. I'm okay with the overprice if it looks nice when the innards are seen.

I would like to get a soundcard for cleaning up sound coming from my system to my new speakers and new headset and going from my mic for a clear audio tone, something that would help improve audio quality in YouTube videos and be nice for my personal ingame experiences. This is also why I went for one of the cheapest sound cards with an included 5.25" header.

And with the CPU, I am using a 2600k in my current build and am fine with it as is, I feel I am content with it as is.

So, in the end.
I am willing to trade my EVGA 660ti for a different 660ti perhaps:
www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130837
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133466

And I am willing to trade my RAM for something equally as fitting in design as the Dominator ram.
Although I must note the the RAM costs double what the ram in my current build cost me and I only have 8GB, so compared to when I built my current system, I don't feel I am overpaying much more now than I did a year and a half ago.

 

[Fragbashers]

Well get it. Its good. But with less price, AMD HD7870 is equal to gtx 660ti.

Its $260 where gtx660ti will cost $290.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102996

I refuse to buy AMD.
Just personal preference.

 

[mubin]

I refuse to buy AMD.
Just personal preference.

As you wish. Gtx 660ti is not bad.

 

[manofchalk]

None of that makes sense to me, you are literally wasting your money on super premium but useless components, at the expense of what actually matters.

750W is more than enough for dual Crossfire/SLI, some would say overkill. You stand to save yourself nearly $100 if you go with the supply I recommended, which will easily get you a GTX670.

That RAM is twice as expensive for literally no gain other than a shiny heat-spreader, you are spending an extra $80 for nothing. You can spend an extra $40 for a 3770k and and expect a ~10% performance increase.
With the other $40 you save, you could get a Corsair H100, which is much better than the single rad H80. Can overclock your chip further, leading to another performance boost.

You came here for advice on how to make the rig better and I have told you. Loss the uselessly expensive items and put the money where it matters, the CPU and GPU.

Between those two, get the EVGA. The PNY is more expensive and has worse cooling.
In fact, get this card. Cheaper than both of those, better cooling and a larger factory OC.
Gigabyte GTX660Ti. $300
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125440

Also at this price point, the HD7950 is a better option.
Sapphire HD7950. $310 ($10 rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202006

 

[Fragbashers]

None of that makes sense to me, you are literally wasting your money on super premium but useless components, at the expense of what actually matters.

750W is more than enough for dual Crossfire/SLI, some would say overkill. You stand to save yourself nearly $100 if you go with the supply I recommended, which will easily get you a GTX670.

That RAM is twice as expensive for literally no gain other than a shiny heat-spreader, you are spending an extra $80 for nothing. You can spend an extra $40 for a 3770k and and expect a ~10% performance increase.
With the other $40 you save, you could get a Corsair H100, which is much better than the single rad H80

You came here for advice on how to make the rig better and I have told you. Loss the uselessly expensive items and put the money where it matters, the CPU and GPU.

In fact, get this card. Cheaper than both of those, better cooling and a larger factory OC.
Gigabyte GTX660Ti. $300

Also at this price point, the HD7950 is a better option.

1st off, the aesthetics matter to me in this build. It is military themed and I want to show as little PCB as possible. That and I want pieces that fit that feel, not out of place sh*t looking blue sticks popping out of my mobo.

2nd, I already explained that I want to keep the PSU as long as possible, be that 2 builds or more, so I am keeping a beefy PSU, I also plan on throwing more at it in the future that would eat up a good chunk of power. Although I may drop to 800.

3rd, I dont care if its a little pricey. It is the same price per gig as the not so fancy 8 gigs of Vengeance Series ram I have in Big Blu.

4th, I came here for an evaluation of my parts as is, not to be told to switch out every piece because I spent a little too much on something.

5th, That Gigabyte card would be an eye sore and I refuse to buy AMD.

So I dropped the 1050 for a CoolMax 800 and bumped up to a EVGA 670 FTW edition.

And with a combo available for the CPU and Sabertooth Z77 I bumped up to a 3770K although that added ~$15.

 

[manofchalk]

Not a Coolmax PSU, very unreliable brand.
Rated as a Tier 5 brand, not advised for any system.
http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/323050.aspx

Get this instead.
Corsair Enthusiast 850W, 80+ Bronze semi-modular. $135 ($20 rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139022

Eh, whatever. your money.

 

[Fragbashers]

Not a Coolmax PSU, very unreliable brand.

Corsair Enthusiast 850W, 80+ Bronze semi-modular. $135 ($20 rebate)

Eh, whatever. your money.

Screw it, I'll get a 750W if it keeps me at a manageable price.

Thanks for the help, and sorry if I came off as grumpy, I was having crashing issues in Planet Side 2 and was really angry.

Thanks for the heads up with the Coolmax PSU.