That time again. New Rig build - High end gaming

[johnstac]

I like to build a new rig every 2 years or so. Oct, 2011 I spent about $2500 for the following:

AS Rock Z68 Motherboard
Intel i7-2600 3.4
Fractal Design Define
EVGA GTX 580 3GB x 2
Intel SSD 100 GB x 1
Samsung HD103SJ x 2
Creative SB X-Fi
Corsair Pro Gold AX1200

Overall I am happy with it but have a couple of things I would like to do differently this time. On the above build I used an SSD for the first time. They were kind of expensive so I bought a 100GB for the C drive and 2 TB for the D and E. I'm at about 90% on the C drive and I have to watch it carefully to make sure that files don't get put there. This time I would like a larger SSD. I don't overclock but I would like the fastest available motherboard and CPU. The most important to me is that it be quiet. Second would be performance and 3rd might be energy savings since I am moving to California soon. Budget will be about 3k-3.5k. I'm using three Dell Ultrasharp U2412. It's the least I have paid for a monitor but honestly they are good enough so I will not likely replace them unless someone can sell me on something way better.

I'm looking for a suggested build list with components you thing will work well together. I was considering a water cooling setup but honestly since I don't overclock does it make sense to go water? Please include the best air cooler you guys like for the cpu. Remember, quiet as possible.

I use the rig mainly for gaming but also for website administration, photoshop, etc.

One last thing, if you guys think that my existing build is about as good as I can get and think it might be a little early, please say so. Been only about 1 1/2 years so I'm a little early.

 

[johnstac]

I wanted to also elaborate on my plans for audio with this computer. I have never done this before but I have heard that I can use a card and pass through to a receiver of some type. Ideally what I would like is to use my M-Audio Bx5a speakers for computer use but would also like to use iTunes and pass through to a receiver and speakers for better audio. I'm not sure if all sound cards do this and maybe this question would be better asked in the sound card section but I'll mention it here anyway.

 

[Mapsx15]

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/K2Cv
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/K2Cv/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/K2Cv/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($80.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V DELUXE ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($273.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($239.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($132.57 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card ($445.91 @ Newegg)
Sound Card: Asus Xonar Essence STX 24-bit 192 KHz Sound Card ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($119.99 @ Microcenter)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-P12-1300 54.4 CFM 120mm Fan ($23.20 @ NCIX US)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-P12-1300 54.4 CFM 120mm Fan ($23.20 @ NCIX US)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-P12-1300 54.4 CFM 120mm Fan ($23.20 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic X Series 1050W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($196.82 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG UH12NS29 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($49.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $2259.78
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-16 08:20 EDT-0400)

This is gonna be pretty much all you need, the Noctua CPU fan is expensive, but it's silent, and if change the case fans with Noctua Fans it runs cold and you can't hear it.

 

[johnstac]

Thanks for the reply with your suggestions. I like everything listed but would like alternatives to the motherboard and the video card. I am not a big fan of Asus. Is there anything else worth suggesting? If I decided to overclock would there be any different recommendation for this mb?

Regarding the video card. As I mentioned on my original post, I use 2 video cards and 3 monitors. I want to continue to use 3 monitors. So let me first ask this; If I buy only two video cards will I sacrifice performance on two of the monitors? Maybe it's not even an issue because honestly I seldom use all three monitors when gaming at the same time. I prefer to have one monitor available for google, vent, etc. I know that price alone shouldn't determine a video card's worthiness but I mention this because the last two video cards that I am using now cost $550 ea or so. Usually use EVGA which I'm sure does command a premium but is this sapphire the best currently available? I'm figuring on buying two of them again unless someone can justify why I would need 3.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/K2Cv
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/K2Cv/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/K2Cv/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($80.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V DELUXE ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($273.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($239.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($132.57 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card ($445.91 @ Newegg)
Sound Card: Asus Xonar Essence STX 24-bit 192 KHz Sound Card ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($119.99 @ Microcenter)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-P12-1300 54.4 CFM 120mm Fan ($23.20 @ NCIX US)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-P12-1300 54.4 CFM 120mm Fan ($23.20 @ NCIX US)
Case Fan: Noctua NF-P12-1300 54.4 CFM 120mm Fan ($23.20 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic X Series 1050W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($196.82 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG UH12NS29 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($49.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $2259.78
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-16 08:20 EDT-0400)

This is gonna be pretty much all you need, the Noctua CPU fan is expensive, but it's silent, and if change the case fans with Noctua Fans it runs cold and you can't hear it.

 

[johnstac]

Anyone?