I'll try and make this as short as possible (which I'm bad at) so let's just say I'm in the market for a ~?2000 PC and this is the best I've managed to put together so far. I was wondering if anyone had improvements to make or suggestions. It's mainly meant for gaming, maybe some Blu-Ray ripping. I'm shooting for about 4 years' lastability, GPU excepted:
- Motherboard: ASUS ROG Maximus V Formula (?260) It's a self-indulgent purchase, but I'm such a sucker for tinkering and tweaking that I think I'll get my money's worth out of it. Plus, I'd use most of the 'extra' options such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, so I think this might not be a bad purchase. Are there any motherboards out there that are just -better- for the same or less money?
- CPU: Intel i7 3770K (?301) I know the 3570K is equivalent for gaming due to no 4+ threaded games yet. I suspect this might change at some point. Obviously planning to overclock the living hell out of this thing with...
- HSF: Thermalright Silver Arrow (?50) So massive that I'll have to pray it even still fits if I angle it upwards, but apparently the Noctua DH14's equal in cooling performance, and I can get it a lot cheaper because a nearby store doesn't seem to know what it's worth. I'm a bit worried about it clashing with the otherwise black/red colour scheme, though.
- RAM: Team Vulcan PC12800 CL9 4x4GB (?86) I know 8GB should be enough, but RAM is so cheap that I figured I might as well spring for a double so that I could mess around with RAMdisks etc. It's low-profile so it fits with the cooler, and also it's red. From what I can tell RAM is currently so similar between manufacturers that's as much a plus as anything else.
- GPU: Gigabyte GTX 670 Windforce OC (?387) Close call between this and the MSI and EVGA overclocked offerings, but the GB one got the best reviews overall. It's not clocked highest, but it should be possible to clock it very, very high. Plus, they're all built on the GTX680 PCB for extra stability.
- PSU: SeaSonic X-760 80+ Gold (?150) Gold certification is important to me, it's modular, it's stable as a rock and it offers headroom for overclocking and expansion. Interchangeable with the Corsair AX750 Pro Gold, unless I'm mistaken.
- SSD: Samsung 830 256GB (?190) Seems to have the very best price/speed/storage ratio out there, and with this budget I can comfortably accomodate a nice SSD.
- HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.14 3GB (?140) It's ludicrously big, quite fast and damn cheap. Don't know what else I'd want.
- APU: ASUS ROG Xonar Phoebus (?170) I'm a sucker for great audio, and it's just so damned pretty. I'm quite aware it's somewhat overpriced, though. Still, I don't think there's a better audio solution on the market right now - is there?
- Case: Cooler Master HAF X (?130) I'd have to move the case slightly too often for water cooling to be safe, so I have to maximise air cooling. I haven't seen a case with better airflow or lower temps yet, and it seems a pleasure to work inside (as I have rather big hands).
Totals just around ?2000 with shipping.
Any suggestions/alterations/improvements you guys would make? They'd be much appreciated.
- Motherboard: ASUS ROG Maximus V Formula (?260) It's a self-indulgent purchase, but I'm such a sucker for tinkering and tweaking that I think I'll get my money's worth out of it. Plus, I'd use most of the 'extra' options such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, so I think this might not be a bad purchase. Are there any motherboards out there that are just -better- for the same or less money?
- CPU: Intel i7 3770K (?301) I know the 3570K is equivalent for gaming due to no 4+ threaded games yet. I suspect this might change at some point. Obviously planning to overclock the living hell out of this thing with...
- HSF: Thermalright Silver Arrow (?50) So massive that I'll have to pray it even still fits if I angle it upwards, but apparently the Noctua DH14's equal in cooling performance, and I can get it a lot cheaper because a nearby store doesn't seem to know what it's worth. I'm a bit worried about it clashing with the otherwise black/red colour scheme, though.
- RAM: Team Vulcan PC12800 CL9 4x4GB (?86) I know 8GB should be enough, but RAM is so cheap that I figured I might as well spring for a double so that I could mess around with RAMdisks etc. It's low-profile so it fits with the cooler, and also it's red. From what I can tell RAM is currently so similar between manufacturers that's as much a plus as anything else.
- GPU: Gigabyte GTX 670 Windforce OC (?387) Close call between this and the MSI and EVGA overclocked offerings, but the GB one got the best reviews overall. It's not clocked highest, but it should be possible to clock it very, very high. Plus, they're all built on the GTX680 PCB for extra stability.
- PSU: SeaSonic X-760 80+ Gold (?150) Gold certification is important to me, it's modular, it's stable as a rock and it offers headroom for overclocking and expansion. Interchangeable with the Corsair AX750 Pro Gold, unless I'm mistaken.
- SSD: Samsung 830 256GB (?190) Seems to have the very best price/speed/storage ratio out there, and with this budget I can comfortably accomodate a nice SSD.
- HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.14 3GB (?140) It's ludicrously big, quite fast and damn cheap. Don't know what else I'd want.
- APU: ASUS ROG Xonar Phoebus (?170) I'm a sucker for great audio, and it's just so damned pretty. I'm quite aware it's somewhat overpriced, though. Still, I don't think there's a better audio solution on the market right now - is there?
- Case: Cooler Master HAF X (?130) I'd have to move the case slightly too often for water cooling to be safe, so I have to maximise air cooling. I haven't seen a case with better airflow or lower temps yet, and it seems a pleasure to work inside (as I have rather big hands).
Totals just around ?2000 with shipping.
Any suggestions/alterations/improvements you guys would make? They'd be much appreciated.
