This is my build plan, what do you think?

I'm planning a major upgrade to my old PC, gutting the case and going with all new components. I would like anyone's opinion about my build. I am not a power gamer, but I do enjoy PC games. I only run at 1920x1080 but I am running two monitors and a 46" LCD TV off my PC. My plan with this build is to run the TV from integrated graphics and my other two monitors from my dedicated video card. This build also hits about the top of my budget, so suggesting more expensive components means I would have to reduce something somewhere else, please keep that in mind and make suggestions that reflect that.

Intel Core i5 2500k
ASRock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3
GSkill Ripjaw X Series 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600 Low voltage set
Radeon HD 6870 1GB GPU
Corsair Force Series 3 60GB Sata III SSD
Samsung EcoGreen 2TB Sata II HDD
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
SeaSonic x650 Gold 650w PSU

I will say now that please don't suggest jumping to an i7 as I don't really have the budget for one.

Thx for the input.

Looks good. You may find the 60GB SSD somewhat restrictive over time though. I got really tired of deleting programs on my 80GB SSD, so the 60 could be even worse.

If you can swing it, go for a 120GB SSD. Maybe you can get the ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 to help offset the cost. That is a good board and 40-50 cheaper than the E4G3.

ssds are nice but 60gbs doesnt go a long way once you start installing stuff, i have a 120gb and its like 1997... a 6870 will run all three of your screens easy, if you want to get the mobo without graphics. you could save a buck by getting 4gb ram , VM on an ssd is pretty fast, you probably wont even use that much ram unless your a video/music producer. not sure ,but i think you might want a bigger psu 750w probly.
the i5 2500k is great, get a good water cooler and you can up it to 4ghz easy.

issicus said:

ssds are nice but 60gbs doesnt go a long way once you start installing stuff, i have a 120gb and its like 1997... a 6870 will run all three of your screens easy, if you want to get the mobo without graphics. you could save a buck by getting 4gb ram , VM on an ssd is pretty fast, you probably wont even use that much ram unless your a video/music producer. not sure ,but i think you might want a bigger psu 750w probly.
the i5 2500k is great, get a good water cooler and you can up it to 4ghz easy.

Click to expand...

You can get 4Ghz on a stock cooler. You can get 5 on a Hyper 212+. The 2500K doesn't get hot. It doesn't have enough cache to get as hot as the 26/7. Water cooling at any level of any kind is completely unnecessary for the 2500.

huh. .. i havent really tested my i5, its fast enough at its stock 3.3ghz =)

Needitcooler said:

Looks good. You may find the 60GB SSD somewhat restrictive over time though. I got really tired of deleting programs on my 80GB SSD, so the 60 could be even worse.

If you can swing it, go for a 120GB SSD. Maybe you can get the ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 to help offset the cost. That is a good board and 40-50 cheaper than the E4G3.

Click to expand...

I have the Corsair Force 3 120GB as an alt for the SSD. I like the board suggestion and that might work well for me as a trade off. I had planned on keeping the stock cooler and possibly OCing up to about 4ghz, but only after I tried the system for a month or so at stock to see if I really need it. Mostly I run netflix and hulu with some games, but I multi task alot. I had thought about dropping to 4GB of ram but with ram being so cheap I figured it wouldn't hurt to run it up to 8GB.

issicus said:

ssds are nice but 60gbs doesnt go a long way once you start installing stuff, i have a 120gb and its like 1997... a 6870 will run all three of your screens easy, if you want to get the mobo without graphics. you could save a buck by getting 4gb ram , VM on an ssd is pretty fast, you probably wont even use that much ram unless your a video/music producer. not sure ,but i think you might want a bigger psu 750w probly.
the i5 2500k is great, get a good water cooler and you can up it to 4ghz easy.

Click to expand...

I have spent alot of today on the PSU subject about just what size I need. looking at the components I'm using I'm looking at about 500W max if I OC what I have. I dont' intend to OC the GPU at all, if anything it will just be the i5 and the ram, and then only moderately cause I'm worried about the longevity of the system. A buddy of mine suggested going with a 750w but I just don't see were I will need all the extra for the cost. When I posted my question here I got confirmation that my build isn't that power intensive and I believe 650W should be enough for my system with room for future upgrade. I am looking at possibly switching to a ivy bridge in 12 months or so and those are supposed to be even more efficent. Why do you think I should have the extra?

the psu wont use more power then you need. main reason i said get a bigger one was because cyberpower told me to get a 700w for the same set up. and if you want to add stuff a little more wouldnt hurt.

issicus said:

the psu wont use more power then you need. main reason i said get a bigger one was because cyberpower told me to get a 700w for the same set up. and if you want to add stuff a little more wouldnt hurt.

Click to expand...

I have found results vary alot with the online calculators. I tried 3 and got 395w, 399w, and 512w then you got 700w. the two high ones came from newegg (512w) and your cyberpower one. I am thinking that those two could be high because they both want to sell you a more expensive PSU. the two that were close together were alot more detailed in what info they wanted and lined up alot more with the personal calculations I did based off of this chart from Tom's Hardware

high watt capacity equals lower temp. thats a good thing.

have fun with your new comp. get a xbox360 controller those things are sick

later.

issicus said:

high watt capacity equals lower temp. thats a good thing.

have fun with your new comp. get a xbox360 controller those things are sick

later.

Click to expand...

Thx for the input, I'm considering all suggestions.

Any one got any other suggestions or opinions?

One other suggestion - If you do end up getting an aftermarket CPU cooler, some of them interfere with the Ripjaw RAM due to their height. You may want to look into something a little shorter to avoid any future conflicts.

issicus said:

the psu wont use more power then you need. main reason i said get a bigger one was because cyberpower told me to get a 700w for the same set up. and if you want to add stuff a little more wouldnt hurt.

Click to expand...

He needs a 500W. At most. The parts listed will pull about 400W under the most overclocked conditions possible between everything. If a second 6870 is in the cards, sure, go for a bit more. But 500-600W will run almost any single CPU/GPU setup. Even a 300W card and a 130W CPU. You just have to watch the TDP on things as you increase voltage. It's rare for a Sandybridge CPU to exceed 100W under normal use but benching highly overclocked you can hit 130-140W. An 8150FX can hit almost 250W. Luckily the 6870 is a low voltage card. Only 150W or so.

A Corsair CX430 should do the job perfectly, no point of going with anything bigger, unless going CF.
60GB SSD should also do fine if its only for OS & applications.

Needitcooler said:

One other suggestion - If you do end up getting an aftermarket CPU cooler, some of them interfere with the Ripjaw RAM due to their height. You may want to look into something a little shorter to avoid any future conflicts.

Click to expand...

I was thinking about the Cooler Master 212+ It's reviews awesome, it's not expensive, and even with the optional second fan it's fairly thin and I have seen on on this board, it doesn't hang over the memory chips at all. Thx for the info tho.

With the PSU. I decided on the 650W because it would allow me plenty of extra while keeping my power usage in the efficiency ranges of 20% to 80% even when overclocked. when you run a PSU load up over 80% it's efficiency drops off a good bit. Also I am thinking of future upgrades as I may bump up to a i7 when the ivy bridge comes out as well as moving up to a more powerful GPU in the future. This also allows me room for other options like more HDD's and such as that. I don't see myself needing another 750W, I went that way because I was running and SLI setup but I don't feel that my current needs warrant that. I would rather step up to a better single GPU then SLI or CF as I am trying to keep my PC's power consumption in mind. My current PC stayed on 24/7 for a long time (about 2 years) but when I started shutting it down when not in use (running it about 8h a day average) I actually noticed a drop in my electric bill. I'm trying to to balance current power requirements, possible future upgrades, and efficiency ranges on this selection. I'm loving all the input tho, keep it coming plz.

Still interested in a larger SSD? 120GB Corsair Force for $120 at Newegg.

Better hurry!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...-na-_-na&AID=10440897&PID=3891137&SID=rewrite