I currently have a Q6600 OC'd to 4.5 ghz water cooled, Radeon 6850, etc. I need to replace most of it as I am giving this system to my brother (college kid, can't afford crap at his age). I have an Agility 3, which is pretty much the only thing I thought about keeping. I want to move away from Water Cooled as well, because I do not think I push my system enough to warrant it. I figure a nice good HS will be enough. If the recommendation is to stay with water though, I want a WB that is ONE SOLID PIECE. My last one, the inlet and outlets screwed in with an o-ring for sealing. It leaked on me but didn't cause damage as it was during the pre / testing phase (i.e. I was looking for leaks). But, I just prefer ones that are solid as to avoid this issue in the future.
Based on what I have read, and a budget of about $1000 I suppose, here is what I have decided. Also, I game on a 50 inch Panny Plasma, 1080 etc. Mostly play RPG's (WoW, Skyrim, ESO etc.).
HD - Keep the Agility 3 SSD
PSU - I would prefer a modular one, but if the standard ones are just better for the money, hit me with it. I have read this one is good - XFX XTR 650W 80 Plus Gold Modular PSU ATX 650 or this one - SeaSonic G Series SSR-550RM 550W ATX12V
GPU - R9 280X 3GB
CPU - Seems for gaming current gen games, the Intel Core i5-4670K Haswell 3.4GHz LGA 1150 is the way to go over the 4770.
MB - I would prefer one with a guide here to OC. I am okay at it, but if there is a MB here with a step by step guide I would rather buy it. I know the basics, Prime / Stability testing etc., but some of the BIOS aspects confuse me sometimes. I understand completely I do not need to OC for the games I play, and if that is the case, so be it. I absolutely do not need to OC (I know this is the OC forums, but I am fine not doing it now, or doing it later as the equipment ages).
RAM - G.SKILL Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-1600C9D-8GAB or these - Team Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory (Orange Heat Spreader) Model TLAD38G1600HC9DC01 . Never had bad luck with my G-skills in the past, in fact, G-Skill is all I have ever owned.
HS (or WB) - As I said, I would prefer air, but I have the fans, large radiator, pumps in my CM Stacker case, so will stick to WC for the CPU, so long as the WB is a solid piece of metal. I figure a good WB will be about the same price as a good HS. Only cooling my CPU, my rad was custom made by a guy here years ago and between the two pumps and the like six 120, and a few smaller 80s, I have a ton of cooling potential.
I figure if I go air, either the Coolermaster Evo 212 or the Noctua NH-D14 120mm & 140mm SSO CPU Cooler are the way to go. Again, whatever is better. I have everything for water in great condition, so if I can find a solid one piece WB I don't mind sticking with it. But it just seems like air won't ever leak on me =P
OS - Have Win 7, do I need win 8 for any type of performance advantage?
Based on what I have read, and a budget of about $1000 I suppose, here is what I have decided. Also, I game on a 50 inch Panny Plasma, 1080 etc. Mostly play RPG's (WoW, Skyrim, ESO etc.).
HD - Keep the Agility 3 SSD
PSU - I would prefer a modular one, but if the standard ones are just better for the money, hit me with it. I have read this one is good - XFX XTR 650W 80 Plus Gold Modular PSU ATX 650 or this one - SeaSonic G Series SSR-550RM 550W ATX12V
GPU - R9 280X 3GB
CPU - Seems for gaming current gen games, the Intel Core i5-4670K Haswell 3.4GHz LGA 1150 is the way to go over the 4770.
MB - I would prefer one with a guide here to OC. I am okay at it, but if there is a MB here with a step by step guide I would rather buy it. I know the basics, Prime / Stability testing etc., but some of the BIOS aspects confuse me sometimes. I understand completely I do not need to OC for the games I play, and if that is the case, so be it. I absolutely do not need to OC (I know this is the OC forums, but I am fine not doing it now, or doing it later as the equipment ages).
RAM - G.SKILL Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-1600C9D-8GAB or these - Team Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory (Orange Heat Spreader) Model TLAD38G1600HC9DC01 . Never had bad luck with my G-skills in the past, in fact, G-Skill is all I have ever owned.
HS (or WB) - As I said, I would prefer air, but I have the fans, large radiator, pumps in my CM Stacker case, so will stick to WC for the CPU, so long as the WB is a solid piece of metal. I figure a good WB will be about the same price as a good HS. Only cooling my CPU, my rad was custom made by a guy here years ago and between the two pumps and the like six 120, and a few smaller 80s, I have a ton of cooling potential.
I figure if I go air, either the Coolermaster Evo 212 or the Noctua NH-D14 120mm & 140mm SSO CPU Cooler are the way to go. Again, whatever is better. I have everything for water in great condition, so if I can find a solid one piece WB I don't mind sticking with it. But it just seems like air won't ever leak on me =P
OS - Have Win 7, do I need win 8 for any type of performance advantage?
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If thats the agreed upon mobo, then by all means! Didn't mean to over step there. Edit: I reread my post, and yeah I can see how I was saying "this is the only good board blah blah". Didn't mean to say it like that. Just meant its a great, well regarded motherboard is all. 
