Budget: Don't have money to burn, but I expect to use this computer for 6 to 8 years, although it will likely be demoted to e-mail/browsing after 3 yrs, so cost is not major concern Main uses of intended build: Photo/video editing, still play original Crysis some, Call of Duty4 Parts required: Expect to have some usable hard drives, once I sort out what still works from a wonky system Previous build information (list details of parts): don't expect to use much except maybe left over hard drives Monitor resolution: 1920x1200 Might move up in lifetime of this proposed system. Oh, and I like dual monitors - second monitor resolution is 1280x1024 I'm using an HDMI connection on my primary monitor. Storage requirements: Lots of photos, could end up with some videos - but I can always add hdds if necessary will you be overclocking: Probably won't overclock initially, at least, but since the equipment I'm presenting below has the capability, maybe eventually Any motherboard requirements (no. of USB, Xfire/SLI, fan headers): wouldn't want to run out of usb ports, but I don't expect this to be a problem. Expect the case to have a couple of USB 3 ports and a couple of USB 2 ports on top/front Extra information about desired system: think I've covered it above My list of prospective components is below. I'm concerned first about any incompatibilities among my components, whether electronic or dimensional. Think I'm okay on the video card fitting in the case, and on the memory chips clearing the cpu cooler, but it would be nice to receive assurance from anyone who's used these components before. Otherwise I'm interested in opinions about what might be more cost effective, etc. Thanks! Case: XION Gaming Series XON-980-BK Black with RED LED Light Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case (Newegg Item #:N82E16811208046) Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UP4 TH LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with Dual Thunderbolt (Newegg Item #:N82E16813128558) PSU: CORSAIR Professional Series HX650 650W ATX12V v2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power … (Newegg Item #:N82E16817139012) CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K Ivy Bridge 3.5GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I73770K (Newegg Item #:N82E16819116501) CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Freezer i30 CPU Cooler for Intel with 120mm PWM Fan and 4 Direct Contac Heat Pipes (Newegg Item #:N82E16835186058) Memory: CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9 (Newegg Item #:N82E16820233143) Video Card: DIAMOND 7870PE52G Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card (Newegg Item #:N82E16814103208) SSD: Corsair Neutron Series GTX CSSD-N240GBGTX-BK 2.5" 240GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) (Newegg Item #:N82E16820233343) HDD: Western Digital WD Black WD2002FAEX 2TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive (Newegg Item #:N82E16822136792) DVD Burner: ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM (Newegg Item #:N82E16827135204) Blu-Ray Burner: ASUS Black Blu-ray Burner SATA BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS (Newegg Item #:N82E16827135252) OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-bit – OEM (Newegg Item #:N82E16832116992)
Check out the 3570K, it's a lot cheaper for not much less performance (0% in games, 10% in Photoshop). You could also get away with a cheaper motherboard such as the GA-Z77-D3H. I'd recommend 2x8GB RAM sticks (instead of 4x4GB) for future proofing. The Vengeance series also comes in low profile versions, which are highly recommended to avoid any issues with the CPU cooler. The SSD market is a bit disappointing at the moment. No high end disks are being introduced. The best SSD is still the Samsung 830, but it's out of production and difficult to find. Other good ones are the OCZ Vertex 4 and Crucial M4, but they are getting pretty old. The Samsung 840 isn't as good as the 830 as it uses TLC memory chips instead of MLC, and the 840 Pro is just too expensive. Can you grab the optical drive from your old system? That would save you $20. Also, do you really need a blu-ray drive? Personally I think they are still too expensive.
I agree with mmvr - it's worth getting a 3570K CPU and putting any money you save towards a better graphics card. It's also better to get two 8GB RAM modules (rather than four x 4GB) if you plan to overclock your CPU - overclocking with all four RAM slots occupied can be difficult.
