Any advice would be very appreciated on this gaming rig.

[Thmsbkr3]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wi...ref=cm_sw_su_w

***Updated from the ground up so if you have advice you can skip to at least page 4 to see if there's anything more to the discussion**

Just posted as a wishlist so I didn't have to post each individual item. As of next Friday (the 5th of August) I'm planning on purchasing everything in the list. Now, a little notes about my choices...

Note 1: Not purchasing everything from Amazon, it's just a quick list so everyone can view. (And give me an idea of the price I'm looking at)

Note 2: My budget is ~2500$ with a little bit of wiggle room.

Note 3: The idea behind the machine is that it's a Gaming rig first and foremost with the power to take care of most of my other needs. I do a little bit of everything including video encoding. So while I'm not after the full on power of a workstation per se I'd like it to be able to complete some tasks with relative ease. All in all though my priorities are Gaming>Video Encoding>Image Editing>To anything else...

Note 4: The MOBO is about the only thing I'm not really willing to budge on, so if you guys have some amazing idea or better product let me know, just keep in mind that it's going to be excessively hard to get me to shy away from the ASUS P8Z68 Deluxe (Also I'd like to point out since it was brought up on Page 2 or 3, The board everyone had problems with is the ASUS P8P67 Deluxe **Make sure to notice the P and not the Z from the previously listed board** The "Z68" is the successor and the only MAJOR problem that I've read about is the current Bios firmware doesn't have the latest ORAM integrated yet.)

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated... I've done quite a bit of research myself, but nothing like large communities to nitpick and come up with better solutions. Thanks in advanced!

[BicycleMafioso]

No offence, but since it's 5.31 AM, I'm too tired to read through all of it, but I did look at your wishlist.

Asus Xonar-series are better than Creative these days.
Razers products aren't very good. Especially the Naga.
The PSU is more powerful than it needs to be, but will work fine.

Everything else is compatible.
EDIT - personally not a fan of the Coolermaster-cases.
Can't see what the screens panel is, but avoid TN-panels.

[Fuzzykins]

TL;Dr, sorry. PCI-E sound cards are useless without insanely high end headphones. Ugh. Don't buy that. Look at the Sweet Spot thread for a high end build, instead of spending shitloads of unnecessary cash. .-.

---------- Post added 2011-07-29 at 10:35 PM ----------

No offence, but since it's 5.31 AM, I'm too tired to read through all of it, but I did look at your wishlist.

Asus Xonar-series are better than Creative these days.
Razers products aren't very good. Especially the Naga.
The PSU is more powerful than it needs to be, but will work fine.

Everything else is compatible.

enough with that.

Edit: Erm... Blargh. These budget builds are so finicky. You have such a massive budget, that there's so much to argue about.

[Thmsbkr3]

TL;Dr, sorry. PCI-E sound cards are useless without insanely high end headphones. Ugh. Don't buy that. Look at the Sweet Spot thread for a high end build, instead of spending shitloads of unnecessary cash.

No offence, but since it's 5.31 AM, I'm too tired to read through all of it, but I did look at your wishlist.

Asus Xonar-series are better than Creative these days.
Razers products aren't very good. Especially the Naga.
The PSU is more powerful than it needs to be, but will work fine.

Everything else is compatible.
EDIT - personally not a fan of the Coolermaster-cases.
Can't see what the screens panel is, but avoid TN-panels.

@Tetris
Def going to check out the Xonar series, and again I'm going to drop another GTX 590 into it after the prices drop so the idea is to have the PSU last at least that long I wont bother you too much tonight at least but I'll be checking back on this board throughout the next week. Any advice on why Razor products are bad or better solutions? And if you can show me some cases that are as heavy duty while still maintaining good airflow and a cosmetic look I'll def do some research on them. From what I've read this case is crazy durable.

@Fuzzy
The new Turtle Beach Professional Series headset is the one that I'm interested in, so that's the idea of the powerful sound card. If you have arguments I'll gladly hear them. That's one of the whole reasons I posted this thread was to get feedback before I made a stupid mistake.

EDIT: Also, I know it's a relatively high budget. I generally buy a new PC every 4 to 5 years and then just don't worry about it, though this one I want to get a little extra so in 4 to 5 years I can use a lot of the same parts without having to drop a few grand on a new PC

[BicycleMafioso]

Two 590s? Hm. I'm actually not sure if a 850w will cut it then. It's enough for two 580s with overclocking headroom. Were you overclocking at all? I found no reference to it while ctrl+f'ing through your post.
Although, I wouldn't expect the prices of 590s to drop. It's made in limited supply, and for the very high-end. I'm not sure that there will be many availible on the market, once the consumers have been satisfied.
Razer used to be great. The Tarantula is the last good product they made (I hear). All I know is, a lot of people regularly come here complaining about issues with them breaking or acting up, and calling them flimsy. I have a Naga myself, and I cannot find its design pleasing. Mine appears to be one of the few who hasn't broken down at some point. :P It might work for you though. But I've become an anti-razer fanboy, if such a thing exists. So don't only take my word for it. But in my experience, people who advocate them are usually quite adamant about their divinity. Which is suspicious in itself. Because every product has problems, even the ones I use. :P

Well, if it does fit your aesthetic taste, it does! Then I have no complaints. But, the Silverstone Raven RV-03, for example, has better airflow, but its unique design is not for everyone. My favourite case to drool at, none the less. Lian-Li's are usually very cool, but cost too much. Corsairs 800D is "the" mainstream computercase atm, but cost thereafter.
I have a Fractal Design Define R3 myself, a case mostly for silence (the Arc-series being their airflow-series), but, it's not too shabby for cooling either. Not top-dawg or even close, but hey.

The two disco-bling-bling cases I do like, are the Thermaltake Level 10 GT and the Antec Dark Fleet DF-85. The first one being a very good case, the last one leaving much to be wanted. The Antec Lanboy and the Bitfenix Survivor are other cases that fit their own niche.

Also, if the screen you wanted isn't an IPS-screen (recommended at your budget) or at least 120Hz, consider the Dell UltraSharp U2311H. I'll have to see if I can find the panel of that one, though, so I don't actually advice a downgrade. :P
*EDIT - checked, and it appears to be a TN-panel. At that price? Ohwell. TN-panels are, imo, rather poor in quality. But, I'm a perfectionist, so don't take my word for it.

[Dysko]

I'll give you some hxc criticism when I get home. In the mean time can you give me your budget and I will do a build for you.
Also is this purely gaming? Or a real workstation?

[Thmsbkr3]

Lol it's ok I'm a perfectionist as well, but again I don't generally build computers all that often. This will be my first official build from scratch, but I have the basic idea of everything, and I've taken a number of classes in college about computer hardware software and the like. I just tend to get behind the times only really upgrading every 4 to 5 years. I only really mess with it when I realize that I can't game at any kind of decent settings on higher end games such as Crysis 2 lol...

Ok, back to the very first comment you made about the Xonar series, from the little bit of reading up I've done since then I'm inclined to agree and give them a shot. Looking at the essence, I'm impressed, but my 5.1 logitech system doesn't seem like it'd be too friendly or is the RCA jacks for PCs the way to go nowadays? My guess is that I should stick with the DX, but since I'm really not sure tell me which you would recommend

And on the Graphics Cards, regardless one can hope the prices drop on the 590 but worst case scenario I'll buck up and by the next high end line that comes out. Though when you mentioned the PSU being too strong I started looking up better power supplies, and I don't know if you know, but it seems like EVERY power supply has such a mixed review. So I hopped over to Fuzzy's thread and found this. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139014 Would that be a better way to go just to play it on the safe side? It's quite a bit more pricy but if I knock off the Naga and the keyboard I'll save a pretty penny there. I assume you have similarly poor review of the Logitech g19 keyboard? I've read some good things but I was too late in experiencing the supposed greatness of the g15, everywhere was sold out all the time so I just bought a cheap keyboard. I don't really want to spend that much money on a keyboard though unless it's just amazingly better than the rest.

The last thing is the monitor, I've actually read reviews of the IPS being poor for gaming, but as far as computer peripherals I don't know much about them, most of the hardware inside and software I've got a pretty good idea and a personal preference. I was reviewing the one Chaud posted let me get a link... http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...SIN=B00302DNZ4
Quite a bit more pricey than my 270ish limit but if it's an absolute must buy then I suppose I could be swayed... I just read a lot of bad reviews from different sites, and again I know I like the glossy look of Samsung's monitors. But to be honest aside from that I know very little about monitors (reading up on them now though)

EDIT: Forgot to mention that as far as Overclocking goes, the processor is a given since I'm getting the 2600k but my plan is to leave the graphics card as is because everyone says it generally runs way hotter than average anyway since it has 2 GPUs on 1 card. I'm not really even sure how to OC the ram with that BIOS I've never owned an ASUS MOBO but I'd like to give that a shot if I'm able once I get it home.

I'll give you some hxc criticism when I get home. In the mean time can you give me your budget and I will do a build for you.
Also is this purely gaming? Or a real workstation?

It'll be a little bit of both, with Gaming heavily favored. I do a little bit of everything, so it's good to be prepared for any and everything I need. I'm not really after a whole new build unless you really think it's necessary. Most of the things listed have very strong reviews except the few things I mentioned that I'm unsure about. My budget is trying to stay ~2500$ while making sure I get the i7 and the z68 deluxe board. Like I was saying I spent all last night looking up graphics cards so unless you can find some GTX 580s that are relatively cheap that wont blow my budget up to 2700-2800 range I don't know if you'll be able to change my mind on that either (though you're very welcome to try and point out more reasons that I am unaware of)

EDIT 2: Sorry I'm posting Novels just want to make sure the information gets said properly. "HAI Gaiz helpz me with mai new pc" < can get confusing at times as with engrish... So I apologize

[Skelly]

It would be great if you could tell us exactly what you're planning on doing with this.

The Razer Naga is an either love it or hate it mouse. Tetris hates it, I love it. Same with with the Nostromo/G13/N52te, you'll either swear by it or chuck it in a closet and never use it.

Check out this page for Sound Cards http://www.overclock.net/sound-cards-computer-audio/1014902-most-commonly-recommended-audio-products.html

For people going as over the top as you are (and I did last summer), I recommend looking into a 27"-30" IPS 2560x1440 monitor.
Aplle Cinema Display if you like glossy, Dell Utrasharp U2711 if you don't. It'll be the most amazing thing you ever look at.

Don't worry about the RAM, most people around here suggest GSKILL before Corsair anyway.

The 510 is a solid choice for an SSD. Most other drives that have shown higher performance have also had unacceptable failure rates. You wouldn't ever notice the difference anyway.

I'll never point someone away from Dual LAN connections on a mobo since one of my two ethernet ports died a few days ago XD.

The HAF 932, I feel, is an odd choice. Most people would go for either the HAF X or the Storm Sniper Black (my first case, take a look, its great).
Cases are entirely a matter of taste though.

850W will NOT be enough for two 590s. TDP is 375W each iirc. Pick a different PSU off this list http://www.overclock.net/power-supplies/183810-faq-recommended-power-supplies.html

[BicycleMafioso]

The Creatives are supposed to be outdated. I'm not understanding everything you say about RCA-jacks (language barrier, I suppose. Or tired). But when I got the Xonar DX, it did increase my soundquality by quite a bunch, even in my chummy Logitech X-530 soundsystem. Most of all in my phones, of course, as they are actually goodquality.
Essence being Essence STX? I hear it's really recommended for people going headphones fullstop, because of its amp-quality. It also comes with a jack-converter.

The AX-series are all good, but the 1200 is my least favourite. Possibly because it's not made by Seasonic, and I'm kind of a Seasonic fanboy. But honestly, get the AX1200 only and only if you are certain you will run two 590s. Two 580s or just one 590? The AX850 or the Seasonic X-series 850 is more than good enough. Can get away with 750w safely, even.

I have no relationship toward the Logitech keyboards with screens. For the people that like the feature, they're awesome. I use a G110 myself, possibly because it's the one I've found that's comfortable to type with, play with, have decent media- and macro-keys while still having a reasonable-ish price.
I'm actually more of a fan of Microsofts Sidewinder x4, even less pricey. This is about non-mechanicals, of course - mechanicals, I leave up to those who know it.

IPS does have higher GTG-latency than TN-panels do, yes. The U2311H has like, 8. That's not a whole lot, and some/most have gamingmodes that cut back that even further.

That Dell UltraSharp U2410 is the big brother to the U2311H - the difference being that it's 16:10 rather than 16:9, and of supposedly better quality, and having more port-connectivity (was the HDMI a must? Didn't catch that). The quality, I've not heard a lot about, as I've not researched it, only the 30" and the 23"-models. I'd go with the 23" personally. It's a good mix of quality and price, and going "down" to the 23"-size isn't necessarily bad. It's still 1080p, right? :P
But I digress. It's your money. And a good screen is supposed to outlive your build. But it would be too much money for me, at least.

[Skelly]

Your logitech 5.1 system probably has optical out, which all new sounds cards should have these days. I just bought a Xonar Essence STX after a bunch of research (haven't plugged it in yet, waiting on new case) and it has an optical sound port.

The Logitech g15 has been discontinued and superseded by the g510.

Also, Tetris, RCA connector are the yellow/red/white thing you used to plug consoles in with. Still used for audio.

[Thmsbkr3]

Not going to keep quoting lol

@Skelly
I've actually been looking at the HAF X more as of late, so I might switch it up... I agree it's mostly about cosmetics but since I'm getting the GTX 590 I'm also worried about proper airflow and the extra little bit I can get from a case would be awesome.

On the monitor, that's a much better look than all the previous IPS panels I've seen since I do like the glossy picture. I really just don't think I'm going to fork out a grand for a monitor yet. Maybe in another 6 months if my computer is still up there as one of the best.

That link that you gave about the PSU had my first choice listed as the first one, the Silverstone ST1500 1500W, but I was talking to my cousin about it and he absolutely swore that I should go with the corsair, PSU. I didn't really know enough about corsair's PSU to pose a valid argument so just took it and ran with it.

@tetris
http://www.asus.com/Multimedia/Audio...specifications The Red and White female connector is what I've always called RCA jacks, not sure if they have another name. The majority of what I do with audio is headphones, so that's why I was considering it for a moment... But alas I think I'm just going to go with the DX to be safe.

Also, on the IPS monitor I've read a lot more about it now so I have a better understanding... I just can't see myself forking out that much money for a monitor yet... Hell worst case scenario in a few years when I need to rebuild I can just drop some big money on a new OLED monitor

EDIT @Skelly x2
I'll edit my first post to say this but basically I do a bit of everything from video encoding to sound recordings (I absolutely love MakeMusic's Finale program) to Gaming. The idea behind the PC is that it's going to be so gaming heavy that it will have the power to do just about anything else I need (obviously some video encoding wont be absolutely optimum as a full on workstation.) And I know about the g15 being discontinued that's what I was talking about back in the day Do you know much about any great backlit mechanicals? I mean they don't need to be backlit I just think it looks cool.

AND, it looks like I'd need to buy an adapter for my speakers if I went with the Xonar Essence STX. Probably wouldn't cost more than 15$ or so unless the Xonar came with something. Doesn't look like I have an optical out... These speakers are like really really really really old I've had them for probably 8 or 9 years.

[BicycleMafioso]

Ew, the HAF X. It's so ugly and blocky. And disco.

Corsair generally sell (not make) good PSUs. But like most companies, they are just rebranded products from the actual PSU-manufacturers, meaning, that other companies will have good PSUs for sale as well. That's kind of what OEM is all about; a guessing game, unless you're willing to do the research.

@ RCA. I see. I blame languagebarrier.
Regarding IPS-panels, I think you're looking at too high-end. There's stores in America that can sell the U2311H for <200 USD. That's reasonable money for such a good screen. They go on sale every three weeks I think.

EDIT at your edit.

AND, it looks like I'd need to buy an adapter for my speakers if I went with the Xonar Essence STX. Probably wouldn't cost more than 15$ or so unless the Xonar came with something. Doesn't look like I have an optical out... These speakers are like really really really really old I've had them for probably 8 or 9 years.

It does come with adapters.

[ispano]

Not going to keep quoting lol

@Skelly
I've actually been looking at the HAF X more as of late, so I might switch it up... I agree it's mostly about cosmetics but since I'm getting the GTX 590 I'm also worried about proper airflow and the extra little bit I can get from a case would be awesome.

On the monitor, that's a much better look than all the previous IPS panels I've seen since I do like the glossy picture. I really just don't think I'm going to fork out a grand for a monitor yet. Maybe in another 6 months if my computer is still up there as one of the best.

That link that you gave about the PSU had my first choice listed as the first one, the Silverstone ST1500 1500W, but I was talking to my cousin about it and he absolutely swore that I should go with the corsair, PSU. I didn't really know enough about corsair's PSU to pose a valid argument so just took it and ran with it.

@tetris
http://www.asus.com/Multimedia/Audio...specifications The Red and White female connector is what I've always called RCA jacks, not sure if they have another name. The majority of what I do with audio is headphones, so that's why I was considering it for a moment... But alas I think I'm just going to go with the DX to be safe.

Also, on the IPS monitor I've read a lot more about it now so I have a better understanding... I just can't see myself forking out that much money for a monitor yet... Hell worst case scenario in a few years when I need to rebuild I can just drop some big money on a new OLED monitor

EDIT @Skelly x2
I'll edit my first post to say this but basically I do a bit of everything from video encoding to sound recordings (I absolutely love MakeMusic's Finale program) to Gaming. The idea behind the PC is that it's going to be so gaming heavy that it will have the power to do just about anything else I need (obviously some video encoding wont be absolutely optimum as a full on workstation.) And I know about the g15 being discontinued that's what I was talking about back in the day Do you know much about any great backlit mechanicals? I mean they don't need to be backlit I just think it looks cool.

In regards to the OLED quote, you likely won't. I cannot see the prices coming down THAT much in just a few years. If you think $1000 is expensive for a monitor, look at the $1500 I paid for mine, or the fact that an OLED monitor now is like 11" and likely costs well over $6k.

[Skelly]

On the subject of PSUs.. Corsair actually doesn't make any of their own power supplies.. They modify them slightly, but most are made by either Seasonic or Channel-Well Technology, Seasonic probably being the best of them (Tetris is a real fan..girl?). That being said Corsair does have great customer service, or so I've heard. You'll only need 1200W for two 590 + whatever else you can think up, but 1500W won't hurt anything.

At the very very least get an LED monitor. It looks great next to my old LCD.

---------- Post added 2011-07-30 at 02:42 AM ----------

I also don't know any good backlit mechanicals.. I find most mechanicals on the market really ugly, so I haven't jumped into that part of the computer world yet.

[Thmsbkr3]

@ispano
Lol the idea of the OLED is when it comes time to rebuild instead of putting any kind of money into the system just buy a monitor... And I can't imagine the price of OLED's dropping to an affordable price anytime within the next 10 years at least lol...

@Skelly and @tetris
See, I didn't know that about Corsair, I know there are a lot of companies like that though. You guys happen to have anything good to say about Silverstone's PSU? I'd def need to drop the Naga and keyboard if I went that route, but I like the idea of a mechanical keyboard.

And I'll do some more research on ips panels. Like I said I'm just using Amazon as a price range estimate and to make a list (Though I'd get free shipping on quite a few if not all items from them so that's something I'm going to consider before I purchase) I appreciate all your help! Skelly, let me know if I should def go with that sound card over the DX since you own an essence lol. And the only other thing I'm really in question about is a good mechanical keyboard. Or someone that knows about them or a link that has a great unbiased review on them.

[BicycleMafioso]

That's the thing, you can't just generalise the company. I can't say anything about silverstone-PSUs, but I can say something about the specific one, though.
If it was on the list, it's probably alright.

I really wish I was more knowledgable about mechanicals, but I'm not. I think the Blackwidows use blue switches though? Either way, it uses the most low-end ones.

As for soundcard, STX if you're expecting to use the headphones a lot. Remember that a good pair of phones are more important for sound than a good soundcard is, so don't put the majority of your budget on the card. If you have something like a Siberia V2, any sound card is enough, though.

[Thmsbkr3]

Alright check and check...

Anyone know if the haf x (Ewwww ugly zomg ugly, yet I kind of like it... Very masculine I'm a badass look) would need additional fans like people say the 932 does? haven't done a whole lot of research on the x yet.

[BicycleMafioso]

Define "need"? :P
As far as I can discern, it comes with extra fanslots so that those whom are crazy enough to need it, can add more, not that you're supposed to. : )
It has all except a top-200mm fan included, as far as I've been able to discern.

I'm not going to try to talk you out of the HAF X, it's obviously meant to appeal to some people, but not all. Taste is different. But it would never fit into a modern scandinavian livingroom with style! ;D Coolermasters cases do have lots of appeal to Americans though. All those lights, probably!

[Thmsbkr3]

Lol this isn't a living room PC, this is my own piece of solitude... I don't get much privacy or fun time, so this is my own personal slice of heaven, my old PC will become the living room PC. And "need" as in if I don't put extra airflow on the side my Gtx 590 is going to pop. My house is on average (Crazy hot I know so don't laugh) 76-78 Degrees Fahrenheit so that's a little hotter than the average gamers house. If it were up to me my house would be ~60 degrees year round lol.

[Deleted]

I just lol at people who throw so much money at their PC and get almost nothing in return.

Seriously, who gave you the idea that running multiple Geforce 590 was a good idea? Even a single one will run everything you throw at it with more than 60 FPS. And unless you buy 120Hz monitors, 60 FPS is the cap anyway.

All that SLI will add to that is micro-stutters and driver conflicts.