New Build Advice

[Lascard]

looking for advice on new build. please provide me with suggestions if you believe i can get something better for basically same price.
residing in canada and budget is 1K tax & shipping inc. received a gtx 580 as a gift so no need for gpu and win 7 pro 64-bit on its way.

i5-2500k (pretty much decided on this one)
asrock p67 extreme4 gen3/asus maximus iv gene-z (open to recommendations)
8gb ram (unsure of which company and specific model for that matter)
crucial m4 64gb sata iii (still unsure bout this one)
wd caviar black 1tb 64 mb cache (pretty much decided on this one also)
corsair tx750 v2 (i believe this psu should be good enough for a stock gtx580, q; if i decide to oc cpu and gpu in future will 750 still be enough?)
asus 24x cd/dvd
antec one hundred

looking forward to reading all of your replies.

[Deleted]

Here are some suggestions:

I would recommend a higher-end motherboard, like for example the Gigabyte GA-Z68 UD-4 or the ASUS Maximus IV Gene-Z. Further, almost any 1600Mhz RAM is fine. I settled for Corsair XMS3 1600Mhz myself, but many recommend the G.Skill Ripjaws or the Corsair Dominators. Just make sure you get a 2x4Gb kit of a decent brand (quality). Further, with that budget, go for something like an Intel 510 120Gb SSD. A 60Gb SSD will barely be enough for OS + some programs. I would advise to go for a Samsung Spinpoint F3 (performs better than the WD: Black in normal day-to-day work). You could go for two 500Gb drives in raid 0 (for games and other software), with another 1-2TB for pure storage. You can jump down to a 650W PSU for a GTX 580, or jump up to a 800W if you want to SLI later on. Just make sure that you get a good quality PSU that delivers on the 12V rails and have the 80+ certificate. I'd advise to go with a more robust case than the Antec 100, as that is considered a budget case. Something like the Fractual Design Define R3 perhaps, it has a sleek professional look while offering nice features and good airflow. Further, you should look into getting a nice aftermarket heatsink for that CPU, perhaps the high-performing Noctua NH-D14, or, if you don't plan to OC more than 4.4-4.5Ghz, a CM Hyper 212+ will do just fine. Just mind that some RAM modules (due to their heatsink) don't fit with these coolers.

[Lascard]

I cant really spend too much more money than this since its my absolute limit so cant really get a bigger ssd, i just want one for the os ill be using my 1tb for games and such. when u said go for two 500gb in raid 0, what will that change? isnt the ssd supposed to be in raid? (im definitely clueless when it comes down to this type of detail). also, are you sure 800w will be enough for sli gtx580 or is more needed? ill consider the different case hopefully i can find a good price on it and im not worried about the cpu heatsink atm its just additional money i dont have atm but definitely gonna get one sooner or later.

[pansertjald]

looks good.

as for RAM just get some 1600MHz from G.skill or corsair as they are the best. to many people are having problems with Kingston RAM.

the 750 PSU is fine for that build and leaves room for upgrades down the line. and yes its more then enough for a OC on the cpu and gpu. but if you wanna go gtx580 sli latter the 750W psu wont be enough. some say that 800W is enough for gtx580 sli. but i say 1000W to be save and having your psu running at 80% load all the time.
a psu runs best at 50-60% laod

for HDD i would get a Samsung f3 insted. its cheaper and it is just as fast as the black.

for aftermarket cooler get a CM Hyper 212+........ the SSD is a super choice and will have room for both windows and wow. but if you have the money for it, go M4 128Gb

[Deleted]

I cant really spend too much more money than this since its my absolute limit so cant really get a bigger ssd, i just want one for the os ill be using my 1tb for games and such. when u said go for two 500gb in raid 0, what will that change? isnt the ssd supposed to be in raid? (im definitely clueless when it comes down to this type of detail). also, are you sure 800w will be enough for sli gtx580 or is more needed? ill consider the different case hopefully i can find a good price on it and im not worried about the cpu heatsink atm its just additional money i dont have atm but definitely gonna get one sooner or later.

I was under the impression that your budget was $1000 without the GTX 580? If not then my apologies.

No, the SSD will not be in any RAID configuration. What the SSD will offer is much faster seek times and faster read/write times. As you said, the SSD should be used for OS + Software (programs and games) and not so much for storage.
Having 2x500Gb in RAID0 was just a suggestion as you had a large budget (or I thought you did). That basically means that the two drives will be "merged into one" and as such the OS can write to both drives at the same time, essentially doubling your speed.
And yes, a good 800W PSU is enough for SLI 580s, but you have to make sure that the PSU you are considering can deliver the proper wattage on the 12V rails. The rig you are planning to build, given the SLI 580s, will pull around 620W in games and around 780W full load. You can of course go for a 850W to be safe.
And for the i5 2500k you really would like to have a proper heatsink for overclocking. I would suggest including that in your build from the start, but if you want to add it later that is of course fine. Just note that if you change to an aftermarket cooler later you need to clean the CPU backplate properly with high concentrated alcohol for the best cooling, and that can be considered an avoidable hassle.
And the case was more of a recommendation than a need. For a computer like this I would personally want a proper medium-to-high-end case with proper airflow, cable-management options and space. It's totally up to you though and if you feel the Antec 100 is enough then by all means.

[Lascard]

marest you are correct the budget is 1k without the gtx 580 i already have it but what i meant was adding a couple of bucks here and a few more dollars there for small upgrade i.e. 64gb ssd -> 128gb ssd, adding a cpu heatsink and a better case will end up costing me another ~$200 which i dont have atm

im sorry for the confusion, i shouldve clarified from the beginning. im probably going to get corsair or g.skill for the ram, my friend has been using kingston and hes been experiencing problems. i will be getting the heatsink once i overclock and thank you for the notice regarding cleaning the cpu backplate. now onto questions

1. f3 vs caviar black, from what ive read f3 was having problems compared to the caviar black, have there been any tests that confirm the f3 is a better choice?

2. running two 500gb in raid 0, from what i understand, sacrifices stability to improve performance. does that mean theres a higher chance of the two 500gb drives to malfunction or even fail at some point?

[Deleted]

1. f3 vs caviar black, from what ive read f3 was having problems compared to the caviar black, have there been any tests that confirm the f3 is a better choice?

In terms of quality I would assume that the WD:Blacks are a bit better, but price/performance still greatly benefits the F3. Unfortunately, HDDs can fail. It can happen to anyone. I have had multiple Samsung, WD and Seagate drives and I have had two drive failures; one was a Seagate and one was a WD. That doesn't mean anything though because it's just two incidents (i.e. the sample size is just too small to draw a conclusion). I would personally recommend Spinpoint F3s as they are very good drives for the price you pay.

2. running two 500gb in raid 0, from what i understand, sacrifices stability to improve performance. does that mean theres a higher chance of the two 500gb drives to malfunction or even fail at some point?

In essence, yes. While you will roughly get twice the speed by going RAID0, the downside is that if one drive fails, all data is lost. In either case, a user should always keep backups on the most important data (or, all his/her data) as the chance of a drive failing is always present.
But really, if you are low on cash; go with the SSD and a Spinpoint F3 1Tb.

[Lascard]

alright thank you very much