Time to Upgrade.......Imput Needed.

[Spikemaul]

Hello fellow HWC members, I'm finally going to replace my aging systen. Need some imput on a few things.

1. PC will be used for gaming, movies, music, browsing and lots of other things.
2. I would like the budget to stay as close to the $1000 mark as possible.
3. All components will be pricematched at NCIX.
4. Usually cheers for the underdog but this time I'm not.
5. I will be keeping my CM 690 II case, 1TB Caviar Black HDD, Noctua NH-U12P, DVD Drive and fan controler. I would also like to keep my OCZ GSX700 PSU but I'm not sure it'll be good enough for the new components.
6. I've learnt alot from this site and others over the past 4 years.
7. Will OC once I'm comfterble with the new platform.
8. Would like to build this system before the new year. Some of the parts I have chosen have to be purchased by Dec 14th.
9. 1920 x 1080 with second monitor being 1680 x 1050

Here's what I plan on getting.

MB: NCIX.com - Buy Gigabyte Z68XP-UD5-B3 ATX LGA1155 Z68 DDR3 3PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 2PCI SATA3 USB3.0 SLI Motherboard - Gigabyte - GA-Z68XP-UD5 - in Canada Gigabyte Z68XP- UD5 -B3
CPU: NCIX.com - Buy Intel Core i5 2500K Quad Core Unlocked Processor LGA1155 3.3GHZ Sandy Bridge 6MB - Intel - BX80623I52500K - in Canada 2500K
RAM: NCIX.com - Buy Corsair CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9 Vengeance 16GB 4X4GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-24 Dual Channel Memory Kit - Corsair - CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9 - in Canada Corsair Vengence
SSD: NCIX.com - Buy Kingston HyperX 120GB 2.5IN SATA3 Sandforce SF-2281 SSD Solid State Disk Flash Drive - Kingston - SH100S3/120G - in Canada Kingston HyperX 120GB
GPU: NCIX.com - Buy MSI GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448 Twin Frozr III OC Power Edition 750MHZ 1280MB Dual DVI PCI-E Video Card - Others - N560GTX-Ti 448 Twin Frozr III PE/OC - in Canada MSI GTX 560Ti 448 TF III
PSU NCIX.com - Buy XFX 850W PRO850W XXX Edition Single Rail ATX 12V 70A 24PIN ATX Modular Power Supply 80PLUS Silver - XFX - P1850BNLG9 - in Canada XFX Pro 850W XXX


If I can keep my current PSU I will just be slightly over my budget. I would really like to go SLI in the future and when I plan on doing that I could also upgrade my PSU then. Do you think my current PSU is good enough for the components I have chosen. I realize that 16GB of Ram is overkill but It's not a bad price. I'm open to suggestions on Ram also. Thanks for the input!

[Razamatraz]

I'd start here and tweak from there:

2500K $219ish
Asus Z68 V-PRO Gen 3 $220
Gskill 8 gig kit $50
Corsair AX-850 $200
GTX 560 Ti $250


I know nothing about your existing PSU, but I always buy the best I can afford so it lasts for years. You never mentioned whether you nede an OS or not and if you want an SSD to go with the 1TB Black.

If you need to reduce in that go to a z68-V LE at about $130 and perhaps a Corsair TX-750 also at $130...saves $140 to up that to a GTX 570 or add the OS price.

[AkG]

Ram. Got it. Own it. Love it. Good choice. :)
CPU for OCing its a great bang for your buck.
PSU....I would not trust your OCZ PSU. I own the XFX and it is rock solid. A very wise investment.

SSD. Good choice. I would still say go for a Crucial M4 128gb but that is just personal preference. The Kingston is good kit at a very good price (they are just down right tardy when it comes to firmware updates).

TBH...the only thing I would change is the GPU. For the same or less you can get a GB 570 or evga 570. Will be a LOT easier to find a second 570 later than a special edition 560 448....and while the 448 can come close to the 570...why not get the better gpu for the same coin?..and yes I know thata after MIR vs sale price...but it will save you a lot of trouble later when NVIDIA runs out of 448 cores to use. ;)

NCIX.com - Buy EVGA GeForce GTX 570 HD Fermi 732MHZ 1280MB GDDR5 2XDVI HDMI DisplayPort PCI-E Video Card - eVGA - 012-P3-1571-KR - in Canada
NCIX.com - Buy Gigabyte GeForce GTX 570 Fermi Windforce 780MHZ 1280MB 3.8GHZ GDDR5 2xDVI Mini-HDMI PCI-E Video Card - Gigabyte - GV-N570OC-13I Rev2.0 - in Canada

YMMV

EDIT:

Oh and why the Z mobo if you are not going to user SRT? Id either go with a Z and Asus Deluxe for less coin than that UD5 (pick up a smaller 64bg'er M4 and run SRT)...or forget the Z mobos all together. stick with the 120gb ssd and get my personal fav...the Sabertooth P67.

NCIX.com - Buy Crucial M4 SSD Micron C400 64GB 2.5IN Solid State Disk Flash Drive SATA3 6Gbps - CRUCIAL TECHNOLOGY - CT064M4SSD2 - in Canada

NCIX.com - Buy ASUS P8P67 Deluxe REV3.0 ATX LGA1155 P67 3PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 2PCI Sandy Bridge B3 Motherboard - ASUS - P8P67 DELUXE REV 3.0 - in Canada

NCIX.com - Buy ASUS Sabertooth P67 Rev 3.0 P67 LGA1155 DDR3 2PCI-E16 3PCI-E1 1PCI Sandy Bridge B3 Motherboard - ASUS - SABERTOOTH P67 <REV 3.0> - in Canada

[Spikemaul]

Thanks for the responses so far. My reasoning behind the MB is that I absolutely Love the look of it. I have also owned 4 GB MB's in the past with absolutely no problems. I'm also trying to keep a Black & Blue look to my new build. If I replace the 448 with NCIX.com - Buy MSI GeForce GTX 560 Ti Twin Frozr II OC 880MHZ 1GB GDDR5 Dual DVI Mini-HDMI DX11 PCI-E Video Card - MSI/MicroStar - N560GTX-TI Twin Frozr II/OC - in Canada It would put me at $1150 with the new XFX PSU. It will also be easier to SLI these cards in the future. Another option for me then say in a year from now would be to sell the 560Ti and upgrade just the GPU then.

[clshades]

I am not thread crapping. However i have to agree with AKG on the vid card. Finding another one down the road is famous last words. If you don't do it with in 3.6 months you more than likely won't find another one to match it. Having bought the limited edition cards in the past he aint kidding! 570 is a good choice.

[Hail Ceasar]

I also agree on getting the 570, I got the 560ti SC DS 2 months ago and it is getting harder to find them as time goes on... Especially when shopping on a budget.

Side note, the beta drivers for the 560 are a bit temperamental at the moment, so a 570 might be better.