Need help on new high end desktop build

[Black_Ice-Dragon]

Looking for some advice on a new build I am doing. I haven't built a desktop in a few years so I am a little behind the times in technology.

So here is what I am looking at so far. All of this is subject to change depending on recommendations. I have a budget of about $3500. I am mostly going to be gaming with some video editing. I will be ordering everything from NCIX in Canada. I am looking to overclock as well. I plan on building this system right after Christmas.

• Monitor: U2713HM (add 2 more later down the line)
  
  Cpu: i7 3770k
  
  Thermal Paste: Arctic Cooling MX-4
  
  Cpu Cooling: Corsair H100I
  
  Fan Filters: 3x120MM
  
  Motherboard: Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H
  
  Ram: 32GB Patriot Viper DDR3-1600
  
  Hard drive: 2x 240GB Corsair Neutron GTX SSD (Raid 0)
  
  Hard Drive 2: 2TB Western Digital Black
  
  Hard Drive 3: 3TB Western Digital Green (Raid 1 or software mirroring for backup)
  
  Video Card: 2x MSI GTX 670 OC PE
  
  PSU: Seasonic Platinum 1000 (for $20 more than the 860)
  
  Case: 800D
  
  Top Fans: 3x Corsair P120
  
  Mouse, Keyboard, Speakers: Already have these. (Though any suggestions on some audiophile 2.1 setups?)
  
  Disk Drive: Basic OEM
  
  OS: Windows 7 Professional

Just under budget without tax.

[YoungMan]

That's a huge budget...

Anyway, I would recommend getting a different monitor strictly for gaming, unless it's just casual gaming.

Push/pull is unnecessary these days, there are fans out that that specifically have good static pressure.

1250w PSU is overkill even for dual 7970/680. If you're somehow hitting your budget, you can cut back on the PSU and get an a <1kw PSU.

Since TRIM is supported in RAID0 now with the new RST, you're better off getting 2 smaller SSDs than 1 large one for double the performance/speeds.

[Black_Ice-Dragon]

My other thought as far as monitors was to maybe do a 3x u2410 eyefinity setup though I am still unsure on on what to do for monitors.

Ill switch to a 1000W or less psu as well.

[Stuart]

Monitor - I'm assuming you already own that monitor. If not I'd go with a more gaming-oriented monitor.

CPU - I think that you will find the 3570k will do everything you need it to do, so I would suggest skipping the 3770k.

CPU Cooling - I would get an H100i, as it gives a couple of degrees better cooling. As for fans, I have never done too much experimenting w/ it. I would personally pocket the money and go w/ stock fans.

Motherboard - That's a nice board, seems fine to me.

RAM - 32 gigs of RAM seems a little overkill, but eh, if you insist, go for it. On a side note, don't even bother with Platinum, it's extremely overpriced.

Hard Drives - As for hard drives, I think you are good with a 2TB Caviar Black (Although if you are spending so much, you might want to set up a RAID array), and a 240GB SSD would more than suffice, although 2x 128GB SSDs would be better.

Video Card(s) - As for your proposed SLI/Crossfire system, I find it unnecessary because you are suggesting 1-2 monitors, which a single video card can handle. I would suggest a single 7970 Lightning or a 680 Lightning. I would go w/ the 7970 because NVidia is being a little bit touchy about the overvolting of 680s thus making them harder to overclock. If you do pull the trigger on 3 monitors, go with 2 7970s (I would suggest 7850s or 7950s instead and save money). AMDs software is far more reliable for 3 monitors, in my opinion.

PSU - YoungMan is right, go with a <1kw PSU. You'll never use a 1250 watt PSU.

Case - I personally find the 800D to be unnecessary unless you plan on adding a custom water loop, but since you are using an H100 (I'd go with an H100i), I would not recommend the 800D. I'm a huge fan of the Carbide 500r. I'd go with one of those.

Disk Drive - Go with a cheap OEM drive, unless you need BluRays. Then find a different drive.

With all the money you'd save go with a soundcard and some cans. You'd be surprised how much high-quality audio helps. I'd get a Xonar STX and either Sennheiser HD 555/558/595s or AKG K701s.

Hope that helps!

[Bond007]

the i5 vs i7 debate for you would come down to how much saved time in your video editing counts to you. Your gaming experience will be the same on both, and your budget obviously allows either. If you want faster video editing, go for the i7, otherwise the i5 is the CPU to go with.

[Black_Ice-Dragon]

Modified the original post to refelct changes.

[AkG]

CPU - depends. mainly gaming rig...go i5. mainly video editing...spend the extra coin for the i7 (I went i7)
SSD - a single 240GB should be plenty to start. IF you find its filling up....get a second one later. ;)
CPU cooling - H100i. Better fans, better design and comes with custom software making it MUCH more adaptable than the orginal.
PSU - Id get the Corsair 1200i. Newer design than the xfx. I just opted for the 860 watt version myself
RAM - Hmm 16GB is plenty UNLESS you are making a RD. If a RamDrive 32GB is nice. Dont spend any extra for fancy ram. DDR3 1600 is fine and fast enough.
HDD - Look for the newer WD Blacks. They are MUCH quieter and faster than the last gen.

Edit: Got ninja'ed by the OP while replying. Your list now looks pretty good.

[Luay79]

Another pc case option for your budget would be the silver stone ft02 usb3.0 with the noctua nhd14 CPU cooler. Don't let the lack of reviews worry you as the reviews of the old version still hold true and the case has evolved with the times.

For psu I suggest seasonic platinum 860. The corsairs series is overpriced and over pimped

I couldn't believe that a 2nd gen wd black is released so I checked newegg and it had 280 reviews so I'm guessing that they are the same noisy and power hungry drives I know of. Sorry but i may have missed them. still think You're better off with the more silent, affordable and efficient seagate barracuda 1 or 3 tb but not the 2tb because some of them are made from 3x667gb platters instead of the 2x1tb platters and that makes them slower. If speed on your storage files don't matter then the wd green is by far the most efficient and silent hd out there.

If you have built before then go with the motherboard you're familiar with, but if not go with asus as they have the best bios interface.

I like the u3011 and you can be sure that 7970 cf will be perfect for it but for three monitors only tri fire would do them the same justice or a 8970 cf next year.

[AkG]

Read my review on the new 4TB Black. The darn think is SILENT. It is noticeably quieter than the Cuda. Hell when I started testing the new Black...I though it was BROKEN as there was zero 'growl' during small file random testing! Very sweet new kit....and they are making smaller versions. ;)

Cant go wrong with Seasonic. Its also good kit, but the AXi series are NOT over-pimped. Just solid kit.

[Black_Ice-Dragon]

Are the 4tb the only new blacks? Or are they moving into the 2tb versions as well?

The other reason I have not decided on monitors is that I would love to do a eyefinity setup as its been a dream of mine to see what it can do but I read alot of stuff from people that are saying its just better to get something that works and just get a 30". What do you guys think in your testing?