£2,000 Gaming PC Build.

[Pillowpants]

Hey folks,

I'm thinking about buying a new PC for Gaming usage, the list below outlines the components I picked for the PC. I would like to hear your thoughts about the overall build.

Will this all work together?

Approximate Purchase Date: This week.

Budget Range: £2,000

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming

Parts Not Required: Monitor, Mouse, Keyboard.

Country of Origin: England

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: No

Monitor Resolution: (1920x1200)


HD
SSD - Intel 510 ElmCrest 120GB 2.5-inch SATA 6Gb/s Internal MLC Solid State Drive http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004OXAPCC/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

HDD - Western Digital WD1002FAEX Caviar Black 1 TB 7200 RPM Internal Hard Disk Drive
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0036Q7MV0/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Speakers - Harman Kardon Soundsticks III 2.1 Channel Multimedia Sound System http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B003ZXDOMA/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Ram - 16 GBx2 A-Data AX3U1600GC4G9-2G PC1600 8GB Memory RAM (DDR3, CL9, XPG G Series 2x 4GB Kit) http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B003E1TQCK/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?ie=UTF8&m=A8PZ20PYGSWU8

Power Supply - Compucase HEC High End 1000W Gaming PSU 80+ (Certified, SLI Certified ATX 12V and EPS12V, Active PFC, 14cm Fan, Cable Management System) http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002NU5V9K/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?ie=UTF8&m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Cooling System - Antec Kuhler H2O 920 Liquid Cooling System http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004OD7N0O/ref=ox_sc_act_title_8?ie=UTF8&m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Graphics Card - EVGA 015-P3-1582-KR GeForce GTX 580 797MHz 1536MB PCI-Express HDMI SuperClocked Graphics Card http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004DZPDFK/ref=ox_sc_act_title_9?ie=UTF8&m=A1RBLI8BU7UB9Y

Motherboard - Asus MB MAXIMUS IV EXTREME P67 Intel/LGA1155 http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004OT7XLM/ref=ox_sc_act_title_10?ie=UTF8&m=A34ZAJG0LXXEDE

Processor - Intel Core i7-2600 Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004EBUXSU/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=A1AUCPBF2P18HS

Case - Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow Edition http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005I4856O/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Blu-Ray Drive - LG BH10LS30.AUAU10B 10x Internal Blu-Ray BDRW Bare + Software http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00366LT82/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

SubTotal: £2,154.12

 

[Why_Me]

You want the 2600K, not the 2600

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Intel-Sandybridge-i7-2600K-Quad-Core-Processor/dp/B004FA8NOQ/ref=pd_cp__0 £238.99 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery
Intel Sandybridge i7-2600K Unlocked Core i7 Quad-Core Processor (3.40GHz, 8MB Cache, Socket 1155)

You want low voltage (1.5v or less) RAM for these 1155 boards. Also 8GB of RAM is more then enough for a gaming build

http://www.amazon.co.uk/G-Skill-Ripjaws-Sandybridge-Platforms-PC12800/dp/B004HZG4ZO/ref=pd_cp_computers_1 £42.49 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery
G-Skill 8GBXL Ripjaws X for Intel Sandybridge Platforms DDR3 PC12800 1600MHz 8GB Kit

Those HEC psu's are nothing to be recommended...look at a better quality psu

http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/powersupplies/cmpsu-1050hxuk.html £154.98 inc vat FREE DELIVERY
Corsair HX 1050W ATX2.2 Modular 80 PLUS® Silver Power Supply

or...

http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/powersupplies/ocz-zx1000w-un.html £164.33 inc vat FREE DELIVERY
OCZ ZX Series 1000W 80PLUS® Gold Power Supply


I would consider this motherboard over that Asus

http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/motherboards/intel1155z68chipsetmotherboards/z68extreme7gen3.html £232.99 inc vat FREE DELIVERY
ASRock Z68 Extreme7 Gen3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) Motherboard

http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=Z68%20Extreme7%20Gen3 <----- A better look at that board

http://www.asrock.com/microsite/PCIe3/ <----- PCI-E 3.0

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/4272/asrock_z68_extreme7_gen3_intel_z68_motherboard_review/index.html <----- Review of that board with benchmarks

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/z68a-gd80-p8z68-deluxe-z68xp-ud5,3025.html <----- Review of that board done last week here on Toms. It earned Tom’s Hardware Best Enthusiast-Class Award

 

[geofelt]

1) If you might want to overclock, and overclocking is easy and safe, you need a "K" suffix cpu.
Nothing wrong with a 2600K, but few games use more than two or three cores, so the extra hyperthreads on the 2600K will go largely unused.
The 2500K is 35% cheaper, and will perform the same as the 2600K when overclocked to 4.0.

2) No need for liquid cooling unless you will be looking at record level overclocks. A simple tower type cooler will keep your cpu plenty cool and quiet.
A cm hyper 212 or Xigmatek gais is not expensive. The Noctua NH-D14 is about as good as it gets, and includes some of the best and quietest fans around.

3) 8gb of ram is sufficient for gaming. But, considering the current low cost of ram, I can't argue against 16gb.
I would suggest looking for a single 16gb kit of 4 x 4gb.
Ram is sold in kits for a reason.
Ram from the same vendor and part number can be made up of differing manufacturing components over time.
Some motherboards can be very sensitive to this.
Although, I think the problem has lessened with the newer Intel chipsets. Still,
it is safer to get what you need in one kit.

4) A 1000w psu is overkill. Even a GTX590 only needs a 700w psu.
I am unfamiliar with the quality of compucase.
My short list of quality power supplies would include Seasonic, Corsair, Antec, XFX, and pc p&C.
I might suggest the Seasonic X760w unit. Modular and gold efficiency for less:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Seasonic-X-760-Watt-Power-Supply/dp/B004F0AQ8C/ref=sr_1_2?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1318004745&sr=1-2

5) For your budget, and for a gaming pc, consider looking for A GTX590. They are expensive, and in limited availability. But there is nothing better as a single card gaming card. Still, the GTX580 you linked to is a very good one.

I love the 510 SSD, and the case looks good.

-----good luck----