$1300-1500 Gaming system revised

[Infrantic]

So, I've looked at parts for the last few days and I've come up with two possible solutions for a build.
My current setup is:

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 3.0GHz
GPU: 2x ASUS ATI Radeon HD3870 512MB in CrossFire
Motherboard: ASUS P5K Premium Black Pearl Edition
PSU: OCZ GameXStream 850Watt
Case: Thermaltake XaserV
HDD: Western Digital 500GB 7200RPM

I am planning on keeping my HDD, since I have enough storage space for the moment, and also my PSU.

The setups I've been looking at are:


CPU: Intel i7-2600K
GPU: ASUS ATI Radeon HD6970 DirectCU II 2GB
Motherboard: ASRock Z68 Extreme4 Gen 3
RAM: G.Skill Sniper Series PC3-14900 1866MHz (2x4GB) 8GB
PSU: OCZ GameXStream 850Watt
Case: Antec P183
HDD: Western Digital 500GB 7200RPM


OR

CPU: Intel i5-2500K
GPU: 2x ASUS ATI Radeon HD6950 DirectCU II 2GB in CrossFire
Motherboard: ASRock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaw X DDR3 PC12800 1600MHz (2x4GB) 8GB
PSU: OCZ GameXStream 850Watt
Case: Antec P183
HDD: Western Digital 500GB 7200RPM


The two systems are roughly the same price, after comparing them. One thing I am pondering though, is if it's worth it for the second system to get the 2x 6950 in CrossFire or go for the single 6970 and buy a Crucial M4 128GB SSD.

 

[chesteracorgi]

The second is better for gaming, the first for video editing. The dual 6950s will kill the 6970. You leave off the PSU in the 2nd build.

What no SSD?

 

[Infrantic]

Oh, yea sorry the PSU will be the same for the second build. The GameXStream 850Watt.

I haven't really followed the hardware community for 3½ years since I got my current setup, so I don't really grasp how big of an improvement / importance the SSD's have today, which is also why I was wondering if it was worth it to get a single 6970 and the SSD rather than having two 6950's in CrossFire.

 

[Infrantic]

No one else has any inputs?

 

[aznshinobi]

I'd pick the 2500K one. You don't really need an SSD. In fact a 60/64gb would be good enough just to increase the systems boot times.
Just a suggestion.
Drop the board down to the Asrock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 will offer similar performance for less.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271
Don't know much bout that PSU. Newegg doesn't even sell it so...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817194093&Tpk=850w%20lepa
This ram, no improvement and no loss. It's just cheaper by a bit. Question are you in the US?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233186

The money saved should get you a 60gb SSD.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227728
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148441

 

[Infrantic]

I would really like it, if I went ahead and actually got an SSD that it be over 100GB.

What's the major difference between the Extreme3 and Extreme4 series motherboards?

I'm sorry I did not specify, but I already own the PSU, currently using it for my rig, I bought it at 850Watt for future proofing when I bought my rig back in '07.

I live in Denmark, so I can't use Newegg, I primarily use Danish retailers and Amazon.co.uk for parts, whichever is cheapest for the given part

 

[aznshinobi]

Ahhh..... Oh OK. Well The Extreme3 is just cheaper and will perform practically the same. The Extreme4 may have a little bit more features and I suppose a minor improvement in OCs but overall you won't notice the difference.

SSD-wise, the M4 128GB from Crucial is good. The OCZ Solid 3 120gb is good too. The Corsair Force 3 120GB is always an option as well.

 

[Infrantic]

I think I'm gonna go with the Extreme3, thanks for the tip on that.

Since I haven't had an SSD before, I pretty much won't be missing it, so I'm gonna wait a few months until I have some extra money, or the price drops for the 100+GB ones.

When it comes to RAM, I am completely blank, I've based my choice of the G.skill from monitoring other threads and articles here on TH. I don't have a clue about voltages or CL8 CL9 or anything like that.
Could there be a better choice for RAM for this system?


EDIT: Also, the Corsairs are actually more expensive than the G.skills here.

 

[aznshinobi]

It should say in the specs that it is 1.5v or 1.65v. For 1155 boards you want 1.5 most of the time. As for CL8/CL9 those are timings. CL9 gives most stability and more stable overclocks but in terms of "speed" CL8 and CL7 (etc.) are faster however either way you wouldn't even notice the difference.