Build for Skyrim at 2560 x 1440 - ~$3k

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Iv'e never played an RPG game but for those of us like myself that play FPS games... from UT, to BF3, to COD, etc... there's no comparison in regards to a 60hz monitor and one with a 120hz refresh rate. It's night vs day. When playing FPS it's all about smoothness in game play. There's no such thing as too many FPS for a die hard FPS player. That might not be the thing with RPG players , but it's a totally different world with FPS games. Forget the 3d...that's an option on those Samsung monitors, it's the 120hz.


http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=558_1092&products_id=19221 <---- To understand what I'm talking about click that link and scroll down to to where it explains "120Hz" w/pics.
 


Actually, you can, pretty easily. There was a test done where they showed a bunch of people a movie shot in 30fps (typical movie framerate... all movies are shot in 30fps) and a shot in 60fps. The scene was action with some stuff blowing up so they could see a lot of motion. 95% of the audience said that the 60fps was noticeably better.

Now, 60fps vs 120fps isn't as noticeable imo.
 
Part list permalink / Part price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($279.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100 92.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus SABERTOOTH Z77 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($235.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($124.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Hard Drive: Mushkin Chronos Deluxe 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($249.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Mushkin Chronos Deluxe 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($249.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 680 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($547.86 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 680 2GB Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($547.86 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Switch 810 (Black) ATX Full Tower Case ($169.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 1250W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($270.98 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On IHBS112-04 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($78.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $2981.61
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated 2012-04-24 16:47 EDT-0400)
 
That's a pretty expensive mobo... but I think people have said it's worth it.

There are diminishing returns on memory after DDR3-1600, but if you want it... take it. Alternatively, I'd get 2x8GB so that I could upgrade later on to more RAM.

Are you RAIDing the SSDs?

Great GPU 😉

Everything looks good! It seems like overkill, especially for Skyrim (even at your resolution), but it should play any game out there on high or better for the next three years. It'll play decent fps on medium or better... oh... I'd say about five, six years? It'll be useful for a decade.
 

Not bad but a few obvious flaw. I'm guessing the 1250w psu is in order to add a third card, only you don't want that board for tri SLI. You want a board like the Asus Z77 WS Revolution or the Asrock Z77 extreme9. Both those boards run tri cards @ x16 x18 & x8. Also the benefit from SSD's in RAID 0 aren't worth the money. Better to go with one large SSD like a 480GB Mushkin. With the RAM you have 4x4GB which doesn't leave any room for upgrade...it fills all four RAM slots from the get go. Look at 2x8GB so you have room to add another 16GB later on. 32GB of RAM is handy if your opening large files.
 
^I agree with everything up there. I just want to add one thing:

Do you really need over 200GB of SSD space? Or over 256GB? I mean, how many programs are you using? Don't put like... word documents on it.
 
Work has been keeping me busy so it has taken me a while to review all the posts. Thanks for all the input. After reviewing everything this is what I think I will go with:

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K Ivy Bridge 3.5GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) LGA 1155

CPU Cooler: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO
Plus: COOLER MASTER R4-BMBS-20PK-R0 Blade Master 120mm Case Fan

Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Professional or ASRock L77 Extreme9 (I haven't seen it for sale yet).
eVGA's z77 board is also an option
The Asus boards looked good but didn't have Firewire.

Case: CoolerMaster HAF932
Corsair Carbide 500R is also an option depending upon the final MB

Video Card: eVGA GTX 690 - already on its way

Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 16 GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1600

SSD: Mushkin Chronos Deluxe 240 GB - yes I really need that kind of SSD space.

Data Drive: Seagate Barracuda 2TB

Optical Drive: LITE-ON Black 12X Blu-ray Burner

TIM: Shin Etsu

Sound Card: HT Claro Omega II

Total on NewEgg is $2727 as of this moment. I won't be ordering till Memorial Day weekend though as I once again have to travel for work and don't want packages arriving without me around.

Since I am not ordering immediately I am willing to listen to any comments on the above.

To go with all of this I also have:
Monitor: Crossover 27Q LED-P (2560 x 1440)
KB: Logitech G11
Mouse: Logitech G7
Speakers: Klipsch ProMedia Ultra 5.1
Scanner: Epson Perfection 2450 Photo
Printer: Canon S9000
Joystick: Saitek x45
 
EVGA 690?! 😱

That's REALLY overkill for Skyrim at the moment, FYI. A 690... man... that's insane. Everything looks good, though! That's an insane build. It'll tear through any game for the next couple of years, and probably will play games at medium or better at your resolution for a good eight years (although the DX thing...)
 
Ok. Someone here had recommended the Hyper 212.

Hadn't seen the Thermalright one before

How do I make sure the Noctua will fit? I had originally looked at it but wasn't sure about it fitting. I had issues with the cooler and door with my current PC. Luckily on that case there was a door fan holder I could remove to make it work.

As for having builds last. My current build is from Jan 2007. If I turn off AA I can play Skyrim at 1600x1200 and almost everything maxed
 
The Hyper 212 (I might have recommended it... I usually do) is a great cooler, but.. the Noctua's better :) I usually don't recommend it 'cause it's expensive and massive, but you might want it. To check, just check how tall the Noctua is (Google) and how much clearance your case has for a CPU cooler (Google, again). Also, if you're using four sticks of RAM, you may want low-profile RAM to make sure it fits underneath. But you're using two, right? Anyway, I checked for you, and the Noctua D-14 is 160mm tall (it's really massive). The HAF932 has a 170mm clearance. You're good! (By a centimeter 😉 ). The Corsair 500R seems to have 180mm, but that's not 100% accurate (I couldn't find definite information on that. Someone said 180mm, but that's not from Corsair or a reputable reviewer). Your main problem is the RAM clearance. If you've only got two sticks, it shouldn't be a problem.
 
Looking at the cases again I think I might go with HAF X instead. I like that the USB 3.0 ports are at the top instead of as an addon and has filters for the fans.

I was leaning towards the Silver Arrow over the Noctua as I read it was supposed to be quieter.
 
This cooler down below beats out both the Noctua and the Silver Arrow and it does it for cheaper. Vapor Lock FTW!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103176 $69.99
Cooler Master TPC 812 RR-T812-24PK-R1 120mm Sleeve with Dual Vertical Vapor Chamber TPC 812 CPU Cooler Compatible with latest Intel 2011/1366/1155 and AMD FM1/AM3+

http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=2654 <----- that's a review on that h/s That review was done with a single fan configuration.

http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm <----- There's Frosty Tech's Top 5 list for Intel coolers.


This fan down below clips onto CM cpu cooler up above for a "push - pull" effect to help bring cpu temps down even more.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103069 $11.99 FREE SHIPPING
COOLER MASTER R4-BMBS-20PK-R0 Blade Master 120mm Case Fan
 
I looked online and the reviews I found didn't show the TPC 812 being better. Of course that was with a single fan. Is there a review anyplace that shows it with two vs Silver Arrow?

Price is about the same once you add in the second fan.
 
Whatever CPU cooler you end up using, I'd suggest two fans on it (if it fits). The Noctua is quieter, but you can just as well put a couple of Noctua fans (although that comes out to about $50 for both) on a heatsink. Also, make sure that the air has somewhere to go... I'd recomend having them face so that the exhaust goes through the top of the case, and have an exhaust fan.
 
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