Can I grab a moment of your time?

[Foozeh]

Hi there, This is my first time asking anyone for advice on Tech Related subjects. Have heard good things of this site for a while now and every once in a while can learn something new.

So... to the point.

First build lasted me from late 2006-(Currently on)

Asus A8N32-SLI-Deluxe NVIDIA Socket 939 ATX Motherboard
AMD Athlon(tm) 64 FX-60 Dual Core Processor, MMX, 3DNow (2 CPUs), ~2.6GHz
NVIDIA GeForce 7950 GX2- Died after long time abuse (Replaced Jan. 2011 With Evga 465gtx 1gb)
2gb Xorsair xms2 xtreme ddr2mem 400mhz.
BFG Tech BFGR650PSU 650W ATX12V V2.0 / EPS 12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Power Supply

The New Build. With newegg links underneath each part.

IN WIN Dragon Rider Black 1.0 - 0.8mm SECC Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811108376]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811108376[/url]

ASUS SABERTOOTH P67 (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard TUF
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131702]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131702[/url]

Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor 
BX80623I72600K
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070[/url]

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533[/url]

CORSAIR H100 (CWCH100) Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181017

All of the above items are already obtained. The remaining few are where you guys come in.

My pre-planned choices are as follows for the following: RAM, PSU, and SSD or higher RPM HDD.

[b]RAM[/b]: Listed in preferred order. 

G.SKILL Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) Desktop Memory (2 Packs 16gig)
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231460]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231460[/url]

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) Desktop Memory
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231456]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231456[/url]

CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 15000) Desktop Memory (2 Packs 16 gig)
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233142]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233142[/url]

[b]Power Supply[/b]: Only one I have found that I'm interested in. In-case I decide to Throw in SLI/Crossfire down the road. 
[b]Also, Can my old 650w PSU from above run my system until I get my new one? [/b]

CORSAIR Professional Series Gold AX1200 (CMPSU-1200AX) 1200W ATX12V v2.31 / EPS12V v2.92 SLI Certified 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139014]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139014[/url]

[b]SSD/High RPM HDD[/b]: Not really a priority at the moment. But would like any advice if given.

Any advice or general input will be very much appreciated. Thanks for the time
P.S. Any recommendations for the Thermal Paste? Looking at going with AS5. I don't want heat to be any factor so I would like to use the one with the best results.

Blake.

 

[chillin15]

Are you doing any intensive video editing? If not the 2600k with HT gives no extra benefit in gaming since most games 99% do not utilize those extra cores. But since you bought the 2600k already, I guess that is fine.

As for ram, 8GB at 1600MHZ is the most beneficial ram for the price. Once you go above that speed or amount, there is substantially less performance improvement for the price.

Here you go: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428

As for PSU - you can sli or crossfire the top end cards with a great corsair, antec, or seasonic 750w psu.

I didn't get what GPU you would be using with this build but the 1200AX is really overkill unless you are looking for a tri cf/quad nvidia sli setup.

If you save some money on the ram and PSU, you can save up and buy a nice reliable ssd. I am thinking the m4 120gb crucial or an intel 510 ssd. With an ssd - you will actually see real world performance increases over using a traditional hdd.

 

[Foozeh]

First off, thanks for the response!

I will be putting my nvidia 465 gtx in until I can afford to upgrade to a pair of new cards in a few months.

I went with th 2600k for 2 reasons,
1. I got it on sale for $270 vs regular $315.
2. I am working toward a computer science degree and have interests in 3d rendering/photoshopping. So I feel like it was a better choice overall.

I grabbed a corsair AX1200 so I have a future proof (for what my needs are) Psu.
Combo with 8gig corsair vengeance 1866mhz for a $340 sale price vs regular $390.

I do appreciate your input very much, I got a little antsy last night and just went with what I bought.

I am planning to get at least a 100gig ssd in around a month or so. I hear good and bad things about them not being long term reliable.

 

[chillin15]

Which ssd are you planning to get? Reliability depends on a host of factors. Long term performance is better with synchronous nand versus asynchronous nand - especially at 50% capacity and beyond.

Reliability also has a lot to do with the sandforce drivers.

Well you definitely have a lot of "future proof" parts that should last you for a few years. The AX1200 is a fine PSU and if you ever want to cf/sli/tri cf/quad sli..you will be set.

 

[Foozeh]

I haven't looked very much into ssd's yet mainly due to lack of funds. Looking for a 120gig or so that will hopefully last me a while aswell.
The future roofing also stems from my first build, my stepdad got top of the line parts for me+his self and it is still going strong and fast. Just lacks the torque and HP of today parts.

What ssd do you personally recommend?

 

[chillin15]

The honest truth is I do not recommend any ssd. sandforce is having massive problems with their drivers and the other ssd manufacturers who don't use sandforce have ssds with really crappy performance.

reliable ssds tend to be intel and crucial but prepare to pay more for worse performance. Although if compared to hdds, ssds are still way ahead..I'm just not wure it's worth it right now.

 

[Foozeh]

I also kind of came to that conclusion. After bad review after another.

Would a velociraptor be a good performance hdd or are there better that are reasonably priced?