Gaming Build, Need Feedback, Thanks :)

[talick]

Hi all,

I am looking to play Battlefield 3 at around 60-70 FPS and after much research have decided that the following parts are for me, but the list is not complete and there are suggestions from the community that I would love to hear. Please have a look at the list and let me know what you think! Thanks in advance

more info:
I plan on overclocking down the road, current build should not require. And if anything I'll only OC the cpu to around 4ghz. Budget is around 1000, buying from Canada. Resolution for gaming is 1920x1080, plan to build sometime this month

cpu: i5 2500k
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

gpu: 6950 2gb sapphire X2 (crossifre)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102945

mobo: Gigabyte Z68XP or Asus' P8Z68. unsure what model or who to go with, I use 2 sata drives, will be doing crossfire, need about 5-6 USB ports, onboard audio required, onboard graphics not required. No SSD but may get one down the road. Might even be worth getting a p67?

case: antec 900 ultimate gamer (this is my current case, I hope I can keep it unless there are any better suggestions? I read that the case might not fit certain mobo's pci slots, disabling people from utilizing crossfire
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021

psu: currently have the psu below and have seen that a pair of 6950's generally recommend 650w at most, so I'm thinking I'm safe here?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341002
otherwise I will get: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139011&Tpk=Corsair%20850HX

cpu cooler: Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev. 2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134

ram: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231402
I do have a friend who is willing to give me some http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233142 so I am debating to go with these, not sure what he's charging but he has 8x2=16gb which I think may be overkill

 

[rvilkman]

Well you want 750W for 6950 Crossfire, just like GTX560SLI.
So the Corsair HX850 would be preferred. Overall though that is the better choice, 7 year warranty and a really solid PSU with almost 80+ Gold level efficiency.
If you need to save a few bucks, maybe see if the HX750 is available.

You should be ok with re-using the case.

For CPU cooler you might want to consider Cooler Master Hyper 212+ (or EVO) as well.

Very limited price difference between the Z68 and P67 boards, so it doesn't hurt badly to go Z68.
But of course if you can find a nice deal on a solid P67 board, why not.

You want memory that is 1.5V CAS9 1600Mhz, the faster timings really have minimal speed increases, and you can get those sets for around $50 for 2x4GB.
Corsair, Gskill, Kingston or Mushkin would be the way to go.

 

[talick]

thanks, I'm seeing that fan seems to be the best out there now. I will have a look at the memory specs, I didn't really considered my purchase in that sort of depth, so trying to understand your reasoning.. it's just getting an older version for the same performance?

 

[rvilkman]

I assume you were refering to memory with the last comment. Here is the link to a test.
Anandtech article on sandy bridge memory.

 

[talick]

Best answer selected by talick.