My first gaming PC - thoughts?

[Unrealmuddy]

Hi, im building my first Gaming PC and going to order parts in a week or 2. I've done alot of research and have compiled the following list of parts that i am going to buy. Im at around my budget limit in aussie dollars, but im still looking for your opinion if this will be a good build to last me a while.
I plan on upgrading and adding to it in the future when i get more cash such as adding a second video card by SLI but heres the list anyway.

MB: ASUS P8Z68-Deluxe DDR3 Intel 1155pin Motherboard - gone for this board over the v-pro as i can still upgrade and improve in the future but am i making the wrong decision?

CPU:  Intel Core i7-2600K 3.4Ghz 1155pin Boxed CPU - may be doing 3D design and rendering in uni and happy to spend the extra on this for future safety

CPU cooler: CoolerMaster Hyper 212+ CPU Cooler

RAM: G.Skill Sniper 8G Kit(4Gx2) DDR3 1600 F3-12800CL9D-8GBSR

Graphics: EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1GB - ive read on these forums that this is not sufficient for 3D gaming by itself but if i add another in the future and use SLI will this be enough for the mean time?

SSD boot drive: Kingston (SV100S2/128G) 2.5" 128GB SATA2 SSD HDD - is this sufficient for a boot drive or should i fork up the extra cash for a SATA III?

Hard Drive: Seagate 3.5" Barracuda 1TB ST31000524AS SATA3 7200RPM 32MB HDD

DVD burner: LG Blu-Ray Combo

Case: Coolermaster HAF 932 NO

PSU:  Corsair TX-850W ATX Power Supply Unit

Operating system: Microsoft MS Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit OEM


Any input is much appreciated, Thanks in advance !

 

[Wamphryi]

That is a fine build Dude. The 560 Ti is a great card and very good bang for buck. The SSD should be fine though you may have to be careful just how much you install. Buy it, put it together and enjoy it. It should last a long time in terms of viability. You can save money by dropping to 4 GB RAM. I can assure you no Gamer ever needs more than 4 GB. If you can boost that Blu Ray Combo to a Blu Ray Burner you wont regret it. 25 GB re writable Backups.

 

[TheMaristBoy]

Why home premium? go ultimate!

 

[Wamphryi]

There is no need for Ultimate. It carries features that no home user would likely ever need and if they did then there is third party software that often does the job for free.

 

[PennyLife]

First of all, the build looks great, you will be a happy camper. Here are a few suggestions that I think would take your PC to the next level.

I am not sure how much more the Asus P8Z68 Deluxe has to offer over the P8Z68-V PRO, but I personally feel that the PRO has everything I would want or need. If you know of specific features that the Deluxe has or you just want to get the better one so you don't have to think about it down the road, then that is perfectly fine.

For the SSD, I would recommend going with a faster one just because you can get one for literally less than $10 more (at least on Newegg). Here are a couple of options:

SSD

Crucial M4 Sata III ($207)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148442

Corsair Performance 3 Series Sata III ($208)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233154

And just for kicks, a new high end Kingston HyperX Sata III ($250)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820139599


With the graphics card, the GTX 560 ti seems to be a sweet spot for most people; it is a good card. However, since you are not sure whether or not you would want to SLI down the road, I would recommend going with a single GTX 570 right now. It will still do very well in SLI mode, but it might also be powerful enough to satisfy you without having to go SLI. (Do whatever you feel is appropriate for your situation though. I personally prefer non-SLI/Crossfire setups, so I am biased toward going with a single, more powerful card. However, the power consumption for a GTX 570 is also significantly higher than a GTX 560 ti, so the 560 ti WOULD be the easier choice for SLI.)

 

[Wamphryi]

Stick with the 560 Ti. I got one last week and it can handle GTA 4 with settings on the highest possible. The Draw Distance is 90 out of 100. Every other game I have including Fallout New Vegas runs at full settings.

 

[zooted]

I would drop the cpu down to i5-2500k (as the i7 offers no gain in games) and up the gpu to a 570, it would be much better for gaming.

 

[requiemsallure]

i agree with the person who said not to go ultimate, however i would like to say get professional, it automatically backs your system up (which i've found to be a useful feature) unlike home which doesnt.

also the case isn't as awesome as it looks like, it has to move a lot of air, and atm you don't have parts that radiate too much heat, so if you want that same style get the HAF922 it will be more efficent as it has less air to move and fans that are pretty much just the same (i wish i had) and it will be cheaper too.

also like others have mentioned get the i5 2500k, its cheaper and the difference you would never notice. also with the money saved you can get a better cooler and overclock it farther.

i also agree that you should switch to 4 gigs of RAM (upgradable later if you really need it ( it will be cheaper later too im sure)).

and though it is more expensive i would say to definately get a blu-ray burner instead of a player.

by chance what is your budget, due to the fact that im too lazy to be honest to add up the cost of your items.

(remember if you can save money without sacrificing performance do it, you can always buy more games )

 

[Unrealmuddy]

Thank you all for giving your input. Thanks pennylife, im looking at the new SSD and also looking at the pro because at this point in time there are no features which stand out and say pick me pick me
As for the case requiemsallure, i like the idea of the HAF 922 but now looking at the CoolerMaster CM 690 II Advanced will this fit my needs aswell or just stick with the HAF 922?
My budget is currently at around $AUD1800 which is around the same or similar to USD when i research on newegg.

Although im still stuck between the GTX 570 and 560 ti, i like the idea of SLI capable when i need, but am willing to get the GTX 570 if it will suit my needs longer without the need to buy an entire new one for SLI.

 

[Unrealmuddy]

Best answer selected by Unrealmuddy.