New gaming rig w/ $2000 budget - Advice needed!

[cryptologix]

Hi,

I'm an amateur when it comes to building systems. I've built 2 in the past (5+ years ago) that have served me well but I never really monitored or tested their performance. I have been reading these forums for the past 2 weeks or so and I love the way this community shares knowledge with others. I'm looking to build a brand new gaming rig with a $2000 budget (including monitor). I plan on overclocking this time and paying more attention to the technical details of the build. After a little bit of research I've come up with the following:

Motherboard: ASRock P67 Extreme4 (B3) LGA 1155 | $149.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157229

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K SB 3.3 GHz (safe OC to 4.4 GHz 1.27v) | $219.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

Heatsink: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212+ | $27.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8 GB (2x4GB) 240 Pin SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC12800) 1.5v 8-8-8-24 | $69.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231445

GPU: EVGA Superclocked GeForce GTX 570 1280MB PCI Express 2.0 x16 | $339.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130595

PSU: CORSAIR Professional Series HX1050 1050W Power Supply SLI Ready PLUS SILVER Certified | $219.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139034

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 7200 RPM Sata 3.0 | $89.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284

SDD: Crucial M4 128GB Sata III MLC SSD | $227.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148448

DVD Burner: ASUS 24x DVD Burner | $20.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

Case: COOLER MASTER HAF X RC-942 ATX Full Tower | $189.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119225

Monitor: ASUS VH236H Black 23" 2ms Full HD Widescreen LCD 2000:1 | $179.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236059

OS: Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64 Bit OEM | $99.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

Questions:

1) Is this system viable?

2) Picking a motherboard is the hardest decision based on reviews. Is the ASRock a better choice than an ASUS P67 Sabertooth or Deluxe?

3) I may want to SLI in the future. Should I stick with the EVGA GeForce GTX 570 or go with the ASUS GeForce GTX 580?

4) Do I need a 1050 PSU even if I decide to OC and run 2 GTX 580's SLI in the future...or could I do it with an 850?

I'm open to any and all suggestions...thanks!

 

[rolli59]

1) Yes
2) It is a good choice for the price!
3) I personally would stick with the 570
4) 850watt would be enough for 2xGTX580 in SLI.

 

[008Rohit]

2. Get an ASRock Z68 Gen3 Extreme3 MoBo. Costs about $130.
3. 580 is a better option.
4. Corsair AX850 is enough for 2 GTX 580's.

 

[wrazor]

I would say the EVGA 2.5gb 570 GTX is even an better choice than gtx 580 1.5gb. It will be equal i think to slid 580s if not, then atleast more than 95%. It costs around 400$. Look up for it.

 

[Why_Me]

***Combo that case and Windows

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.722409.11-119-225 $284.98 - $10.00 Mail In Rebates FREE SHIPPING
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM
COOLER MASTER HAF X RC-942-KKN1 Black Steel/ Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case

*This psu is manufactured by Enermax for LEPA and it's top of the line. It will easily push dual gtx 580's in SLI.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817194083 $179.99 - $129.99 after mail-in rebate card
LEPA G900-MA 900W SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

***This board just came out a few days ago and sports the PCI-E 3.0 that will be supported by Ivy Bridge due out this spring. Not only that, but this board also has the NF200 Bridge allowing dual cards to be run @ x16 & x16

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157269 $289.99
ASRock Z68 Extreme7 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

***Nice cpu + RAM combo

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.694806 $264.98 FREE SHIPPING
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K
CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Profile Desktop Memory Model CML8GX3M2A1600C9

http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=Z68%20Extreme7%20Gen3 <---- A better look at that board

http://www.asrock.com/microsite/PCIe3/index.html <---- PCI-E 3.0 for Intel Ivy Bridge due out next spring

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-geforce-stutter-crossfire,2995.html <---- Toms showed with this review here last week that those boards (NF200 bridge x16 & x16) help to reduce micro stutter

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/crucial-m4-ssd-firmware-update,13314.html <----- Crucial M4 Firmware update

 

[cryptologix]

***Combo that case and Windows

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.722409.11-119-225 $284.98 - $10.00 Mail In Rebates FREE SHIPPING
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM
COOLER MASTER HAF X RC-942-KKN1 Black Steel/ Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case

*This psu is manufactured by Enermax for LEPA and it's top of the line. It will easily push dual gtx 580's in SLI.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817194083 $179.99 - $129.99 after mail-in rebate card
LEPA G900-MA 900W SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

***This board just came out a few days ago and sports the PCI-E 3.0 that will be supported by Ivy Bridge due out this spring. Not only that, but this board also has the NF200 Bridge allowing dual cards to be run @ x16 & x16

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157269 $289.99
ASRock Z68 Extreme7 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

***Nice cpu + RAM combo

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.694806 $264.98 FREE SHIPPING
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K
CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Profile Desktop Memory Model CML8GX3M2A1600C9

http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=Z68%20Extreme7%20Gen3 <---- A better look at that board

http://www.asrock.com/microsite/PCIe3/index.html <---- PCI-E 3.0 for Intel Ivy Bridge due out next spring

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-geforce-stutter-crossfire,2995.html <---- Toms showed with this review here last week that those boards (NF200 bridge x16 & x16) help to reduce micro stutter

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/crucial-m4-ssd-firmware-update,13314.html <----- Crucial M4 Firmware update

Thanks for the advice. Why that motherboard though?

 

[Why_Me]

Thanks for the advice. Why that motherboard though?

I'm guessing you didn't check the links at the bottom of my post you quoted.

 

[cryptologix]

I'm guessing you didn't check the links at the bottom of my post you quoted.

I did...I'm just not that savvy with motherboard specs. Gen3 simply means that it has PCI-Express 3 architecture right?

I guess I'm trying to figure out what huge benefit it has over the P67 Extreme4 for gaming right now.