I have built about 8 of these in the last 6 months.....mostly for my son and his group of MMO buddies (18 - 20 yrs) .... now running about $1815.
Case - $ 140 - Antec DF-85
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129087
Case Fans - $ 15 - Antec Red 120 mm
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835209013
PSU - $ 95 - Antec CP-850
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371024
MoBo - $ 535 - ASUS P8P67 WS Revolution
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.701066
CPU - incl - Intel Core i7-2600K included in above
Cooler - $ 50 - Scythe Mugen 3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185168
TIM - $ 5 - Shin Etsu
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835150080
RAM - $ 95 - (2 x 4GB) Mushkin CAS 7
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226201
GFX - $ 220 - EVGA GTX 560 (900MHz)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130651
GFX - $ 220 - EVGA GTX 560 (900MHz)
HD - $ 130 - Seagate Barracuda XT 2TB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148506
SSD - $ 200 - OCZ Vertex 3 2.5" 120GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227706
DVD Writer - $ 60 - Asus 24X DRW-24B3L w/ LS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135247
Card Reader $ 50 55 in 1 Card Reader
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820314001
If the case is a bit flashy for ya tastes, consider the Antec P183 or P193
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129174
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129176
PSU sits alone performance wise ......
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=142
It is completely unmatched by any ATX unit on the market I can think of. You'd have to spend twice as much as this thing costs to find the next best thing, performance wise.
As to the quiet part and how well the PSU works with the mentioned cases .... (NOTE: DF-85 is an upgrade of 1200 so it does fit)
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article971-page7.html
The Antec CP-850 is a superlative power supply by almost any standard. Its electrical performance is up at the level of its more expensive brethren, the Signature 650 and 850, and Seasonic's flagship, the M12D-850: Voltage regulation is extremely tight for all the lines at all loads, and the ripple noise is amazingly low......The noise performance is excellent, with the <400W performance matching or bettering virtually every PSU tested thus far. Above 500W load in our heat box, the noise level goes over 40 dBA@1m, or about the norm for PSUs rated this high. It has the virtue keeping itself extremely cool, however, cooler than any other PSU we've tested at such high loads.
A serious consideration is that in each of the three compatible Antec cases, the CP-850 mounts on the bottom, and the intake for the PSU is quite separate from the rest of the system. In the P193 and P183, the PSU is in an entirely separate thermal chamber, and in the model 1200 (and DF-85), a direct path can be maintained to the directly opposite, wide-open front vent. This means that our extreme hot box test conditions never apply to the CP-850; in other words, SPCR's test environment is unrealistically hot for the CP-850. Our atypical spot check with a room ambient thermal test showed the CP-850 would reach only 24 dBA@1m at 700W load in a 27°C working environment. This is ridiculously quiet for such high power output.
The above is an obviously unfair advantage for the CP-850... but what of it? Antec has used an integrated systems approach for its CP-850 and its best cases, and if that approach is an advantage over all other case/PSU combinations, then, all the more power to Antec!.....For the quiet-seeking computer gaming enthusiast, the CP-850 (along with any of the three compatible cases) is something of a godsend. Fantastically stable power, super low noise at any power load, long expected reliability due to excellent cooling, modular cabling, and all at a price that's no higher than many high end 6~700W models.
MoBo will give ya x16 x16 in SLI with its NF200 chip. Good for those minimum fps issues.
Beware self contained water units in SLI / CF builds ..... I have had issues with them hitting the top SLI card.
Guru3D uses the following games in their test suite, COD-MW, Bad Company 2, Dirt 2, Far Cry 2, Metro 2033, Dawn of Discovery, Crysis Warhead. Total fps (summing fps in each game @ 1920 x 1200) for the various options in parenthesis (single card / SL or CF) are tabulated below along with their cost in dollars per frame single card - CF or SLI:
$ 240.00 6950 (479/751) $ 0.50 - $ 0.64
$ 260.00 6950 Frozr OC (484/759) $ 0.54 - $ 0.69
$ 205.00 560 Ti (455/792) $ 0.45 - $ 0.52
$ 360.00 6970 (526/825) $ 0.68 - $ 0.87
$ 220.00 560 Ti - 900 Mhz (495/862) $ 0.44 - $ 0.51
$ 335.00 570 (524/873) $ 0.64 - $ 0.77
RAM is fast CAS7, again good for eliminating those min fps issues.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/2792/12
22.3 % (SLI) increase in minimum frame rates w/ C6 instead of C8 in Far Cry 2
18% (single card) / 5% (SLI) increase in minimum frame rates w/ C6 instead of C8 in Dawn of War
15% (single card) / 5% (SLI) increase in minimum frame rates w/ C6 instead of C8 in World in Conflict
Also see
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/memory/2011/01/11/the-best-memory-for-sandy-bridge/1
HD is fastest mechanical drive available.....
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=708&Itemid=60&limit=1&limitstart=10
For a hard drive, the Barracuda XT series offers the best performance available from a 7200 RPM mechanical storage device. It's not quite as fast as the Seagate Momentus-XT Solid State Hybrid Drive, but then again that product series doesn't offer storage capacities beyond 500GB.
. But I might go with the Corsair H80 or H100, which with a couple of custom fans can be almost silent and keep the temps down for easy OC'ing (Plus if you set your rig up right, there is less dust). I still have the stock cooler and anytime I do anything, I want to cover my bleeding ears-can't afford another one right now. But if you still want a solid air cooler, you picked out a good one.
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