System Upgrade

[noble80]

Hi


I am looking to upgrade my old system and would like to know which components would be more suitable for me.

-I will use my rig mostly for gaming and some (very little) photoshop and premiere.
-I want to play BF3 max/very high-ish
-I will overclock.
-I have a 950w Power Supply

What I want to get:

Motherboard:
-GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128512

or

-GIGABYTE GA-Z68MA-D2H-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128495

GPU:
-gtx 560 sli
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127565

-gtx 460 sli
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127518

-gtx 580
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127567

CPU:
Would the 2600k make a real difference for what I want to do?
-i5 2500k
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

-i7 2600k
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070

RAM:
-8gb G.SKILL
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428

or

-12gb G.SKILL
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231358

 

[jmsellars1]

I would go for the 8GB RAM and i5 for sure, you wouldn't even notice the difference between that and 12GB/i7 in games.

GPU(s) are up to you, the GTX 560Ti SLI would outperform the other two choices by a lot though. EDIT: Be sure to get the ATX board if you want to SLI.

 

[noble80]

What about if I get gtx 460/560 ti 2gb models? I play at a resolution of 1920x1080. Would 1gb of Vram be enough?
And jmsellars1, both are ATX, is one of them not SLI-able?

 

[noble80]

1gb is fine for 1080p but some games go over that limit.
metro 2033 uses 1260mb at max settings.
crysis uses 1300mb at max settings.
both played at 1080p with my gtx 480.
i would recommend the gtx 570 or gtx 580 over the 2gb 560ti's.

Thx for super quick response
I'll be getting a gtx 580, 8gb RAM, and 2500k and maybe another gtx 580 in the not so far future.

 

[noble80]

Best answer selected by noble80.

 

[jmsellars1]

What about if I get gtx 460/560 ti 2gb models? I play at a resolution of 1920x1080. Would 1gb of Vram be enough?
And jmsellars1, both are ATX, is one of them not SLI-able?

The second board says Micro ATX.