Looking @ A New Build - Been Out Of It A While - Help Me Spend My Money

[2therock]

I have been out of the loop a while and need to build a new machine so I am seeking out advice or opinions on the hardware.

My current is in my signature. Thanks to this forum its a fine machine I want to retire it as a replacement system for my home security system.
This forum helped me steer towards the UD3P mother board and chosen RAM and I am looking for the same help now since I have not been active in the Home Build World.

My application will be Photoshop CS5, Sony Vegas Pro, and an auto racing game soon to be decided on.

I will list below what I am looking at and await your opinions and suggestions. Budget is a factor in my choices so far.
My budget and space where I will be using it dictates the chosen case. I am embedding links to Newegg in the items.

I am going to liquid cool. Still researching this one....

I really need help in the video card department. I'm totally lost. I run two DVI connected 21.5" Samsung 215TW displays. I don't need to go hog wild in expense. Can you nudge me at a descent working mans work horse?

..... Modified 5/16/12 - I put the prices as shipped but when purchased in groups the shipping comes down so.........

Case Purchased $89.99 Shipped
Rosewill BLACKHAWK Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, come with Five Fans, window side panel, top HDD dock
Model #:BlackHawk Item #:N82E1681114710

Mother Board Purchased Option 2 With WiFi & BT $218.94 Shipped
GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD5H-WB LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Model #:GA-Z77X-UD5H-WB Item #:N82E16813128549

CPU Purchased - Newegg $349.99 Shipped 5/18/12
Intel Core i7-3770K Ivy Bridge 3.5GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I73770K

CPU Water Cooler Purchased $145.00 Shipped
XSPC Rasa 750 RS240 WaterCooling Kit from performance-pcs.com

RAM Purchased $81.56 Shipped
SAMSUNG 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model MV-3V4G3/US
Model #:MV-3V4G3/US Item #:N82E16820147094

Misc Case Replacement Fans To Replace the Front HDD LED OE's Purchased $13.99
COOLER MASTER R4-S2S-124K-GP 120mm Case Fan 4 in 1 pack $13.99

Fan Controller Purchased $44.95 Shipped
Scythe Kaze Master Pro 5.25 Fan Controller
Model #:KM03-BK Item #:N82E16811998077

GPU Purchased $134.99 Shipped After MIR
SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity ...
Model #:100315L Item #:N82E16814102908

Hard Drives - 2 each in RAID 1 Purchased $255.42 Shipped B&H PhotoVideo Beats NewEgg
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Model #:WD1002FAEX Item #:N82E16822136533

CD/DVD/Burner Purchased $17.00
ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM
Model #:DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Item #:N82E16827135204

Power Supply Purchased $139.99 Shipped
CORSAIR Professional Series HX750 (CMPSU-750HX) 750W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified ...
Model #:CMPSU-750HX Item #:N82E16817139010

Windows 7 Pro x64 Purchased $118.15 Shipped
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-bit - OEM.
Thanks!

[wazza300]

looks fine to me,things i would consider changing are

hdd SeagateBarracuda 7200.12 2TB 64MB Cache Hard Drive SATA 6 Gb/s 7200rpm - OEM | ST2000DM001 pretty quick drives for 2tb depends on whether its cheaper or not much more than the wd drive but upto you

memory Newegg.com - SAMSUNG 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model MV-3V4G3/US

why that memory? read the reviews,dirt cheap and clocks to 2133mhz +,and its low profile which is better imo if you decide to fit a large cpu heatsink

EDIT: ohh and why a z68???????????????? GO FOR Z77!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! motherboard your 2600k will run fine on it,unless you choose ivybridge cpu?

[2therock]

Thanks! Can you be more specific on the MoBo? There are a few 77's.

[wazza300]

this one if your on a budget,will oc just as good as the others ect,look at the specs to see what features you need ect before you buy

Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD3H LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

or spend a little more for this one

Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD5H LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

either one would do fine,depends which features you need ect

oh and theres no way id spend $119 on memory,id pick those that i linked you to,spend the savings on other things

[2therock]

Now have the Samsung RAM, Better MoBo of the 77's, the Ivy Bridge 3770K CPU version & this GPU SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity (100315L ) on my list.

Looking at $1300.00 so far. I will be looking at bundles to see if they have any of these two in tandem.

[wazza300]

Now have the Samsung RAM, Better MoBo of the 77's, the Ivy Bridge 3770K CPU version & this GPU SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity (100315L ) on my list.

Looking at $1300.00 so far. I will be looking at bundles to see if they have any of these two in tandem.

could go for the 3570k cpu? no multithreading but depends how much cheaper it is ?

the money you saved on the memory put toward this gpu instead?

Newegg.com - SAPPHIRERadeon HD 7850 OC 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card ( 11200-01-20G )

much more powerfull same as a 6970 and faster if overclocked plus it uses much less power but again up to you and your budget,oh and its pce3 which z77 supports

[Vinster]

that's going to be a nice system when put together. I have a suggestion and I don't want to confuse you.

but instead of running (2) 1TB HD's in a raid0. I'd recommend getting a Decent Sata 3 Solid State drive as the primary HD. something like this one;

Newegg.com - Mushkin Enhanced Chronos MKNSSDCR120GB 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

or

Newegg.com - OCZ Vertex 3 VTX3-25SAT3-120G 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

its cheaper than one of your 1TB drives, then use the difference to get a 2TB drive instead.

that SSD will be considerably faster than those 2 platter drives in a raid.. and the nice thing at that point you can just run AHCI. your 2TB would work in any system if you have a HW failure. (other than the HD itself failing), then re-direct my documents, email, etc to the platter... Win7 Pro and Office 2010 takes 25-35GB installed pending options that leaves about 80GB for games and pleasantries.

that's just my 2 cents... more often than not, when someone I know is looking for an upgrade, I look at an SSD first, look at CPU/RAM options...

Vin

[boondocks]

I have 2 of the Saphhire 6850's in 2 different builds. Pretty good card for the price.
If you are definitely going to liquid cool you need to decide ahead of time what case you need! Unless you are going to use one of the small all-in-one units like Corsair H80 or Zalman CNPS20LQ.
Could probably say the same for some large air coolers/case combo's as well.
If you want better than a small liquid cooler but still want to get it in kit form, check out my sig for the XSPC line, the RX240 has a very thick radiator but the RS240 has a slimmer one that fits inside a case better. Unless you decide to mount outside the case.

If you decide to forgo the larger liquid cooling, a decent case is the newer Antec Three Hundred Two. I have one in another build with the Zalman liquid cooler mounted on the side panel grill. The case is pretty decent, with good airflow, understated but not bland looks, no ugly grills or plastic protuberances. Newegg.com - Antec Three Hundred Two Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case with Upgraded 2 x USB 3.0
Does not come with front fans but you can mount 2x120mm in front.

[2therock]

I have modified my list in the OP.

Thanks @ wazza300,

Yeh, the solid state thing is tempting but will complicate me a tad. Right now I use 420GB on my OS RAID1 set and even though its all 3GB/sec its not got me frustrated.
I may however thanks to you add a solid state and just put the Games on it eh?
And I'll use all those other HDD's in my sig for backups.

I love RAID1. As a private investigator that lives and dies by data entry along with video and imaging processing and uploading, RAID1 along with an APC UPS PRO-700 has saved my bacon more than once. Its like having a true "Run Flat" tire. :-)

Thanks also @ boondocks for the words on the Saphhire 6850 GPU. It seems to fit my budget and appetite.

I have already decided on the case, its on the UPS truck out for delivery today. Lots of fan locations, the SATA dock on top comes in very handy in my profession, as do the front 4 USB ports, and bless the person who designed them spaced out from each other. See it in my OP list. Not thrilled with the lights and will most likely do the usual Yate Loon replacements.
I am going to try it air cooled at first so I can compare. I will be looking at a Corsair H80 but read of issues with them and am looking at near like configs like you have in your sig.
I need to get the case and take measurements for cooling sys's and the temps after I have it up and running on air.
As an example how I like to compare, I put a Super Charger on my Truck and Dyno'd it 1st. See the charts HERE if curious.

[wazza300]

cant i tempt you with a shiny new 7850? the 6850 is a good card but its old tech now,id sooner your put it towards new tech and future proof yourself a little but its entirely up to you after all its your wallet!!!