Components list. Short & sweet

[pcskillet]

Took me a while, but here is what I'm thinking.

"Widowmaker" (or Sprinkles; haven't decided on the name yet)

CPU - Intel Core i7-3770K (the only component I've purchased so far)
CPU cooler - COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus
Mobo - ASUS P8Z77-V DELUXE LGA 1155 Intel Z77
GPU - PowerColor AX7850 2GBD5-2DH Radeon HD 7850
Memory - CORSAIR XMS 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
SSD - OCZ Vertex 3 2.5" 240GB
HDD - 2TB SATA III (haven't narrowed down a brand yet)
BD-drive - LITE-ON 12X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DVD+R 12X DVD-RAM 8X BD-ROM 8MB Cache SATA Blu-ray Burner
Soundcard - Creative Sound Blaster Recon3D Fatal1ty Professional (70SB135600000)
Case - Corsair Carbide Series 300R Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
PSU - OCZ ZS Series 750W 80PLUS Bronze High Performance
Display - HP ZR2740w Black and Brushed Aluminum 27" 12 ms 2560x1440 IPS Panel
Keyboard - Logitech K800 Black USB RF Wireless Slim Illuminated Keyboard
Mouse - (only component I'm re-using, my existing Logitech G5, still awesome)
OS - Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (as well as several other Linus-based OS' & Windows 8 CP)
UPS - Yes..

how's that look? All these parts are currently in stock except the PSU.
This will be a jack-of-all-trades personal home computer, some MMO gaming (will probably add a 2nd GPU later on), some virtualization for tinkering with different OS', and some high res video/photo editing. Also this might become a cloud-connected media server. Sock it to me.

[pcskillet]

oh yes, in case you're curious, this all totals $2579 on Newegg before shipping.

[Mountain Mania]

If those are the parts YOU want go for it.

Its not a great performing pc for the money spent and the case is el cheapo. OCZ brand I avoid like the plague (SSD + PSU). Video card should be better if you're spending $2500+ also.

Corsair 600T case
Corsair or Seasonic PSU (Gold or Platinum)
GTX 670, 680 or Radeon HD7950 or HD7970

I have always hated Creative soundcards, their drivers were always a pita + bloatware.

Research your IPS monitors more, NEC + DELL offer better. Less input lag and ghosting.

[pcskillet]

Thanks for the input! Can the 7850 drive that single 2560x1440 monitor (or a similar one) at maxed settings & 30 fps for most modern games? If so then it is good enough for me. The bottom line price is high but consider also that I'm buying almost every peripheral (including a $700+ monitor) along with the main system. And the other IPS monitors are several hundreds more expensive, but I suppose you get what you pay for. Same with the case, but I'm liking it. Maybe I'll just aim to keep this monstrosity under $3K!

[Mountain Mania]

Thanks for the input! Can the 7850 drive that single 2560x1440 monitor (or a similar one) at maxed settings & 30 fps for most modern games? If so then it is good enough for me. The bottom line price is high but consider also that I'm buying almost every peripheral (including a $700+ monitor) along with the main system. And the other IPS monitors are several hundreds more expensive, but I suppose you get what you pay for. Same with the case, but I'm liking it. Maybe I'll just aim to keep this monstrosity under $3K!

2560 x 1440 @ maxxed settings in modern games with 30+ fps on an HD7850? Doubtful on all, yes on some. At least on a 7850. And thats NOW, in the future it'll take more.

(Maxxed settings to me is 8X HQ morphological aa, 16x anisoptric filtering aka AF, or else 4x super sampling AA with 16X AF and all IN GAME options set to highest possible.)

[xiz0r]

For 1440p I'd want at least an AMD hd 7950 or a Nvidia 670 gtx.
Maybe drop the sound card (at least for now) and go for a 120gb ssd to save a few $ if you have to.

30 fps might seems enough on paper but I find that if you can keep a steady 60fps the fluidity is greatly increased. 30 is kinda choppy but playable I guess.

[pcskillet]

Mountain Man & xiz0r, I'm taking your combined advice and going with GTX 670 and Corsair 600T, and dropping the sound card for now. Just need to research other monitor options. It looks like the grand total will be closer to $2850, but well spent IMO.

[Mountain Mania]

Looking good, dude.

Do yourself a favor though and skip that Ocz psu. This unit sometimes goes on sale for $99 @ Newegg. Thats when I bought mine. Total silence + best psu I've seen:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817151088

[python134r]

I just purchsed the Seasonic 750w model-very nice, the 650 for 99 is a good deal. Good going with the graphics card change.