36 replies to this topic

[Barbaric Soul]

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1.) Electrostatic shock hazard - How do I go about avoiding frying my expensive components? Looking at the NewEgg youtube video, the guy just touches the case a couple of times. Is a Wrist Strap a better idea? And if so, where do you attach it? Isn't touching the case a bad idea once you have installed the Mobo with CPU? I've also heard the (myth?) that it's best to install the power supply and plug it in, so that you are taking advantage of the grounded electrical plug? This is one of those things that has me antsy about building my own system.

Not really a issue, just make sure you touch part of the case's frame to discharge any charge you may have. It won't hurt your hardware already mounted in the case. The PSU is usually the next to last peice I install when building a computer, with video card/cards being the last thing.

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2.) The other thing that has me down right terrified is Thermal Paste. "Spreading Butter" ? Really? I have so many questions about this....a.) do you always apply the paste after the CPU is on the Mobo? If so, how do you avoid pressing down too hard? Is there such a thing as "too much paste"? Is it better to have a smooth, even, THIN layer of paste, or a thicker layer? When installing your CPU cooler, how do you make sure you have a solid, air-bubble-free contact, without pushing down too hard on the CPU? This one operation alone freaks me out more than all the other computer assembly issues put together.

Don't try to spread out the paste. Just sqeeze a dab about the size of a pea on the center of the CPU and install the heatsink. Let the pressure from the heatsink spread the paste out. This prevents air bubbles from getting trapped in the paste causing hot spots. Yes, there is a such thing as too much. Too much paste will cause high temps.

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3.) After reading a ton of reviews and other literature, I'll probably stick with the Intel build. Huge thanks to Vulpes, but the pieces I could find on the Bulldozer architecture / Zambezi were just not encouraging at all, even taking into account "Intel fanboy-ism". However - I AM curious to hear what people think about this 8 core AMD chip ----> http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819103960

While the AMD bulldozer chip wasn't all it was hyped up to be, that doesn't mean it isn't a good processor. In single threaded performance, the BD is about equal to the old high-end core2quads(Q9650/Q9550/Q9450). In multi-threaded applications, the 6 cores are equal to I5 and the 8 cores are equal to I7. A 6 or 8 core Bulldozer chip is plenty powerful for a gaming rig today.

[Markus Wilhelmsson]

1.) most people laugh off ESD, but it's beter to be safe than sorry. ESD can and WILL crater your ram sticks if you are unlucky, get yourself grounded (touching this case is fine) dont wear your wooly socks and run on your carpet.. etc etc.

2.) thin layers are key, too much paste could potentially worsen the contact between IHS and the heatsink, though it wouldn't be a real showstopper.you can apply considerable pressure, not much is needed (get a creditcard type thingy or a straight piece of plastic). i'd recommend plopping it in the motherboard first though (i.e. while it's not in the case yet for easy access) attaching the heatsink will flatten it out nicely. not to worry about air-bubbles or anything. if you plan on getting a regular boxed intel CPU it may ship with a heatsink, might wanna check it out. they are fairly decent if not in-audible.

3.) wired should be ok as far as connection speed, only limiting factor would be the broadband connection itself.

all boards ship with an onboard ethernet. some even get 2.

4.) using the WOW example i spose it's fine if you went without a headset and go for headphones or speakers only, just gotta be able to tap into voice coms really. unless you'd be going to fill a role which absolutely requires you talking. personally i've been playing with a normal headphone for ages, if you get a decent brand surround phones (sennheiser and the like) you could potentially get better quality sound than with normal speakers.

[Shahadet]

Hey folks!

So here is a more formalized build - Any and all advice before the end of day tomorrow would be great (trying to jump in on some New Egg deals that run out after Sunday). Many thanks for all the help so far and thanks in advance for help/advice/opinions to come! An especial big thanks to Vulpes, from whom many of these recommendations came.

--------------------------------


Parts List:
---------------

CASE: Rosewell V2 Thor http://tinyurl.com/clngep2


Motherboard: p8z77-V LK http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813131837

(with current New Egg deal, didn't seem like the -V was that much better than the -V LK. If someone has info that differs, please
let me know!)


CPU: i5-3570 3.4 GHz Ivy Bridge http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819115233

(no "K" model, as I don't think I'll overclock anytime soon - Maybe on my next build.)


CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 http://www.newegg.co...N82E16835608018


PSU: Cooler Master 80+ Gold 800W http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817171057

(I am also considering this 80+ Bronze 700W from Cooler Master, because it is a bit cheaper and has 5 yr warranty vs. 2yr for the gold? ***?)
(http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817171037 - anyone have any advice on which I should choose?)


GPU: XFX Radeon HD 7970 1GHz 3GB 384 bit GDDR% http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814150586

(I chose this card over this GTX 670 by EVGA: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814130787 , mainly because the price difference
seemed minimal ($407 vs $430 w/ mail in rebate) for an upgrade from 256 to 384, and from 2GB memory to 3GB memory. If anyone has more info on why either one of these cards is a better
choice than the other, I would love to hear more).

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws, 8GB, DDR3 1600 http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820231428


HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 6.0GB SATA http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822136533


SSD: Samsung 120GB http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820147163


ODD: ASUS 24x DVD Burner http://www.newegg.co...N82E16827135204


Keyboard: Cooler Master Storm Quickfire Red http://www.newegg.co...N82E16823129006


Mouse: Cooler Master Storm Xornet http://www.newegg.co...N82E16826570014


Headset: Rosewill Audio Pro http://www.newegg.co...N82E16826193055

Edited by Shahadet, 05 August 2012 - 10:42 AM.

[CyberWolf3769]

Looks like a good build, if it's within your budget go for it!

If it were me I'd just use the Intel CPU cooler, get a case with a built in power supply, use RAID instead of SSD, and would spend way less on the video card, but then I'm cheap.

[Clay Pigeon]

Shahadet, on 31 July 2012 - 07:31 PM, said:

Greetings fellow Mechwarriors!

So - I'm eager to give this game a try, as well as some other titles. One problem though - I need a machine to run it on, as my crappy Best buy laptop will not get the job done.

After reading lots of posts on the forum here, as well as many news articles and youtube vids, I've decided to take the plunge and try and build my own computer, purchasing parts from vendors (mainly NewEgg, but also will look at TigerDirect and Amazon).

Anyways, I will confess to still be way confused on what I should get, so I'll list my thoughts below, and see if any of it makes sense.

A little about me - I'm an older gamer who hasn't done any serious video gaming since Mechwarrior 2 and Starcraft. I avoided WoW and all the other games of its kind (Eve, WoT, etc). So, all the stuff you might assume about someone who is reading this forum - don't assume it about me. I'm a blank slate, trying to soak up as much info as possible, and spend my (hard-earned and hard-to-earn) cash as wisely as possible.

------------------------

1.) So the primary purpose of this machine will be gaming. However, I would like to be able to expand in the future, so the Motherboard should be robust and feature-filled enough to accomodate more parts (i.e., I'll start with 1 graphics card, but would like to add a 2nd some day, add more RAM for possible video editing projects in the future, etc)

2.) In a "planned obsolence" mode of system design, I would like to drop some decent dollars on a solid, well designed Full Size case that has lots of air cooling (to deal with a small stuffy apt), with the option to consider water cooling in the future. That way, when I decide to upgrade, I can switch out Mobos, drives, etc, while not having to buy a new case every 2 years.

3.) Like wise, I would like to drop some decent dollars on a PSU that not only will handle my initial system build, but can accomodate more parts (like that 2nd graphics card) in the future. After reading Vulpes post on PSUs, I'm convinced that modular will be the way to go. So again, I would like to not have to buy a new PSU every 2 years (if this is an unreasonable idea, please let me know why - I'm curious to know more).

4.) My initial budget will be in the $1200 to $1500 range. I don't need a monitor to begin with (have a single HP 23" LED that I picked up last November). I WILL need an OS.

5.) Just how important are "Gaming" keyboards and "Gaming" mice to having a good game experience? Can I get by with my regular wireless mouse and keyboard that I have right now? Is a headset (like the corsair Vengeance 1500) really necessary?

6.) Even after reading all the info I can find on Graphics cards, I'm still bewildered at what would make a solid choice for an intial build? With an eye towards doing SLI/Crossfire in the future.

7.) Intel or AMD? Sandy Bridge or Ivy Bridge? I'm leaning towards the i5-3570K Ivy Bridge at the moment, since that seems to be the consensus pick for value for the dollar, with an eye towards playing older single threaded games. But I'm willing to be swayed by arguments towards AMD. Also - I don't want to overclock to begin with. That said, does it make sense to get a better cooler now, for the day when I DO decide I want to overclock?

--------------------------------------

So, enough blather. Here are some ideas that I've had - a critique would be greatly appreciated, and alternate builds would be awesome.:

Case: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16811119239 (Cooler Master case - water cooling isn't a huge priority, USB 3.0 is a must get for future upgradeability/compatibility)

CPU: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819115233 (Intel i5-3570)

PSU: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817182263 (80+ gold 650W enough for future builds? Or do I need a 750W or higher psu? Like this 850W cooler master? --> http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817139015)

RAM: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820231461 (8 GB sniper ram to start)

GPU: (Totally lost here. The GTX 670 seems highly regarded by people. But is the 680 that much better of a card that the price makes it worth it? Are there other recommendations in terms of price point/performance)

HDD: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822148840 (1TB Seagate Barricuda)

Mobo: (Again, totally lost - much depends on the GPU I decide on. Need the most help here. In a pinch, I'd probablly go with Asus P8z77 V http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813131820)

----------

If I can fit it into the budget, I'd like to get a SSD.

Well, that's it for now. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I've NEVER heard good things about rosewill PSUs. Go with seasonic, antec earthwatts, or corsair.

[Vulpesveritas]

A few things i suggest:
1st: stay away from coolermaster PSUs if you can, they don't use top-end OEM components in their PSUs, and rarely are the wattage they claim. while generally okay, you can get far better for the price.
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817182264 <- the rosewill capstone series use Superflower, which is more or less the 2nd best PSU OEM at this time, and are among the best price / performance PSUs right now, and have high reliability.
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817139010 <- Corsair's HX series is rebranded Seasonic, with better customer service and warranties.
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817151087 <- Seasonic is hands down the best PSU manufacturer out there right now

2nd: Better motherboard for the price:
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813157298

3rd: while a good card, you can get better Radeon HD 7970s for the price;
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814202001 <-- Ghz edition, top of the line chip picks, better BIOS and likely better driver support. Also a better cooler from Sapphire. (I recommend this above all the others right now.)
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814161412 <-- higher factory OC (unlisted on newegg, but is 1050mhz), quieter fans, highest overclocking regular Radeon HD 7970.
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814131471 <- higher stock overclock, good power regulation, highest factory OC air cooled regular Radeon HD 7970.

Cooler: there are better, though the noctura is quiet, it is far, far, far more than you need since you aren't overclocking. This will be as quiet but is smaller and cheaper, and is still more than you need without overclocking:
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16835226051

Clay Pigeon, on 04 August 2012 - 01:31 PM, said:

I've NEVER heard good things about rosewill PSUs. Go with seasonic, antec earthwatts, or corsair.

Someone is behind the times. They've been getting nothing but top marks for their Capstone and Fortress lines lately.
http://www.techpower...CAPSTONE-750-M/
http://www.techpower...tinum-PSUs.html
http://www.hardwares...ply-Review/1597
http://www.hardwares...ply-Review/1584
http://www.guru3d.co...att-psu-review/

Edited by Vulpesveritas, 04 August 2012 - 02:13 PM.

[Shahadet]

Thanks for the quick responses gents!

Follow up:

1.) Thanks for the info on the Cooler Master PSUs - I'll be going with the Corsair HX recommended by Vulpes:

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817139010


2.) WHY exactly is the AsRock board better than the Asus board I selected? With the PSUs, you gave me a clear and concise reason why I should switch. So what is it about the AsRock board that makes it better?

3.) Again, super useful info to know. I'll be swapping out for the Sapphire Vapor X - the extra $20 sounds well worth it.

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814202001

4.) Since I'm not overclocking, the Noctua probably IS overkill. I just thought the double fan design looked cool. Silenz it is (I can use the savings to help offset the increases in cost to PSU and GPU switches).


--------------

Anymore thoughts from people? I'm all ears!

[Bloodshed Romance]

if your going AMD then I suggest a Biostar 990FX motherboard..
http://www.newegg.co...biostar%20990fx
it has everything you "need" for upgrades and so on and so forth..
ram is whatever you would like, I have 8gb Gskill 1333..
you may wanna look at 1600 RAM though for video editing..
CPU, you can go with like the 6100 (six core) or the 8120 (8 core)
video cards i've been told you should just get from the $250 range because everything above that isn't "worth" it.. but if you have the money, go for it..
I haven't owned a SSD yet but thats another thing that i'd say, "if you have the money go for it"...
I have a WD Black 7200 1TB drive and it does just fine until I can save up for an SSD..
but I have heard that seagate drives fail more often than anything really.. but I guess thats kinda "preference"

[Vulpesveritas]

Shahadet, on 04 August 2012 - 02:37 PM, said:

Thanks for the quick responses gents!

Follow up:

1.) Thanks for the info on the Cooler Master PSUs - I'll be going with the Corsair HX recommended by Vulpes:

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817139010


2.) WHY exactly is the AsRock board better than the Asus board I selected? With the PSUs, you gave me a clear and concise reason why I should switch. So what is it about the AsRock board that makes it better?

3.) Again, super useful info to know. I'll be swapping out for the Sapphire Vapor X - the extra $20 sounds well worth it.

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814202001

4.) Since I'm not overclocking, the Noctua probably IS overkill. I just thought the double fan design looked cool. Silenz it is (I can use the savings to help offset the increases in cost to PSU and GPU switches).


--------------

Anymore thoughts from people? I'm all ears!

The AsRock board has:
Faster USB speeds in both 2.0 and 3.0 ports.
Xfast LAN which allows you to prioritize internet speeds for specific programs you choose
Better power regulation
Higher quality capacitors
Internet access from the UEFI BIOS for driver updates
LAN teaming on the motherboard.
Combo Cooler bracket for better cooling. (bracket doesn't interfere with airflow as much)

Edited by Vulpesveritas, 04 August 2012 - 03:25 PM.

[Shahadet]

Vulpesveritas, on 04 August 2012 - 03:14 PM, said:

The AsRock board has:
Faster USB speeds in both 2.0 and 3.0 ports.
Xfast LAN which allows you to prioritize internet speeds for specific programs you choose
Better power regulation
Higher quality capacitors
Internet access from the UEFI BIOS for driver updates
LAN teaming on the motherboard.
Combo Cooler bracket for better cooling. (bracket doesn't interfere with airflow as much)

Thanks for the thought out reply Vulpes.

However, the critical part of the AsRock for me is the fact that it only has 1 PCI Express 3.0 card slot. Which means if I want to ask for a 2nd 7970 card for xmas, I'll have no where to plug it in.

That is kind of a deal breaker for me, so I'll probably stick with the p8z77-v-LK, unless someone else can recommend a similar/better board at a similar price point?

Thanks again for all your help gentlemen!

Edited by Shahadet, 04 August 2012 - 08:07 PM.

[Shahadet]

Bloodshed Romance, on 04 August 2012 - 02:51 PM, said:

video cards i've been told you should just get from the $250 range because everything above that isn't "worth" it.. but if you have the money, go for it..

This is an interesting point that I've been wondering about:

Is there a graphics card in the $250 price range that provides a better performance-to-price ratio, than the Sapphire 7970 ($450), making it seem "not worth it?"

While I can fit the Sapphire into my budget, that doesn't mean I want to necessarily waste money on extravagances that don't net me a commensurate improvement in power/ability/improved gaming experience to warrant the near doubling of price.

Anyone have some useful info on this? While I've read over Vulpes GPU guide exhaustively, I still have trouble putting all those nifty bar graphs and what not into perspective. So anyone who can explain the difference between a $250 card and a $450 card (and whether the price difference is justified by the graphics quality/gaming quality) would be tremendously appreciated.

Thanks!

[Vulpesveritas]

Shahadet, on 04 August 2012 - 08:06 PM, said:

Thanks for the thought out reply Vulpes.

However, the critical part of the AsRock for me is the fact that it only has 1 PCI Express 3.0 card slot. Which means if I want to ask for a 2nd 7970 card for xmas, I'll have no where to plug it in.

That is kind of a deal breaker for me, so I'll probably stick with the p8z77-v-LK, unless someone else can recommend a similar/better board at a similar price point?

Thanks again for all your help gentlemen!

Umm, for current generation cards, such as the 7970, there is no performance gain between PCI E 2.0 and 3.0, and they are fully compatible with each other. So you won't see any loss putting the card in one of the 2.0 lanes.

Shahadet, on 04 August 2012 - 08:12 PM, said:

This is an interesting point that I've been wondering about:

Is there a graphics card in the $250 price range that provides a better performance-to-price ratio, than the Sapphire 7970 ($450), making it seem "not worth it?"

While I can fit the Sapphire into my budget, that doesn't mean I want to necessarily waste money on extravagances that don't net me a commensurate improvement in power/ability/improved gaming experience to warrant the near doubling of price.

Anyone have some useful info on this? While I've read over Vulpes GPU guide exhaustively, I still have trouble putting all those nifty bar graphs and what not into perspective. So anyone who can explain the difference between a $250 card and a $450 card (and whether the price difference is justified by the graphics quality/gaming quality) would be tremendously appreciated.

Thanks!

Well, price / performance short term goes to the Radeon HD 7850, however keep into consideration a few things;
~40 frames per second on current titles with the radeon hd 7850, fluid but not hugely so.
~65 frames per second on current titles with the Radeon HD 7970ghz edition, fully fluid

Now, also keep into account games over time, as newer and more demanding games come out, that 7970 will remain viable for longer, allowing you to skip a couple more years of getting another card than you would be able to do with the 7850. Also, if you ever want to do multi-monitor or 3d gaming, the 7970 will allow you 30fps now with either, whereas the 7850 you would need to turn down settings.

So there is a tradeoff. Price / performance in the short term with the 7850, or in the long term with the 7970. I would personally take the latter.

[MarcusBorilius]

You know really when you are looking at your system start reading reviews.

Most of the games are GPU limited, when the new ivy bridge cpu's came out from intel (yes the 3XXX series you are looking at) allot of websites did reviews on them. They found that most of the time the 2nd gen sandy bridge CPU's were not only cheaper but they ran better. What was even scarier is they found that when gaming unless you are playing sid meyers civilzation or one of the older games all you needed was a 4 core processor, it didnt matter the brand.

http://www.hardocp.c...review_roundup/

Here look at guru 3D if you look at the high resolution on the old DX10 game farcry 2 that uses the Cryengine1 then yes the intel processors win. But when you move down the page and look at the high resolution on the DX11 game Crysis 2 that uses the cryengine3 game engine(like MWO uses) then the $109.00 AMD FX4100 runs as good as the $339.00 Overclocked I7 3770K... Ok 1fps difference at the highest resolution, but honestly if you can see the difference of 1 frame per second in game then you have allot better eyes then I do...well me and the rest of the world..

http://www.guru3d.co...ith_z77,24.html

Or go with another modern game like BF3 in DX11 in some cases the AMD fx8150 is faster then the intel chips..

http://www.hardwares...-Review/1537/15

Dont be fooled by the big graphs on all the reviews because the big whopping numbers are generated at the lowest GPU settings you start looking at when the resolution is raised up and you will find that in 90% of all the situations there is only a 10% difference in the cpu's in games. So what you really want to look at is what types of games are you playing.
The cryengine 3 was initially developed in conjunction with AMD so it tends too run best on AMD chips, both gpu and cpu. AMD has dumped tons of money and partnered with EA on allot of big titles and it shows (BF3, MOHwarfighter, Crysis, ect ect.)

So the question is this, using the Crysis 2 numbers since the game engines are similar(wait they are the same game engine arent theyhttp://en.wikipedia....e_2#Development), the very top of the line overclocked cpu priced at $339.00 runs the game at 53 frames per second. And the bottom of the line $109.00 cpu runs the game at 52 frames per second.... Is the $230.00 price difference worth the 1.9% performance increase in game?

So the moral of this story..... its better to buy one of the mid range processors for gaming and take the extra money and put it into a more expensive video card you will be much much happier.

Edited by MarcusBorilius, 05 August 2012 - 08:46 PM.

[Shahadet]

Okay, just a quick shout out with a newly revised list for people to say yea or nay to - opinions, no matter how brutal, are welcome!

Case: Rosewill Thor 2 http://www.newegg.co...N82E16811147053

CPU: i5-3570K http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819116504

Mobo: Asrock z77 Performance http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813157298

PSU: Seasonic 650W 80+ Gold http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817151088

CPU cooler: Silenx http://www.newegg.co...N82E16835226051

RAM: Kingston Hyper X http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820104173
(double checked and RAM is on the QVL for the asrock board)

GPU: Still searching for a good deal on this, saw this 7970, but the reviews I read said the noise from the stock AMD cooler is really loud

http://www.tigerdire...m_ZrNZLxqYjQe2w

--------------------------

Thoughts? Ideas? Let me know please! Thanks for all the help fellas, it has been much appreciated!

[Vulpesveritas]

If I may recommend;
RAM:
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820226221
It's not a huge increase in price, but you get faster RAM.  Just something to consider.  Plus, keep in mind Crucial, Mushkin, and Patriot RAM are made in the USA, should that matter to you at all.
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820226184
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820226219
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820220685
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820220558 - (cheaper after rebate)
and similar speed and price, lower voltage, USA made.
GPU:
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814202001
While you can save money with the tigerdirect bit, yes the reference cooler for the 7970 is quite loud, and with the ghz edition chips, keep in mind you will be getting top pick for driver updates in most cases, and have a faster (and normally better engineered) card overall.  The Vapor-X dual fan cooler is a great cooler, covering the VRM and RAM as well as the chip, as well as having very good overclocking ability with the cooler. Also, while Visiontek isn't the most horrible graphics card AIB partner, they are nowhere near as good as Sapphire. 

And since the latter weren't covered on the last bit;

SSD:
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820147163
Generally the best overall SSD on a good deal.

HDD;
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822152185
Cheap 7200RPM 1TB storage, decent reliability.

Edited by Vulpesveritas, 10 August 2012 - 08:37 AM.

[iceboss]

I would not rather recomment 1,65V RAM for Ivy Bridge as seen in some posts above. Even though it was empirically tested by Intel that 1,65V will not destroy the chip, it is beyond official specifications.

ASUS p8z77-V LK has a bit poor phase design, juts 4+1+1. It will be ok, but if you are planning some OC, I would rather choose LE version with better setup.

I would go for this setup:

Case: Rosewill Thor 2 - OK, looks good, just do not leave it on the floor beacuse of the dust.
CPU: i5-3570K - K version = you are going to overclock it, otherwise I recommend i5-3470 - just 200MHz down and nice money in your pocket
PSU: Seasonic 650W 80+ Gold - this one or his X660 brother are the best choice
CPU cooler: Gelid Tranquillo rev.2 - great performace for good money
Memory: Corsair Vengeance RED DDR3 8GB (2x4GB) 1866MHz CL9, 1,5V for overclocking or cheaper Crucial Ballistix sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800), Mushkins are really great too...
Graphics: It is up to you how much money you want to invest, me personally do not like top range things beacuse the marginal performance you get costs just too much. I would perosnally choose 7870OC or GTX670 OC rather than really expensive 7970.
SSD: Crucial m4 128GB or Samsung 830 as recomended above - buy the cheaper one, in the recent revisions of Samsung I just read about "regeneration" problems, crucial was fixing one issue as well...
HDD: WB Black 750 or 1 TB
Motherboard: ASUS p8z77-V LE or MSI Z77A-GD65 if you want to go higher and do some OC

[Shivus]

nvm, google.

Edited by Shivus, 11 August 2012 - 02:23 PM.