Hello! First i'd like to say that i'm really stoked to find ROG and this website, and i'm excited to see that although this is my first jump into an enthusiant computer, that there is a living, breathing enthusiast community out there. With that said, i'll go through the advice thread info first.
Budget: This is a bit tricky. I am building this computer over the course of a couple months, so as to offset the price. I am aiming for around $2000 USD, but that can and likely will be increased. The idea is not to exceed $300-400 per paycheck, which i can only forsee doing with the graphics card.
Main uses of intended build: Gaming. I absolutely insist on running any game i feel like playing at the maximum settings at 1920 x 1080.
Parts required: Everything. I have currently already purchased a case (Corsair Graphite 600T White) and a power supply (Corsair TX750M). I believe that the TX750M should be adequate for a single GPU build, and likely for a dual GPU build, which if happens, would be a ways down the road. Everything else is up for grabs, but I will go over what I have been considering below.
Previous build information (list details of parts): Not really applicable. I have a 4 year old budget build system with a Phenom 2.3Ghz quad-core processor, 4 gigs of budget RAM and a GeForce 9600GT. I'm not interested in using any of this in my new build.
Monitor resolution: 1920 x 1080. I plan on purchasing a 1ms Asus 27 inch monitor, and likely a second one down the road.
Storage requirements: 1TB minimum, perhaps more. SSD size and price constraints have pointed me in the direction of a Western Digital 10k RPM VelociRaptor, but any input on this would be appreciated.
Will you be overclocking: I have never overclocked before, but with the build I am interested in, and with current technology, it seems much less dangerous than before. If I did, it would be modest, at best.
Any motherboard requirements: I have pretty much set my eyes on the Maximus V formula for two reasons. 1, I think the motherboard is gorgous (which is definatly a selling point to me, as silly as it might be) and 2, it has an above average sound card, which I plan on making use of. I am 99% sure this motherboard has more than I could ask for.
Extra information about desired system: Ok. Here's my proposed build:
CPU: Intel i7 3770k
Motherboard: Asus Maximus V Formula
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB DDR3 1866Mhz (Need critique/advice please!)
Hard Drive: Western Digital VelociRaptor 1TB 10,000RPM Internal
Video Card: AMD Radeon 7850/7950/7970 (Need critique/advice please!)
Power Supply: Corsair TX750M (already bought)
Case: Corsair Graphite 600T (already bought)
Cooling: Custom setup using EKWB parts
So, as you can see, i've been racking my brain over what graphics card/memory to buy. My questions would be:
1.) What graphics card should I aim for for maximum settings and at least 60fps on any game currently out THAT IS ALSO fairly affordable (preferably less than $350)? Would you recommend spending more? Are Nvidia GTX cards worth what seems to be quite a bit more cost? Is buying 2 lower end (Radeon 7850's) a better option if I plan to use a dual monitor crossfire setup?
2.) Will I notice any difference between 1866Mhz memory and 2133? Are the clock speeds of Corsairs Dominator Platinum memory worth the substantial cost increase? I am not looking to break records, only play games the way they are intended to be played. Ideally I would like to keep the cost of 16 gigs of ram under $200, but I would consider more if there was a noticable performance difference.
3.) Will a SSD give me noticable improvements in gaming? From what i've read load times can be significantly reduced, but i'm not experienced with multiple hard drive use in my computers and I plan on using a fair amount of hard drive space (game installs, music mostly).
I would also appreciate any helpful advice/comments/critiques! I will say that aesthetics are important to me, which is part of why I went with the Graphite 600T white case over a full tower. It's also a main reason why I will be using a custom cooling setup, although there are numerous other advantages (including using the thermo-fusion setup!).
Thanks again guys! I'll try to contribute to the site too 😄