Need Clarification on Selected Parts

[Sloane]

Check it out and let me know what you think. Compatibility and performance? Cooling thoughts as well?

MOTHERBOARD: ASUS P8Z77-V LGA
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131820

GPU: GeForce GTX 660 Ti
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121656&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-_-pla-_-NA-_-NA

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504

OS: Windows 7 Home 64-bit

RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233144

STORAGE: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500gb
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136769

Samsung 830 Series SSD 64GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147162

PSU: Corsair Enthusiast Series 650W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139020

OPTICAL DRIVE: Asus DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135240

CASE: Corsair 400R Mid Tower
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139008

TOTAL COST: $1,235

I will be able to order parts at the beginning of the new year, I expect the price to drop a bit.

***Anyone know of any good monitors? Don't go too high end on me though. Thanks for the consideration and time!

[RickyTick]

Your build looks great.

Monitors are a difficult choice. It depends on what you're doing with your PC, how much you care about image/color quality, your viewing angles, and how much you're willing to spend.

I started a similar thread a few months ago on another forum. You may want to read through it.
http://techreport.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=81860

[Sloane]

Thanks Ricky, looking forward to the tense first boot.

The link is very helpful, I'm probably going to go with a Dell Ultrasharp with IPS. Can't go wrong right?

[D4J10X]

Hey Sloane,

One question-- what's your reasoning behind going with the ASUS GPU over the MSI or EVGA ones?
Just wanting to see your thought process so that I can make a more informed decision, myself.

ASUS: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121656
MSI: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127696
EVGA: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130810

[Sloane]

Not really sure, my MOBO is made by Asus, but I don't know how the brands compare.. What does Ricky think?

Saw this quote on the MSI version: "That being said, this card runs modern/recent games fully maxed at 60+ FPS. The MSI variant of Nvidia's 660 is slightly better than other brands when comparing clock speeds, etc"

[RickyTick]

Personally, I'm currently running an EVGA card, and the last 3 in my gaming rig were all EVGA. Having said that, if I were buying one today (and I am shopping for a new card), I'd buy the MSI GTX660 Ti. Here's a link to it. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127696

Here's a couple of reviews of current Nvidia cards. Read through and get a good feel of the different company's and see what you think.
http://techreport.com/review/23419/nvidia-geforce-gtx-660-ti-graphics-card-reviewed

http://hothardware.com/Reviews/GeForce-GTX-680-RoundUp-EVGA-Zotac-Gigabyte-Asus/?page=14

http://pcper.com/reviews/Graphics-Cards/NVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-660-Ti-Overclocked-Roundup-EVGA-Galaxy-MSI-and-Zotac

[Sloane]

Thanks Ricky. MSI GTX660 Ti it is. I really appreciate all of the advice and tips you've provided me with. D4J10x, thanks for mentioning the different GPU's! I think I'm set with this build, now I just wait 3 months. . . college and work life. I will definitely be keeping in touch with these forums and I'm sure I will have more questions (and hopefully answers too).

[Sloane]

I need some clarification.. Will I have enough watts (650W) to power this whole system with 3 fans as well? It's a 200W speaker system.. so do I need to move up to 750W?


MOTHERBOARD: ASUS P8Z77-V LGA
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131820

GPU: MSI GTX 660 Ti
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127696

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116504

OS: Windows 7 Home 64-bit

RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116504

STORAGE: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500gb
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136769

Samsung 830 Series SSD 64GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820147162

PSU: Corsair Enthusiast Series 650W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139020

OPTICAL DRIVE: Asus DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827135240

CASE: Corsair 400R Mid Tower
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811139008

MONITOR: Dell Ultrasharp 21.5"
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824260054

SPEAKERS: Logitech Z623 200 w 2.1 Speaker System, THX-Certified
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836121048

[RickyTick]

650 watts should be plenty. If some day you decide to run dual graphics cards then you might consider stepping up the psu to something more.

[Sloane]

Thank you yet again Ricky. I am sticking with this build until the end! Watched a cool comparison video on the PhysX in the 660 Ti.. pretty excited now.