$1500-ish Build: Anything I should Change?

I will be mainly gaming on this PC.  I may be doing some light editing in the future and I wanted to make this as future-proof as possible.

Specs:

Case- NZXT Phantom: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146067

Mobo- Asus Sabertooth 990FX: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131877

CPU- AMD FX-8350: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113284

CPU Heatsink- Xigmatek Dark Knight II: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029

RAM- G. Skill Ripjaws X 16GB DDR3 1600: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231568

GPU- Sapphire HD 7970 Dual-X: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202008

SSD- ADATA SX900 256GB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211597

Power Supply- Corsair HX 750W: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139010

 

Any suggestions are appreciated!

This would be cool. http://pcpartpicker.com/p/16wEP

Your build looks good though, but maybe get low profile ram.

Honestly, I'd go with something like this: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/16wL9

The 7970 just isn't worth it for the money; the 7950 is within a few FPS, and is $100 cheaper, usually. The MSI 7950 is really high quality, noticeablely more than the Sapphire, has a better looking cooler (although that is subjective), and is all-around a better card.

The Sabertooth is a pretty meh board; sure, it will overclock alright, and it has PCIe 3.0, but there are a lot of issues with those PCIe lanes actually stopping their functionality, or otherwise breaking easily, and the overclocking power itself is only moderate. I'd look into the Asrock Extreme9, which has a much stronger VRM, and equivalent build quality. To handle those high OCs, I grabbed a Phanteks PH-TC14PE with a 2-pack of Corsair SP120s to replace the stock fans. Fantastic cooler, and great looking fans (that also perform pretty well). You should hit 4.7gHz easily, but after that, it is up to your chip. The Extreme9 has a strong 12+2 power phase, which will handle really anything you throw at it. The PH-TC14PE is the best air cooler on the market, right now. I highly recommend it - I have on, myself, and I wouldn't give it up for anything (except a custom loop).

Ripjaws X is fine, but I'd rather get the G.SKILL Sniper for looks. This particular kit is 1866mHz with the same CL9, so it is faster, and looks much better, to me at least. 16GB in 8GB sticks lets you have 16GB of room to upgrade later - solid investment, this way you won't run out of memory in any real-world application.

The ADATA SX900 is a fantastic SSD, but you can't beat the price/performance of the Samsung 840. Instead of 256GB, you can get a 500GB 840 for only $320, which has reads of 500+, and writes in the range of 200(?). If you want to spend the extra $50, or so, and get the 512GB SX900, it has much faster writes, but aren't SSDs all about the reads for boot times? Why else are you getting one, in all honesty?

That PSU is way too large, even if you OC that 8350 and 7950(70). You don't need more than 500W for that, but the Lepa G650 Mas is on sale right now for only $79. There is literally not a single better PSU for that price, especially at this wattage. 80+ Gold, really low ripple, semi-modular (EPS and 24-pin hardwired), and fantastic build quality. It is still massiver overkill, even for an overclocked system, but that price is just ridiculous. It is truly the tank of modern PSUs.

Finally, the R4 is a fantastic case, and is on a slight sale right now. I have a few Fractal Cases (Core 1000, XL, and an old R2) and I love them. Fantastic design build quality for the price, and just killer looks. For $100, it's a great deal  :)

I looked it up online, and apparently the Ripjaws will just fit under the Dark Knight, so I'll stick with it.  Thanks, though.

I wanted the 7970 because I plan on having this rig for the next several years and want something that when it isn't top of the line anymore, I'll be able to overclock it and be able to play future games on max settings.  Otherwise, I completely agree with the 7950 thing.  I always preferred Sapphire, their Dual-X cooler is perhaps the best in the business.  I'm fine with the Ripjaws, and the speed doesn't really matter to me.  My cousin owns the Sabertooth and loves it.  I want it mainly for the AI Suite and Fan Expert 2.  I didn't realize I didn't need that much power.  I think I'll keep it at 750w so that I have room for an upgrade in the future.  The Samsung SSD's are top of the line, but a bit out of my budget, because I still need to save some money for peripherals.  I love the R4 from Fractal Design, but from the moment I saw the Phantom, I loved it.  As long as it stays on sale, I'll be getting the Phantom.  Thanks for your input!

Thanks to all you guys!  Logan wasn't kidding around when he said that we've got a great community here!

In all reality, the 7950 is a 7970. The performance difference is negligible, within a few percent. I'd rather get a better CPU cooler and larger SSD than a nominally better graphics card.

Well since everyone else is throwing in their own two cents, I figure I should throw mine in as well. This is what I would build:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/16xhb

The ASUS Crosshair V Formula is one of the best motherboards out there, and will allow for exceptional overclocking.

The Samsung 840 Pro is the fastest SSD on the market right now.

The Western Digital Caviar Black gives you an extra 1TB of storage and is one of the fastest hard drives on the market.

The MSI Radeon HD 7970 is a card with top tier performance, and should be able to overclock pretty well with that Twin Frozr cooler on it.

The case is very nice and affordable, but cases are subjective anyway, so just go with whatever works the best for you.

The power supply gives you enough watts and amps to add a second graphics card later down the road if you want to, and it also has two 4+4 EPS connectors. You need that extra connector for high-end boards like the crosshair IV in order to get the highest overclock possible out of your CPU.

The G.Skill RipjawsZ give you 16GB of blazing fast 2133mhz RAM, and they fit the red and black color scheme extremely well.

And of course the CPU cooler is the best performing air cooler on the market, and the Prolimatech PK-1 is one of the best thermal interface materials on the market. These will also allow for amazing overclocks.

Basically, my build focuses on top notch performance, overclocking, and aesthetics. It's pretty much the best build you can get for $1500, in my opinion.

Also, if you want to add more fans to your case, I highly recommend any of these.

They push tons of air, they're quiet, and they have white LED lights which will match the other fans in the case.

Fastestconsumer SSD on the market.

I'd drop that PSU to a Lepa G650, and that graphics card to an MSI 7950, but other than that, that rig is pretty good. You may want to drop the HDD for a larger 840 Pro, as well, but that is dependant of his storage needs.

Why skimp on performance if you don't have to?

Yeah I think I'll get the Crosshair V formula, but yet again, the 840 is a bit out of my price range.

Agreed, but still, with the 7970 there's more overclocking potential.

Is that performance increase of a few percent really worth another $80?

I thought you said you had $1500 to spend.

I actually have more, but not all of it is for the rig.  I'm getting some new peripherals as well.  Rest assured, if I get my next paycheck on time (for once), I'll be able to afford the 840 pro.  If that's the case, I won't hesitate to get the 840 pro.

Oh, I get ya. What peripherals are you going to get?

Quick question, are the EVGA psu's good?  Because they're fully modular and sleek looking.

Logitech G600, the Microsoft Sidewinder X4, Sennheiser hd 558.  I also plan on getting a new chair to replace my ten year old IKEA chair (ol' faithful's gonna be put down)

Very nice, although I would highly recommend a mechanical keyboard if you can afford it or find a cheap one.