I'm currently building a new system for gaming and so far this is what my build looks like:
Mobo: AsRock z77 extreme4
Ram: G Skills X 16gb (2x8gb) 1333
Psu: SeaSonic 750w 80+ Gold
Gpu: Saphire Radeon HD 7970 (intending to OC)
Ssd: Adata 256gb sp900
Cpu cooler: Cooler Master Tpc 812
The only thing I'm left guessing on here is which cpu I should choose.... I'm stuck between the i5-2500k and the i5-3570k. At the moment they are both the same price on NewEgg. I do intend to overclock whichever cpu I do end up getting, and I would like my cpu to be as future proof as possible. So basically I guess what I'm asking is... will there be any specific draw back from me choosing the 3750k over the 2500k. Also if anyone knows of a cpu cooler for under $50 that will outperform the Tpc 812 please let me know (the 812 is packaged with both 2500k and 3750k for around $45 on NewEgg).
Also on a side note I was planning on running my OS and any games I'm currently playing from the SSD while using an external usb 3.0 hard drive to store anything else. The reason for that instead of just a regular internal hard drive is that my download speeds at work, out-class what I get at home by a huge margin. Is there anything unrealistic about that set-up or anything I should know about?
If your just gaming the 2500k can overclock better if your video editing and gaming you want the 3570k aswell as if you need usb3 and all that jazz but thats about it. Just be lucky your not getting a piledriver
Personally i like my 3570k but thats mainly becuase of the improved integrated (as im not getting a graphics card till christmas). But I think a 2500K might be better for you. I agree with commissar, 8 gigs of ram is all you really need.
The 3570K has practically no drawback. The 2500K's only hand in the competition is that it runs relatively cooler compared to its Ivy Bridge counterpart. That is why overclockers tend to choose them more. But that doesn't mean that the 3570K is a bad overclocker. As long as you have a decent cooler, you can oc it like hell. Only difference is that you can push the 2500k more.
I'd prefer the 3570K, as it has some improvements. Improved integrated graphics, power consumption, and support for PCI-e 3.0.
yeah, on TimeToLiveCustoms ive seen them have a 3570k, off the shelf, not engineeering sample, at low 70's on an h100, so id say its not that bad of an OCer
Thank you for all the feedback guys! So, after reviewing everything you guys said as well as reading more elsewhere I decided to go with the 3570k. Seeing as the pci-e3 slot will future proof it a bit more and it doesn't lose out much if at all in terms of speed after OC'ing compared to the 2500k. In response to the comments about my ram choice. Well... it was on sale on NewEgg for like $40, so I pulled the trigger right away =P! I'd rather have too much than want to upgrade later, especially at that price. Also I will look into the two tower heat sinks. Does anyone have a link to a good retailer for the Silver Arrow? I looked around a bit, but I didn't really find anything.
Just noticed something else.... In a mad rush to get my PSU while it was still on sale for $100 I did not notice that it supports sli, but doesn't support crossfire. So I might switch my graphics card to the gtx 680. I'd rather get the 7970 though because of the free games and 3gb of video memory. I don't really wanna spend $550 to pick up the 4gb version of the 680, but if I go with the 680 over the 7970 I'd want the 4gb version. Does anyone know how much difference there is between the performance of the 2gb and 4gb cards?
(PS: I don't plan on crossfiring or using sli right away, but I'd really like to have it as an easy option.)
and vidram really isn't going to make that much of a difference between 2g vs 4g. you will probably be just fine with either the 680 or the 7970. if you get the 7970, get the sapphire one, got a very good cooler on it
I don't see how a PSU that can support SLI cannot support Crossfire. As long as you have the right amount of connectors, you're fine.
The big difference of ram is in resolutions. Higher capacities of video ram performs better at bigger resolutions than cards with smaller ram. This is because it has to project the image at a much bigger area. That's it. No more difference.