This is my personal rig as it stands, not all the parts are the same but i found matching models, but i've poured about 1.6k into it and it's time to finish my planned upgrades.
I'm using it for streaming, video/photoediting, I play every game except dota 2 and LoL at 1680 x 1050 i'll be buying a monitor to play at 1080 at a later date.
This is another GPU that i have my eyes on, but i'm betting it'll become a bidding war.
Does anyone have any suggestions, places i can save or cut corners?
I'm a little confused. You're upgrading the CPU, Mobo, RAM, GPU only right? Or do you already have the RAM? I'm guessing you already have
Case
PSU
HDD
SDD
Optical Drive?
Your GPU definitely needs an upgrade. I hope you're not running 4 sticks of RAM in that X58 setup, it uses triple channel memory. You'll be bottle necking your system somewhat. I'll also consider comparing some benchmarks between the old i7 930 vs AMD's 8350 in video processing. That quad core is no slouch when it comes to video/photo editing.
CPU Mobo Cooler and GPU are all being changed. I have 3 of the sticks in tripple channel (i have a sabertooth x58 but it's discontinued) and one sitting on an extra DIMM.
I've got about $700 i can throw at this thing before i feel guilty. I really should have waited on the case/ram/storage/evo and sold the prior build and just built from scratch but the HAF 932 IS SO FUCKING LOUD AND ANNOYING AND I COULDNT TAKE IT.
Well your core components are good. The AMD platform seems to significantly outperform the old X58 platform but i'm guessing you've already checked this. It's a shame you can't increase your budget by $150 to accomadate a massive GPU like the 7970 Ghz edition.
If you bought the 7970 Ghz now you could maybe save that extra $150 to get
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Elxh (assuming that the 7970 Ghz is bought)
It's not like your platform is so ancient it can't handle video/photo editing. It's still a fairly strong platform but it could last you an extra 1-2 months while you gather the extra funds to purchase the rest of your AMD platform. You're lucky that you already have a decent system in place.
If you do what Beyond suggests then all you need do is look for another $100.
Edit
Actually what Nerd has suggested seems like a great alternative. Although I'd probably buy http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161420, since this is the 7950 boost version and it's cheaper.
Id skip the 120mm Closed loop cooler and get a big air cooler for 20$+ less, like the Phanteks or Noctuas, which will probably be cooler than the H20 920
I built extreme back in the day, but i ran out of money on the GPU and had to settle on what ever was on sale. I totally spaced out on the 920 tbh, i wanted it because it would mount easily back when i had the HAF 932, but now that i have the p280 i can mount something else.
Also i'm not one to buy highend cards, i don't see a point in them, also i want to upgrade more for streaming than for the editing side of things. I have this 930 OC'd and it tears through my workload but when i want to stream games it seems like the 930+465 can't handle encoding a high quality 24-30fps stream.
The Corsair SP120 fans should work great with your CPU cooler, so nice choice there. I would personally go with the Performance editions though, since they have almost three times the static pressure. If you're worried about the noise though, then I would suggest either getting the performance editions and hooking them up to a fan controller or getting some Scythe Gentle Typhoons or Noctua NF-F12's instead.
Also, I would suggest getting a single 16GB dual channel RAM kit rather than two 8GB dual channel ram kits.
You can always grab a 650 watt PSU instead too i order to save some money, but if you're planning on throwing another card in there eventually then that 850 watt should be just fine.
Also, the Kinston HyperX 3K is a nice SSD, but I would recommend getting the Samsung 840 Pro if you can swing the extra money.
Just editied my previous response. It'd be a shame not to invest in a high end GPU since there is a limit what you can buy in terms of an AMD platform and for streaming. I'd consider the 7950 atleast, combined with the suggestions that Nerd has made you'll be well within budget,
Most of these parts are already bought (SSD, Case fans, RAM, and PSU) a while ago :{
Also i record/stream next to my case and living with the 932 has turned me into a quiet nazi, i can't say performance is my primary concern when it comes to cooling.
Whatever tickles your fancy then. I personally would rather get the Xigmatek fans just because the airflow is so much greater and they're only 5 dBA louder. If you already have the fans, then no big deal though. Everything else looks pretty good to me, although I would personally get a different CPU cooler for that price.
Plus with that 7950 you get free copies of Crysis 3 and Bioshock Infinite ~$169.99 value. I guess you can consider those as additional games you can stream and the 7950 should handle those games no problem high-ultra settings.
I know how well the 7870XT performs, I have one in my household and I'm very impressed. It needs to be overclocked however to beat a 7950 non boost version and even when it's overclocked it won't match a 7950 boost version. I get the sense from Oxy he's not particularly interested.
Back to Oxy, if all you care about is streaming and not so much in the GPU you invest in then go for your original build that you've linked. In terms of overall performance it's not what I would personally do with the money, but it looks like it's hard to sway you from your decision.
what would you recommend, because it seems like most of the competition is at the $60 price point, and the only cooler that would provide performance worth the extra $30 is the phanteks ph-tc14
I don't consider the 7950 high end, but it's at the borderline of what i would pay. I would like to buy it but i don't want to pay for more than i need. I consider the 7950 and 7870XT the two best values available for purchase but (this is why i asked) i'm not really sure how beefy of a gpu i'm going to need. I know the the regular 7870 won't cut it, and I really can't be convinced to shell out $370 for a 7970 or 670.