Advice on a Config. Please

oh, and the GPUs I will be installing will be a pair of 2GB GTX 560s

Two more things I now feel compelled to say and a clarification on the budge:
I want the Raven case because the I/O ports are on top. This is important because I will be in a dorm room with limited space and I would like the computer to be close to the wall in back, if at all possible.

Second, Overclocking is highly superfluous for the applications that this computer will be used for. All of the engineering programs that will be used are optimized for CUDA and honestly 3.4GHz*4 is plenty of power for almost any application. OC only increases bragging rights...which are irrelevant for this build.

Also The $1700 is a hard-cap. Ideally I would like the system to be $1600 with the $65 shipping, but I am giving myself some headroom.

Thanks for the help, sorry about omitting that information it skipped my mind on the first post.

I understand all of this, but Intel turbo-boost will work perfectly well for my needs, it is cheaper and will take it up to 4.4GHz if that power is required.

4 gpus are not possible at this time, but yes there would be a benefit.

duel 580s would be better, and much more expensive, but I already have two 560s for a reason I don't feel like explaining here.

Solidworks supports CUDA now.

My monitor's native resolution is 1920x1080

Originally posted by crux510 I understand all of this, but Intel turbo-boost will work perfectly well for my needs, it is cheaper and will take it up to 4.4GHz if that power is required.

This isn't accurate. A 2600k's base clock is only 3.4GHz, and the built in Turbo Boost can only add an additional +100/200/300/400MHz if there are 4/3/2/1 cores currently being used, respectfully. So it will only OC to a maximum of 3.8GHz for a single core if only a single core is being stressed.

A manual overclock from DS is what will bring it up to 4.4GHz+, on all four cores. This is an exceptional increase in power for just the cost of a CPU cooler.

The higher the oc the faster the cpu part of solidworks and other apps gets done, there is a good difference between 3.9GHz and 4.7Ghz for example.

these new cpus like the 2600K can do those numbers easy with less stress, in short they will live for at least 8 years or longer, the older cpus in that range would be under higher stress and would die much sooner.

We are just making sure you know all the facts before you order, don't think we are fighting you on the subject, at the end its your pc, you should get what makes you happy, we are just trying to get you most performance for your money.

If you go sli 580 on that psu, you better plan on getting a psu cause that 800w is not gonna do it for too long. Corsair themselves will not recommend that psu for sli 580, something to think about.

I understand where you are coming from with the perception but I think instead of focusing on that, you should focus on getting the most for your money, for example, instead of loud fan upgrade that money is better spend on stage 2 oc, where you will see a great amount of difference from turbo boost, vs the fan upgrade which is not needed and you will see nothing but noise from.

to be honest if you go with a different case I think you can save a $100 or $200, I know your reasons but isn't there anther case you can get that does not cost so much and is not in the more expensive side of blackops?

that looks good as long as 8GB of ram is enough for what you are doing.

I like the corsair 1000w better it has a 5 year warranty and better performance/reliability, the one you picked has a 2 year warranty.

go win7 pro cause the premium has a 16GB total limit, with the sli 560 your system will be at total of 10GB, if you decide to add more ram in the future, you will exceed teh 16GB limit with home premium, but if you know that all you need is 8GB and you won't be adding ram in the future, then don't worry about it.