New Gaming PC, Please Review

 

This build is great.  Just a couple of comments, because that's what we do.

 

The X79 platform is not needed for gaming unless you plan on tri-sli, 3x gpu in the future.  Nothing wrong with it, just not needed for gaming.  The ASUS P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3  with the i7-2600k would do it and be pcie 3.0 ready for ivy bridge.   There is some concern right now that the X79 paltform isn't ready for ivy bridge, but most think they will fix it, but .....

 

For the X79 mobo with stage 2 oc'ing you do need to go H100 cooler, according to DS's testing.  For the Z68 platform the D14 would work great.

 

You don't need 16GB memory but the X79 config doesn't allow you to drop it to 8GB, but itis all gaming needs.

 

 

Hope this helps and good luck.

 

A little correction to my thoughts......for your added audio card you might want the X79 platform.  Otherwise if you go sli, the second card will only have x4 lanes instead of x8 lanes, which would reduce it's performance.    Z68 only has 16 lanes total and X79 has 40.  With ivy bridge later this year, if you swapped the cpu, then the z68 might be ok, with ivy bridge doubling things up.  Not 100% how this will work.  Time will tell.

 

 

The only reason for that mobo would be if you wanted to tri-sli in the future, otherwise the cheaper z68 v-pro gen would do.  Normally the Z68 mobo's won't tri-sli without a big hit in lanes available (x8,x4,x4), but this board does have 4x PCIe x16 slots and a NVidia chipset to allow more pci lanes, supposedly(x8,x16,x16).  I'm not sure of this, but reviews say yes.

 

Not sure what you would need tri-sli, 3x 680's for, especially with you initial expectations.  Sli gtx680's will play anything you throw at it on the 1920x1050 resolution.

 

If you did tri-sli in the future there wouldn't be room on the mobo for the audio card, all pci's would be blocked.  Plus the audio card does take lanes away from gpu's.  For sli and audio card with your mobo doesn't seem to be a problem, but would be with the V-pro gen 3.(x8,x4,x4)

 

This mobo is not listed as PCIe.3.0 support.  http://event.asus.com/2011/mb/PCIe3_Ready/

 

Onboard audio is very good.  Whether you need sound card depends on your setup.  I'll let others comment on audio cards vs integrated.

 

For sli, the 1050HX is all you need.  The 1200W would be for tri-sli.

 

You don't need 16GB ram for gaming, but you might have other needs.

 

Alot depends on whether you need 3x 680's in the future. 

 

The rest of the build is right on. 

 

Hope this helps.

 

 

 

 

System Configuration:
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Cooler Master 942 HAF X
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 2600K 3.40GHz (Unlocked CPU for Extreme Overclocking) (Quad Core)
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3  (Intel Z68 Chipset) (Features Intel Quick Sync Technology)
System Memory: 16GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 1050W Corsair Pro Silver 1050HX (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible)
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (240GB Solid State (By: Intel) (Model: 520 Series)
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (1TB Western Digital Caviar (7200 RPM) (Model: Black Edition)
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card(s): 2x SLI Dual (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 2GB (Includes PhysX) (EVGA)
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 2: Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 Extreme Performance
H20 Tube Color: - Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected
Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: - No Thanks
Enhancements: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
LaserMark: - No Thanks
CPU Boost: Stage 2: Overclock CPU 4.5GHz to 4.8GHz (Requires Pro or Deluxe Series Motherboard)
Graphics Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Memory Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory
OS Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition)
Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows 7 CD)
Virus Protection: Trend Micro Titanium Internet Security
Office: - No Thanks
Game: - No Thanks
Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
External Storage: - No Thanks
Exclusive T-Shirt: FREE: Digital Storm T-Shirt - Black (Extra Large)
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 5-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty