I give up - Help me build a new PC

It looks like I can't find anyone who'll put together a setup the way I want, so I guess I'll have to build one myself:

Let's start:

In Win Dragon Rider ATX Full case (seems to get some decent write-ups)
ASRock P67 Extreme4 B3 motherboard (open to suggestions)
i7-2600KCorsair AX1200 Gold PS
Need suggestions for memory- thinking 8gbs 4x2 of decent brand 1066.
GTX 590 or 6990 (depending on price/performance and noise)

OK, here's where I need help- cooling. I was thinking of liquid cooling but I'm not sure if installing it would be over my head. Air or liquid? Which would be better for a good i7-2600k o/c?

That's about it- I'll scavenge the rest of the parts from my current setup.

No doubt the Noctua is a nice heatsync, but is there much point in me investing extra in such a quiet cooling solution if I'm going to put a jet engine like the 6990 or (most likely) a 590 in there?

Tinker- that one you just listed doesn't appear to come with a fan. Is that safe (especially for an overclock).

Noctua NH-D14. Heh.

The CoolerMaster Hyper 212 Plus looks good and it won't break the bank. I'll probably go with that.

OK, you pay for it then.

I think I'm just going to jump on a 590 tommorow (provided the reviews are halfway decent) and then I'll decide what to do afterwards. It's unfortunate it won't fit in my current case- I can barely fit a 295 in there, and the 590 is .5 inches longer.

Hmm. GTX 590 not doing too well in benchmarks- maybe I do 6950 tri-fire this time around- comes in around the same price as a 590, and I can flash them to 6970s.

Yeah. I'm really conflicted now, but I think buying two 6950s in crossfire to start would be a better option for me, and then maybe adding another one later if I felt like it.

I do want to pick up a 590 but it performs like SLI 570s. Worth $700? I'm not sure- I probably would go quad eventually, but still, I think tri-6950s would be more than adequate for my purposes (and much cheaper).

Like what? Batman: Arkham City is the only big game I can think of coming up using PhysX. Other than that I can't think of anything.

You forget I currently have a 295, so yes I've seen the water in JC2.

The 590 is supposed to be $700, same as the 6990.

Apparently the 590 can bitstream audio so this makes it even harder for me. I suspect 590s will be available in very limited numbers.

My choice of the ASRock P67 Extreme4 over the Asus P67 Pro is because the ASRock offers tri-crossfire support (dual-PCI-E x16 slots and one 8x slot) for approx the same price. Otherwise the features are comparable.

Right now I'm pretty sure I will just get two 6950s, unlock them (if not that's OK too) and add a third later if I feel like it. I'm still considering a 6690 but I don't think I could deal with the noise. Are there any full-size ATX cases with noise mgt capabilities?

I ordered my parts and of course Newegg had a problem auto-verifying my card, so it will probably take until some time next week to clear things up.

So should I get a 6990? I'm sorely tempted to, but I don't know if I could put up with the noise...

I'm not going to spend extra on the Twin Frozr II when the standard 6950s are $240-$250 AR now. Being as they all seem reference design I'll probably end up with three mismatched 2gb 6950s. My first one is the standard MSI, my second will probably be PowerColor or something like that. Unfortunate the rebates are only 1 to a customer.

I just ordered a second 6950 (Gigabyte 2gb) which is $245 AR from Newegg. It probably won't be long now until they hit $200. I'll definitely pick up a third then (provided my build goes OK).

BTW, I changed my case to a Rosewill Thor. Dauumn! That thing is huge! (I know, That's what she said...) I only hope it gets to me in one piece.



I'm also getting an Antec HCP-1200 1200W PS insted of the AX1200 Gold. SuperBiiz was selling them for $10 cheaper than the AX1200, and it's supposed to be better anyways.