Windows 7: New build. opinions.

hey all. its been a while sense ive last been here. after doing taxes ive been thinking of what to get with the extra bonus that im gonna be getting back and im thinking about doing another upgrade. (i guess it could be called a new build). im gonna be getting a new CPU, new MOBO, and new RAM. everything else is gonna be the same. my current build is pretty strong but im starting to feel its age, especially with the things im doing these days. (ill update my specs if its not current) i game occasionally but anymore im mostly into graphic design using Blender 3D, and audio recording using ProTools 10. being the geek i am, ive always wanted to get into overclocking but my current MOBO is holding me back. here are some links to the new parts im looking at...

MOBO ASUS P8Z77-V Intel 7 Series Motherboard - ATX, Socket H2 (LGA1155), Intel Z77 Express, 2400MHz DDR3 (O.C.), SATA III (6Gb/s), RAID, 8-CH Audio, Gigabit LAN, USB 3.0, PCIe 3.0, WiFi-N, SLI/CrossFireX at TigerDirect.com

CPU Intel Core i7-3770K Processor - Quad Core, 8MB L3 Cache, 3.50GHz (3.90GHz Max Turbo), Socket H2 (LGA1155), 77W, Fan, Unlocked, Retail (BX80667i73770K) at TigerDirect.com

RAM Corsair CMZ16GX3M2A1600C10 Vengeance Desktop Memory Kit - 16GB (2x 8GB), PC3-12800, DDR3-1600MHz, 240-pin DIMM, 1.5V, CL10, XMP Ready, Unbuffered at TigerDirect.com


im also considering liquid cooling, even though theres a though in my head saying "dont mix water with computers" lol. but sense im wanting to overclock, i guess ill have to get one. what would you guys recommend? another question. will the RAM be a bottleneck as it runs at 1600MHz, or could i overclock it enough to keep up? last question. what is you all's thoughts on the parts?

thanks

Well,we pretty much (almost) have the same parts. Not being partial,but I think excellent choices. IMO,you really don't need to fool with oc'ing the memory. My .02,you need to upgrade you video card.
As for oc'ing you processor,well,you know that's a crapshoot. All CPU's are not created equal. I'm very happy with my oc. The hottest temp core 1 reached using IBT on max,and Prime for twelve hours was 85C. Average idle is 28C.

I was curious as to a closed type water cooler for your case,and there could be a problem. I think I saw a post where a H80/H80i would fit,but it could be iffy. If you aren't after "crazy" oc numbers,you may get a decent air cooler to work,but for water you may have to take the external radiator route,or upgrade your case as well.

Greg

If you can afford to shell out the extra shekels, the ASUS P877Z-V DELUXE is a much better board. Among other things, the board you listed has two legacy PCI slots that you won't be able to use unless you have an old card knocking about. The DELUXE replaces them with two PCI-e x1 slots. Also, the Wi-Fi GO! includes bluetooth.

The board can automatically overclock simply by throwing a switch. Doing that would be more stable than trying to do so yourself. Doing it yourself will allow higer overclocks, though. The one the board provides is safer.

thanks Greg. as far as cpu oc goes, im just wanting at least 4GHz. im sure i can get it there (amusing i get a well build IVY) as ive oc's before in my system but my mobo has a terrible vdroop which prevented a successful oc. im not use to a cpu not showing its FSB. im back on the Q9300 but is this something new with intel? as ask because the FSB is what i looked at before i shopped for RAM. ill take a look at my case also. i have two 140mm fan mounts up top but like you said, it might be a tight squeeze.

as per the video card, i dont have any intention on upgrading it at the moment. if anything ill hunt around for another 470and get a bigger PSU to SLI them. the main reason being that my q9300 is too slow for the card most times, so a new cpu will, in turn, upgrade the video. if a gamed like i used to then yeah lol.

ill look into it. it sounds nice but im not sure if i really need the extra bells and whistles. i do like the onboard wifi and blootooth though. thanks for the info

Whiplash,
Regarding your case and its abilities for handling a 240mm sealed or open radiator, it appears to be designed with that as well as a 280mm as well which opens up the new NZXT sealed system:
NZXT RL-KRX60-01 280mm Ultra Performance Liquid CPU Cooler - Newegg.com
The sealed systems have gotten to be very mainstream and I would recommend them with confidence as I've used 4 sealed system to date and had not a problem with any of them.
In the 240mm design I've used a H100 as well as my brand new Thermaltake 2.0 Extreme and they both provide superior cooling for the limits of the rad. and pump. The 280mm rad will cool just that much more.

thanks Linnemeyerhere. i forgot about the Kraken. is there a noticeable difference between the Kraken and the H100? im asking because with two 140mm fans up top, the top drive bay is blocked off. poor design it appears. the h100 with its duel 120mm footprint should free up that top bay. i guess it doesnt really matter seeing as i dont have more than one optical drive.

I can't speak from personal experience but the reviews I've read about the Kraken units are impressive but I would think that it does boil down to splitting hairs. For me I found the slightly thicker rad on the Thermaltake over the original H100 an advantage in cooling capacity and as the very first thing I do is discard the stock fans for Noctua's my system is very quiet. Good news is these new systems are standard with software for custom control over fans and temps and that should help a lot regarding stock fan noise. If it was me because I like having two opticals and other front mounted items then I would go with a 240mm rad. But in the quest for silent powerful cooling and max air flow if I didn't see me needing that spot then I would go with the 280mm rad and not look back.

Motherboards have changed that's for sure. Alot of the changes are for the better. As you mentioned the dreaded Vdroop with earlier motheboards. Now you can actually adjust for this. In most boards it's called offset with the ability to have a plus or minus manual voltage adjustment. Personally,I haven't fooled with that and just left it on auto. Just saying that Vdroop has been pretty much remedied.

As for your CPU cooling. IMO,if you aren't going to manually oc your system, (your processor will turbo to 3.9) a decent air heatsink will work just fine for you. Even if you want to manually have it at 4 Ghz, you won't need to touch the voltage at all. Well,maybe 99.99% of the time. So air will definitely be OK. No reason to go water. My .02

Greg

Mate I have that board with ani5 3570K and 8GB on it and it doesn't have the bells and whistles as mentioned but for a plain and easy to use - apart from the EUFI until you get used to it - does everything and more for me.

I scored a Corsair HX 1050 that was on offer and I don't want to spark yet another PSU debate but I was going for the HX 850 for mine - nice units and is mine is semi modular which I like personally than fully modular. The overkill is better than finding you want more afterwards

I didn't see mention of a case but mine is the Coolermaster HAF XM - just brilliant and you can park the car in there as well and still have room for the bike and a packed lunch