NamelessTed

It is hilarious to me that he is no longer working for Microsoft. Some people will never learn. If you work for a company and you aren't paid to represent them publicly, then you shouldn't go on Twitter of Facebook and start saying shit.

Might I recommend the Fractal Design Arc Midi R2. The top mounts on the new revision are offset so an H100i fits in perfectly. You can also offset the drive cage on teh bottom and fit an H100i or similar 240mm coolers in the front of the case.

Edited this comment to link to the actual statement from Peter Moore. I think he does a decent job in attempting to be a bit transparent in this post. EA has made plenty of mistakes that are worth talking about. But, I agree with Moore and will defend EA against the Consumerist's claim of them being the worst company in America.

I like the idea of small builds with mini-ITX but those builds require a different scope. Those builds have to be built very specifically for single GPU gaming, with no room for expansion. Also, the lack of expansion slots completely removes the ability to use dedicated sound cards, wireless, RAID, or sever other things. MicroATX is much more versatile.

Very few details are available from what I can find right now. I can't even find pictures or an official announcement from Corsair. There are two new item listings on Newegg for a Corsair Obsidian 350D, one with a solid side panel and the other with a windowed panel for $10 more. The Obsidian branding of the case might give us an idea of the general design of the case, but it will still be interesting to see any updates and changes Corsair has made for this MicroATX version. Maybe we will finally start seeing some competition in the MicroATX world. One could argue that the only proper MicroATX cases available right now are from Fractal Design with the Arc Mini and the Define Mini, which are great cases. The feature list as posted on Newegg: Brushed Aluminum Front Panel SLI / Cross Fire ready Modular 2.5" SSD cage Front 140mm and rear 120mm cooling fans. Room for up to five fans total. Direct Airflow Path from front cooling fan to GPUs. Maximum ATX PSU length 180mm Maximum GPU length 380mm Maximum CPU Cooler Height 160mm Room for two 240mm radiators (top, front) Dual USB 3.0 ports Corsair Obsidian 350D Corsair Obsidian 350D - Side Panel Window

Winning either of these would be awesome!

Overall that looks like a really sweet keyboard. Almost something I would consider looking at considering they have the combo of having MX Brown switches with Blue backlight (though I would prefer white). BUT, the biggest problem with this board is its non-standard layout. The smaller left Shift button absolutely kills me. I just can't stand moving button's locations and making other buttons (especially shift) small for sake of space.

Man. Corsair. So close with this one. I really really want to get one of these Corsair keyboards but they just miss the mark for me. I actually owned a K90 for a little while and I absolutely can't stand the MX Red switches. The texture/feel on the buttons themselves are great. But the switches just kill me. I also LOVE the aluminum body and the wrist wrest. This K70 looks fantastic. Not having the macro keys is a huge plus. While I would prefer white backlight I would be completely good with blue. It is the switches that kill me though. Who else uses MX Reds? Anybody? All the people I talk to and all the info I see online shows that people lean towards Blues or Browns with something like Blacks in third. I could be wrong but I don't think I have ever heard anybody ever recommend MX Reds, ever. Personally, I prefer browns but I would definitely go with Blues if it meant having a keyboard as nice as this. Is anybody else frustrated by Corsair's decisions on this? It is almost like they are trying to target the smallest possible audience.

Fractal Design Define R4. I like my 300R but an H100 didn't fit with my motherboard. My H80 works well for me but if I had to go back 6 months in time, I would have gotten a Define R4. The normal one goes for $110 on Newegg right now. BUT, they currently have the white windowed one for $85 if you are into white. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352025 I came really close to buying it last week, but convinced myself that I just could justify the purchase right now.

I dig it. The SSD is a nice size IMO. I am a big fan of my own 300R case. you can't go wrong with the 3570K, CPU cooler is a very solid performer. Some people might have an issue with the PSU but with the 7870, even after getting a second one if you do crossfire down the road you will have enough power. It might not be the most efficient power but you shouldn't be pushing it beyond its limits. The other alternative is that you completely replace that card in 3 years time or whatever and get a single more powerful card and in that case you absolutely won't have any problems. I think you will have fun building your new rig and will hopefully enjoy it once it is all put together. I would personally go with black colored RAM but that is a personally preference. One last heads up. Corsair is offering 50% off of their refurbished cases right now. If you don't mind if something isn't brand new it is worth checking out. Use the code "spring2013" during check out and it will knock of 50% from the prices posted on this page: http://www.corsair.com/us/outlet-store/outlet-cases.html but the promo ends March 17 or when the cases sell out.

I would personally recommend a modular power supply, something like the previously mentioned Corsair CX600M. I would probably also not bother buying those case fans. I bought some cheaper fans at one point, and then ended up replacing two of them and just removing the other two. They ended up being much noisier than I wanted them to be. I would also say that price probably isn't the best reason to go with a microATX form factor. The Define Mini is a great microATX case, but something like the Corsair 200R or 300R or very solid mid-tower ATX cases for great prices that would save you money. Also, while I love ASUS boards, you end up paying a premium for them that might not always be worth it over some other alternatives. Something like this MSI board would be a solid board for your needs http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130645. If you go with the 200R and that MSI board, and not get any extra fans it will save you a good chunk of change. You can either just pocket those savings or put that money into upgrading to a modular PSU, possibly higher capacity SSD, or even a more powerful GPU. I am a big fan of you deciding on grabbing an SSD, you won't regret that. Just my two cents.

I definitely wouldn't do 660 in SLI. The 680 is going to be a way better option.In terms of the SSD, it isn't about storage or load time for games. I had the same idea when I put off buying an SSD. I had 10k RPM drives in a RAID configuration before and I thought the system was pretty snappy. upgrading to an SSD made my RAID setup look like a baby crawling around. Games don't really load faster, but boot times are insanely fast, and applications launch way quicker. If you can't fit it in your budget then I guess you can't afford it, but I think it is one of the more underrated parts in builds. 1TB+ drives just aren't good as boot drives.

I would highly recommend going with IPS. I got a 24" ASUS monitor about 6 months back on sale for about $180. While I do like it and it was a big upgrade over my shitty 22" Envision I would definitely have gotten a 23" IPS over this TN panel. 1" really doesn't make a difference, especially considering the resolutions are the same at 1920x1080. The IPS panels are just going to look better. There are plenty of options from LG, Dell, and others. Dell's UltraSharp is currently only $220 which is a great price, IMO. I almost bought one recently but resisted the urge to hold out for a 27" IPS when I can afford one. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824260055

I would definitely recommend a single GTX 680 over SLI 660Ti. Yes, the 660Ti will outperform a single 680 but the only room to upgrade would be a 3rd 660Ti or replacing both cards which I don't think is the best solution. With the 680 you are going to get great performance, and an easy upgrade down the road by just purchasing a second 680. Also, why no SSD. I didn't get an SSD when I first put together my current build. I bought one a couple of months later and it hurt how much of an improvement it was. The overall responsiveness increase is just astounding. I would personally highly recommend an SSD to everybody at pretty much any budget. Even a low capacity SSD that are cheaper would absolutely be worth it to use as a boot drive.

The 750W will certainly be enough to be able to power that system. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-680-geforce-gtx-660-ti-sli,3429-8.html This is a recent article from Tom's showing a power consumption of 633W at full load on SLI 680s and i7-3960X, all of which was overclocked. It likely won't be operating at its peak efficiency but you won't be pushing the PSU to its limits by any means. If you want a fancy new PSU and can afford it, go for it. But that system isn't going to NEED it unless you put more stuff in there.

Based on the spec you posted you seem to have a pretty serious budget for this build. Would you possibly consider the GeForce Titan when it comes out in a week or so? I obviously have no way of knowing how it will overclock but it is certainly going to be the fastest single GPU by a solid margin. Of course, you end up paying for it. Just a thought.

As long as they are both the same chip they will be fine. I just got a second 660Ti on CL for cheap. I already had an ASUS one, and now I added a reference card from nVidia. The cards will default to the lower amount of memory, so you will only see 2GB and not 3GB. Also, I am not sure how clocks work with SLI on the 600 series. Both of my cards have the same base clock so it isn't an issue for me right now. BUT, when I had played around with SLI 560Tis a while back one was factory overclocked and it caused some serious issues because it kept the overclock while the slower card kept it clocks. What I ended up having to do was install overclocking software and manually underclock the faster card so that the speeds matched and that fixed the issues. The 600 series might do this automatically, but I really don't know. One thing you might be able to do is go to your local store and see if they will special order that card for you. If you do it online I am pretty sure you have to pay in advance and then they will ship it to a local store for pickup. BUT, if you go to the store and talk to somebody there is no reason they shouldn't be able to order it for you and pay them in cash. If they don't then they are just being little bitches. Considering it is a $300+ buy, somebody should be willing to do it for you. Though you might have to wait an extra week or two. That would ultimately be the best option as you are paying for the factory overclock instead of paying for extra RAM that you won't be able to utilize, and you would have identical cards so it will look nice.

Geforce GTX Titans! Two of them. I can't wait to see what one of those bad boys will be able to pump out, let alone two. That will be about $1800 right now. In all seriousness, don't spend $10k on a computer though. Unless you are a millionaire or something. In that case, totally do it.

There is always the NZXT Switch 810.

I personally use a Corsair 300R and think it is great for the price. If the 200R would have been on the market when I bought this I think there is a really good chance I wold have gone with that just to save the few bucks and maybe put that money into some other components or just keep the difference. The biggest downside of the 200R is going to be the front intake, where you only get air in from the sides of the front panel where the 300R has full air intake from the front. I also managed to get a Corsair H80 water cooler in the front of my case with little issue. The holes don't line up quite right, but there are spaces in the case that you can feed the screws through. It definitely isn't how it was intended but it is held in there nicely and I haven't had any issue. I admit that it is unusual/weird, but I like it. The biggest issue for me might be the fact that if you decide to fill both exhaust fans up top, you won't be able to have a DVD drive in the top slot. You could probably manage to put a card reader up there if it isn't a standard size, or with a bit of modding, but any standard sized DVD drive will just not fit with the fan in the way. Not major, but it bothers me a little bit to have my DVD drive one slot down, especially since I use maybe once a month. As far as the Antex GX700, I think it just comes down to personal taste. When I look at that case it just makes me cringe. I have worked in Antec cases before, and something about them just makes me hate them. I just feel that they are at least a year or two behind everybody else in the market right now. The way that they have HDD drive bays all the way up, and then not have them removable? Screw that noise. That and their overall design is just gaudy. The Corsairs are much cleaner and understated (with the exception of their Vengeance series).

Personally, I can't stand the Level 10. It just looks like a hot mess to me. And the internal design is all over the place. As far as the HAF X goes, the cable management is a joke. If your price range is $170 then the NZXT Switch 810 is pretty much the only case I would consider. If you like rotated motherboards with ports facing the top the Silverstone Raven would be a good choice, I just don't personally like that style. The Switch 810 is basically the standard that all the other cases are compared to, IMO. It has cable management like mad. It is crazy customizable. Drive trays can be taken in and out. you can put all sorts of fans all over the place. You can hook up closed loop coolers with no problem and can set up "real" water cooling with relative ease since there is plenty of space to work with. If I HAD to choose between the HAF X or Level 10 I would go with the HAF X. That is primarily because I just can't stand the look of the Level 10. But I still say that the NZXT Switch 810 is a better choice.

I know that Linus seems to think is absolutely the future, but I haven't seen anything in particular to make be believe it will happen anytime remotely soon, if ever. YES, a lot of people will play games via streaming. I absolutely agree that a lot of people will play games this way, but I think the market for streaming is much more similar to today's console market. There are a lot of people that are willing to trade off paying less to get a "good enough" experience. For these people, streaming will absolutely make sense. It will be accessible to anybody with essentially any computer,phone, tablet in existence with no problem. There will be a lot of games to play over streaming, and those games will be plenty of fun. But, there is no reason for me to believe that streaming games will be anywhere near as good as running a game locally on a computer will be. The biggest issue is latency, which will absolutely be fixed within the next couple of years. The issue after that is running games at 1080p. From my experience with streaming services, their resolutions absolutely are not 1080p. Full resolution is going to take a lot more bandwidth, now image trying 1440p or higher? Is there any reason to think monitors are stopping at 1440p? Resolutions will continue to increase over time and it is going to take that much more bandwidth to keep up. Then you have to consider that even at the highest resolution, compress video doesn't look that same as a game being rendered in real time. It should be possible, but it will have to require more bandwidth still. As it is now, colors are bland and washed out. Better video quality requires higher bitrate. Then what about video settings. I already mention resolution, but what about texture detail? AA? AF? Tesselation? Ambient Occlusion? Plenty of other techniques currently in games, and i am sure there will be plenty more new rendering technologies down the road. Running games at max takes more power. Streaming games solutions don't currently come anywhere near running games at highest visual settings. I would say most compare to their console counterparts from my experience. I get it, streaming games is going to happen. It is a great way to deliver games to a more "casual" market. And I hate using that word, but whatever. People that care about their gaming experience will continue to want the best gaming experience that they are able to afford. I also think that streaming games will also introduce even more people to gaming which a certain percentage of those people will become enthusiasts. The streaming games market is going to absolutely get huge. But, there will always be something better that won't be streamable whether that involves higher game details, or Virtual Reality, or whatever crazy fun technology might get invented anytime in the future. But then again, maybe I will be wrong and gaming in the future will be strictly prohibited to just streaming them over an internet service.