Build upgrade advice

[UnknownXV]

Hi, I'm going to be upgrading my setup significantly in a month or two to prepare for intense summer nights of SC2 and Chivalry Medieval Warfare and I'm hoping you folks might have any improvement suggestions, etc.. keep in mind that my budget isn't 100% set in stone. So, with that said, let's get started.

 

Target budget ideally: $1,200

 

Current system - 

 

CASE: XCLIO A380 Full tower

MOBO: Asrock Z68 Extreme 3 gen 3 LG1155

RAM: Corsair Vengeance x 16GB at 1,600 mhz, 1.5 volts and 9-9-9-24 timings (set in bios).

GPU: PNY GTX 560ti 

CPU: Intel i5-2500k sandy bridge

PSU: Kingwin Lazer LZ-1000 1,000w bronze certified

SSD: OCZ Solid 3 60GB x2 in Raid 0

Cooling: Stock 

OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit OEM

Mouse: Pixxo Monster series 3200 dpi

Keyboard: Razer Blackwidow ultimate mechanical

 

So as you can see, the current build is acceptable, but beginning to show its age. Most notable is the poor cooling partially by the case. No cable management, no room to fit a radiator, etc.. as well as going for flash and little substance in the power supply, which has poor internal components, relatively speaking. 

 

So, here are the upgrades I intend to make:

 

CASE: Corsair Carbide Series 500R http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139010

PSU: Corsair AX 860i 860w platinum certified http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139041

Cooling: Swiftech H220 http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835108183

GPU: GTX 680 MSI Twin Frozr http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127672

Mouse: Gigabyte GM Krypton http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826146028

 

There you have it, these upgrades total about $1,150 including taxes and shipping. Not bad. What do you think? The case is aesthetically pleasing, seems to have lots of cable management features, motherboard backplate, top mounting spot for the radiator, removable hard drive trays for better airflow. The PSU is rock solid from the reviews of it I've searched, platinum efficiency, more than enough amps and watts, low ripple and noise. Just fantastic, modular too. Is it worth it to upgrade to aftermarket fans for the case as well?

 

The cooler I just changed today, I was going to go with the corsair H100i but evidently the Swiftech is just better in every way, and only slightly more expensive. Count me in. The GPU, I wanted something with real power, I can't quite afford a titan or 690, but I'm sure a 680 will work just fine since I game at 1080p anyways. I think the Twin Frozr series runs cooler than other cards too. 

 

Finally the mouse, I wasn't certain about this one, it has good reviews and looks nice to be sure, but picking a good one isn't my forte  the one I have now is fairly terrible though so I imagine almost anything would be a real upgrade. 

 

My goal is purely a gaming machine. I'll be overclocking the cpu to be sure, which is why I want the best cooling possible. I was planning to upgrade my stock fan when I bought this initial PC almost 2 years ago, but I never got around to it because the RAM sticks protrude too high, most high end air coolers just wouldn't fit. I never considered water cooling until recently, so yeah. 

 

Considering I will be Ocing the 2500k, would it still likely bottleneck the 680? Also, is the Asrock motherboard going to be an issue when it comes to the stability of an OC? I would upgrade it too, but I am worried about reinstalling windows 7 since my copy is OEM, I'm pretty sure I can't change the motherboard right?

[BlackOutCrisis]

Well first of all you should be able to OC with that board pretty good. MSI twin frozr is one of the best cooling methods on the market right now but I would suggest looking around other retailers for the lightning or power edition (PE) of the msi 680, it is a much better card. I would also consider looking at 7970's as they are great gpu's also. Your 2500k won't bottleneck either of those gpu's at all. That case and psu are both super good quality and you won't have any problems with them at all. The h220 is the best all in one cooler on the market right now also. Yes you will have to kiss microsoft ass for them to transfer your OEM key over if they even still do it. To sum up what I just said everything you are upgrading to looks great but I would do some more research on the gpu's you are looking at and I would probably wait for the nvidia 700 series to come out.

[WoodenMarker]

First of all, I wouldn't replace your current psu because platinum is overrated. Anything bronze or above is good.enough.

 

The case fans that come with should be sufficient. I've read they're also nice and silent.

 

As for the graphics card, get a Radeon Hd 7970 instead. It has more video memory as well as being marginally faster for a lower price. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125413

Also, the 2500k won't bottleneck anything.

 

Finally, when it comes to picking a mouse, TRY and find some to touch. Whether it's a friend's or in store--it'll be much better than any review. 

[UnknownXV]

I'm mixed on the power supply. I've had several people say that it's the most vital component in your system, and other shrug it off as an after-thought. The basics of it are simple enough, wattage and amperage, as well as how many 12+ volt rails there are. The less rails the better, right? More wattage = more components in the system. Amperage is the overall flow of current, so you need a decent bit for a gaming rig. My current PSU has all of that, but the internal components are obviously not of the same quality as the corsair one I want to switch to. In-depth reviews I've seen of it show little noise and ripple on the lines, which I'm assuming is simply better for overclocking. I want everything to go smooth, so I feel it's probably worth it for system stability. 

[SkilledRebuilds]

My Asrock z68 Pro3 (cheaper than yours) puts my 2600k up to 4.9ghtz, some of them are quite capable, I doubt your CPU is bottlenecking the high end cards available right now, maybe down the track when more demanding titles for the CPU get released but the GPU should carry all the weight and your CPU should be fine for a while.
The PSU to be honest IS the most vital part, if your RAM goes, you replace it and be done, if your PSU goes, it can also under failure take other parts to chipset heaven.

Hence the importance of Quality PSU's.