yasamoka
Hey there Badieh. Nice rig you plan to build, but you didn't tell us why you chose the stuff you did. You did not tell us about budget, brand preference, etc... so I have a few suggestions to make:
CPU: Why did you choose a Core i7 2600K? Do you want the highest end midrange-platform CPU? Or do you want Hyperthreading? If you do not care for any of those features, (they matter very little in gaming. Hyperthreading causes jitter in BF3 too, so you might need to turn it off. My Folding@home CPU client seems to require 8 cores (they are actually threads), so I need to turn HT on for it, although I'm not too sure) then go for the Core i5 2500K and save a few bucks. These can also overclock a bit higher (Average OC for i7 2600K is 4.6GHz, average OC for i5 2500K is 4.8GHz). If you're transcoding videos, and utilizing workloads that seem to benefit from HT (according to reviews), then by all means go for the Core i7 2600K.
Mobo: The P8Z68 Pro is an excellent choice for a motherboard. Do you want Z68, for its features, like SSD caching, QuickSync (do take care that encoding quality using QuickSync is not up to par with the other encoding methods, so you pay for the added speed in terms of reduced quality. How much reduced, I don't know), or any other particular features? Do you want integrated graphics support (gives you 1 or 2 outputs), along with the GFX card's outputs (2)? If you're playing a game on the GFX card, then it helps to have integrated graphics outputting to an additional monitor playing a video, for example, although I don't know if you would do that.
Z68 = P67 + H67. It's Intel highest-end midrange chipset. If you don't need the additional features, then you could go for P67. If there's no price difference, and you would like those additional features to be present (as long as they don't negatively impact anything else), then by all means go for Z68.
RAM: You could skimp on RAM, yes, but it's preferable that you go for quality RAM, not value RAM. IF you have a bit additional budget, then by all means go for Corsair, G-SKILL, etc...According to AvoK95, Patriot Viper RAM modules have failed a lot on him. They don't seem to be reliable. But you have to check, because I'm not sure.
Also, why are you getting triple-channel memory? 6 series Intel chipsets are dual-channel. I recommend you go for 8GB of RAM. 4GB of RAM is good, but 8GB is much better.
GPU: You're picking a GTX560, on a Core i7, on Z68? To me, you're skimping on graphics. A GTX560 is almost equivalent to a GTX460, which is the upper-midrange last half-gen card. So you're buying a GTX460 on a Core i7. Beej, another hardware guru on here, runs the GTX 460 off a Core 2 Duo, smoothly. Get AT LEAST the GTX 560Ti, or better, the GTX 570. Or you could go AMD. Better prices, better power consumption, more memory options (1GB 6950 and 2GB 6950), but some problems compared to Nvidia. For example, Nvidia is almost always the first brand that properly supports a new game, like BF3. AMD struggles with Anti-Aliasing on BF3. So read reviews, check complaints, strong points, and make decisions, except if you already have a rational brand preference, of course.
Also, be sure to skip reference cooling designs, and go for performance ones. MSI manufactures good GFX cards that are well cooled, but if you want the best GFX cooling (although it's triple-slot design, no problem if you're running single GPU, be sure to consider that if you want to SLI / CrossFire), then by all means, go for ASUS DirectCUII. Better cooling for less noise, much better cooling for same noise, and awesome / PHENOMENAL cooling for more noise. There is simply no match. Be sure to always take care of cooling. ASUS give you a better board design, with better power output / regulation, higher overclocking potential (especially compared to reference GTX 570s which seem to have problems and go bad when OCed / voltmodded too much)
PSU: If there's anything you shouldn't skimp on, it's the PSU. The Thermaltake Litepower may be OK for office PCs, or low-end builds, but it just doesn't cut it for mid-range / high-end builds. Something like XFX PSUs, or Corsair PSUs, or Antec PSUs, will do the job.
Don't forget that quality PSUs can last much longer, are more efficient, release less heat, come with better cabling (think modular cabling), and weigh more. You may find this funny as an indicator of PSU quality, but more weight means bigger electrical components, and heatsinks, and thus better cooling. A quality PSU could weigh in the 3-4KG range, if I'm not mistaken. At least the Corsair HX850 falls within that range, and it's efficiency ranges from 86-91%, if I'm not mistaken. I have this PSU, and I'm telling you, quality PSUs are awesome. Especially the low noise and fantastic power output. You shouldn't feel that the PSU is there, and that's exactly what a quality PSU should make you feel.
Also don't forget the money you're losing with an inefficient PSU, you could save it and get a quality PSU which gives you all the benefits mentioned above. And has protection when overloaded, and doesn't take your components with it when it dies, can bear a system bootup without going BOOM, or dying, and probably taking your components with it. I'm not saying the Litepower does that, I'm not sure, but you should check. Better to go with a quality PSU, of course.
HDD: I have the WD1002FAEX. It's simply lovely. Low noise, great performance, and hopefully great reliability (got it a bit more than 1 month ago). Some people have complained about high clicking noises from the HDD, but I don't hear anything (WITH my ear close to the HDD, while it's intensively working, writing and reading, etc...) Seems HDDs manufactured newly (mine is August 2011) don't have that problem. Be sure to check, though. WD is a legendary HDD company. Its reputation seems to be the highest among HDD manufacturers. When I look at signatures of people who build midrange and high-end rigs,, I mostly see WD HDDs being used (I used to see them more before the SSD era. Of course, people still do use them :D It's not like SSDs have replaced HDDs or anything. Nowadays, they complement them mostly.)
Chassis: you may think that a chassis is unimportant, but take note that cooling does indeed matter. An anecdotal rule I tend to take is that for every 10C reduction in temperatures, you boost lifespan by a factor of 2. As long as you're away from high temperatures, like 80-90C, you're fine. It's much more preferable, at least for me, to stay under 70C, whatever the load, even Furmark (GPU) or Prime95 (CPU). Staying under 60C is excellent. Staying under 50C is enthusiast - class cooling, but hard to achieve without noise when air cooling / without water-cooling. Reference designs, and especially stock CPU coolers, will not give you adequate cooling for low noise. They are noisy, inefficient, and cheap. Especially nowadays, I feel that stock coolers being produced are becoming lower quality. Comparing the reference GTX 460 cooling design to my reference GTX 260 cooling design, the GTX 260's is vastly superior, both in cooling and noise. Yes, the GTX 260's reference cooler is larger, but the GTX 260 also consumes more power, and produces more heat.
If your chassis budget is around $80, then you will soon be able to find a quality Antec chassis for $80 ;)
Good luck with building your rig.
