Couple CPU questions

So I'm finally just gonna get a comp... (I think)

What I think I'm gonna get:
Intel® Core™ i7-2600K (8MB Cache) Unlocked & Overclocked Turbo Boost to 3.9GHz
Aurora 875W Power Supply Chassis
8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz
2TB (2x 1TB) SATA II (3Gb/s) 7,200RPM (2x 32MB Cache)


Question #1 - Video Card: 1GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon™ HD 6870 is Included in price of the PC
These are the possible upgrades:
Should I upgrade to one of these choices?
Is a Single or Dual Card set up better?
Is there one of these that I just have to buy?
Thoughts?

Single Video Card Options
1.25GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 560 Ti [Add $40.00]
2GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon™ HD 6950 [Add $80.00]
3GB GDDR5 NVIDIA®GeForce® GTX 590 [Add $360.00]
4GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon™ HD 6990 [Add $440.00]

Dual Video Card Options
Dual 1GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon™ HD 6870 [Add $160.00]
Dual 1GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 460 - SLI Enabled [Add $160.00]
Dual 2GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon™ HD 6950 [Add $360.00]


Question #2 - Sound Card
Does a sound card really matter?

Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio [Included in Price]
Creative Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ Xtreme Audio [Add $50.00]
Creative Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ Titanium [Add $100.00]


Question #3 - Optical Drives
Single Drive: Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader (BD-ROM, DVD±RW, CD-RW) [Included in Price]

Same thing as a video card... should I upgrade... is there a reason to do it?

Single Drive
Single Drive: 8X Dual Layer Blu-ray Burner (BD-RE, DVD±RW, CD-RW) [Add $100.00]

Dual Drive
Dual Drives: Blu-ray Disc (BD) Combo (BDROM; DVD/CDBurner) and DVDRW [Add $50.00]
Dual Drives: Blu-ray Disc (BD) Burner (Writes to DVD/CD/BD) and DVDRW [Add $150.00]
Dual Drives: Blu-ray Disc (BD) Combo (BDROM; DVD/CDBurner) and DVDRW with Roxio Creator 2011 [Add $129.99]




I promise this is the last set of questions I will ask about this sh1t... I just want to make sure I'm not gonna rage in a month b/c my PC sucks and I didn't ask people who know... if you suggest something different better whatever its all good... just figured I would show you what I'm looking at...

I don't know much about graphics card to give a good opinion so I'm going to stick to everything else.

Question 2 A: I see no point in upgrading your sound card unless you are a big freak on sound quality, lack a descent sound system, or headset.

Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio [Included in Price]

Question 3 A: In the blu-ray question it all depends on how much you are going to use it. If you want the single drive as you know every disc you put into your computer will be in that drive, putting more if a workload on that one drive. I would recommend just going one step up.

Dual Drives: Blu-ray Disc (BD) Combo (BDROM; DVD/CDBurner) and DVDRW [Add $50.00]

Agreed.

In regards to the GPU, that 6870 should plenty powerful enough for now. You can always upgrade later.

One thing I would suggest however, an SSD for your OS and frequently used programs.

I personally am not a fan of AMD at all for video cards. Of the past 10 or so I've ordered 3 have been DOA.

I wouldn't swap out the optical. Honestly they cost like $40 for a new one so if in 3 years your current one gets worn out, it takes about 5 minutes to swap it.

Sound card shouldn't matter unless you've got a ridiculous sound system and are a big audiophile. If that were the case you probably wouldn't even ask about getting a sound card, you'd just buy it lol

Q1 - 2 sli or 1 standalone gpu... given that either setup gets the same performance, the decision can just be "which is cheaper for me."
Q2 - integrated audio cards are fine now - back in the day they sucked, but as long as the mobo has the jacks you need on it, integrated will work fine and be less hassle.
Q3 - I don't know much about those drives, but I've bought a cheap dvd r/w in the past and was really disappointed by its speed. Beware of skimping too much on this component. Bottle necking at the disc drive is really not cool.

Just a note - the mobo chipsets need to be top line to get full performance from these parts. Awesome components will only be as good as the board you attach them to. Good luck bro!

Memory? I know I had been told here in the past to look for like 6GB or so...
Everything I've read has said something different... so thoughts?

Options
8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz [Included in Price]
16GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz [+$150]
4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1833MHz [+$100]


And as for Video Cards... I've been attempting to read some reviews to see which to go with

but i'm confused... Dual 1GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 460 on NewEgg has like 30 versions listed.... with companies like Gigabyte, EVGA, etc...

Like are those versions modded by the company to be better/different?
and how can i figure out like base reviews or what not?


@Epic
SSD = Solid State Drive?
They're supposed to speed up load times and such right?

I dont see any offered with where I'm planning on buying... is one really needed?

SSD, that is correct Wiggles, you will notice a huge difference when loading an OS or like Epic said frequently used progs. They are coming down in price. You don't 'NEED' one, but they are a nice upgrade. It too is something that you can upgrade to later when you want. Especially when it is not listed as an upgrade option. Where are you looking at buying you PC from?

S7 Glock wrote:SSD, that is correct Wiggles, you will notice a huge difference when loading an OS or like Epic said frequently used progs. They are coming down in price. You don't 'NEED' one, but they are a nice upgrade. It too is something that you can upgrade to later when you want. Especially when it is not listed as an upgrade option. Where are you looking at buying you PC from?

Dell/Alienware... only because I:
#1 - Have an account through there
#2 - Get a discount b/c my work buys EVERYTHING from them
#3 - Can't afford to just throw all the cash at it upfront (hurray payments)
#4 - Too dumb to build it myself
#5 - They have some deals right now... $250 instant rebate and 20% off Graphics Card Upgrades

GPU: For $~40 you may as well upgrade to the 560 Ti.

RAM: The 8gb should be plenty, if you were to upgrade, the 4gb 1833mhz would be the only one that you would see any benefit from.

SSD: Alienware do them but from the looks of it, they only do them in paired RAID 0 for $1000 so forget that. You can always add your own later.

So I think this is looking like my final config for everything...

PROCESSOR
Intel® Core™ i7-2600K (8MB Cache) Overclocked Turbo Boost to 3.9GHz

OPERATING SYSTEM
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64Bit, English

CHASSIS COLOR
Matte Stealth Black Chassis with 875W Multi-GPU Approved Power Supply

MEMORY
4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1866MHz

VIDEO CARD
1.25GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 560 Ti

HARD DRIVE
2TB (2x 1TB) SATA II (3Gb/s) 7,200RPM (2x 32MB Cache)

MEDIA READER
Alienware® 19-in-1 Media Card Reader

SOUND CARD
Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio

OPTICAL DRIVE
Single Drive: Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader (BD-ROM, DVD±RW, CD-RW)

and if you dont know what said beast looks like...

and all in all I'll save about $500 getting it through them

S7 Coolhand wrote:Just a note - the mobo chipsets need to be top line to get full performance from these parts. Awesome components will only be as good as the board you attach them to.

Chipset Architecture
Intel® P67 Express Chipset w/ Unlocked BIOS for Overclocking, CPU Socket 1155
MicroATX Motherboard

is this what you're talking about?

That's a nice machine you have there.

Bit odd that the mobo is mATX though...?!

S7 Epic wrote:That's a nice machine you have there.

Bit odd that the mobo is mATX though...?!

how so? its all a foreign language to me

Well, ATX is the standard size for a desktop, especially a gaming desktop. MicroATX boards are smaller, doesn't necessarily make them less powerful but obviously it lessens the amount of stuff they can fit on.

Only thing I would change is double the RAM to 8. You're getting a 64bit OS, might as well take use of it.

It's not an option for that speed of RAM. It'd have to be done manually.

done ordered should be here like the 20th