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Hello

I was hoping to get the opinion of the masses before building this next week, particularly on two issues:
1. If anything is overkill (or bottle-necking) for the purposes of the build
2. If any substitutions to lower cost can be made as I am above budget by $150 at the moment, particularly mobo, SSD, PSU.

Purpose: Balanced Gaming Build - non SLI, Max O.C. to 4.5
Budget: ~1000 CAD - for hardware only, before mail in rebates
Vendor: Canada Computers

Mobo: ROG Gene-Z $175 http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=569_26_722&item_id=039771
CPU: Intel 2500k $235
Mem: Corsair Vengance 8GB $60
Graphics: ASUS 560Ti DCII (830 Mhz) 1GB $251
PSU: Corsair TX650M S100 http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=569_33_443&item_id=040598
HDD: Corsair Force 3 90 GB $145 http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=569_15_179&item_id=041244
Case: Corsair 400r $90
Cooler: Corsair A50 $35
BluRay: ASUS $65

Total: S1159

Thoughts and Qs:
1. I am having particular trouble selecting the PSU. The one listed is only semi modular. Would be great to sub with something cheaper yet fully modular if possible, maybe go lower wattage ??
2. Regarding the SSD, would getting Force 3 GT justify the extra $ in gaming??http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=15_179&item_id=041738
3.Regarding the Mobo,im keeping in mind it comes with Kaspersky Antivirus which on its own is $40. Has anybody heard the audio quality on it?? how would it compare to discrete audio say...the asus DG?

Side Note: I have a terabyte hard disk i can pull from an older pc so Its not included in build, 90 GB should be more than enough to get me started anyways.
There are gonna be two things on it: the OS and Battlefield 3

EDIT!
Sorry i made a mistake on the motherboard,you want the pro model or the one you picked out since the one I picked the second pcie 16 slot is only a 4x slot.So instead of the last letters on MB model you want it to say pro instead of le or lx. Another reason I did t go with your pick was because it's mATX not full atx. You never know you might need the slOts

Here is my build for you with a evga 570 gtx,from NCIX.com Reference ID:1062388025
Corsair Force Series 120GB 2.5IN SATA2 SSD Sandforce Refurb *30 Day Warranty
Usually ships in 1-2 business days.
In Stock 61605 $149.99 $149.99
Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus Direct Touch 4 Heatpipe Heatsink AM2 AM3 LGA1366 LGA1155 LGA1156 120MM
Usually ships in 1-2 business days.
In Stock 41337 $29.98 $29.98
EVGA GeForce GTX 570 HD Fermi 732MHZ 1280MB GDDR5 2XDVI HDMI DisplayPort PCI-E Video Card
Usually ships in 1-2 business days.
NCIX.com SURPRISE SPECIALS!
Available in limited quantities only, with a limit of 1 per customer. Hurry! No rainchecks or Price Matches for these items are available after limited quantities are sold out. Note: Your order for these items are counted only after you've completed your purchase.
In Stock 58573 $324.99 $324.99
FREE
Batman Arkham City (PC Game) Coupon for Digital Download *NVIDIA Promo Only*
Antec Earthwatts Green 650W Power Supply ATX12V V2.2 EPS12V Active PFC 80PLUS 120MM Fan
Usually ships in 1-2 business days.
NCIX.com SURPRISE SPECIALS!
Available in limited quantities only, with a limit of 2 per customer. Hurry! No rainchecks or Price Matches for these items are available after limited quantities are sold out. Note: Your order for these items are counted only after you've completed your purchase.
In Stock 59339 $59.99 $59.99
Mushkin Enhanced Blackline Frostbyte 8GB 2X4GB PC3-12800 DDR3-1600 C9-9-9-24 Dual Channel Memory Kit
Usually ships in 1-2 business days.
In Stock 54963 $54.68 $54.68
ASUS P8Z68-V LX Z68 LGA1155 ATX 2PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 DDR3 SATA3 USB3.0 Audio Video CrossFire Motherboard
Usually ships in 1-2 business days.
In Stock 63714 $137.49
Zalman Z9 Plus ATX Mid Tower Case Black 3X5.25 1X3.5 5X3.5INT No PS W/ Fan Controller & Temp Display
Usually ships in 1-2 business days.
In Stock 57910 $54.99 $54.99
Intel Core i5 2500K Quad Core Unlocked Processor LGA1155 3.3GHZ Sandy Bridge 6MB
Usually ships in 1-2 business days.
In Stock 57962 $238.98 $238.98
Samsung SH-B123L 12X BD-ROM & DVD Burner Combo Internal SATA W/ Power DVD Software Retail Box
Usually ships in 1-2 business days.
In Stock 56098 $85.98 $85.98
total price for a better build since your getting a 20-30%better video card,a 120 gb ssd instead of 90 gb,the zalman case has great features for the price,the hyper 212 heatsink kick ass for the price much better then the corsair one,and you didnt need that overkill motherboard,so i went with another asus atx z68 board to save you cash plus it can do everything the fancy one can,and the antec green earthwatts PSU 650 watt is as good if not better then the corsair and saved you almost 50$ and the zalman case has a 9 outta 10 rating along with 4 120mm fans.
total price $1137.01 canadian
Plus you might even be able to add another 570 down the road with that 650 watt psu,but i think you would be on the edge of going over.But you do want a 570 over a 560ti for bf3,plus the evga cards seem to overclock well,my reference cooled evga 560ti superclocks will hit 1015mhz with a lil help from afterburner going from 1.050 stock volts to 1.080
Hope i could help

NCIX is running its Colossal Sale Event until October 19. Plenty of items are on offer at reduced prices, including Corsair's Force 3 120GB solid-state drive, which can be nabbed for $129.99 CAD

Hey

Thank you for all the info. No kidding! great deals on NCIX, the also have the corsair A70 (push/pull) for $30 and a few good PSU's.

I'll definitely be going for the 120 Gb force 3, and maybe the A70 since its the same price as cm h212+ at ncix

I noticed your note on the mobo, i think i will go with the ROG bcs its about the same price as p8z68pro but includes the AntiVirus, better components and audio and I know I wont be needing the extra silicone for anything, also its red and black! Also even though i can save a lot on the case i love the 400r's look

For the Graphics all I need is the 560Ti Gtx and hopefully with a few tweeks it comes close (within 10 fps) to the 570, enough to strongly justify sticking with it for $80 less

SO, for the build (which might be happening today!), I basically narrowed it down to two versions: 1. Mainly corsair components - $1,111 after MIR 2. Alternate brands w/ identical performance $984 after MIR (beats the budget by $15!)

1. Identical to 1st post except w/ 120 Gb refurb force 3 SSD from NCIX $130
[url]http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=63646&vpn=CSSD-F120GB3%2FRF&manufacture=Corsair&promoid=1366
Corsair A70 Cooler $30 NCIX
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=53612&vpn=CAFA70&manufacture=Corsair&promoid=1366

Total: $1,111 after MIR

2. Similar to above build except for the following variations:
Gigabyte 560 Ti $239 + $30MIR= $209 - Canada Computers
SSD Corsair Force 3 60 GB $104+ $20MIR = $84 *compromise on storage space but same performance
PSU OCZ Mod x 700w semi modular $85 + $30MR = $55
*there may be an issue with short 8pin connector with this so $5 extra for extension chord
BitFenix Shinobi Case $75

Total: $984 after MIR

Any criticisms/suggestions would be much appreciated!!

I would not get the a70 cooler over the coolermaster 212or 212+,the a70 has a iffy 1155 mounting system and has8mm heatpipes,plus it's much bigger overall.The CM 212 has 6 mm heatpipes,comes with a extra fan bracket to do push pull.
Believe it or not the 6mm heatpipes work better then the 8s,less pipe to heat up so it transfers heat faster from CPU to fins. Plus it will run about 5c cooler then the a70.bigger is not always better,even more so since your cooling a 95watt CPU not a 130 watt CPU.
With the z68 you can utilize that ssd with your standard hard drive so you will be fine. Peace

Sounds good. H212 it is, seemed a lot better quality than the a70 when i saw it at the store.