Maximum PC

any advice would be awesome, such as suggestions for possible changes and cheapest places to buy etc
and dont worry about SMALL extras like cooling because ill pick those up along the way
im building this to be a hardcore gaming computer
with priorities on performance (mainly speed) and quiet running (or efficiency)
im not sure if i have made some under cuts in critical areas or spent too much in others and this is my first build, so any help would be much appreciated
although id like to keep the price under 3k hahaha
and to be honest im not sure if it all will be compatible :/
thanks!!


case: NZXT Phantom USB 3.0 Case White
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?mai ... s_id=15090

motherboard: Intel DX79SI LGA2011 Motherboard
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?mai ... s_id=19939

CPU: Intel Core i7 3930K
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?mai ... s_id=18759

GPU: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 Ti WF2 2GB
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?mai ... s_id=21274

ram: Corsair Vengeance Red CMZ16GX3M4A2133C9R 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?mai ... s_id=20836

sound card: Asrock Game Blaster Sound & Ethernet Card
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?mai ... s_id=20455

optical drive: ASUS BW-12B1ST High Speed Bluray Burner
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?mai ... s_id=20738

power supply: Corsair TX-850 V2 Power Supply
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?mai ... s_id=17210

If this is primarily a gaming computer, then most of the budget should go to a GPU, as the rest of the components don't really affect performance as much.

For instance, if you go to a Z77 platform with a Core i5-3570K, you pretty much shave off up to $500 for what amounts to a loss of single digit percentages, if anything. RAM you can shrink down to 8GB, you won't need a sound card, because on-board does a good job these days, and you can throw the rest of the money on a beefier graphics card like a GTX 670 or 680.

Here are the esssentials of an all-around mid-high end, contemporary gaming build so you can get an idea of parts and costs:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ksDb

The GPU is probably the biggest variable and is best determined by what monitor it will push and what you want in terms of gaming resolution/settings. And of course, you can swap specific parts like your Gigabyte Windforce version of the GTX 660 Ti for the EVGA I selected, whatever makes sense based on personal preference and budget and etc. It's not perfect, but it's a good starting point imho.