Maximum PC

Hey all, I'm looking to upgrade my primary desktop computer and I was hoping someone more in touch with the current state of hardware could sanity check what I've picked out. I put my rig together originally for the end of 2008 and it's held up very well so far, so I'd like this upgrade to be just as reliable and future-proof for at least the next couple of years, hopefully.

For reference, what I have right now:
Motherboard: Intel BOXDX58SO LGA 1366
CPU: Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield 2.66GHz
RAM: 3xKingston HyperX 1GB DDR3 1600
GPU: SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4870 1GB
PSU: PC Power and Cooling S61EPS 610W
HD: Western Digital VelociRaptor 300GB

Also, it's currently running Windows XP 32-bit. I plan to upgrade to Windows 7 64-bit, hopefully with a clean install to minimize the cruft. I expect the biggest usage will be gaming, primarily World of Warcraft and Diablo III, but I do play some shooters as well so I'd like it to handle the latest ones at least reasonably at 1920x1200.

Here's what I picked out:
New motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V LK
New CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K
New RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance (2 x 8GB) DDR3 1866
New GPU: GIGABYTE GV-N66TOC-2GD GeForce GTX 660 Ti
New SSD: Corsair Neutron Series GTX 240GB
Plus Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade.

I'm not interested in dropping down a tier anywhere in terms of performance, although if I can save a few bucks without really noticing a difference, I'll go for it. I'm not putting any other hard drives in here--media storage will be on a server--so I would hope my PSU is up to the task, especially since I tend to avoid overclocking as well. I saw Maximum PC reviewed this SSD and gave it a 9, but this is my first foray into SSD's so I don't know too much about it. I would not want to drop down to a 128GB drive, between Windows and Steam games and WoW and D3 I think I need the extra space. Given that, are there any red flags with my build?

No need for new processor & motherboard, those will do just fine. Upgrade to the 660Ti, 6GB RAM, & Windows 7 64bit & that will hold you over for another few years. If you want to add a SSD to the mix, I'd wait for the Samsung 840 Pro, they should be out in a couple weeks, it's the top overall performer, and Samsung 8xx series has a proven track record for reliability.

Well, I forgot to mention this in the original post, but I have another computer I use as a server that has died on me. I'm pretty sure some bad capacitors on the motherboard finally let go. So, I figured that if I upgrade the motherboard, CPU, and RAM on my desktop, I can take the old parts and use them to rebuild the server, and end up with two computers better and newer than they were before. If it wasn't for that, I probably would stick with the existing motherboard and CPU, although this one lacks USB 3 and SATA 6Gb.

Also, I looked at the Samsung 840 Pro, and it's not available on Newegg yet, but it is on the Samsung website, and it's vastly more expensive there than the Corsair I picked out (along the lines of $100 more). Is it expected to be significantly cheaper when it hits Newegg?

Ya from my knowledge, going from your i7-920 to a i5-3570K is probably not the best use of money. But if you need a separate build and have it for gaming, then the 3570K is the way to go.

Couple notes:
- Do you require 16 GB of RAM? For gaming, 8 GB is all you need. Also, I don't believe you will see any difference (perhaps other than benchmarks) between that Corsair 1866 RAM and, say, these Samsung RAM modules.

- You can definitely save a little money and "downgrade" from that Corsair Neutron with minimal, if any, loss in performance. I think I already know the answer, but are you certain that you need/want the so-called enterprise class/bleeding edge/early adopter SSD that is the Neutron GTX?

- Imho, your build is solid regardless of the above two notes.

Spending more than RAM rated for DDR-1600 is a waste. It doesn't improve anything except benchmark scores that test memory. And even getting DDR3-1600 doesn't add much performance, but the price difference between it and DDR3-1333 is usually too small for me to care.

Great information guys, that helps. Downgrading the memory to 8GB sounds like a reasonable move, I can always buy another pair of 4GB modules down the road if I need it. I found this CORSAIR Vengeance 2 x 4GB DDR3-1600 for the same price as those Samsung modules with lower timing numbers, so I'm guessing that would be a better deal.

As far as the SSD, how's the OCZ Agility 4? I'm sure it's not as fast as the Neutron GTX, and probably not even the Samsung 830, but that's a great deal on Newegg. Is OCZ known to be good or bad for reliability?

Imho, it really is not going to make any significant difference to the average gamer or probably even enthusiast gamer. That said, if you really are looking for one of the best set of RAM modules for an Ivy bridge build right now, the Sammies are the way to go.

You can't exactly compare apples to apples when it comes to RAM because no one does that lol, but look at the following reviews for the Corsair and Samsung RAM, both from Legit Reviews:
Corsair RAM vs Samsung RAM
After that, Google "Samsung MV-3V4G3D/US review" and read forum sites like Hardforum. Read what real users say about it. Actually, reading forums about PC parts is always the way to go imho.

Then decide

Re the SSD, OCZ is known to have some issues in the past, but I believe that is all taken care of now? Generally speaking though Samsung, Intel, Plextor are top tier SSD brands. Arguably, that group could include the OCZ Vertex 4 & Agility 4, Crucial M4, and others. That is a sweet price, so I cannot argue against it.