Help complete / critique my spec

[Subliminal Aura]

Purpose for the machine

Work ! Triple displays are a must. Very light gaming or playing games just for the bling. If 3d works (read here) I'll stretch to 5k but for now I'm not convinced so want a platform base such that if I do go 3d in the future.

Components I'm happy with

CPU

Intel i7 2600K ~ £240

Happy with the performance bump clock per clock over a 2500k​

Case

SilverStone FT02B-W ~ £200

Might have to swap out the fans but this case is seriously the dogs danglies​

Storage

2 x 240GB OCZ Vertex 3 Max ~ £920

SSD1 - OS + Some programs
SSD2 - Favorite games + Scratch + Programs
No RAID - Don't be silly with yourself, also I don't believe in the RevoDrive​

Recycle a spare 2TB drive or 2 ~ FREE

Scratch, temporary large storage, games, daily backup drive for the SSDs​

Need to be resolved

PSU

Corsair HX 1000W ~ £175

I have a HX620 that has served me well for 4 years. I've even had it under 450W load for 2 years 24/7 so there's no doubting Corsair but I'm tempted by the forthcoming Be Quiet platinum​

CPU Cooler

Noctua NH-D14 or Be Quiet Advanced ~ £45 - £65

Heart is set on the Noctua but will it clear the RAM ?​

RAM

2x (2x4gb) Mushkin Redline ridgeback 1600mhz ~ £190

Not sure if the Noctua will foul it, what's the alternative in low profile​

Motherboard

Gigabyte Z68X-UD7-B3 ~ £270

The only reason why I chose this over the Asrock Extreme4 is the PCI-e layout along with the sexy colour scheme for which I'm paying through the nose ​

Graphics Cards

GTX 460 SLI ~ FREE - £100

Keep my MSI 460 1gb OC + Passive 8400gs or get a second hand 460 for a gaming boost OR completely scrap this and go for something more recent that can handle triple display 120hz. I'm completely confused with this. Usual caveats exist like looking for a quiet solution but you can't have everything​

Major issues

Platform

Not really a major issue - more of a concern - but I thought I'd throw it in... I've built dual cpu socket rigs in the past for the same price so am feeling a little left short, should I ?​

Graphics cards and monitors

Really stumped on this.
Is it time to go 3d 120hz or not ? My current Samsungs (XL2370) bought 5 months back are doing me fine but should have bumped to 120hz. If I do upgrade the whole lot then the monitors need to have VESA mounting points or in the worse case scenario I could probably live with a 950D on the desk + 2 other monitors floating. Damn the problems ​

Total so far without decent graphics/monitors ~ £2000 ~ £2200

I'll leave an additional £100 for fans / controllers / optical drives and I really do not want to spend more than £500 for graphics but the monitors are important so the budget for them is more like £2000 possibly more.

Work your wizardry help fix the graphics/display problem !

 

[stulid]

Will the Noctua clear the Mushkin?, Hmmmm, well it clears Ripjaw ram just about.

The alternative is Corsair XMS3.

 

[Reaper 392]

£190 for 16GB 1600Mhz RAM??? i think your being a bit ripped off there mate.

if your buying today then you can get 16GB 1600mhz Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey for £100.78, or if your not then you can get 16GB 1600Mhz corsair XMS3 for £124.78

i know you said your heart is set on the noctua, but could you be interested by the thermalright silver arrow? it cools just the same, its lighter, quieter and only costs £51

*edit*
the gigabyte motherboard doesnt have lucid virtu, so you wont get the lovely power saving benefits of that

 

[stulid]

Keep my MSI 460 1gb OC + Passive 8400gs or get a second hand 460 for a gaming boost OR completely scrap this and go for something more recent that can handle triple display 120hz. I'm completely confused with this. Usual caveats exist like looking for a quiet solution but you can't have everything

If you get another GTX460 OC,

Then you can have the 3D gaming across three screens.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-140-OK&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1830

If you use a passive 8400 etc to drive the extra screen you loss this option completely.

But will two GTX460 drive three screens at that resolution? and at 120HZ? I wouldnt have thought so myself.

 

[wilko49]

Not really a major issue - more of a concern - but I thought I'd throw it in... I've built dual cpu socket rigs in the past for the same price so am feeling a little left short, should I ?

Probably not - seeing as almost half of your build (minus the GPUs) is on the SSDs!

What exactly are you talking about with 'light gaming'?
Here's a nice anandtech comparison of 460 SLI and a single 580 (around £350-400):
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/314?vs=305
And with CF 6970s (~£500):
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/314?vs=298
The other option to look at is SLI 570s for, again, around £500 (but anandtech's site doesn't have any tests for them yet, and I've overrun my lunch break already).

 

[Subliminal Aura]

Thank you gents ... Great points - You've given me some real options....

I hadn't realised that the 460s in SLI still pack some punch so I could probably use that as a stop gap until 3d/120hz matures. Damn the upgrade itch - It's always the case - you can never get it perfect.

£190 for 16GB 1600Mhz RAM??? i think your being a bit ripped off there mate.

if your buying today then you can get 16GB 1600mhz Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey for £100.78, or if your not then you can get 16GB 1600Mhz corsair XMS3 for £124.78

i know you said your heart is set on the noctua, but could you be interested by the thermalright silver arrow? it cools just the same, its lighter, quieter and only costs £51

*edit*
the gigabyte motherboard doesnt have lucid virtu, so you wont get the lovely power saving benefits of that

I had better get reading up on RAM then

And whatever this lucid virtu gimmick is .... surely it's not as fast as 460 encoding ?

Probably not - seeing as almost half of your build (minus the GPUs) is on the SSDs!

 

[Reaper 392]

Thank you gents ... Great points - You've given me some real options....

I hadn't realised that the 460s in SLI still pack some punch so I could probably use that as a stop gap until 3d/120hz matures. Damn the upgrade itch - It's always the case - you can never get it perfect.



I had better get reading up on RAM then

And whatever this lucid virtu gimmick is .... surely it's not as fast as 460 encoding ?

lucid virtu uses onboard graphics when that will give you enough power (eg, for web browsing) but when the graphics start to get tough, the graphics cards will be turned on. you wont lose any graphics power overall, but you will save a lot of electricity

 

[Subliminal Aura]

lucid virtu uses onboard graphics when that will give you enough power (eg, for web browsing) but when the graphics start to get tough, the graphics cards will be turned on. you wont lose any graphics power overall, but you will save a lot of electricity

Ah power consumption - my favourite topic. You see why I use the 8400gs now and game on a single monitor.

Re Lucid Virtu

Now that's interesting and pretty neat but I spend most of my time in triple monitor mode so it's not going to work for me

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/292358-12-dual-monitors-motherboard-hdmi

Might have to rethink this triple display lark anyway.

Thanks again for the valuable pointers gents