Been out of the loop

[Roark]

So I should finally be getting the cash to get an IB rig up and running, but I haven't been keeping an eye on hardware updates so looking for a yay/nay from those of you who have.

i5 3570k (aiming for ~4.5ghz)
ASRock Z77 Extreme4
Xigmatek Aegir
G.Skill Ripjaws X 1600/CAS8
WD Caviar Blue
OCZ Vertex 4
MSI TF IV GTX 670
Corsair HX750
+ case/odd/os

In the spring I was leaning toward an MSI GD65 or Asus P8Z77-V, but from some quick and dirty research it looks like the Extreme4 has more or less the same features for much less, unless I missed something?

Not sure what changed between the OCZ 3 series and the 4 but a 128GB Vertex 4 is only $10 more than a 120GB Agility 3 so why not go for it...

 

[PP Mguire]

Only 2 things I would switch. The SSD and the cooler.
I would get an H50 and Samsung 830.

 

[Roark]

Thanks for pointing out the Sam830, poked around and it looks solid.

The cooler I'm pretty set on. I'm no thermodynamics master, but it makes logical sense to me having a double stack of direct-touch heat pipes for IB due to its smaller dissipation area.
That and even before I left the hardware scene there were a lot of complaints about Corsair's hydro series having pump problems (grinding, cavitation, failure, etc...), though I can't remember if they were just specific to the H80.

 

[PP Mguire]

I have had this H50 for a while and it is cooling my 3960x. It took my 2500k to about 4.8ghz too.
The H50 is as good as the best air coolers basically. I also only have one Sythe Kaze on mine in a pull setup pulling cool air from the front of my case.
To each his own, but Xigs coolers haven't been decent for a while.

 

[Veraster]

If I were you I'd get something better than a WD caviar blue. I had a 320gb one and it was a little slower than I would of liked it to be. If your budget allows it, buy a WD Caviar black or equivalent. Or an ssd if you're OK with the idea of significantly sacrificing space for speed and spending 4x more.

 

[Roark]

The Caviar Blue would be for storage, the SSD is already in there (Vert4/Sam830).

I'm impressed that it ran slower than you would have liked though, from what I understand the blue is supposed to be the balance between noise/vibration and speed even though its still a 7200RPM drive.

 

[PP Mguire]

Cache is smaller, but speed is relative. A HDD is a HDD and the only difference is RPM speed.