new build Compatability

Just another side note, Am I missing any parts?

Thanks!

you dont need 16 gigs of RAM, either (btw, 4 * 8GB is 32, not 16), especially for a gaming rig. the most id suggest is 8. you can also save a heap of money by getting a board that costs around 120 bucks (seriously, dont bother with the top of the line asus stuff. motherboards dont affect performance and they are really only useful for extreme overclocking), and getting a non corsair PSU. nothing wrong with corsair, of course, but their prices are higher than others, simply because they have a 'corsair' sticker slapped on to their sides. the cheapest i can suggest is the rosewill capstone series.

overclocking is the name given to making your CPU, RAM, and/or video card run at a speed that is faster than what it was designed for. the tradeoff here is that you get more performance, but at the cost of a higher power consumption and higher heat output.

as for the motherboards role in affecting it, while most boards have overclocking options in the BIOS, the high-end boards have more stability, so you can overclock more, without having to raise the voltage as frequently.

quote

So are there any advantages to having a second video card?

better gaming performance.

Here is what i would do for gaming and you will have a great rig:


Video Card- EVGA Superclocked, Signature 2 02G-P4-2687-KR GeForce GTX 680 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

OS- Windows 8 Professional (64 - bit)

RAM - G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (4 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL10D-16GBXL

Power Supply - CORSAIR HX Series HX850 850W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

Case - COOLER MASTER HAF X RC-942-KKN1 Black Steel/ Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case

MotherBoard - MSI Z77 MPower

Processor - Intel Core i7 3770K

Extra Fan (for top of the case) - COUGAR CF-V12HP Vortex Hydro-Dynamic-Bearing (Fluid) 300,000 Hours 12CM Silent Cooling Fan with Pulse Width Modulation

Hard Drive 1: Mushkin Enhanced MKNSSDCR240GB-DX7 2.5" 240GB SATA III 7mm Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Hard Drive 2 - Western Digital WD Black WD2002FAEX 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

CD Drive - LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model iHAS124-04 - OEM

Cooling: Noctua NH-D14 120mm & 140mm SSO CPU Cooler


OK. The Asus Rampage is overkill and every Z77 motherboard will perform CPU wise the same. If you decide to overclock, the MSI MPower is a overclocking jauggernaut. I reviewed every Z77 motherboard and this would be the best choice. The savings you can devote to a SSD with a sandforce conntroller(Shaders will load much faster from a SSD than a HDD) and load your OS and games onto the drive and use the 2T HDD for data storage. This would be a great rig.

I put together a i7 3770K as it would do as good if not better in gaming than the 3930K. If you want to stick with the 3930K PM me. I have one I am looking to get rid of....