Building my first high end gaming pc

[kt7000]

i'm a first year software designer who just saved up enough to be able build my own high end gaming pc

CPU-Intel Core i7 3960X Extreme Edition
Memory-Corsair Dominator Platinum 16 GB
Storage-OCZ Vertex 4 512GB ssd
Motherboard-ASUS Rampage IV Extreme
Graphics-EVGA GeForce GTX 690 Hydro Copper Signature
Audio-ASUS Xonar Essence STX
Power Supply-LEPA G Series G1600-MA 1600W
Case-Corsair 800D

right now money isn't an issue and want to know if there are other parts better than the ones listed

btw what would be a good network card

[stormkroe]

Most people would throw at least 1 large spinner, RAID array would be even better, in there for slow/important storage.
Also, if money is no object, 3D-vision surround is AWESOME.

[exdeath]

If money is truly no object you wouldn't have an archaic mechanical storage device. Ever. If money is no object, you even keep your backups and isos on a external SATA 6g class SSD such that restoring a partition or reinstalling Windows is a whopping 25 second affair.

Also missing is from OP is SLI and no less than 64 GB RAM involved. 16 GB is pretty weak when 64 GB is only like $300 or so. It doesn't matter if you *need* it or not.

I'd also wait until next year and pick up a pair of U3013 30 inchers. Rumors of March '13? U3011s are long in the tooth, never buy anything at the end of it's lifespan. You want to get new technology at it's release so you can at least enjoy being on top for a little while for the money you've spent.

As for storage, I recommend an array of 256 GB class SSDs on a dedicated LSI 9260 RAID card. The 256 GB class drives are currently the highest performance. Performance with 512 GB drive seems to take a nose dive after that due to the fact that most controllers already saturate all their NAND channels with 256 GB so 512 GB increases the management workload of the controller while gaining no performance advantage.

Four or more 32nm toggle NAND 240 GB SF2281 SSDs is going to be the pinnacle of storage performance. How does almost 1 TB of storage at 2500 MB/sec and 300,000+ IOPS sound?

Also skip the i7-3960X, its been out ENTIRELY too long and you don't want to spend $1k on a chip at the tail end of it's life span and constantly see it's replacement everywhere for the same price. i7-3970X just retired it.

With that big case, you are better off with GTX680 SC type cards in SLI. Dual GPU cards are always handicapped compared to SLI and only make sense if you are crammed for space and only have room for a single card. Even just two GTX680SC/Classified factory cherry picked type cards will demolish a 690 which is the opposite: two UNDERCLOCKED GPUs.

If you want the ultimate home network, look no further than 10 gigabit Infiniband. 1000 MB/sec to your SSD based home SAN/NAS? Otherwise the onboard gigabit ethernet ports on the mainboard are fine.

[Dave3000]

Originally Posted by kt7000

i'm a first year software designer who just saved up enough to be able build my own high end gaming pc

CPU-Intel Core i7 3960X Extreme Edition
Memory-Corsair Dominator Platinum 16 GB
Storage-OCZ Vertex 4 512GB ssd
Motherboard-ASUS Rampage IV Extreme
Graphics-EVGA GeForce GTX 690 Hydro Copper Signature
Audio-ASUS Xonar Essence STX
Power Supply-LEPA G Series G1600-MA 1600W
Case-Corsair 800D

right now money isn't an issue and want to know if there are other parts better than the ones listed

btw what would be a good network card

Well if money is no object here, as someone said here get the i7 3970X instead as it recently replaced the i7 3960X. If you are running 1 montior at no greater than 1920x1080, then I recommend the 4GB GTX 680 FTW edition instead of the GTX 690, but that's what I prefer because I prefer single-GPU systems for a few reasons. I you must go dual GPU, then I recommend two 4GB GTX 680 FTW cards instead of one GTX 690. Most modern motherboards have onboard ethernet.