Upgrade Soon - Opinions please

[railven]

Hello, well my two year upgrade period is coming up (agreement I made with the GF after we bought the house.)

Current rig:
ASRock X58 Extreme
Intel Core i7 930 2.8ghz @ 3.6ghz (stable)
Corsair H50
Coolermaster Scout (modified to fit 5870)
G.Skill 3x2GB DDR3 1600 Black Pi
Radeon HD 5870 2GB
2x500GB Seagate 7200.12 in RAID 0
Corsair TX750W (possibly TX850W)

Anyways, that is the meat and potatoes. This is what I was looking to upgrade to:
Ivy Bridge Core i7 entry level (cheapest of the bunch, K-Series for OCing.)
Decent Motherboard (looking at ASRock again) Z-level (Z78 is the IB chipset, correct?)
Corsair Vengeance 1833 for OCing head room (2x4GB)
Radeon HD 7970
2xSSDs ~$150-160 each (was looking at Corsair GT series, but recent Anandtech article of OCZ Octane shows them performing poorly versus competition.)
Keep the PSU.
Corsair H100
Corsair 500r Carbride (already got as Xmas gift from the GF )



Anyways, as I've gotten older and basically don't have as much expendable money as before, I started to really look at the parts I wanted to get. Then I started to think about performance and what I need versus what I'd want. For starters, I mostly play MMOs such as WoW and now SW:TOR. I like to play all the latest games too (Rage/BF3/Sonic Generations ) and my HD 5870 handled them nicely.

So, my question is - how much of an upgrade would Ivy Bridge be over Bloomfield? From my readings Sandy Bridge is in the 20-25% range and Ivy Bridge is about ~5% faster than SB. So, is it safe to say 30% in that general range? I only do video encoding on the side (mostly compressing BD to portable sizes and storage using Zip-7.)

While doing my research and pricing things out I started to realize - do I need SSDs in RAID 0? Is the 30% performance increase from Bloom to IB even worth it? The videocard is a given (from Anand benches and some OC benches 80-90% increase over my HD 5870.)

Do you guys think my OC'ed i7 930 would bottleneck an HD 7970? I guess that would be the base of my post. If I can get away with my i7 930 and use an HD 7970 without issue.

Thanks in advance for any feedback.

EDIT: My goal is to upgrade around March/April - why I'm looking at Ivy Bridge. If IB isn't launched by then I guess my post can be aimed at the Sandy Bridge 2600k.

 

[railven]

Looking at Microcenter prices, difference between a 2500k and 2600k is almost about $100.

Savings I can redirect else where. 2500k with a good OC should be a decent upgrade I'd assume?

 

[Zap]

Regarding your wish list.

No need for fancy RAM to overclock K series CPU since you increase the multiplier. Your current rig needed the BCLK increased, which increased RAM speed. Thus, you can save money on RAM. Heck, you can even recycle your current RAM (just run two sticks instead of 3).

Corsair H100 is overkill.

Then I started to think about performance and what I need versus what I'd want. For starters, I mostly play MMOs such as WoW and now SW:TOR. I like to play all the latest games too (Rage/BF3/Sonic Generations ) and my HD 5870 handled them nicely.

Want = best under the sun

Need = what you currently have

I upgraded from socket 1366 to socket 1155. Did I need to? Absolutely not. Did I want to? Heck yeah! :biggrin: So I did it. Biggest difference for me was... system POSTs a lot quicker. Whether I'm actually trolling posting insightful messages at AnandTech Forums or playing games, my experience is... exactly the same. Well, except it isn't as warm underneath my desk anymore.

do I need SSDs in RAID 0?

No.

 

[Puppies04]

On the need vs want discussion. Why even bother with an I7. Get the IB equivalent of the 2500k OC the nuts off it and be happy

 

[JAG87]

That's a nice agreement you have there.

Wait for IB. If you have to wait an extra month, wait, it's worth it. The efficiency improvements are huge with IB and the overclocking headroom should be proportional to that. We're talking something between 4.5-5Ghz with stupid low idling wattage.

Mobo wise, if you like As-Rock, go for it. One brand is equal to another as long as you have enough USB, sata and pci-e to do what you want to do. Chipset should be Z77.

Save money on ram. Do not buy anything above DDR3-1600, it's a waste of money, it makes zero difference.

Be careful with your video card choice. By March NV should have Kepler ready, which might be a better performer. If you are buying just before it's release, be careful with the price because the HD7970's will drop like a rock once Kepler is out. Basically wait until NV puts out competition before paying MSRP on the Radeon.

Don't raid those SSD drives, it's a waste. If you need the space, buy a single bigger drive. You'd also be better off buying a smaller $100 drive for the OS and a bigger $200 for your apps. Stick to Intel or Crucial, forget OCZ.

I also think the H100 will be overkill with IB. You will be surprised how far that chip will go even on stock cooling. An H80 should be more than sufficient.

 

[dma0991]

You are probably looking for the Z77 chipset motherboard that supports IB. If you're not interested in a better IGP and a small improvement in CPU performance, getting a SB now is not a bad idea. You have a dedicated GPU, my assumption is that you would not bother with the improved IGP. IB is stated to be launched by April but it won't be in full gear till a month or two at least, by full gear I mean the large availability of motherboard choices as well.

A single SSD is sufficient as there is no 2x increase in read/write speeds with SSD in RAID 0. A single SSD is more than enough plus you wouldn't have to worry about TRIM support.

Better to go all out for this rig as it might be your last for a very very long time. :biggrin:

 

[railven]

Regarding your wish list.

No need for fancy RAM to overclock K series CPU since you increase the multiplier. Your current rig needed the BCLK increased, which increased RAM speed. Thus, you can save money on RAM. Heck, you can even recycle your current RAM (just run two sticks instead of 3).

Corsair H100 is overkill.

Welp I'm looking at two options because essentially I want to spend this money on something computer related - what, I'm sick

A) Upgrade my rig or upgrade the GF's rig - otherwise, I'd be buying a new board+CPU+RAM - so I figured I'd upgrade mine and give her my old parts, but then I can be the saint and just upgrade her rig with all new parts and be jealous.
B) Do nothing outside of a new GPU and a SSD.

Any of the H-series from Corsair you'd recommend for OCing a Sandy Bridge/Ivy Bridge?

Want = best under the sun

Need = what you currently have

I upgraded from socket 1366 to socket 1155. Did I need to? Absolutely not. Did I want to? Heck yeah! :biggrin: So I did it. Biggest difference for me was... system POSTs a lot quicker. Whether I'm actually trolling posting insightful messages at AnandTech Forums or playing games, my experience is... exactly the same. Well, except it isn't as warm underneath my desk anymore.



No.

Haha, the more I look at the cost of the parts I'd want - the more this voice nags at me "you don't need that" at the back of my head. I'm pruning my list here and there.

So the big question for me - do you think my i7 930 would bottleneck a HD 7970?

On the need vs want discussion. Why even bother with an I7. Get the IB equivalent of the 2500k OC the nuts off it and be happy

I covered that in my second post. Since I don't do as much computing as I use to - the Core i5 2500k (or Ivy Bridge equivalent if out by then) with a heavy OC (4ghz+) would be more than enough for my needs - that's IF my 930 won't bottleneck an HD 7970.

I can just roll the difference and get the GF a new board+CPU+GPU or get myself the new board+CPU and still get her the GPU with the savings.


EDIT: By the way, thanks guys for the feedback.

 

[railven]

That's a nice agreement you have there.

Wait for IB. If you have to wait an extra month, wait, it's worth it. The efficiency improvements are huge with IB and the overclocking headroom should be proportional to that. We're talking something between 4.5-5Ghz with stupid low idling wattage.

Yeah, I think we made a good compromise - I stopped upgrading every new product cycle she stopped buying every new dress. Haha.

My expectation is to upgrade in March/April and I keep reading that is when IB is expected to launch. That's why I'm targeting IB more than SB in my questions. Eitherway, I think I'll be buying a CPU+MOBO (whether for me or her) so, I'll be looking at IB and the announcements. If it doesn't come out, I might secure a SB 2500K.

Mobo wise, if you like As-Rock, go for it. One brand is equal to another as long as you have enough USB, sata and pci-e to do what you want to do. Chipset should be Z77.

Save money on ram. Do not buy anything above DDR3-1600, it's a waste of money, it makes zero difference.

I'd wish they'd announce more on IB so at least I'd have a better understanding of the price points. Right now ASRock has a board I like (feature wise) for a good price ($115 - ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 I believe it was.) While I'm sure having a PCIe 3.0 board is pointless, the cost isn't breaking my bank and I'd only want 2 SATA 6gbs ports to be honest. Glad I can just cut back on the RAM and transfer that ~$40 difference to another part.

Be careful with your video card choice. By March NV should have Kepler ready, which might be a better performer. If you are buying just before it's release, be careful with the price because the HD7970's will drop like a rock once Kepler is out. Basically wait until NV puts out competition before paying MSRP on the Radeon.

I'm definitely in the red camp (I miss you ATI ). But I do hope by March/April nV mentions something that would cause a price drop on the HD 7970. I'm setting myself to pay only $550+Tax, and hopefully by then it is less and not more.

Don't raid those SSD drives, it's a waste. If you need the space, buy a single bigger drive. You'd also be better off buying a smaller $100 drive for the OS and a bigger $200 for your apps. Stick to Intel or Crucial, forget OCZ.

I also think the H100 will be overkill with IB. You will be surprised how far that chip will go even on stock cooling. An H80 should be more than sufficient.

How do you feel about the Corsair GT SSDs series? I was originally aiming to have a Corsair themed build (but their mice software is getting bad reviews, I wasn't impressed enough to get one of their keyboards, and the recent review of the OCZ Octane shows the Corsair GT in a bad light.) Price wise, they are in what I'm willing to spend.

But if the Intel's are more reliable and better performers - I can transfer that $40 from the RAM over there.

THanks for the feedback

You are probably looking for the Z77 chipset motherboard that supports IB. If you're not interested in a better IGP and a small improvement in CPU performance, getting a SB now is not a bad idea. You have a dedicated GPU, my assumption is that you would not bother with the improved IGP. IB is stated to be launched by April but it won't be in full gear till a month or two at least, by full gear I mean the large availability of motherboard choices as well.

A single SSD is sufficient as there is no 2x increase in read/write speeds with SSD in RAID 0. A single SSD is more than enough plus you wouldn't have to worry about TRIM support.

Better to go all out for this rig as it might be your last for a very very long time. :biggrin:

Haha. I'm definitely running a dedicated GPU so bottlenecking is my first concern. Since I'll be buying in March/April - I got some time to finalize the list. I jsut wanted to get some ideas now so I can start tracking Items and if I ever see any of them on a good deal sale I can secure them ahead of time versus buying all at once.

So, with all the feedback here SSD RAID is definitely out. I'll put the money towards a bigger single drive or possible as suggested 1 smaller for the OS (~60GB) and one bigger one for my more used apps (~120GB).

Thanks for the ideas

 

[Puppies04]

the Core i5 2500k (or Ivy Bridge equivalent if out by then) with a heavy OC (4ghz+)

Ok not sure if you really mean that but 4ghz is not even a medium OC for SB, IB will probably turbo to that anyway and the 2500k quite happily turbos to 3.7 all day long as long as you remembered to fit the stock cooler...

If 4ghz is your absolute goal then you might aswell get a non overclocking rig set up and buy a non "k" rated chip straight off the shelf. Otherwise feel free to raise your expectations slightly to a 4.5ghz 24/7 OC.

 

[railven]

Ok not sure if you really mean that but 4ghz is not even a medium OC for SB, IB will probably turbo to that anyway and the 2500k quite happily turbos to 3.7 all day long as long as you remembered to fit the stock cooler...

If 4ghz is your absolute goal then you might aswell get a non overclocking rig set up and buy a non "k" rated chip straight off the shelf. Otherwise feel free to raise your expectations slightly to a 4.5ghz 24/7 OC.

Correct me if I'm wrong but 4.5ghz is within my goal of 4ghz+. Notice I didn't specify where I'd settle since, not all processors are made the same.

I don't get why you'd recommend a non-OCing processor when I've stated I want to overclock.

 

[JAG87]

Yeah, I think we made a good compromise - I stopped upgrading every new product cycle she stopped buying every new dress. Haha.

My expectation is to upgrade in March/April and I keep reading that is when IB is expected to launch. That's why I'm targeting IB more than SB in my questions. Eitherway, I think I'll be buying a CPU+MOBO (whether for me or her) so, I'll be looking at IB and the announcements. If it doesn't come out, I might secure a SB 2500K.



I'd wish they'd announce more on IB so at least I'd have a better understanding of the price points. Right now ASRock has a board I like (feature wise) for a good price ($115 - ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 I believe it was.) While I'm sure having a PCIe 3.0 board is pointless, the cost isn't breaking my bank and I'd only want 2 SATA 6gbs ports to be honest. Glad I can just cut back on the RAM and transfer that ~$40 difference to another part.



I'm definitely in the red camp (I miss you ATI ). But I do hope by March/April nV mentions something that would cause a price drop on the HD 7970. I'm setting myself to pay only $550+Tax, and hopefully by then it is less and not more.



How do you feel about the Corsair GT SSDs series? I was originally aiming to have a Corsair themed build (but their mice software is getting bad reviews, I wasn't impressed enough to get one of their keyboards, and the recent review of the OCZ Octane shows the Corsair GT in a bad light.) Price wise, they are in what I'm willing to spend.

But if the Intel's are more reliable and better performers - I can transfer that $40 from the RAM over there.

THanks for the feedback



Haha. I'm definitely running a dedicated GPU so bottlenecking is my first concern. Since I'll be buying in March/April - I got some time to finalize the list. I jsut wanted to get some ideas now so I can start tracking Items and if I ever see any of them on a good deal sale I can secure them ahead of time versus buying all at once.

So, with all the feedback here SSD RAID is definitely out. I'll put the money towards a bigger single drive or possible as suggested 1 smaller for the OS (~60GB) and one bigger one for my more used apps (~120GB).

Thanks for the ideas

Like I said before, it's slated for April 8, but if it slips by a week or a month, wait for it, it's worth it over SB. Obviously if it slips by like 6 months, carry on as you please.

Your board won't be expensive, a medium featured Z77 board should run you about $200-$250 (maybe even less with AsRock).

Regardless what camp you are with, don't pay sticker price on the 7970. Even if by the March time frame we have no Kepler, you'd be better off with 2x6950 than one 7970. You can grab a couple for $200 each, and for less money you can have more performance than a single 7970. The 7970 is just a bad value, so I'm just advising you to wait until it drops in price or you'll be sorry a few months later. Pretty sure however that NV will have something out by March.

Personally, I wouldn't buy any SSD that is not Intel or Micron. even if I have to spend a little more for it.

 

[Kenmitch]

I don't get why you'd recommend a non-OCing processor when I've stated I want to overclock.

SB overclocking isn't limited to the K's only. As long as the SB chip has Turbo Mode and a motherboard that supports it you have the ability to set the multipier 4 bins higher than the turbo multiplier....Just a FYI

For people on a budget and a low overclocking goal for a SB the non K chips can be fine depending on the price point vs the K's.

 

[Arachnotronic]

Why not nab a used 6-core i7 970? That'd be a real upgrade and you could drop it right in...

 

[railven]

Like I said before, it's slated for April 8, but if it slips by a week or a month, wait for it, it's worth it over SB. Obviously if it slips by like 6 months, carry on as you please.

I'd hope it doesn't slip anymore than it already has. But, reading some recent Anand articles it seems performance wise - it won't be much of a gain stock over current SB. Eitherway, I look forward to an upgrade. I guess I've set my price point for the CPU under $200 to maximize my budget.

So i5 2500k or IVB equivalent.

Your board won't be expensive, a medium featured Z77 board should run you about $200-$250 (maybe even less with AsRock).

Regardless what camp you are with, don't pay sticker price on the 7970. Even if by the March time frame we have no Kepler, you'd be better off with 2x6950 than one 7970. You can grab a couple for $200 each, and for less money you can have more performance than a single 7970. The 7970 is just a bad value, so I'm just advising you to wait until it drops in price or you'll be sorry a few months later. Pretty sure however that NV will have something out by March.

I'm still shopping around for a board I'd like. I've alway buy a board with Multi-GPU in mind but then I don't do it. The two times I did (HD 4870x2 and 2x8800 GTS) I wasn't a big fan of the profile issues, the microstutter was obvious to me, and in the end I'd say I'm done with multi-GPU. I currently play at 1080p or 3840x1080p at most so I think one card would be enough. I'm trying to find a board with 1x16PCIE and 1x8x minimum as I'd like to still use my 9800 GTX+ for PhysX on the occassional game that does use it - properly.

As for prices - I've accepted the pitfalls in the PC world. I know if I wait, it will go on sale or something better will come around, but if I use that mentallity I'd always be waiting. I can wait a week or two, but if nothing is in the pipeline - I'll just buy what I decided on at the best price I can find it. But, I do refuse to get gouged - so MSRP + Tax, and nothing more.

Personally, I wouldn't buy any SSD that is not Intel or Micron. even if I have to spend a little more for it.

Any particular model you'd recommend? The consumer versions the M-series I recall had good ratings. I believe the X-series might be a little too much for my budget, but I if I find a deal I can squeeze it in.

SB overclocking isn't limited to the K's only. As long as the SB chip has Turbo Mode and a motherboard that supports it you have the ability to set the multipier 4 bins higher than the turbo multiplier....Just a FYI

For people on a budget and a low overclocking goal for a SB the non K chips can be fine depending on the price point vs the K's.

I meant more so the restrictions set on the non-K. They aren't known to OC well, and from my understanding 5% outside of Turbo is the average. I'd be starting with at minimum 33% OC and work my way up to something reasonable. The other poster misinterpreted my goal and recommended something that went against what I was asking for.

The 2500k is $180 at Microcenter, considering I was looking at the 2600k for $100 more, I wouldn't say I'm trying to go super cheap - just being more reasonable.

Why not nab a used 6-core i7 970? That'd be a real upgrade and you could drop it right in...

I saved up this money exclusive for a new PC. After pricing out parts I wanted, that voice kicked in and the recent PC issues my GF has had I guess made me change my mind on the direction I wanted to go. So, I'll be upgrading my Rig and her's in a sense. She has an AMD 690 (or whatever chipset number is in that range) and a Phenom II X3 720. So, she'll be getting my old board + CPU + RAM + GPU, and if I stretch the money enough possibly a new GPU (GTX 570 - in that range since she is a green ant) or get her an SSD (she mostly plays games like Dragon Age, Skyrim, and right now we're both playing SW:TOR.)

So just upgrading the CPU isn't a favorable option for me right now. THis money came from bitmining (sold coins + hardware) so it's almost free money for PC upgrades. Gonna try to spread the love as much as I can

 

[JAG87]

I'd hope it doesn't slip anymore than it already has. But, reading some recent Anand articles it seems performance wise - it won't be much of a gain stock over current SB. Eitherway, I look forward to an upgrade. I guess I've set my price point for the CPU under $200 to maximize my budget.

So i5 2500k or IVB equivalent.


I'm still shopping around for a board I'd like. I've alway buy a board with Multi-GPU in mind but then I don't do it. The two times I did (HD 4870x2 and 2x8800 GTS) I wasn't a big fan of the profile issues, the microstutter was obvious to me, and in the end I'd say I'm done with multi-GPU. I currently play at 1080p or 3840x1080p at most so I think one card would be enough. I'm trying to find a board with 1x16PCIE and 1x8x minimum as I'd like to still use my 9800 GTX+ for PhysX on the occassional game that does use it - properly.

As for prices - I've accepted the pitfalls in the PC world. I know if I wait, it will go on sale or something better will come around, but if I use that mentallity I'd always be waiting. I can wait a week or two, but if nothing is in the pipeline - I'll just buy what I decided on at the best price I can find it. But, I do refuse to get gouged - so MSRP + Tax, and nothing more.


Any particular model you'd recommend? The consumer versions the M-series I recall had good ratings. I believe the X-series might be a little too much for my budget, but I if I find a deal I can squeeze it in.


I meant more so the restrictions set on the non-K. They aren't known to OC well, and from my understanding 5% outside of Turbo is the average. I'd be starting with at minimum 33% OC and work my way up to something reasonable. The other poster misinterpreted my goal and recommended something that went against what I was asking for.

The 2500k is $180 at Microcenter, considering I was looking at the 2600k for $100 more, I wouldn't say I'm trying to go super cheap - just being more reasonable.



I saved up this money exclusive for a new PC. After pricing out parts I wanted, that voice kicked in and the recent PC issues my GF has had I guess made me change my mind on the direction I wanted to go. So, I'll be upgrading my Rig and her's in a sense. She has an AMD 690 (or whatever chipset number is in that range) and a Phenom II X3 720. So, she'll be getting my old board + CPU + RAM + GPU, and if I stretch the money enough possibly a new GPU (GTX 570 - in that range since she is a green ant) or get her an SSD (she mostly plays games like Dragon Age, Skyrim, and right now we're both playing SW:TOR.)

So just upgrading the CPU isn't a favorable option for me right now. THis money came from bitmining (sold coins + hardware) so it's almost free money for PC upgrades. Gonna try to spread the love as much as I can

It's worth waiting for. 77W at 3.4Ghz vs 95W at 3.3 Ghz on the 2500K, very likely higher OC headroom, Z77 = USB3 and pci-e 3.0, it's definitely worth waiting for.

You can't choose a board before they are out, so sit patiently and wait for Z77 boards to start streaming out. Boards usually come out a few weeks before the chips are announced, you'll have plenty of time to pick one that suits your needs.

You definitely don't need multi GPU for 1080p, but getting a board with at least 2 pci-e slots that can run at least 8x each is always a good idea. I would steer clear of using the 9800GTX for physx, even if you go with a Kepler card, it's worthless and it will just end up costing you $50 a year in idle power consumption. One Kepler card will chew easily through 1080p and physx together. If you go with an AMD card, the dual driver installation is even more reason to not use the 9800GTX.

For the SSD, Intel 320 series or Crucial M4. On paper, the M4 is a lot faster.

Just sit tight and wait. Don't pull the trigger on any part until everything you need is available, things and prices change too fast in this business.

 

[biostud]

ATM I would just get an SSD + GPU upgrade, rest will be a minimal upgrade compared to cost. What monitor/sound setup do you have?

 

[railven]

It's worth waiting for. 77W at 3.4Ghz vs 95W at 3.3 Ghz on the 2500K, very likely higher OC headroom, Z77 = USB3 and pci-e 3.0, it's definitely worth waiting for.

You can't choose a board before they are out, so sit patiently and wait for Z77 boards to start streaming out. Boards usually come out a few weeks before the chips are announced, you'll have plenty of time to pick one that suits your needs.

I wasn't openly looking for IVB boards - as I know they aren't out yet. I was looking at SB boards to give me a general idea of where I want to go. And there is still the chance IVB doesn't launch in the window I have setup for upgrading.

I'm not a power user, and I don't leave my PC running 24/7 (any more.) It's only at most 4-5 hours a day and during transcoding, possibly 12 hours. The power consumption of IVB vs SB isn't a big perk for me, nor the overhead in OCing, maybe when I was a tad younger and was running more insane useless stuff haha.

However if IVB is on the market when I get ready - of course I'll snag that up.

You definitely don't need multi GPU for 1080p, but getting a board with at least 2 pci-e slots that can run at least 8x each is always a good idea. I would steer clear of using the 9800GTX for physx, even if you go with a Kepler card, it's worthless and it will just end up costing you $50 a year in idle power consumption. One Kepler card will chew easily through 1080p and physx together. If you go with an AMD card, the dual driver installation is even more reason to not use the 9800GTX.

For the SSD, Intel 320 series or Crucial M4. On paper, the M4 is a lot faster.

Just sit tight and wait. Don't pull the trigger on any part until everything you need is available, things and prices change too fast in this business.

Unless nVidia announces a card that can run 5 displays (2 active, possibly 3) and the bigger seller for me on the HD 7 series - specific audio to each display, Kepler is a no go for me. I run 5 displays off my HD 5870 (why I got the 2GB version) in 3 different rooms. My PC is basically my setup for everything in terms of the rooms I'm active.

Thanks for the suggestion on the SSDs. I'll be looking into those.

ATM I would just get an SSD + GPU upgrade, rest will be a minimal upgrade compared to cost. What monitor/sound setup do you have?

I run 5 displays (2 at once at most) all 1080p. But, I'd be willing to upgrade my main desk setup to 3x1080ps, and right now my HD 5870 has a hard time doing 2x1080ps in certain games.

My setup is:
Living Room
52" Sony 5.1 Surround Sound (PC is now officially in the office to reduce noise)
24" ASUS for basic web stuff in the living room (sometimes I use it to run Netflix or something while I game on the 52") because I don't have a receiver this is 2 channels only (HDMI)
Office:
27" ASUS 3D monitor 1080p hooked up to headphones (for quiet time when the GF is sleeping) or I can switch over to the 5.1 surround system in the room.
27" ACER 1080p next to the ASUS (this is probably the only time I use 2x1080p) again hooked up to headphones or 5.1 (only gets used in certain games that allow custom resolutions.)
52" Sharp 1080p hooked up to 5.1 (same as the living room.)

Now, because I don't have a receiver and I haven't passed enough wires, I have the PC hooked up to 2 Surround systems 1xFiber Optic in the living room and analog in the office. I have to manually switch in the OS which to use. I'm hoping via HDMI I can control this with the new audio functions of the HD 7 series and just let the GPU handle everything through HDMI.

My system now is mostly for gaming (as I only transcode video files now and then for storage.)

I've come to enjoy the display options of the HD 5870 2GB and any GPU upgrade HAS TO OFFER similar options. I'm not even 100% sure I can drive so many units off one HD 7970, with out some kind of DP hub. I'll look into that closer when I get ready to buy.