Building a Rig for Gaming & Video Editing/Rendering

With my exams over, the first thing on my priority list is to get a new PC.

So I start my basic research as I’m building it from scratch and a little unaware of the latest advancements due to the exams.
Here is the whole process I went through and the components I selected.

The Components I already have:

Samsung 32” LED TV

Philips 5.1 Home theatre speakers

Processor

Never been an AMD fan, and been accustomed to an Intel Core2Quad, my natural option was the Intel i7. The Intel i5 2500k processor is the best processor out there for gaming and is also easily overclock-able owing to the unlocked multiplier. But I had video editing and rendering stuff to handle so the i7 2600k @3.4Ghz (could be easily overclocked upto 5.9Ghz owing to the unlocked multiplier, depending on my cooling system) seemed to be a better option.

RAM

Gaming? Video editing and rendering?

8GB seemed the perfect size.

Selected the G.Skill but the bigger heatsink of the Corsair Vengeance attracted me.

So, finally settled for 2 x 4GB Corsair Vengeance RAM @ 1600MHz.

Graphics Card

With NVidia GTX 580 out of my budget, and not inclined towards AMD, I settled for 2 NVidia GTX 550i on SLI.

Turned out, a single GTX 560i proves to be a better bet than 2 GTX 550Ti on SLI.

I could get a single GTX 560i right now, and later on add another one. Or simply get both of them right now.

So I got one Zotac GTX 560 Ti and plan to add another one as of when required.

Cabinet

Always wanted to have a Cooler Master HAF cabinet!

Took a CM HAF 912 Advanced, complete with USB 3.0, tool-less technology and a side glass panel.

PSU

I planned to install 2 GTX 560Ti on SLI so I had to get a minimum of 600W power supply.

To be on the safer side, opted for the Corsair Gaming Series 700W, which also comes with 3-coloured LED lights (Blue/Red/White) which change with the press of a button.

Motherboard

The most difficult of them all! Msi, Gigabyte, Asus, Intel. It gets confusing.

I wanted a motherboard that supported the other components I had selected, future-proof and supported SLI.

Asus and Gigabyte had a better BIOS than Intel, which Asus being more advanced for overclocking.

But the Intel motherboard was way more stable at higher frequencies so got the DZ68BC, and, oh man, it’s a beast. Complete with a Blue Skull which is turned on along with the PC and Red eyes which blink when the HDD is accessed, a 2-digit POST display and other LED lights showing the status of the various components.

Supported the i7 processor as well as the new Ivy Bridge, SLI and 4 RAM slots and 10 channel sound.

Hard Disk

Nothing fancy. Just a Seagate 1 TB SATA at 7200rpm.

Cooling System

I planned to overclock the processor so cooling was a major concern.

The HAF came with 3 fans( 2 x 200mm, 1 x 120mm ) already and I took the Corsair Hydro Cooling H60 for the processor and extra 2 x 120mm Blue LED fans.

Final Words

With the list finalized, head to Nehru Place to buy everything

The setting up of the system coming soon!