Unfortunately my current computer is dying, so I kind of need to get a new one fairly soon. I've been going through the different forums here for advice and have basically come up with the current setup. I'm looking for any advice for the components I've selected, especially the motherboard which I'm really not that familiar with. I've read up on Ivy Bridge, but I don't think I can wait that long. I've also looked into the Sapphire HD 7750 Ultimate video card, which I am interested in but it's not available where I'm purchasing my computer (I guess I can order it seperately from somewhere else if it's worth it).

I'm basically going to use this PC for home media as well as for games like Skyrim or any future similar releases. Of course I am also trying to keep the computer as quiet as possible. Probably not going to go with a SSD just because I'm not comfortable enough with it yet. The one other thing I really would like is the ability to turn on my computer without actually walking up to it, so it'll be great if it can be turned on through remote control or keyboard, etc. Regarding my budget, I can probably afford an additional $200 to what I currently have put together. If you guys can give me any advice on what you think should be changed, it'll be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Still not 100% about
Video Cards: MSI Radeon HD 6850 Cyclone
Motherboard: ASRock Z68M-ITX/HT or an Asus motherboard that I haven't decided on

Already ordered
Cooling: Scythe Mugen 3
RAM: Corsair Vengeance Low Profile Blue 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-24 Memory Kit
Case: Antec Solo II
PSU: Seasonic X-560
HDD: Crucial M4 128GB SSD

Pending
CPU: Intel Core i5 2500k

I have the MSI R6850 CYCLONE PE/OC, and have had a lot of problems with it. RMA'ed the first one, and the second seems to be developing the same problems as before with some programs (looses synch and screen freezes black). I would avoid it, and in fact I think AMD/ATI video drivers stink.

Right now Micro-Center has the Intel i5 2500K on sale for $180.00, either via internet or at their stores.

I have a WD Green 1.5 TB drive that works fine for me (they make many different sizes). My C drive is Intel SSD. So long as you keep your important data on the hard disk, and get a reliable SSD like Intel, it should work fine. Definitely makes system run faster, even with data files on hard disk.

Wow, that's a good deal. Unfortunately, the offer is for in-store only, so that doesn't work for me. Thanks for letting me know about the MSI R6850 CYCLONE, I'll do some more research later today before I decide what I'm going to do with the video card.

NewEgg has this combo for $370 with free shipping. Deal expire at 11:59pm PT on Thursday, 03/22/2012:

• ASUS P8Z68-V/GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
• Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDeal ... 19-115-072

Nice component list. Couple of comments:
- unless you are a heavy Photoshop user, have some other app that requires heavy use of RAM, or plan to set up a RAMdisk, you don't need 16GB. 4GB min is fine, 8GB is cheap.
- You don't say what your monitor resolution is...but the 6850 will provide decent fps up to 1080p. Here's a benchmarking review for Skyrim at Tom's Hardware.
- I don't know if m0002a's Cyclone problem is widespread or just poor luck. Newegg reviews show 4% RMA rate for the OC version and 9% for the regular version. I've installed/recommended two for friends and they are working fine for SWTOR.

In doing research on the Intenet about my problem, I found several people who had the exact same issue as I did, coincidently with the same 2500K CPU. But all of these cards were the OC version of the MSI Cyclone. I have tried MSI Afterburner to underclock the OC to regular 6850 specs, but that did not help.

When the problem occurs, the driver issues a message saying that sych has been lost, and it takes 20-30 seconds to resych. On my first card the problem got progressively worse, and it got so bad I had to RMA it, on my replacement card it only happens on some applications like Google Earth. I have not tried any serious games.

While

While researching the problem on the Internet, I found several others with the same exact problem as I had, with the same video card and cooincidently same 2500K CPU (but may be related to chipset rather than CPU) and Windows 7 64-bit (which tells me it is driver related to some degree). The problem got progressively worse over time so that I had to RMA the card, and the replacement card still does not work with certain applications such as Google Earth or even the 2-D Chess program that comes with Windows 7.

The symptom is that the screen freezes, then goes black for 10-30 seconds, and AMD driver issues a message that "display driver has stopped responding and has recovered". If you google this error you will get tons of hits.

bummer.

I usually favor ASUS mo-bos because of their fan controlling. It's described here:

http://techreport.com/discussions.x/21815

Just jump to the part that deals with fan controlling. basically ASUS has a Windows application in which you can control both PWM fan and regular 3pin fans easily via a graph with temperature on the x-axis and percentage (of max rpm) on the y-axis. You then have three "spots" which will create your own "temp/rpm"-profile. PWM and 3-pin fans are controlled separately. PWM can go as low as 10-20 % while 3 pin fans go down to 40 % (5 V).

It's very easy and intuitive. Usually the "Pro"-versions has more fan headers.

I've considered this setup for video cards. Buy a 6850, then install one of those passively cooled heatsinks from Arctic Cooling, and then strap on a fan of your choice. Usually cooler and quieter than anything on the market, but it's more expensive. You could also consider ASUS DirectCU cards. Those are usually quiet too.

16 GB also seems a bit overkill. Even 8 GB seems quite overkill, but it's so cheap that I'd definitely recommend 2x4 GB.
About the rest of your system. It seems good.

Basically, SSD's from Crucial M4, Intel and Samsung are reliable. The M4 needs a firmware upgrade though.

Every thing else seems very well thought out.

Thanks for the replies. I will be going with 8 GB of ram instead of 16 GB as a few of you have recommended. Regarding the motherboard, I will look into the Asus boards that you guys recommended. The biggest thing is that I want one that will allow me to turn on the computer without having to physically walk over to turn it on (my keyboard will be quite a bit further away). Regarding the video card, I've looked into the issue that m0002a was talking about and it does seem like some people are having similar issues. I'm a little worried myself since I am running Windows 7 64-bit as well (oh, and 1080p resolution, forgot to include that in my original post, thanks CA_Steve).

kuzzia: The setup you are talking about with the 6850, do you mean the non-OC version of the video card?

Anyway, I'll do a bit more research before I make my purchase, but it seems like I have most of the parts down. The only thing I have a lot of uncertainty about now is the video card. Aside from that , thank you very much for the help so far.

It was just an example. I used the example because it is compatible with the Arctic Cooling Accelero S1 rev. 2 (passive)

I had the exact same problems with my card (when playing Skyrim, which is the only 3d heavy game I play at the moment). I use a Thermalright HR-03 heatsink on a 4890 with a 120mm fan on top. The problems completely stopped after I reseated the heatsink. The card never gets above 70 deg with just some airflow from my CPU cooler. I think the graphic card simply overheats. Check in Catalyst Control Center (3D or performance, where you can adjust clock speeds) or Speedfan. If the card gets hotter than 85 deg there might be a problem with the cooler. Check if the cooler has come loose and either RMA the card or reseat the cooler.

So I've already started ordering some of the parts that I'm confident in. Unfortunately the motherboard that I wanted is out of stock where I'm ordering it. That and I'm still not completely sold that it's the right one for me yet. Feel free to make more recommendations and thank you so much for all the help I've received thus far.