Chevron 11 Proposed Specs for Spring/Summer Build:
GPU is Undecided, was looking at 7000 Series. Most Likely on one 23 Inch Screen, So a 7970 might be overboard.
Updated 1/17/2011 (Changed Ram)


Case - DONE, ORDERED, SHIPPED.
(Recommended, Has Alot of Fans, Big 200MM Fan, Ports on the Front, PSU on Bottom, and Space, Dual 120 Top Fan Exhaust)
COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel
Item #:N82E16811119197
-$15.00 Instant, $10 off w/ promo code EMCKJKG36, ends 1/9
$104.99 - $10 w/ Promo ($94.99 Shipped, -$15 MIR = $79.99 after MIR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197

Power Supply - DONE, ORDERED, SHIPPED.
(Bought the Same PSU for My brother's system (Chevron10), Performs Nicely, Paid $20 less though!)
OCZ ModXStream Pro 700W Modular High Performance Power Supply
Item #: N82E16817341018
-$40.00 Instant, $15.00 Gift Card, $30 Mail-in Rebate Card
$89.99 Shipped ($59.99 After MIR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341018

MainBoard - Done, Ordered, Shipped
(Have had no Issues with ASRock in the past, only 990FX Board that has all the features I want, DualLAN, Enough Fan PORTs etc etc,)
ASRock Fatal1ty 990FX Professional AM3+ AMD 990FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813157267
-$10.00 Instant
$189.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157267

CPU - Done, Ordered,
AMD FX-8120 Zambezi 3.1GHz Socket AM3+ 125W Eight-Core Desktop Processor FD8120FRGUBOX
Item #: N82E16819103961
$209.99 $199.99 w/ Promo Code: EMCNJJH36 (ends 1/18)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103961

CPU Cooler - Done, Ordered, Shipped
(Recommended, Will Mount to case roof w/ 120+CFM Fans.)
CORSAIR H100 (CWCH100) Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler
Item #:N82E16835181017
$119.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181017
Edit
$99.99 w/ free Shipping from Tiger Direct
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=581556&Sku=C13-2100


RAM - Done, Ordered, Shipped
G.SKILL Sniper Gaming Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
Model: F3-12800CL9Q-16GBSR
Item #:N82E16820103002
$89.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231534

Optical Drive - Done, Ordered, Shipped
ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM
Item #: N82E16827135204
$19.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

Harddisk - Done, Ordered, Shipped
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1502FAEX 1.5TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Drive
Item #: N82E16822136793
-$20.00 Instant
$189.99 $169.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136793

Graphics Card - Done,
SAPPHIRE 11196-02-40G Radeon HD 7950 3GB (OC Edition, 900Mhz)
Item #: N82E1681514102963
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102963
$479.99


Screen - Done,
ASUS VS248H-P Black 24" 2ms HDMI LED
Item #: N82E16824236153
$199.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236153

Operating System - Done, Transferring License
Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 64-bit
Transferring License from Retiring PC.

Sub Total Cost without GPU/SCREEN: $993.92 + Shipping (Via New Egg/TigerDirect)
(Im actually hoping this number goes down some (to sub $1000) before Spring/Summer.)


Adjustments:
$94.99 (1/09 - HAF 922 Case, Purchased/Shipped via NewEgg)
$89.99 (1/13 - OCZ 700w Modular Power Supply, Purchased/Shipped via NewEgg)
$136.99 (1/13 - Cyber Power UPS Battery Backup (800w), Purchased/Shipped via NewEgg )
$99.99 (1/21 - Corsair H100, Purchased/Shipped via Tiger Direct)
$169.99 (1/21 - Western Digital 1.5 TB, Purchased/Shipped Via Newegg)
$19.99 (1/21 - Asus SATA-II DVDRW, Purchased/Shipped Via NewEgg)
-$15.00 (1/21 - Used $15 NewEgg Gift Card)
$89.99 (1/28 - G.Skill 16GB Ram, Purchased/Shipped Via NewEgg)
$189.99 (2/07 - ASRock 990FX Fatality, Purchased/Shipped Via NewEgg)
$199.99 (2/10 - AMD FX-8120 CPU, Purchased/Shipped Via Newegg)
$199.99 (2/18 - ASUS VS248H-P Black 24" 2ms HDMI LED, Ordered)
$479.99 (2/18 - SAPPHIRE 11196-02-40G Radeon HD 7950 3GB (OC Edition), Ordered)
-$10.00 (2/18 - Used $10 NewEgg Gift Card).



System Cost as of 2/15 (minus S&H): $1746.89


During Assembly, The H100 will be mounted to the Ceiling of the Case in the Dual 120mm Slot,
The 200mm roof Fan will be moved to the side panel to blow on the main board and components

After Assembly,
The 1.5 TB (1396.98GB NTFS) Drive will be Cut into 400GB and 996.98 partitions. (1 for Windows 7 Ultimate 64-Bit, the Other For Windows Data/Backups.

Then Windows 7 will be installed and updated, Then "XP Mode will be installed"
The 1TB will be Setup as a data/backup partition.

The System will be in Warm weather area, with limited to No Air Conditioning (old house, dont ask).
I wanted to completely build a new box, instead of just getting the guts and upgrading my current system,
That way I'll have a Fall Back system ready to boot.

I'm going to keep my Saitek Eclipse II Keyboard, Mouse, Intensity Pro HDMI/HD Recording Card, Creative Sound Blaster XFi Platinum Fatality, and Saitek X52 for the New System as they can be quickly moved from one box to another if I Need to go back to the old System.

Anyway, Like always, Turning to other Enthusiasts to suggest substitutes. (cheaper, better performance etc)

I Will be however sticking with the AMD Platform (CPU+Chipset+GPU).

Nice system. It all looks good. Still, a few items to consider (no right or wrong):

Case: Look at Coolermaster HAF922 in the same price range. I added a Coolermaster $16 200 mm fan to the side to blow down on the motherboard in my water cooled system. Comes standard with two 200mm fans and a smaller fan. Loads of room where one needs it for large graphics cards and "high" air coolers (I know you're using H2O). Easy tool free assembly/installs.

CPU: Seems like the right choice (price/performance). Thing is, according to AMD, it must be overclocked (and was designed to be overclocked) to compete with Phenom II X6 1100T. I'd think in terms of 4.3GHz or higher (but final OC is always a slight gamble). Turbo mode might actually be enough as this boosts a single double core to 4GHz+ IIRC -- which is fine for most games that only make "good use" of one or two cores. Turbo would not require special cooling.

CPU Cooler: Good cooling is a priority with a high overclock. Water is good. Suggest a cooling solution that has a "double wide" radiator that takes two 120mm fans side by side. Based on my tests that should provide "margin" to get about 10C under the best air cooling solution. FWIW, the 10C did not buy me a higher OC -- just cooler running and more room to work in the case. Otherwise, I don't have any knowledge regarding your specific cooler.

RAM: OK. But, consider GSKILL. Usually one can get it even cheaper on special sale (I think 16GB of 1600 was $50 on sale a couple weeks back). I use it in all my computer builds now -- no problems, yet. If one is using 16GB, the FX8xxx CPU will not run above 1600 -- so choosing 1600 is appropriate. Save some cash.

RAM cooler: Not required with side case fan -- and maybe not even without a side fan (assuming RAM not OC). Save some cash.

GPU: If you go 23" 1920x1080 and don't plan to go Eyefinity, then go HD7950. On the other hand, considering how cheap the monitor you've picked, going Eyefinity would not be that big an "investment". HD7950 might still meet your needs (but, go HD7970 if you ever want to try Eyefinity -- or plan to Crossfire the HD7950 with another one when they get cheaper).

As always, merely opinions. I don't own all the stuff you'll be buying.

I've been doing some research on PSUs myself lately, and everyone seems to prefer Antec (Seasonic and Delta), Corsair (Seasonic and ?) or Seasonic itself. Seasonic and Delta are considered to be quality PSU designers.

While not modular, the Antec Earthwatts 750 Green seems very impressive in terms of the amount of power it supplies (4x 12v rails with 40 amps each).

As for the CPU, looking at benchmarks it is rather slow compared to the 2500K. If you have to OC it so much and spend $60 on a cooler just to obtain speeds similar to a stock 2500K, it seems like the better choice is to get the 2500K. Unless you can see yourself using 8 cores. But how many programs utilize the extra 4 cores?

If your PC still gets hot, I would suggest getting a Evercool Fox-1 (it is called something else on newegg now). It is slightly audible, but its not too loud. It hooks to the back of your case and takes up one slot, and it pulls some hot air from the case. It kept my GTX 260 2-3 degrees C cooler as well as my HDDs. After a little over 2 years the fan started to make a grinding noise though, and I removed it. I would hope 4x 120mm fans is enough to keep your PC cool, but if it isn't this is just one solution to consider.

Screen:
If you do video and photo editing, a IPS LCD might be better choice. Dell Ultrasharp series are good choice.

Harddisk:
HDD price is still a bit high but it has been dropping slowly. Maybe you can get a 128 GB SSD as a system drive for now and wait a bit for a HDD for data, or use old drives from existing system.

Will Look at that case, How'd you mount the fan to the side? does it fit onto the already present holes? or is there a kit i can buy from Coolermaster for that.

main reason i chose that case was the amount of fans/airflow, and the larger fan on top, since my room is near 90+ Degrees F for a few months, I need as much airflow as possible. I was looking at a Full Tower. But prices of those are insane.




Supposedly the PhenomIIx6's will be gone by this summer off Newegg.



I Will look at dual fan radiators, I looked at the Corsair H100, but i dont know if I can fit that in either the HAF case or the Antec.
Edit: Just saw the video from corsair that explains that the dual fan radiator mounts to the Roof of the HAF922, I actually like that, ALOT!



Will Give G.Skill Another Look, Most likely I will see whats on Sale in the Time Frame that I start ordering Parts. AMDs Radeon Series Ram w/4GB Sticks is supposed to be about $24.99/Stick.



If I Get a Side Fan, then I'll Skip it, I know my Ram now in my Current system gets HOT, even with heat Spreaders and airflow, expecially during video editing and recording.

TBH the $24 from skippin it will prolly goto the added $10 for the HAF922 and the H100 Cooler.



As Much as I Love Eyefinity on systems I've built/played it on, I can Justify 3 Screens, and one of them being a $200+ for the Display Port.

I was Looking at a 7950 for now, and Upgrading to a 2nd later on when they go on close out.




This build will be 1/4 the price of my Chevron9 System when I built it in 2005/6.
But then again alot of the hardware that was $300 at the time I'll be transferring over (Intensity Pro Card, Xfi Platinum Card. etc).

But, I Definately Like the Looks of teh HAF922 over the funky front end of the Antec, and the fact that I can Mount the H100 to the Roof of the HAF, and have it exhaust air out, AND cool the CPU. And with the Added 5.25 Bay, I can Put the DVD Drive and XFi Box in the Bottom Bays, and Migrate my KamaBAY 120mm Intake mod from my old case to this one to help with airflow. (takes up 3x 5.25 bays)

Assuming you meant "can't", for Eyefinity you'd only need 1 "mini-DP to DVI" connector, so any HDMI/DVI screen you'd pick (3 times ) would work.

I thought it had to be a native display port screen, ..

Will Update components when I get home from my office, Changed the case to the HAF922, the Cooler to H100, Dropped the RAM Fans, The 200mm top fan on the HAF922 will be moved to the side when I mount the H100 in its spot. Changed the Ram for now to AMD's Entertainment Series, which is DDR3-1600 and $15 cheaper.

New Total is $1098+Shipping, LCD SCREEN(S), GPU.

I wish there was a way to fix the issue with my current screen, it looks nice except the perm. glare on the one side. if I could take pictures I will.

Will also look at LCD Screens that have thinner bezels.

But with 3x HannsSPREE 1080p Screens, and a XFX6970, it comes to $1,897

I also dont think the XFX comes witht he DisplayPort -> DVI Adapter.

If using the Adapter would work, I can drop like 200 from the price, as I can Get 2 more Screens like the one I have now for like 60 a piece.

Just got back. I see you've got a good plan regarding water cooling and the HAF922 side fan. I have 3 HAF922 in the house -- me, my wife, my "spare" computer. I like them a lot. If I ever need a 4th case, it will probably be an HAF922.

Yes, Phenom II is being replaced (but there is a rumor that some Bulldozer models will retain the Phenom name).

Anyhow, FX81xx is now the one to buy. The FX81xx does out perform Phenom when OCd about 10 percent higher than Phenom (as intended). And, Windows 8 will give it up to another 10 percent (depending on application), they say. Microsoft is developing a Windows 7 patch that has the same effect (a beta version worked but was pulled when it caused a different problem). Later this year (maybe late Summer???), an updated FX is rumored ed to be released that adds about 10 percent (but, I'll be surprised if it actually is released in 2012).

First Post Updated (Updates in Red).

For the Case I went with the more Expensive HAF922 RED as it has the MESH Side Panel instead of the Window.
With the mesh Side, I can Re-Locate the Top 200MM Fan to the Side Panel.

If I Order that This Weekend- It will Be $104-$10 Coupon Code, with $15 MIR, so Its technically Cheaper in the End Run.


Changed the CPU Cooler to the Cooler Master H100, Dual 120 Radiator as recommended, Will Mount that to the Dual 120mm slot on the Roof of the Case.
Considering using my Two Scythe DFS123812-3000 "ULTRA KAZE" 120mm Case Fans on the Radiator to see what happens.
(replacing the CM Fans, 133CFMx2 replaces the 92CFMx2 Fans)(not sure if they are compatible with the CM Controller though).

Changed the RAM to the AMD DDR3-1600 Brand, which is Cheaper, and Supported by AMD (Patriot Re-Branded), Will look at other brands when I get closer to purchasing.

Dropped the RAM Cooler and Screen.
(If i mount the 200mm fan to the side, RAM cooler isnt needed, and the Screen I chose is sold out and wont be re-stocked, so I'll make a decision when time comes to purchase.)

Graphics Card Im Considering a 6950/6970 (2+GB Versions), But that decision is pending the 79xx Series prices.


Will Most Likely Order the case this weekend, as the Coupon Code expires on the 9th, and the MIR on the 30th.
And thats 94.99 SHIPPED
Then next Week order the PSU Before the Offer Ends for the $15 Gift Card.

Then when my Tax Return is deposited, I'll use part of that to start the build.
I usually order the parts that dont require a RUNNING system to test first (or items with longer return policy).

Im also gonna look at the "deals" and time out the purchases/groups, as some items come with $15 newEgg Gift Cards, that I can use on the next wave, So After those and the MIR, Im already prolly down to below a Grand.

CASE: $15 MIR, -$10 Code, -$25 (Ends 1/9)
PSU: $15 Gift Card, $30 MIR, -$45 (ends 1/18)

So -$70 on MIR/Codes/Gift Cards.

Cpu had a $15 GiftCard, but that deal expires today.

I can Delay Win7 DVD/License, as I Have 2 extra XP Licenses.

I'll Prolly Email Microsoft and see if I can Purchase a License Cheaper or transfer my current license to a new system, as I Already have 2 or 3 Win7DVDs from previous Builds.

Don't have to contact Microsoft to transfer the license. Just install on the new build and activate normally almost always works. There's a quick, easy fix if for some reason the new install does not activate -- see below. More details:

For cost, one can consider both OEM and Upgrade Windows 7 on a new installation. Also can move copies from one computer to another. I've never tried to run a single copy of Windows 7 on two "in service" computers simultaneously and am not suggesting that (except for a week or so while one makes the transition to a new machine).

However, I've moved Vista and Windows 7 from one computer to a newer one (and sometimes just a different one). One copy I moved twice (again not on two computers at the same time -- not trying to cheat). I usually buy OEM or Upgrade versions (bought one copy of "retail" along the way). The OEM and Upgrade versions both install on clean new computers and also can be moved. Activation was a problem only a couple times. There is a process to follow if the install activation of a moved copy doesn't automatically work -- a "safety valve" Microsoft included so that no one gets "screwed" by a faulty activation.

All that to increase your choices regarding OS.

Having said all that, I think Windows 7 Pro has an advantage as it allows one to log onto one's computer from a remote site and run the applications as though one was sitting in front of the "home computer". I upgraded my wife's copy of Windows 7 HP to Pro so she could use her home computer from her laptop. Thing is the upgrade cost me roughly $70 -- would have been cheaper to just buy Pro from the start (i.e. Pro OEM or Upgrade pack).

Just info FWIW.