Skyrim is growing near and I am pondering the idea of a new PC build.

My current box..

2.6GHz Quad Core
6GB DDR 3
750Gb HDD
5770 Radeon
550 Watt PSU
Crappy Case

This was an HP elite system that I basically stole for 60 bucks and upgraded slightly. The case blows (very little room) and the power supply is not sufficient for a significant GPU upgrades. I took literally five minutes and threw together some parts on Newegg. Just to give myself and others an idea. I would like suggestions, possible substitutions, etc.

Antec Lanboy air Yellow Black / Yellow ATX Mid Tower Computer Modular Case
Item #: N82E16811129092

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822136533

XFX HD-687X-CNFC Radeon HD 6870 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
Item #: N82E16814150563

SeaSonic X750 Gold 750W ATX12V V2.3/EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
Item #: N82E16817151087

3x G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9S-4GBRL
Item #: N82E16820231310

ASUS P8H67-V (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel H67 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
Item #: N82E16813131783

Intel Core i7-2600 Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I72600
Item #: N82E16819115071

Subtotal: $1,119.91

 

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I would not do 4GB if going 64bit OS. I would do 6-8GB. You plan on still using the old PC? If not might just move the CPU/Ram to new system. Just a thought.

 

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3x G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9S-4GBRL
Item #: N82E16820231310

That is 3 sticks of 4GB ram (tri channel) for a total of 12GB. Stuff is so cheap these days.

 

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Memory...
You picked 3 individual sticks of 4GB RAM. Two concerns. First, the motherboard and CPU picked are dual channel. So you should buy either 2 or 4 sticks. Second concern is buying sticks individually instead of in a kit. The same model of memory sometimes may use different memory chips and have slightly different specs depending one when it was manufactured. So it's possible to get memory that doesn't precisely match. While it'll probably still work fine, I think you'll have less trouble if it's bought together in a kit.

CPU and GPU...
If you don't want to spend more money, then I'd probably go cheaper on the CPU, say a i5-2500K, and spend more on the GPU, such as a 6950 2GB.

Motherboard...
The ASUS board you picked uses an H67 chipset. It's not really ideal for gaming systems. I'd recommend a Z68 or at least a P67 if you want something older and maybe a little cheaper.

That you, that is the kind of information I needed.

 

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I'm not seeing many Z68 boards that are tri channel. Is it worth my time to be looking for that feature?

 

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Triple Channel memory is only on the X58 series boards with socket 1366 processors. And unless you need dual x16 PCI-E lanes for two high end graphics cards, I don't really think it's worth the backwards step to go X58 for triple channel memory.

Sandy Bridge E and the X79 chipset is coming by the end of the year maybe. And it'll replace the X58 and socket 1366 processors and will support quadruple channel memory.