The Solutor I perfectly understand and subscribe to your point to view, except some concessions related to overclock needs.
I usually build midstream computers for me and friends to overclock, and usually AMD based due way better performance/price, coupled with the cheapest and more naked board I can find based on the better chipset because these are almost always better polished at bios and PWM level (It's very easy to blow MBs with an overclocked X6 if they're not up to par). I have a Dragon platform (790FX,4890OC/955BE@3.
built 2 years ago when AM3 came out, and unless I want to max out everything at 1080p, it's still more than enough for mid/high, and I don't feel any urge to upgrade at least until FM2 is mature.
If this user really wants to spend to much, sometimes it's better to point what will work without a noticeable difference for a smaller amount, than offering a stepped down platform that he might not be prone to accept. This is a forum were people already spend obscene amounts on keyboards, so you never know the mindset of this user. If this was posted at XtremeSystems I'd scream even at some choices I suggested (as a regular at the AMD forum
), which are still in the bragging realm for a gaming PC, albeit a slightly more value conscious.
Arguably, the best gaming CPU for performance/ratio is a simple C3 955BE x4 for only $120 or a 1055T X6 for a tad more, coupled with a good motherboard like a MSI 990FXA-GD65, GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3 or a full featured ASRock 990FX Extreme4 both only with the intent to overclock for about $160, or a GIGABYTE GA-990XA-UD3 for $135 that has a proven PWM if so many PCI-E lanes aren't really needed for crossfire/SLI. In games such as SC2, current AMD CPUs yield almost -50% fps vs a SB, it's not only Crysis. Lower clocked X6 offer less than stellar numbers stock. These AM3+ boards will accept a new Buldozer (until socket FM2 is out), be able to push that x4 to ~4.0GHz where it shines and keeps it's ground to a mid-clocked i5 760 or i7 920 (games only!), and are able to accept two graphics cards without any bandwidth limit. Grab an HD6950, unlock it and call it a day, and even if it doesn't, it's already a winner. Top tier Air will be needed, and this solutions will be better and cheaper than affordable water like the Corsair top H series, either in noise and performance because the later will still require push+pull.
On PSUs, a 570GTX grade GPU can push alone near 220W stock (with >30W+ when overclocked) so much as a X6 can near the 200W realm alone (as a well pushed SB will). A 500W can be well stressed in such system, and a step up might be required to keep it cooler and tone down fan levels. When Guru3D reviewed the GTX570, in SLI (which this user still seems interested), the total wattage for a mildly overclocked x58 based PC was 578W, and that's were the realm of 750W PSUs starts making sense. A single 570 fared about 410W total in the same setup, so a 500W can be about the minimum to be safe if the user wishes to fool around, both on PSU load and it's fan noise. Is this level of performance and required overhead for bragging rights? Of course, unless for playing computer games professionally or being a sponsored overclocker. Even with dual card setups, the best price/performance vs a single card like the GTX570 it's to pair some fresh 6850/70s or GTX560 (external exhaust versions preferred!) if the games intended to play scale well and there's ANY need for it.
You mentioned the need for a air HSF setup, my personal preference is notcua or xigmatek. The Noctua NH-D14 is one of the strongest setups out there right now, but it's price deffinately pushes the boundries of an air-cooled setup at 85USD.
The TR Silver Arrow has about the same performance if not better, less noisy, and costs less. Still, these dual tower coolers can be a PITA due to covered memory slots, so a more traditional solution might be worth the loss of a couple of degrees.
