[QUOTE=ATH;245426]Regarding power supply it depends on which Nvidia GPU you plan to get. If you are getting one of the newest GTX 570 or 580 you might want a 750W or 850W, since power supplys runs best at 50-70% of max capacity. Tomshardware uses a 1000W on all the newer graphic card tests, but that if probably not necessary. Quality is also important, I don't know the Antec brand, but I usually use Corsair.[/QUOTE]

Systems with the newest nvidia cards draw ~500W peak from the wall, which means about 400W actual load on the PS assuming typical 80% efficiency. The 650W referenced in the OP is overkill in that context. It's still a bit of overkill if you're trying to keep the PS in the 50-75% max capacity range, but a bit less so.

Probably won't hurt anything and you'll only save a few dollars going to a more reasonable 500-550W PS. But going to a quality 750W+ will bump the price significantly. There's no need to do this unless you're looking at running multi-GPU setups.

[QUOTE=nucleon;245490]According to anand, the stock cooler can get you to 4.4GHz- "Both my Core i5-2500K and Core i7-2600K hit ~4.4GHz, fully stable, using the stock low-profile cooler."

[url]http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/the-sandy-bridge-review-intel-core-i7-2600k-i5-2500k-core-i3-2100-tested/3[/url][/QUOTE]
Is this under full load? I would imagine that an "ordinary user" could stably overclock quite a bit on a stock cooler, but only because he's not running a program like Prime95 to keep the CPU at constant 100% (and consequently, maximum heat).

[QUOTE=Brain;245435]
Most gamers buy Noctua. I chose an European brand: Alpenföhn.[/QUOTE]

I found a review on the Thermaltake Silent 1156:

[url]http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/thermaltake_silent_1156_/4.htm[/url]

I'm switching to the superior Coolermaster Hyper Tx3 for the same price. I can't justify an extra $50 for a Noctua.

Based on what I've read about these new 32nm cores, I'd say that with any heatsink better than stock you're more likely to be voltage-limited than heat-limited. [url=http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/phenom-ii-x2-555,2540-4.html]Do not go over 1.4V[/url], and I'd suggest staying under 1.35.

Added a Nvidia Fermi 460 card from Gigabyte:

[url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125334[/url]

Changed to Corsair 550W power supply. $20 rebate.

You really want to talk to frmky - about Fermis.
460 is cooler and quieter, he said, but its performance is lower.
There are [URL="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814162052"]some[/URL] [URL="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130557"]465[/URL] cards for the same price, but with 465, you get the heat and the noise.

[QUOTE=Batalov;245629]460 is cooler and quieter, he said, but its performance is lower.
There are some 465 cards for the same price, but with 465, you get the heat and the noise.[/QUOTE]

I didn't see many 465 cards at newegg - at least not in the $150 price area. Heat and noise aren't a major concern, bang-for-the-buck is. Would the rumored 560 be a better choice? I don't know if I have and spare PCI video cards. I might have to shutdown my Core i7 waiting for the 560 to come out.

[QUOTE=Batalov;245629]
460 is cooler and quieter, he said, but its performance is lower.
but with 465, you get the heat and the noise.[/QUOTE]

OK, I'm confused. I found your 465s. You get a piddly 16 more cores, but they run 200 MHz (shader clock) slower. How does that result in better performance?

P.S. I shied away from the Galaxy brand - I've never heard of them.

[QUOTE=Prime95;245623]Added a Nvidia Fermi 460 card from Gigabyte[/QUOTE]

Is this a hint that George is about to get serious about GPUs?

As a tangent, a favourite quote of mine is "And then God got REALLY serious about kerning....

I read about that particular Galaxy card (I think) - it was very noisy in the review; scratch it (editing time for old message expired); those reviews must be the reason that they are now dumping them at discount.
But EVGA (will lifetime warranty, too) could be good. Or [URL="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125343"]GA[/URL] (a few bucks more).

Re: cores. The difference is all about DP, as far as I understand, - which is of importance to most applications of out collective interest.
The 500s are in another price class - don't know where the sweet spot is.