Gaming help picking parts for new computer!

[Splych]

Moving towards Christmas, I think now is a good time to start planning on buying a new computer. I had to give my dad my old computer so that he could use it for his work. I am currently running a P4 + HD5770 and for some reason, I just feel that there is a huge bottleneck in terms of old performance on a Phenom II x2 and now compared to the P4.

Here's what I thought of so far:
CPU: i5 2500k
Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3
GPU: [unsure]
PSU: Corsair HX750
Case: NZXT Phantom

I may or may not get a new GPU seeing as the HD5770 shouldn't provide any issues with the processor I chose. In addition to that, hard drives aren't an issue either. I just need a core computer w/o things such as harddrives, the monitor etc.
Main use is video + photo editing . I don't really play games as much as I used to, but I still play games as well. Will run 2 monitors , both at 1920x1080 . Budget is $800. I am willing to change some parts to fit the budget if needed.

Also, while I am on the topic of investing on things, I need to buy new headphones. I looked at the Sennheiser HD448, and they look appealing to me mainly because of the simple design. No need for headsets since I just use a headset + mic combo. Any other suggestions in terms of headphones? Budget is $150 max.

 

[Rydian]

How much RAM? Video editing's something that'd actually love more than ~4GB of RAM, if you're going HD with effects in big video editors and crap like that.

 

[Splych]

I was considering getting 8GB of RAM. Just 2x4GB is good for me.

 

[Rydian]

Well I certainly can't find any major faults in your hardware choices, my only concerns are if the motherboard has the right kinds of expansion slots and external ports (but that's mostly your own decision), and if the video card's not a waste of money. The 6950's roughly twice as powerful as the 5770, what you want to do may or may not use all that power.

 

[Splych]

I may, or may not upgrade my graphics card when I buy the other parts though. Thinking forward, I doubt I will choose to go for a Crossfire/SLI. In terms of expansion on slots, the only thing I can think of is a soundcard, and if the ones I am considering will use either a PCI-E 1.0 slot or a PCI Slot which is available on both motherboards.

I could always just stick with the 5770 and wait a while. Maybe choose to do a minor upgrade to a 6850 or 6950 if needed.

 

[Originality]

Since you already have a 5770, that's all you need for now. The only advantage of more powerful graphics when it comes to video editing is that it can render faster, so projects take a lil less time. When it comes to upgrading (and only do it if you feel the need for additional performance), look towards nVidia instead of ATI. nVidia GPGPU tasks run better than ATI thanks to CUDA and several other random acronyms they use (or so I've heard from both graphics media students and animation students).

For the motherboard, the MSI P67A-GD53 is the most recommended if you're only using HDDs. If you're using SSDs or want to take advantage of Smart Response technology (using a SSD as a huge cache for a HDD, increasing speeds by around 50%), then consider the Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3. Or, if you want a cheap-but-still-good motherboard, look at the Gigabyte GA-Z68AP-D3. Here's a review: http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/motherboards/2011/10/11/gigabyte-ga-z68ap-d3-review/1

EDIT: forgot to mention, the best setup for video editing last I checked was a set of 4 water-cooled SLI GTX 295s. I have no idea if the GTX 590s are as good or not, but I'm just saying. SLI is not an issue for video editing because you won't notice the microstuttering, unlike games where it makes it always look like a low framerate and causes input lag of up to half a second.

 

[Splych]

Aren't the GTX 295s Dual PCB GPUs? So wouldn't that mean simply getting 2 would equal a quad SLI? I am just wondering anyway. I am not much of a rush in terms of GPU, just more of wanting to upgrade my CPU since the bottleneck in performance while in game is annoying. Games recommend me to play on High and sometimes Max , but I know the computer can't handle it because of the bottleneck made by the processor. Never really paid much attention towards things such as CUDA until you actually brought it up just now xD

I am going to buy a SSD then RAID 2 Hard Drives for storage/back-up and will have a spare Hard Drive to install other programs. A little odd how I never noticed that mobo. The difference between the Gigabyte GA-Z68X and XP are well ... pretty minor. Save a good $50 so thanks for putting that out there for me.

In terms of RAM, I am leaning towards Corsair since I am more familiar with it. I saw G.Skill, but I don't really know much about it on a personal level.

 

[Splych]

I am unsure about which motherboard at the moment.
- GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3
- ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3

They're both interesting motherboards that I came across. Their similar in specs, but the ASRock offers PCIe 3.0. Future proof?

 

[Originality]

See for yourself. Gigabyte Review or, Asrock Review.
Also, yes, GTX 295 is a dual-GPU graphics card, as is the GTX 590. I only mentioned it for reference, not that I expect you to buy them and find a way to cool them sufficiently.

 

[sweenish]

-- redacted