MEMORY: 8GB CORSAIR VENGEANCE CL9 DDR3-1600 RAM ($44.99) Memory is dirt cheap these days, so you could easily push this boat out to 16GB without bankrupting yourself, but 8GB is sufficient for most tasks. Corsair is a memory maker we’ve used and trusted for a long time and its new Vengeance 8GB kit has proven to be as stable and reliable as the company’s reputation would lead you to expect. Points may be added or taken away for the macho look of the heat spreader, depending on your preference. A good alternative here is the G.Skill Ripjaws set of two 4GB DDR3-1600 sticks. By the way, don’t bother spending extra for faster memory (DDR3-1866) or tighter timings (CL8 or CL7). AnandTech performed a study recently that showed anything over DDR3-1333 was overkill for Sandy Bridge CPUs. We’ve opted for DDR3-1600 because it costs practically the same as the lower-specced stuff. STORAGE: SAMSUNG 64GB SSD 830 ($94.99) + WD CAVIAR BLUE 500GB 7200RPM HDD ($99.99) Hard drives would
MOTHERBOARD: ASUS P8P67 PRO REV 3.1 ($144.99) If you’re going to pursue the path of the overclocker, it’s of paramount importance that you find a motherboard that can withstand the additional stresses your sped-up CPU will inflict upon it. Asus’s P8P67 Pro is an established champ in that category, with the company also providing a handy and comprehensive overclocking guide over on the Hard Forum. The P67 chipset is Intel’s performance-oriented setup and Asus outfits it with all the extras you’ll need: four 6Gbps SATA connections, four USB 3.0 jacks, Bluetooth 2.1, 8-channel audio, and support for dual-card graphics solutions such as Nvidia's SLI or AMD's CrossFire. In place of the old school BIOS, you get the fresh and new Unified Extensible Firmware Interface, which performs all the roles of a BIOS, but does it with a much friendlier graphical UI that also lets you use your mouse. Asus also throws in a heap of power-tweaking options and fail-safes to prevent yo