$1000 i7 860 build

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dizolit

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 13, 2010
Messages
222
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming (Primarily Bad Company 2, and eventually Starcraft 2, Diablo 3, etc)
Autocad
Solidworks
Matlab
Web Browsing
1080p movies (don't need blu-ray, have a ps3)
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$1000 including tax, shipping, and after rebate prices. I have already spent $283.90 on a CPU and case. So ~$716 for everything minus cpu and case. Preferably priced out on tigerdirect so I can make use of no tax and 15% bing cashback.
3) Where do you live?
Central Coast California
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
Case
Power Supply
CPU
Motherboard
Video Card
Ram
Hard drive
DVDRW
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
None
6) Will you be overclocking?
Maybe a little bit on stock cooling?
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
Acer 22" 1680x1050, and occasionally Sharp 46" 1080p 120hz
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Before Bad Company 2 comes out (March 2nd)
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
Optical audio, or coaxial (digital audio for my receiver, which does not have hdmi)
Don't need crossfire support (from what I have read, single high power card is better for the 860 and the lack of 2 16x pci-e capability will hinder performance if I decided to get another 5850 in the future)
Possibly RAID in the future, though not that big of a deal
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
Windows 7 Professional 64 bit


Right now I have (already bought):
i7 860 (got it for $199 + tax = $218.49 from microcenter)
Antec 300 Illusion ($61.99 + tax + $9.99 shipping - $12 rebate)

In my tigerdirect shopping cart:
$299.99 Sapphire HD 5850 http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5260768&sku=A271-5850
$124.99 EVGA P55 LE http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5083732&CatId=4720
$134.99 Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1600mhz http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5082126&sku=C13-8248
$94.99 WD Black 1TB http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4034139&sku=TSD-1000WD
$109.99 Corsair TX750W http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3438609&sku=C13-2503
$25.00 Samsung DVDRW
Total: $789.95 - 15% cashback = $671.46

Background information: Last time I built a desktop was ~5 years ago, with an Athlon64 and Ati 9800pro. I did overclock it (had a Zalman hsf on it) along with the video card so I am not a total novice at overclocking. Should I consider overclocking? I have no clue on how these new HSFs are with heatpipes and what not, and if they're worth the extra $40 or whatever for the extra overclock gain + the cost of artic silver 5 or whatever you guys use these days. I don't plan on upgrading in the next few years.

Other concerns: Should I save some money and go with 1333mhz ram and a lower-end motherboard ($90+$80 vs $125 + $135 Such as this http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5608207&csid=ITD&body=MAIN#detailspecs and http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5210464&CatId=3361)? The difference is $90 but that OCZ ram seems sketchy, with so many reports of DOA. I imagine that motherboard doesn't have much in terms of overclocking ability as well.

Is there any significant difference between H55 and P55 other than the on-board video capabilities of the H55?

Should I get the 5850 or pay a little more and crossfire 5770s? Will the 5770s be noticeably hindered due to the 2 8x instead of 2 16x pci-e support?

Should I buy it now while tigerdirect cashback is at 15% (it has usually been 8-12.8% in the past) or wait another 2 weeks in hopes of price drops?

Non-related, future considerations: I have a pair of Grado SR125s, Logitech z-560s (400w 4.1 system, pretty old), will occasionally use the 5.1 system in the living room, and dabble in guitar and keyboard (I suck). Any point in getting a dedicated sound card or is there not that significant of a difference in audio quality?
 
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Even with 15% cashback, that Corsair RAM is still a bit overpriced. Try to find a 4GB set of RAM around $100 (with or w/o 15% cashback) for cost-effective RAM. You'll be fine with DDR3 1333 RAM if you don't plan on overclocking.

The HD 5770 CF setup would outperform the HD 5850 assuming that the game actually scales well with Crossfire. Some games do, some games don't. So up to you if you want to take that gamble.

Also, how much more is the XFX version of the HD 5770 and HD 5850?
 
Danny Bui said:
Even with 15% cashback, that Corsair RAM is still a bit overpriced. Try to find a 4GB set of RAM around $100 (with or w/o 15% cashback) for cost-effective RAM. You'll be fine with DDR3 1333 RAM if you don't plan on overclocking.

The HD 5770 CF setup would outperform the HD 5850 assuming that the game actually scales well with Crossfire. Some games do, some games don't. So up to you if you want to take that gamble.

Also, how much more is the XFX version of the HD 5770 and HD 5850?
Click to expand...

XFX 5770 is $165 http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5599121&CatId=3669 which is $5 more
XFX 5850 is $335 http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5562974&CatId=3669 which is $35 more, although it has 3/5 stars on newegg

Should I consider the Visiontek 5870 for $400 or the XFX 5870 for $405? I assume you suggest XFX for the lifetime warranty? Visiontek offers a lifetime warranty as well, I believe.
 
dizolit said:
XFX 5770 is $165 http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5599121&CatId=3669 which is $5 more
XFX 5850 is $335 http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5562974&CatId=3669 which is $35 more, although it has 3/5 stars on newegg

Should I consider the Visiontek 5870 for $400 or the XFX 5870 for $405? I assume you suggest XFX for the lifetime warranty? Visiontek offers a lifetime warranty as well, I believe.
Click to expand...

Definitely XFX. Visiontek does offer lifetime warranty but their customer service is significantly worse than XFX.

Whether or not to go with the HD 5870 depends on your answer to the following question:
- Which monitor will you be using the most? The Acer 22" 1680x1050 or the Sharp 46" 1080p 120hz? If more than 80% of the time you'll be using the 22", stick with the HD 5850. If more than 80% of the time you'll be using the 46", spend the extra cash for the HD 5870.
 
gwarren007 said:
p55le with XMS 1600 For $238.59
http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-P55-LE-M...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1266128311&sr=8-1

XFX5850/ 1tb black $413.99
http://www.amazon.com/XFX-RADEON-58...2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1266128691&sr=1-2

You may need to uncheck the other items not interested in.
"Frequently Bought Together"
Click to expand...

Oh wow, thanks a lot! Amazon mobo + ram deal turns out to be a little cheaper, but I don't have to wait for cashback for the mobo and ram. I have a 3-month trial for amazon prime right now too to make it even sweeter :D. I decided I'm going to go with the 5870 and wd black off tiger direct still, since 15% makes it quite a bit cheaper than amazon.
 
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In case anyone was wondering:

Specifications:
$218.49 i7 860 (Microcenter, after tax)
$154.99 EVGA P55LE (Amazon)
$109.99 2x2GB Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1600mhz
$404.99 XFX HD 5870 (TigerDirect)
$119.99 Corsair TX750W
$94.99 1TB Western Digital Caviar Black
$24.99 Samsung DVDRW
$19.99 Logitech Microphone
$92.00 Thermaltake V9 Black Edition (Newegg, after tax and shipping)
$30.56 TX3 and Fan (SVC, after tax and shipping)
$14.28 Digital Coaxial and USB Cables (Monoprice, after tax and shipping)
Total: $1285.26

Rebates:
$30.00 EVGA P55LE
$10.00 Corsair TX750W
$20.00 Thermaltake V9 Black Edition
Total: $60.00

Cashback:
$99.75 TigerDirect (15$)
$2.00 Newegg (2%)
Total: $101.75

Grand total after rebates and cashback:
$1123.51

Grand total after rebates and cashback without extra things:
- ($14.28 + $30.56 + $17.99)
$1060.68


I got lucky, I ordered 2 days ago and now TD has dropped their cashback to 8.3% (was at 15%). Also today is the last day for the $30 EVGA rebate, so I barely made the deadline. Ended up going over budget by a bit but I feel that the fps difference from benchmarks (15%+ for the 5870 vs 5850) was worth the difference. Also forgot to include the cost of cables, microphone, and and non-stock hsf in the budget.

I decided to go with the TX3 because it's on sale for $14.99 (norm $19.99) and seems to be way better than the stock cooler. Most reviews also claim it should handle a moderate overclock, so I got a fan to pop on the other side as well (might as well due to shipping). Could have jumped up to a Hyper 212 Plus but from what I've read, it doesn't fit in the Thermaltake V9 Black Edition case.

Thanks for the help.
 
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Just to add to this, thanks from me as well. This build is pretty close to one I'm looking at (minus the deal-watching). For every thread that gets put in here, I'm sure there are plenty of us lurkers absorbing information but not wanting to add yet another thread and more time spent by the fine folks here who regularly help answer questions!
 
I haven't taken pictures of the inside yet or the lighting (I put a pair of CCFLs behind and under the desk). I will take some pictures next weekend when I'm not busy though.

upXI7.jpg
 
fQbO4.jpg

qVj9L.jpg

O7tAB.jpg

AQVKu.jpg


Edit: Anyone know why pictures are showing up as links instead of pictures? I am using the [ IMG ] command.
 
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Just wanted to update, I couldn't resist and decided to get 3 monitors for Eyefinity. I will eventually sell the 25" I-Inc but I still have it so what the hell :D

3x Dell 2209WA 22" e-IPS monitors

OC'ed the i7 860 to 3.53ghz
OC'ed the 5870 to 900/1300

http://imgur.com/9eDBP.jpg
http://imgur.com/WYUQr.jpg

I get 45-55fps average in BC2 high settings, HBAO Off Vsync On 1xAA 16xAF 5296x1050. Logitech is/was having a sale on the G25 for $190 so I've got that on the way as well. Ended up going way over the $1000 budget in the title :rolleyes:

I apologize for my lack of photographing skills. I have no tripod, have shakey hands, and am too lazy to jerry-rig some sort of stabilization system.
 
going over budget? Always happens :)
Posted via [H] Mobile Device
 
What is that orange and yellow thing next to your desk? Lego rocket launcher? I want one.
 
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