Core i7 High End Build

A

Arkanian

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Feb 8, 2004
Messages
1,898
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
I will be using this PC for Gaming, Programming, and Web Browsing.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Budget < $2500.00
3) Where do you live?
Rogers, AR
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
Everything except a Monitor.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
I will be reusing my 28" Hannspree LCD
6) Will you be overclocking?
Yes
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
28" (1920x1200)
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Within 3 weeks
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
RAID and CrossFire
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
Will be using Windows 7 64-Bit RC1 until it becomes available to buy.

Here is my Wishlist:
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=11516546
Bascially I want a wicked fast PC for gaming and overall general use. I don't need a lot of storage as I already have a 500gb External Hard Drive. This is why I have choosen the 3x30 GB Vertex's for RAID 0 configuration. The only thing that might be changed in my config is the MOBO but that MOBO has gotten a lot of good reviews for exactly the performance that I want. Some of the parts like the memory I have choosen because that is what other users have used on this board to get good overclock results. I know that the G-Skill is cheaper and the voltage is a little lower but I haven't seen anyone use that memory with good overclocks on this board yet. Oh I picked the LG Blueray/HD DVD reader because I have a ton of both Blueray and HD DVD titles.

Let me know what you think about this build Thanks.
 
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Are you sure that 3 x 30GB OCZ Vertex SSDs are worth the price over 2 x 30GB OCZ Vertex SSDs?
 
I think you mean 2x60 vs 3x30. RAID 0 with 3 of these drives will give me better performance than 2 60GBs. Of course maybe you can't see the difference in real life not sure.
 
I recently built a rig using many of the same components as you. if gaming is your main criteria, i believe you have a great setup for it; especially if you want to overclock the i7.
 
1. The motherboard you selected is out of stock.

2. Go with this 6GB G.Skill DDR3 1600 kit. It runs at a lower voltage (1.5v) which is more of a benefit than the difference in timings (9-9-9-24 vs 8-8-8-21) which you won't be able to discern in real-world applications.

3. This XFX Radeon 4890 is $15 cheaper (also has $20 MIR) and XFX provides double lifetime warranty.

4. I don't believe SSDs are justified by their price premium (relative to something like the Caviar Black drives) but it's your call on this one.

5. OCZ Freeze is OK, but you can't go wrong with Arctic Cooling MX-2.
 
PC_User said:
1. The motherboard you selected is out of stock.

2. Go with this 6GB G.Skill DDR3 1600 kit. It runs at a lower voltage (1.5v) which is more of a benefit than the difference in timings (9-9-9-24 vs 8-8-8-21) which you won't be able to discern in real-world applications.

3. This XFX Radeon 4890 is $15 cheaper (also has $20 MIR) and XFX provides double lifetime warranty.

4. I don't believe SSDs are justified by their price premium (relative to something like the Caviar Black drives) but it's your call on this one.

5. OCZ Freeze is OK, but you can't go wrong with Arctic Cooling MX-2.
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1. I am waiting for it to come back in Stock. I will order this PC May 9th.
2. That was my first choice. I read some reviews were people were having issues with this RAM running at 1600 when you stick it in all 6 slots on X58. I might still pick the G-Skill but I am hesitant. Maybe other people can chime in that has these sticks.
3. The reason I choosed the Sapphire over the XFX was because the Sapphire is clocked higher.
4. At first I was going to buy 3 Caviar Black's but in the end I decided to go the SSD route because I needed speed and not space. I don't mind spending 200 more for the speed.
5. I just changed the thermal paste in my Wishlist. Thanks.
 
Arkanian said:
2. That was my first choice. I read some reviews were people were having issues with this RAM running at 1600 when you stick it in all 6 slots on X58. I might still pick the G-Skill but I am hesitant. Maybe other people can chime in that has these sticks.
Click to expand...

Not sure about 6 sticks, but I'm running 3 of them @ 1600 MHz just fine.

Arkanian said:
3. The reason I choosed the Sapphire over the XFX was because the Sapphire is clocked higher.
Click to expand...

You can overclock the video card. The fact that it's 'pre-overclocked' isn't worth it IMHO, especially since you can clock it to 1 GHz anyway.

Arkanian said:
4. At first I was going to buy 3 Caviar Black's but in the end I decided to go the SSD route because I needed speed and not space. I don't mind spending 200 more for the speed.
Click to expand...

Some will say that the gain in speed isn't worth it in terms of a price-to-performance ratio. If you don't mind spending the money, then go for it.
 
Hmmm... At a 28" monitor, I would have half a mind to go the 4870X2 or GTX280 route....
 
since no one else has any concerns, I am locking this in and will purchase this setup on May 9th unless anyone else has any concerns. Thanks for all the feedback.
 
Arkanian said:
since no one else has any concerns, I am locking this in and will purchase this setup on May 9th unless anyone else has any concerns. Thanks for all the feedback.
Click to expand...

Revisit this thread a few days before you order and see what people have to say.
 
Get the XFX cards. The OC isn't worth it, and Sapphire's warranty is shit compared with XFX. XFX also warranties OCing so you can just put the cards at the Sapphire stock clocks via Overdrive anyway. I would never pay more for a factory OCed 4890.
 
silent-circuit said:
Get the XFX cards. The OC isn't worth it, and Sapphire's warranty is shit compared with XFX. XFX also warranties OCing so you can just put the cards at the Sapphire stock clocks via Overdrive anyway. I would never pay more for a factory OCed 4890.
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ok. I have switched out the card for 2 of the XFX.
 
Why not get a cheap storage drive? 90 gigs is nothing.... you'll eat through that quickly.
I suggest a nice 1TB WD Black HDD.
 
khanis said:
Why not get a cheap storage drive? 90 gigs is nothing.... you'll eat through that quickly.
I suggest a nice 1TB WD Black HDD.
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I already have plenty of other hard drives for storage. I have a 500gb and 2 80gb's. I am using the 90 gig 3 raid SSD for OS and Apps.
 
silent-circuit said:
Get the XFX cards. The OC isn't worth it, and Sapphire's warranty is shit compared with XFX. XFX also warranties OCing so you can just put the cards at the Sapphire stock clocks via Overdrive anyway. I would never pay more for a factory OCed 4890.
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That's exactly what I said. Double lifetime warranty > Sapphire. Also, why pay more for a factory overclocked card when you can overclock it beyond the factory overclock anyway?
 
Quick note to the OP: update your bios on that mobo right away! EVGA had the bios version from November 08 still on this board when I bought it last month. This caused a ton of issues with the OCZ ram I bought and wouldn't POST unless you populate one stick in the farthest dimm from the CPU. There are also quite a few issues with my system locking up within Vista Home Premium 64bit... I have a different hardware configuration than you, so don't take my word as gospel. Good luck!
 
I just changed my mind on the MOBO. EVGA just came out with a non NF200 version of their classified so I decided to get that. This is the 760 version of EVGA's X58 Classified board.
 
will be building here in 2-3 weeks. I will post pics once I get it completed. One thing is for sure, this will be light years faster than my current PC. I have had this PC for 4 years. The only thing that I have upgraded was the video card.
 
The build you have is great but I suggest to look around and don't just buy from newegg (especially for the high ticket items).

When I was initially researching my own future build newegg was the best value but after a month some parts I could save $40-$60 by buying them elsewhere. I looked at most of your parts and right now the only serious savings you can make is on the SSD Vertext for $45 total.:)

PC_User said:
2. Go with this 6GB G.Skill DDR3 1600 kit. It runs at a lower voltage (1.5v) which is more of a benefit than the difference in timings (9-9-9-24 vs 8-8-8-21) which you won't be able to discern in real-world applications.
Click to expand...

Generally true but from what I've observed from reading memory reviews tighter timings do have a small impact on games which can be noticeable if you drop them from 9 to 6. But there is a caveat. The FPS increase difference between 7 and 8 timings is not worth considering but the difference between 7 or 8 compared to 9 timings offers like a 3 fps difference and the difference between 6 and 7 or 8 offers a similar increase in performance.
 
mutantmagnet said:
Generally true but from what I've observed from reading memory reviews tighter timings do have a small impact on games which can be noticeable if you drop them from 9 to 6. But there is a caveat. The FPS increase difference between 7 and 8 timings is not worth considering but the difference between 7 or 8 compared to 9 timings offers like a 3 fps difference and the difference between 6 and 7 or 8 offers a similar increase in performance.
Click to expand...

I have yet to see DDR3 ram running at CAS6 and a frequency above 1066 MHz.
 
*shrugs* The source for my information came from a hothardware comparison of latency vs bandwidth for ddr3.

Additionally in Tom's Hardware they got memory to reach 6 timings with 1600 Mhz.
 
well I just pulled the trigger on this. My monster of a PC will be here next week :). Now off to download Windows 7 RC.
 
well crap..my card thought the charge was fraud so now I will have to go in circles to get this fixed. Too late now, probably will try in the morning or sometime Monday.
 
well..everything should be fine now. Going to wait until the morning to resubmit it. Yep, I couldn't sleep until I got this fixed.

At least I know my card protection is working :)
 
Arkanian said:
well..everything should be fine now. Going to wait until the morning to resubmit it. Yep, I couldn't sleep until I got this fixed.

At least I know my card protection is working :)
Click to expand...

I had the same issue when I purchased a few servers & parts for work

Suddenly I went from using a card at taco bell, to thousands of dollars on computer equipment. haha.
 
Hi, I'm actually considering building a very similar pc, but your psu concerns me. I know it seems ridiculous, but I think you should consider a 1000 W psu. Search extreme power calculator and click the lite version. It doesn't have i7's, but I think the quad extreme qx6800 is similar in wattage. If you consider overclocking and/or capacitor aging innefficiency, you may need a 1000W psu.
 
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All of the online PSU calculators are flawed and/or inaccurate in some way. In other words, they're unreliable.

Regardless, Corsair is one of the better PSU vendors around. The TX850 can handle up to 70A on its 12V rail, whereas the HX1000 can support up to 80A on its combined 12V rails. IIRC, the power consumption of the HD4890s in CF mode is low enough that even the TX750 (capable of handling up to 60A on its 12V rail) could handle it.
 
I have to vouch for the Corsair TX850 as well unless you live in a city in the upper end of electrical bills like New York City. Even though Antec, Seasonic and Enermax charge a higher premium their +2 to +5% improved efficiency over the Corsair can lead to savings that make up for the initial asking price. On top of that you get modular cables and cleaner energy over the TX850.
 
Doesn't matter I already ordered it on newegg. Most people that are running the config that I am doing are using the 850 so it should be fine. Now if I wanted to do triple SLI then yes I would need at least a 1000 watt PSU. I am not doing any water cooling either. Heck I think the 750 would probably run it all fine.
 
Sansari said:
Hi, I'm actually considering building a very similar pc, but your psu concerns me. I know it seems ridiculous, but I think you should consider a 1000 W psu. Search extreme power calculator and click the lite version. It doesn't have i7's, but I think the quad extreme qx6800 is similar in wattage. If you consider overclocking and/or capacitor aging innefficiency, you may need a 1000W psu.
Click to expand...

That calculator told me 499 watts if I had everything in the system at 100% as well as my CPU at 100%. It did in fact have the i7 on it as well. This was even doing the overclock part.
 
The Corsair TX850 is an excellent PSU and will handle your setup just fine.
 
Wow I made quite the oopsy =) I put quad sockets- that's 4 processors, not 1.
 
Sansari said:
Hi, I'm actually considering building a very similar pc, but your psu concerns me. I know it seems ridiculous, but I think you should consider a 1000 W psu. Search extreme power calculator and click the lite version. It doesn't have i7's, but I think the quad extreme qx6800 is similar in wattage. If you consider overclocking and/or capacitor aging innefficiency, you may need a 1000W psu.
Click to expand...

Many PSU calculators overestimate. Start a thread of your own and answer the build questions so we can critique your build, if you like. ;)
 
Well I just received all of my parts. Looks like newegg sent my a D0 stepping 920 :)
 
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