First Ever Intel Build

A

Anime_Fan

[H]ard|Gawd
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Mar 1, 2004
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I've been a supporter of AMD since like the AMD K6 days, that being said I am in the market to build a new gaming rig and am jumping ship after reading articles and reviews on the i7 and Phenom II chips.

Anyway here is what I am looking at ordering sometime this week or next. Was looking for any suggestions or other ideas that anybody has being this is my first Intel build. I am looking to keep my new PC to about the $1500 - $1600 range.

Intel Core i7 920 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16819115202
Asus P6T Deluxe - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16813131365
Corsair Dominator 6GB Kit - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16820145224
EVGA GTX 275 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130475
CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16817139009
Antec 1200 Case - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129043
Western Digital Black 500GB - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136320
Coolit Domino ALC - http://www.xoxide.com/coolit-domino-cpucooler.html
Samsung Light Scribe Burner - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151173

One thing to note is that I would like to purchase another GTX 275 for SLI sometime later this year. I am also looking for a good after market solution for VGA cooling that will work in SLI. (I should probably ask about that in the video card section or cooling section)

Answers to the common questions.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming mostly followed by some applications for work and maybe some video stuff now that the wife and I got a new camcorder for the kids.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$1500 to 1600ish with shipping
3) Where do you live?
Minneapolis, Minnesota
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
Everything except the monitor
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?
Yep
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
I have a 24" LCD with a 1920 x 1200 max rez
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
The next week or so
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
SLI
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
Yep
 
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Please answer the questions in the sticky titled "ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS FIRST!" so that we can help you better.

Though the one thing I have to note is that the Dominator RAM is overpriced, overkill, and not worth the extra cash over this set of RAM:
$85 - G.Skill F3-12800CL9T-6GBNQ 3 x 2GB DDR3 1600 RAM
 
I didnt see a sticky in the Intel forum with that label? Where is that sticky at so I can read it?

Thanks for the money saving tip, I'll take it under advisement :) That kit doesn't have as tight of timings though as the Corsair.
 
Anime_Fan said:
I didnt see a sticky in the Intel forum with that label? Where is that sticky at so I can read it?

Thanks for the money saving tip, I'll take it under advisement :) That kit doesn't have as tight of timings though as the Corsair.
Click to expand...

Oh shit, Sorry about that. I though I was in General Hardware. This thread does reek of a General hardware thread though. Here's the sticky I was talking about (which I still recommend that you answer so that we can help you better):
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1349433

As for the lower timings of the Corsair, you will honestly not notice the difference between the Cas 9 of the G.Skill and CAS 8 timings of the Corsair outside of synthetic benchmarks. So no real world performance increase with the Corsair RAM yet you're paying about twice as much? Not that good of a choice.
 
Ahhh I didnt think of the general forum, figured I would try the Intel CPU forum. Moderator can move if they think its more appropriate :)
 
Oh since you're planning on SLI, gotta put in my standard speel on SLI:
Markyip1 said:
Just some info on SLI / Crossfire: It's absolutely not worth considering if a) you're gaming at a resolution under 1920x1200 (as you'll see no performance benefit over a single card,) and b) if you plan to buy one card now and another later. SLI / Crossfire as an upgrade path is usually a very poor idea, as by the time you're ready to get that second card, a new single card solution will likely be available that will outperform two of your older cards in tandem. Furthermore, there really is no cost benefit to the SLI Upgrade Route, as any additional cost in getting the new card can be easily mitigated in most situations by selling the original. By avoiding an SLI / Crossfire solution when it will not be of benefit, you gain a cooler running, simpler to maintain system and more importantly, access to a much better (and broader) selection of motherboards.
Click to expand...
 
Hmm I noticed that in the past but I thought things were improving on the SLI scene with these 200 series cards. It seems like a logical upgrade path.

1225698242I6VvskAKIu_4_3.gif
 
It's the B) item of the SLI quote that I was more concerned with, not the performance per se.
 
Danny Bui said:
Though the one thing I have to note is that the Dominator RAM is overpriced, overkill, and not worth the extra cash over this set of RAM:
$85 - G.Skill F3-12800CL9T-6GBNQ 3 x 2GB DDR3 1600 RAM
Click to expand...

I agree with Danny. Go for that kit for half the price of the Corsair. You won't notice any real-world difference.

A few other notes/suggestions:
1. I'd go with the competitively priced 4890 over the GTX 275 for the simple reason that the 4890 outperforms the 275. 4890 for $250 ($20 rebate).
2. Go with the Western Digital Black 640GB hard drive over the 500GB. For the additional $15 it makes more sense.
 
I would pass on the "all in one" watercooling setups, either get a real watercooling set up or pick up a good aircooler like the TRUE for cheaper. I would also get the WD6401AALS, better access times and throughput with more space and not much more in price.
 
PC_User said:
I agree with Danny. Go for that kit for half the price of the Corsair. You won't notice any real-world difference.

A few other notes/suggestions:
1. I'd go with the competitively priced 4890 over the GTX 275 for the simple reason that the 4890 outperforms the 275. 4890 for $250 ($20 rebate).
2. Go with the Western Digital Black 640GB hard drive over the 500GB. For the additional $15 it makes more sense.
Click to expand...

I second that motion. The Radeon HD 4890 also comes with a 1GB buffer which is better suited for the 1920x1200 resolution you're aiming at when enabling the highest in game textures and features.

It's just the better card.
 
ElMoIsEviL said:
I second that motion. The Radeon HD 4890 also comes with a 1GB buffer which is better suited for the 1920x1200 resolution you're aiming at when enabling the highest in game textures and features.

It's just the better card.
Click to expand...

http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/sapphire_hd_4890/

Interesting Review. Some games the stock 4890 is a little faster but most games the stock 275 is faster and benchmarks higher in 3dmark 06 and vantage.
 
Anime_Fan said:
http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/sapphire_hd_4890/

Interesting Review. Some games the stock 4890 is a little faster but most games the stock 275 is faster and benchmarks higher in 3dmark 06 and vantage.
Click to expand...

3DMark 06 and Vantage are synthetic benchmarks that have no real bearing on real world performance. Speaking of real world performance, this review shows the HD4890 outperforming the 275 in most of the games tested:
http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTYzNiwxLCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==
 
Yes I realize they are synthetic, but like I said they also had a wide assortment of games in that review in which the 275 performed better. I wonder if its the CPUs that are making the different results with these 2 reviews?

I am totally gonna have to do some more digging on the 4890s :)
 
Anime_Fan said:
http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/sapphire_hd_4890/

Interesting Review. Some games the stock 4890 is a little faster but most games the stock 275 is faster and benchmarks higher in 3dmark 06 and vantage.
Click to expand...

Enjoy reading...
http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTYzNiwxLCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3539&p=1
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2009/04/03/radeon-hd-4890-vs-geforce-gtx-275/1
http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/ati_radeon_4890_nvidia_geforce_gtx_275/

At higher resolutions (1920x1200+) and high settings (especially with AA on), the 4890 tend to outperform the GTX 275 in most cases.
 
Get a real cooler, that coolit domino will just barely cool the i7 at stock or a very mild oc.
 
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