How is this build?

I

ImAgainstIt

Limp Gawd
Joined
Dec 16, 2008
Messages
155
I have a budget of about CAD$1500 (not including keyboard/mouse/monitors/speakers/OS), How is this build so far? All prices are in Canadian Dollars.

Case - Antec 900 - $119
Mobo - X58 SLI w/ TripleDDR3 1600+, 7.1 Audio, Dual Gigabit Lan, 1394, PCI-E, 3-way SLI $309
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX25137(ME).aspx
CPU - Core i7 920 $329
RAM - Corsair 6GB XMS3-1600 PC3-12800 Core™ i7 Triple Channel DDR3 Kit (3 x 2GB) w/ Intel XMP $176
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX22567(ME).aspx
HDD - Western Digital 640GB Caviar Black $80
DVD - Samsung SH0S223L - 29
PSU - Corsair HX 750W - $169
GPU - e-GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 55nm Super Clocked 896MB PCI-E w/ Dual DVI, HDTV-Out $239

I'm just wondering how that looks. I plan on doing some overclocking (3.8ghz most likely), and I have some questions.
1. How well is the stock cooler for getting those speeds? I assume the chip will be a D0.
2. How well is the motherboard and ram for overclocking?
3. Is that RAM decent for overclocking?
4. The ram has high timings, 9-9-9-24 XMP/JEDEC, are those noticable compared to say 7-7-7-19 ?

other than that, how does that build look? Thanks alot.
 
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techreport just did an article on GTX 260/275 pricing and basically said it was being gouged to the sky while we wait for new nVidia parts

I'd consider something else (unless you already own the GTX 260) if you can

otherwise, looks fine to me

wouldn't use the Intel stock cooler for stock, let alone OC'ing though
 
Alright, I'll try and hold off on that then, what about stepping up to say a 275? or even ATI in the same price range / performance range, maybe better

And for cooling what would be better, Megahalems, TRUE, or a Noctua (NH-u12p)?
 
why would you settle for the 260 when you could buy a 5850 for a little more?
 
Is it worth it? The price of the 260 is $230, whilst the cheapest 5850 is $320
 
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well yes it's worth it, but worth is subjective, depends on the games you're playing

the 260 is last gen tech and the 5850 is more current and has DX 11 enabled.

If you're spending that much cash might as well get the 5850

that's just my humble opinion of course good sir, you might wanna look at the video reviews here on [H] and in other places.

But again, it depends on what games you play and what your needs are
 
Ok well I will probably go with the 5850, it sounds better and should be futureproof for a while.
Comparing brands, which should I go for, Asus $320, HIS $349, Sapphire $320, XFX $330.
 
XFX has the better warranty and is overall of better quality. I'd recommend the XFX over the other brands, but if you have to have a 2nd choice, Asus is the 2nd choice.
 
Alright, XFX it is.

Another question, how does the ram look? I was thinking of going corsair 9-9-9-24 but have also found for the same price Mushkin XP3-12800 7-9-7-4.
 
timings dont' really matter all that much anymore according to some of the guru's on here.

Mushkin sucks stay away. Corsair is good, but if you want a lower price, I would recommend Gskills Ripjaws, they go for a good price on Newegg, just match em to your motherboard and you're good to go.

They also perform very well and come recommended a lot on here.
 
Alright thanks, I'll check them out, only problem is I'd have to wait for the shipping.

edit - is it still possible to reach 3.8ghz with the Corsair ram ?
 
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1. Stock cooler is NOT good for OC'ing. You'll most likely get a D0 stepping, which can easily reach 4Ghz with a voltage bump. As for a cooler, look into the CoGage True Spirit, Cooler Master Hyper 212+, and Xigmatek Dark Knight.
2. Good.
3. See Danny's answer above.
4. Nope, as Fail mentioned above. Only in benchmarks, but not real world performance.
 
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