i7 920 Rig Help

J

Jbizzle

n00b
Joined
Dec 10, 2008
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Im kinda new here, and I have a computer specced out that i need some help with.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming, Video Editing, LOTS of Photoshop, maybe some 3D modeling/animation
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
I'd like to keep it around 1500, but Im a little flexible... I dont think i would be ordering the monitor immediately to keep it closer to 1500.
3) Where do you live?
Los Angeles
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
I need everything except the monitors/speaker/keyboard/mouse... I'll upgrade those at a later time.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
I have a 550W power supply (BFG ATX 12v v2.2 GS Series) that i doubt i can reuse and an 8800gt that i might use for physx (however you spell it). I also will probably reuse my CD/DVD drives.
6) Will you be overclocking?
As long as it's stable, of course!
7) What size monitor do you have or plan to have?
Right now i have dual 19"s, but eventually I want to have dual 24"
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Between tomorrow and early Jan ;)
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc
SLI would be nice, as would RAID, but im not sure i need any of it.




What do you guys think? anywhere I can save?

EDIT: Scratch the last item... i'll go with this: http://www.thermalright.com/new_a_page/product_page/cpu/u120ex-1366rt/product_cpu_cooler_1366rt.html
 
New power supply is probably going to be necessary, however you may want to confirm it with someone who knows PSU's (amerage and what not).

If you can afford it, the 12GB will help with what you do.

I think the RAID0 Raptors is a waste. Raptors are plenty fast, and the RAID0 doesn't do much other than sound cool. Also, putting those 7 drives into RAID0 to make them look as one disk is just going to greatly increase your failure risk by 7 times.
 
On your list, I would adjust some items and save at least $300+ dollars. I would change the case, mobo, psu, hdd and optical drive
 
HardwareGuru said:
On your list, I would adjust some items and save at least $300+ dollars. I would change the case, mobo, psu, hdd and optical drive
Click to expand...

Ooh, ooh... I know! (Or, rather, I'll elaborate....)

Case: Though cases are subjective, based on each individual's taste, why did you go with a $250 case? What features does it have that makes it worth the money? (I'm not going to recommend one just yet.)

Motherboard: The Gigabyte GA-EX58-DS4. Though there haven't been any reviews on it (yet), it has a nice combo deal with the Core i7 920. Historically, Gigabyte also makes good boards with plenty of overclocking options.

Power supply: If you're going with the GTX 260, then you don't need a 850 watt behemoth. There are two good choices that are currently on sale: the Cooler Master Real Power Pro RS-650 and the BFG Tech LS-680, each for around $80 shipped.

Hard drive: Many of us feel like the VelociRaptor, as fast as it is, is a bit overrated. The Western Digital Caviar Blue and Black series 640GB hard drives can compete with it in various benchmarks (yes, the VR still wins... but still...) and offer more available storage capacity for a fraction of the price.

Optical drive: The Lite-On drive is good, but it's also very loud. The Samsung SH-S223Q performs just as well, but it's much quieter. (There is a newer model, the TS-H653N, that's on sale for a bit less.) This change isn't so much about saving money than it is about reducing noise.

So, to recap:

Case: You can save at least $100, based on the one that you choose (over the one that you've currently chosen).
Motherboard: You save $50 on the board swap, plus an additional $20 from the combo deal discount.
Power supply: You save about $70 on the switch to either one of my PSU choices.
Hard drive: Even if you bought the $85 WD6400AALS, you'd save over $130.
Optical drive: At most, you'd save $5. But for your ears, the difference may be worth every penny.

... HardwareGuru is right -- you can save at least $300 from those changes.
 
awesome, thanks for the tips!

here is my new revised build. I still want to go with the P6t though because it seems to be the motherboard of choice for the i7builds i've seen so far.

3132299837_f30d4de4a9_o.jpg
 
You should look at the new 640GB WD hard drive. It has 32MB cache. Part number is WD6401AALS. Supposed to be faster than the AAKS and around the same price.

Video card is good. Not sure if XFX is a better brand then eVGA, but they have a factory OC'd GTX 260 Core 216 for $250 AR. The one you chose is good too. I have an eVGA GTX 260 (192 version). Works great.
 
If you go with an Antec P18X case I'd recommend that you get a modular powersupply, as there isn't all that much space to tuck powercables in these cases.

The Corsair HX620 is a great option, but it will be more costly that you current PSU of choice.
 
thanks for the recommendations again :)

Im seeing that you guys are saying to look at 600w psu's. would I be ok with my current 550w one?
 
I'll second the call and the hdd, I had a 640 AAKS and returned a VR, to pick up an 640AALS. After reading the application benchmarks on these drives, the VR only eat it at a few apps by 1-2 secs.
 
Darth Bobo said:
If you go with an Antec P18X case I'd recommend that you get a modular powersupply.
Click to expand...

This. I have an Antec 900 (a bit more roomy) and it is still hell to get everything half decently fitting, let alone looking decent.
 
I recommended the two 600+ watt power supplies because they're on sale right now for $80 shipped. That's normally the same price as a quality 500-550 watt power supply.

The BFG Tech LS series power supplies are better than the GS models, but if you've owned your power supply for less than a year, it may be enough for this new build. Having said that, I still recommend getting a new power supply... you could easily afford to, and a new PSU reduces the chance that you may run into any long-term problems.
 
thanks for the help guys

heres the final build... i will be ordering tomorrow (later today haha)

3138086400_a93ddab4b9_o.jpg
 
What happened to the triple channel RAM?

I agree with tiraides, the EX58-DS4 from Gigabyte is fine and for $50 cheaper it's great. I have had no issues with mine, and god knows I have had my share of issues with Gigabyte motherboards in the past. Ignore the bad reviews on Newegg; just reading them now and apparently one person had bad RAM (my DDR3-1333 is working great thanks), and the other likely enabled the "GreenLAN" feature (disables NIC if no connection is detected) and had a pair in his ethernet cable open.
 
Alart! Alart!

FYI: eBay 30% cash back is highly likely to come back on the 28th. Cut your i7 cost by about $60. Bet you can save a bundle on the RAM, HDs and OS too.
If you can wait the 2 days (then the pending 3 months) you can save quite a bit. At least the OS and HDs would be a good idea to look into if you don't want to risk the i7.
All in all you could possibly cut your cost by $200.
 
I guess you are using your reusing your BFG GS-550 PSU? If you are, don't. That's really cutting it as that PSU unit total combined amperage on the +12V is 36A. The EVGA Geforce GTX 280 requires a 550W PSU with a total combined amperage of 40A on the +12v. On top of that, you are getting a Core i7 cpu with 130W Themal Power. I would adjust your build, cut some cost down and throw in the BFG LS-680 680W PSU with 51.6A on the +12v.

Case/Video Card (Combo Deal) Antec P182 + EVGA Geforce GTX 280 1gig($30 MIR) both for $435
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.146948

CPU/Mobo (Combo Deal) Intel Core i7 920 + Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5 both for $564
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.147058

Ram - G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) for $155 w/free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231223

Heatsink - Coolermaster V8 1366 for $70
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ogle-_-CPU+Cooling-_-Cooler+Master-_-35103055
 
Go back to the 6GB Triple Channel G.Skill. For the heatsink, I would also consider the Thermalright Ultra-120 1366.
 
wow, very happy i came in to check on this before I ordered.

im about to order (this evening).

3139384496_30d569e27e_o.jpg


I think that i am going to go with an evga motherboard because I have a friend who swears by evga and i saw this thread: http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=207028

I've also heard that OCZ memory is better than Gskill (this mem is faster than the mem i was looking at before too) and the cs is WAY better should somethng not work right.

Im a little worried that the CM V8 will not work with the 1366, but i looked around and apparently all US models will come with a 1366 bracket.

Please, any last minute thoughts on this set up would be GREATLY appreciated :)

EDIT: changed PSU to this - COOLER MASTER Real Power Pro RS-650-ACAA-A1 650W ATX Form Factor 12V V2.3 / SSI Standard EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
 
I'm not going to comment on the other changes but at the very least, get the combo deal that HG suggested with the P182 + EVGA GTX 280 so you save some money since you are getting those parts anyway.
 
ahh i thought it had done that already... changed that. and the powersupply is now an antec :)
 
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