i7 Build Check

C

CHAUD

n00b
Joined
Apr 12, 2006
Messages
47
I am moving up from my x2 3600 to something more reasonable for what I do. It has been a long time, so I just wanted to make sure I am not making any mistakes. I only upgrade every 2-3 years or so.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
WoW, TF2, Photoshop, Video Editing/Rendering
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Less than $900 would be nice, including shipping/tax.
3) Where do you live?
SC
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
CPU, RAM, Mobo, Video Card, Hard Drive, CPU Cooler, see the list below
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
22 inch Monitor (1680x1050), OCZ 850 Watt power supply, 1 IDE hard drive, case, mouse, keyboard, speakers
6) Will you be overclocking?
Moderately
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
1680x1050 22in
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Purchasing by Monday
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?
Sure...


CPU: Core i7 920 D0 (from a different vendor) - $278
Mobo: ASUS P6T LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail - $250
RAM: OCZ Platinum 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 7-7-7-24 - $95
GPU: XFX 4770 512MB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 - $110
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA - $100
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
$811 + shipping

Looking for suggestions on cooling, I have a tower case.
Also, would a Phenom 955 be worth the ~$100 that I would save?
 
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Pretty good choices you selected. Where do you plan on buying the Core i7 920 from? You can also look at the Asus P6T mobo + OCZ Platinum 6GB combo for $323
 
HardwareGuru said:
Pretty good choices you selected. Where do you plan on buying the Core i7 920 from? You can also look at the Asus P6T mobo + OCZ Platinum 6GB combo for $323
Click to expand...

Looks like a pretty decent mobo, swapped the one I had out.

e; I am finding the ASUS Rampage II Extreme X58 several places for ~$250 or less, what caused this random price drop?
 
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Which specific model OCZ power supply do you have? How long have you had it for?
 
No, a Phenom 955 would not be worth it. Though, if you mostly game, then a Phenom II X4 940 might be worth the savings.
 
CHAUD said:
OCZ GXS850 http://www.ocztechnology.com/produc...cz_gamexstream_power_supply-nvidia_sli_ready_

I have had it since late 07.
Click to expand...

Oh you are so lucky that your system won't draw more than 500W. That GameXStream is based off the FSP Episilon PSU design which has out of spec ripple, or voltage fluctuations, at high loads (above 500W) that can damage or kill your system. But luckily your system won't draw more than 500W assuming that you don't up the video card any higher than the HD4770
 
CHAUD said:
I don't want to buy any more DDR2 RAM.
Click to expand...

For your needs (WoW, TF2, Photoshop, Video Editing/Rendering), there is no performance benefit between DDR2 and DDR3. So, you shouldn't let that be your deciding factor.
 
enginurd said:
For your needs (WoW, TF2, Photoshop, Video Editing/Rendering), there is no performance benefit between DDR2 and DDR3. So, you shouldn't let that be your deciding factor.
Click to expand...

If he's going with an i7 build, he has no choice but to get DDR3.
 
PC_User said:
If he's going with an i7 build, he has no choice but to get DDR3.
Click to expand...

Obviously, but he was asking if a Phenom would be worth the savings. Then he said he doesn't want to buy DDR2. :confused: ... the RAM architecture should not be your deciding factor, since it makes little difference in the things he'll be doing.
 
enginurd said:
Obviously, but he was asking if a Phenom would be worth the savings. Then he said he doesn't want to buy DDR2. :confused: ... the RAM architecture should not be your deciding factor, since it makes little difference in the things he'll be doing.
Click to expand...

I know, but the Phenom 955 uses DDR3, doesn't it?
 
CHAUD said:
I know, but the Phenom 955 uses DDR3, doesn't it?
Click to expand...

The point was to save on both the CPU and RAM, since DDR3 is still pricey compared to DDR2, and still offers little to no performance improvement for the listed tasks, considering the price difference.
 
enginurd said:
The point was to save on both the CPU and RAM, since DDR3 is still pricey compared to DDR2, and still offers little to no performance improvement for the listed tasks, considering the price difference.
Click to expand...

Wouldn't DDR3 offer an improvement in video rendering/photoshop since it runs at a noticeably faster frequency (1600 MHz) than the typical DDR2 kit (800 MHz)?
 
PC_User said:
Wouldn't DDR3 offer an improvement in video rendering/photoshop since it runs at a noticeably faster frequency (1600 MHz) than the typical DDR2 kit (800 MHz)?
Click to expand...

No, not really. Haven't seen any review showing that is the case.
 
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